Weekly digital photography podcasts, photo tips, reader submitted pictures, equipment reviews and more.

You can now stay current with The Digital Story podcasts on your iPhone. That's right, it's simple to browse current episodes and download the shows you want to hear (via EDGE or WiFi). You don't even need your earbuds... just use the stereo speakers on the iPhone itself. It couldn't be easier. All you have to do is point your iPhone's Safari browser to www.thedigitalstory.com/iphone, and you'll be presented with an easy to navigate page with the last 5 episodes of The Digital Story. Click on the show you want to listen to, and the iPhone will download it... read more

Read More: Gadgets
Posted by dstory on July 10, 2007 | Comments (1)

The business side of photography is often less enjoyable than actually taking pictures. Not a day goes by where I don't have to Fax a signed W9, contract, NDA form, or some other legal document. I'd generally receive the document as an email attachment, but then would have to open it up, print it out, sign it with a pen, fill out a Fax cover sheet, send it via Fax, then figure out what to do with a new stack of papers. I hated it! Then at the Macworld Expo 2007, I discovered a new product called PDFpen. I've... read more

Read More: Gadgets
Posted by dstory on January 26, 2007 | Comments (1)

Casio has found a way to squeeze a 7X optical zoom in a pocketable 7.2 megapixel beauty. The just-announced EXILIM Hi-Zoom EX-V7 also features blur reduction technologies with the new CCD shift system, the redesigned EXILIM Engine 2.0 image processor, and now captures movies with H.264 encoding (which should be QuickTime compatible right out of the camera). Casio is showing off the camera at the CES show in Las Vegas, NV. It will retail for $399 or less when available in March. This is a compact to keep our eyes on as the hands-on reviews begin to surface. Technorati... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Photography
Posted by dstory on January 8, 2007 | Comments (3)

Sony's new GPS-CS1 is compact device (about 55 g) that records your GPS coordinates every 15 seconds while in the field. Then, when you return home, you can synchronize this information with your picture metadata and know the approximate location of every image you captured. The $150 USD device works with Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S500, S600, S45, W30, W40, W50, W70, W100, H2, H5, T30 and Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A100 cameras using Windows software. It's not clear yet if it can be used for other cameras via a workaround. We'll have to wait until it actually ships to find out.... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Photography
Posted by dstory on August 9, 2006 | Comments (3)

Travelers to and from the United States have to deal with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) when checking luggage. One of the post-911 rules is that bags cannot be locked. This presents a problem for photographers who have more equipment than they can carry onboard. There is a solution. You can use TSA-approved luggage locks that have a combination for you and a key slot that only TSA officials have the key for. This prevents snooping in your bags by non-security handlers. If the bags are inspected by TSA personnel, an indicator on the lock turns from green to... read more

Read More: Gadgets
Posted by dstory on June 30, 2006 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The 30GB iPod video (5G) is my top pick iPod of all time. Great sound, slim design, amazing video capability, and excellent storage for my still photos. But after trying many different cases, I had yet to find one that I liked as well as the iPod itself. That is, until I discovered the Marware Trailvue iPod case ($27.95 from Amazon.com). First of all, this case is rugged. It feels good in the hands. Marware uses a combination of nylon and other synthetic materials to create a case that inspires confidence while on the go. Plus it looks good,... read more

Read More: Audio | Gadgets
Posted by dstory on May 31, 2006 | Comments (0)

One of the reasons that people shy away from camera phones is that they often get lousy pictures. You can improve your odds by trying some of these tips. Here's a look at the most common camera phone settings and how they can help you capture better images. Start with Picture size. This option gives you the choice between a couple resolution settings: large and small. (They would be more accurately labeled small and smaller, but that's so un-American) Choose large, which is usually about 640 x 480 or 1.3 megapixels. You can't make a very big print with... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Photography
Posted by dstory on May 5, 2006 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Backing up your photos and music is vitally important. Even though I use optical media too, the ease of backing up to redundant hard drives has made this my favorite and most-used option. And as we all know, the easier it is, the more often we'll do it. My current favorite drive is the LaCie 300GB d2 External Hard Drive With Triple Interface ($225). It combines 3 interfaces (FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and USB 2.0), fast spin speed (7200 RPM), decent buffer (8MBs), excellent reliability, and good looking design. I've been using d2 drives for years now (have five... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Photography
Posted by dstory on February 19, 2006 | Comments (1)

Sandisk chose the spotlight of the CES show to unveil their new digital audio players dubbed the Sansa c100 series. They will be available in March in 1GB and 2GB models. The features include: Color screen (up to 64,000 colors) displays cover art and photo thumbnails Plays MP3 and WMA audio files By capacity, holds large number of MP3/WMA songs and hours of playback (see above capacity matrix) Easy-to-use interface for sorting and playing back your music Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations FM "on the fly" recording and voice recording Supports Subscription Music Stores Includes one AAA... read more

Read More: Audio | Gadgets
Posted by dstory on January 5, 2006 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

This is the time of year when outdoor conditions are challenging, and there's usually less light for shooting. In other words, it's tripod weather. But I don't always want to lug around my heavy Bogen 3021 for a mere casual hike. Photography is supposed to be fun. That's when I'm glad I have Manfrotto's 718b Compact tripod with pan and tilt head. Not only are these sticks light (3.1 lbs with head), but they provide enough height for most shooting situations -- 55" with center column collapsed, 65.5" with center column extended. The Manfrotto is constructed of black anodized... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Photography
Posted by dstory on January 4, 2006 | Comments (0)

I've been reading all sorts of good things about the Sonic Impact Class T Amp. It's the battery-powered amplifier that fits in the palm of your hand and produces sound that has audiophiles harmonizing with joy. I bought mine for $30 at Amazon. I agree that the sound is excellent. I've connected my iPod nano to the Sonic and wired up a couple of two-way speakers and was throughly impressed with the output. But I want to cover a few other aspects of the device that aren't as widely discussed. The Sonic amp takes 8 AA batteries. I loaded... read more

Read More: Audio | Gadgets
Posted by dstory on November 13, 2005 | Comments (0)

Griffin TuneBox is a speaker system that doubles as a charger... I've been using the Griffin TuneBox, which is an iPod shuffle speaker system/charger, for a couple months now. During that time I've been debating what my final opinion is about it. As a speaker system, the sound is average to above. Good midrange and treble, not much bass. Not too surprising since we're talking about four 1" speakers with a total of 4 watts of power. The TuneBox does have plenty of volume, however, which I really appreciate. It's very much like listening to a quality portable radio.... read more

Read More: Audio | Gadgets
Posted by dstory on November 5, 2005 | Comments (0)

The $19 iPod AV cable opens a new world of viewing content... I've just finished testing the iPod AV cable that enables me to connect the current 5th Gen iPod (video model) to a TV or other display via standard RCA jacks. I've reported my findings in this O'Reilly post, iPod video Plugged into Your TV: Is It Good Enough?. The experience is surprisingly good -- so much so that I'm already aching for more video content on iTMS. Between you and me, I think we have another revolution beginning...... read more

Read More: Gadgets | Industry
Posted by dstory on November 3, 2005 | Comments (0)