Digital Camera News, 2/22/08

Price drops for Fujifilm Finepix F50fd, Z10fd announced

Presumably as a follow-up to the introduction of the F100fd at PMA, Fujifilm recently announced that the MSRP of its popular F50fd compact is coming down. As of February 3, the new suggested price is set at $249.95.

The budget ultra-compact Finepix Z10fd, which is also seeing an impending upgrade in the Z20fd, has been reduced to $149.95 MSRP.

The price cuts seem to have already had an impact on street prices, meaning that now may be a good time to snatch up a deal if you're in the market for a Fuji.

Patent application offers insight into potential DSLR movie mode technology

DSLRs have a fundamental problem when it comes to movie modes: basic SLR design means that there's a mirror in front of the sensor, presenting the many of the same challenges that stood in the way of live view along with some additional AF system concerns.

Photography Bay reported this week on a patent application from inventor Hiroshi Terada aimed at overcoming these issues. One key to the proposed system is a mirror that transmits 70 percent of incoming light through to the sensor, while reflecting the other 30 percent up to the AF sensor as in a conventional SLR.

The folks at Photography Bay suggest that some solution of this kind has seemed "inevitable" for awhile now, and we're inclined to agree. For more information on everything required to make video capture on DSLRs a reality, take a look at the fully story, which breaks the patent application down in detail.

Oddball USB card readers on display

The tech blog Gizmodo featured a parade of bizarre USB card readers this week. If you're in the market for something to pull shots from your camera and either copy files from your Packard Bell or monitor ambient temperature, they've got your gadgets right here.

For old-school desktop users (or anyone still holding onto sub-megapixel Sony Mavicas), our runner uses an empty drive bay on your computer and USB 2.0 to transfer files from SDs, MMCs, Memory Sticks, CF cards, and, best of all, 3.5-inch floppy disks. According to Gizmodo's story, this opportunity to confuse your teenage children should be available for around $40.

From a design standpoint, even better is this massive multi card reader with pup tent styling from USBGeek.com. All the standard formats are supported on this USB 2.0 device, which also includes a thermometer and clock on its sliding cover. With "time and temperature" phone numbers going the way of 3.5-inch floppies in many communities, sounds like a winner to us. Check out the original story for more info and photos.