Nikon has launched its My Picturetown iPhone application for uploading and sharing photos through Nikon's my Picturetown site. It works with both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and is available for free through the App Store.

The My Picturetown app allows photos to be uploaded via ...

With its launch of iPhoto 09, Apple has begun showing some reasons why it's worth enduring the hassle of geotagging your photos.

It's generally not easy right now to label your photos with information about where you took the pictures--the process usually is done with special software to marry the photos with location data taken from a separate GPS receiver.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, demonstrated geotagging in iPhoto 09 at Macworld 2009.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET Networks)

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, demonstrated what you can do with iPhoto at the Macworld 2009 keynote Tuesday.

iPhoto 09 works best with photos that already have been tagged. That's getting more common, as GPS hardware support becomes less of a rarity. For example, Nikon's Coolpix P6000 has a built-in GPS receiver, and Nikon has begun selling its GP-1 GPS receiver, which can plug into its SLR's flash mount so location data is embedded in the photo. Apple's iPhone can geotag its own photos, and camera manufacturers say GPS support in cameras has become a matter of when, not if.

But the software also can help you tag your own images. Clicking a photo flips it over, letting you type in a location, then showing the spot using a map. (Google supplies back-end mapping services). Helpfully, iPhoto then can spread that location data to other photos with similar time stamps, and they can be bundled together into a group called an event.

OK, but what can you do?
Once you have geotagged photos, what can you do with them?

For one thing, sift through them geographically using iPhotos' new Places interface. Viewing an iPhoto event can show an associated collection of pushpins on a map, and clicking each pin shows the photo.

For another, you can search for photos based on where you took them, not on whatever filing system you might use. iPhoto can handle geographic hierarchies, so if you labeled a photo with "Eiffel Tower," it'll find it with a search for "France" or "Paris."

Originally posted at Underexposed

Out with the old, in with the new.

(Credit: Urban Outfitters)

The next generation of instant film has made its way into the U.S. market to delight those of us who never had the chance to say goodbye to the classic Polaroid camera.

Fuji's Instax Mini camera creates ...

The Ricoh LC1 on a Leica D-Lux 4.

(Credit: Ian Ho )

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 is a popular pro-level point-and-shoot that has won much praise from users. However, one minor gripe that most shutterbugs have with it is the lens cap. Some photographers find that a hassle and are looking ...

The 55-200mm lens brought me close to this owl in Patagonian Chile, who obligingly didn't spook when I stopped and changed lenses. (Click to enlarge.)

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)

Here's a frustrating combination: traveling and serious photography. At precisely the time you want to photography interesting new surroundings, you also don't want to be burdened with inordinate amounts of gear.

Olympus has one interesting answer to the conundrum, though: the E-3 (click here for CNET's full-on review). Its top-of the line SLR is rugged, waterproof, and when combined with the company's Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD and 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD lenses provides a flexible package that's portable if not actually lightweight.

I hauled the E-3 with those lenses and the Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F4.0 wide-angle zoom to Argentina for a month of vacation and was pleased with the performance. I had to lug the gear not only on the usual buses and city tours, but also in much more demanding conditions: two four-day backpacking trips with a three-year-old, Patagonia's uncertain weather, and serious weight-carrying constraints.

The result was good photos of people, flower close-ups, skittish wildlife, and beautiful mountains.

The gear costs about $1,950 for the camera and 12-60mm lens, $950 for the 50-200mm lens, and $1,400 for the 7-14mm lens.

Originally posted at Underexposed