The SteadePod is a fancy new camera stabilizer that aims to replace heavy and burdensome tripods for casual, walk-around use. “Fancy” is relative, since this gadget is pretty much a glorified string “tripod” that you can make yourself for about $1. You simply extend the string, step on it, pull up, and use the string tension to stabilize your camera.

So what does the SteadePod do that a simple string stabilizer can’t? It’s retractable, swivels for portrait and landscape flexibility, and can be locked at different lengths. These fancy features will set you back a mere £29.99 ($44). If that’s a bit steep for you, a DIY $1 version should do just fine.

“Skateboardanimation” is a creative video by Tilles Singer that combines digital photographs, magazine cutouts, and recorded sound effects to show little paper people skateboarding across handmade landscapes. It’s about a minute long, and should be just enough to give you your daily dose of creativity.

3D photography hasn’t arrived in the consumer DSLR world yet, and existing setups require combining two DSLR cameras. What would a 3D-capable DSLR system look like?

Photographer Dean Francis has created a conceptual mockup of the Canon EOS 3D, a DSLR that can either be used as a traditional DSLR, or can be used for 3D photography by attaching an additional module containing a lens and sensor. Another grip module can also be added to the end to make two handed shooting easier.

Here’s what the system looks like when each piece is separate:

To see the mockup in full screen as a flash animation, check out Francis’ website.

With the recent craze in 3D imaging and display technologies, do you think a 3D DSLR system like this might be announced sometime in the near future?

(via Canon Rumors)

Unshake is a free program available for all operating systems that takes your blurry photographs and attempts to make them clearer. While it’s not miraculous or perfect, it does in fact help in making photographs more usable, especially at lower resolutions (i.e. for the web).

Here’s a before-and-after example using a quick snapshot I took this past weekend with an outdated point-and-shoot camera:

If you have problems using the program on a Mac, try opening the Unshake.jar file directly at the last step. Larger photographs might also take much longer to “unshake”, while lower-res (i.e. 500px wide) photos were completed very quickly.

Unshake (via Lifehacker)

Just a reminder: the season finale of the popular TV show House, which was filmed entirely with the Canon 5D Mark II, will be airing tonight. The fact that the show turned to the HDSLR was one of the big stories last month, after the show’s director Greg Yaitanes made the announcement on Twitter and had a Q&A session via the service.

Canon also put out a press release today congratulating the show. Yuichi Ishizuka, the executive VP of Canon USA is quoted as saying,

We take great pleasure in congratulating the cast and crew of HOUSE on completing the first network television episode to be completely shot on a DSLR camera. This milestone marks a paradigm shift in the way professional cinematographers and filmmakers capture HD video.

Will you be tuning in to see how it turned out?

Self-described creative technologist Thiago Avancini hacked this Atari 2600 joystick into a shutter release cable — complete with an autofocus control for his Canon T2i. The controller is considerably larger than the average cable release or remote control, but it’s a pretty nifty. Avancini has more photos of the contraption on his site, but so far, no DIY instructions.

If you’re itching to save a buck and make like MacGyver, Instructables has a handy how-to for a Canon cable release — though it doesn’t look nearly as geek-chic as Avancini’s mod.

(via Gizmodo)

At just 3 years old, young photographer Ruby Ellenby captured the attention of her hometown last month with her first solo exhibition in San Francisco. Tonight, Ruby’s story was featured on NBC Nightly News. The piece offers a mini behind-the-scenes peek at how Ruby goes about shooting, and some of her fans share their thoughts. Cute!

(via NBC Nightly News)

Sony recently announced an interchangeable lens camcorder, but if you can’t stand the wait until it’s released, cheap gadget dealer Brando has these Vivikai camcorders that come equipped with an 8x telescope. The Chinese company, Vivikai (no relation to Vivitar) has more photos of this Frankenstein camcorder mod on their site.

In spite of decent specs, including 12 megapixel image resolution and ISO 100, the standard definition telescoped image looks like it was taken with a toy camera. But for $100, that sounds about right.

(via Engadget)

Kodak made the surprising announcement today that their Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Hayzlett is resigning on May 28th to “pursue personal projects.”

Hayzlett recently authored a book on his experiences with marketing and brand-building, called The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing?, which he has been actively promoting on a tour and Twitter over the last few months.

Hayzlett, who has been with Kodak since April 2006, is known for his accessible public presence, especially on Twitter. Though Hayzlett was often criticized for his over-sharing, strong persona via social media, he said that sharing his knowledge, especially about his use of social media as a tool, is key to his success in bringing Kodak back into the public eye.

The CMO has more than 21,000 followers, and has used the social media site to engage with customers, sometimes with literally biting exchanges. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Hayzlett said:

“I’ve had in the corporate world my public relations, community relations people walk up to me and say Jeff, I don’t think this is appropriate that you wrote “Bite Me” to this guy. I look at them and I go, well that’s who I am. The guy said something very offensive, he had no right to say it, I’m sorry. They say well please be nicer, so now I write “Please Bite Me”.

Kodak says Hayzlett will be involved with the company through August as he transitions out.

Even as Hayzlett is leaving, Kodak is sticking to developing its online presence by launching a new photo sharing website, Kodak Moments.

Photos and videos, along with captions, can be uploaded to the interactive community site. Users then tag the photo with a certain emotion. User-submitted photos can be browsed by emotion, and other viewers can tag them with emotions they feel in response. The site also has “Moments,” which are official events by Kodak, such as the Burton US Open, Celebrity Apprentice, and the People’s Choice Awards.

Kodak Interactive Marketing Manager, Mike Mayfield said that images uploaded will be displayed in email newsletters, marketing, Times Square Billboard, and other marketing outlets.

Some photographers may be uneasy with uploading, since the rather broad Terms of Service currently states:

In consideration of acceptance of my submitted photo, video and/or story (“Contribution”) as part of KODAK Moments, I hereby grant Kodak, and others with Kodak’s consent, the right to edit, copy, distribute, publish, display and otherwise use the Contribution for purposes of the KODAK Moments program without attribution, consideration or compensation to me, the photographer, my successors or assigns or any other individual or entity.

Mayfield responded to the concern, saying:

Kodak has great respect for the rights and use of images we receive. Images submitted to the KODAK Moments website will only be used in the context of promoting the KODAK Moments program. The language in the terms of service stating it could be used for any advertising or publicity is an oversight and we are correcting the terms so that language is removed. We have received some wonderful submissions and if we do decide we would like to use those images outside of the KODAK Moments program, we will reach out and obtain permission from the photographer before doing so.

So it sounds like Kodak still has to hash out some legal jargon, but at least they’ll ask your permission before running specific photos in their ads, albeit possibly without attribution.

(via PDN)

The Strobella is a small shoot-through umbrella that you mount to your flash unit using a velcro elastic band. The website states that it “doesn’t just softens the shadows but can reduces them significantly.” Hmm…

David Hobby over at Strobist is a fan:

This one is very hard to post with a straight face [...] I would only say that any umbrella of this size should rightfully have a stiff, fruity drink under it — with a tropical sunset as a backdrop.

The Strobella costs about $13 bucks if you live in Europe, and about $15 if you’re elsewhere. Yay for random camera attachments that will give you weird looks!