May 31, 2016
Sony A6300 Review. The A6300 is the latest in a long series of APS-crop sensor mirrorless cameras from Sony. The A6300 follows the NEX-5 -> NEX-6 -> A6000 line of iteration, and leaves room for a higher-end model. But for the present the A6300 is the top end of Sony’s crop sensor mirrorless cameras. Article on sansmirror.com
Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review. Introduced in Spring 2015, the Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens is an FE-mount lens for telephoto and macro work on the Sony mirrorless bodies. When used on the E-mount A6300 and other crop sensor Sony cameras it will be an effective 135mm. Article on sansmirror.com
Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 Lens Review. The Zeiss Loxia 21mm is a manual focus wide angle lens that can be used with any of the Sony mirrorless cameras (E or FE). It’s the lens I tend to point to when asked if there are any advantages to the shorter mount-to-sensor distance of mirrorless cameras over DSLRs. Article on sansmirror.com
Tamron 35mm f/1.8 VC Lens Review. The 35mm f/1.8 SP Di VC is one of two prime lenses recently introduced by Tamron that feature VC (vibration control) in a focal length where we don’t normally see it. The second of the lenses is the 45mm f/1.8 VC. Article on dslrbodies.com
The Data Recovery Interview. At NAB I conducted a number of interviews with people in the industry who work in areas that I felt were of interest to this site’s readers. This is the first of what will eventually be a long series of what I hope are useful interviews from that and other shows. For this first interview, I’m talking with David Zimmerman, CEO of LC Technology, Limited, a company that makes data recovery software and does physical data recovery, as well. Article on dslrbodies.com
Should I Buy a Gray Market Camera? Short answer: if it’s a newer Nikon camera model (last year or two), probably no. This is an update and addition to a previous article that had been on the site. Article on dslrbodies.com
The Nikon DSLR Sweepstakes Game, early 2016. The third annual edition of my “your prize is any current Nikon DSLR, which one do you take” game. Article on dslrbodies.com
Parts for Nikon DSLR Cameras. A friend recently lost their D7100 battery compartment door somewhere in the Falkland Islands (don’t ask) and wondered whether she could get Nikon to repair it. Heck with Nikon, some things are usable repairable, it’s just a question of whether you can get the parts. Article on dslrbodies.com
Nikon product announcements section was updated.
Ultimate Camera Upgrade advice was updated.
Lots of new posts on the D5/D500 Blog, including the first two verifiable firmware errors.
May 15, 2016
More on Where Nikon Is. Last week’s annual report has additional grim bits to it that show up on closer examination. For one, the core company is unprofitable. It’s only the subsidiary structure that’s somehow produced the positive income numbers we see on the consolidated statements. In the unconsolidated statements, we see some clear issues and problems. Article on dslrbodies.com
May 14, 2016
Grim Nikon Financials. Nikon didn’t just report weaker Imaging business sales for the year yesterday, their entire report could only be characterized as “grim.” Here’s how the Imaging business looks quarter by quarter for the last four years (straight line is a moving average). Article on dslrbodies.com
May 10, 2016
Canon EOS-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro lens with ring LED was announced.
Nikon V3 firmware update 1.11 was announced.
May 9, 2016
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E VR Review. This version of the 24-70mm is the long awaited—and many say overdue—replacement for Nikon’s mainstay mid-focal range zoom. Article on dslrbodies.com (reminder, overall ratings are on this page)
Proactive versus Reactive. Every new Nikon product is now scrutinized intensely by the customer base that buys early copies, and that quickly becomes a topic of discussion on every dedicated Nikon Web site and forum. Article on dslrbodies.com
May 6, 2016
The DSLR Travel Kit. I recently wrote an article on sansmirror.com listing several seriously compact, simple, kits of camera and lenses that minimized size and weight for all around travel photography. Today I’m going to tackle the same subject from a Nikon DSLR standpoint. Article on dslrbodies.com
“Buying” Software. I’ve been around long enough to watch the entire history of personal computer software. At the risk of over generalizing, the history basically went like this… Article on dslrbodies.com
Number of updates to April/May software updates
May 4, 2016
Two Promotions Go Two Different Ways. Canon and Nikon both announced new promotional programs designed to push more high-end product out camera dealers’ doors. It’s interesting how the two programs differ. Article on dslrbodies.com
Three Small Mirrorless Camera Packages Suitable for Travel Photography. This article is an experiment on my part. I’m trying to answer a question I’m getting asked a lot lately. Come spring and people start planning summer vacations. Of course, they want to document their vacation, so they look at their existing camera gear and consider whether they want to drag it around with them for a week, a fortnight, or a month. Article on sansmirror.com
May 3, 2016
A Better Quarter, Sort Of. Mirrorless camera shipments were up 13.9% in the first quarter of 2016 versus last year. DSLR shipments were down 5.1% for the same reporting period. Mirrorless volume was 36% that of DSLR volume during the quarter. Article on sansmirror.com