Let’s take a long look forward and back – 2020’s Lens of the Year, the Sony 200-600mm f5.6-6.3, has some magnification 2020 has been a strange year for the camera industry – the pandemic has exacerbated trends that were already underway, and there are new trends emerging. We are probably going to lose a camera manufacturer or two (no, not Nikon or anybody else big like … [Read more...]
Early September News and the start of the Great Luminous Landscape Lens Test
Out testing lenses – Sept 5, 2020. Peaceful Lewis Creek with the A7r IV and Sigma 24-70mm f2.8. There was an important court case decided recently, one that holds substantial ramifications for photographic gear, especially cheap third-party batteries, but also other items that are frequently cloned. In Bolger v. Amazon, a California appeals court ruled that Amazon is liable … [Read more...]
Olympus has Fallen – Who’s next?
In better days – The tough, compact OM-4Ti with the 50mm f1.2 Zuiko was an iconic film SLR of the late 1980s. In a move that will surprise few watchers of the camera industry, Olympus is selling their camera business to Japan Industrial Partners, a private equity group that specializes in helping troubled companies spin off insolvent businesses. JIP is most famous for having … [Read more...]
Of the Leica SL2
The Leica SL2 A week after I thought there were no more cameras coming for the year (except possibly for an irrelevant Leica SL2), the surprising Leica SL2 arrived. What surprised me isn’t that an SL2 came, but that it isn’t irrelevant. Until it actually arrived, it was broadly assumed that the SL2 would be essentially a Panasonic S1r in a nice metal shell, for about … [Read more...]
How large is your printer? (does the difference between 45 and 60 MP really matter)
A 44” Epson 9570 – it weighs about 250 lbs/115 kg, and it is wider and deeper than an upright piano. If you don’t have access to one of these (or its Canon equivalent), camera resolution has reached what you can use. There have been many breathless articles in the technology press lately about how the Sony A7r IV is the “best camera for this or that purpose”, due … [Read more...]
