Eye-Fi announced their new Mobile X2 memory card today, which allows you to instantly transfer photos taken with your camera to mobile devices running iOS or Android. With the card in your camera and their special app on your device, a direct Wi-Fi connection will be established allowing you to shoot straight to your device. The 8GB card will be available later this week for $80.
Eye-Fi Mobile X2 (via Gizmodo)
If Doctor Octopus were to design a DIY flash accessory, it might look a little something like this. German microbiologist Marcell Nikolausz has been experimenting with using fiber optics to split a single flash unit’s light into multiple light sources. Optical fibers are threaded through Gorillapod-style Loc-Line channels, allowing flexible and stable positioning of the light sources. Each individual light source can be controlled using various modifiers (e.g. diffusers, gels, etc..), changing their quality and intensity.
For some sample photographs taken with this contraption, check out this set of photos. You can also learn more about Nikolausz’s experimentation on his blog.
(via Strobist)
Image credits: Photographs by Marcell Nikolausz and used with permission
Most modern tripods are made of materials that are designed to be light-weight yet stable. If having the lightest of tripods isn’t a requirement for you, then check out these hand-made wooden tripods from the German company Berlebach. Though they can weigh in at 6+ pounds, the solid ash wood legs are supposedly better at dampening vibration than steel, carbon, or aluminum. Plus, they look pretty snazzy.
You can purchase them directly from Berlebach, or find one marketed as the “Expedition Wooden Tripod” over on Photojojo for $290.
(via Wired)
No, this isn’t some advanced beam weapon from a sci-fi flick. It’s actually a do-it-yourself ring flash created using 150 optical fibers, with one end wrapped over the pop-up flash of the DSLR and the other end spitting out the photons in a ring-shape. If you want to learn how to make your own, here’s an in-depth writeup on how this was constructed.
The SeaLife Mini II is a digital camera meant for the outdoorsy type of person — the kind that risks freezing to death, being eaten by sharks, or having a boulder fall on them. The 9-megapixel camera is waterproof to 130 feet, shockproof from drops of 6 feet, and has a rugged, unbreakable, crushproof build that can apparently survive being run over by a car. It’ll be available starting in March 2011.
A special limited edition set of three Nikon f/1.4 lenses is being sold in certain European countries (currently Belgium and Sweden). Limited to only 100 sets, each set includes a Nikkor AF-S 24mm, 35mm and 85mm.
What’s strange is that unlike what you typically see with limited edition gear, these sets are actually selling for considerably less than if you purchased each lens separately. In Belgium the set is priced at €4,899, or about €1,000 (~$1,370) less than the sum of the individual lens prices on Amazon. No word on whether we’ll ever see this kind of thing in the US.
Luxury Box f/1.4 (via Nikon Rumors)
If you find yourself often shooting in cold weather and having to take your right hand glove off to operate your camera, you might want to check out Freehands gloves. These are special gloves that have thumb and index finger tips that fold back, allowing you to adjust your camera settings without having to expose the useless parts of your hand to the cold. They range from $18 to $80 and can be ordered directly from the Freehands website.
Freehands (via PhotoWalkPro)
YouTube user havok2 created this creative follow focus using LEGO Mindstorm pieces. It’s lightweight, and can be adjusted to fit on different sized lenses. There’s more photographs of the rig here, and there’s even a blueprint 3D tutorial video if you’re interested in building your own.
(via CheesyCam)
With a suggested retail price of £19,800 (currently about $32,000) and only 500 units in existence, Leica’s limited edition M9 Titanium probably isn’t a camera you’re ever going to lay eyes on in real life. When it was announced back in September of last year, we predicted that most of them wouldn’t see the light of day and would be placed immediately into collectors’ vaults. Luckily for us, someone decided to actually unbox (gasp!) one of these babies (camera #164), allowing us to see what it’s like to receive such an absurdly expensive camera.
Read more…
In addition to two new entry-level DSLRs, Canon is also releasing two new entry-level flash units, the 320EX and 270EX II. The 320EX includes a built-in LED light designed to provide illumination for video recording DSLRs, can be assigned to one of four channels, and can be wirelessly controlled with the newly announced T3i/600D. The 270EX II is a compact, lightweight flash that swivels in four positions ranging from 0 to 90 degrees, and can be wirelessly triggered but does not have channel capabilities.
Both units will be available in April, with the 320EX priced at $250 and the 270EX II priced at $170.
