Now if I wanted to act like a pompous twit, I might say something like, “This piece speaks directly to my soul and illustrates the futility of man. Does it comment on life or death?” Pffft. I’m just gonna call it a fugly art skull decked out in all kinds of precious metals like silver, mercury and gold and gem stones. Cuz that’s what it is. Oh and it’s also a camera.

The skull camera is named “Yama” after the Tibetan god of death and it’s actually made from the skull of a Tibetan monk. It’s gotta be the creepiest looking pinhole camera I have ever seen. Not just the fugliest. A divider that splits it into two lets you see it’s inner view. It comes with a hefty price at $5,000.

Remember the Tomy Xiao TIP-521 digital camera with built-in Zink printer? It’s available in Japan now, and the above video illustrates how they’re trying to convince you to buy one.

Have you watched it yet? Good. Still want to buy one? If the commercial has sold you on it, the Xiao will be available for $350 in the US in Q2 of 2009. I don’t know. He seemed to be struggling a bit there. He might need some fiber.

We aren’t sure what to think about this one. Target is getting creative with their gift cards again. You can consider it either a gift card with a digital camera, or a digital camera with a gift card. Either way, it’s all good. This holiday season, Target will begin selling the combo gift card/digital camera, which is an interesting approach. It will give customers some added value to what is otherwise a pretty boring purchase.

The camera features a 1.2MP sensor with 50MB of storage. It comes bundled with a USB cord, driver disk, instruction manual and a voucher for 40 free prints at Target. It’s powered by two AAA batteries. So rest assured, Target’s battery sales will be way up this year. The digital camera gift certificates will be available at no additional charge, unless you order it online. They are available in values from $50 to $1000.

Many of us miss Polaroids. They weren’t all that great, but they did provide a strange sort of instant gratification. Sadly, Polaroid is dead. But it keeps coming back in other forms. You might remember Zink, that company whose technology prints digital photos on the spot without ink.

Well, they’re back, this time with strange bedfellows. They’ve been rolling around in the sheets with toy-maker Tomy to make the xiao TIP-521, a digital camera with a printer built in. The xiao has a five megapixel resolution, so you may want to wait a bit. The point is they are on it people. Polaroid lives on.

So photography is your obsession and so is caffeine. If it weren’t for the sky-high cost of your camera lenses, you would have combined the two long ago. Well, my picture taking paparazzi friends, your dreams can now be realized with this awesome and at the same time nerdy mug made out of a zoom lens.

It appears to be a concept, but I’m sure it will be for sale soon, since it’s pretty awesome and different. Just imagine all the fat nerds that will be sipping from this as they stakeout celebrities. It probably needs a lid for when you encounter the unexpected Britney Spears crotch shot. Many a coffee has been lost to her hot-pocket.

A few things tend to be common amongst DSLR cameras. They tend to be large and heavy cameras, have interchangeable lenses and usually you only get black or silver colors to choose from. The DSLR is becoming more popular as new models are introduced that add new features to the category as the cameras get smaller, the get more appealing as well.

Today, Panasonic announced the world’s first Micro Four Thirds system camera. The Lumix G1 claims several world’s firsts including the world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera and the world’s first to be offered in multiple colors. The G1 weighs 0.85 pounds, making it about half the weight of DSLR cameras.

Rollei rolls out X-8 Sports 8MP waterproof camera. But wait. That’s Chuck F’in Norris on the front. It was shown at the IFA show in Berlin and I’m guessing that when it takes pictures, Chuck’s fist pops out of the thing and lays the smack down. Rollei may not be a well known camera brand, but it’s a fact that it will be now thanks to Mr. Norris. I’m not sure if they have Chuck’s permission or not.

The camera is light at only 158g and it’s waterproof up to 10 meters, ready for dirt or cold weather, and is resistant to moisture. It can even take a 1 meter drop. Really is tough as Chuck and less wrinkly. Some other specs include up to 1600 ISO, 8 megapixels, and 3x optical zoom. The Rollei X-8 Sports will be officially released this September or October.

This has been quite a week for introduction of new digital cameras. This week Canon announced its new DSLR camera called the EOS 50D. A plethora of other cameras was also introduced by various manufacturers.

Today, Sony pulled the wraps off its own new digital camera called the Cyber-shot DSC-T500. The camera stores images to the Sony proprietary Memory Stick — one of the lines biggest drawbacks if you ask me. The camera has a 10-megapixel sensor and can record video as well.

Teens and tweens don’t normally want to use the same gadgets and electronics that their parents do. The younger crowd wants bright and colorful gear that is easy to use. More and more companies are starting to target this group of younger users with products specifically designed to grab their attention.

Canon announced several new cameras today and one of the new cameras is the PowerShot E1. Canon says that it designed the E1 specifically for the teen and tween age group. The E1 is available in blue, white, and pink colors and has a rounded design.

There really isn’t a lot of info about this camera, but obviously it stands out from the pack by offering to balance the light against the dark side of the force in one handy camera. It will likely get you in your zen place as you do the whole tourist thing. One half houses the lens and LCD screen, the other apparently holds the flash memory and a USB port.

You see? Life’s delicate balance in a camera. The trigger is in front so it would be like using an older camera. We’d love to see this concept become reality, but we’re not sure the world is ready for such perfect harmony. It would surely heal and bring us together, much like the black and white cookie.

Plaza Create Co. in Japan has launched a waterproof digital camera that is actually recyclable. It’s called the ECO Digi Mode. The camera will be able to take 3 megapixel shots, sports a 2.4-inch display and even has a flash. You can snap pics to a depth of 3 meters and can do 50 pictures.

After you’ve taken your 50 pictures of Jellyfish humping, just transfer them to a CD for safekeeping, then delete them from the camera and send it out for recycling, where the LCD and flash unit are reused in the next camera so some other guy can take pics of fish. Sounds like alot of work, but nobody said love of the environment was easy. The ECO Digi Mode can be found in Japan for about $18.

Digital cameras have come a long way in recent years towards getting easier to use and making better images. The cameras are also getting much smaller making it easier for people to keep a camera on them at all times so they can snap pictures of friends and family doing stupid stuff to use as leverage in the coming years.

Case in point is the new Sony Cyber-shot cameras announced this week. The Sony DSC-T77 10-megapixel camera is the thinnest camera in Sony’s line at only 5/8 of an inch thick. The rear LCD on the T77 is 3-inches wide and is touch sensitive. Other features of the camera include intelligent scene recognition, Smile shutter, and face detection with settings for adult and child priority. The camera also has an ISO sensitivity of up to 3200.

We recently told you about the Hasselblad H3DII50 - 50 Megapixel Camera. The Leaf AFi 10 Camera wants you to know that it is currently in the lead at 56 megapixels should you be able to spend the spare scratch. By spare scratch, I man $43,675. It sports True Wide Frame 56×36 mm, 56 megapixel digital imaging sensor, captures images at about 1 second per frame, 6 x 7 cm touch screen and it can shoot up to ISO800.

Another nice feature is the high-quality auto focus digital (AFD) Schneider-Kreuznach lenses with the option of an advanced Leaf digital camera back. The lenses have been specially created for use with 30+ Mega Pixel digital camera backs. You’ll get the optimal focus sharpness while making good use of high-resolution CCD sensors. The 6 x 6 medium format digital camera that can be used as a hand-held and with a tripod.

The Samsung TL9 camera is definitely inspired by your dashboard, which is kinda cool. Otherwise it’s pretty ho-hum as far as camera specs. Some specs include: 10-megapixel resolution, a 2.7 inch LCD, 5x optical zoom, maximum ISO of 1600, and Dual Image Stabilization.

Interestingly, it features MP3/PMP capability. The two empty/full analog gauges show the remaining battery life and memory storage. The Samsung TL9 is priced at $280. Perfect for those who are only capable of reading gauges and have been confused by every other camera that ever was.

For the most part people tend to stick to point-and-shoot digital cameras for taking pictures of kids, friends and family. However, there often comes a time when a amateur photographer realizes that the point-and-shoot camera isn’t cutting it and decides to step up to the DSLR camera.

Today Canon introduced a new entry-level DSLR camera aimed at just this sort of person. The Canon EOS Rebel XS is going to be available in August at a price of $699.99 with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens, rechargeable battery and more. The Rebel XS is the little brother to the Rebel XSi we talked about in January.