Photography Gear

Jelly Lens 6 Image Mirage Maker

Here’s another quick look at a fun gadget from BudgetGadgets.com The Jelly Lens 6 Mirage Maker gently sticks to the lens of your cell phone or digital camera. Once on your phone you can turn regular old photographs into morphed 6 headed images with ease.


Gorillatorch: Coming to a Dark Room Near You

I am a huge fan of the Joby Gorillapod, a fantastically flexible mini tripod.  It is one of my favorite gadgets for my camera.  Well, now the good folks at Joby have brought the latest in the Gorilla line, the Gorillatorch.  This is an ultra-bright light, mounted atop the same three flexible legs as the Gorillapod.  At the end of those legs are magnetic feet, which allow you to position the light wherever you need it most.  This would be the perfect solution for workshops, autoshops, and even camping.  Hit the jump for the full press release.


Sungale ID800WT 8″ Digital Photo Frame Review

I first spotted the Sungale ID800WT back in May when the company issued a press release to announce the frame’s arrival in the marketplace. What intrigued me is that for about $230 you’d be able to have both a digital picture frame as well as a Wi-Fi enabled monitor that displayed news, weather, Gmail and Picasa photo albums. How do the features of the ID800WT measure up in real life?


Picsmatch Facial Recognition Software Review

You know that itch you get when you buy a new digital camera, the type of itch that makes you capture everything from kids to office supplies, at least I hope other people do that too :o)  My wife is one of the smartest people I know, but I couldn’t count the times when I get a scream from the computer room, with her trying to manage all of our digital photos or asking me how to find certain pictures…that’s where Picsmatch facial recognition program comes to the rescue!


Seattle Sling by Camera Armor Review

More and more people are carrying Digital SLR or Single Lense Reflex cameras as their main camera, even for taking family pictures.  However, these are still very pricey cameras.  Sometimes the accessories themselves can cost more than the camera body.  That’s why if you have a DSLR, camcorder or other small piece of electronic equipment, you need to run – don’t walk, to the web and order yourself a Seattle Sling.


Restoring and Beautifying Photos the Photofiddle Way

One of my favorite hobbies is working on my family’s genealogy; because it was also my uncle’s and grandmother’s hobby before me, I have access to a treasure trove of photographs, historical documents, family charts and other paraphernalia that they and others had collected. What’s not in my personal files is kept at the Angelo State University library in their canvas wrapped on stretchers, where it is easily shared with me and any other interested familial historians. I guess because I have always had such a relatively easy time collecting and accessing some of (what I consider to be) the…


Review: Digital Foci Photo Safe II

It’s becoming more and more rare as the price of flash memory has come down, but it’s still possible to fill your flash cards when on vacation taking pictures.  A lot of people, including myself, have taken to carrying a laptop with them on vacation.  I am currently typing this on said laptop.  But what if you fill your available cards and you’re not near your laptop? Then you’re out of luck.  Enter the Digital Foci Photo Safe II.


The Naneu Pro Adventure K3L Camera and Gear Bag Review

I don’t travel as much as I used to for work.  But I still remember traveling enough to know what a pain it has become.  With extra security measures and fees, flying hardly seems worth it anymore.  Now, when I used to travel a lot, I would frequently have a backpack with all of my necessities and gadgets, and also a separate camera bag with my photography and video gear.  This worked fine at the time, but anymore it would create several problems.  First, I have considerably more photography gear now than I used to (not to mention nicer and…


FotoFusion Review

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to review Adobe’s PhotoShop Elements 6, which is probably the best consumer level photo editor.  It basically takes all of the tools the pros use and bundles them into easy to use menus and wizards for the average user.  The problem I have is that even with Photoshop, I am still left with hundreds (if not thousands) of photos in my “shoebox” of a hard drive,  What to do?  I mean, I don’t just want to say, here is a folder, have at it, when I show people my pictures.  I want them…


Review: Digital Concepts Portable Lighting Studio

Have you ever had to take pictures of something you were selling on eBay, but you kept getting a horrible glare from the flash  I have had this happen many a time, and I have even had to struggle with this when taking pictures of things I review.  Well, I will struggle no more now that I have the Digital Concepts Lighting Studio, sent to me from Sakar International. As you can see by the picture, this is the smaller version of the studio suitable for taking pictures of smaller things like iPods, LED Headlights and Watches. 


Nikon Coolpix S600 Review: It’s Not About the Megapixels

I think every family must have a hobby which all (or at least most) members of the family enjoy.  Such common interests are what tie them together (and gives you something to talk about at family picnics).  For my family, growing up, that common interest was photography.  We all played around with both video and still photos, but the true love was probably still photos.  Back then, we used to devise intricate plans for turning the basement into a darkroom (we never did). Of course, that love of photography has carried me into the digital world, where I am happy…


The Crumpler Limited Leather Daily: Special Delivery From England

Last month Alison wrote asking about laptop bags which could also hold a DSLR with accessories for her upcoming trip, and one of the first things I said in my reply was that most of the ones I had seen were a bit drab, especially considering how much I know she loves color. See, that’s the thing about Alison – she and I will ooh and ahh over purses and laptop bags together, but invariably I will find myself contemplating the brown ones, whereas she will be drawn to the purple or aqua ones; that girl loves color! So back…


The SimpleTech Signature Mini USB 2.0 Portable Drive Review

Is it ever possible to be too obsessive about backing up your data? I’ve learned not to think so. Need I remind anyone of the events of March 1? Yeah, I thought not. Since the crash I have learned exactly how obsessive some people can be when it comes to their backup methods. For instance, many of you read the transcripts – perhaps with some amusement – where Ewdi told me his method: Here is what gives me piece of mind on our network: I use two hard drives, 1 is main and 1 is mirroring (in case 1 hdd…


The Targus 100W Auto Power Inverter Review

I just missed posting this review in time for Texas’ Spring Break, but it should still be timely for everyone who plans on traveling this summer. I’ll warn you now though, in order to use this product you’ll need to give up one of your vehicle’s cup-holders. Why would I ask for something so uncivilized? Because by giving up a cup-holder you might just gain the means to charge up to three devices at the same time, all from a single cigar lighter or power port. Intrigued? I was, which is how I came to be in possession of the…


The Naneu Pro Military Ops Sierra Small SLR/Laptop Bag Review

Most of the photography bags I have reviewed in the past have been very functional, but they also…hmm, how can I say this? They looked like casual bags which were camouflaging the fact that they could safely hold many thousands of dollars in equipment — which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I didn’t feel that any of them exactly stated “I’m a professional photographer, so yeah…take me seriously”. Of course, that might also be because I am not one, and I don’t play one on TV. However, the bag I am going to look at today does look…


The Proporta Laptop Battery Review

One of most laptop’s main limitations is their battery life, which can usually only be relied upon for a few hours. This hindrance is never more evident that when traveling, because finding a place to recharge in airports and train stations can be a major challenge. On January 1, 2008, carrying extended batteries will become a little bit trickier when traveling by plane, but it can still be done as long as the extra battery is packed in your carry-on luggage (versus in your checked luggage) and it is under a certain size. Copied verbatim from the US Government’s Safe…


eStarling WIFI Digital Photo Frame Review

When I was at DigitalLife 2007 in NYC this summer, I looked around hoping to find a digital photo frame which supported WIFI. My goal was to find a frame with Internet connectivity that would auto-update itself by using photos contained in my Flickr account.


The Crumpler Whickey and Cox Photography Bag Review

Yeah, I know that the title states “Photography”, and the bag I’ll be reviewing today certainly has the proper fittings to hold more photographic equipment than I will likely ever own, but it would be unwise to simply pigeon-hole the Crumpler Whickey and Cox Photography Bag as a mere camera tote. It is a well planned laptop bag, it is a comfortable backpack, and yes – it is a camera bag suitable for carrying an SLR and many of its accessories. Crumpler sells three different photography backpacks: the Keystone which can handle an SLR, its accessories, and a 12? laptop;…


The Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home Photography Bag Review

If you are at work when you read this review, do not – and I repeat, do not – click on the Crumpler link until you’ve turned your computer’s speakers way down. With that said, you just haven’t lived until you’ve clicked on the site and experienced the unintelligible hillbilly yodeling which could have made it onto the Deliverance soundtrack! Using your mouse to slide the pig, devil, horse – or whichever critter is showing – to the screen’s right will reveal the bag menu on the lower portion of the screen. The first option is computer bags, a topic…


I got the gear! and myPowerALL: Review

Here at GearDiary, Judie and the team simply love using and conversing with you as our participants, about the technology that we are blessed to come in contact with. We enjoy listening to our music to go, GPS that help us navigate over the roads and through the woods when we’re geo-caching, cameras and camcorders that capture our “WOW” moments that we can share on Flickr and You Tube, cell phones and smart phones that pull down our emails and allow us to tap into WiFi hotspots, laptops that are light and portable and don’t forget the DVD players and…


The Proporta Gadget Bag Review

If you carry anything more than a pocket camera, PDA and mobile phone, then you might have decided that adding one more thing to your bat-belt will be all it takes to drag your pants down to your ankles. Well, there’s no need to scare little children while toting your gear, Proporta has come to the rescue with their new Gadget Bag. Smaller than a laptop bag, but larger than an accessory pouch, the Gadget Bag offers options for days when your gear load is heavier than usual, but you don’t want to be weighed down by a full size…