Cameras

The au naturel look in technology design has given us computer equipment, digital photo frames and even LCD TVs made of wood. But oddly enough we haven't seen too many wooden handheld devices, by comparison.

Olympus apparently wants to rectify this situation with a camera that sports a casing made entirely of wood. Gadgetizer even includes a YouTube video that explains part of the crafting process, though the camera isn't available for purchase yet.

We're not sure if we would buy this particular model anyway, but we do like the look of finished wood over other natural … Read more

Thin isn't all it's cracked up to be, despite what Kirstie Alley might say, especially when it comes to phones. Nevertheless, Samsung claims to have come up with the slimmest slider phone of its kind, the "Ultra Edition SGH-Z720," which measures a wispy 0.54 inches thick and weighs just 2.8 ounces.

The phone's design is still wide enough to include a 2.1-inch screen, a 3-megapixel auto-focus camera and a second camera for video telephony, according to Fareastgizmos. Notable software features include preinstalled Google mobile search and Gmail, as well as support for … Read more

Solar power may be making great strides in mainstream usage, but energy efficiency doesn't necessarily translate to fiscal conservation. The "Ultimate Outdoor Webcam" by DigitalXtractions, for example, runs on the sun's rays but costs $450 plus another $150 or $250 for a solar panel, according to The Raw Feed. But here's the kicker: Not only do you have to pay those exorbitant prices up front, but you also must shell out $60 a year for a "data subscription" that includes Web hosting. We think we'll keep a USB port open for the &… Read more

As much as it pains us to admit it, some of us at Crave don't have the latest personal technologies in our personal possession. One such glaring omission, for example, is a laptop with a built-in Webcam.

As shameful as this is, we hope to still be able to partly make up for this shortcoming with something like the diminutive "Volvex," a USB stick with built-in camera from Sunyang DNT. Unfortunately, PClaunches says this little combo gadget will be available only in South Korea until further notice, starting at $59 for a model with 512MB storage. But … Read more

There's one thing that brings people together every holiday season, and we're not talking about the mall: It's car accidents. Bad weather, bad drivers, bad last-minute-shopping attitudes make for a deadly combination. So Crave is doing our part to spread cheery thoughts by passing along the "RoadBox."

This "vehicle accident camera system" from South Korea, according to Red Ferret, "incorporates a speed and acceleration monitor to give you some all round information about the circumstances leading up to the crash, 14 seconds before and 6 seconds after." It just goes to … Read more

As we've noted frequently in the past, ill-advised tampering can make some technological experiments go terribly awry. But sometimes, the need for certain functions supersedes all in the evolution of the handset.

That, at least, is how we view the mobile phone telescope from Brando. In fact, Shiny Shiny (a closet birder--who knew?) even admits to lusting after this gadget "possibly more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." Wow.

With such strong convictions, we find it difficult to fault this latest genetic permutation--even if it does make a perfectly decent phone look like the … Read more

This falls under our definition of a feel-good item, but probably not in the way you might think. It has nothing to do with tugging heartstrings; it just makes us feel good because it's evidence that we're not the only clueless people in the world.

You'd think that tripods would be among the easier photographic accessories to use, yet some of us are still confounded by them. Finally, there's something that even we can handle: the "Camera Stabilising Bag" (that's "stabilising" with an "s," not a "z," … Read more

The other day we were complaining (yes, again) that electronics manufacturers sometimes seem determined to disguise their products, making them look different devices altogether. Well, we're apparently not alone.

Mobile Magazine makes a similar observation about the "Neo 808i" phone, which it says looks more like a media player because of its landscape screen. Even more notable, though, is how many features it crams into its diminutive frame. Among those are a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 and MP4 player, FM radio, 128MB of memory, 3D graphics and Bluetooth connectivity. All this in an almost-miniature case that … Read more

With so many products going under water these days, the only thing we can surmise is that people are really taking this whole global warming thing seriously. That would be at least one explanation for the proliferation of gadgets like this waterproof digital movie camera.

Gizmag says the Sanyo VPC-CA6 has a resolution of 6 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom, retailing for around $250. It does take stills as well, but if you're not satisfied with the quality you can try any number of waterproof point-and-shoot cameras. Either way, you can transfer your shots with your waterproof USB device … Read more