Cameras

We've seen our fair share of Internet video cameras in our time, and the one thing they all have in common is the fact they're all either rubbish, broken in some way or just plain ... sucky.

One Internet video camera that doesn't fall into any of these categories is the Y-cam. Not only is it flippin' gorgeous and built like a brick house, but it's also packed with features and extremely easy to set up--something rival camera manufacturers should note.

The Y-cam connects to networks via Ethernet--you'll have to supply your own cable, unfortunately--or via … Read more

In theory, you can fix most cameras onto your helmet or bicycle by using an excessive amount of duct tape. Sure, you'll look like a mess, but your camera will look even worse if you dropped it.

A better option would be Oregon Scientific's ATC5K. Designed to capture adventurers' conquests on the most dangerous trails, the shockproof shooter can be mounted onto helmets or bicycles to record those awesome first-person perspectives on video.

Like conventional digicams, the video resolution is 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second, which is good enough to view on most displays. … Read more

Before digital, there was 35-millimeter film. And before that, the 110 format was the most popular choice among shutterbugs, using film strips stored in a cartridge that plugs into the back of the shooter. Now Japanese cult design house Superheadz has engineered the Ikimono Series 110 Camera to resurrect that photography of yesteryear.

Small enough to be hung on a keychain, the boxy Ikimono camera may be petite (40 x 30 millimeters and 26.6 grams without cartridge) but is still a fully functional shooter. Flip the sides and back of the camera (think Transformer) to secure a 110 film … Read more

Mio Technology is hoping to take GPS to new places, more specifically, beyond the car. At Computex 2008 (Asia's largest technology trade show), Mio unveiled a new concept product called the "PND (portable navigation device) camera" that integrates a GPS radio into a digital camera. Details and specs are pretty light at the moment, but according to GPS Business News, the device will feature a 3.5-inch touch screen and with the two integrated technologies, the camera will be able to geotag your photos.

Now, this isn't a completely novel idea. We've seen GPS modules … Read more

The Taiwanese manufacturer has just introduced what it claims is the world's thinnest 8-megapixel digital camera, the BenQ T850. Measuring a compact 14.9 millimeters thick, it has a stainless steel casing, a large 3-inch LCD display, 3x optical zoom, and high ISO 1,600 setting.

But while its imaging features are nothing to brag about, the T850's iPhone-like touchscreen capabilities stand out from the competition. According to the press release, users can access almost all the camera functions with three simple finger movements: tap, circle, and swipe. The swipe gesture (left to right across the screen), … Read more

Japanese camera accessories maker Kenko is slapping pictures of Disney characters on its new point-and-shoot.

The DMC-50 comes with a 5.17-megapixel sensor, 2.4-inch LCD screen, 128MB of internal memory (with SD card expansion slot), and 4x digital zoom. That's right, boys and girls, this shooter doesn't have an optical zoom lens: This new kid on the block is begging to be ousted from our labs so far as specs are concerned.

What's mildly interesting is the rear interface, which looks like a portable game console. But other than that, the design is still quite conventional, … Read more

There's something to be said for missing a big rumor because of a national holiday. Unless there's some real information, I don't really care about posting every time a new product name surfaces in software, or in this case, on a book title on Amazon.com.

While I was relaxing on my day off, non-vacationing bloggers had already spread the rumor about a Canon 5D Mark II book appearing on Amazon.com (Engadget, PhotographyBay, Gizmodo, and lots more), which was then discredited by the book's publisher in a Dpreview forum as simply a placeholder entry.

Frankly, … Read more

If you're in the market for a new camera and want as much megapixel bang for the buck as you can get, Micro Center has the 10-megapixel GE E1030 on sale for just $129.99. (Yes, General Electric makes cameras--who knew?) That's a good $50 less than you'll pay elsewhere.

The E1030 features a 2.7-inch LCD, 3X optical zoom, and automatic face, smile, and blink detection. It offers a dozen scene modes and can record 25-fps VGA movies. It can also stitch together panoramic shots right in the camera. The camera has a paltry 26MB … Read more

I'm not too proud to steal a good idea, in this case Katz's most excellent CNET's HDTV review status report. I, too, get besieged by e-mails asking when we're planning to review camera x, why haven't we yet reviewed camcorder y, as well as escalatingly irritated e-mails as to why I failed to respond to a reader's previous e-mails regarding the previous two questions. And since today is Phil Ryan's last day with us, I, too, have just become a lone reviewer staring down an onrushing tide of the almost 200 new products … Read more