Cameras

This will bring back painful memories for any parents who have endured the fun experience of having blood samples taken from their kids (or from other adults). It can be an ordeal even under the best of circumstances, when veins are visible, but the situation can get ugly in a hurry when a near-sighted nurse is poking a needle around some sensitive areas.

But an ingenious technology from bioscience company Luminetx can essentially give health care workers X-ray vision by highlighting veins. The "VeinViewer," according to Gear Live, "works by a near-infrared light highlighting red blood cells … Read more

Confirming what the blogosphere so graciously leaked over a week ago, Nikon has officially announced its new entry level digital SLR, the 6.1 megapixel D40. A followup to the company's D50, the D40 includes the same processing engine as the D200 and the same 420-pixel sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II metering system found in the D80, while sporting a body that makes it the smallest Nikon dSLR to date.

One of the most interesting things about this camera is its new graphical user interface. Rather than the usual text-centric interface, Nikon has developed a cute and intuitive … Read more

If it really works, this may be too good to be true. We offer that caveat because we've read more than a few reviews that say camera binoculars aren't quite ready for prime time, to say the least.

But if this is the exception, even Barry Bonds haters might appreciate having a pair of these handy to capture one of his majestic jacks for posterity. Gadget Universe claims that its $200 new LCD binocular camera can read a license plate 300 yards away, so we're hoping that will solve the blurry problems of its predecessors. If not, … Read more

It's not quite X-ray vision, but this portable radar can penetrate walls to detect people moving on the other side.

A device developed by U.K. technology company Cambridge Consultants provides a 3D image that indicates activity more than 65 feet away, according to an article in New Scientist Tech. (Cambridge provides videos of the "Prism 200" being used for spot checks and for longer surveillance.)

The radar isn't foolproof: Metal beams can present a problem, and a person who remains perfectly still might not show up, though movement from breathing can sometimes be detected. Other … Read more

OK, we're confused (even more than usual). When we first saw the headline for this item on Red Ferret--"Shower Security Cam"--we thought it was something that would keep an eye on the kids or the front door while you bathed. Simple enough.

But then we noticed the image on the device's screen, which appears to be the person in the shower, not those being surveilled on the outside. And the transmission can be viewed wireless on a computer and a VCR. So rather than speculate on its intended (or unintended) uses, we'll just … Read more

Compared with MP3 players and cell phones, digital cameras are often left out of the fashion party. But Minox is out to show that cameras are people too. Or something like that.

The DC 1011 Carat is clad in 24k gold and has a lens that's ringed with 10 diamonds. True, they're small (.02 carats each), but the road to blingdom is a long one, and you've got to start somewhere.

The more boring among us might want to know that this is also a functioning camera, with 2.5-inch display and 32MB internal memory for photos … Read more

Hewlett-Packard and contract manufacturer Flextronics have struck a deal that's likely to improve the quality of your cell phone photos.

Flextronics has licensed digital-imaging technology from HP and will begin to incorporate the technology into cell phones that hit the market in 2007. HP currently includes the same technology in its own digital cameras. The upshot is that the 3-megapixel shots taken with these tiny camera phones will be largely equivalent to the shots taken by digital still cameras. Flextronics makes phones for Motorola, Kyocera and Sony Ericsson, among others.

Camera phones are an emerging threat to the still-growing … Read more

If you're like me, you try at all costs to avoid having your photo taken. I know it's silly, but I almost always hate the way I look in pictures. As Fujifilm explains in its new Best Face Forward Web site, you don't have to look bad. And since there are times when you have to pose nice for the camera--think driver's license--you may as well learn how to look your best when someone points a lens your way.

Of course, Fuji also takes the opportunity to give you the hard sell on their face-detection … Read more

Have you ever wanted to feel like Inspector Gadget, but actually growing mechanical appendages wasn't a viable option?

The Quik-Pod (which despite its name, mercifully has nothing to do with digital audio) is an extendable handheld tripod. It screws in to the tripod hole of a camera and when you click a button, it extends your reach 18.5 inches.

This could be cool. It might mean my self-portraits are no longer blocked by my arm, but I can get over that pretty quickly. The Quik-Pod is $24.95, and collapses to 7.5 inches in your pocket.

Of … Read more