Editor's Choice 2007: Imaging Essentials

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Background materials are among a studio photographer's biggest ongoing expenses, especially if a wide variety must be kept on hand. This inexpensive range of more than 80 different cotton-fabric backdrops can cut that cost in half. In the Belle Drape 10x12-foot size, for example, prices range from about $40 for solid colors -- 16 different ones are available -- to $100 for more elaborate hand-painted patterns. The huge 12x24-foot size is equally well-priced. Created with fade-resistant paints and dyes, Belle Drape backgrounds feature a four-inch hemmed loop with heavy-duty stitching for hanging them on a crossbar. To view the range, visit adorama.com and enter "Belle Drape" in the search box.

Logitech 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator

If you think you don't need another desktop navigation device to add to your mouse, pen tablet, or even your Logitech NuLOOQ, you may think again when you discover what your non-mouse hand can do with this remarkable joystick. Basically a 3D mouse, the fixed-position SpaceNavigator brings a third dimension to onscreen computer manipulation. In Photoshop CS3 Extended it allows you to fully manipulate 3D "objects" -- flat, bitmapped patterns for CAD-style models that can be downloaded from the Web and added to photographs, where by pushing, pulling, and twisting the SpaceNavigator you can instantly rotate, flip, reposition, and resize them with an ease not possible from mouse and keyboard. You can use Google SketchUp and get free models from Google's 3D Warehouse. For more fun, the device turns Google Earth and NASA World Wind into interactive video games, allowing you to lower yourself into a landscape helicopter-style, then fly horizontally over 3D mountains and through 3D cities. About $60.

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