Heather Kelly

NEX-C3: Small, With Creative Effects and A Large Sensor

The NEX-C3 ($600-$650) is a compact interchangeable-lens camera (CILC), that replaces the NEX-3 in Sony's camera line-up. (The NEX-5 will still be available). Like its predecessor, the camera records full HD movies, shoots 5.5fps in continuous shooting mode, and has a maximum ISO of 12800. It still has Sony's great Hand-held Twilight, Sweep Panorama, and Auto HDR modes. However, some key improvements have been made to the NEX-C3. Its body is slightly redesigned and physically smaller, weighing in at an incredibly light eight ounces.

Sony NEX-C3

The camera's sensor has received an upgrade from the NEX-3-it's still packing a DSLR-sized APS-C sensor, but the megapixel count has been increased to 16.2 megapixels. The NEX-C3 has new creative modes that translate technical manual settings into easy-to understand settings named after their results. For example, Background Defocus changes the depth of field, and Brightness is just exposure compensation. A handful of new in-camera filter effects have also been added, including Toy Camera, Partial Color, Retro Photo, and High Contrast. For a little on-the-spot retouching, the Soft Skin Effect edits out a subject's wrinkles and blemishes.

The battery life has also been greatly improved. The NEX-C3 lasts a full 20 percent longer than the NEX-3 and NEX-5, rating 400 still shots per charge.

The NEX-C3 works with Sony E-mount lenses, and will be available in August in one of two lens kits. The silver, pink, and black bodies will cost $650 bundled with a 18-55mm lens. The black body can also be purchased with a 16mm lens for $600.

SLT-A35: The Latest Translucent-Mirror DSLR

Click to zoomFollowing on the heels of the groundbreaking A33 and A55, the SLT-A35 ($600 body only) features the same benefits of Sony's other translucent, fixed-mirror cameras. The lack of a moving mirror means faster continuous shooting and auto-focus in Live View and Movie modes.

The A35 replaces the A33, and has a few key upgrades. The sensor is a new 16 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. Sony has added a new in-camera effects mode with 11 filters that can be applied to still images or videos while shooting. The A35's battery life is boosted to 440 still shots per charge, which is 30 percent more juice than the A33.

Painting with light is a favorite low-tech project of DSLR owners. You put the camera on a tripod in a dark setting, set the shutter speed to an extra long exposure, and create designs with a flashlight or other focused light source.

Croix Cagnon and Frank Schott have taken that concept and given it a beautiful and eerie new spin using a MacBook Pro, a Hasselblad H2 camera with a digital back, and 1,871 photographed cross-sections of an executed murderer's cadaver. Project 12:31 is the resulting series of seven long-exposure photographs that show ghostly figures floating in outdoor settings. The images were captured by moving the laptop during the exposure while it played an animation of the compiled images.

Nikon released a new addition to its entry-level DSLR lineup on Monday, the D5100. The 16.2-megapixel camera has an adjustable LCD screen, continuous auto-focus in movie mode, a maximum ISO of 25600, and a new Special Effects mode with four filters that work on both still images and movies.

The $800 D5100 (body only) is an update to the $630 D5000 that was originally released in April 2009. of Nikon's current DSLR lineup, it falls between the D3100 ($700) and D7000 ($1200), combining many features from these two models, with some beginner-friendly creative modes and filters thrown into the mix.

On Tuesday, Apple released an update for Aperture 3 that addresses some lingering issues with importing iPhoto libraries. It is recommended for all Aperture 3 users.

Aperture 3.1.2 has the usual "overall stability and performance" improvement touted in every Aperture update, along with specific fixes for iPhoto compatibility, image importing, library, and adjustment issues. There are 14 fixes total on Apple's list, seven of which are for processes that caused Aperture 3 to freeze or quit unexpectedly.

Sitting in front of a screen for hours on end is easy to do, but hard on your body. Time Out Free (Mac App Store link) is an application that knows what's best for you, and it thinks you and your glorious 27-inch iMac should spend some time apart. The utility reminds you to take regular breaks throughout the day so that you can stand up, stretch, walk around, rest your eyes, and give your brain a breather. And since it knows how stubborn you can be, Time Out forces you to take those breaks by washing out your entire screen--in the color of your choice--when it's time.

Time Out provides two types of scheduled breaks, normal and micro. By default, a normal timeout is 10 minutes long and happens every hour (so you get 50 minutes of work and 10 minutes of rest each hour), and a micro break is just 10 seconds, but occurs every 10 minutes. You can adjust the frequency and duration of these breaks, as well as how long it takes for your screen to fade in and out--and how opaque the screen ends up.

 Apple has released an update to Digital Camera RAW that adds support for six new cameras. This compatibility update, version 3.6, affects iPhoto and Aperture users.

Five of the cameras are DSLRs, including Canon's just-released additions to its Rebel line, the T3i and the T3. The Olympus E-5 is now supported, as are two Pentax DSLR cameras, the K-r and K-5. The Olympus and Pentax cameras were all released in September 2010. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100, a megazoom point-and-shoot camera with raw shooting capabilities, rounds out the list.

Sony released two of the most inventive cameras of 2010: The NEX-5, a powerful compact interchangeable lens camera (CILC), and the SLT-A55, a DSLR with a translucent mirror. This week at the CP+ imaging trade show in Yokohama, Japan, Sony gave attendees a sneak peek into the future of its camera line.

The big draw was a revealing prototype of the next Sony SLT (single-lens translucent) camera, the A77. The upper mid-range camera will replace the three-year-old A700 in Sony's line-up. Sony decided to stick with the translucent theme and created a clear plastic mock-up of the camera that showed-off its key features:

Pentax on Monday released two new rugged Optio compact cameras, a silver limited edition version of its popular K-5 DSLR, and a 25mm lens for its 645D medium format camera.

Optio WG-1 & WG-1 GPS: Rugged and pocketable point-and-shoot

Canon announced two additions to its entry-level DSLR camera line on Monday: the EOS Rebel T3i and EOS Rebel T3. The DSLRs will join four new PowerShot compact cameras in the company's lineup starting in March.

EOS Rebel T3i: Lightly Upgraded Entry-Level DSLR

The iPhone 4's simple design, 720p HD video, and in-camera editing capabilities make it a blank canvas for camera and video accessories. Unfortunately, the form factor doesn't allow users to easily attach many external gadgets. A solution for serious iPhone video enthusiasts is the $170 OWLE Bubo mount, which we had some hands-on time with in the office this week.

The OWLE Bubo is a metal mount and stabilizer that gives iPhone 4 owners a way to attach powerful accessories to their device, including lights, tripods, and lenses. To get you started, the OWLE kits come with a 37mm wide angle/macro lens and a small directional microphone that plugs into the iPhone's headphone jack. Similar kits are also available to fit the iPhone 3G/3GS ($160) and the iPod touch 4G ($170).