The Kodak ESP 5 is an all-in-one inkjet printer designed for home office users looking for an easy-to-use printer with low ink costs. The ESP 5 features a 3.0” LCD, facial retouch, Kodak perfect touch technology, red-eye reduction, color restoration, 30 pages per minute print speed in black and white, and 29 pages per minute print speed in color. It is capable of performing printing, copying, and faxing. 

This new printer is also part of Kodak’s campaign to end “ink profiteering” by offering printing supplies for about 50 percent less than other manufacturers. The Kodak ESP 5 uses Kodak’s high-quality pigmented inks that come in a simple two-cartridge setup – a full black cartridge (which costs $9.99) and a five-ink color cartridge (which costs $14.99). 

With the large 3.0” screen, users can easily perform simple image enhancements and color adjustments without a computer. 

The Kodak ESP 5 is available now for about $152.99 - $181.31.

The General Electric GE E1235 is a 12-megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom. It is designed to be a point-and-shoot digital camera aimed toward taking high quality portraits. It also is supposed to have intuitive settingsThe GE E1235 features face detection, smile detection, blink detection, in-camera panorama stitching, a 2.7″ LCD screen, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. 

The smile detection feature works by tripping the shutter automatically when the subject smiles. As with all GE cameras, the E1235 allows users to put together a series of photos with in-camera panorama stitching. This feature allows the user to join three photos together to take in wide scenes, without first having to upload the photo to a computer. 

Reviewers were skeptical about this camera’s performance. The GE E1235 has some problems with noise appearing in photos when lighting conditions are not perfect. Some people also mentioned that they disliked the “plastic” feel of the body which does not seem very solid. But these issues might just be acceptable because of the low price and affordability of the GE E1235.

The Casio Exilim EX-Z9 is an 8.1-megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom. It is designed to be a stylish point-and-shoot camera that also makes video uploading to YouTube quick and easy. The EX-Z9 features face detection technology, 23 best shot modes, a 2.6″ LCD, Anti Shake DSP, and easy mode (which makes camera operation very simple). It is available in pink, black, silver and orange body colors. 

Casio’s YouTube Capture Mode allows videos to be recorded and uploaded directly to YouTube in as few as 3 steps, making the EX-Z9 perfect for online video enthusiasts. Easy Mode simplifies the camera settings to three easy menus (image size, flash and self timer). With Easy Mode, the camera is set to take great photos in every situation without having to check presets or accidentally making a wrong adjustment. 

Reviewers were impressed with this camera’s image quality. Many sites mentioned that the images were very “bright” and “vivid” with almost perfect color consistency. One issue found with this camera is that close-range flash photos are usually overexposed. 

The Casio Exilim EX-Z9 is available now for a very low price of about $124.99 - $159.99.

With consumers now focused on the EOS 40D, many shoppers have now disregarded the Canon EOS 30D which is also a fantastic digital camera. Professional review sites have been thoroughly impressed with the Canon 30D’s image quality and feature set. The camera was designed to address the needs of a wide assortment of photographers, ranging from wedding and portrait specialists to photojournalists and advanced amateurs. 

The Canon EOS 30D is an 8.2 megapixel digital camera that records to compact flash memory cards. It features a 2.5-inch LCD screen (230,000 pixels), an initial startup time of 0.15 seconds, a 5 shot per second burst mode for up to 37 shots in JPEG L/F mode, a single shot AE/AF lock which retains settings for subsequent shots simply by keeping the shutter release half-pressed after taking the first shot, and Canon’s Picture Style. Picture Style is Canon’s improved approach to selecting the presets for sharpening, contrast, saturation, and color tone that most closely reflect the needs and intent of the user. 

The primary competitor of the EOS 30D is the Nikon D200, with its excellent user interface, features, and flexibility.

Portrait is defined as, “A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example.” In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take photos of people. 

When people have a camera in their face it usually makes them nervous and they will try to put on a face that does not portray who they really are. The real skill to portrait photography is trying to capture photos when the subjects are comfortable and not worried about a camera. 

Many professional photographers try to capture their subject’s true essence by using tricks. One example of this is counting to three so the subject prepares and then while they are relaxing after taking a planned photo the photographer will snap a few more unplanned photos. In most cases the subject won’t even know that more than one photo was taken but it’s usually the photos that the subject wasn’t expecting that capture their true essence. 

Another more common strategy professionals use is to tell funny jokes that make their subjects genuinely laugh or smile. I’m sure that you have probably experienced something like this yourself. 

If you are interested in portrait photography, you might check out the National Geographic Photography Field Guide for People and Portraits.

The Fujifilm Finepix V10 is a 5.1 megapixel digital point-and-shoot camera with 3.4x optical zoom. It is designed to fit basic camera features and options into a very small pocket-sized body. The Finepix V10 features real photo technology, a large 3.0” LCD screen, and a convenient “Natural Light & With Flash” function. 

The V10’s real photo technology is supposed to remove graininess or “noise” from digital pictures. Image noise, much like static in a television signal, reduces a picture’s sharpness. The noise problem is compounded when digital pictures are shot at higher light sensitivities, which can vary depending on lighting conditions. The Natural Light & With Flash mode shoots two images in succession, first without and then with flash. This convenient function provides an on-the-spot comparison that helps the user decide whether the FinePix V10 will produce the highest quality photo with flash or without. 

One unusual addition to this camera is some included games. This camera allows users to play Number Puzzle, Break Out, Shooting Game and Maze on the 3.0” screen. 

Reviews on this camera were a mixed bag, some reviewers complimented the V10’s performance, and some disliked it very much. It is available now for about $189.95 - $344.11.

The Canon Powershot TX1 is a pocket-sized digital camera/camcorder with 720p widescreen HD video and 7.1 megapixel still photos. It is designed for family users who are looking for an ultra-compact solution to fit both their photography and video needs. The TX1 features optical image stabilization, 10x optical zoom, the DIGIC III image processor, advanced face detection, red-eye correction, 14 shooting modes, and an 115,000-pixel vari-angle LCD screen. 

The DIGIC III image processor is responsible for the camera’s higher performance levels including faster start up, autofocus and shutter response times, improved image quality and more efficient power consumption which results in extended battery life under typical shooting conditions. The face detection will optimize the focus, exposure and flash to help ensure the best possible results for easier picture taking which results in flattering portraits and group shots where all of the subjects are in clear focus and accurate exposure. The red-eye correction allows users to manually correct photos while viewing them on the LCD screen. This camera/camcorder is also certified for Windows Vista according to Microsoft standards, without any extra downloads or upgrades. 

The Canon Powershot TX1 is available now for about $295.95 - $609.78.

The Canon EOS Rebel XTi is the predecessor of the new Rebel XSi which was released this year. The Rebel XTi was released in the summer of 2006. Even though it is not the newest Canon model, it is still an excellent camera that received fantastic reviews. Practically all the major camera review websites raved about the Rebel XTi’s beautiful image quality and low noise levels. 

The Rebel XTi is a 10.1 megapixel digital SLR camera. It was designed to have a combination of imaging excellence, intuitive ease of use and affordability. The Rebel XTi features Canon’s high-precision 9-point auto-focus system, a burst rate of 3 photos per second in full resolution, a two-tiered dust removal technology called the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, the power efficient DIGIC II Image Processor, and a 2.5” LCD screen (230,000 pixel color TFT). 

Now that the new Rebel XSi has been released, the cost of the Rebel XTi will probably continue to fall. This would be a great choice for those who are on a tighter budget. It is available on PriceGrabber now for about $528.00 - $599.88 (body only).

The Kodak Easyshare 5500 All-in-One inkjet printer is designed to deliver advanced performance with sophisticated simplicity; featuring print, scan, copy and fax capabilities with lower maintenance costs. It is built to deliver crisp, sharp documents and Kodak lab-quality photos that last a lifetime. The printer includes an automatic document feeder and duplexer for 2-sided document printing. And best of all, you can save up to 50 percent on everything you print. 

Many people now restrain themselves from printing due to the high cost of ink, paper, and cartridges. The Kodak Easyshare AiO Printers use Kodak’s premium, pigment-based ink, priced at $9.99 for a cartridge of black ink and $14.99 for a five-ink color cartridge. For every $15 spent on color ink and $10 spent on black ink, consumers can print the same number of pages at half the cost of other consumer inkjet printers. When the Kodak Photo Value Pack is purchased, a 4 x 6-inch photo costs as little as 10 cents per print. 

The Kodak Easyshare AiO Printers feature exclusive Kodacolor Technology that enables consumers to cost-effectively print crisp documents and Kodak lab-quality photos. Kodacolor Technology is a combination of four key elements - pigment-based inks, micro-porous photo papers, color and image science, and the Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) print head built to produce sharp and vibrant photos.

The HP Photosmart R937 is an 8-megapixel digital camera with a 3x Fujinon optical zoom lens and 8x digital zoom. The R937 is aimed at pocket-shooters on the go who like to organize and share a large amount of photos quickly. It features a large 3.6-inch touchscreen display which can be used to edit photos directly. Users can add e-mail addresses for easy sharing and create slide shows all within the camera. It is one of the first cameras to allow users to organize photos with Microsoft Vista compatible tags. The R937 is also one of the first cameras to allow users to stitch panoramic photos and save them without using a PC. 

It is very thin which makes it small enough to fit comfortably into a pocket or purse. The R937 has red-eye removal, pet-eye fix, subject thinning, blemish removal, border options, color shades, special effects options, anti-shake mode, video with audio, 32 MB of internal memory, HP adaptive lighting technology, and PictBridge support. The camera is sized at 4.12 x 1.06 x 2.86 in. 

The HP Photosmart R937 is available now for about $179.99 - $287.94.