Lego Gadgets: Not Just for Kids

Who doesn't love Legos. Kids and grownups alike. So, we have to wonder, who is the target market for the new line of gadgets from toy-maker Lego.

Lego has joined up with Digital Blue to produce a line of products supposedly aimed for children, ages 7 through 11. They are slated to produce cameras, MP3 players, alarm clocks and walkie-talkies. 

"Our entrance into the youth electronics space will enable our fans to express themselves through photos, videos and music, while displaying their enthusiasm for one of the world's all-time favourite toys," said Jill Wilfert, Lego Group's vice president of licensing.

Keep reading for another photo op.

Presidential First

History is being made. For the first time, an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera instead of film.

The portrait of the soon-to-be prez was shot by the new White House photog Pete Souza on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II today.  It was used with a 105mm lens stopped to f/10 with an ISO of 100.

What do you think? Looks a little dull to me. Could you have done better? --Leslie Shapiro

The Huffington Report

Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Camcorder

Not ready to plunk down five grand on Canon's latest camera with HD capabilities? Creative Labs comes to the rescue.  Joining the ranks with Kodak and Flip Mino HD, the Vado HD 720P pocket video camcorder is the latest mini with HD capabilities. Plus, for $199.99, what's not to like?

Although it's not Full HD, the 720p capabilities should look great for most home-movie situations. It comes with an HDMI cable, but the built-in USC connector is the first thing that will catch your eye. 

Keep reading for more pics and specs.

Pure Digital Technologies Flip Mino HD -- World's Tiniest Camcorder

Lots of companies are putting out so-called HD mini camcorders. They have the numbers, but they just don't look good on anything besides YouTube. That's about to change.

The world's smallest HD camcorder just hit the streets. The Flip Mino HD from Pure Digital Technologies has a resolution of 720p, records at 30fps or 60fps, 1,280 x 720. Other cameras have similar specs, and it takes a lot more to make a good-looking HD image. Hopefully, the Mino HD will live up to the hype.

More details . . .

LG: One Phone To Rule Them All

LG has an interesting view of the future of mobile phones. According to a report on Gizmodo, LG voiced their opinion on convergence at a meeting in London.

While showing off their new KC-910 phone, they're implying that there's nothing stopping mobile phones from taking over the digital camera industry. This new phone, dubbed Renoir, has an 8MP camera, xenon flash, with VGA/30fps video.

Why else does LG think that mobile phones will absorb other markets?

Canon's new EOS 5D Mark II in Action

Last week, we told you about Canon's new 21 Megapixel still camera that also shoots HD video.  Now you can check out a sample video shot with a pre-production sample of the camera. I gotta say, it's amazing.

The files used to create the sample video REVERIE were re-compressed for ¼ resolution display on the Canon website. To view creator Vincent Laforet’s comments and behind-the-scenes video on the making of REVERIE, please visit his blog: blog.vincentlaforet.com

Where can you see a sample?

Canon's new 21MP DSLR with Full HD Video

Canon's much-acclaimed new 5D Mark II is making its grand debut, living up to the hub-bub. It does it all. It's a 21-megapixal digital SLR, and it's the first still camera to shoot full HD video — 1920 x 1080 at 30 frames per second. It will record that video for up to 12 minutes, or up to 24 minutes of standard def. Plus, there's an HDMI port to connect directly to an HDTV.

How does it compare to the competition?

RED's Scarlet Beauty Update

Scarlet is the new black. Really. This Scarlet is the much-anticipated 3K camera from RED Digital Cinema. Finally we have a sneak peek at this beautiful bombshell.

Scarlet is a 3K digital camera that's expected to retail for under $3,000. It has a 2/3-inch 3K sensor, built-in 8x T2.8 Zoom lens that maintains speed through the zoom, 4.8" flip-out LCD screen, built-in stereo mic, internal removable battery, and dual CF card slot.

No one has known what Scarlet would look like. Keep reading to see what everyone is talking about.

Panasonic Cameras Go High-Def

Panasonic has made it easier to leave the camcorder at home with two of its newest Lumix cameras announced this week before the Photo Marketing Association show in Las Vegas. The FX35 and TZ5 (both due out this spring at $349) shoot high-def video at 1280 x 720p resolution.

Return from vacation, drop the SD card into the slot on your Panasonic plasma and you have an instant HD movie (at least that's what Panasonic hopes you'll do).

Purists and outdoor enthusiasts will still want to stuff a camcorder into carry-on, though. As part of the launch event near Nellis Air Force Base, we were hard-pressed to keep up with F-16s streaking across the sky having only an LCD viewfinder to work with in bright sunlight (a generous one, though, at 3 inches). Still, HD 30fps video is a nice add along with automated scene selector mode, a 25mm wide angle lens (FX35) and 10x optical zoom (TZ5).

Stock up on SD cards, though. The HD setting gobbles up memory at a rate of 7 minutes of Motion JPEG video on a 2GB card. Help is on the way in the form of Panasonic's 32GB card that's due to hit stores in May. Save your pennies. That little vault will sell for at least double the price of the $299 16-gig SD card currently on the market.--Rebecca Day