It’s compatible with the Lensbaby Composer Pro, Composer, Muse, Scout, and Control Freak.

The new optic will transform any of these bending lens bodies into a tilt lens that delivers a selective slice of sharp focus through an image.

Like the Lensbaby Sweet 35, the Edge 80 features an internal 12-blade adjustable aperture.

The Edge 80 provides a flat field of focus that, pointed straight ahead, takes photos that are sharp from edge to edge. Tilting the Edge 80 allows photographers to create vertical, horizontal and diagonal slices of focus through the image.

Objects in both the foreground and the background can be in focus within that slice.

Photographers can control the size of the slice of focus by changing the 12-blade aperture.

The Edge 80 allows photographers to change the aperture from f/2.8  through f/22, by rotating the dial on the front of the optic.

Minimum focusing distance is approximately 17 inches when the optic is extended forward in close focus mode and fully tilted.

There are five multi-coated glass elements, in four groups.

Front threads are 46 mm.

The Edge 80 is not compatible with the Composer with Tilt Transformer for Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX cameras.

The optic is not compatible with current 37 mm Lensbaby accessories.

The Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic has a suggested retail price of $299.05.

They protect most popular DSLR cameras with a flexible, form fitting skin while all functions of the camera stay intact/accessible.

The skins are made of high quality silicon.

The skins can be washed . . . when they’re not on the camera . . .

Apparently skins for popular mirrorless cameras will be available soon, says the Canadian distributor, Booth Photographic.

The Variable NDX from Kenko delivers a range of ND values from 2.5 to 1000, just by twisting the filter.

The manufacturer says there’s no colour shift when using the filter.

All glass surfaces are multi-coated, there’s an ND value reference  ring, and the filter is available in 77 mm or 82 mm sizes with step rings included.

The NDX filter uses a depolarizing plate to help cancel out unwanted polarizing effects. Kenko adds two layers of polarizing film to each filter to eliminate all sources of polarization occurring as light passes through the glass.

Kodak has been making and selling cameras for more than 100 years.

Holy moly.

Kodak plans to get out of the digital camera, video camera, and digital picture frame manufacturing business before the middle of this year.

It’s doing this to try to return to profitability.

The company expects to license its brand, much like Polaroid has done.

Kodak execs say the company will remain committed to its consumer businesses.

Here’s what that entails: retail-based photo kiosks and digital dry lab systems; consumer inkjet printers; Kodak apps for Facebook; Kodak Gallery; Kodak camera accessories and batteries; traditional film and photographic paper.

SZ-31MR iHS

The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS incorporates multi-recording functionality with a 24X lens. The Tough TG-820 iHS  will stand up to just about anything.

Details are on our companion site.

Details are on our companion site.

I will post full details tomorrow.

UPDATE: Full details are now posted on our companion website.

Here’s what I got from the advance briefing:

It is a Micro Four-Thirds camera, and it has an electronic viewfinder. It features a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor and has five-axis image stabilization.

Olympus claims the camera delivers the world’s fastest S-AF with the 12-50 mm lens.

The viewfinder, I was told, has the same specs (approx. 1.44 million pixels) as the VF2 accessory finder you can buy for other M4/3 Olympus cameras.

The E-M5 has a True Pic VI processor and top ISO of 25,600.

According to one of the Olympus reps who showed me the camera, images shot at ISO12,800 are completely usable.

The camera is dust- and splash-proof with magnesium alloy body.

It will shoot at up to 9 frames per second.

The camera will be available in both all black and black and silver. You can see the black and silver model here.

In the comparison shot below – EPL-2 on the left, OM-10 film camera in the middle, new camera on the right – you can see the OM heritage in the look of the E-M5.

We probably will see the camera hit stores in April.

For details on this much anticipated DSLR, visit our companion site.

Lenses using a coupler system – a shaft harnessing the AF motor built into the camera body to operate the lens – without an internal AF motor were designated as “N.”

Tamron says that, because future Nikon lenses will have the internal AF motor as a standard feature, the company has decided to simplify the designation and consolidate all Nikon mount lenses as “N.”

The “N II” designation is being deleted for future models.

This classification code change will be effective beginning with the 18-270 mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD.