Hasta La Gadget!

Have iPhone 4 envy? Your older model will never be as cool as the shiniest, newest version, but at least there’s one thing you can do to help soup the thing up. The iFlash plugs into your iPhone or iPod’s dock connector. It offers 10cd of light, to help you take better shots with your phone.

The iFlash has an on/off button and is powered by the phone itself. There’s also a string on the thing, so you can let it dangle from your phone, when not in use.

The iFlash is a bit pricey, at $39.95, and, let’s be honest, is a bit less exciting than it could be, given the addition of a flash on the latest version of the iPhone. But if you’ve got $40 and demand sharp phone pictures, you can pick one up today.

Ever set up your tripod on uneven ground, then the camera or video camera tilts up or down as you pan, no matter how carefully you thought you leveled the legs? Replace your tripod head with an Induro PHQ five-way panhead. The five-way adjustments, five bubble levels, and two panning locks let you get the platform perfectly level and then you apply further tilt and pan adjustments to your heart’s content. It’s great for still cameras and video cameras. The Induro PHQ1 ($315 street) supports 25 pounds; the Induro PHQ3 ($395) supports 35 pounds. The top plate is compatible with Arca-Swiss quick-release mounting plates, the industry standard.

Of all the bags I’ve carried in the past year, the ones I’ve gone back to most often to carry a camera, spare lens, and flash, are the Lowepro Outback 300 (see review) and Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85 Dual Access Photo / Laptop backpack (see review). The Lowepro is a deep, square sided bag with two outrigger pouches that is perfect for carrying photo gear and a bit of personal stuff. The Tamrac is one of several medium-size photo laptop backpacks with a unique twist: Rip out the bottom camera dividers and the big middle divider and you’ve got a traditional backpack with a compartment for a laptop.

Manfrotto’s School of Xcellence runs frequent, well-regarded webinars on photo techniques. Recently: sports shooting and photographing nudes (separate seminars, unless it’s the swimsuit issue). Next week, a session on taking great portraits. If you sign up, you’ll get this double-meaning confirmation (screenshot above) for the Dec. 2 session with acclaimed Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes. To sign up, go to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence site. Manfrotto is the well-regarded maker of tripods, monopods, and other photo gear.

Oprah? Total tech junkie. There are a number of gadgets dotting the queen of daytime’s lift of “favorite things.” At the top of the list is Apple’s iPad, which Winfrey told her audience is “the best invention of the century so far.”

As is her custom, Oprah gave the tablet away to customarily overzealous audience members. The free iPads were also stocked with a Scrabble app and a digital copy of O Magazine.

“Words cannot describe what I feel for this magnificent device,” she told the audience “Thanks to my iPad, I now read about four newspapers a day. I write my column for O magazine on the iPad way before the deadline because I love writing on it so much.”

Also on her list this year was a Sony BRAVIA LX900 3D HDTV ($3,600), a Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera ($700), and a five-year subscription to Netflix, which, as we all know, is worth more now than it was a few weeks ago.

The biggest prize prize? That fleet of 2012 VW Beetles.