Marc Spiwak's blog

Imagine if you could have a personal media player, or PMP, with a big widescreen display, 160GB of storage space, a built-in FM radio, recording capabilities and more, all for less than $300. That sounds good, but you don’t have to imagine it. The Cowon X7 is real, and B&H sells it. The X7’s feature set and price point are compelling enough to make it a serious contender in the PMP arena.

Having two eyes allows us to see in 3D. Depth perception, or the third dimension, is formed when the brain combines the slightly different images seen by each eye into a single image. One of the simplest but most effective demonstrations of stereoscopic imagery is presented by the classic Viewmaster® toy, which has been on the market for many decades.

There’s never been a better time to buy a new notebook computer. That’s because the latest notebook computers offer more value than ever, and they come in colors and sizes that will please any needs and desires.

Users of the Nikon D7000 digital SLR camera have been complaining about bright spots when recording video of dark subjects or in low-light situations. Nikon has acknowledged and resolved the problem with its release of updated firmware for the camera, which can be downloaded for free from Nikon's website.

Every photographer, both amateur and professional, has at one time or another rested their camera on a rock, a crumpled coat, or some other handy object when they didn’t have access to a more traditional camera support. You might need to do this when you want to get into a photo yourself or when you can’t hold a camera steady in low light. Many tripods are too big and heavy to carry with you at all times. But here we have a collection of tabletop and miniature tripods that are so small and compact you can keep one with you every day. They also make great gifts for photographers who seem to have everything else.

Professional photographic gear and other electronic equipment is expensive and delicate. But you already knew that. When you’re carrying your own gear you can afford to be as careful with it as possible. But once you hand off your gear to someone else—airport baggage handlers, limo drivers, overnight couriers, and the like—the only thing safeguarding your gear is the case you put it in. If you have anything worth protecting you should do it the way the pros do—with Pelican hard cases.

MiniDV camcorders still offer many benefits, not to mention the terrific quality of the video they capture. Sticking with MiniDV is a no-brainer if you already have a lot of time and money invested in the format. B&H still carries the most popular MiniDV models at the best prices you’ll find anywhere.