Photo equipment to actually see those holiday pictures you took

Get the new year off to a fast start with the following new photo gear. All products have been tested by the author.

Judi Dash

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A 20-gig photo album

Say goodbye to those bulky photo albums stuffed with yellowing snapshots. Say hello (and, wow) to Brookstone’s new PictureBook Digital Photo Album, which can store 10,000 photos on its 20GB hard drive. You can even organize your images into up to 20 customized folders, and watch the photos as a slide show. The PictureBook measures 8 by 6 inches and has a bright 5.6-inch color LCD screen. You can also download images from a computer with the kit’s USB cable, and display them on your TV or DVD player using the video cable. The rechargeable battery provides 3.5 hours of power. A classy leather cover snaps over the screen. It’s easy to use too, so start shooting.

PictureBook (498360) is $500 from Brookstone; (866) 576-7337, www.brookstone.com.

A double-bagger

The new Gemini case from Tenba is two innovative bags in one. One side unzips to reveal a compartment with removable, adjustable padded dividers for safely transporting a camera, multiple lenses and other photo gear. Unzip the other side and you have another padded compartment that is a workstation for laptops up to 17 inches. It has a drop-down surface, a pop-up glare/privacy shield for better screen viewing, and a pass-through cord port for powering up and connecting the computer to peripherals. You can separate the two sides to carry separately or zip them together as a single case. There’s also a removable organizer file, multiple external and internal pockets on both sides, and D-rings on each side for connecting the included shoulder strap. The combined Cordura nylon case system measures 15 by 11 by 8 inches deep.

PG17-C Gemini Case (638-183) is $210; (914) 347-3300, www.tenbagear.com.

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