| Camera makers ready for high-end battle
Camera manufacturers are zooming in on mid- to top-range digital single-lens reflex models for the year-end shopping season. Industry officials expect baby boomers, who began reaching retirement age this year, to take up photography as a serious pastime. Advanced models carry fatter profit margins than entry-level products, which have led to the expansion of the digital SLR camera market. Targeted primarily at experienced amateurs, the cameras offer a resolution of more than 10 megapixels and typically sell for between 100,000 yen and 200,000 yen. Nikon Corp. will roll out the D300 high-end model on Nov. 23 at about 230,000 yen. It boasts a resolution of 12.3 megapixels, comparable to that of professional-use models. The camera can shoot up to eight frames per second and capture 100 sequential images thanks to a new image-processing system.
HP to quit making digital cameras
Hewlett-Packard said it would stop making its own line of digital cameras in order to shift more resources toward its printing business. While HP plans to continue selling cameras under its brand, it is looking for a manufacturer to license the design, build the devices and distribute them, the company said in a statement. HP will continue selling its own cameras through the holiday season, but intends to partner with a manufacturer in the first half of next year. The move is to shift more resources to what HP calls its Print 2.0 initiative, which the company unveiled in May at its Imaging and Printing Conference in New York. The strategy is heavily focused on leveraging Web-based services in trying to capture a significant share of the growing number of digital pages printed each year.
Film's future in the black (and white)
NEW YORK - Hang on to your film camera while we take a little stroll back to the future. A resurgence of old-fashioned black-and-white photography might have you reaching for that little Brownie box camera that's been gathering dust in the closet since you followed the herd into the digital age. Eastman Kodak, still struggling to make the transition between film and digital technology, is showing off its newest cutting-edge technology -- T-MAX black and white 400 ASA film at the PDN PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo in New York. It's developed the old-fashioned way, with chemicals in a handful of photo labs. For Kodak, that plays right into the hands of the growing number of art schools and photo enthusiasts who are embracing the old technology of hand-developing film and prints in darkrooms.
Tech the halls
Find out the latest on electronics gifts for the holidays, plus get the top picks on laptops, phones, cameras, HDTVs, video games, GPS devices and stocking stuffers. High-Def TVS You'll have to choose one of three technologies. Liquid crystal displays are thin, lightweight and produce a bright picture but images are difficult to see from an angle. Plasma screens have excellent color reproduction but are heavy and images can burn into the screen. Digital-light processing screens are lightweight but images can be blurry. -------- PANASONIC TH-42PZ7OOU Price: $1,400 Why we like it: This 42-inch plasma TV is one of the most expensive plasmas of its size. But reviewers at CNET.com and Wired magazine said it was the best.
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