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Review: Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L and ‘Packing Tools’ are pricey but versatile

01 Jan

Introduction

The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is the core item in the brand’s new travel line.

The Internet has been abuzz with excitement over Peak Design’s new travel-oriented bag line which revolves around a 45L carry-on-sized backpack and set of organizational ‘Packing Tools’. The system is for those who love Peak Design gear and want to travel with their camera gear and personal items packed into just one bag.

The system is for traveling with camera gear and personal items packed into just one bag

The Kickstarter for said line of bags launched in July and crossed the finish line with over 10 times its initial goal raised. In more direct numbers, that’s 5.2 million dollars raised, with an initial goal of $ 500,000. Wow.

The whole kit I tested: Travel Backpack 45L (right), Packing Cube (top-middle), Shoe Pouch (bottom-middle), Camera Cube (top-left), Tech Pouch (middle-left), Wash Pouch (bottom-left).

For the sake of this review I’ll be looking at the Travel Backpack 45L, on page one. On page two I’ll look at the rest of the system, including the Tech Pouch, Wash Pouch, Shoe Pouch, Rain Fly, Packing Cube (small), and Camera Cube (medium). Combined these items add up to $ 545.

It’s important to note this bag and its accessories should be viewed almost as a gear carrying ecosystem, not unlike owning a Macbook, iPhone, AirPods, etc. These products are designed to be used together, but I believe its important to remind both myself and anyone else interested in these bags you certainly can choose to use other brands alongside the different pieces of the Peak Design (PD) ecosystem. I’ll go in depth with the main bag, then share my notes on the each of the smaller items, and lastly return to how all of these things fit together.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L
$ 299.95| PeakDesign.com

The most important part of the Travel Line is the backpack itself. It’s big, sleek, and surprisingly boxy, though I’ll get to why that’s not such a bad thing later. As mentioned, this bag is oriented towards travelers, photographers, videographers and anyone in between. It blends some design principles of a traditional ‘backpacking’ bag with the sensibilities of a camera luggage bag, sans-wheels.

Specifications

Carrying Capacity: 30L – 45L
Height: 56 cm (22″)
Width: 33 cm (13″)
Depth: 23 – 29 cm (9″ -11″)
Weight: 2.05kg (4.52lb)
Back panel and dual side loading/access
2 Expandable side pockets with drainage holes
Front access organization panel with 5 zippered compartments
Passport/travel document pocket in back panel
Laptop/Tablet sleeve in back panel interior, fits 15″ laptop
Storable hip and shoulder straps
12 gear attachment loops across bag
400D weatherproof, 100% recycled nylon canvas outer shell
900D weatherproof bottom liner
Durable water repellent, polyurethane coated interior
Weatherproof zippers for back, front and side panels
Padded ultralight foam around entire bag

Compared to other bags

There aren’t a lot of direct competitors to the Travel Backpack, but two that comes to mind are Osprey’s Porter 46 Travel Pack and Mind Shift’s Firstlight 40L. These two bags represent the different focuses that Peak Design is trying to blend: a long distance travel backpack (Osprey) and a camera gear bag (Mind Shift).

The Porter is nearly identical in size, fits many of the same things and weighs only 1.5kg, or .5kg less than the Peak Design – it also costs $ 140, less than half of Peak Design’s $ 300 price tag. That being said, the Porter doesn’t have quite the gear readiness of Peak Design’s bag and is also missing the 900D bottom liner, though it does boast 420D weatherproof nylon, as opposed to PD’s 400D.

Peak Design’s Travel Backpack 45L packed with the Camera Cube (medium)

Meanwhile, the Firstlight has 5L less carrying capacity and an interior depth of 18.5cm compared to PD’s 23cm at the low end. The Firstlight also costs $ 330, $ 30 more than Peak Design but the key difference here is that the Firstlight comes readily equipped with padded dividers in the main compartment of the bag – not the case with the PD option. With the Firstlight you lose some of the flexibility and travel-focus of Peak Design’s bag, but you actually end up spending less in the long run if what you’re looking for is a gear-focused bag.

Design and construction

This bag really surprised me out of the gate. Design-wise, it boasts a simple facade that has all kinds of pockets, straps, and secret stash areas. The boxiness of the bag seems like a departure from Peak Design’s more angular, triangle-based design you see in the Messenger and Everyday Backpack. This bag doesn’t ask for attention in its appearance.

The Travel Backpack has a simple design with little flashiness.

In the Black version (tested here), everything blends together seamlessly. None of the straps, loops, or zippers call attention to themselves and everything has a James Bond-esque coolness to it. The Sage color also looks classy.

Nothing feels flimsy and all the zippers are smooth. Every strap feels like it belongs and helps the user carry the bag in whatever method is most convenient in the moment. I particularly appreciate the addition of the duffel-style strap in the center of the back panel. I’m a huge fan of Peak Design’s padded handles on both the tops and sides of their bags so to see another one in another place I didn’t realize I wanted it until I had it is a joy.

Back of the Travel Backpack 45L, note the duffel handle in the middle

I think the area that Peak Design seems to excel the most is producing bags that feel sturdy and warrant the trust we give them with our gear. Another stellar addition here is the 900D weatherproof bottom liner, something you rarely even see in more outdoor-oriented bags.

The only design flaw that really stands out to me is the hip straps’ locking mechanism feels particularly unfamiliar. I like that Peak Design chooses to use hard metal joiners, like for the sternum strap, but for me I would’ve been perfectly happy with a hard plastic buckle.


Hip Strap	Sternum Strap

In Use

I actually found this bag to be much more comfortable on my shoulders than my backpacking bag from REI. The hip straps aren’t quite as load-bearing, though I still find they take some of the weight off my shoulders and I think part of this is to do with the fact that a) I’m skinny, and b) the metal hook used to secure the hip straps doesn’t have quite the same tension as a buckle.

That said, the magnetic latches that allow you to store the hip straps in the back panel are super helpful for keeping things streamlined without a bunch of straps flapping in the wind when you’re moving around. And yes, this bag weighs more than others, I didn’t find it to be excessively heavy but ultimately that’s going to depend on how you pack it.

Strap storage, brought to you by: magnets!

I first used this bag (along with the medium sized camera cube) like a gear suitcase traveling from Seattle to Portland to shoot a wedding and found it more than adequate for moving my equipment in a safe, comfortable manner.

I later used it without the camera cube as my main pack to travel around Europe for a few weeks and it was also pretty great. I opted to keep all my clothes and miscellaneous belongings in the main backpack and then carried Peak Design’s 10L Sling separately to keep my camera, extra lenses, journal, Kindle, etc. protected. Although it’s not really possible with the 10L Sling, Peak Design’s 5L sling can fit inside the Travel Backpack no problem, though you won’t have the same side panel access you could have with the camera cubes.

There are a lot of features packed into this bag and they take time to learn

The compression down to 30L is nice for those who want to use it, but I found the bag still felt too large for use as a ‘day pack’, even compressed down. The compression is achieved by folding two buttons on the top of the bag back onto their button counterparts, making the bag more angled down its face. There are a lot of features packed into this bag and honestly one of the biggest hindrances of enjoying them is they take time to learn. I’d highly recommend anyone interested in using using this pack for extended travel consider taking it out on a short weekend excursion first to learn some of the ins and outs. I didn’t initially realize that the front zipper panel with 4 zipper pockets could actually be rolled up and stowed for a more simple 1 compartment approach (see below).

My biggest usage gripe with the bag (which also extends to Peak Design’s Everyday Backpack) is that the side pockets really don’t expand much and can only fit some pretty small things. My 32oz Nalgene bottle for example, had to be attached on one of the gear loops because it didn’t fit in the side pockets. My guess is that this tightness is based around keeping things like tripods snug against the side of the bag. On the other hand one thing I like most about this bag is it stands upright on its own, unlike some of Peak Design’s other packs.

The pocketed divider can be stowed to create one big main pocket with immediate front access.

Conclusion: Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L

Overall, I really enjoy using this bag and think I’ll be relying on it more to come in the future. The build quality is stellar, it’s stylish but subdued and it offers a lot of possibilities in terms of approaching how you carry all your stuff with you.

On it’s own this backpack offers a really awesome option for traveling light. It can fit enough to live out of, but doesn’t make you feel like a turtle. The sturdy design of the bag gives buyers a chance to manipulate the space within it as effectively as possible, unlike other backpacking bags that require you to stuff things in from the top down.

What we like:

Stylish design
Lots of space and versatility
Comfortable fit
Packed with tons of features
Durable and naturally protective

What we don’t:

Too large for daypack use
Pricey
Features can be overwhelming at first
Small side pockets

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L rating:

Head to page 2 for a breakdown of the rest of Peak Design’s Packing Tools and our overall conclusion.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Irix confirms its lenses are ‘fully compatible’ with Canon’s EOS R camera

31 Dec

Swiss lens manufacturer Irix has announced its lens lineup is completely compatible with Canon EOS R cameras when attached using Canon’s EF to EOS R adapter.

In an announcement post on its website, Irix says ‘it is possible to control the aperture from the camera’ and notes that all metadata is transferred properly from the lens to the camera including focusing distance and other exposure details.

Irix specifically mentions its 11mm F4, 15mm F2.4 and 150mm F2.8 1:1 Macro lenses.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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2019 camera and lens manufacturers’ New Year’s resolutions

31 Dec

New Year’s resolutions

There’s plenty in this world that we’re not sure about (Peas in guacamole? The resurgence of 90’s fashion trends? Pineapple on pizza??) but one thing we’re certain of: a few companies, many of which are headquartered in Japan, will produce new cameras, lenses and photographic accessories in 2019. And just like every year, some will be great, some will be OK, and one or two will be crushingly dull.

Thanks to some early product development announcements we already know a little of what the next year holds in store, but much remains a mystery. We can only guess what the next 12 months will bring – guess, hope, and play backseat camera engineer.

In the spirit of New Years’ resolutions, we got together as a team and talked about what we’d like the major manufacturers to do next year. Things we want to see fixed, directions we’d like to see taken (plus some we’d like to see reversed…) and products we’d like to be released. So without further ado, here are our collected New Years’ resolutions, on behalf of the manufacturers, courtesy of DPReview. Call it wishful thinking.

Feel free to play along at home via the comments.

Canon

Oh, Canon – where should we start? You’re one of the biggest camera manufacturers in the industry, but you’re still among the most conservative. This year you’ve teased us with a range of superb new RF lenses, but we’re really hoping that 2019 brings a slightly higher-end camera to shoot them with. But even as you build out the RF lineup, we hope you don’t neglect EF-M. An M50 successor with un-cropped 4K would be lovely – pretty please?

Canon – in 2019 we wish you would…

Add IBIS to the RF lineup and update your sensors (or buy Sony’s).
Make the RF mount an open standard.
Reclaim your ILC video crown – no more cropped 4K!
Dump the MFn bar…
Make the 5D Mark V a true digital EOS 3.
Think different – embrace computational photography.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm, you’re the darling of camera reviewers everywhere. You’re one of the few brands that, from time to time, still makes products which are better than they need to be in order to be competitive. The X-T2 was a great camera, and you didn’t need to replace it, but you went and did it anyway! The X-T3 was one of our favorite cameras of 2018. It almost made up for the ‘4K capable’ X-A5… But we’re still hoping for more in 2019.

Fujifilm – in 2019 we wish you would…

Make a full-frame X100 / monochrome X100 / 28mm-equiv X100. (We really like the X100).
Continue improving your face and eye-detection autofocus. The X-T3 was a great start.
Make a proper X70 successor. The XF10 doesn’t count.
Refresh your F1.4 primes.
Don’t try to palm us off with 15fps ‘4K video’ ever again. For shame.

Leica

Let’s be honest, Leica – this is pointless. It doesn’t matter what we want, or what we say, or what anyone wants or says, you’re Leica! You’ll just continue to do whatever you want, and there’s every chance that in a few weeks’ time we’ll find ourselves reviewing a limited edition ping-pong-bat-rubber-clad Melania Trump signature-edition M10. And that’s why we love you.

Leica – in 2019 we wish you would…

Stop with the special editions already – this isn’t the 90s.
Make a Q2 – maybe even with a 35mm lens…
Say goodbye to 1950s technology and make an M-mount camera with an EVF.
Give your customers their moneys’ worth and turn camera repairs around in days, not months. It’s not impossible – everyone else can do it.

Nikon

Nikon, you’re getting there. You launched the Z-mount with a bang in 2018, but despite its high-end pricing you must have known that the flagship Z7 wouldn’t be quite enough to tempt professionals and enthusiasts away from their D850 and D5 bodies. Don’t let the haters get you down, though. Keep up the pace and turn the Z mount into the professional system that we know it can be. We’re rooting for you.

Nikon – in 2019 we wish you would…

Keep developing that Z-series lens roadmap.
Bring 3D AF Tracking to the Z-series – in fact, bring all of your industry-leading AF area modes to the Z-series.
Make an FTZ adapter with a built-in AF motor. Carey’s got a 105mm F2 DC he really wants to shoot with.
Make the Z mount an open standard.

Olympus

Olympus – we feel for you. You were among the first manufacturers to create a modern mirrorless camera, and now, a decade on, you’re the only brand that doesn’t (or isn’t preparing to) offer its customers a full-frame sensor. We know that it’s been a tough few years for you guys over in the camera division but we’ve got a few ideas for how you can disrupt things in 2019 and beyond.

Olympus – in 2019 we wish you would…

Start making small cameras again. Maybe an updated PEN-F?
Update the OM-D E-M5 II.
Simplify your cameras’ menu systems, please!
Add PDAF to your lower-end PEN and OM-D cameras.
Add a large sensor to the TOUGH range. You already make the best rugged cameras, why not go one step further?

Panasonic

As you prepare to enter the full-frame market in a few months, we can only imagine that things are pretty hectic in your Osaka headquarters right now. Hopefully you’re not working the engineers too hard, and they get a little downtime to read DPReview, because we’ve got some suggestions that we think might really help Panasonic out in 2019.

Panasonic – in 2019 we wish you would…

Ditch field-sequential EVFs, for good.
Either fix DFD for video, or use PDAF instead.
Now that you’re in the L mount alliance, how about making a full-frame 4K video camera?

Ricoh / Pentax

Pentax, we need to be careful what we say here…

We admire your loyal customer base, and we respect the way that many of them react to anything short of uncritically gushing praise for their favorite camera maker with… let’s say… passion. But we’re also terrified of them. For the record, we like a lot of your products! And we want you to succeed just as much as your customers do. Here are some suggestions.

Ricoh – in 2019 we wish you would

Make a true successor to the K-1.
Reissue the K-01 – just kidding! Give your fans a proper mirrorless camera – maybe the L-mount alliance has room for another member?
Make a full-frame GR to compete with the Leica Q and Sony RX1R II.

Sigma

Sigma, we hardly recognize you. Over the past decade you’ve gone from being a respected but midrange third-party lens maker (and a quietly prolific OEM manufacturer) to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the high-end optics market. You’re making some of the finest lenses available, while still undercutting the ‘big’ brands, often by a considerable margin. How do you do that?

We love what you’ve become, but sometimes love is about being honest. Here are some ideas for 2019 and beyond.

Sigma – in 2019 we wish you would…

Calm down a bit with the ‘biggest, heaviest and fastest’ primes thing and create a range of compact F2 lenses.
Try again with the 24-70mm F2.8 Art.
Follow Tamron’s example and develop some native Sony FE lenses.
Reverse-engineer the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts and show them how it’s done.
Create a range of full-frame Merrill compacts.

Sony

Oh, Sony, we can’t keep up! At your current rate of product announcements, you’ll have released at least one new RX100-series compact, a GM lens or two and an a7 IV by the time we’ve finished writing this sentence. That’s fine, but in 2019 we’d like to see you taking a bit of a break, making some time to reflect, and maybe reprioritizing a little.

Sony – in 2019 we wish you would…

Create a Cyber-shot RX1R III (with a real battery, not that joke-shop one from last time).
Throw your a6000-series customers a bone and make some new APS-C lenses.
Make your video and stills AF experience consistent.
Speaking of 35mm, make an FE 35mm F1.8. Your non-pro and pro customers will thank you.
Focus on user experience, as well as technology. We get it, you’re smart!

Tamron

Tamron, you dark horse. You’ve been quietly adding some really impressive lenses to your lineup over the past year, including the first ever zoom lens designed natively for a full-frame mirrorless system. Not as prolific as Sigma, or as niche as the likes of Laowa or Zeiss, you’re a good, solid, photographer-friendly company that we think deserves to succeed in 2019. And here’s how we think you should do that.

Tamron – in 2019 we wish you would…

Continue developing full-frame E-mount lenses.
Reverse-engineer the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts as soon as possible.
Resist the temptation to create large, heavy F1.4 glass – F1.8 is fine!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Gear of the Year 2018 – Dale’s choice: DJI Ronin-S

30 Dec

When it came time to select my 2018 gear of the year, my first inclination was to think about cameras and lenses. After all, we’ve seen some great ones in 2018, and that would have been an easy path to follow. No doubt, I could have picked something both technically impressive and fun to use.

However, when I really thought about what product had the most impact on the quality of my work this year, both at DPReview as well as for my own projects, it wasn’t a camera at all. Rather, it was the DJI Ronin-S camera gimbal – a tool that allowed me to significantly improve the quality of my video work using the cameras and lenses that I already had.

Anyone who has shot much video knows that camera movement can be as important as composition.

Anyone who has shot much video knows that camera movement can be as important as composition, and while most cameras now include some form of image stabilization, camera-based stabilization systems can only do so much. Gimbals provide more latitude to create movement, but usually add some complexity to your shooting workflow. With the Ronin-S, I feel like I’ve found the Goldilocks combination: a great gimbal that fits so seamlessly into my workflow that I barely notice.

I was impressed with the Ronin-S almost from the moment it arrived in our office. After a few weeks of testing I was confident enough to choose it for a larger project: a documentary film I was shooting in the Peruvian Amazon.

Filming with the DJI Ronin-S in Iquitos, Peru. Photo by Matt Fraser

Like any filmmaker, I wanted to get the best results possible, but I also had some pretty strict requirements. Since I had keep my kit compact and easy to carry, I decided to shoot on a pair of Panasonic GH5s. I needed a gimbal that would work well with these cameras, could be easily reconfigured for different camera setups in the field, and which could quickly adapt to different shooting conditions on the fly.

The subject of my film was The Great Amazon River Raft Race, a 180km race down the Amazon river on rafts made from balsa logs. Over the course of this multi-day event I had to keep cameras rolling in conditions that included crowded street markets, unstable boats, and and all the rain that comes with Amazon thunderstorms.

The wide variety of shooting conditions certainly put the Ronin-S to the test, and it came through with flying colors.

I immediately came to appreciate just how quickly I could set up a camera in the field. With a bit of practice, I could balance a camera and lens combination in about a minute, which the Ronin’s auto-tune feature would then fine tune in just a few seconds.

In this b-roll clip from my film, I was shooting from the back of a 3-wheeled ‘mototaxi’ driving down a fairly rough road. The footage isn’t bounce-free, but it’s much smoother than I could have produced shooting hand-held.

The strong motors in the Ronin-S also made it possible to use zoom lenses without adjusting balance or recalibrating the system. As a result, I was able to use a single zoom lens for most of my primary filming – something particularly helpful in a location where it seems like everything around you is actively trying to contaminate a camera sensor. The ability to quickly switch among different gimbal settings at the touch of a button also saved me on more than a few occasions when the story took unexpected turns.

However, the feature I probably appreciated the most on the Ronin-S was remote camera operation, including remote follow focus with focus peaking.

As an aside, it’s worth noting that the Ronin-S can provide various levels of remote camera control, and the level of functionality differs a lot by camera model and lens. Fortunately, DJI has done an excellent job integrating it with the GH5 I chose for this project.

I’ve been asked a number of times why I didn’t use autofocus. While it’s true that the video AF on many cameras is impressively good today, it still doesn’t provide the level of control or predictability I want when filming. In contrast, I found the remote follow focus on the Ronin-S to be very precise, predictable, and easy to use.

In this b-roll clip, I was shooting from a small, moving boat with three other people in it. The camera movement came out much smoother than my experience in the boat led me to expect.

Ironically, the one thing I was actually worried about turned out to be a non-starter. With limited access to power, I had concerns about how long the Ronin’s battery would last, but it never let me down. After a full day of shooting, my arm was borderline useless while the Ronin-S had hours of power left in reserve. So much for the superiority of man over machine.

The final area where I have to give the Ronin-S high marks is what I’ll call “Dale’s jungle survivability index.” I’ve worked in the Amazon before, and electronic equipment just doesn’t do well there. It’s hot and humid, and can be very wet, dirty and muddy. It’s damn near impossible to properly clean or dry equipment in the field, especially when you’re out for multiple days at a time. I’ve had equipment failures on previous trips, but the Ronin-S took everything I could throw at it and never blinked. It’s a solid piece of equipment.

I’ve had equipment failures on previous trips, but the Ronin-S took everything I could throw at it and never blinked. It’s a solid piece of equipment.

Sure, I have a few minor complaints, such as having to leave the entire system assembled just to charge the battery or the fact that the rubber seal over the battery’s on/off button keeps falling off, but those aren’t showstoppers.

Ultimately, what makes the Ronin-S my 2018 gear of the year isn’t the fact that it’s a camera gimbal – after all, those have been around for years – but the fact that it’s so flexible, configurable, and easy to operate. My footage looks better as a result of using it, and I won’t hesitate to use it again for future projects.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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DPReview TV: Full frame mirrorless camera party

30 Dec

It’s time to ring in the New Year, and we invite you to join us at the Full Frame Mirrorless camera party, where we’ll meet old friends and maybe some new ones as well. Happy New Year from DPReview TV!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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You can now make your Sony a7 III and a7R III cameras look like they’re covered in LEGO blocks

29 Dec

Taiwanese company LIFE+GUARD has announced a new skin for Sony a7 III and a7R III cameras that makes it look as though the camera body is made of LEGO blocks.

LIFE+GUARD is known for making interesting skins for Sony gear, as seen with this wild rainbow leopard print skin, but the LEGO block skin might take the cake for the most unique.

The LEGO skin certainly isn’t for everyone, but aside from possibility of deterring would-be thrives from stealing an expensive camera, the skin may very well prove useful for children and family photographers, as cleverly noted by SonyAlphaRumors.

For those interested in the skin, LIFE+GUARD is taking orders via email for $ 50 a skin. An online shop is said to be coming in early 2019.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Gear of the Year 2018 – Carey’s choice: Panasonic GX9

29 Dec

The Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 is one of those rare cameras that seems to be more than the sum of its parts. It’s not a market leader in any specific area, it’s not particularly inexpensive, and I’ve used and reviewed cameras that offer objectively better results than the GX9 is capable of. And yet, there’s something about its combination of features, build, form factor, image quality and controls that make it a camera I really enjoy using and want to carry around with me wherever.

Maybe most importantly, I think this is the first Panasonic camera I’ve truly felt this way about.

‘They’ve got a great personality’

Out-of-camera JPEG.
ISO 200 | 1/1250 sec | F2.8 | Lumix G Vario 35-100mm F2.8

That’s a phrase that isn’t exactly positive in the dating world, but bear with me – we’re talking about cameras, after all. There are subtleties and intangibles – ‘personalities’ – cameras have about them that can impact how they make a photographer feel. And while Panasonic has made some mighty fine cameras over the past few years, I’ve never really felt that emotional pull to pick them up and go out shooting just for fun.

Back when the Panasonic GX85 came out, I thought that was the one. That was the Panasonic camera that I’d want to pick up and take with me, even if I’m just going out for a bite to eat. But there were some issues with that camera – one issue specifically – that really turned me off, but Panasonic has addressed them in the GX9, and then some.

Enough already, what’s so good about it?

Out-of-camera JPEG.
ISO 200 | 1/500 sec | F5 | Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7

First of all, my hat is off to the folks at Panasonic for their work on the JPEG engine. When I started at DPReview, I hadn’t been fond of Panasonic colors, particularly the skin tones, and while the noise reduction did a so-so job of reducing noise, it did a tremendous job at smearing away detail. This was the single biggest issue I had with the GX85, honestly.

I’m happy to say that’s no longer the case. Even just previewing images on the rear of the camera, I can see that the color out of the standard picture profile is rich, warm and doesn’t render my friends as green-skinned zombies. Plus, the shadowy regions of my images no longer look like mush.

This all means I’m likely to transfer images to my phone without needing to process Raws (though the GX9 can do that in-camera), and then post straight away to social media or send them to a friend. And the less processing I need to do, the more images I’m going to take.

Beyond that, I’m really happy to see the return of the addictive tilting viewfinder, though it’s a tad small. The controls aren’t quite as customizable as some competitors’, but the highly customizable touchscreen makes up for this somewhat. And personally, I prefer the tilting screen mechanism on the GX9 to fully articulating screens on other models. And when the screen is tilted out, the eye sensor disables so you don’t accidentally trip it when shooting from the waist. Why this still isn’t standard practice, I have no idea.

But it only got a silver award!

Obligatory angry cat photo. Out-of-camera JPEG.
ISO 1600 | 1/60 sec | F1.7 | Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7

I know, I know. I was the lead reviewer for the GX9, and after all this gushing, I still only gave it a silver. But remember at the top, how I said it wasn’t a market leader in any particular way, and wasn’t particularly inexpensive? Then, consider that cheaper competition can often give you better outright image quality.

And even though the awards are weighted more toward subjective rather than objective criteria – that was all just too much for me to ignore. Bam, silver award.

But there are a few other considerations I’d like to see addressed in the GX9’s successor. First of all, enough with the field sequential electronic viewfinder. Second, this camera launched at $ 999 with a kit lens – for that price, I expect a dedicated battery charger in the box, particularly with battery life this limited (though USB charging is handy for topping up on the go).

Lastly, if you’re one of those folks that love Panasonic for their video chops, the GX9 is not the camera for you. It’s not really geared for hardcore videophiles, but even for casual shooters, it’s disappointing to see the newer model step backward in video capability with a 1.2x crop compared to the GX85.

The wrap

Out-of-camera JPEG.
ISO 200 | 1/80 sec | F2.8 | Lumix G 20mm F1.7 II

In the end, the GX9 is very capable camera. It’s not necessarily the sort of camera I’d be eyeing for high-end, paid professional gigs – though I’m sure the GX9 could handle them in a pinch – but it is the sort of camera that I enjoy for personal, casual photography. It’s also something I would absolutely recommend as a second body for more established shooters wanting a smaller package.

More to the point, I also think the GX9 is a good sign for Panasonic going forward. They tried splitting the GX lineup in two with the high-end GX8 and midrange GX85, but then decided that wasn’t working, and quickly iterated to come up with a fantastic middle-ground in the GX9. I personally appreciate that level of responsiveness, and in my opinion, the GX9 really is the best of both worlds for those cameras. Well, almost.

For the last time – let’s ditch the field sequential viewfinder.

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Gear of the Year 2018 – Allison’s choice: Google Photos

28 Dec

At some point in elementary school my sister was required to study San Francisco, which – if you’ve only ever lived in the Midwest – is a far-off, exotic city. She took an interest in the place, and over the dinner table she’d rattle off facts about the city, like how many hills there are (seven) and how many mosquitos there are (none). In contrast to our part of the country, an extremely flat, mosquito-riddled hellscape, San Fransisco seemed like almost a mythical place.

Jumping ahead a few years, my sister was on the verge of turning thirty, and we decided to celebrate with a trip to the destination of her choice. Naturally, San Francisco was at the top of the list. At last, she’d finally get to experience the seven mosquito-free hills for herself.

In four days we covered most of the standard stuff – the bridge, the prison, the endless souvenir gift shop that is the Fisherman’s Wharf. We drank Irish coffees at the cafe that claims to have invented them (but probably didn’t), ate avocado toast at the place that claims to have invented it (and probably did), and took a lot of selfies in front of iconic things.

Our technique on this kind of shot needs work, but you get the idea.

During the course of the trip, we documented our adventure the way most older millennials do: on our phones. When we returned to our respective homes, she requested that I add my photos to a shared Google Photos album so she could show our mother over dinner. I already backup my iPhone photos to the Google Photos app, so that was easy enough to do.

I also wanted to show the Alcatraz photos to my boyfriend (disused prisons are his thing) but flipping through them on my phone clearly wasn’t going to do them justice. Then I remembered the Chromecast plugged into the back of our TV, and within a few minutes I had a good old fashioned “How I Spent my Summer Vacation at a Former Federal Penitentiary” slideshow going.

To commemorate the whole trip, it occurred to me that a photo book might make a nice birthday present for my kid sister. And at this point, the whole thing starts to sound like a commercial for Google Photos: I selected images, added a title and text, paid for and shipped the whole thing from my phone while commuting to work on the bus. I didn’t even need to get out my wallet, because Google remembers my credit card number.

Here’s the thing: having the device I use to capture the images integrated into an ecosystem designed for sharing actually is really useful. My photos from that trip didn’t die on a hard drive – they came to life. And sure, my iPhone SE takes some pretty lousy photos in low light. But you know what? They’re fine. Nobody I showed them to complained about detail retention. And I wasn’t looking to blow them up and put them on my wall, I just wanted to remember a trip that was about hanging out with my sister.

There’s still room for improvement – the Assistant feature continues to be a mixed bag of sometimes nice, sometimes ridiculous AI-generated albums, videos and “stylized” photos. At least it does a good job of auto-suggesting items to archive, like screengrabs and pictures of packaged dinner re-heating instructions. But really, it’s fine because it’s not a core feature – anything useful the Assistant does is basically a bonus.

An automatically generated “stylized” photo courtesy of Google Photos Assistant. Just… no.

I think what impresses me most is that I didn’t at any point decide “Alright, I’m going to go all in on the Google ecosystem.” It just happened organically. I didn’t think I was the kind of person who would want to play a summer vacation slideshow on her TV – until I was. When the technology is seamless and available at your fingertips, it turns out you’re more likely to use it. And if that means more people doing more to share their photos, then that’s enough for me to call Google Photos my gear of the year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon patent details schematics for a possible RF 90mm F2.8L IS Macro lens

28 Dec

A recently published patent from Canon details a set of optical formulas for what appears to be an RF 90mm F2.8L IS Macro lens.

Japanese Patent Application Number 2018-205435, first detailed by Northlight Images, is fairly standard as far as patents go, but there is one interesting element worth noting.

The image stabilization elements inside the lens — labelled L12 — are located within the first optical group towards the front of the lens. More often the image stabilization component is towards the center of the lens, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.

This could be for a number of reasons, but the patent text specifically mentions that in order to get the most accurate image stabilization, larger optical components and accompanying motors are needed. As such, the larger front area of the lens makes more sense than the middle of the lens where the optics are more confined, especially with the aperture mechanism located there (represented by ‘SP’ in the illustrations).

It’s also worth noting that the focusing component of the lens is towards the rear of the lens. The patent text says this too is due to the larger focusing motor(s) needed, but it could also have an added benefit of creating a more balanced lens with the heavy image stabilization component towards the front of the lens. As Canon showed the world with its RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM lens, the RF mount makes it possible to put larger elements and more electronics towards the rear of the lens due to the larger mount size.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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