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An orangutan in the Vienna Zoo takes pictures that are uploaded to Facebook. No, she didn't take the self-portrait.

(Credit: Nonja's Facebook page)

She's like the Ashton Kutcher of the ape world: an orangutan in the Vienna Zoo now has a Facebook fan page to showcase the photos she takes with a digital camera. The orangutan, named Nonja, uses a Samsung ST 1000 point-and-shoot that automatically uploads the photos.

When this post was published, Nonja had over 9,000 "fans" subscribed to her page.

But there's a catch: coverage of the camera-toting ape in the U.K.'s Daily Mail explains that the camera has been modified to dispense a raisin whenever the shutter button is pushed. So Nonja is evidently more interested in tasty treats than in artistic endeavors.

The non-orangutan version of the Samsung ST 1000 was released this summer (though not in the U.S.) and is equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Google and Microsoft have joined a group devoted to creating a way that cell phone buyers can easily comprehend the quality of their camera phones.

The International Imaging Industry Association said the tech titans signed up to help with the third phase of the Camera Phone Image Quality Initiative, in which a variety of companies try to create measurements to capture various test results.

Mobile phones that can take photos are ubiquitous today, but with tiny image sensors and lenses and severe budget constraints, they vary widely in their ability to take good photos. Mostly all that buyers have to go on is a megapixel count, which isn't terribly meaningful when it comes to such small sensors. The International Imaging Industry Association, a consortium whose mission is to make imaging better for consumers, is trying to come up with a better way.

The mobile phone camera tests include resolution, color uniformity, lens distortion, and lens chromatic aberration, but the group also plans to factor in sharpness and noise reduction. A variety of other possibilities ranging from dynamic range, white balance, and resistance to glare also could be added into the mix as well.

The group is trying boil all this down into an official star rating consumers can trust.

Other companies working on the standard include Aptina Imaging, CDM Optics, DxO Labs, Eastman Kodak, Fujifilm, Motorola, Nokia, OmniVision Technologies, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, STMicroelectronics, ST Ericsson, and VistaPoint Technologies.

If you enjoy photography, don't make the mistake I did.

Using my then-new SLR in 2005 and 2006, I photographed everything from my new son to otherworldly canyons we visited in Utah. The only problem: the photos were taken only in JPEG format.

JPEG is fine as far as it goes, and indeed for most folks it will suffice. But having rediscovered my enjoyment of photography in the digital era, I wish I'd used the raw image format that comes with SLRs and higher-end compact cameras.

This illustration shows the checkerboard Bayer pattern of a typical digital camera's image sensor. Each pixel captures either red, green, or blue.

(Credit: DxO Labs)

My initial regret was from the realization that raw photos, although taking up about three times the storage space as a JPEG and requiring manual processing, offer higher quality and more flexibility. But what I've come to understand since then is a second advantage of raw: because processing software improves over time, raw photos in effect can get better with age.

For that reason, I've begun recommending friends who show some enthusiasm for photography that they should think about shooting important events in raw format alongside JPEG. You don't have to mess with the raw files today, but if it's an important event like a wedding, you might want them for later.

I've included below some samples of a noisy image shot in near-darkness at ISO 25,600 from my SLR. They may not convince you that shooting raw is a miracle cure for photo quality, but they do illustrate some differences with the camera's JPEG and that the raw-processing software isn't standing still.

(Credit: Pure Digital)

With many electronics makers looking to replicate the success of the Flip video camera, the company behind it, Cisco, is looking for a new way to stand out.

Since the Flip's debut in 2007, a parade of similar sub-$200 camcorders, from far more established names have followed, including those from Sony, Samsung, Kodak, Creative, Toshiba, and others. Now the Flip folks are mixing it up a bit.

Instead of readying an updated camera for the holidays, the newest product isn't a camera at all, but a tiny, square-ish box that plugs into a TV. Using a small white USB dongle, it can stream your homemade Flip videos stored on your computer to your TV's larger screen, with the ability to sort through videos using an included remote control. The system is called Flipshare TV, and it's available starting Wednesday.

Some 3 million of the pocket-sized flash-based cameras have sold since the Flip's launch in 2007. After establishing the brand, the device's makers Pure Digital sold the company to networking giant Cisco for $590 million.

Jonathan Kaplan, Flip founder and current vice president of Cisco's consumer products group, said earlier this year to expect "networked" Flip cameras, and Flipshare TV is one example of that.

The idea behind Flipshare TV is that you'll be more likely to watch your videos after making them if you can show them to a larger group on a larger screen. Taking home video is great, as Flip's head of marketing Simon Fleming-Wood says, but "the key is the ability is to do fun things with it."... Read more

(Credit: Crave UK)

In the year Olympus declared an end to the megapixel race, we've seen all kinds of exciting, innovative, and occasionally insane new digital cameras.

This new generation of cameras no longer relies on the myth of megapixels to seduce you: you're tech-savvy enough to know that more megapixels don't necessarily mean better pictures. These days manufacturers have to think outside the box to differentiate their products. Way, way outside the box.

From interchangeable lenses to built-in projectors, GPS, and Wi-Fi; from touch screens to extra screens to 3D pictures and transformed sensors, we run down the cameras with unique selling points, and decide if they're a stroke of genius or a hopeless gimmick.

Read more of "Gimmicks are the new megapixels: The new generation of unusual digital cameras" at Crave UK.

(Credit: Sunpak)

One of the more recent additions to Sunpak's tripod line is the 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod, an inexpensive, full-size carbon fiber tripod with a pistol grip ball head. Available for $199 from Best Buy, it's one of the cheaper carbon fiber tripods around and it's lightweight and very portable because of its carbon fiber construction.

The Sunpak 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod has seven-layer carbon fiber legs with a maximum height of 64 inches, and is 27.3 inches long when collapsed. It has three positions of leg angle locks for low-angle photography, with a minimum height of 12 inches. There's a second center column for low-level photography and retractable leg spikes for when outdoors.

The tripod features a pistol grip ball head, with a detachable quick-release camera plate that can hold up to 6.1 pounds. There's a built-in bubble level for setting up shots. Foam leg pads make carrying comfortable, and a padded tripod carrying case with shoulder strap is included.

The Sunpak 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod also comes with a lifetime guarantee.

(Credit: Red)

If you've seen our Holiday Gift Guide, you'll notice the oh-so-desirable Red One modular videocam, which costs a staggering $17,500. Well, now you don't have to fork out so much for a Red system. The company has just announced the availability of the Scarlet 2/3, an affordable 3k-resolution video camera. That is, if you find $4,750 cheap.

Red initially unveiled this vidcam late last year with a price tag of $3,750 for just the body and a lens. However, the firm recently added more features to the modular system to justify for the $1,000 price bump.

Users will get a 2/3-inch sensor, 2.8-inch touch screen, CompactFlash card module, RedMote Pro, battery, and charger. The shooter has a fixed 8x optical zoom lens, but if you're looking to use your own glass, the firm is offering a kit with the body and lens adapters for Red, Canon and Nikon optics at a mere $2,750. More information available here.

(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget)

(Credit: Manfrotto)

While good full-size tripods are readily available, good tabletop camera supports are not always so easy to find. Tabletop supports run the gamut from bean bags to miniature tripods and usually lack somehow either in how much weight they can hold or in how adjustable they are.

The Manfrotto Modopocket, however, is a tiny but powerful camera support.

The Modopocket supports up to 1 pound, which covers almost all point-and-shoots and even some lightweight dSLRs. Its innovative design allows it to fold up flat for easy storage in a pocket of your camera bag, or almost anywhere. It looks like a big door hinge when folded up and you use a coin or such to attach it to the tripod socket on the bottom of the camera. It functions best with cameras with the tripod socket in the center.

The Modopocket feels very sturdy and solidly built, especially for being so small. A small cable runs from one leg to the other that allows it to stay in position if you tilt it forward or backward a bit to angle the camera. One of its coolest features is that it can be folded up while still attached to the camera for ease of use, and so you just don't lose it. Also, with it attached to the camera, the camera can still be attached to a tripod, so that whether on a tripod or not your little Modopocket is always attached and ready.

The tripod worked great with several point-and-shoots, and even with a Canon Rebel XSi and an 18-55 lens, and it didn't feel like it was going to collapse. The Manfrotto Modopocket sells for around $25.

Manfrotto Modopocket (photos)

iFotoGuide interactive iPhone photography guide

iFotoGuide has released its digital guide to on-location nature photography, a nature guide to select national parks. The first in a planned series to be released is iFotoGuide: Arches, about Arches National Park.

The iFotoGuide app allows you to look up travel information like hotels and weather, and park information like wildflower blooms and entrance fees. It enables you to find places to shoot; you can look for prime shooting locations to photograph a sunrise or a sunset. There are instructions for getting to the locations, as well as information on how to best shoot from them. It has a photo gallery of images from the park. You can just select the photo and the app provides the information to get there, and to photograph there.

"iFotoGuide: Arches" sells for $4.99 on the iTunes app store. It can be updated for free to allow new content such as additional locations in the park.