Articles from August 2017 (and catching up with my sabbatical in July):
August 29
Canon's New Entry Mirrorless Camera. Canon today added a third dual-pixel, 24.2mp APS-C mirrorless camera to round out their current lineup: the EOS M100. Article on sansmirror.com. Camera data page.
Canon Introduces Four New EF Lenses. Four new lenses appeared today for Canon EF mount users, all interesting in their own way. Article on dslrbodies.com. 85mm f/1.4L data page. 50mm f/2.8L TS-E data page. 90mm f/2.8L TS-E data page. 135mm f/4L TS-E data page.
August 28
The D850 Blog. As I have for other recent Nikon DSLRs, I've started a blog-style page for my comments and views as I begin evaluating this new camera. Article on dslrbodies.com
Just a quick note: Nikon opened up NPS Priority Purchase for the D850. Go to the nikonpro.com site, log in, and then look for the Priority Delivery option below the virtual membership card that appears. While you're there, take a close look at the membership points number. If you're under 1000 points your NPS membership won't renew until you've bought and registered more gear.
August 24
Nikon Updates Their Best DSLR. Nikon today officially announced the D850, the replacement for their best all-around DSLR, the D810. Just as the D810 improved substantively on the D800, the D850 is poised to do the same for the D810. Article on dslrbodies.com. Data page for the camera.
So What's Up With Nikon? Earlier I wrote about the August doldrums, but Nikon is having a 2017 doldrum. The year isn't over, sure, but we're getting to the point where another significant camera beyond the D850 announcement is becoming less likely. So where are we with Nikon this year? Article on dslrbodies.com
August 21
A Different View of the Numbers. Let's look at camera unit volume in a different way today. Here are seven year's worth of CIPA shipment data put into Sankey Diagram format. Article on dslrbodies.com
QAD Card Practices. Another in Thom's "quick and dirty" series of articles, this time on best storage card practices. Article on dslrbodies.com
August 18
The August Doldrums. Now you know why I usually take August off from the Internet. The smart companies generally don't announce into prime US and European vacation time, particularly when this isn't a Photokina year where pre-show posturing comes into play. Article on dslrbodies.com
August 16
Olympus E-M1 Mark II Camera Review. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, as the name suggests, is the second generation of the flagship camera in the Olympus m4/3 lineup. Announced at Photokina 2016, the camera began shipping in December of that year in small quantities, and became broadly available early in 2017. Article on sansmirror.com
August 9
Canon 22mm f/2 STM EF-M Lens Review. The 22mm f/2 STM lens is a small little wonder. It's so small and compact you wonder just how good it might be. Article on sansmirror.com
Firmware and software updates should all be caught up on the various data pages on both dslrbodies.com and sansmirror.com. Fujifilm and Nikon have had recent body firmware updates, Nikon a few software updates.
August 8
Where Is Nikon Flash These Days? I keep getting questions about Nikon Speedlights lately, along with the usual "will you write a new Nikon Flash Guide book?" Article on dslrbodies.com
Lots of Olympus Gear on Sale. I asked earlier this year if you wanted to hear more about significant discounts on good products, even if that seems a bit on the promotional side, and the overwhelming response was yes, as long as the discounts were meaningful. Olympus seems to have almost all of their good lenses on sale at the moment, with some turning into real bargains. Here's my quick assessment. Article on sansmirror.com
The D7500 blog is back with some new posts.August 5
Nikon's First Quarter, CIPA's First Half. Nikon last night reported their financial results from the April through June quarter, the first quarter of Nikon's current fiscal year. Article on dslrbodies.com
D750 Service Advisories are Like Echoes. It ain’t over until the Geisha girl sings. D750 shutter complaints have seemed pretty incessant since the day it shipped. Some D750’s seem to work just fine, others seem to be dragging their fins. I regularly get complaints from D750 users about shutter-related issues. And now we have Nikon issuing a Service Advisory for the third time on the camera. It’s like old news that won’t stay old. Article on dslrbodies.com
As Expected, A New FX 70-300mm. Nikon quietly introduced the replacement for the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G, the US$750 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E. The interesting aspect of this lens is that it is the first FX lens that uses Nikon’s new fast stepper motor technology (AF-P). As such, there are older cameras that aren’t compatible with the lens. But video and Live View autofocus performance should be better than with AF-S lenses. Article on dslrbodies.com. 70-300mm data page.
Other lenses introduced in July: Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2 data page. Yongyou 40mm f/2.8 data page. Yongyou 100mm f/2 data page.
August 3
Mirrorless in July (Bits and Pieces). While I was off the Internet in July on my annual break, a few odds and ends happened in the mirrorless world you'll want to know about. Here they are. Article on sansmirror.com
Generalissimo Nikon 1 is Still Dead. The German Web site digitalkamera.de announced the death of the Nikon 1 just as I returned from my Internet hiatus. Article on sansmirror.com
August 2
The D850 Development Announcement. On July 25th, the 100th anniversary of the company's founding, Nikon put a “Development Announcement” on their Web site for the D850. The press release didn’t say much, but there have been a few images of the camera circulating that give us some additional details, plus lots of rumors about the camera's features. Article on dslrbodies.com
Canon News From July. Which brings us to the 70% growth in mirrorless statement. The statement was specifically a year-to-year statement for the quarter, e.g. April-June 2016 compared to April-June 2017. It seems that everyone repeating the statement misses the obvious. Article on dslrbodies.com
Africa Failures. A month in someplace as rough and remote as the wilds of Botswana has a way of singling out gear that isn't up to tough handling and use, or things that will happen to you on such trips. Over 30 days in July there were at least 30 cameras and even more lenses bouncing around the sand roads of Botswana with me. Here's a quick run-down on the stuff that had issues. Article on dslrbodies.com