Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

Most juries find it hard to dispute photographic evidence-and criminals know that. Not every Mom & Pop shop can afford fancy equipment and camera surveillance, but for just a fraction of the price you can get a fake security camera.

I saw this on a site called TV Products 4 Less.  To the average customer, it looks like the real deal. It won’t seal any convictions in court, but a fake security camera is a strong deterrent.

Other security devices offered on this website: Driveway Alarms, Security bars from Honeywell, and wireless home security alarm. This is a sponsored post.

Samsung is coming out with a new camera. Called the S85, this compact digital camera boasts 8.2 mega-pixel capabilities, a shutter speed of up to 1/2000 of a second, intelligent face recognition technology, 20 megabytes of internal memory, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and 13 scene modes.

But the feature that really caught my eye is the built-in microphone that records a 10-second voice memo to be appended to any picture. That way, you’ll never forget the story behind a photo.

The Samsun S85 will be on store shelves at the end of August and will retail for around $300.

Visa came out with a new gimmick last week that should be of interest to budding photographers or those with a creative flair. It’s called PAYjr Visa Buxx, a pre-paid card for teens which is meant to help them learn how to manage money.

The cool part is that users can design their own card by uploading photos. There’s also a contest where users can vote for their favorite design — the winner will receive a new Apple MacBook. You could also be paid royalties if your design is chosen and used by other card holders.

Hopefully most teens won’t go for the prom photo card like the one above. We all know how fickle teen romance can be. This is a sponsored post.

A few months ago Sony released the Cyber-shot H7 and H9 — two “big zoom” company digital cameras that updated their popular  H2 and H5 Cybershot models from a year earlier.

DP Review just came out with a review on the H7, and their conclusion: spring for the extra $75 and get the H9.

“The H7 is what it is - a budget model that, unfortunately, performs like one,” according to DP Review. “It’s hard to see why anyone wouldn’t pay the extra for the H9 unless they were on a seriously tight budget.”

Neither camera is groundbreakingly cool, but the H9 has a bigger, brighter LCD screen, and night shot modes, which the H7 lacks.

You can find the H7 online for as cheap as $350, but why not invest a little more and get a camera that’s more enjoyable to use?

Some friends of mine just got back from Portland, Oregon and had this to report: the Pacific Northwest is a trove of photograph opportunities. There’s nature, and urban life. Mountains, and an ocean. Green forests, and brick buildings.

I have never been north of San Francisco, personally, but Seattle and Portland are on my short list of American cities to visit. Everyone knows it rains a lot, and although the rain can be a challenge for a photographer, it also creates some unique shots.

Think rose buds with pregnant droplets of rain, under soft sunlight peeking through gray clouds.

Portland is the sister city to Suzhou, China and as a result it has a phenomenal Chinese Garden built by master craftsmen from China. No camera tripods are allowed in the garden, and professional photographers must get permission before shooting, but for the amateur, it’s ripe for natural flower photos.

My friends spent the better part of a day there and came back with some lovely shots.

They said that Portland is a small big city, where the people are friendly, it’s easy to get around, and your stay is relatively inexpensive (compared to cities like San Francisco, or LA).

If anyone is thinking of going, I would suggest looking for Portland Hotels on Sidestep.com, a travel search engine which searches more than 150 travel websites for the best deals. You can read reviews and view pictures before booking your hotel. Sidestep also has city overviews, giving helpful suggestions for restaurants, nightlife, shopping, day trips and more.

Derek Jeter, originally uploaded by _mentat.

This photo, taken with a Nikon D80, is the stuff classic sports photography is made of. It seems like an intimate capture of one of the game’s marque players.

He is projected as alone and isolated on the field–a clever framing by the photographer–because in actuality, the photo was probably taken as he was warming up for his turn at the plate.

Might look even better in black and white.

Since my last post was a photographic tribute to India, I’d like to take this time to encourage every photographer in need of some inspiration to book a trip to this amazing country of contrasts and colors. What follows is a helpful lodging suggestion for anyone planning to make that trip.

Traveling to developing nations like India poses challenges the average jet setter to Europe might not be ready for. Until recently there was no well organized and inclusive hotel web site for visitors to study before making their trip.

That’s why, despite some minor faults, inasra.com is a goldmine of information for the tourist planning an Indian vacation. The site listed dozens of Indian cities often found on the tourist circuit. Simply click on the city of your choice and scroll through listed properties, which range from decadent palaces priced at hundreds of dollars a night, to simple abodes that cost less than a trip to McDonalds.

You can book Indian hotels online at this site, a positive convenience factor.

The site has some work to do: hotel descriptions can be sparse, and the web design is lacking imagination. It might also be more appealing if small thumbnail pictures were present before clicking through on each property.

But it’s really the first comprehensive hotel website of its type that I’ve seen for India.

As someone who has traveled throughout India, sometimes it’s best to skip the Lonely Planet lodging recommendations, which will be packed and often over booked. This website gives the traveler another tool at their disposal, and one that I believe is sure to come in handy. This is a sponsored post.

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Bowls of Color, originally uploaded by sportyjac22.

This is the first personal photo of my own that I have posted to this blog. It was taken on a rainy monsoon day in a covered market in Mysore, India.

There was a Lonely Planet India book cover that was very similar to this photo. I was lucky to get there while the rangoli, or colored chalk, was still in its perfect mound form.

Bazaars and covered markets are a photographer’s dream: all the colors, sites, sounds, and humanity and you don’t know where to point your camera first.

Do satellite TV choices and packages make your head spin? There’s a website that can demystify the entire experience of picking a TV service. Check out Dealsonsatellitetv.com, which as their name suggests, will help you find the best Satellite TV Deals.

The site also has a helpful explanation of different satellite TV terms and commonly held mis-perceptions. You can compare deals from DIRECTV and DISH Network. This comparison site could help you get the TV package you want at a price you can afford. Give it a try. This is a sponsored post.

shott-maxim, originally uploaded by danny bird.

A brilliant piece of fashion photography. There was much work behind this shot. When asked how he accomplished this photo, the photographer had this to say:

“Just threw it in the air - lucky shot i guess…No just kidding - jacket is suspended - velvet background - fishing line retouched out.”

The lighting and shadow is exquisite as well.