Companies that aren't Canon or Nikon have it rough in the digital camera market--particularly outside the cheap point-and-shoot area. Some band together for strength in numbers, creating cooperative standards like Panasonic, Olympus and Leica's new Micro Four Thirds system--a spec for smaller cameras with digital viewfinders like a compact, but interchangeable lenses, manual controls and higher performance like a DSLR. We tested Panasonic's 13-megapixel Lumix G1, paying close attention to the fact that it's the first contender in a totally new camera category and--like that other G1, the Android smartphone--it sets the stage for what's to come.

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Yeah, sure, it was cool to see a professional photographer spin HD video gold from the Canon 5D Mark II. But that guy is famous, had a mountain of equipment, a crew, and a freaking helicopter. Not so for the humble photographer and videographer at Akihabara News, who took the 5D, a few days and a laptop to shoot and splice together this stunningly beautiful five minute video.

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RED CEO Jim Jannard is either an incredible visionary or prone to serial exaggeration. Just yesterday, he deigned to visit the RED forums, promising that "[RED is] doing things we never thought possible... When we do post, it will be very obvious why we needed a bit more time to 'spill the beans'." As a teaser, he decided to spill two of those beans early, in the form of vague, zoomed-in renders of RED's new HIV-curing, hunger-ending, climate-stabilising übercamera.

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Digital cameras are generally closed platforms, built and programmed under the assumption that they would never be modified. To get more features, you pay more for different firmware, even though the guts are mostly the same. Canon didn't batten down their hatches quite enough. The result is CHDK, a full-featured OS substitute that runs from your memory card and unlocks the tremendous unrecognised potential of most Canon A-series and SD Elphs plus several others—for free.

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Now that the Aussie dollar is worth bugger all, the price of exported electronics looks set to skyrocket.

But thanks to some very clever advanced purchasing by Cameras Direct, those of you in the market for a decent quality DSLR can breathe a sigh of relief. The camera shop is offering the Canon EOS 450D Digital SLR for the pre-economy slump price of $987. And if that's not enough, their throwing in a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Kit, just to make the deal that little bit sweeter.

Considering the camera alone now retails well over the $1000 mark, that's a deal of diabetic proportions.

Of course, you'll have to hurry. With just 70 units available, the offer is only valid until stock runs out. [Cameras Direct]

For a full product description, hit the jump.

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We thought that we already knew just how glorious that Canon's $US2,699 EOS 5D Mark II would be, but the camera has one trick up its sleeve that's more practical than another megapixel boost, or maybe even its ability to capture 1080p HD video. Seriously. The camera can keep track of up to six batteries in its internal database, managing which of them still have juice.

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The results of Canon's Digital Lifestyle Index were released today, and despite all the recent economic doom and gloom, the situation doesn't look too bad for consumer tech companies in Australia. In the first half of this year, we Aussies spent a total of $2.424 billion on gadgets, which is a 12.1% increase on the same period in 2007.

More and more games consoles, digital music players, digital cameras and multifunction devices are being sold than ever before, but at the same time, DVD players and single-function inkjet printers seem to be dying a painful death, mostly due to market saturation.

Flat-panel TVs are the biggest earners, thanks to dropping prices and big events like the Olympics. LCD accounts for more revenue than plasma (not really a big surprise there) and digital cameras are actually worth a crapload of money each year, considering their low cost relative to TVs.

The full press release is below the fold. It's fascinating reading if you've got a few minutes to spare:

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Zoom lenses are by no means a rarity, but it's not often that someone chooses to sacrifice one to the internet. FredMiranda forum member sbv20 found himself with a useless Canon 17-85mm lens after the aperture became stuck, so he did what any good gadget freak would: he tore it apart. He documented the process with a fantastic series of photos which demonstrate that even the boring lenses found dangling from necks at any tourist destination are obscenely complicated.

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This balsa wood Canon DSLR is a perfect object of desire for both photography aficionados and people who like crafts. The steps are really simple, and the results--as you can see in the image--look great.

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Here's a cool collection from a Wired contest that details some of the best macro photography we've seen in at least the past couple days. The bad boy above is a jumping spider sitting on a DVD. Photographer "Coder" captured the image with a Canon 20D using a Canon MP-E macro lens. Below you'll find water from a fountain that took the shape of a head, and a wet leaf. Yes, a leaf. Normally that'd be pretty boring, but captured with that little flower icon set to 'on,' it becomes a scene from another world.

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