underwater digital camera

The Canon PowerShot 520 HS is a good-looking, small camera with a long zoom lens. It has an advanced 1/2.3-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor plus Canon’s latest DIGIC 5 processor. It contains only 10 megapixels, which is a contrast to most point and shoot cameras that pack 14, 16 and even 18 megapixels into their 1/2.3-inch sensors. However, this lower resolution is a potentially very good thing, as too many megapixels can have a negative effect on low light performance. Kudos to Canon for opting out of the megapixel race in this instance.

How to Buy a Digital Camera ?The camera has a large, 3.0-inch LCD screen and can shoot 1080p full HD videos with stereo sound. It has a Smart Auto mode which will automatically select the best settings for the camera, which I suspect will be its most popular shooting mode. The camera also has a Program AE mode which permits the user to adjust most camera functions. The 520 HS does not allow direct control over shutter speed and aperture nor does it have shutter or aperture priority modes.

I brought the ELPH 520 HS with me to Alabama, where I spent several days enjoying the beautiful spring foliage. The camera was an excellent traveling companion, fitting nicely in my pocket. It was great to have long zoom capability in such a compact camera. While the weather was often overcast and rainy, there were periods of sunshine that I tried to take advantage of. Overall I was pleased with the 520 HS, though there were some aspects of the camera that I found less-than-perfect. Let’s take an in-depth look at this small-footprint, big-zoom camera.

When it comes to shopping for electronics, digital cameras are among the more difficult products to purchase. Not only are there hundreds of models to choose from, you have a number of different types ranging from simple compact point-and-shoot cameras to advanced D-SLRs with interchangeable lenses. Figuring out the type of camera you want is the first order of business, so you need to ask yourself a few questions: Are you more interested in a camera that requires minimum effort, or is superlative image quality your top priority? What level of zoom do you need? If you’re interested in an interchangeable lens model, are you married to the idea of a bright optical viewfinder, or would you be willing to consider a smaller camera that can change lenses, but handles more like a point-and-shoot?

There are four main classes of cameras to consider when shopping, and we’ll break them down below to help you decide which type of camera will best suit your needs and your budget.Point-and-shoot cameras are the smallest models you’ll find—and often the easiest to use. Though even the most advanced D-SLRs have fully automatic modes, novices may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of physical controls. Your average point-and-shoot, on the other hand, typically has a few buttons on the back, so you adjust shooting settings as necessary. Casual snapshooters can benefit from learning just a bit about photography, but the point-and-shoot camera was designed so you don’t have to think too much about what camera settings to use.

When selecting a compact camera, you should pay attention to a few things. The first thing on most minds is the number of megapixels. This isn’t as important a concern as it once was since pretty much every camera you can buy these days packs enough megapixels to make large prints. Also a small camera with a high resolution may not give you the best images. A tiny camera packed with 18 megapixels is probably going to suffer in low-light shooting situations where you need to use higher ISO settings—so you shouldn’t automatically rule out that 12-megapixel camera like our Editors’ Choice Canon PowerShot Elph 310 HS Best Deal: %displayPrice% at %seller% because of its sensor resolution. Your best bet is to look at some reviews to see how a particular model performs. We test the image sharpness and the high ISO performance of every camera that comes through the PC Labs.

Thanks to 16 “hidden” cameras planted around Antarctica, researchers have captured images of penguin colonies going about their business during the frozen continent’s harsh winter months — rare images indeed, since the brutal conditions makes it impossible for humans to work there in the winter.Researchers from the Zoological Society of London set up time-lapse cameras on the continent and on sub-Antarctic South Georgia Island to capture aspects of the penguin life cycle that typically go unseen. The camera traps, weighted down with rocks, were placed in a variety of positions overlooking penguin colonies in Antarctica.

They spied gentoo penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula, and kept watch on king penguins on South Georgia Island.Snow buried the camera staking out the gentoo penguins for part of the winter, but the hardy camera kept on filming.Each camera trap captured several images a day, which have been compiled into a video revealing the penguins’ movements, breeding activity, and the arrival of a new generation of fuzzy young chicks.”Antarctica is one of the world’s least explored regions, making it all the more important for us to collect worthwhile data on wildlife,” ZSL researcher Ben Collen said in a statement.

“New information is vital for making informed conservation decisions, so we are able to best manage species under pressure and deal with the wider global implications of climate change.”With the help of cameras traveling aboard satellites, Ikea unveils a cardboard digital camera.British researchers recently uncovered several undiscovered colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica, roughly doubling the population estimate for the iconic birds.

As camera makers lock their sights on increasing technology, Ikea is going lo-fi with its new cardboard camera.The Scandinavian furniture and appliance designer has announced a cardboard camera designed by Jesper Kouthoofd, who praises its features on a recently released YouTube video.Among the features is its “zoom” function, which is basically extending your arms closer to the subject of the photo, as Kouthoofd praises how easy it is to use.While Ikea pokes fun at its own creation, it isn’t a joke. It is an actual product, though with some decidedly different and limited features not likely to make it a rival of Canon or Nikon anytime soon.

Engadget , describing it as “something more whimsical and lo-fi than Instagram,” reported that the digital camera runs on two AA batteries and features a swing-out USB plug. There’s also a viewfinder cutout, shutter key and paperclip-friendly delete button.It holds up to 40 pictures.Another difference to the hi-tech electronic consumer world? It will be given away rather than sold.BBC News reported it is part of Ikea’s PS at Home project , meant to get buyers to photograph their furniture and share the images on the chain’s website. The plan is to give the camera to customers in select stores around the world.The PowerShot G1 X is the king of Canon’s point-and-shoot cameras.

“Just to be clear, this isn’t a move into selling digital equipment,” Ikea said.The 2.3-megapixel camera may not be a true representation of electronics firms going green, considering Ikea won’t be selling the camera. There are other recent examples as reported by the BBC News.Among them is Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus and its Ecobook, a laptop with a cover made of bamboo and recyclable plastic inside. Cardboard lines the computer’s components, which are not painted or sprayed.There is also Samsung Blue Earth, a smartphone made entirely from plastic bottles that uses a solar panel on its back for charging.

The PowerShot G1 X is the king of Canon’s point-and-shoot cameras. It’s the latest in a long and distinguished line of high-end semi-pro devices in chunky, sturdy bodies.It’s about as no-nonsense as you can get, with few concessions made to aesthetics in the push to put as many settings as possible within easy, immediate reach. It largely does away with the need to trawl menus and helps you get your best shot as quickly as possible.

It is, in short, a serious camera for serious photographers that proves pretty conclusively that great photography has nothing to do with whether or not you own a dSLR. It can be yours for around ￡700.You’ll almost certainly choose the G1 X on account of its specs, but that’s rather missing the point. The real advantage is the way it’s been built. The 3-inch display folds out from the back and rotates through 270 degrees. You can fold it back on itself to sit facing out from the body like a regular pocket camera, and tilt it around corners — or forwards and backwards — to frame precisely the shot you’re after.

There’s also an optical viewfinder if you prefer working that way. They’re becoming something of a rarity these days.The regular scene mode dial is set within a larger dial to handle exposure compensation (+/-3EV in 1/3 EV steps), which lets you tweak exposure without having to hold a button or navigate the menus.The optical zoom is only 4x, but it’s still equivalent to 28-112mm on a 35mm camera, which is better than most dSLR starter kit lenses. Maximum aperture is a bright f/2.8 at wide angle and f/5.8 at full telephoto. The really clever stuff goes on behind this though.

Nick Cannon sits at a table in front of a dozen medicine bottles, trying to figure out a “tough,” macho way to eat a banana. He concludes that there is none, as he tries to eat better to improve his health.That scene is one of the light-hearted moments the entertainer shares with viewers in his online show “NCredible Health Hustle,” which chronicles Cannon’s struggle to regain his health. The 31-year-old was hospitalized for kidney failure in January and later diagnosed with lupus nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys.”From there, I just figured that I wanted to document the entire process,” he said. “This process might inspire a lot of people. So getting back into shape and getting back to the way that I always was before the condition was a journey.”

He said the response to the web series, which debuted earlier this month on nickcannon.com , has been overwhelming and positive.His wife, singer Mariah Carey, also enjoys the online show.”She thinks it’s motivating and likes the way that I’ve handled it because I have been so open with it, when I could have been as private as I wanted to, but I felt like there was no need to do that.”Cannon said he wants his experiences to inspire people battling health issues, and to encourage others to embrace healthier lifestyles.”Now it’s just about time management,” he said. “I still want to do everything that I possibly can do. I love entertaining, I love creating so I will continue to do that. You’ll probably see a lot more of me.”

Cannon has changed his diet, swapping red meat, processed foods and salt for more vegetables, fruits and water. He has also lessened his heavy workload. CPM Camera Rigs Introduces the DSLR Rig Slyder Kit Featuring Unique Screw Thread Drive System.Cannon, who hosts NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and runs his own entertainment company, stepped down from his New York City radio show “Rollin’ with Nick Cannon” in February.”It gives me more time to spend with my family, and then two, it just kind of makes me appreciate it even more,” said Cannon, who became a father to twins Moroccan and Monroe last year.But fans can expect to see Cannon return to the big screen and music. Cannon is in pre-production to direct his first feature film, a comedy, “School Dance.”

The new CPM DSLR Slyder Kit from CPM Camera Rigs is lightweight, portable and easily configured using components from existing rigs and gear. Built around the lightweight cinema standard 15mm rod diameter on a 60mm spacing, the rail portion of the CPM slyder is easily configured in a moments time utilizing aluminum, carbon fiber or any other 15mm rod.Four versions of the CPM Slyder Kit are being introduced. There is a Basic Slyder Kit that utilizes the cinematographer’s existing rods and camera mounts. A Stage 1 Slyder Kit includes the rods and mount.

A Stage 2 Slyder Kit features a unique screw thread drive system, similar to those used on computer controlled cutting machines, a high helix drive screw, one revolution of the rod moves the camera one full inch of travel. The Stage 2 Kit includes this motion system in a hand crank version. The Stage 3 Slyder Kit takes advantage of the unique drive system with the addition of a stepper motor. The stepper motor provides an infinite speed setting, dimensionally controllable motion system, that will also be introduced as an add-on package to the recently released CPM Geared Head.

“In combination with a CPM Bulldog Rig, all you need is a Basic Slyder Kit and you are ready to be on location! With the minimum support gear it means a sput of the moment shoot is easy to set-up. You have your shoulder solution, if you break down the Bulldog you have a hand held rig and with the addition of the Slyder Kit you have a linear component to my shooting rig,” according to Steven Moore from CPM.

Sure, you can always roll up with a full-blown sat truck or a camera tethered to a ViaSat SurfBeam 2 Pro Portable, or you can pick up the JVC GY-HM650, which lets you beam those video bytes back to base with any ole hotspot. The company’s Mobile News Camera packs a trio of 1/3-inch 1080p 12-bit sensors, a 29-667mm lens, 3.5-inch LCD, SDXC compatibility and HD-SDI outputs, but it also includes WiFi connectivity with FTP server support, letting you record then automatically transmit footage back to a newsroom for editing and broadcast.

The camera itself is very compact, considering that it’s primarily suited for professional news applications, and also includes all the standard audio hook-ups, like dual XLR jacks, a shotgun mic holder, headphone jack and a separate connector for a wireless mic receiver, along with GPS and Android/iOS app control. JVC also launched another model, the GY-HM600, which offers similar features, save for those wireless connectivity bits.

Both cameras look nearly identical, though the company only had the less-abled 600 on display at NAB.SD card turns digital cameras into Instagram machines.That camera will retail for $4,695 when it hits in the fall, while the 650 will cost you $1,000 more, with a winter 2012 shipping estimate. We weren’t able to peek at the WiFi model at the show, but you’ll be able to get a fairly good idea of how that camera will look in the glass-enclosed HM600 shots below.

Smartphones are proving to be more popular than standalone cameras when it comes to photos but one company continues to buck the trend. On Wednesday, Eye-Fi released a memory card for digital cameras that directly uploads pictures over Wi-Fi or transfers them to a nearby smartphone or tablet. In theory, the $79 Eye-Fi Mobile X2 can be used to get images from a point-and-shoot or DLSR to Instagram, Facebook, TwitPic or any number of other photo sharing sites.

This can be handy for those that do carry a traditional digital camera but still have the desire to share great shots on photo sites. There are new cameras available with Wi-Fi on them, but the sharing functionality is limited to whatever sites the camera manufacturer enabled in the software. By sending images to a phone or tablet with Direct Mode, which the company debuted last year, pictures can be edited easier and shared with any site or social network through a mobile app.

The Mobile X2 is actually an extension of Eye-Fi’s new product line. It joins the $49 Connect X2 and $99 Pro X2. All three memory cards offer the Direct View functionality. With it, photos can be sent directly to an iPhone, iPad or Android device running Eye-Fi’s free mobile client. This eliminates the need to carry a USB cable or Apple Camera Connector Kit for image transfers.

The Samsung WB150F ($229.99 list) packs a long 18x zoom lens into a compact body, but its sexiest feature is built-in support for Wi-Fi. Connect to a hotspot and you’ll be able to upload photos directly to your Facebook account, email them to a friend, or view them on your TV. You can also download photos to your Android phone or iPhone, and even use the phone as a wireless viewfinder.Case lets you turn iPhone into scuba-diving camera.The 14-megapixel camera suffers a bit from noise at higher ISO settings, and it isn’t the fastest camera on the block in terms of start up speed.

When you consider its 18x (24-432mm) zoom lens, it’s amazing just how small the WB150F is. It’s only 2.4 by 4.2 by 0.9 inches (HWD) in size, which is a bit slimmer than the 2.4-by-4.2-by-1.3-inch Canon PowerShot SX260 HS ($349.99, 4 stars). You can shoot in Auto, but there are enough physical controls to keep you happy if you’d like more control over the camera. These include buttons for the Self Timer, Macro mode, and Flash control. Pressing the Menu button brings up an overlay display from which you can adjust Exposure Compensation, White Balance, ISO, and other frequently changed camera settings.

The Wi-Fi menu is also accessed via the Mode dial. The camera can connect to any network—if you have a security key set you’ll have to enter it, but the camera remembers the password. The WB150F gives you an experience similar to a smartphone, albeit sans touch screen, as each option is represented by a colorful icon. Social Sharing lets you post photos and videos directly to Facebook, Picasa, YouTube, and Photo Bucket, and there’s also an Email option if you’d like to send a picture to a specific person. You can also push photos to the SkyDrive service, a Windows PC, or a Samsung TV.