Category: Uncategorized

  • Behind the Camera: A conversation with Peter Hurley

    Peter Hurley wasn’t always a noted portrait photographer with a great head of hair – before he ever picked up a camera he was a bartender, actor and model. With encouragement from Bruce Weber he purchased a camera and lens and the rest is history. Ever the engaging storyteller, Hurley takes us through the beginnings of his career and how he learned to stand out in a crowded field.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Gear of the Year Part 8: Wenmei’s choice – Lensbaby Velvet 56mm f/1.6

    My photographic style has always favored precision and sharpness with rich tones and vibrant colors.  I also have a bit of a control issue – my inner engineer likes predictable behaviors and consistent results. But sometimes I get into a photographic rut and I need something to give me a creative jump-start. Where do I turn? To Lensbaby of course, because how better to feed my need for precision, sharpness, control and predictable results than by using creative lenses that have very few of those qualities?

    Predictable behavior. ISO 400, F4, 1/125sec.

    My pick for Gear of the Year is the Velvet 56 F1.6 lens from Lensbaby. It’s a portrait lens that is incredibly versatile, going from a soft ethereal glow at F1.6 to satisfyingly sharp details when stopped down.

    What I love:

    • 56mm focal length, perfect for portraits
    • Sharp focus when stopped down, if I need a break from the velvet glow
    • 1:2 magnification means I can get up close and personal with my subjects or shoot near-macro details
    • Soft focus effect forces me outside of my comfort zone and makes me think more creatively when setting up my shots
    • Sleek body looks cool, especially the silver version

    When I first picked up the Velvet 56, I had a hard time figuring out how to make it work for me. My creative style does not naturally include soft edges or ethereal glow, so getting a feel for the lens and how it works took several days of shooting. (In contrast, colleagues who tend to shoot in a dreamier, more vintage style have tried the lens and fallen in love with it immediately.)

    Still shooting stopped down to F4, having trouble embracing the glow. ISO 200, F4, 1/200sec

    With the Velvet 56, once you open up above F2.8 it’s impossible to get a sharp edge. Having a direct relationship between the wide apertures I typically use to capture light and the soft focus that is a signature of this lens was very frustrating to me. However, once I gave up on the idea of being able to control both light and focus in the ways I expected, I found creative freedom in allowing myself to shoot for the “feeling” of a moment rather than the precision of it.

    Sleeping children helped me step into the world of intentionally soft focus (by taking “dreamy” a bit literally…each of us takes the path that works for us). ISO 800, F2, 1/125sec.

    I am still a huge fan of sharp focus and the comfortably predictable results I get from more conventional lenses, but I find that I reach for the Velvet 56 more and more for personal projects and family lifestyle or legacy sessions. The phrase “emotionally in focus” is often used to justify keeping a blurry shot that you like, but I find that it is an accurate description of how I use the Velvet 56. Sometimes, emotionally in focus is the best way to capture the moment.

    This ’emotionally in focus’ moment brought to you by an irritated 5 year old. ISO 400, F2, 1/250sec.

    And sometimes you just have to appease the engineer inside and stop down to F5.6 or F8 to try for that tack-sharp focus. Luckily, the Velvet 56 can do that too (manual focusing ability of the photographer notwithstanding).

    Nesting dolls on the mantel, no emotion required. ISO 800, F5.6, 1/200sec.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • PIX 2015: Interview with Colby Brown

    Landscape, travel, and humanitarian photographer Colby Brown has traveled the world to create iconic images. In this interview from PIX 2015, Brown talks about becoming a professional photographer, the state of the photo industry, and also tells us about The Giving Lens, his humanitarian project focused on blending photo education with support for sustainable development initiatives in developing countries.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Gear of the Year Part 7: Allison’s choice – Olympus Tough TG-4

    Over the summer I took part in a great American tradition called ‘tubing’ with some friends. Don’t be fooled by the semi-rugged sounding name of this activity. It’s basically an opportunity to sit outside surrounded by nature and friends, consuming alcoholic beverages (in a responsible manner) while floating lazily down a river. In short, it’s everything summer should be.

    In our pre-float preparations my companions were busy stuffing their smartphones into complicated plastic pouches to be hung around their necks, or into ziplock bags, which seemed risky. I left my phone on dry land and headed into the water with the Olympus Tough TG-4, no waterproof pouch required.

    A great American tradition. ISO 100, f/8.0 1/400sec @ 25mm equiv. processed to taste in ACR.

    What I love:

    • Waterproof, crushproof, dustproof and freezeproof
    • Raw shooting for better image fine-tuning
    • Compact enough to carry in my bag without noticing
    • Decent wide to moderate zoom

    There’s something incredibly liberating, even rebellious-feeling, about dunking a piece of technology underwater. The TG-4 was a great little sidekick on the water. Its operation is simple enough that I could pass it around among my friends, some of whom wanted to take underwater selfies. To each her own. Shooting Raw, I knew I would have some decent flexibility with my images later. It was pure fun, and I got some nice mementos from the trip out of it.

    Tough cams can go places that would be too risky for mere smartphones. ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/500sec @ 25mm equiv.

    Later in the year, the TG-4 accompanied me on another trip. Florida is a strange place. Like the Pacific Northwest, it seems to rain pretty much every day, but unlike my home of over two years the rain is heavy, sudden, and often happens at the same time as sunshine. It generally stops raining after twenty minutes, at which point the sun comes out and transforms the place back into the wild swamp it once was.

    Florida is also, of course, the theme park capital of the world, and that’s what took me there in late November. The point of the trip was to spend time with my boyfriend and his family drinking butter beer (responsibly) at Universal’s ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter.’ Naturally, I’d want photos, but I didn’t want to have to worry about a camera getting wet or smashed in a storage locker.

    This dragon breathes fire every so often, but apparently had the day off when this photo was taken. ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/2000sec @ 25mm equiv.

    The TG-4’s modest zoom range was still enough to help achieve framing that I couldn’t quite get with my smartphone. Raw capture came in handy again, with lots of high contrast scenes that could be rescued in post-processing. And what good is it taking a vacation to a fictional English village if you can’t share photos with all of your friends instantly? Wi-Fi was key in making sure I shared important moments with all of my BFFs just moments after I’d captured them.

    To be totally honest the TG-4 isn’t that special outside of its rugged properties. Its sensor is small, controls are limited, zoom range is minimal and its metering keeps you guessing. But bringing it on a raft or to a theme park and knowing that I won’t have to coddle it is worth a lot to me. I can take pictures, or throw it in my bag and just enjoy my butter beer and hardly know the difference.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Selling Stock

    I just prepared a short post on how I’ve found a market for some of my past images for members of the online photography workshop at www.shootforlove.com. In the meantime […]

  • Phabulous: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 – DxOMark Mobile Report

    The Galaxy Note 5 is the latest model in Samsung’s line of Note large-format smartphones. In terms of camera specifications the Note 5 offers very similar hardware to what we’ve seen on the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and S6 Edge+. A 1/2.6-inch 16MP CMOS sensor is combined with a fast F1.9 aperture and an optical image stabilization system. DxOMark has just completed its Mobile report on the Note 5’s camera, and we’ve published the findings over at connect.dpreview.com.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • DxOMark Mobile report: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+

    DxOMark has completed its full mobile report into the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone’s camera. With a DxOMark Mobile score of 87 the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ just snatches the smartphone camera crown from the Sony Xperia Z5 and places itself on top of the DxOMark smartphone rankings.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Adapted Lens Talk: Readers’ Showcase and new forum!

    Adapted Lens Talk

    With the ever-growing popularity of using mirrorless cameras with lens adapters, we are pleased to announce the opening of a new forum: Adapted Lens Talk. Thanks to the proposal and volunteer work of its moderator, Tom Caldwell, the forum has taken off dramatically and is full of vintage lens deliciousness.

    The forum also features discussions on experiences with different adaptors, focal reducers, strange mounts, and anything else one might run in to when trying to make a non-native piece of glass play nice with their shiny new mirrorless. Enjoy this slideshow of images and commentary generously provided by members of the Adapted Lens Talk forum, all taken with adapted glass. Check it out, and if you’ve fit grandpa’s old lens to your digital camera, be sure to share your shots and experiences!

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Jupiter 37A (135mm f/3.5), with generic M42 to EF adapter plus Mitakon Lens Turbo II EF-FX focal reducer. Shot with Fujifilm X-E1. 1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1000.

    Photographed by Helga Birkenstock:

    ‘The lens used for this particular image is the Jupiter-37A. It’s a 135mm f/3.5 lens built in the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. My copy was built in 1982 but I’ve only had it for two months; I purchased it on eBay for $ 61 including postage. I usually use it with a focal reducer on an APS-C camera (Fuji XE-1) to get the full image circle projected onto the sensor. This effectively changes the lens properties to 98mm f/2.5. The advantages of this lens is that it’s all metal construction is still very light (362g) and balances well with my small mirrorless camera. Best of all, it has 12 aperture blades so you have beautifully round bokeh at any aperture. My (limited) experience is that it’s not as sharp and has poorer contrast compared to modern lenses so images need more work in post production. Images convert to black and white quite well and have an old world image feel.

    This image was taken as part of a “monochrome garden” project that I’m doing. I chose this lens because I could stop down the lens and still get round “bokeh balls”. However, focus becomes more difficult when stopped down because focus peaking works best when the lens is wide open, but I use the distance scale on the lens and the wider depth of field to mitigate these challenges.

    I love the sharpness and autofocus of modern lenses but there is something to be said about slowing down the process through manual focus and the unique character in the images from adapting old lenses.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Contax G 90mm, with Kipon Contax G to Sony E adaptor. Shot with Sony NEX 5N. 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 400.

    Photographed by Tim Zhou:

    ‘I took my little Sony mirrorless camera and the longest lens I had – 20 years old Contax G 90mm f2.8 hoping to take some shots during an air show in Swansea, UK this Summer. After having found a vintage point, I set the camera on aperture priority mode, the aperture to f8 and focused to infinity. As Contax G lenses do not have own focusing rings (they require a helicoid adaptor to focus), so I used camera’s magnify focus to make sure the focus was spot on. The rest of job was just press the shutter button.

    My mirrorless camera has a little longer shutter lag compared to my previous DSLR, so I did need to anticipate and press a little early. Generally speaking, I find using adapted lenses far more rewarding, not only do I now have access to a large number of excellent legacy lenses, such as my Contax G, but also I have learnt to have more control over the process of capturing images.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    SMC Pentax 28mm f/3.5K, with Fotodiox Pentax K to Sony E adapter. Shot with Sony a7R. 1/60s, f/16, ISO 100.

    Photographed by Timothy S. Devine:

    ‘This photograph was taken with a SMC Pentax 28mm f/3.5 K mount lens, not the Takumar that came before it, or the Pentax M version that came after (both are of different designs.) It was only produced for two years (1976-1977), and is my favorite 28mm lens for landscape shooting. I’ve tried quite a few other 28mm primes over the past couple, but I find the Pentax has the best mix of qualities that I look for. From great color and contrast, to low CA and an amazing ability to fight off diffraction when stopping down, it holds up amazingly well on today’s modern digital sensors. I’ve tried a few copies of this lens, and while they were all sharp, some of them exhibited increased depth of field in the foreground, I assume due to towards the camera field curvature. This particular copy exhibits this behavior, and I often take advantage of this behavior in my shooting.

    For this particular photograph I chose a perspective of Pemaquid Point Light that I had shot many times over the years. But I have to say that on this trip everything really came together. The sky was absolutely incredible, and I used a circular polarizer to help accentuate it. The Pentax was very much up to the task, and I think it showcases the strengths I mentioned above. For those that have handled true manual focus lenses, the Pentax doesn’t disappoint. As with many older lenses, it is built like a tank and the focus ring is very well dampened. Many landscape shooters use live view and focus manually with autofocus lenses anyway, so manual focus with this lens doesn’t bother me… In fact I have to say I probably prefer it.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Porst 50mm f/1.2 with Raynox DCR 150 macro conversion lens, with Fuji X to Sony E mount adapter. Shot with Sony a6000. 1/800 sec., f/1.2, ISO 2000.

    Photographed by Scott Hills:

    ‘This is my first 50mm f/1.2, and a bargain too. This is actually the same as the Fuji 50mm f/1.2 EBC, just a rebranded porst. The quality is excellent, and this shot was one of the first I’d taken with it. It’s not easy to work with the tiny DOF an f/1.2 gives you, but it does open up interesting possibilities since it just dissolves backgrounds.

    I added a raynox DCR 150 for this shot to get a bit closer and really allowed me to interrogate the flower and fill the frame with it. The colour rendering from this lens is stunning, I’ve been very impressed with it and for £130 including an adapter you can’t go wrong, I mean where else will you find a 50mm f1.2 for that price!?!’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AIS with Fotasy Nikon G to Sony E adapter. Shot with Sony a7. 30 sec., f/16, ISO 100.

    Photographed by Matt Parvin Photography:

    ‘Oak Island NC, October 2015. I’m fortunate that this pier and beach are about 5 blocks from my office. I’ve shot it plenty over the past couple of years and this is one of my two or three favorites. This was shot with a 10 Stop ND Filter. Having a proper aperture ring is great with these filters, at f/2.8 you get enough light to focus even with the filter mounted. Stop it down to f/16 and you get a 30 second exposure at sunset.

    I really started in photography with Nikon Series E 50mm & 100mm lenses on a D40. Manually focusing is much, much easier on mirrorless bodies, and using these old primes is even more enjoyable. I really think it makes you a better photographer as well, since it forces you to slow down and see what you can create an image out of, rather than just snapping away with an AF zoom.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Pentax Super-Takumar 85mm f/1.9 with Fotodiox M42 to Micro Four-Thirds adapter. Shot with Panasonic G3. 1/160 sec., f/1.9, ISO 1600.

    Photographed by K. A. Rodriguez:

    ‘The Super-Takumar 85mm f/1.9, not being one of the Super-Multi-Coated (SMC) lenses, doesn’t always get its due, but it can produce rich imagery as seen here. With five elements in four groups, six aperture diaphragm blades, a 58mm filter diameter, and weighing in at 12 oz (340g), it weighs as much as or more than current pro level m43 lenses, and that doesn’t include the metal adapter! Nonetheless this solid metal lens fits nicely on the Panasonic G3 and does not feel out of balance.

    The lens focuses down to 2.75 feet, however the throw from infinity to closest focus is very long, almost an entire revolution of the focus ring! Using it with the large magnified EVF on the G3 is a dream. With the lens wide open and the magnifier turned on, it is very easy to focus, once the ring has been turned enough! (I probably should estimate the distance first, then pre-focus using the distance scale before putting it up to my eye…) The aperture dial has settings from f/1.9 to f/22, even one for f/2 which is at a surprising distance from 1.9.

    I normally like to stop down for greater sharpness but the problem of poor lighting on stage and the limits of pushing the ISO in a m43 camera made me keep the lens open, probably at f/1.9. With m43 in particular, it is essential to shoot the full frame and not rely on cropping later. The 85mm length (in effect 170mm on m43) is a good length for shooting from onstage without being right on top of the performers, while still being able to fill the frame. Surprisingly, currently there are no native m43 lenses made in this length (Samyang/Rokinon 85s are much larger FF lenses modified to fit m43), and none of the available zooms are this fast, so adaption is the only way to go. Fortunately this lens, which I originally bought sometime in the 70s, sold to my dad in the 80s, and after his death had boomerang back to me in the 10s, has found purpose again.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Canon FD 500mm f/4.5L, with generic Canon EF to Micro Four-Thirds adapter. Shot with Olympus OM-D E-M10. 1/2500 sec., ISO 320. Photgraphed by Danny Young:

    ‘This is the “Sacred Kingfisher” taken in New Zealand doing a small crab toss. The staple diet at the main estuary I like to shoot Kingfisher in is small crabs and there are plenty of them. Beautiful little bird I’ve spent nearly 3 years getting closer to. They are fast and deadly accurate on a dive into water or sand for a small meal.

    Lens used is the 30 year old manual focus Canon FD 500 F/4.5L which is the favorite lens mounted on my Olympus E-M10. The 500 F/4.5L is always hand held and shot wide open at F/4.5. It has smooth internal focus that only needs a slight shift to focus. The 800 F/5.6L is my only lens that goes on a tripod.

    Mirrorless was picked to use the MF lenses so I can use the magnifying function in the EVF on a static bird. For birds in flight I use the old technique of focusing backward or forward slightly when you find the bird in the EVF. It’s an old technique that has always been used and still works for me.

    Personally manual focus just simply feels right and somehow it makes me feel more connected to the image in a way. With the right lenses with internal focus it may be easier than some people think.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Contax/Yashica Carl Zeiss Disatgon 18mm f/4, with Contax/Yashica to Sony E adaptor. Shot with Sony a7. 1/1000 sec., f/8, ISO 200.

    Photographed by Timur Haracic:

    ‘This lens, the Contax/Yashica CZ Distagon 4/18 is my favourite wide angle lens for its very low distortion, classic/painterly rendition, and because it is great for architecture; cityscapes and dramatic low angle shots like this one. I’m mostly taking pictures low from the ground or so called ‘frog perspective.’ It’s optical design I believe goes back to 60’s. It’s been used for Contarex cameras. Old adapted lenses are great when perfection is not needed, you want to achieve some special look or when you have no other options.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Reverse mounted Canon FD 50mm f/1.8 with Canon FD Autobellows and Fotodiox Canon FD to Canon EOS adapter. Shot with Canon EOS 5D Mark II. 90 sec., f/8, ISO 100.

    Photographed by Alexander Olshansky:

    ‘In this image, as is the case with all of my photographs, I try to touch the viewer emotionally without using any visually recognizable anchors. I have discovered a while ago that macro photography allows me to easily abstract and to remove all of the visually recognizable elements from my photographs.

    A lens is a means to that end. I’ve adapted my Canon FD Autobellows along with the FD 50mm f1.8 lens to my Canon EOS 5D MkII because this combination allows me the versatility I need and the quality I demand.

    I am able to achieve magnifications far beyond anything that’s available to me in the Canon EOS native format by switching lenses as needed. Greater magnification means greater flexibility and greater abstraction. I am able to preset my aperture and then focus with the aperture wide open and close it right before taking a shot with the help of the Canon Macro Auto Ring and a cable release. This set up also allows me to easily perform stopped down metering for ambient light and then take a flash reading and calculate the flash exposure compensation based on my magnification.

    As time and technology march forward, sometimes it’s the old tools that make things possible.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Color-Heliar (LTM) with 39 to M and Novoflex M to Sony E adapter. Shot with Sony a7II. 1/160 sec., f/2.5, ISO 500.

    Photographed by Tom aka. tommiejeep:

    ‘I started in photography in late 60’s with a Nikkormat while I was in Vietnam (68-72). Shot mostly documentary in B&W. Shot various Nikons through ’79 (also a Pentax Spotmatic and Olympus OM-1). Left SLRs and used a number of P&S film cameras until 2007. Decided to get back into photography in 2007 and used the DPR forums to decide where to go. I went with a D200. I have been shooting mostly Nikon. Primarily sports, birds, documentary and street. Bought an Olympus EM5 when it came out then EM1 and a second EM1. I recently bought the Sony a7II primarily to use adapted lenses. I use old Nikkors on the Df and started to re-learn manual focus. Fun.

    The image was shot in the crowded Friday Market in Goa. Very hot and crowded. I only took 2 shots for this one and had to wait for the guy on the left to clear before I could get the two women.

    The Silver CV 75 f2.5 Color-Heliar (LTM) is a joy to use. Very quick to MF, more than sharp enough and good colours. A very small, light lens. I have not noticed any weakness but have not really tried to use flare (or noticed Flare to be a problem). I paid approx. $ 375 for it with 39-M adapter. I use the Voigtlander M-NEX adapter.

    I tend to take Candids at a bit of distance so that they are candid. I shoot many events and prefer not to be part of the image. Too many people see a camera (any camera) and start posing. There are times when interaction with the subjects is fun and desirable. Then I will shoot a 25mm, 35mm up to a 105mm.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Minolta 50mm Macro with Fotasy Minolta to Micro Four Thirds adapter. Shot with Olympus OM-D E-M10. 1/640 sec., ISO 200.

    Photographed by Bruce Reiger:

    ‘This is a picture of a mimosa tree in bloom taken with a Minolta MC Macro 50mm f/3.5 lens adapted to an Olympus E-M10 camera. As I’ve practiced, I’ve come to enjoy manual focusing and this is my go to lens for anything up close. I’ve found that manual focusing isn’t that difficult to do with the tools that the camera provides: focus peaking and/or magnification and image stabilization. It comes with a matching extension tube (not used with this image) for very small subjects.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Yashica ML 50mm f/1.4 with Contax/Yashica to Sony E mount adapter. Shot with Sony NEX 5R. 1/2500 sec., f/2.8, ISO 100.

    Photographed by Scott Hills:

    ‘The Yashica ML f1.4 was my first f1.4 lens, I found it attached to an old Yashica SLR in a junk shop, it was in immaculate condition and only £25. It’s on another level in terms of IQ to any of my native E mount lenses and I always carried it in my camera bag. I often look for this sort of shot and like to play with shadows from above, I spied this guy from a multi story Car park and the sun was at the perfect angle to give his shadow a good shape, I’m glad I had the Yashica for this shot as it resolved so much detail.’

    Adapted Lens Talk

     

    Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm f/2 (pictured in headline image) with Vello M to Sony E adapter. Shot on Sony a7II. 1/400 sec., f/8, ISO 640. Photographed by DPReview staff writer Dan Bracaglia.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Happy Holidays from dpreview!

    As we celebrate our seventeenth anniversary (the site officially launched December 25th, 1998, when some of our staff were still in elementary school) I’d like to wish each and every one of our visitors a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Season’s Greetings/Merry Festivus* (*delete as required). It’s been a busy year here at DPReview, with our first live event, PIX 2015, which brought an amazing collection of photographers together in Seattle for two days of inspiring talks and demos, whilst also giving us a new appreciation for the sheer amount of work that goes into putting on an expo. You watch all the videos from the show – onstage and off – at the PIX2015.com/videos.

    I’m incredibly proud of the work the team did this year. 2015 was the year we went big on video content, sending Barney off on adventures that took him from the Arctic Circle to Mexico for our new field tests (which he assures me was nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds). If you’ve not had chance to watch them I’d definitely recommend you head over to our YouTube channel to check them out. It’s not like there’s much else to do over the next few days, right?

    Behind the scenes we’ve been working hard to update the aging content management system that runs dpreview, something that will finally allow us to start work on the site redesign that’s been sort-of-planned now for about 5 years. We hope to be able to share some of the changes with you early in the year (and get your feedback), and to start rolling out the new design towards the end of 2016. And don’t worry – if you like your DPReview just the way it is, you’ll be able to keep it (right now the most common complaint from new users is the black background / white text, but we know there’s enough of you who like it fine the way it is that we’ll offer the option to switch back to the old style). We plan to overhaul user galleries and Challenges too, but that probably won’t happen until 2017. Or 2018. Certainly before we hit our 20th anniversary. 

    Our other big priority for 2016 is to improve our reviewing processes so we can produce more camera, lens and accessory reviews. The camera market has seen significant changes over the last couple of years, with the death of the point and shoot market forcing manufacturers to concentrate on their high-end enthusiast products. This is great news for photographers, but has resulted in our in-depth reviews taking longer and longer as we devise new tests and dive even deeper to fully assess the performance of what can only be described as the most advanced and capable photographic tools ever developed for the enthusiast and professional.

    I’m convinced we’re doing the best, most comprehensive, most photographically relevant camera reviews we’ve ever done, but we hear your feedback – you want more reviews, more quickly. And that means we need to fundamentally overhaul the process. We’ve already started, and I sincerely hope you’ll notice a significant increase in the volume of reviews we publish once we’ve implemented all our plans. Who knows, maybe we’ll beat 2015’s record three positive feedback messages (vs several thousand telling us exactly where we should stick our website/review/forum ban)…

    And so, since my family is getting tired of waiting for me to stop working and drink some egg-nog I will leave you to enjoy the holidays, take some great pictures and maybe take a break between courses to visit our comments section and tell us how wrong we are about everything 🙂

    Merry Christmas!

    Simon

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Inching forward? Canon PowerShot G5 X review posted

    Canon PowerShot G5 X Review

    Key Features

    • 20.2MP 1″-type BSI CMOS sensor
    • DIGIC 6 processor
    • F1.8-2.8, 24-100mm equiv. lens
    • Optical image stabilization
    • Built-in ND filter
    • 3″ fully articulating touchscreen LCD
    • 2.36M-dot electronic viewfinder
    • 1080/60p video
    • Wi-Fi with NFC

    The PowerShot G5 X is one of the latest members of Canon’s 1″-type sensor family, which began with the G7 X in 2014. It takes what made that camera appealing – namely its sensor, lens, and direct controls, and puts them into a body that adds an electronic viewfinder, fully articulating touchscreen LCD, hot shoe, and additional control dial – all without a large increase in size.

    The G5 X’s 20.2MP 1″-type BSI CMOS sensor – designed by Sony and first used in its RX100 II and III – performs very well and, given that the image pipeline on the G5 X is the same as its predecessor’s, should continue to do so. The 24-100mm F1.8-2.8 optically stabilized lens is also the same as on the G7 X, so there shouldn’t be any surprises there, either.

    From a feature standpoint, the G5 X is essentially the same as the G7 X. You’ve got your manual exposure controls, customizable buttons and dials, built-in neutral density filter, Raw support, 6 fps continuous shooting (JPEG only), a fun star trail mode, 1080/60p video recording and Wi-Fi with NFC. 

    Sadly, two of the G7 X’s most disappointing traits have carried over to the G5 X, namely sluggish Raw shooting performance and lackluster battery life. 

    Meet the Family

    From left to right: the PowerShot G1 X Mark II, G3 X, G5 X, G7 X, and G9 X

    There are now five members in Canon’s premium compact’ family: the G1 X Mark II, G3 X, G5 X, G7 X and G9 X. The G1 X Mark II is the flagship model, using a considerably larger 1.5″-type sensor instead of the 1″-types used by the rest of the group. 

    The G7 X is Canon’s original 1″-type sensor camera, and the models that have followed are a variation on the same theme. The G3 X is the long zoom model, the G5 X is for the EVF crowd, and the G9 X is an ultra-compact model with a shorter, slower lens. 

    Here’s a quick table to help you sort out the differences between the five models:

      G1 X Mark II G3 X G5 X G7 X G9 X
    MSRP $ 799 $ 999 $ 799 $ 699 $ 529
    Sensor 12.8MP 1.5″-type CMOS 20.2MP 1″-type BSI CMOS
    Lens (equiv.) 24-120mm
    F2.0-3.9
    24-600mm
    F2.8-5.6
    24-100mm F1.8-2.8 28-84mm
    F2.0-4.9
    LCD size/type 3″ tilting touch 3.2″ tilting touch 3″ rotating touch 3″ tilting touch 3″ fixed touch
    EVF Optional Yes No
    Hot shoe Yes No
    JPEG burst 5.2 fps 5.9 fps 6.5 fps 6.0 fps
    Video 1080/30p 1080/60p
    Audio in/out No Yes No
    Battery life (CIPA) 240 shots 300 shots 210 shots 210 shots 220 shots
    Dimensions 116 x 74 x 66mm 123 x 77 x 105mm 112 x 76 x 44mm 103 x 60 x 40mm 98 x 58 x 31mm
    Weight 553g 733g 377g 304g 185g

    That’ll do it for comparisons – let’s dive into the world of the PowerShot G5 X now.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)