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 Ring Around the Lens Sigma’s new EM-140 DG ($349 street) is a powerful new ring flash that will stop butterfly wings in their tracks. And because it comes in dedicated versions for all modern TTL-enabled SLRs, you don’t have to bother with tricky flashmeters. Both of the two flashtubes can be controlled individually to vary the lighting ratio. Want to light your background? The EM-140 DG can wirelessly trigger Sigma’s EF-500 DG Super. Depending on the camera, it can also work with most other wireless TTL systems. (Sigma Corp.; 800-896-6858; www.sigma-photo.com)
 39-cent Snapshot Machine Dell, the direct-order PC computer giant, is now in the photo printer business. The $169 (direct) Dell Photo Printer 540 is a dye-sub that turns out 4x6-inch prints for 39 cents apiece (when you buy three 40-print media packs at $46.99). It has a lot in common with Kodak’s well-proven EasyShare Printer Dock and Printer Dock Plus ($150 and $200 street, respectively), but the dye-sub ribbon cartridges aren’t interchangeable. The Dell is PictBridge compatible, can read and print photos from USB flash-memory drives, and has a 2.5-inch LCD to preview your pictures. It also acts as a card reader for CF, SD, MMC, SM, and MS cards. Best of all? It prints color photos in black-and-white at the touch of a button, with pleasing results. We only wish this printer were Mac compatible; it’s Windows 2000 and XP only. (Dell Inc.; 800-999-3355; www.dell.com)
 Folding Flash Bracket Just about every flash how-to article advises moving the flash as far from the lens as possible for better pictures. Many pro event photographers rely on flash brackets that are bulky and may not fit in smaller camera bags—until now. Stroboframe’s new Folding Flip ($70 street) shrinks to a modest 8.5x3.8x3 inches and weighs only 8.8 ounces. The padded handle is comfortable enough for a whole day of shooting and the top flips easily for either horizontal or vertical grips. There are six mounting slots on the base, which also accepts Stroboframe quick-release accessories and anti-twist plates. (Tiffen; 800-645-2522; www.tiffen.com)
 Home Digi-Photo Album Sure, most digital cameras let you display your photos on your TV. But the supplied cables are so short, you can’t sit on the couch and enjoy the show. The SanDisk Photo Album ($40 street) is a small (7.4x2.6x0.8 inches) eight-in-one card reader that sits on top of your TV, connects via a composite or S-video input, and displays your photos at VGA resolution. And you run the show from your couch with the remote control. You also can play video clips and MP3 music files. With the Photo Album’s USB port, it can connect to a computer or read photos from a USB flash drive. A separate CompactFlash slot lets you use a CF card as permanent storage. Your digital pictures are converted to lower-resolution files, appropriate for TV, and are then saved on the card. As a result, a 128MB card can hold well over a thousand images, which can be organized into folders. (SanDisk Corp.; 866-726-3475; www.sandisk.com)
 Tripod head of the rich and famous If your taste runs more toward Bentley than Kia, this $2,295 (street) fluid tripod head may be a perfect fit for your well-heeled photographic lifestyle. Slik’s new Tele Balance 6 will hold heavy telephoto lenses with ease. It’s like using an old-fashioned, heavyweight gimballed head, but you needn’t lock to counterbalance, even with lenses up to 17 pounds. Attaching, quick-release detaching, and packing up is flip-switch easy. Besides, your $15,000, 800mm f/5.6 Super Telephoto Leica lens will look just faaabulous on it, dahling! (THK Photo Products, Inc.; 800-421-1141; www.thkphoto.com)
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