flickr Friday: The Columned Mall

If you're one of those headed to the malls today (why we ask, why) this photo is for you. A popular mall in downtown Amsterdam with ornate columns and beautiful detail... almost makes us want to go shopping. Almost. Taken with a Nikon D2X SLR. You can see more work from Stuck in Customs at Flickr.

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Best Digital Cameras for Kids: Say Cheese!

Kids love taking photos. And we've come a long way since the now vintage Fisher Price camera above. Sigh. Digital is great for kids--instant gratification and no costly film development or film to load. Below you'll find 6 excellent camera options for kids--and hopefully they'll leave your precious camera alone once they have one of their own!

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera ($90)Durable and easy for little hands to hold, you can find this camera in blue and pink. 8MB of built-in memory plus SD memory card slot, 1.3-inch LCD preview screen and photo-editing software. Requires 4 AA batteries. Read our previous coverage here. Ages 3-6.

Uncle Milton Digital World Kids Camera ($80)Again, the stealth child will appreciate this camouflage-styled digital camera. Kids can hang this weather-resistant camera from trees and capture wildlife in action with the time-lapse mode and motion sensor. 32MB of built-in memory plus SD memory card slot and 1-inch LCD preview screen. Requires 4 AA batteries. Ages 8 and up.

Vtech Kidzoom Digital Camera ($60)This camera plugs directly into your TV or PC, allowing you to view a slideshow of junior's photos and videos. 16MB of built-in memory plus SD memory card slot, 1.8-inch LCD preview screen and photo-editing software. Requires 4 AA batteries. Available in blue, pink and orange. Ages 3-6.

Disney Pix Click 2.0 ($40-50)This camera offers a 1-inch LCD screen for viewing shots and the ability to add images of favorite Disney characters to photos. Available in a variety of Disney themes like Hannah Montana, Tinkerbell, Cars and Pirates of the Caribbbean. Built-in memory holds over 300 photos. Requires 2 AA batteries.

Jazz Underwater Flash Digital Camera ($38)If you've got a water baby on your hands, send him out for a swim with this 1.3-megapixel digital camera. Works in depths up to 9 feet and is equipped with video capability and a flash. 8MB of built-in memory holds 312 photos. Requires 2 AA batteries. Can't wait to see that sea monster!

Digital Spy Camera ($18)Okay, grown ups might get a kick out of this as well, but now your little recon enthusiast can don these sunglasses and push the secret button to take photos. The picture quality is weak, but it's about the mission not the evidence! Requires 1 AAA battery. Ages 8-12.

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T-Mobile and Parrot Cameo: Dial Direct to Digital Picture Frame

So if you have a T-Mobile phone, they will happily sell you the Cameo digital picture frame (made by Parrot) which has its own phone number so your family and friends can send mobile photos directly from their phones to your frame. How about that. The frame is $100 and the service $10/month--purchase through T-Mobile Stores. Now, mind you that Parrot, among others, have digital frames that already connect to mobile phones(any kind) over Bluetooth. This won't help your sister send you a photo of her puppy's new galoshes any time she wants but it will help you get mobile photos on your digital picture frame without a monthly service fee.

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flickr Friday: Brooding Turkey Foreshadow

Well this is just creepy. Probably just a quiet, wild turkey walk on Thanksgiving Day to honor their fallen peers. What they need is some Wild Turkey. Taken with a Nikon Coolpix. You can see more work from Chris Seufert at Flickr.

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Skyla Memoir: The Digital Picture Frame with Built-in Scanner

Ooooo... functionality that happily surprises us! Delicious. LiteOn IT (a maker of optical storage solutions for PCs) has announced the Skyla Memoir which will retail in December for $220. You have your usual digital frame features: 8-inch LCD with 800x600 resolution and 4:3 ratio, 1GB internal memory plus ability to take memory cards, flash cards and USB devices. THEN you have scanner features: a 600dpi scan bed that can handle prints up to 4x6. The USB ports are key if you'd like to hook up your laptop and save the scanned images there as well. Not too shabby!

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Chilly Willy: How to Winterize Your Digital Camera

Heed this post, folks! PC World has been kind enough to write up a great list of dos and don'ts that will preserve your digital camera this winter season. If you're skiing, bumbling around in hockey rinks or just sneaking around in the snowflakes, you'll want to take this advice to heart. For extra protection, you can consider the Olympus 1050 SW ($243), an incredibly durable camera that's good to 14˚F.

1. Keep your batteries and camera warm.
2. Don't breathe on the lenses to clean them.
3. Don't shock your camera into condensation with a big indoor temperature shift.

See the full article from PC World here.

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Audiovox Homebase: Digital Picture Frame and Message Center

This new gadget from Audiovox is basically a whiteboard that houses a digital picture frame and audio record/playback capabilities. You can display it on a countertop or attach to your refrigerator. There's a 7-inch LCD screen surrounded by an erasable whiteboard where you can write messages and such. The screen facilitates recording messages and hosting a calendar that can be coordinated with your audio reminders. The 1GB. Also takes USB thumb drives and most memory cards.You can also purchase a video recording unit that would allow you to do video nagging. Uh, messaging. Pick it up at Amazon for $157. (via cnet)

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PictureSnob's 2008 Holiday Gift Guide

It's the advice you've been waiting for! There's plenty to choose from on the digital photography front this year, from digital picture frames, cameras and software to photo printers, scanners and gift cards for photo services. Since many a wallet is feeling the pinch this year, we're organizing everything by price and giving you plenty of low cost options. Amazon usually has the best price on goods, and if you can get it with free shipping you'll be well off avoiding traffic, parking and the painful retail holiday soundtracks.

Over $500: Platinum Santa
Smartparts 32-inch Digital Picture Frame ($750): If size is important to you, how does 32 inches sound? This enormous frame is equipped with wifi and classy wooden styling. Read our post.

Nikon D300 ($1,495): Professional quality DSLR leaves no pixel unturned. You won't believe the image quality, especially paired with Nikon's glorious lenses.

Canon Rebel XTi ($522): A great entry-level DSLR makes for easy use with all the megapixels and controls you could want... even if you just want to shoot on Auto and be able to swap out lenses. Read our post.

Epson Stylus Photo R2400 ($710): Professional quality photo printer with 9 individual ink cartridges that supports archival-quality printing on posterboard and canvas. Read our post.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 ($590): Precise color-correction, calibration with printers and monitors and raw-image processing are what make Photoshop a must for pros and hobbyists alike. Read our post.

$250-500: Gold Santa
Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center PANTV1512 (HDTV/Cookbook/Digital Picture Frame) ($400): Mount this under a cabinet in the kitchen and view recipes, photos, video and whatever else you can connect to via wifi. Read our post.

Ality 8-Inch Wireless Pixxa ($300): A beautifully designed frame complete with free service for sharing, organizing, news feeds and more over wireless (most companies make you pay a subscription fee for this stuff). Read our post.

Sony Cybershot T700 ($353): Snazzy new colors, super-thin and 10.1-megapixels make for an awesome point-and-shoot. Read our post.

Panasonic Lumix TZ5K ($250): We love the wide angle lens and the 10x optical zoom on this powerful point-and-shoot. Read our post.

Wingscapes Bird Cam ($250): This winter help your bird adoring friends and family capture their birds on film! Read our post.

Epson Artisan 800 Photo Printer & Scanner ($261): Petite and powerful, the Artisan 800 prints, faxes and scans at high quality and wirelessly. Read our post.

$100-250: Silver Santa
Kodak EasyShare Wireless10-inch Digital Picture Frame ($175): Kodak's got it all with easy-to-use and wireless capabilities as well as great preload options. You can scale down to the 8-inch frame for $160. Read our post.

LG Digital Picture Frame and DVD Player ($219): This 8-inch frame doubles as a portable DVD player, perfect for those who travel. Read our post.

Mustek Digital Picture Frame and iPod Dock ($104): You get a 7-inch digital frame that you can dock your iPod into and charge the iPod and set your photos to music. Let's hear it for device streamlining! Yay! Read our post.

GE PhotoPhone ($101): A great gift for older folks who have trouble deciphering caller ID, you can load this phone to show a photo when a caller rings in, and it doubles as a digital picture frame when not being a phone. Read our post.

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS ($163): Lightweight, compact and stocked with features like high ISO, 8-megapixels and more. Read our post.

Canon Selphy ES30 Portable Photo Printer ($125): The perfect option for scrapbookers and other crafty folk who like to print out their photos on the go. Read our post.

Apple Aperture 2.0 ($143): Mac users only, but what a great program for organizing your photos and managing edits. Read our post.

$40-$100: Bronze Santa
Falcon Fridge Magnet Digital Picture Frame ($52): Maybe you know someone with a fridge that is out of control with snapshots and could use some organization? Read our post.

Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera ($65): Durable and easy for little fingers to operate, this camera is a fun way to play grown up. Read our post.

Canon Pixma MP190 Photo Printer ($45): Great for home use printing and scanning with archival quality inks. Read our post.

Apple iLife '08 ($70): Again, Mac users only, but iLife is a great program that enables user-friendly creativity in photos, movies, music and web design. Comes with your operating system, but the latest versions are worth the price to upgrade. Read our post.

Nova Greeting Card Factory Deluxe ($40): Kids and crafty folk that like to make their own photo-based greeting cards will have a blast with this software. Read our post.

Blurb Gift Card ($40 and up): For those who love to make photo books or have always wanted to try, here's a great way to get them started. Read our post.

Under $25: Tin Santa
Preloaded Memory Card for Kodak Digital Frames ($20): Head to the Kodak Gallery where you can order a secure digital memory card and preload it with images. A great annual tradition to send out to grandparents or for special events like weddings. Read our post.

SanDisk Extreme III Memory Cards ($15 and up): Arguably the best quality memory cards compatible with most digital cameras in sizes from 2GB to 8GB.

Real Memories Custom Framing ($20 and up): Upload your digital photo and have it custom framed and shipped to your loved ones. Read our post.

Nikon Pen Lens Cleaning System ($5): Portable and easy to use, one tip brushes debris from the lens while the other fabric tip gets rid of smudges.

Joby Gorillapod Flexible Tripod ($22): Versatile for the on-the-go photographer, you can attach this tripod to trees, uneven ground and more!

Ink Jet Tatoo Paper ($10): Run this paper through an ink jet printer to finally try out that tattoo you've always wanted. Read our post.

Stamps.com PhotoStamps ($20): Ever wanted to put your puppy on a stamp? Well, now you can! Read our post.

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flickr Friday: Turkey Meeting

Now that the pumpkin population has been in and hopefully out of danger for the year, we move onto the next victim--turkeys. We love turkey, it's tasty. And wild turkeys are crazy, as you know if you've ever seen one stumble across the road. These turkeys seem to be having some kind of meeting on this rural porch. Love the accents of red in this photo! Taken with a Canon PowerShot A570IS. You can see more work from beana_cheese at Flickr.

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NEW from Blurb: Gift Cards for the Photo Book Makers in Your Life

This is a great gift idea for the folks in your life who like to make photo books. Or have thought about it and never done it. Blurb's new gift cards are available in $40, $75 and $150 amounts that you can print out or email to your recipient. The gift cards are also available in pounds and Euros, which is great if you've got a friend across the pond. Read more about Blurb in our earlier review and update.

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ViewSonic's NEW Digital Picture Frames: Basic, Black and Boring

ViewSonic has two new digital picture frames on the market, the DPG801BK ($119) and the DPG807BK ($159). Both have 8-inch screens with 800x600 resolution and 500:1 contrast ratio, as well as 512MB internal memory. Lacking wireless capability, the frames are compatible with most memory cards and USB transfers. They also feature chameleon touch screens--the controls illuminate when you touch them, but go dark the rest of the time so you aren't looking at any ugly controls. We're not sure what the price difference is all about (or the difference in the frames) but the cheaper one is the result of some kind of promotion with ViewSonic. (via Engadget)

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Cordless Digital Picture Frame from Jobo

Okay, so this new digital frame from Jobo isn't the bees knees, but it does have an admirable feature--it's cordless. Most frames need to be plugged in (hence an unsightly wire) and have battery ability for just a couple of hours. The Jobo PDJ801 features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery as well as 1GB internal memory and 8.4-inch display with 800x600 resolution and 500:1 contrast ratio. Frame goes on sale by the end of November for $179. (via Crave)

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Holiday Theme Digital Picture Frames: When You Can't Think of Anything Else

It's time to wake up this Monday morning. In our minds, Nextar has established itself as the premiere novelty digital picture frame company. Way to go. The fairytale frames earlier this year were just the beginning, apparently. So if you like key chains and doo-dads that may or may not end up crushed in a couch cushion, check out the latest holiday mini frames. The frames sport a 1.5-inch screen, clock feature and store up to 60 images with slide show function. Now seriously. A 1.5-inch screen is smaller than some digital watch displays! What are we supposed to see of our photos? Well, anyway, you can find these frames for about $20 at Amazon,as well as Target, Wal-Mart and Kmart.

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flickr Friday: Teletubby Land

So is this where the Teletubbies live? Too bad there's no natural predators to be seen... A magical shot taken from the Panorama near Llangollen, Denbighshire in Wales. You can see more work from Vertigogen at Flickr.
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The Best Compact Digital Cameras Under $250

PC World has come up with a 5-camera short list for those of you looking for a compact point-and-shoot under $250. This is a great list, and we're going weigh in--go for the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS--it's the best of all worlds. Image quality is great, camera is compact and nicely styled and there are some unique features like direct print and high ISO.
Canon PowerShot A590 IS ($117)
8-megapixels, 4X optical zoom, image stabilization, face detection, 2.5-inch LCD screen, video/audio capture, AA batteries. Read the full review here.

Casio Exilim EX-Z150 ($158)
8.1-megapixels, 4X optical zoom, 28mm wide angle lens, image stabilization, face detection, 3-inch LCD screen, video/audio capture, rechargeable battery. Drawback: shutter delay. Read the full review here.

Pentax Optio A40 ($191)
12-megapixels, 3X optical zoom, image stabilization, face detection, 2.5-inch LCD screen, high-quality video/audio capture, rechargeable battery. Drawback: noise in low light. Read the full review here.

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS ($160)
8-megapixels, 3X optical zoom, image stabilization, face detection, high ISO, direct-to-printer features, 2.5-inch LCD screen, video/audio capture, rechargeable battery. Read the full review here.

Nikon Coolpix S210 ($149)
8.1-megapixels, 3X optical zoom, time lapse feature, many scene modes, high ISO, 2.5-inch LCD screen, video/audio capture, rechargeable battery. Drawback: susceptible to shake and blur. Read the full review here.

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Wasteful Printers: How to Get the Most Out of Your Ink Cartridges

If you were raised on leftovers and clean plates, you may be dismayed by the wastefulness of your desktop printer. Have you ever gotten a low ink warning sooner than you thought possible? PC World has done some investigative reporting on our behalf, to examine just how much ink is left in an "empty" ink cartridge. The results? While all ink cartridges are hideously wasteful--up to 50% of ink still in an "empty" cartridge--third-party ink cartridges (Staples brand, for example) tend to require replacement sooner than the branded cartridges (Epson, HP). So while you may save a few bucks at checkout, you may find yourself checking out more often. So how can you save yourself? You can refill ink cartridges yourself--there are a variety of companies (try 123refills) that offer refill solutions for half the price of a new cartridge. Keep in mind that this is best for average home printing--if you're making nice glossy photo prints, stick with the new cartridge. There's also a bunch of simple tips you can use to cut down on the amount of pages you print, especially when printing web pages that tend to print oddly. (via LifeHacker)

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zbezt.com: Replacement Frames for Digital Picture Frames

So suppose you have a digital picture frame and you change the decoration in the room where it lives. Or Mittens, your kitty, scratches it. Or you muck it up with some unidentified sticky goo. Well, now there's a glimmer of hope. Zbetz.com stocks a bunch of replacement frames that fit GiiNii, Kodak, Pandigital, Philips and Shomi products. Remember these are the outer decorative frames, not any of the technical components. Prices start at $14.99 and you'll find designs in leather, wood and acrylic.

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October 2008 Monthly Roundup for PictureSnob

Well, we're finding that October lacked a little luster, folks. Perhaps the calm before the holiday storm or supreme distraction of economy and election? Whatever the case, we saw a couple new digital picture frames come on the market--Digital Foci's Image Moments 6, some nice new designs from Cagic, the horror show that is the Anne Geddes frame from Westinghouse and finally a couple of wi-fi options from Ceiva.
Product of the Month: Cagic Digital Picture Frames
We're awarding on looks this month. While Cagic's digital picture frames are basic in function (lacking wi-fi, remote control and audio/video) what they do, they do well. And there's a lot to be said for that in the competitive, feature-ridden digital frame market. The frames look great, have ample memory included and work via touch-matting technology. Read the full post here.

Digital Cameras

• Say Cheese! In Your Very Own Photo Booth
• The Truth About Megapixels: Americans Hoard Them
• Digital Camera Swim Mask from Liquid Image: See the Field Test
• AgfaPhoto DC-1338sT: New Touch Screen Digital Camera
• You Are Here: How to Geotag Your Digital Photos

Digital Picture Frames

• NEW Digital Picture Frames from Ceiva: Connects to Family + Friends
• When Babies You Know Aren't Enough: Anne Geddes and Westinghouse Partner for NEW Digital Picture Frame
• Portable Digital Photo Keychain - Carry More Pictures With You
• NEW: Simple But Stellar Digital Picture Frames from Cagic
• NEW Digital Picture Frame from Digital Foci: Image Moments 6

Industry News

• The Truth About Megapixels: Americans Hoard Them

Monthly Roundup

• September 2008 Monthly Roundup for PictureSnob

Photo Printers

• Hello Kitty, It's Me, Selphy.

Tips and Tricks

• You Are Here: How to Geotag Your Digital Photos

flickr Friday

• Happy Halloween: The Pumpkins Will Get You For This
• flickr Friday: Jack-O-Frozen-With-Terror-Lanterns
• flickr Friday: Pumpkin Fields Forever
• flickr Friday: Autumn in Ireland

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