The Goods: April 2007 Gear

Moving Pictures

There are lots of things from Harry Potter we wish were real — but even if we can’t travel by floo powder, at least we can have those really cool picture frames that show moving photographs. Kodak’s got a brand-new line of LCD frames that go way beyond mere print display — there’s video, sound, and Wi-Fi connectivity, too, for an ever-changing slide show you can share. If your friends have Wi-Fi, you can send pics from your EasyShare gallery straight to their frames. The internet-connective models come in 10-inch and 8-inch sizes ($280 and $230, street) and there’s a choice of glamorous faceplates to match your decor. And unlike old-time picture frames, these come with remotes. (kodak.com)

Renaissance Scan

Saddled with a huge archive of fairly inaccessible prints, slides, and negatives? The latest scanner to help solve that problem is Hewlett- Packard’s Scanjet G4050 ($200, street). It can hold up to sixteen 35mm slides or thirty 35mm negative frames at once. But the main feature that HP touts is not its mere ability to digitize old film, but the extra light source that they say leads to greater color accuracy than a normal scanner would. It’s also got lots of features that will get rid of redeye, restore old photos, and scan for your specific film type. (hp.com)

Rubber Suit

Camera Armor ($50-$60, direct) is perfect for anyone who’s just a little bit clumsy. It’s not totally waterproof or shockproof, but if you’re the type who always walks around with a camera hanging from your neck, this tight-fitting silicone shield may save your camera–or at least keep it looking cleaner and less dinged-up. The elastomeric skins fit the most popular Canon and Nikon DSLRs, and each comes with a shield for your LCD and a reversible lens hood. Sure, it makes your machine a little chubbier, but the silicone’s slight stickiness might help you get a better grip. (camerarmor.com)

Pimp Your PicsToo much time on your hands? Waste it with PikiPimp.com. This ridiculous (and exceedingly fun) website lets you add hats, scars, tattoos, woodland creatures, and other strange objects to your photos. It’s amazingly easy and shockingly realistic. But, we recommend leaving the office to turn your boss into a pirate king. Be PreparedIf you’ve got one device that takes microSD, another that takes miniSD, and a camera that only accepts regular SD, you could buy a whole bunch of cards. Or you could buy Kingston’s all-in-one adapter pack ($40, street), which comes with a 1GB microSD you can slip into the adapters to fit regular and miniSD slots. (kingston.com)