The technology has been available for years, and the DSLR market has been veering toward the general public ever since that cursed D was appended to it, so it's almost surprising that it's taking this long for touchscreens to infiltrate. But not really: DSLRs are proudly retro, built around mirror box and lens designs that date back decades, and covered in buttons to the point that, to an amateur, they are totally unapproachable. That said, the standard Canon and Nikon button layouts do work pretty well, and there are a lot of parameters you've got to deal with, so, well, here we are, staring down a Canon patent application for a basic touchscreen interface, in 2009:

Here's how it works, as interpreted by the Photography Bay:

1. Sliding your finger across the panel in a vertical direction changes aperture values.

2. Sliding your finger across the panel in a horizontal direction changes shutter speed.

Other features contemplated by the patent that may be enabled by touch entry through the LCD include the following settings:

Focus detection area
Exposure correction value
Flash adjustment correction value
Photometry mode (i.e., metering mode)
Drive mode
ISO value
Auto focus mode
White balance mode
Exposure correction value

In other words, the touchscreen would do everything your current 1970s aviation panel of a DSLR backside would, without the buttons.

In practice, I think a DSLR touchscreen would need to be supplementary. Given that a lot of DSLR adjustment is done with the photographer's eye in the viewfinder, the tactile feedback provided by buttons will be hard to replace; while it might make settings menus a bit easier to navigate, having a touchscreen won't do much good when you're trying to adjust aperture on the fly, or pull down your exposure time after a light flickers on. However wonderfully or horrifically it's executed, though, a touchscreen DSLR from a major manufacturer will happen, and probably soon. [Photography Bay]

ILM Research Engineer Bhautik Joshi disassembled his iPhone only to stuff in part of his DVD player, the laser pickup, which houses three miniature magnifying lenses. These lenses are what made it possible for the iPhone to accept the light/images beaming through the 18-55mm lens, which was carefully positioned through PVC pipe, duct tape and cursing.

The results?
(iPhone left, modded version right)

The Phone-O-Scope doesn't take especially superb images, and it's a bit clumsy to handle. On the other hand, it's fun to shoot with and produces very analog (almost Holga-like) results.

We're just glad someone did it, finally, so we didn't need to duct tape our iPhone to our dSLR Flight of the Conchords style. [captin nod via MAKE via OhGizmo!]

Apple Said to Be Bullying, Giving Wedgies to Flash Memory Makers

Anyone surprised that Apple's been accused of practicing some, shall we say, Machiavellian business tactics? The Korea Times published a story in which anonymous representatives of Apple's major flash memory partners, Hynix and Samsung, accuse Apple of ordering more memory than needed, then buying the necessary (smaller) amount once the price drops due to that whole supply/demand see-saw. It winds up in Remainders because it's awfully insidery, and honestly we're pretty glad flash prices are so cheap (a 64GB iPod Touch would've been unthinkable three years ago). Sorry, Samsung/Hynix! If you just sock Apple one time right in the face, maybe they'll leave you alone. [Electronista]

Legendary German Camera-Maker Launches Really Boring Digital Cameras

Praktica, a camera-maker out of Dresden, Germany (hence the Vonnegut, ha ha aren't we so literary), has the stature of Zeiss and Leica in the film world. Yet the company's new point-and-shoot digital cameras are the more boring, style-less pieces of plastic I've seen in a long time. The 10- and 12-megapixel cameras feature the normal scene modes, SD/HC storage, video recording and either a 2.7- or 3.0-inch screen. They're a snore and a half and it looks like they may be Germany-only, to boot. [Engadget]

ClearPlay's Upscaling 1080p DVD Player Allows High-Definition Censorship

ClearPlay, a company known for implementing "content control" in their DVD players (basically allowing parents to turn off objectionable content), just moved into the future, sort of! It's not a Blu-ray player or a media streamer, that'd be actually timely, but it is an upconverting, 1080p DVD player—the first of its kind to feature content control. It's available now for $100. [Engadget]

Survey of Android App Developers Reveals Unhappiness With Sales

Okay so go find a heaping spoonful of rock salt that you can chew slowly as you read this story, because there are serious issues with it, but: A recent survey of Android app developers showed that the majority are not satisfied with app sales performance in the Marketplace. Most apps (over 90%) are downloaded less than 10,000 times, which is pretty minimal compared to the sales of apps in Apple App Store for Apps (apps).

Now, the rock salt. For a survey like this, you need a wide variety of developers, doing all different kinds of apps (entertainment, utility, whatever), and the survey assuredly doesn't have that—only thirty developers were polled, a low enough number that frankly I don't trust any conclusions gleaned. Besides, of course Android app sales are lower; Android hardware sales are lower, too, and the Marketplace is a lot younger and less-established than the App Store. Basically, I'm not saying it's wrong, but we really can't trust this survey. [GigaOm]

As a refresher, Scarlet brings some rather nice features:

* Increased REDCODE data rates
* New FLUT Color, Gamma and Sensitivity Science. Now same as EPIC.
* More extensive modular system integration.
* Interchangeable Lens mounts including focus and iris control of electronic RED, Canon and Nikon lenses, along with Zoom data (Scarlet 2/3" Interchangeable)
* "Touch Focus Tracking" with electronic lens mounts and RED touchscreen LCD's (Scarlet 2/3" Interchangeable and 8x Fixed)
* Two independent microphone level channels, balanced input circuits, 48V Phantom Power, digitized at 24-bit 48KHz.
* GigaBit Ethernet port
* Scaled 1080P at 60fps

Now onto the eye candy we both know you came here for. Meet Scarlet and her band of lenses and accessories:

Assuming everything goes according to schedule, we'll be seeing this line of cameras in the summer of 2010, while some of the lenses will be out as early as December. Yeah, I won't be getting them either, but I'll keep drooling anyway. [RedUser]

According to Photography Blog's early review, the $300ish S70's somewhat low resolution OLED wasn't found to be much better than an LCD for viewing images, especially in direct sunlight when it's still not bright enough. As for the photos themselves, they were only of "average quality," with a particularly noisy ISO even at conservative settings. Too bad. [Photography Blog via Engadget]

The JTT WACAHD8GB is a somewhat ordinary timepiece that, when not telling the time, is shooting 1280x960 video at 30fps, or grabbing stills at 8MP.

Well, technically. This example 8MP photo has been scaled down to once again reminds us that there's a lot more to image quality than resolution:
Still, the most interesting aspect of the watch may not be its spy style or its pseudo-HD quality—the watch uses what looks like a 3.5mm to USB connector for syncing to your PC. Seriously, I'm not sure I've ever seen that before. $150. [JTT via technabob via Le Journal du Geek via Ubergizmo]

It was awkward to say the least, but as I said the ingenuity was there. A for effort, and all that, but I would have lost the cheerleaders during the "costume change." I was about to say they looked out of place, but then I stopped myself with a face palm because nothing could be out of place in a video like this.

The video was actually shot in late September, so I can only assume these guys are Japanese superstars by now. [YouTube via DesignBoom via Switched via Engadget]

Baby's First DSLR: Nikon D3000

The D3000 is cheap. We're talking a full kit (i.e., it comes with a lens) for just $460, making it the cheapest DSLR kit around. But what really makes it stand out for beginners is a built-in tutorial system that explains how to get certain kinds of shots—like shallow depth of field—in plain English.

Amateur Hour: Canon T1i

The next step up is Canon's T1i. What we like is that it packs a bigger boy's image sensor—it's got the same 15-megapixel sensor as the pricier mid-range 50D—and 1080p video into a camera that's $720 with kit lens. Also, for the money, it edges out Nikon's D5000 on a few points, namely superior video handling and Live View.

Bigger Britches: Nikon D90

Nikon's D90 was the first ever DSLR to shoot 720p video with manual controls, but that's only part of the reason we like it. It's got the awesome image sensor from the semi-pro D300, in a package that's just over $1000. And at that price, it's $100 cheaper than Canon's competing 50D, which has the same image sensor as the cheaper T1i above, but none of the video benefits of either camera.

The Budding Auteur: Canon 7D

The only camera on this list that's more expensive than its competition—the D300s—the 7D overwhelms with DSLR video that's superior to every camera but Canon's very pro 1D Mark IV (which costs $5000). It shoots in 1080p, with full manual controls, and it's amazing what it can do in low light. Besides that, Canon's somehow cheated physics with an 18-megapixel sensor that doesn't explode with noise at high ISO settings, all while cramming a whole bunch of new features, and an actually good autofocus system. It's $1900 with a kit lens.

Beyond here, honestly, you should already have a pretty idea of what you're gonna buy without our help. And if you've got your own opinions about what's best in every price range, let's hear 'em in the comments.

Avatar dates back to 1977, when Cameron was just a truck driver determined to "out-Lucas George Lucas" in the outer space epic genre, but it took decades to get the clout to make as outrageous a project as Avatar. When he first sat down to plan the movie, his tech people told him his vision simply was not possible—"'If we make this, we're doomed,' one of the artists told him. 'It can't be done. The technology doesn't exist.'" He had to wait until after Titanic before he could tackle the project again.

This time, he got more invested in the tech side of it. The problem: He needed an incredibly high-definition camera that could deliver both 2D and 3D, without the headaches that sometimes accompanied two hours of 3D watching. There was a camera that could handle it, made by Sony, but the giant 450-pound unit wasn't feasible for Cameron's style of directing—so in 2000, he went out to Japan and persuaded Sony to re-engineer the camera to his liking. They ended up separating the camera's huge CPU unit from its lens, connected by a cable, thus bringing the handheld weight down to only 50 pounds.

Cameron lent the camera to filmmaker buddies to spread the gospel of 3D so his eventual release of Avatar would have the distribution it needed. Spy Kids 3-D and the Lord of the Rings trilogy opened the doors for technologically astounding epic films, just what Cameron orchestrated. His camera and belief in 3D is setting the stage for the current era of blockbusters—not necessarily something you'd expect from a guy who releases a movie about once every 15 years. [Wired]

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Crumpler Industry Disgrace neckstrap Fancy cameras, especially German ones, are heavy. Fancy lenses bolted to fancy cameras? It's like lugging around a (fancy) dump truck. Normal camera straps are thin and cut into your neck. Crumpler's Industry Disgrace neckstrap is fat, super padded and breathable. And, they come in patterns. $30-$40. [Link]

Lensbaby optics Crazy lenses for DSLRs, like tilt-shifts and fisheyes, can be ridiculously expensive, way too expensive for a starving artiste who must save their pennies for vintage boots. Enter Lens Baby, which produces cheap, quick and dirty single-effect lenses and adapters for DSLRs. While their quality isn't exactly bulletproof, they do deliver the special effect shots Flickr whores crave. The core lenses do variations on the whole small area of focus, lots of blurriness surrounding it, while the optics system lets you swap out inserts for different effects, like fisheye or pinhole. $95-$300. [Link]

A 50mm prime lens Back in the day, a 50mm prime lens is what photogs cut their teeth on. No zoom, no wide-angle, no image stabilization to fiddle with. Just sharp focus. Meaning it's pure composition on the photographer's part. If you're buying for a DSLR that's not full-frame—basically anything other than Canon 5D Mark II or D700—you're gonna wanna grab a 35mm lens (with the crop factor, it becomes about 50mm, give or take). They get pricier as they get faster, but you can score a cheap 50mm for about a hundred bucks, and a cheap(ish) 35mm for between $200 and $300. $90-$320 [Nikon 50mm, Canon 50mm, Nikon 35mm, Canon 35mm]

Joby GorillaPod A cheap tripod that'll fit in a hipster messenger bag, for long exposure shots. $30-$50 [Link]

Crumpler camera bags Most camera bags aren't very befitting of actually cool photographers. They're boring. Corporate. Ugly. Crumpler's 5 Million Home holds a DSLR, an extra lens and flash and is sunny sky blue. Stepping up a model, the 8 Million Dollar Home has more space for more stuff, if needed. $80-$170. [Link, Link]

Diana F+ CMYK lomo camera Real artsy photographers shoot with cheap lomo film cameras to produce vintage-y lo-fi photos, with crazy saturation, exposures and optical effects, perfect for Vice Magazine. Don't think, just shoot. And the super bright CMYK paint job? You know what it is. $105 [Link]

Leica M9: The ultimate photographer gift. Picking up a Leica camera instantly turns anybody into a Photographer. While holding a Leica, it is impossible not to shoot perfect, artsy photos. Even if you try. The M9 is the latest, most exquisite piece of German photographic craftsmanship yet, with an 18-megapixel, full-frame sensor that delivers the most amazing photos of all time. $7000 and worth every penny. [Link]

Superzoom Cameras: They're not DSLRs, they're not pocketable point-and-shoots, and they're definitely not artsy. They're for tourists, and for the money, you could easily get a way better cheap DSLR or vintage film camera.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

The detector, $60, goes about camera locating in a two-pronged attack. First, you look through the device's lens while the unit bathes the room in IR light. Rogue lenses should come out of the woodwork (possibly literally), which will allow you to angle your body toward camera appropriately.

Then, you use the Wi-Fi detector to track down the radio receiver. This function is critical, as you can ensure the receiver has an uninterrupted power supply and isn't overheating in tight quarters.

Skeptics may argue that knowing a camera is filming destroys the purity of unintended exhibitionism. But you tell that to the guy changing JCPenney dressing room who, despite his best efforts, is showing half the world nothing but belly button lint. [Chinavision via RedFerret]

I'm in no position to discuss the amount of technical wizardry in play here, but I do think the interface is really great. Look at how it overlays scanned textures on the person's hand to create a transparency effect. Neato!

It's definitely a whiz-bang application, but like augmented reality, I'm not sure how much I need it. Someone needs to figure out how to scan and print a sandwich. Now that would be something. [Pro Forma via Boing Boing]

The H3DII-50 MS records four shots in a row by "moving the sensor by one pixel between each shot to record full RGB values at each position." And while the picture quality is supposed to be fantastic, it's still tough to swallow the $34,000 price tag unless you're one very serious shutterbug. [Hasselblad via DP Review via Engadget]

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Flip Ultra HD: We tested basically every pocket camcorder in existence, and this was the best one we found. It shoots 720p HD and is easy enough for your grandma to use. If you're buying a gift for someone looking to experiment on a budget or simply shoot vacation videos, this is a great little cam. $150 [Flip]

Clapboard: No, I'm serious. Though this might just look like a cheesy prom prop (and that's what it is), little has changed about the most recognized icon of the film industry. And for filmmakers, it's still extremely handy in tracking good takes, and syncing sound, if needed. The novelty ones are cheap (and many are probably more for show); but splurge on a fancy dry erase version if you really love the recipient. $2 to $30 [Prom Wishes ; B&H]

Vintage Hollywood Photographs from Life Magazine: Vintage posters are neat, but I'd contend that these Life prints feel a tad more heart-felt. From Kubrick working on 2001 to Marilyn Monroe doing her thing, there are many gems to be found in Life's archives. About $100 [2001 Series; More Life Photos]

Iron Man Arc Reactor: Most people's latent super powers are still off in hiding, but you never know when a nemesis will rip out your power core, forcing you to crawl across your home for a spare. Don't look at the Iron Man Arc Reactor as a superfluous purchase; see it as an investment your loved one's health. $150 [Museum Replicas]

Sony UWP-V1 Wireless Lavalier Mic: During my tenure in broadcast and commercial production, I found a good, wireless lavalier mic to be the most versatile tool in my bag. It can be hidden anywhere on a body/prop, and the pickup frequencies are surprisingly decent for foleying. Sony's entry level mic, the UWP-V1, should serve any young filmmaker well. $485 [B&H]

Kodak Five-Day Cinematography Workshop: Few of us will ever have the chance to shoot on real, 35mm film. But Kodak's boot camp will teach you the basics of 35mm cinematography and give you a chance to burn some 35mm stock while experts hold your hand. The tuition is by no means a non-factor, but come on, it's pretty much the coolest fantasy camp without Michael Jordan or spaceships. $2,000 [Kodak]

DON'T BUY Back to the Future 2 Hat: I know, it's neat you can buy this hat. But it looked dumb on Marty McFly and it will look even worse on whoever you give it to. [Amazon]

4K Red One Camera: Yes, the body itself starts at nor far under $20,000—without lenses, mounts, CF modules or pretty much anything you'll need to use it. Yes, this camera is just as hard to shoot with as any full-fledged film camera (if not even harder). But it's also the cheapest 4K camera you can acquire, and for the price of one extended 35mm camera rental, you'll have a system that's "free to use" again and again. Just make sure to gift those cinematography classes first. $17,500 and Up [Red]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite gift ideas for movie buffs in comments—include pic and pricing if possible.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

Pocket camcorders (AKA mini cams or budget cams, or sometimes Flip cams after the pioneer of the category) are simple gadgets. They've got one job to do: Shoot watchable video, often for uploading to streaming video sites. They're also very close to the end of their lifespan, with perhaps only a year or so left before smartphones make them obsolete, but right now they're the easiest and cheapest way to take quick and dirty video. I tested seven of these diminutive camcorders, or more accurately six camcorders and one capable PMP, in five categories: Outdoor, indoor, low light, macro, and sound.

The criteria for judging fell mostly to smoothness of video during motion, image sharpness, noise, and color reproduction. Specs like storage capacity, screen size and battery life are mostly the same across the board, although overall, compared to last year, this crop of mini cams are faster and stronger, with beefed up memory and HD sensors. All save the iPod Nano take 720p video (or better) and add HDMI ports and more memory to accommodate the higher-quality footage. Yet I wasn't really all that thrilled with any of the camcorders—the bar for these cams is so low you could trip over it, and several of them actually did. Battery life was disappointing across the board, as none could break two hours of filming. Anyway, on to the results!

Results

Choosing between the Kodak Zi8, Flip Mino HD and Flip Ultra HD is tricky. The Zi8 is unreliable, but when it's good it's unbelievably good; the Mino HD is diminutive, solid and stylish, but overpriced and with lousy touch controls; and the Ultra HD is a reliably good shooter with a low price and the best controls of all, but physically unappealing (read: fat as hell). In my opinion, you should never judge a book by its obese cover, so the champion is...the Flip Ultra HD!

Flip Ultra HD: First Place

Flip's Ultra HD is the best overall choice. It's one of the cheapest cams around (at $150, it's $70 less than it's younger brother, the Mino HD), but it tied for the highest score in our lineup, and it features nice tactile controls that I much prefer to the sleeker Mino HD's touch-sensitive exercise in frustration. Unfortunately, the Dom DeLuise HD is upsettingly fat—about twice as thick as the Mino HD, but even that doesn't really get across how truly large it feels in the hand. It's not particularly heavy, but it is by a long shot the thickest pocket cam here. On the plus side, that girth hides a useful battery—Flip includes a rechargeable pack, but the John Candy HD can also use two AA batteries, which is great since pocket cams have generally abysmal battery life (usually about an hour, though of course they're often rated for double or triple that). Replaceable, cheap batteries are really nice, but some will have to decide whether the William Howard Taft HD's girth is worth that feature. Given its price, I think it is.

Video quality is just fine, above average if not particularly impressive on every test, and it, like the Mino HD, is extremely user-friendly. Although that simplicity yields less flexibility and a barebones feature set compared to the Kodak Zi8, it's a good distillation of the aims of pocket camcorders, and its 100% tactile controls are a welcome change from the Mino HD. If you're not superficial, it's a very smart buy.

Flip Mino HD: Second Place

Flip's Mino HD is the best-looking and best-feeling camcorder I tried. Its aluminum body feels solid and expensive, which might be because it is—at $230, it's the priciest camcorder I tested. But I wouldn't be surprised if it sells the best, even though it's not the greatest deal, because it looks (and is) simple, cute, and functional. I won't rehash my review, except to say that I hate those goddamn touch buttons more and more every time I use the Mino HD. They're incredibly sensitive and I guarantee that you will accidentally trigger the playback function more times than you can count.

Besides that, it's totally serviceable: It did well on all of my tests, it's thoughtfully designed and stupid-easy to use. But it's definitely overpriced, and I have a hard time recommending it over its physically awkward yet substantially cheaper older brother, the Ultra HD, just for its looks.

Kodak Zi8: Third Place

Wider and taller than the Flip Ultra HD, though not nearly as fat, the Zi8 packs a 1080p sensor and the largest and best screen of the bunch. The controls are easy and tactile and aside from flimsy-feeling plastic covers over the ports (one of mine already fell off), the hardware is high-quality. The Zi8 snagged the bronze medal, because while its highs were higher than either of the Flips, its lows were lower—and given how focused and simple this type of gadget is, reliability is worth more than flashing moments of greatness.

The Zi8 absolutely rocked in two of my tests, outdoor and macro, with perfect color reproduction and excellent clarity, and it even takes pretty decent still photos (think point-and-shoot circa 2006 quality). But the conditions need to be just right to get the most out of this guy—I first tried it in 1080p mode (neither of the Flips can break 720p) and while picture quality was amazing, scenes with lots of motion were pretty jerky to the point of being distracting. But even in 720p, it was still head-and-shoulders above the competition—but only in outdoor and macro testing. In the indoor test it proved to have difficulty focusing on objects closer than 10 feet but farther than 2 feet away, and low light shooting was distinctly tinted red and a bit dark. It wasn't unusable in any test (unlike the similarly uneven Creative Vado HD) and at $180 it's fairly priced, so I'd still recommend it—but you and I are likely to be more forgiving of the Zi8's flaws than, say, your mom, who just wants a camera that works pretty well all the time. For her, go for a Flip.

The Rest

The Creative Vado HD scored pretty high, only a point lower than the bronze medalist Kodak Zi8, but while its design is fairly middle-of-the-road (albeit nice and teeny), its abilities were all over the place. It was one of the worst in standard daytime shooting (it has a hard time with sunlight, a serious problem for a pocket cam) and macro, but was the best at indoor, and while its low light video was a little dark, it was the clearest and smoothest of the lot. It also, likely due to Creative's background in stellar-sounding PMPs and sound cards, boasts excellent sound quality. At $150, it's very fairly priced, but I can't recommend a camcorder that mangles sunlight the way the Vado does.

Apple's iPod Nano is the only "camcorder" in this roundup to peak at VGA resolution, and aside from a surprisingly strong macro performance, it shows. It turned vibrant colors dull and lifeless, washed out detail and made everything seem darker than it was. It can't compete with the Zi8s and Flips of the world, but it's still usable and incredibly priced at $150/$180 for 8GB/16GB—if you've got a Nano already, you probably won't need a dedicated cam. Convergence killed the video star, I guess.

The JVC Picsio GC-FM1 sucked. It's spectacularly ugly (think Ed Hardy-inspired) and cheap-feeling, with a confusing button layout (unforgivable in a pocket cam) and a high price ($200, or $178 at Amazon). Besides all that, it scored poorly in every one of our tests. Avoid.

And finally, the worst—Aiptek's PenCam HD. I wanted to like it, I really did—it's got a tongue-depressor-like design and came with a sweet tripod that attaches to a bicycle's handlebars—but it bombed in almost every one of my tests. The 1.1-inch screen is nearly unusable and battery life barely topped 40 minutes, so it's definitely the loser here.

Here's a giant gallery of all 28 videos I took.

Don Nguyen assisted with this Battlemodo.

This very special limited edition of the M7 35mm camera comes in silver chrome with calfskin leather accents in two colors, orange and the mysteriously named "etoupe" (sic). Brian likes the orange but I prefer the etoupe—the orange version seems like the one you'd take on a hunting trip, while the etoupe seems like more of a safari jaunt. What can I say, I love animals, and Brian loves eating them.

The M7 includes a Leica SUMMILUX-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH. wide-angle lens, lens hood, LEICAVIT M winder and a matching carrying case. There aren't too many changes from the original M7, just a few cosmetic things mostly so the original styling doesn't clash with your new baby cow skin leather. It's pretty much the best-looking camera I've ever seen, and commands the kind of price you'd expect: £8550, or about $14,400 USD. That's incredibly expensive, sure, but the standard M7 costs about $5,000 and these things last forever, so it's not like you'll have to buy the Leica "M7S" (zing!) in six months. The M7 Hermes edition will be available in the UK sometime in December. [Pocket-Lint via Engadget]

While not entirely scientific, the pattern supposedly grabs a baby's attention and holds it long enough to get a decent photo. ShutterBuddy's PR team managed to cook up this gem: "The ShutterBuddy™ is a revolutionary new product that uses the science of infant vision development and pattern recognition to capture and hold a baby's attention so that you can get a great picture." Making your kid smile on command is another story, but I've heard things that squeak or jingle sometimes do the trick.

At $20, the ShutterBuddy is cheapish. Could be worth a look if you've got a bunch of holiday greeting cards to send out this year. Oh, and a baby. [Shutter Buddy via CrunchGear]

Rumors surrounding the launch of this expensive little retro looker have been with us since about November 10, when the expertly named Leica Rumors site broke word that the company sharing their namesake was all but prepared to reveal a limited edition film camera.

Two weeks before that, the M7 Hermes camera was showcased in Tokyo, looking gorgeous. Its presence there was no accident, apparently, as the latest tidbits, mentioned above, are that this M7 Hermes thing is about to skip onto the scene in a mere 24 hours.

For the price of a compact sedan, it could be yours. [Leica Rumors]