Camera accident or bug?

This is starting to look like a bring refrain, in these recent weeks: The most recent photo cameras seem to have been launched before all the bugs could be detected and wiped out. As a simple reminder, I would list the following cases:

• The Canon EOS 5D MkIII files are not handled perfectly well in DPP v3.11.10 (the exact nature of the issue is not clear: Something to do with the details and micro-contrast in digital noise management).
• FStoppers seems to have found a light leaks or an exposure algorithm sensitivity to charge conditions of the battery of the Canon EOS 5D MkIII.
• Sometimes, the Nikon D800 does not switch itself OFF.

Canon and Nikon will certainly update soon either the camera firmware or the picture software program. But this is confirming once again that we no longer purchase photo cameras in the most traditional sense (marvelously fine-tuned mechanical systems) but computers (with all its software and… bugs).

We could well ask ourselves if we are not on the verge of waiting several weeks (or months?) before reviewing or even purchasing a new camera. We already knew that a camera firmware could exist as pre-production version (some preliminary tests and reviews are grossly wrong because of this) and that some brands (Sony, for the A77 and the A700?) sometimes take several months before producing a firmware worth describing as final.

Dear camera manufacturers, be more cautious: You will soon see customers become much less faithful, much more troubled. Your brand value could erode quickly if you do not stay faithful to the image the photographic industry had all along the XXth Century. This image could be lost easily…

Since a lot of information reached our ears already through a number of different leaks, it is now possible to make a few educated guesses and to attempt a comparison with the older Sony Alpha 700 (many of its owners are impatiently waiting for its successor(s)) and the direct competition in the Nikon and Canon ranges.

Legend: Green means “best in class”, Red means “worst in class”.

Let’s not forget that this comparison is still based upon rumors (which will or will not be confirmed in the coming hours).

Lightroom 3 sees its price lowered slightly at Amazon.

This is a great idea for Mothers Day or Fathers Day: A point-and-shoot photo camera to snap pictures of the kids and grand-kids. But how do we pick the best one? There are thousands of them, the largest brands launch new models each and every week. So, let’s follow simple rules (They’re always the best ones).

A nice lens

Whatever the other qualities of a photo camera, I can’t repeat it enough: The lens is critical. The digital sensor may have millions of pixels, in a mobile phone, the poor plastic bit that is sold as a lens is the limiting factor.

Watch for cameras whose lens opens wide (it may be f/2.8 or f/4 maximum) because this allows to shoot with less light. If it feels useful, the zoom amplitude may be worth looking at, but the widest amplitudes generally go with (relatively) bad quality. On the opposite, a short focal length (35mm or 28mm, as film equivalent) is also a safe way to shoot a good picture when there is not enough space to move back. All this will secure a good image success rate in the usual conditions of a kid’s birthday party or a family dinner.

Cute or robust?

The compact photo camera market has progressively split itself between small jewel-like cameras (often quite fragile) and more robust cameras (whose appearance makes them far less cute).

You will have to choose depending on the desired size (according to the person who will receive the gift) and the kind of use (a grand-dad may not lend his camera as easily to a young kid depending on the kind of camera).

LCD comfort

The next most important item is the LCD screen on the back of all the point-and-shoot cameras. This display must be as readable as possible, even in the sun light. This is never completely true (the right technology is just not there yet) even if the OLED displays are not far from perfection. But if you can test and compare at the door of the shop, you will immediately see which one to choose.

The digital sensor

Finally, you can have a look at the image sensor. The best solution is still to have a very large-sized sensor (usually described as APS-C format or SLR-size sensor). In this case, the camera is slightly bigger but the image quality is notably improved. You’ll get a sensor normally found in a Digital SLR photo camera.

With all this, you’re ready to go and pay a visit to the windows of the point-and-shoot camera shops in your city. Just in time for Mothers Day and Fathers Day.

Amazon USA

• Nikon D5100 (pre-order)

B&H

• Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
• Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens

Amazon France

• Nikon D5100

Copyright (C) 2010 - Yves Roumazeilles

First, it appears clear that the already existing equipment of a photographer has an inordinate weight in everybody’s choice (you can dream of the Canon 300mm f/2.8; But if you are a Nikon lover, this may stay quite theoretical). Nevertheless, we must not mix our priorities: The presence of three or four “normal” lenses and of one or two SLR bodies in your photo bag, will not weight a lot in the decision to buy a 300mm or a 400mm prime lens. Do the math! You’d better sell everything if the aim is to get the best photo gear. Worse, it may seem hard but if you’re in Olympus gear (maybe with Pentax too, except if you’re both optimist and patient), your only path goes through “moving from that brand”.

Even more, we are often immoderately attached to our SLR bodies while they are obsolete after five years (and already late after a year). Sorry, but an SLR body is nothing more than consumable. On the opposite a good lens is bought for a long time (a kit zoom lens may be also considered as with no value on the second-hand market).

This is more or less the question that Sony is personally asking me. While I have a nice set of excellent lenses from Minolta-Sony-Zeiss, I start to hit the limits of the currently offered lens range that Sony moves only very slowly to the pro side. However, it’s still of small importance while my main body is a Sony Alpha 700 which can easily be described as “no longer top technology”. Since its launch, it has been distanced by the competition and Sony should seriously replace it as soon as possible.

Copyright (C) 2010 - Yves Roumazeilles

It is often said that buying an SLR photo camera is more or less contracting a marriage. This is less and less true now that most people buy a kit including a long-range zoom and that they are ready to do the same three or five years later. On the opposite, investing a few thousand Euros (or Dollars) in lenses to satisfy your wildlife photo passion does not allow a quick and easy change of opinions. It’s not enough to see the launch of the EOS 5D MkII to leave Nikon or to discover the D7000 to drop Canon. Or you would have to seriously consider (and why not? We may may come back later to this) reselling all old gear on eBay.

We could see that Canon and Nikon are nearly perfectly armed to satisfy the wildlife/nature photographer. Maybe Canon has a slightly richer (or slightly more finely cut) range than Nikon. Sony is still quite insufficient and can only survive here with the enormous help of the second-hand market of Minolta. But a simple poll in the SUV/trucks of Objectif Nature, Amawanda or Terres Oubliées, in the hides of the Pyrénées or the Carpathian Mountains will confirm it: Canon and Nikon are the real masters.

This being said, let’s go and shoot some photos!

The articles themselves:

• Top SLR lenses for Canon
• Top SLR lenses for Nikon
• Top SLR lenses for Sony

You can also request the assistance of many web sites to evaluate the quality of SLR photo lenses.

Photo Marc Wunderlich – I’m on the left, along with Alain Saunier, our photo guide from Objectif Nature.

Photo-shooting big mammals (mainly in Africa) is one of these activities which feed the fire of passion in many photographers (me included), and have most others dreaming. But you soon discover that lenses are more important (or critical) that the camera itself. If light conditions are often favorable (except in forests), getting top-quality pictures while staying far from the subject is requiring nice glass gear with long focal length. This is why so many wildlife photographers are equipped with enormous tele-lenses. Of course, most professionals will simply choose the best gear for their needs. But most of us mere mortals, up to the Big Cash Prize on our next casino rampage, will be willing to optimize the investment (we will be speaking in thousands of Euros, mind you).

Generally speaking, if you can’t buy true monsters like the 600mm f/4 from Canon or Nikon, the use of an APS-C digital photo sensor (instead of a Full Frame) is assuredly recommended. But what are the best solutions offered by the major brands on the market?

In several posts, I am going to propose recommendations (it could be easy since I won’t pay the final bill) for one of the following photographers: An amateur willing to go on safari but going light (both on the shoulders and the credit card); An expert shooting for the best image quality (often ready to switch to prime lenses instead of the all-in-one zoom lens); or a Pro grabbing the best of the best.

As a matter of fact, in the coming days, we will be publishing a series of articles, one for each of the big brands:

• Top SLR lenses for Canon
• Top SLR lenses for Nikon
• Top SLR lenses for Sony

This is at GAP, it’s everywhere in the wolrd on the Internet, but also in all the GAP shops, in London, in New York or in Paris.

This is definitely not viral marketing.