Canon's new Vixia HD Flash memory camcorder line comprises nine different models that vary in resolution and memory size. Within the Vixia line, Canon has created the high-end HF-S, the compact HF-M and the entry-level FR-R. All three series can record at up to 1080p HD.

The S-series, which includes the S21, the S20 and the S200, comes with internal Flash memory ranging from 32 to 64GB and has two SD card slots for video transfer. Each records on an 8.59-megapixel full-HD CMOS sensor and...

A Seattle photographer embraces imperfection and pushes the limits of her beloved $30 Holga camera.

For many photographers, their first experience with a camera is with a cheap point-and-shoot, such as an old Kodak Instamatic or a Polaroid. Once hooked, the photographer usually moves on to newer, more advanced models with greater capabilities. For others, however, first impressions are often lasting ones. Such is the case for Seattle photographer Michelle Bates. For nearly two decades, she has held a soft spot in her heart for her first camera: a $30 Holga. While she also uses today's advanced DSLRs for images that require more precision, Bates has continued using the Holga, embracing the format's many flaws and limitations.Mass-produced in China since the early 1980s, the Holga is a study in simplicity: fixed 60mm plastic lens; spring-loaded, nonadjustable shutter; medium-format 120 film; rugged aesthetic. The camera was made to take quick family portraits for the Chinese...

p>Canon is releasing a second-generation EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM professional telephoto lens. With increased durability and image stabilization, the new EF lens has also reduced the minimum focal range from 4.6 to 3.9 feet, allowing users to get even closer to their subjects.

The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens comes with...

Portrait and landscape photographer Evelyn Hofer, best known for her travel photography in the 1950s and 1960s, died in November 2009 at the age of 87.

Born in Germany in 1922, Hofer moved with her family to Mexico during World War II and to New York after the war ended. Hofer also spent time in Zurich, where she completed an apprenticeship and began a career as a fashion photographer.

She did not spend much time in fashion, however, preferring a more documentary portraiture style...

Home and Studio: Los Angeles (sokolsky.com). Represented by the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles. After moving his studio to Los Angeles in the 1970s, he found that his work — especially his commercial work — took him all over the world, so he eventually let the studio go. His present studio is in his home, and includes a custom-designed south-facing balcony with the ability to filter and block light.

Family Life: Lives with his wife, Button, married for many years. They have a son, Bing, a respected cinematographer whose credits include "NYPD Blue" and "Numbers."...

For more than half a century, photographer Melvin Sokolsky has blazed a trail across the fashion, celebrity and advertising world with his uniquely personal point of view.

Melvin Sokolsky was 18 years old, on his way to look at a studio to share in New York. He was with his girlfriend — now his wife — Button. The door on the seventh floor was opened by "a balding, chubbyish man with a little tummy, and he had a very thick accent. And I was like a gymnast. I looked at him as a guy who doesn't take care of himself. That was my mentality at that time. All sorts of criteria, of judgment, suspicion; I had it all."

The man asked if he could photograph Sokolsky's girlfriend. While he was setting up, Sokolsky wandered around the studio, where there were matted prints...

With today's DSLRs rapidly expanding their video capabilities, here are some tips on how even a still-camerea photographer can become the next Scorsese.

Video seems like a hot topic these days, but there’s nothing really new about it. Video has been around since the first days of television. What is new is the increased demand for video due to broadband and mobile devices — and that means opportunity.

YouTube gets 100 million hits a day. In our digital society, people interact and communicate more and more via the web and social media sites. Due to faster internet connections, we are able to watch videos without the painful process of waiting for them to download. Marketers, corporations, institutions and publishers have all taken notice of the power of online video sharing and realize the potential it has to get their message out...

Panasonic has added the 12.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-ZS5 and ZS7 consumer cameras to its ZS super-zoom series, and the Lumix DMC-TS2 and DMC-ZR3 to its outdoor line.

The ZS5 has a 25mm ultra-wide-angle Leica lens; 12x optical zoom, which is operable even in video mode; and intelligent resolution, which analyzes outlines, textured areas and gradation to get...

Olympus has developed an even smaller-bodied model of its micro four-thirds camera, the EP-2 — a 12.3-megapixel interchangeable-lens camera with an enhanced continuous autofocus tracking system, two new art filers and additional connectivity ports. C-AF Tracking and AF Target registration allow users to lock onto subjects and adjust exposure and focus.

New to this camera, the diorama art filter creates a "miniature model" with narrow depth of focus and enhanced subject contrast. The cross-process art filter easily manipulates...

Los Angeles-area photographer Tom Atwood was awarded second and third prizes in the 2009 Worldwide Photography Gala Awards competition. This year's images, submitted from 27 countries around the world, can be seen in The WonderPick Gallery at wonderpick.com.