03 Dec The Block of Flats
Well, that's what the general shape of a the Fujifilm GFX 100 camera is - a block of flats. Stylish and a little Art Deco. And only very slightly heavier and more expensive than a block of flats...
December 2019
02 Dec The Comic Strip Drone
I am sometimes scathing about the idea of drones and their makers - and watch the development of the civilian models with some skepticism. You'll have to forgive it as a post-luddite reaction here in Australia. Were we allowed .410 shotguns, I'd be all for them. " Pull! " But misgivings aside, some of the products are really cute - and some of the ideas for promotion are very clever. This " Stark Industries " model is one such item. The colouration and graphic design is instantly recognisable to the teen movie goer and if you are incautious they'll tell you the entire story of every episode of " Iron Man " and Tony Stark. This reprinting of a standard little Tello sport drone is perfect to interest the kids for the holidays and we can only hope that when they get them they'll do the right thing and operate them responsibly. There's a screen on the back of the packaging that references Stark Industries and introduces the user to simple practice flying before they get out in the wider world. The craft...
29 Nov A Little Bit O’ This And A Little Bit O’ That
This post is written in memory of my friend, Ron Frank, who loved his shop and the goods he sold in it*. In particular he loved mechanical things...
28 Nov Hinging Upon Success…
The advent of the LCD screen on the back of the digital camera was the real dawn of the age of electronic photography. The sensor, the processor, and all the other ancillary bits were also necessary, but it really did not gel in our minds until we could see that little coloured screen. Once we saw what we had just shot, we were hooked. The hook set even deeper when we could see what it was going to be...
27 Nov Carlos’ Pick
Carlos helped me out the other day when I was looking at the Sigma camera bodies...
26 Nov Stand Back…I’m A Pro…
This may be the sort of thing that we would be glad to hear at a car-crash site...
25 Nov Shift Gears With Nikon
Looks like there is to be a special package from Nikon this Christmas - they have embarked upon a small-frame mirrorless option for their Z-series of cameras. It's a package right now, with a body and two zoom lenses, though in the new year they may split it into separate sales items. But right now it's a team and a very good one at that. As you'll all know there were two Nikon Z-series cameras to start - Z7 and Z6 - and they are both full-frame 24 x 36mm bodies. Nikon then went all out with fresh engineering and designed an APS-C body to enter the product line. It is a little surprising to look down the throat of the Z-mount - itself a major size step from the old F mount and see a smaller sensor. But it is no bad thing - the Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f: 3.5-5.6 Vr lens that fronts it is a great little general-purpose zoom. If it seems similar to the standard 18-55 focal range that Nikon put on their DX DSLR cameras, that is...
22 Nov Sigma. Good Thinking ” 99 “…
Sigma may make lenses for other people's cameras, but they have always done a lot of their own thinking. This has been evident in some of their choices - their own mount, their own sensor, their own DSLR, and their own mirrorless cameras. A lot of other firms make a fuss out of the mirrorless idea but Sigma still keeps on doing their own thinking. Witness the Sigma sd Quattro H. I just encountered it this week at CE and got to heft it. Not play with it - the battery was flat - but stare at it and test it out for ergonomic feel. To be honest, the look is off-putting, but the feel is superb. It has the appearance of being a camera assembled from different designs - and this is probably a good way to look at the disparate elements. The basic body is about what you'd expect from a mirrorless rectangle...
21 Nov Sigma And The Small Big Screen
Cue dramatic music. Roll footage of medieval armies preparing for battle. Introduce animated flags either side of the picture: " Tilting Screen " vs " Fixed Screen ". Now let the customers and camera club members sqaure off and have a go at each other...
20 Nov Green Blood – The New Camera From Fujifilm
We pause a little in the week to consider a new camera from Fujifilm. Warwick Williams presented the Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera to us last night at the Murray Street store and it was a bit of a surprise. Not a complete one, mind - that's never possible these days when there are rumour sites abounding and DP Review seems to command first look at anything. But first look on the internet is nothing like the first look in actual life when you can handle the actual product and listen to an acknowledged factory expert. It ain't real until you can pick it up. Well I picked up the X- Pro3 body and gave it a chance to focus and shoot - and I was impressed. I say this as the owner of 5 more Fujifilm bodies; one of which is the X-Pro1. The two-generation gap between mine and the new one has been time and development well spent. You'll all have seen the controversy surrounding the flip-down screen and the little film tag window at the back. The film tag window did nothing...