It has been about five weeks now since Amazon.com launched their wearable technology store. Smartwatches, activity trackers, body-mountable cameras, connected eyeglasses — wearable tech encompasses pretty much any item that 1) includes a microprocessor and 2) is meant to be worn. Go figure.

Many prognosticators believe “wearable” will be the next Big Thing in technology. (Spot Cool Stuff believes so too, though we see it taking off later than most experts and view 3D printing as being the bigger next Big Thing). At the moment, though, Amazon’s new wearable tech store has rather slim pickings.

Slim. But not entirely devoid of cool products. Here are our five favorites:

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The incredible photos you see on this page seem like the sorts of shots you need to be a professional photographer or PhotoShop genius to create. In truth, you needn’t be either. Almost anyone with a digital SLR and a dash of creativity can take stunning, surreal shots — if they know how.

That’s where Evan Sharboneau comes in. Sharboneau, a photographer extraordinaire, has gathered his years of experience into one condensed (and incredibly cool) course: Trick Photography And Special Effects — The Ultimate Guide of Tricks, Techniques and Ideas that Create Mind-Twising Images.

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Is it the best point-and-shoot camera you can buy? Definitely not. But is it the best value? Heck yes, says Spot Cool Stuff.

It’s Cyber Monday! Online deals for gadgets and electronic stuff abound. But which products are a genuine good deal as opposed to only being, well, cheap?

Here’s a look at six tech products in the former category. Our selections range greatly in price (from $35 to almost $5,000) but each represents a high value in its own way. Each is also an item Spot Cool Stuff loves.

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There was a time, before phones became smart, that a cell phone was just a cell phone. Then, Nokia was king.

But that was before Handspring came along. And before Palm and Blackberry, the iPhone and Android. Before cell phones turned into smartphones that made Nokia’s offerings — which lacked big screens, GPS navigation and app stores — seem, well, dumb.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Nokia is back!

Truth is, they’ve been on a path back for some time. But if there was one single event that marks Nokia return to smartphone prominence it might be the moment the company announced the Nokia Lumia 1020.

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Most of the places and products reviewed on Spot Cool Stuff have something noteworthy about them that’s visible. But in the case of the Sony RX100 digital camera, the WOW factor is on the inside — the sensor.

A huge 20.2MP Exmor 1-inch CMOS sensor, to be specific. It measures 13.2mm by 8.8mm, giving the RX100 sensor about four times the surface area the ones you’d find in a typical point-and-shoot. So large and robust is the sensor, that some reviewers have declared the Sony RX100 to be like “an SLR you can keep in your pocket.”

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Spot Cool Stuff once had a chance to go on a photo safari with a borrowed Nikon 600mm super telephoto lens. It was beauty in the form of glass and die-cast magnesium, that lens was. Even sub-par shots came out vibrant, with an edge-to-edge sharpness that made it look like you were standing right next to that bear, not in a Jeep 100 meters away.

(Sadly, purchasing the Nikon 600mm lens is out our, and most consumer’s, budget. Happily, you can rent it and other ultra high-end photography gear at Borrow Lenses.)

Now comes a lens that’s sure to please avid Nikon photographers (and avid voyeurs) who are not content with a mere 600mm of super telephoto-ness: the Nikon 800mm.

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For years now, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II has been a favorite mid-range digital SLR among serious photographers. The workhorse of a camera took professional-quality images and offered a huge feature set—and did so for a relatively low price.

Then, two things happened: First, Canon came out with an updated version of the Mark II: the EOS 5D Mark III. Second, Canon reduced the price of the Mark II by $500.

Both the 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III are, unarguably, excellent full-feature SLR cameras. But now that there’s a serious 5D choice, which of the two is the better option for you? Spot Cool Stuff takes a look at the advantages of each camera:

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Taking photographs of people can be an uncomfortably self-conscious experience, both for the photographer and his subject. With that in mind, here are three items you can pair with your camera that will help you take photos on-the-fly. Each is inexpensive and makes for a great gift of a photographer.

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