Anyone who's been around the block a few times will fondly remember the Polaroid cameras that let you get actual prints on the spot. Sure, the picture quality wasn't great (much worse, in fact, than that of Kodak's instant cameras that were sued out of existence by Polaroid), the cameras were bulky and ugly, and the "film" was quite expensive, but it was fun. Well, you can have that again with the US$299 Polaroid Z340, a digital version of the old instant-print camera. The Z340 recreates the look of the old Polaroid cameras, but offers modern digital camera features such as a 2.7-inch LCD, SD Card storage, micro-USB port. It's essentially basic digital camera circuitry grafted onto a small printer. Paper for the 4x3-inch prints runs 20 bucks for 30 sheets . [See the Polaroid Z340 instant digital camera] -- Posted Wednesday, December 28, 2011 by chb
Exploring underwater fluorescence with your camera 
Did you know that a lot of coral and sea creatures are fluorescent? You normally can't see the fluorescence, even on night dives, unless you use special lights and filters. Digitalcameraroundup.com procured some special fluorescence detection gear from a company called NIGHTSEA and used it on night dives at Coco View Resort on Roatan. Talk about experiencing and exploring an entirely new world! [See "Night dives like you've never experienced before"] -- Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by chb
Will smartphones replace conventional compact cameras?
With smartphones becoming ubiquitous and their integrated cameras better and better, smartphones may well be on their way to replacing point & shoot cameras as we know them. According to market research company NPD. the percent of photos taken with a smartphone went from 17 last year to 27 this year while the share of photos taken on any camera dropped from 52% to 44%. -- Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by chb
Adobe releases Lightroom 3.6
Adobe announced the release of Lightroom 3.6, the latest version of its digital photography workflow solution designed to help serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase all their images within one application. The upgrade is free for Lightroom 3 customers. We've always been impressed by Lightroom's all-in-one approach and clever tools (and did a detailed review of an earlier version, Lightroom 2 (see here), but realize that working ith Lightroom requires a full commitment. For more info and to download the updates, check Adobe's download page. -- Posted Thursday, December 15, 2011 by chb
Users increasingly demand HD video in digital cameras
InfoTrends released a research report on European market digital camera usage and found that high definition video is increasingly considered a very important feature. In 2011, over 37% said HD video was a somewhat or very important part in deciding on the purchase of their next digital camera. That's up from just 27% a couple of years ago. -- Posted Thursday, December 1, 2011 by chb