Every mother wants to keep pictures of her loved ones close to her, so cameras and photographs make ideal Mother’s Day gifts.

When it comes to finding the perfect gift for your mom – and don’t forget grandmothers and wives! – there are many photographic options, from cameras and accessories to prints and collectibles. We’ve come a long way since the days of photo calendars and coffee mugs. Here are some gift ideas sure to please every mother on your list (including a few do-it-yourself options for kids and the budget-minded).

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Nik Software Ships Viveza Plug-in for Aperture

San Diego, CA - May 7, 2008 - Nik Software today released the Viveza plug-in for Aperture 2.1, Apple’s groundbreaking photo editing and management software. The Viveza plug-in allows Aperture users to selectively control light and color in photographic images without ever having to leave Aperture.

“With the power and popularity of Aperture, we want our customers to decide how and where they edit their digital photos,” said Michael J. Slater president and CEO of Nik Software. “The continued enthusiasm around Viveza and U Point technology has been extraordinary and we worked closely with Apple to bring our tools to Aperture. Their new image editing SDK made it easy for us to bring our world-class solution directly into Aperture.”

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DIGITAL FOCI SHIPS NEW “IMAGE MOMENTS 8″ DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME
Perfect Gift for Mother’s Day

Los Angeles, May 2, 2008 - Digital Foci, Inc. (www.digitalfoci.com) announced today that it’s now shipping the new “Image Moments 8″ 8-inch screen digital photo frame, just in time for Mother’s Day. “Image Moments 8″ features advanced LED Backlight Technology, 450MB of internal memory, and built-in memory card slots to let you display and share photos in sharp, vibrant color on its high-resolution digital LCD screen.

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A New Twist On The Photo Album,
Photo Books Come In All Sizes And Styles

Back in the days of film photography, pictures that didn’t make it into photo albums languished in shoe boxes under beds or on closet shelves. However, the modern equivalent of a shoebox - a computer hard drive - is generally a far less safe location .

On a computer, photographs are extremely vulnerable to being lost in hard-drive crashes, unless they are regularly and securely backed up onto an external hard drive, CD or DVD. But while archival digital storage is important, it’s not much fun for viewing.

The best way to enjoy photographs while ensuring they last for years is to place them in a photo album or its more recent variation, a photo book.

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Canon EOS 1D Mark III Firmware Update Version 1.2.3

Firmware Changes:
This firmware update (Version 1.2.3) incorporates the following improvements.

1. Includes the following new features that were frequently requested by customers to the new firmware.

• Direct selection of AF points by the Multi-controller is added to C.Fn III-9.
• Alternate access to Exposure compensation is added to C.Fn IV-3.
• With the camera’s External Speedlite control menu, Flash function settings can be used to set the Wireless setting and Zoom.

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Rugged Digital Cameras For Backpacking,
Cycling, Boating, And The Worksite

With the summer beach and travel season coming up and the recent announcement of Ricoh’s new G600 water-resistant and shockproof digital camera, I thought it would be good to do a roundup of current outdoor-friendly compact digital cameras. By “outdoor-friendly,” I mean cameras that have some level of moisture resistance and can take some physical abuse - cameras you can take to the beach, camping, etc. Right now, between Olympus, Pentax, and Ricoh, people who want a rugged, moisture-resistant digital camera have plenty of choices.

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CANON CELEBRATES PRODUCTION OF 40 MILLION EF LENSES

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 29, 2008 — Canon U.S.A., Inc. is proud to announce that Canon Inc. has achieved a new lens-manufacturing milestone as production of the Company’s EF lenses passed the 40-million mark.

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The 10.1-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 has one of the widest lenses offered in a pocket-sized point-and-shoot digital camera. The 4x Leica optical zoom is 25mm at the wide end with an f/2.8-5.6 aperture and Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. optical image stabilization. The FX35 also features the 4th generation of Panasonic’s Venus image processing for faster image capture, start-up, and a super-fast frame rate. It’s all packaged in a very compact, attractive metal body with a 2.5-inch LCD.

Want to buy a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35?
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >>

Pros 25mm 4x Leica wide-angle lens Pocket-sized Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization Intelligent ISO Panasonic Venus IV processing Lots of auto focus options	Cons Image quality is poor from over-processing Auto focus struggles with low-contrast scenes Face detection doesn’t work well Telephoto end is short

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