It’s all very well drooling over the latest Canon or Nikon DSLR whose body alone costs a few thousand dollars without even adding some decent lenses, but that outlay counts as nothing when up against an auction to be held in Vienna later this year.

The world’s oldest commercial production camera, the “Daguerreotype”, is a wooden sliding-box camera made in Paris in 1839 by Alphonse Giroux.

There are only a few of these cameras still surviving, possibly because not many were produced in the first place as, not unlike today, technology advanced pretty quickly and the price of newer cameras dropped.

It’s an amazing piece of photographic history, which is why the estimated auction price is a minimum half-a-million Euros ($700k) rising to a cool €700k ($1m). It even comes with the original German manual.

You won’t be taking this to the bar to photograph your mates ready for Facebook embarrassment. Well, yeah, duh!

That’s where Griffin’s latest Clarifi case comes in. Not only is it a polycarbonate protector for the iPhone, but it includes a slide-in macro lens that it claims allows photos to be taken as close as four inches from the subject. That compares with around 18 inches (a foot-and-a-half) without.

It’s clear from looking at statistics like those found on Flickr that the iPhone’s popularity amongst happy snappers has increased dramatically. What you won’t get in quality the masses have sure made up for in quantity.

While most get by with the camera as-is, we have seen our fair share of weird additions from manufacturers trying to squeeze the best quality out of what is a fairly mediocre shooter.

Remember the Factron Simplex Case with its interchangeable lenses?

At least this solution protects your iPhone along the way.

Available for $34.99. Product page (Via)

Though Apple improved things a little on the 3GS, upping the megapixel count to three and including autofocus, it’s still a rather lacklustre bit of kit, particularly when you look at other mobile phone manufacturers packing five or even eight megapixel cameras with decent lenses, flash and other effects.

The Factron Simplex case isn’t the first add-on hardware to try to extend the functionality of the iPhone’s camera, but it’s the most advanced I’ve seen yet.

Given that no serious photographer is ever going to use the iPhone (or any cellphone, let’s be real), I’m wondering who is going to shell out the $200 for the case plus anything from $20-$60 per additional lens.

Yes. Lenses.

There are a couple of fisheye lenses, a super wide lens and two close up lenses.

You are never going to get amazing results from tacking converter lenses on the front of the existing camera, but for the iPhone lover with a lot of cash, it might amuse for a while.

My advice would be to get a half-decent compact camera if you want better shots but aren’t going the DSLR route.

What do you reckon?

Product page (Via)

Okay, maybe not everyone has that urge but I can think of countless other situations wherein the Bottle Cap Tripod will come in handy.

Say you and your hubby (or wife or partner) are on vacation together. Naturally, you would want pictures with both of you in them, right? Option one: have the waiter take pictures of you. Option two: have one of you (whoever has longer arms) take the picture. Option three: lug a tripod along (assuming you have one). Option four: Bottle Cap Tripod.

Other possibilities: group picture at the office, group picture during a night out drinking, etc.

So what makes the Bottle Cap Tripod advantageous over “real” tripods?

First, it’s just ₤6.95.

Second, it’s so small you won’t even feel that it’s in your bag.

Three, you don’t need specialized equipment to use it. Just pop it on top of any standard screw-top bottle and you’re ready to go. More than serving as a handy holder for your camera, the tripod also stabilizes the camera for clearer shots. More so, it pivots round 360 degrees, making sure that you can take picture from any angle, wherever the bottle may be.

Now imagine yourself on a field of grass having a picnic…I am sure you can find a bottle somewhere to hold your camera.

Is this line familiar? I saw a note on Facebook this week that ran along these lines. Apparently, it has been going around and naturally, those of us who were tiny tots in the 80s found it hilarious. One of the things that I remember from my childhood is the ultimate sunglasses for men (though my peers were but boys, they loved this idea to death). While I have not come across the real deal as of yet, here is a good enough substitute: spy camera sunglasses.

Our friends over at ThinkGeek features this pair, which is capable of taking 1.3 megapixel pictures, with a resolution of 1280 x 1024). Just put the sunglasses on, face whatever you want to capture on film (or digital storage in this case), and use the tiny remote control to take your shots. The inclusion of the RF is perfect as you won’t have a hard time clicking stealthily to get your shot.

The frame is made of lightweight material, which is of high quality of course. The lenses are made of UV400 polarized material, making sure that your eyes are well protected from the sun’s harmful rays. As for the battery, the glasses have a lithium-ion power source, which can last for up to 9 hours.

And just how about much storage does the pair give you? You can choose from either 1 GB or 4 GB. You can transfer the data from the glasses to your PC using a mini-USB cable, which also recharges the battery.

I want me one of these!

The Sony HDR-TG5V is one definitely to crave for. I like how 6-hours of video can fit into this small “toy”. Oh I could almost imagine the comfort of not having to download to my Macbook every time I needed more space. And the comfort of slipping it into my jacket, or even my pant’s sidepockets too. It beats those clunky and huge handicams by several shots.

There is no firm word on pricing yet and I’m not even sure if this would be available at Prime Outlets too (though I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that). There are rumors that it will sell well around the US$1,000 mark.

Anyway, check out the Sony website for more details.

Meant to fit the end of your SLR’s zoom lens, this guy has a secret cut-out on the side and a precision mirror assembly inside. In short, you can shoot left, right, up, or down (it swivels 360 degrees), all while appearing to shoot straight ahead.

Price range is about US$85 for the lens and the adapters, quite cheap for something that can give you something totally different from the traditional. It’s available for reservation right here. Yeah, they sold out way too fast!