DIGITAL SNAPSHOTS
Latest news in the digital photography
world
By PETER WEINBERGER
Media cards and airport X-ray scanners
With increased security in airports around
the country, several readers have asked whether their
camera’s media cards are safe going through the screening
process. Recent studies by the U.S. Transportation
Administration (TSA) found no evidence of damage to digital
film by the current scanner models used by the industry. This
includes checked and carry-on baggage. I recommend however,
taking your camera equipment with you to avoid impact damage
and dramatic temperature changes.
Memory cards just keep getting bigger
Lexar announced a new set of professional
grade media cards that now have 8gb of memory for their
compactflash cards. Their Secure Digital (SD) cards have also
been upgraded to a 60x write speeds. What’s unique about
these cards is the LockTight technology, which allows for tight
security of your images. Easy-to-use software allows you to
establish a security code for your card that can only be
accessed by your camera or PC.
Who needs a memory card anyway?
Panasonic has developed a 5-megapixel
camera that not only uses an SD memory card, but also has 14mb
of built-in internal memory. The DMZ-LZ2 comes with many
options of more expensive cameras, including a 6x zoom lens and
image stabilization that adds the equivalent 3 f-stops for low
light situations. Although the number of images you can shoot
with the internal memory is limited, this marks the beginning
of an option other camera companies will follow.
Canon leads the way again
Canon continues to take the lead in
developing better quality cameras that are less expensive. They
were the first camera company to break the $1000 SLR barrier
with the Digital Rebel. These types of cameras offer many of
the options pro models have including interchangeable lenses
and faster focusing times. Canon just announced the new Digital
Rebel XT, which is faster, lighter and has more resolution (8.0
megapixels) than it’s older sibling. This camera will be
the standard for the serious amateur market, all for a price
under $900.
