GeekSugar

Camera Accessories For the Best Group Holiday Photos

Leta Shy — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:45:50 PDT

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and that can mean lots of reunion time with family and friends. Make the most of your group photos with these camera accessories that will help you get the best angle, light, and stability without making someone play photographer. Best of all, these accessories are cute and portable enough to throw into your travel bags!

Clockwise from top left: Popabrella ($13), Canon Digital Camera Remote Controller ($24), Quirky Digidudes Camera Tripod and Keychain ($18), Flip Cage Tabletop Stand Tripod ($15), XShot iPhone 4 Case With Tripod Attachment ($25; available for preorder)

Four Useful Tripods For Those Group Holiday Shots

GeekSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:02:28 PST

There's nothing worse than gathering your family in front of the Christmas tree or your group of friends on New Year's Eve and sheepishly looking around to figure out which person you care about least so they can take the photo. Sure, tripods are great for keeping a shot steady, but my personal belief is that they were invented to eliminate awkwardness. Don't make someone feel left out in the photo ops of the coming holidays. Get one of these cheap, portable, convenient tripods.

For other holiday ideas, don't forget to visit HolidaySugar!

Bottle Cap Tripods: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:00 PDT

As a dedicated Gorillapod user, I really don't need a bottle-cap tripod, but I feel like I'm seeing them everywhere lately, and they seem like they'd make a great gift for my friends who appraise my Gorillapod as "neat," but I can tell they're totally thinking it's a nerd-core item to own.

But here's the thing - novel and convenient, bottle-cap tripods, like this one, seem like a good idea, but all I can see is this: You're at a bar with it set up to take your pic, when a sauced jughead stumbles by and nudges it - orrrr, say you accidentally chose a bottle that wasn't full enough to balance the weight of the camera and AAAAGH! The slow mo in my head of a digital camera sailing to the ground makes me want to cry right now.

What's your take on these? Do they spell trouble to you like they do me?

Versa Flexible Tripod: Totally Geeky or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:05:10 PST

Traditional tripods are usually large, hard to carry and aren't that great to look at. Thankfully companies like Versa are coming out with small, flexible tripods that are great for hands-free photo shoots. I've seen similar models like this design including the all terrain tripod, but I've never seen such a bright color selection before! Would you ever consider using one of these tripods for your camera? Or are they over-the-top geeky?

Folding FOZI Tripod: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:05:03 PST

Why lug around a heavy tripod for your camera when you can use the ultraportable FOZI tripod by Timetable? Featured on Wired, the FOZI consists of three plastic cutouts that connect together to form a steady support for most compact cameras. Use this tripod to hold your camera at four different angles and easily stow it in your purse when it's not in use. Available in pink, red, blue, black, white, clear, and clear striped. Priced at $9 or $35 for a pack of 5. I'm sure it would be good to have while traveling, but you're still going to need to ask strangers to take your pic if you can't find a ledge to set the tripod on! What do you think? Love or leave?

Boomtune Tripod iPod Speakers

GeekSugar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:00:36 PDT

Wouldn't you agree that this iPod accessory mimics the traditional camera with tripod set-up? Recently announced by Focal Corp Japan, this three-legged Boomtune Mini speaker system, which by the way is named "Julia," connects to the iPod via a 3.5mm stereo plug. Straight from New Launches, two of the tripod legs come with speakers while the third operates as the battery compartment. Unfortunately there isn't a docking station, which I've certainly grown accustomed to and quite frankly can't live without! Currently available from Japan for 4480 Yen or $39.

View 3 Photos ›

Add Goodies To The 'My Favorite Gadgets' Group

GeekSugar — Mon, 14 May 2007 16:05:21 PDT

Thanks to TeamSugar user japokie for finding and geek gearing this unique tripod so we could all check its neat features. Use your imagination to twist and bend this all terrain tripod for hands-free photo shoots. It is extremely lightweight and will stay in place with its quick-release plate and lock ring. The large version can hold up to 1.75 lbs. and is great for video or SLR cameras ($45), while the smaller version is ideal for compact digital cameras ($25).

Whether you are a Mac user, a PC girl, a gamer, or a Zune junkie, I have created a special geeksugar group for the gadget lover in all of us called My Favorite Gadgets. It's a place where you can share all your amazing tech toys and geeky paraphernalia. And you just never know, your submission could possibly end up on the geeksugar homepage!

To see more pics of this tripod in action and to learn how to post photos of your favorite gadgets in the group,

View 6 Photos ›

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the My Favorite Gadgets group
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "My Favorite Gadgets")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

Go-Go Gadget Arm With The New Quik Pod

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 05:05:12 PDT

This is totally one of those, why didn't I think of that inventions. You guessed it, the world's first extendable hand held tripod is now on the market, ladies and gentlemen I bring to you the Quikpod! All jokes aside this gadget is kinda like an umbrella- it's always good to have one on you because you never know when you're going to need it! Like when you want to get that perfect head shot of you and your best friend and you both start debating as to who has the longer arm for taking the pic? The Quik Pod can easily be attached to your camera or camcorder so that you can take a self portrait or video without having to ask for help from a random stranger. You can also use the Quik Pod underwater with a waterproof camera - pretty cool for only $25 to $30 bucks.

For more pics of the Quick Pod just,

View 6 Photos ›

Dress Your iPhone in a Rangefinder For Hot Shots on the Go

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:36:37 PST

Your iPhone aspires to be a DSLR, so make the dream a (pseudo) reality with the iPhone Rangefinder ($65). We've talked about similar cases before, but Photojojo is offering up a complete iPhoneography system - the Rangefinder and three lenses (macro/wide, fisheye, and telephoto) - for just $99. Unbelievable!

The Rangefinder isn't just a case though. It comes with extra bells and whistles like a shutter button, viewfinder, aperture numbers, two loops for a camera strap, and a tripod mount so you can take still photos and videos without blur. And the faux front lens? Well, that acts as a mirror so you can take perfectly centered (or off-center - remember the rule of thirds!) self-portraits every time.

Like what you see? Get a closer look at the Rangefinder in the gallery.

Keep Your iPhone Lenses in Check With the Lens Wallet

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:33:22 PST

If the iPhone 4 is the most popular camera in the world (and it is), then why treat your mobile lenses any different than your DSLRs? Keep your magnetic fish-eye, macro, and telephoto lenses and iPhone tripods safe and scratch-free with this chic iPhone Lens Wallet ($15).

There's a place for everything, and everything stays put in its place, thanks to a magnetic strip and pockets plus an animal-friendly leather strap to keep things nice and secure inside the canvas and felt wallet. Even better - if you don't have any of these amazing iPhone lenses yet, you can get four (fish-eye, macro, and 2X and 8X telescopic lenses) plus the wallet for just $80. That's a deal if I ever saw one.

Ready to snap some pics? Check out a few of our iPhoneography tips and tricks.