December 31, 2008
Epson Artisan 700: Hands On Review
Take a cyber-stroll over to Boy Genius Report to get a hands-on look at the Epson Artisan 700. We've touted its merits already but think this is a great review if you want more nitty gritty. And if you are one of those folks who loathes actually going to a store to touch the precious object before you buy it online. It's on sale at Amazon for $143
. Happy printing!
December 29, 2008
Kodak EasyShare W820: Custom Mats, Wi-Fi and Touch Border
The Kodak EasyShare digital frames are probably our favorite populist choice for digital picture frames. While there are a number of other great options out there, the Kodak features and ease of use will please the most people most of the time. Perhaps the best starting point is the Kodak EasyShare W820 ($169 Amazon)
. Put your cyberpants on and visit PC Magazine for an in-depth review. Here are some quick stats:
- 8-inch screen (available in 10-inch also) with 4:3 ratio
- Touch Border controls
- Wireless (a must-have) + easy integration with photo sites and sharing
- Plays video and MP3
- 2 memory card slots
December 26, 2008
flickr Friday: It's a Small World After All
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you Picture Snob readers! It's been a big year in this little world and perhaps time to step back and be thankful for what we have and worry less about what we want. This is one of many incredible snow castles featured at the Sapporo Winter Festival in Japan. Taken with a Nikon D80
. You can see more work from enggul at Flickr.
Is there a flickr photo you want to see on PictureSnob? Email us!
December 24, 2008
December 23, 2008
Mobile Photos: The Top 5-megapixel Camera Phones
Camera phones today can really carry some megapixels, and this inevitable merge of personal devices means we just might one day have one device that acts as phone, camera, computer, GPS--you name it. At any rate, we wanted to call out 5 top camera phones--now you just need a digital frame you can email them to! (via PC Magazine)
Motorola MotoZINE ZN5 
$346 (Amazon) / $200-350 (direct)
Fast shutter, good resolution, little distortion, Xenon flash. T-Mobile only.
Nokia N82
$200 (Amazon) / $549-750 (list)
Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus, Xenon flash. Available unlocked in USA only to work with AT&T or T-Mobile SIM cards.
Nokia N95 8GB 
$450 (Amazon) / $750 (list)
Builds on the N82 with 8GB internal storage, GPS and media player. Dual-slider design for N-Gage gaming and multimedia playback. Available unlocked in USA only to work with AT&T or T-Mobile SIM cards.
Samsung Behold SGH-T919
$150-400 (Amazon) / $199-399 (direct)
Autofocus, touch screen, works well with T-Mobile's 3G data network. T-Mobile only.
Samsung Omnia SCH-i910
$250-600 (Amazon) / $250-497 (list)
Autofocus, 8GB internal storage, minimal shutter lag (0.3 second), captures 640x480 video. Based around Windows Mobile 6.1. Verizon Wireless only.
December 19, 2008
flickr Friday: Ice Bud
In honor of the ice that ravaged parts of New England a week ago, we find this bud in ice. Not the beer, but a lilac bud. Sigh. Beautiful and dangerous. Taken with a Fujifilm FinePix S700
. You can see more work from Allie's.Dad at Flickr.
Is there a flickr photo you want to see on PictureSnob? Email us!
December 17, 2008
The Gift of Touch: 2 Great Touch Screen Digital Cameras
You either love a touch screen or hate it, let's face it. There's something nice about being able to tap an icon with your fingertip to change a setting quickly or to be able to select focus area, zoom in or flip through shots. On the con side, interfaces can be slow and you're sucking wind on your battery with every touch. If you go the tactile path, consider these two cameras below.
Sony Cybershot DSC-T700 ($360)
3.5-inch LCD, 10-megapixels, 4X optical zoom, image stabilization.
Nikon Coolpix S60 ($257)
3.5-inch LCD, 10-megapixels, 5X optical zoom, image stabilization.
December 15, 2008
December 11, 2008
December 10, 2008
December 5, 2008
flickr Friday: First Snow
This would be a day we'd regret forgetting our sunglasses. It's a windy and icy day in the ski town of Feldberg, Germany. Perhaps most of us haven't had the first snow yet this season, but get ready! Taken with a Nikon D50
. You can see more work from Vermario at Flickr.
Is there a flickr photo you want to see on PictureSnob? Email us!
December 4, 2008
Review: Printstick PS910 Mobile Printer from PlanOn
Okay, so the Printstick PS910 from PlanOn is a pretty interesting device. While not a photo printer by any means, we thought it was worth checking out since we are a little fascinated by mobile printing. Printstick only supports PC and Blackberry smartphones, so MAC and iPhone folks are out of luck here.
The point of this device is to allow you to print on the go--more for business travelers than personal use. So you're stuck in an airport and need a document right away--an email, a proposal, directions, concert tickets, the latest photo of your new puppy, etc. This is especially ideal if you rely on your Blackberry on the road--that screen is tiny when it comes to reading a PDF or other documents!
Quality is good for the purpose, but think of it like a fax output--grayscale only and plenty of dots. This is printing for the here and now, not to archive or put in albums. The paper straightens nicely after printing (some roll paper remains incessantly curly) and it prints about a page per minute. The sound of the Printstick is a little odd. Imagine a half dozen 6-inch high horses galloping across your desk in stilettos. It's more a humorous noise than anything, so don't worry about it. 
Comes with a carrying case, battery, AC adapter/charger, retractable USB cable and one paper cartridge (20 pages). There's also a user guide and software CD. You connect to your laptop of Blackberry via Bluetooth or USB 2.0. Streamlined padded case makes it easy to stow in a briefcase or laptop bag and use on your lap. As always Amazon has the best price--Printstick PS910 for $285
and PlanOn PS 901 Paper Refills for $21
.
December 3, 2008
A Print of Your Own: With 3 Great Ink Jet Printers from Epson and HP
We'd like to highlight a recent article by MacWorld on three ink jet printers worth consideration this holiday season. (These printers are of course compatible with PCs.) Remember that you'll need to keep investing on quality ink and photo paper to get the best quality results. That's how they get ya.
HP Deskjet D2545 Green Printer ($35)
A basic and affordable desktop ink jet printer that will satisfy your typical household needs, from printing term papers to party invitations to family photos. In addition, this printer is made up of 83% recycled plastic. Features are basic, but for many folks, all you need. No LCDs, memory card slots or functions like faxing or scanning.
Epson PictureMate Zoom PM 290 ($230)
A great pick for a portable printer, PictureMate spits out 4x6 photos (and smaller) in 60 seconds for about 25 cents a print--all at lab-quality. The built-in CD burner is what really sets this apart from the other portable printers, though, so you can immediately dump your shots onto a CD, or collect other people's shots. Paper and ink packs ($35)
make for one of the more budget friendly ink jet situations.
Epson Stylus R1900 ($450)
When you're serious about archival quality (85 to 200 years) and large format (up to 13x19) you can print some beautiful 7-ink, pigment-based photos with gloss optimizer. This printer isn't great for much regular document printing (term papers, etc.) -- it'll do it, but you'll be wasting fancy ink and tiring out your printer.
December 2, 2008
Ho, Ho, Ho it's the Wedge: NEW Digital Picture Frame from GiiNii
Here's a new design for the digital picture frame world, the wedge. Perhaps most appealing to those who enjoy platform shoes and other chunky, bold objects. We like this styling though, it's different and functional, although be warned it does make the frame a decidedly table-top frame since it would look mighty odd protruding from your wall. Here are the stats and you'll find it shipped for free from Amazon for $79.95
.
- Widescreen 7-inch screen with 800x480 screen resolution
- 512MB built-in memory plus port for most memory cards
- USB port connects to most cameras and PCs
- Supports audio (MP3, WMA) and video (JPG, AVI)
- Clock, calendar, slideshow and zoom functions
December 1, 2008
November 2008 Monthly Roundup for PictureSnob
The heat is on for the holidays, economic hardship or not. The photography gift of this holiday season is definitely digital picture frames. While many scoff at these devices, we admit that the digital frames have grown on us as their functionality and design has improved and the price point has dropped. While there are many great choices out there, if you can afford it, go for wi-fi features and do not be wooed by cheap prices on unestablished brands. There are some great picks in PictureSnob's Holiday Gift Guide.
If you're not in the market for a digital picture frame, check out the best digital cameras under $250, digital cameras for kids as well as photo software and photo printers.
Product of the Month: Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS
Featured among the best compact digital cameras under $250, we have the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS (Amazon $160)
. The 8 megapixels are ample for most of us and the features we need most (3X optical zoom, image stabilization) work great on this camera. The rechargeable battery, 2.5-inch screen and direct-to-printer features just top it off. Check it out.
Digital Cameras
Digital Photo Services
Digital Picture Frames
Gift Guides
Monthly Roundup
Photo Printers
Scanners
Tips and Tricks
flickr Friday
.
seems to be out of stock and 
, for example. Here are the stats below. Amazon's got the 
and you can find a great 
. How many megapixels, you ask? How about 24.5! Add a couple zeros to that and we're guessing that's the price too... ISO range covers 50 to 6400 and there's a 51-point auto-focus. The 3-inch LCD supports LiveView, shutter lag time is practically nonexistent at 40ms. Camera also features dual memory card slots, which is pretty important when you think about those megapixels. If that's not enough, the body is magnesium and the shutter a Kevlar composite, so this machine is hard to mangle. No word on exact release date or price yet.
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