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...]
Design choices – Why do cameras look the way they do – More cameras announced…
A surprising amount of why today’s cameras look and handle the way they do traces back to early Leicas (here, a Leica II). We have three important new announcements since the last roundup, two of them video-related. The mirrorless market for serious photographers has matured to the point where there are five distinct “niches”. One manufacturer, Sony, makes this especially … [Read more...]
Kings of the Mirrorless Hill – Sony A7r IV and Nikon Z7
Shot with the A7r IV – Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. Part 1- introduction and competitive landscape For photographers looking for the ultimate in image quality in a reasonably affordable and portable camera, two names stand out right now – Nikon Z7 and Sony A7r mk IV. Either of these cameras will print beautifully as large as your printer will go – pairing with … [Read more...]
Cameras and lenses that were supposed to be for CP+ (even though there’s no CP+)
Taken with a camera you wouldn’t think of for wildlife, and an adapted lens. It’s camera and lens release season again, due to the recently cancelled CP+ show – while the show fell victim to the coronavirus, many of the cameras and lenses scheduled for the show are already announced and more are coming soon. Hopefully, the epidemic eases soon, with no further disruption to … [Read more...]
A sturdy base and some light – part 2 of a series of short reviews.
I’m not sure the huge Robus RC-5570 was ever meant to be set up to its full height inside a small apartment? The hot shoe on that Z6 is very close to seven feet above the ground! The water bottle appears in a number of tripod images for scale – it doesn’t look very big here. 1.) Camera Support equipment (Robus, Oben and Arca-Swiss). Camera support is a longer … [Read more...]
