spot cool stuff TECH
Stop motion animation has been around almost as long as cameras have. But Olympus took it to a whole new level when creating an Olympus PEN digital camera advertisement.
For the ad, Olympus took 355 photographs with a PEN camera and printed them out to billboard size. They then took those billboards and photographed them in an urban environment to tell a story. The result is a very cool, especially when you consider that no special effects were involved and that the whole ad was shot using a camera that costs around US$600.
The Olympus PEN, not incidentally, is a really excellent micro four thirds camera—it looks like a compact point-and-shoot digital camera but can accommodate interchangeable lenses. As much as Spot Cool Stuff loves the still photos the PEN produces (and we do!) were this gem-of-a-camera really excels is in taking HD quality video.
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
The qualities that make for a superlative travel camera are all those that make for a superlative camera in general. Plus, the joy of travel photography is improved by a camera that’s small, light and has a longer battery life. Plus, a camera must be well built and, preferably, weatherized to withstand frequent travel. Plus, some cameras have features especially geared towards travelers such as self cleaning sensors and optional GPS devices that will record the exact location on the planet a particular photograph was taken. Whew!
Spot Cool Stuff considered all those factors when determining the best travel cameras and then divided our selections into these categories:
For SLRs:
For Point-and-Shoot cameras:
Click on the category that most interests you. Or, continue reading . . .
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
Nikon doesn’t make it easy for consumers to decide which of their cameras to buy. The company produces many different models of SLRs with overlapping feature sets. And the model numbers doesn’t have a logical progression to them. What camera novice would guess that the Nikon D200 would be a more advanced camera than the D60 but less advanced than the lower-numbered D3?
To help sort through the options we took a close look at the three most popular Nikon SLR camera models on the market today: the D80, D90 and D300. Which one is best for you? Read on . . .
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
Life can be rough if you’re a digital camera. Especially if you are an ultra-compact that gets totted along to the beach and on ski trips, slung into purses, thrown into bags, stuffed into pockets and/or treated less-than-gently by young children.
We recently previewed the Canon PowerShot D10. Since then Olympus launched it’s Stylus Tough-8000. Both digital point-and-shoots are waterproof, compact and capable of taking a beating. But which of these two excellent models are best for you?
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
If you plan to go skydiving in a cold-weather location from a dusty airplane into a body of water Canon makes a perfect ultra compact Canon camera to bring along with you: the PowerShot D10.
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
Prices for Nikon lenses recently jumped in the United States by between 8% and 25%. That followed similar increases in Europe, Asia, Austrialia, Canada and, well, pretty much everywhere. Price increases hit especially hard at discounters such as Amazon and Adorama (which will ship world wide).
Fortunately, the prices for the D60, D90, D300, D3 and D3x camera bodies did not increase. At least not yet. (See our review of the Nikon D80, D90 and D300 for a comparison of those cameras)
With the higher lens prices is more important than ever to shop smart. To that end here’s our review of the best—and best value—Nikon lenses:
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
A few retailers are already shipping out the new Nikon D3x. We can hardly wait to get our hands on a testing model!
Along with an ultra high resolution LCD monitor, a 51-point auto focus system, dual CF card slots, an incredible 0.04 second shutter lag and what is almost certain to be outstanding photo quality, one of the remarkable features of the D3x is that it take photos of 24.5 megapixels. 24.5!
How large of a photo can you print with a 24.5mp camera? And how large a print can your current camera produce? Check out our graphic for the answers:
Continue →
spot cool stuff TECH
The holiday season is upon us. And so is the need to find cool gifts. Here’s a roundup of some of the presents that the friends and family of Spot Cool Stuff will be finding under their trees shortly. If are one of those friends and family then please don’t read any further. Otherwise, check out our gift recommendations for the photographers and music lovers in your life, as well as for those who (seemingly) already have everything.
Continue →
