Weekly Daily Giz Wiz, Week of October 31st 2011 Netcast 1338 - Four gadgets from PhotoPlus Expo NYC.

The Inventive Coolpix Digital Projector Camera, Take Three!

I don’t own one, but each year at the Photo Plus Expo I like to follow the progress of the unique Nikon Coolpix Projection Digital Camera. Simply put, it’s the only digital camera I know of that becomes a digital projector with the slide of a single button. The newest model, the S 1200pj is Nikon’s third version. The features of the digital camera itself have not changed much since last year’s S1100pj. But there are a lot nice new features in the built-in projector. The projector’s throw has been increased to 10 feet, a 3 foot improvement over the last model. The LED light is now individual RGB vs. last year’s single white LED. The lumens have been increased from 14 to 20. That means the screen size has also increased from 47 inches to 60 inches. One of the most interesting new features of the Coolpix S1200pj is its compatibility with iPhone/iPad/iPod devices. Last year Nikon added the ability to project images from a MAC or PC computer. You can still do that, but now you can also stream content from your iPad, iPod and iPod Touch through the camera’s video projector. It’s down via a special cable that’s included. Imagine how little equipment you have to carry now to put on a PowerPoint presentation or entertain at a party or hotel. The new camera makes it easy to start the projector by just sliding the protective projector lens cover up. There’s even a built-in tilt stand. And you can project pictures or videos that are on your SDHC cards. Camera-wise the new model has the same 14-megapixel and 5x optical zoom Nikkor lens as last year. Battery life remains at one hour, so you’ll either have to use an optional AC adapter or buy an extra battery or two. The bad news is that the price of the camera has increased by about $80. When you consider the discounts that are now available on the outgoing S1100pj, it’s a difference of $150 to $200! Yep, the latest cost a lot more. The S 1200pj was introduced recently: late August 2011. I assume the price will drop as it becomes available at more places. 

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Compact-Digital-Cameras/26278/COOLPIX-S1200pj.html

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Video of the week - Something you never thought you could buy at a photo show!

There were lots of cameras at the Photo Plus Expo, including one that cost almost $8500. The reason this Sony digital camera was so expensive is that it included a complete high-tech photo booth! Kingdom Photo Booths were showing several models. A company spokesman said that they said are popular with DJ’s who appear at big events, and of course with weddings planners. It’s a great additional interactive activity for guests. Who doesn’t like a photo booth? Heck, I got into it and took my picture. But the Kingdom Photo Booths are really updated a far cry from the ones I used years ago. This one can shoot classic strip photos, print and automatically cut them in only 7.5 seconds! Color photos came out in under 8 seconds too! The software can be set up to produce many options within the 4×6 print area: double strips, postcards,1 to 8 pictures, backgrounds, graphics, etc. But wait, there’s more! Guests can post their pictures on FACEBOOK in real time while they’re still in the booth. They can instantly request a 2^nd set of strips and/or email their strips—and yes, the booth captures your email address for use as a marketing tool – so remember that. A great feature – guests at a wedding or party can record live video messages that turn into an instant digital movie for the bride & groom, party giver, or client. The “Real Photo Booth Experience” is available in a genuine arcade ‘sit-down’ booth or a stand-up booth. Prices range in the $8,000 to $9,000 area. But don’t worry, there’s an option to install a bill changer. So on days when you don’t rent it out, you can put in a high traffic area and sell individual “photo booth” pictures. Like the basement of TWiT perhaps?

On the right above is a strip of photos from one of the Kingdom Photo Booth on display at the Photo Plus Expo. They were produced in about 8 seconds. I could hardly believe it when I got out of the booth and saw my pictures were already on their way into the photo pick-up bin.

www.kingdomphotobooth.com

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The next generation of HDMI Cables + an extra gadget of the week!

At a fraction of the size of traditional HDMI cables, these PNY Active HDMI cables measure a slender 3.6mm in diameter and are more pliable for ease of use and compact to reduce the space required for installation. They are often up to 70% thinner than standard HDMI cables. They’re so lightweight and portable; they’ll fit in the palm of your hand when rolled up. These are perfect for travel with high tech devices that you want to hook to flat screen TV’s in hotel rooms. More & more hotels are providing easy input to their flat screen TV’s. PNY's Active HDMI Cables are certified to deliver a guaranteed 10.2Gbps (gigabits per second) bandwidth stream for full HD performance at the industry's highest current speed level, and yes, they’re 3D ready. (But I’m not 3D ready yet.) The company behind these cables is RedMere. They’ve successfully developed the revolutionary chip technology inside. Passive HDMI cables needed large amounts of copper and PVC to handle the high-speed data rates which made the cables heavy and bulky. Because of RedMere’s booster module, you can now buy a 10-ft. active HDMI cable that is thin enough to coil up in your palm. But it still supports high definition signal transfer for picture-perfect HD images and sound, and is 3D and 4K2K compatible. The booster module is embedded into the sink (TV) side connector of the HDMI cable. The programmable active silicon embedded equalizer overcomes any performance limitations over wire gauge, length and frequency – allowing the self-powered module to act as the power-house of the cable, replacing the need for all the copper to transmit the signal reliably. When I did a web search on 10/29/11 I found PNY Active HDMI cables up to ten feet long selling for under $20 at B&H Photo. So do a web search for the best price.

A Giz Wiz Extra Bonus Gadget for this week! LENSband.

Ever hear of Zoom Creep?

 From the company website: zoom creep (verb); Definition written by dpreview excerpt reads as follows: Zoom creep is the tendency for a lens to extend under its own weight when pointed downwards (or collapse when pointed upwards), and is a fairly common characteristic of super zooms. It can be a problem when carrying the camera over your shoulder with the lens hanging downwards, as having the zoom continually extend to its maximum length is not just irritating, but also makes the lens more vulnerable to being knocked and damaged. Zoom creep isn’t much of a problem when shooting hand-held (simply keep hold of the zoom ring), but can become a genuine problem when shooting at slow shutter speeds with the camera on a tripod, at which point holding the zoom ring is not an option….

SOLUTION TO ZOOM CREEP? ….LENS BAND. The Original Lens Band is specifically designed to stop zoom creep.  The bands are made of high grade silicone rubber which easily stretches over any sized zoom lens, to fit snugly over the zoom ring.  The Original Lens Band comes in a variety of fun colors to choose from. Visit their online store to find your lens for proper fit. $4.99 - There's info on getting one for free if you're a blogger, run a website, etc., but it seems like a lot of steps for a $5 item.

www.lensband.com

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Leo's Turn The Table Turkey!

Leo demonstrates his littleBits.

For this week’s TTTT Leo showed us his new litteBits Kit. The company says “we spend more than 7.5 hours with technological devices every day, but most us don't know how they work, or how to make our own. For all the interactivity of these devices, we are bound to passive consumption.” Leo said littleBits is a quick and simple way to find out how things work by building your own project. littleBits consists of tiny circuit-boards with simple, unique functions. There’s no wiring or soldering necessary. Each piece is engineered to snap together with magnets. So instead of plug and play, it’s more like snap and play. In just a few seconds Leo created a small LED meter that worked. Flashing LED’s, what could be better than that! The power source is a 9 volt battery, so there’s no AC electric involved. Leo said he thought the kits were good for kids from about 8 years of age and up. While each kit has a simple, unique function (light, sound, sensors, buttons, thresholds, pulse, motors, etc), the modules are designed snap to make larger circuits. With a growing number of available modules, littleBits aims to move electronics from late stages of the design process to its earliest ones, and from the hands of experts, to those of artists, makers, students and designers. Leo liked the creative, learning aspect of littleBits a lot. There is one drawback to the kits. The cost, which is $129.95.

www.littlebits.cc   and http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10627

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Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse

I thought I’d look for an older digital camera for this week’s Gadget Warehouse Pick. I came up with the Konica's KD-400Z. To quote a review of times – back in 1992 – it had a whopping 4.13-megapixel CCD! And it was (most likely) the smallest 4-megapixel camera available. It, and is 3.2-megapixel cousin (the KD-310Z) were the first two digital cameras that could handle both MMC/SD and Memory Stick cards. It was also the first – and maybe only – non-Sony camera that could use the Memory Stick. Another feature of this camera was having to use less buttons because of the menu choices that could be accessed on the 1.5-inch color LCD screen. Yep, LCD screens sure were tiny a scant ten years ago. The Konica KD-400Z also featured a 3X optical zoom. The camera turned on when you slid the protective lens cover open. Like most digital cameras, pressing the shutter button down halfway activated the auto focus, but on this camera it also illuminated a blue light on the front so your subject knew the shutter was about to go off. The camera was largely automatic, with little manual control. Because the camera's flash was located right above the lens, I did read reviews complaining of red-eye, which the built in red-eye reduction did not remove. The camera shipped with a 16 MB SD memory card, and if that wasn’t enough it had 2B of memory on board. Wow! Video-wise this camera could record short 320 x 240-pixel 15-second videos. You could also capture pictures with 15-second sound bites using the integrated microphone. Yep, 15 seconds! And the price almost ten years ago? $399! Imagine what $400 can buy today!

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/dgw1338

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