I came across this newfangled device the other week and did a double-take - a serious tool for pole-aerial-photography that would actually improve my workflow? Possibly…

The PiXel LV-W1 is basically made up of two components, the transmitter and the receiver, with a few cords in between. The transmitter hooks up to your DSLR and shoots its live-view image over to the receiver via the 2.4 GHz spectrum, at which point you compose your shot and remotely trigger the shutter. All of this can be done up to 80 meters (262 feet) away, but I doubt that would necessary for PAP. It should be noted that you do need a camera that supports live-view and has a shutter release input to use this device, as that's how you get the video feed to the receiver and trigger the shutter.

Personally, I see a great deal of potential in a gadget like this, especially for pole-aerial-photography. Being able to see exactly what your camera sees when it's 15, 20, even 30 feet up in the air would be incredible - it takes the 'guess-and-check' approach out of the equation. Sure, there are solutions out there now that allow you to achieve similar results, but none of them have the range, the live-view feed, the 3" screen, the shutter release, and the rechargeable battery - unless you build it yourself, of course.

Update: Michael James of the hdriblog.com has directed us to a few other products that accomplish this task in a similar manner. Each is unique in how they do it, so be sure to check them out and pick the one that fits your workflow best.

Here's a rundown of the specs:

• LV-W1 image transmit is using 2.4GHz frequency channel, 3 specific channels.
• Shutter control is using 433MHz frequency channel (available to use another frequency channel). 3 specific channels.
• Operating distance range is up to 80M.
• The display is protected by coating; it’s not easy to get scratch.
• 3inch TFT display, adjustable the brightness .
• Resolution: 960 X 240
• 3.7V 1200mAh lithium battery. Working hour: Transmitter --- 8 hours or above.              Receiver ---   5hours or above.
• The receiver is usable to connect the camera directly, just like CT-122. Use VD-936 (optional) to connect and transfer the live view to PC.
• Compatible for camera which included AV Output and shutter release socket.
• Charging method: via charger or USB cable for charging  the battery inside the device.

You can check out the PiXel LV-W1 here and purchase one here.

In essence, these are critiques in reverse: you are critiquing your own work. Either on a shoot you've done way-back, or a shoot you've just completed - you'll show all of the photos of a specific room and talk about the best and worst aspects of each of them. By walking us through your experience, we'll all learn. Watch the podcast I'm talking about to see exactly what I'm talking about.

Participation Instructions:

1. Go to the 'Contact' section of the website
2. Tell me you're interested in participating in the critiques
3. I'll get back to you and we'll take it from there

It's really as simple as that.

If you're on the fence about participating in something like this, just keep it in the back of your mind on your next shoot - you may just find that you've captured and experienced something you want to share with the community.

Hey Everyone,

Head over to the Flickr Pool page to see the giant improvement in usability. Essentially, you don't have to head over to the Flickr page anymore to view the group's photos - it's embedded into the page for instant access. Here's the rundown of the features we now have, thanks for to Cooliris:

• Embedded interactive slideshow containing the group's work with automatic updates
• Displays title, photographer, and description when the user hovers over the image
• Ability to search for photos by title
• Keyboard navigation using the arrow keys
• A few others that aren't as noteworthy (presentation mode, embed elsewhere) but are still available

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, keep up the great work.

The one and only reason I thought it belonged here is due to the last technology preview the demonstration covers - improved warping. Currently, the warp tool in Photoshop is good - as long as you have patience. It appears that the new warp tool allows the user to anchor specific section of the image while warping the rest. That's a huge benefit for real estate photographers who need to correct those straight lines.

Here's the Aperture preset pack I mentioned in the podcast this week. Many thanks to MacCreate for making this great set of presets available to us so quickly.

Big day today - Aperture 3 is out! 

I'm a Lightroom user, but I'm willing to give it a try, considering the bazillion changes they made. The most notable improvements are:

• Adjustment Brush - you know, the one we've been enjoying in Lightroom for a while now
• Presets - finally
• Stills, Video, and Audio management - sounds incredibly useful with the fact that video on DSLR's are becoming a new standard
• Faces and Places - the same nifty stuff we've seen in iPhoto
• Slideshows - I think we all know what they are
• Photo Books - new sizes and now with the ability to send your books out to professional photo labs via plug-ins (now that's a welcome new feature!)
• Printing - lots of new printing options
• 64-bit - Under-the-hood improvement that should help with speed and access to RAM

Check out all of the improvements here.