gear

jelly phone filters

I was checking out the Photojojo store, because they always have such cool stuff, and I found these Jelly Phone Filters and I wanted to show you how cool and fun they are! I wrote a post awhile back on how the best camera is the one you have with you, so why not make your camera phone a bit more exciting and versatile?

They come in a set of three, Starburst, Kaleidoscope, and Wide Angle, and they’re only $15! Stick them over your camera phone’s tiny lens and you’re good to go. And you can just attach them to your keychain, and they’re so little you can carry them around with you and use them whenever inspiration strikes. Such a cool idea!

free bounce card!

I came across this cool free download on Make for a bounce card from LADIG. Photography gear is expensive (I know this because I recently purchased a bounce card for about $60, if only I had seen this first!) Print it out and attach it to your flash with rubber bands or if you are feeling fancy, velcro:

Downloadable PDF

Kodak Bantam Special

Just saw this on Gizmodo, and had to re-post it:

This is the Kodak Bantam Special, a limited-edition camera designed by Teague and released in 1936. It’s totally art deco and totally beautiful.

Why don’t they make cameras that look this awesome anymore! All cameras look the same these days, they should really consider bringing some style back to the design.

via Gizmodo via Monoscope via Kottke

dslrs replaced by evil?

Don’t be frightened, I’ll explain: Awhile back I came across this article, 5 Reasons To Ditch Your Digital SLR on Wired, and of course I had to read it. I love my DSLR, what could they possibly say to convince  me otherwise! Basically, there’s a new category of camera on the scene, and it’s EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens). First of all, the acronym is badass. Second of all, I was skeptical, but the more I learn about these cameras, the more appealing they seem to me, and more importantly, the more I can see how they fill the gap between crappy point and shoots and more advanced pro DSLR’s.

The article lays out a few good reasons why these cameras are probably going to be the next big thing, and I’m going to have to agree with them, these seem pretty appealing. They’re small and not bulky (with my crazy zoom lens my DSLR weighs a billion pounds), they don’t draw huge amounts of attention (when I carry my DSLR around people inevitably stare at me and wonder what I’m doing, so it’s hard to get really good candid shots at times), you can change lenses (which works for the more advanced users, I can’t imagine not being able to pick the right lens, I think that’s what stresses me out most about point and shoots) and they take great photos (on par with some DSLR’s!).

Sounds convincing, right? I mean obviously, you’re not going to take this out on a job or anything like that, but this is a great alternative to dragging your DSLR around with you for non-job related photography.

The only downside at this moment is that they are pretty expensive. But that will definitely change as they become more popular, and I assume fit into a price range somewhere between point and shoots and DSLR’s. And most likely see some of the bigger camera manufacturers like Canon and Nikon get in on the action as well.

Wanna know more? Check out the Wired article from which I pulled all this information. Also, check out the links to the EVIL cameras below to get more feature specific info. I’ve linked you to the dpreview.com page because it’s a great starting point and has tons of info:

Olympus Pen E-PL1
Lumix GF1
Samsung NX10

the shootsac lens bag

Having done some event photography in my day, I can endorse the aweseomeness of this product. The only camera bags I’ve been able to find up to this point are 1) ugly, 2) bulky and 3) often difficult to carry around and get stuff out of. The Shootsac Lens Bag solves all these problems! And it’s not only for lenses, there’s space it in for little things too, like your light meter or other gear. It’s not designed for transporting your stuff around, big bulky bags that protect all your gear are still going be better for that, but it’s specifically for walking around and shooting. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before!

Check out the video below, it’s explains everything, and frankly, makes me wanna buy one RIGHT NOW:

new polaroid cameras

Oooo look at this. Now that Polaroid is back, they’re releasing some fancy new cameras, called the PIC 1000 ($100 or less). The wood one… I wants it.

via PhotographyBay

lomo supersampler

I was just thinking about the Supersampler from lomo and thinking I should use mine more and go out and take some photos. I checked out lomography.com to get inspired, here are some good ones I found, doesn’t it make you wanna go out and take photos with this cool camera?

diana f+ slr adaptors

Discovered this just in time for Christmas, and I’ll add it to my huge list of camera gear that I am pining over, these Diana F+ SLR Adaptors make it so you can shoot attach super cool Diana lenses to your digital camera.

I do miss shooting film, but I’m generally too lazy to do it. This lets me still get some of the cool Diana effects from a digital! It’s just another fun gadget to add to your photo bag so you can have more options when shooting. Add it to your list!

*zephyrance dont wake me up.

…is the name of the flickr user who has convinced me I need a Fuji Instax camera. I was doing some research to figure out if I should buy and I saw this photo set and I no longer had doubts. Check it out:

life blogging, by vicon

Have you heard about this? It’s a camera in development from Vicon that you wear around your neck, and takes a picture about every 30 seconds. It senses changes in your environment (based on light detection, or heat sensors if someone is standing in front of you) and takes a photo when these events occur as well. Life-blogging anyone? It’ll retail for about $820 when it’s released, with a consumer version slated for next year.

I know a lot of people are going to think, oh no, as if we want more documentation of random strangers lives! But I see it as a pretty exciting idea, I can just imagine how people are going to take this and use it to make some really amazing stories and art. Plus I am fascinated by anything that gives me a glimpse into what other people are seeing and what their lives are like. I love photography for that reason, and I am always drawn to personal documentation. I can’t wait to see what people do with this, maybe I’ll even try it out myself!