October 31
Buy f/2.8 or f/4? I saw a post title on dpreview not too long ago that immediately registered with me, because I find myself today asking the same question: f/4 or f/2.8? Or I suppose given my recent reviews of the Sigma DX zooms, we could also label that f/2.8 or f/1.8? for the DX market. Article on dslrbodies.com
Do We Still Need Fast Lenses? The combination of better sensors and more ubiquitous VR has a lot of folk wondering about that question. The answer, as usual, is much more nuanced than an outright yes or no. Article on dslrbodies.com
Recommended Macintosh Hardware. This evergreen article has been updated to reflect the latest Apple announcements. Article on dslrbodies.com
Canon Joins Canaries in Coal Mine. For the first time recently, Canon reported financial results that indicate a stronger weakness in their camera business. Year to year, the third quarter was down 15.6% in sales, and 45.3% in profit. More ominous: "temporarily curtailed shipments due to a pause in entry-class DSLR purchasing." Article on dslrbodies.com
The Z7 blog has been updated again with some PhotoPlus Expo notes.
October 31
Buy f/2.8 or f/4? I saw a post title on dpreview not too long ago that immediately registered with me, because I find myself today asking the same question: f/4 or f/2.8? Or I suppose given my recent reviews of the Sigma DX zooms, we could also label that f/2.8 or f/1.8? for the DX market. Article on dslrbodies.com
Do We Still Need Fast Lenses? The combination of better sensors and more ubiquitous VR has a lot of folk wondering about that question. The answer, as usual, is much more nuanced than an outright yes or no. Article on dslrbodies.com
Recommended Macintosh Hardware. This evergreen article has been updated to reflect the latest Apple announcements. Article on dslrbodies.com
Canon Joins Canaries in Coal Mine. For the first time recently, Canon reported financial results that indicate a stronger weakness in their camera business. Year to year, the third quarter was down 15.6% in sales, and 45.3% in profit. More ominous: "temporarily curtailed shipments due to a pause in entry-class DSLR purchasing." Article on dslrbodies.com
The Z7 blog has been updated again with some PhotoPlus Expo notes.
October 24
Leica Goes Retro to the Future. Leica today announced yet another M model, the M10-D, but it's a very interesting camera, as that image of its back should show. Article on sansmirror.com M10-D data page (Camera Database header page has been updated)
Where Are We? With Photokina out of the way, it's time to assess where the camera makers now fall in terms of mirrorless cameras. Article on sansmirror.com
The False Equivalency That Great Photo Equipment Makes Great Photographs. I recently had someone believe that they were blasting me to smithereens on the Internet by comparing my photography to someone who's regarded as one of the top ten photographers of all time. While they thought they were dissing me big time, I actually was quite amused to find someone trying to compare me to the very best. Article on dslrbodies.com
October 18
QAD HDR. Back near the turn of the century, I was one of the early proponents of ETTR (expose to the right) for raw shooters. The classic definition of this is that you place the brightest highlight you want to preserve right near the saturation point of the sensor (255 for any given photosite in 8-bit terms). Article on dslrbodies.com
QAD Sports Recommendations. The following presupposes credentialed or official press access to the sidelines. In football, for instance, you’ll note that there’s a dashed line set back from the actual sideline at most collegiate and pro stadiums. Article on dslrbodies.com Updated
Adobe Updates. At Adobe Max, Adobe's conference for creatives, new versions of the photography bundle products were announced. Article on dslrbodies.com
October 17
Ecosystems versus Alliances. I found several instances of people posting comments recently about the state of cameras similar to the following: "you have to be in an alliance or you'll die." Not at all true. Article on sansmirror.com
October 15
A Curious Observation Prior to the Canon R and Nikon Z announcements, the Internet (and my In Box) was filled with "Sony is Invincible" messages. Article on sansmirror.com
October 14
Does The Lens Mount Matter? First, let's put blame where it belongs: the marketing departments of Canon and Nikon. When you make a claim—our new mount is better—it's up to you to prove it. Article on sansmirror.com
New Z6/Z7 Blog Updates As I’ve been doing with the DSLRs lately, I’m going to start a blog-style set of comments and updates for the new Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. Now with four new observations. Eventually the useful information in these posts will be moved to my review and this blog removed. Article on sansmirror.com Updated 10/18, particularly on CSP comments
October 5
New Z6/Z7 Blog. As I’ve been doing with the DSLRs lately, I’m going to start a blog-style set of comments and updates for the new Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. Eventually the useful information in these posts will be moved to my review and this blog removed. Article on sansmirror.com