Manifest Tech Blog

Adobe has released a beta of Photoshop Express (www.photoshop.com/express), its free Web-based photo editing and sharing application that brings Photoshop tools to the browser. You can upload your images to store online, edit them in the browser, and then share them online (Adobe product info).

Express provides a gentle introduction to the Photoshop line for potential future customers, to then step up to the Photoshop Elements 6 desktop application for Windows and Mac (see previous post). And it serves as a demonstration of Adobe's Flex open source framework for building highly interactive Rich Internet Applications (RIA) based on Flash Player 9.

However, this is a beta version. It only supports images in JPEG format, and no larger than 10 MB and 4000 pixels in height and width. While free, Adobe offers only 2 GB of online storage, probably smaller than the card in your digital camera. It's currently available to US residents, only in English.

And as noted in the CNET review, make sure you understand the Terms of use (as you should with any site where you upload your personal work) -- In particular, you grant Adobe unlimited worldwide rights to use your content in any way it sees fit, including licensing and selling your work.
(Adobe has updated these terms of use -- see following entry.)

See my full article on the Photoshop Elements applications: Editing in Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and Photoshop Elements 6

See also Summary - Photoshop Elements 6

More on Using Photoshop Express ...

The Fromm Works Quik Pod is a clever little extension rod for getting your camera up, under, or over to shoot away from your body -- or to turn the camera around to shoot you and a friend on location. It telescopes 7 1/2 to 18 inches, weighs 3 1/2 ounces, holds small cameras up to 16 ounces, and costs $24.99 (see previous post).

Now there's the Quik Pod DSLR -- the same idea, but bigger and better.

The Quik Pod DSLR extends from 18 to 53 inches and weighs 9 ounces, which makes it usable both as a longer extension pole, and to sit on the ground as a monopod. And the larger size means it can carry more weight -- up to 2 pounds as a pole and 6 pounds as a monopod -- which opens up additional uses such as holding digital SLR cameras, camcorders and portable lights. All for $49.99.

The design includes three locking claps for the telescoping sections, and two screw-on end caps for the handle: rubberized monopod or machined aluminum. The product also includes a gel pad for bracing the handle against your body, wrist strap, hiking clip, and carry bag. The other end has an adjustable camera mount with a quick release platform. Platforms are available with friction locking (continuous) and gear locking (stepped).

Plus there are other Quik Pod accessories available, including a suction base, magnetic base, and standing adapter legs.

It's the quick way to reach out and shoot some great photos.

See my Consumer Digital Cameras Gallery for information on photo accessories.

    Find the Quik Pod DSLR on Amazon.com

Even in the age of Web video, we still love sharing photos. And digital photo viewers make great gifts, with customized photo shows. But aren't such dedicated devices obsolete in this age of convergence, when you can carry your favorite photos on your mobile phone or media player, and access them dynamically from the Web?

I like having our favorite shots always at hand on my Palm Treo -- they're great for explaining art projects or our brick in Vegas. But I'm not so happy to hand around my personal phone for others to look at, and I'm certainly not going to give it away as a gift.

So digital photo viewers do make sense, with both larger screens to display in your house (see previous post), and with smaller screens for sharing and for gifts.

For example, the Digital Foci 1.5" Keychain Pocket Album is a tiny viewer (2.2" x 1.6" x 0.5", 1.2 oz.), with a 1.5” color LCD screen, 128 x 128 pixels.

It displays up to 74 photos from the 8 MB internal memory, and is available in black, silver, and blue for $29.

You can scroll photos manually or run a slideshow with adjustable time interval. It has a simple menu to set the slideshow duration, display contrast, and clock overlay.

The battery lasts to 9 hours, and recharges using USB power (connected to your computer, or using the included AC-to-USB adapter).

Digital Foci includes Photo Viewer Software for PC or Mac to convert and download photos (the Pocket Album is not directly accessible as a USB virtual disk).

See my Consumer Digital Cameras Gallery for more on photo accessories.

    Find the Digital Foci Keychain Pocket Album on Amazon.com

Digital photo viewers were tremendously popular gifts last Christmas season, as consumers were met with a flood of products from a huge variety of companies, some new to this kind of product. Unfortunately, some of these products were rushed to the market without much attention to niceties such as the menu interface, user controls, or the display quality.

Then there are companies like Parrot, which has been focusing on wireless Bluetooth interfaces for applications including hands-free car kits, wireless speakers (see previous posts on Parrot), and digital photo frames.

In fact, the first Parrot Photo Viewers were Bluetooth-only -- designed for receiving photos from mobile phones, or Bluetooth-enabled digital cameras and PCs. This actually made them more difficult to use for more basic users, and even people with experience with digital cameras, since you couldn't load photos via a memory card, or over a USB connection.

Continuing this wireless theme, Parrot developed the Parrot DF7700 MMS Digital Photo Frame for Europe, supporting a SIM card with a dedicated phone number built directly into the photo frame. You then can load photos remotely via MMS from a mobile phone, updating the slide show on the frame sitting in your family's house to show the latest great shots from your trip.

A version of that design is now available in the U.S. as the Parrot DF7220 7" Photo Viewer. There's no MMS, but it adds connectivity options for transferring photos -- Bluetooth (wireless from a camera phone or PC), mini-USB (synched from a PC) and a SD / MMC memory card slot (direct from a camera) -- all for around $126 (street price).

This is a nice design -- straightforward controls, clear menus, and swappable clip-on plastic outer frame. It automatically adapts the picture size to the screen and automatically rotates the picture when used horizontally or vertically (landscape/portrait). And you can set the on/off time, or have it power off when dark. The photo viewer plugs into wall power with a thin, white 7-foot power cord.

The 10 MB internal memory holds some 300 photos, in JPEG and GIF formats.

However, the color display is relatively low resolution for the 7" screen -- 410 x 234 pixels (vs. 320 x 240 for the iPod nano and classic, for example) -- so it's best for viewing across the room, and not up close like a hand-held media player.

So load it up with your favorite photos and set it up on a table or a mantel -- or make a present of your memories.

See my Consumer Digital Cameras Gallery for more on photo accessories.

    Find the Parrot 7" Photo Viewer on Amazon.com

Pure Digital has released a new version of its Flip Video line of portable and fun camcorders -- the Flip Video Mino (see previous posts on the Flip Ultra, and the related RCA Small Wonder line).

The Flip line is all about quick, fun, and easy shooting -- the cameras power on in under 4 seconds, and then just press the big red button to start recording. There are simple controls for play/pause, rewind/forward, volume/zoom ... and that's it.

No issues about camera setup or video formats or other details -- just plain and simple. There's even a pop-up USB connector so you don't need any external cables.

The cameras shoot 640 x 480 MPEG-4 video -- plenty good enough for quick posting to the web, and often quite reasonable for TV-res playback.

The new Flip Video Mino is designed to be even easier to carry than the Ultra by shrinking to half the thickness (now 3.94 x 1.97 x 0.6 inches), and from 4.9 to 3.3 ounces -- much less bulky in the pocket. The slimming is enabled by doing away with removable batteries, and using internal rechargeable batteries, replenished though the USB connector, which now pops out to the top of the unit.

Other enhancements include the smoother design with backlit touch-sensitive buttons, and an enhanced video engine, so you now can pause, fast forward, and rewind during playback.

The camcorder also includes built-in software for Windows and Mac to organize, edit, and share your videos, now including uploading directly to MySpace for the social networking generation.

The Flip Video Mino is available in white and black for $179, with 2 GB of internal memory, to store approximately 60 minutes of video (There's no slot for additional storage cards).

These simple camcorders make great wedding gifts for easy and fun shooting on the honeymoon. And they work well for desperate adults who don't know what kind of gift to get younger relatives.

See my Digital Camcorders Gallery for more on digital camcoders, from webcams to HD.

    Find the Flip Video Mino on Amazon.com

Digital photography means instant access to all your photos -- on your PC and the Web, and carried along on your mobile phone or PDA and/or media player. But sometimes it's nice to have special photos in a tangible, physical form, so you can order prints and posters, coffee mugs and mouse pads, flip books and coffee-table albums.

Or to display your photos big and beautiful, MyLife-MyArt photo paintings print your images on canvas as digital paintings.

You can choose framed prints, or "Gallery-Wrap" -- with the canvas stretched around the sides of a 2" thick frame, and the edges of the image extended along the four sizes.

Prints available in sizes from 12" square to 40 x 60" (2 x 3 ratio) and 36 x 48" (3 x 4 ratio), or you can order custom sizes.

Prices start at $69 for 12" print in Gallery-Wrap, or around $100 with frame, and up to
$479 for 40 x 60" print, or $575 to $625 for simple black to elegant/gold/maple frames. Standard turnaround time is two weeks.

MyLife-MyArt will do minor retouching at no additional cost -- red eye removal, reducing blemishes, balancing colors, converting to sepia. You also can order more complex alterations including restoring old photos, major retouching, deleting or adding people, changing backgrounds, and creating a collage, for $35 to $75.

I saw some sample photo paintings at a recent show, and MyLife-MyArt kindly made a test print for us. Seeing your photos on canvas is definitely a unique look -- just don't expect the results to magically look painterly. The canvas surface is matte (obviously) and not shiny / glossy, so darker photos will have a more subtle and subdued look.

Also pay attention to the recommendations to make sure that your photo still looks good when blown up to a large size to hang on your wall.

See my Digital Photo Gallery for more on digital cameras and photo accessories.

It's the season for graduations and weddings, and I'm ready again with the perfect gift, especially for travel -- a fun little camcorder that's so easy to carry and simple to use. Last year, the RCA Small Wonder and Pure Digital Flip Video camcorders were a big hit for young grads and couples.

And this year the amazingly thin Flip Video Mino takes portability to a new level -- a palm-size device that shoots 640 x 480 MPEG-4 video, and even looks great when burned to a DVD. But sliming it down required using a non-removable battery and omitting expansion memory.

While Flip has focused on clean simple products, RCA Audio/Video (now owned by Audiovox) has taken the same design and developed some new models that offer a few more useful options, especially for travelers, young and old, who want to shoot for extended periods.

The RCA Small Wonder EZ200 "MyLife" and EZ205 "Pocket" include a handy flip-out LCD display, and use removable AA batteries and swappable microSD memory cards so you can keep shooting all day long. The EZ210 "Traveler" adds a bigger screen and more rugged design.

The RCA Small Wonder EZ205 seems to hit the sweet spot for travelers. Available for under $99, it comes with a 1 GB microSD memory card, to shoot up to 30 minutes of High quality video, or 2 hours of lower-res Web quality.

Add more memory cards to keep on shooting -- 8 GB gives up to 4 hours at High quality, or 16 hours of Web quality video on a single fingernail-sized card (around $50 to $100 -- definitely shop for deals).

Previous Posts
- Flip Video Mino -- Slimmer Simple Camcorder (6/08)
- Pure Digital Flip / Ultra - Fun & Simple Camcorders (12/07)
- RCA Small Wonder EZ-201 Digital Video Camcorder (6/07)
- RCA Small Wonder Camcorders - EZ-105 (4/07)

See my Digital Camcorders Gallery for more on digital camcoders, from tiny webcams to full HD camcorders.

    Find the RCA Small Wonder EZ205
    and Flip Video Mino on Amazon.com

Mobile phones mean instant communication. And camera phones offer instant sharing of photos with multimedia messaging to other phones, to the Web, and to PCs.

And now the Polaroid PoGo portable printer offers instant (OK, one-minute) photo printing, wirelessly from cell phones (through Bluetooth) or directly from digital cameras (over USB) -- for around $149.

The PoGo (Polaroid-on-the-Go) is definitely portable --palm sized (0.93 x 2.83 x 4.72 inches), and weighing 8 pounds. It's powered by a rechargeable (and replaceable) lithium-ion battery, providing 15 prints per charge.

Not surprisingly, the PoGo prints small prints -- 2 x 3 inches, like a business card. The magic here is the ZINK (Zero-Ink) printing technology. There's no ink cartridges or ribbons; instead the paper uses heat-activated dye crystals that create prints that are durable, smudge-proof, water-resistant, and fade-resistant.

It holds around 10 photo sheets at a time. The ZINK Photo Paper is sold in 10-packs for around $4 and 30-packs for $10, or some 33 to 40 cents per print.

(Note the PoGo is not a PC printer -- It does not connect directly to a computer, although you can print to it from a PC over Bluetooth, with the appropriate drivers.)

This is obviously not a high-end printer -- Polaroid describes the prints as equivalent to 300 dpi, matching images around 2 to 3 megapixels. Soft and fuzzy photos from camera phones looked dull, but sharper and higher-res images from a digital camera looked pretty good, although you can clearly see the color blocks under a magnifying glass.

So the PoGo is a fun and easy to use portable printer for quickly sharing photos on the go that would otherwise be locked inside your camera phone or digital camera. The paper actually has a peel-off sticky back, so you even can make instant photo stickers.

See my Digital Cameras Gallery for details on this and related products.

    Find the Polaroid PoGo Photo Printer on Amazon.com

I'm a big fan of the emerging category of "pocket video cameras," first popularized by the RCA Small Wonder (see earlier post) and Pure Digital Flip (see earlier post). These are so easy to use -- small enough to take with you almost anywhere, power on and start shooting in seconds -- and record good-looking standard-definition video that you can quickly post as-is to YouTube, or edit and burn to DVD.

The Flip Mino, for example, is only about 4 x 2 x 1/2 inches and 3 1/3 ounces, but records up to 60 minutes of MPEG-4 video, for $179. It's great for shooting unobtrusively to catch informal shots at events, and is a lot easier to carry than a full-up camcorder. Yes, you give up a lot of options, but you're much more likely to have it along, and it's better quality and easier to use than your camera phone.

But now the pocket video category is broadening with the introduction of new cameras that actually shoot high-definition video (720p), including a brand new new RCA Small Wonder, several models from DXG, and the Kodak Zi6.

I'm very impressed with the Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera, especially at the $179 price. It has a larger 2.4" display, shoots HD (1280 x 720) and standard-def (640 x 480) video, plus a 60 fps HD mode for fast motion. It also shoots still photos (2048 x 1536), and has a close-up macro mode.
It's a bit bigger and heavier, but still in the range of handheld devices, at 4.5 × 2.5 × 1 inches and 3.8 ounces (plus batteries).

Even with these features, the Zi6 is still easy to use. The controls are simple and clear, with a small joystick for menu navigation and play control. And, like the earlier pocket vidcams, it runs on easily replacable AA batteries and includes a pop-out USB connector to easily transfer files to a computer (and has built-in editing software that runs from the internal memory). It has a SD / SDHC slot for expandable memory (4 GB holds around 1 hour of HD video), plus around 30 MB of internal memory available. Plus it has two video output connectors, standard A/V for playing on a TV, and component for HD displays.

My major complaint is that you can't silence the built-in sound effects (power on/off, record start/stop, photo shutter), which makes it difficult to be unobtrusive when trying to record at performances and other quiet events.

Also be aware of common issues with all of these small and light handheld cameras. It's difficult to hold them steady, so your footage will be shaky unless you pay attention to bracing yourself as you shoot. And the sound is recorded from the tiny built-in microphone, so make sure you're getting good audio in the environment, and watch out for wind noise on breezy days.

See my Digital Camcorders Gallery for specs and comparisons of pocket video camcorders.

    Find the Kodak Zi6 HD Camera on Amazon.com

DXG Technology develops digital still cameras and video camcorders as an OEM for other brands, and has been expanding its own brand with some interesting new products, especially highly portable High-Def pocket video cameras.

The DXG-569V HD Camcorder is designed as a mini upright camcorder (at 5.4 oz.), complete with a 3" flip-out display (960 x 240). In addition to video, it shoots up to 8 megapixel still photos (3200 x 2400). It's available in black and silver for around $229 to $179.

The 569V is best held with a pistol grip, with the thumb resting on the navigation pad at the back of the lens barrel, with the record and function button on the back spine below. It runs on 3 AAA batteries.

Both of these DXG camcorders shoot video in three formats: HD (1280 x 720), standard def D1 (720 x 480), and Web-res CIF (~352 x 240), record on removable SD cards, have a Macro mode for close-up shots, and have video connectors for displaying your clips on either a standard and HD display.

The DXG-567V HD Camcorder is a vertical design like the Kodak Zi6 (see previous post), in the same size (~3.2 oz.), but with a different collection of features. It's available for around $170 in black, red, pink, and sky blue.

The 567V has a smallish 1.7" display, runs on 2 AA batteries, and has a pop-out USB connector to upload to a PC (with built-in software).

Both camcorders also include useful printed manuals, plus additional digital media software on CD. The video files are in QuickTime MOV format, with H.264 video and AAC audio, and so should be playable and editable with a variety of other tools.

While around the same price point, the Kodak Zi6 impressed me more, with a significantly bigger display (2.4" vs. 1.7"), and better video quality especially for indoor scenes (1/2 as compressed -- 9 vs 4 Mbps). The DXG camcorders do offer the option to shoot in lower Web resolution (for longer record times on a card), and support both NTSC and PAL formats (for compatibility with European TV).

DXG has introduced some interesting options for getting HD video in your pocket, with a variety of designs (and colors) for different types of users. Unfortunately, I did run into some glitches with the demo units of both products -- the DXG-567V seemed to hang a couple times (I had to remove the batteries to reset), and the DXG-569V had a wind noise effect on the audio track.

See my Digital Camcorders Gallery for specs and comparisons of pocket video camcorders.

    Find the DXG 567V and DXG 569V on Amazon.com