Here some quick first impressions after I played bit with the Olympus OM-D E-M1. Talk evolution rather than revolution. While the body is slightly larger than that of the original OM-D, the E-M5, it doesn’t feel that much bigger. With the battery grip and 12-40mm F2.8 attached it’s a comfortable package. Less stylish than it’s […]
It’s an age-old question dividing photographers again and again. What’s more important. The photographer or gear. We all know the answer. The photographer. Or is it? When the shot does well, it’s the photographer. When it sucks, it’s the camera. All things being equal, the better photographer will usually get better shots while better gear […]
By BRIAN SWEENEY I’ve put together another article, this time on the C-Sonnar. “Once upon a time” optical engineers wrote books aimed at photographers wanting to understand more about the instruments that they use. They actually explained things like “focus shift” and “spherical aberration.” I’ve tried to apply lessons learned from Carroll Bernard Neblette (Photographic […]
Life without fast autofocus and blazing fps is unimaginable for many photographers. Today everything’s done automatically, be it exposure, white balance, mode, whatever. Cameras have become thinking things. All a photographer has to do is to release that shutter button and choose from a myriad of seemingly identical images. That’s why I love the improvised […]
Call this a little compendium of what lies ahead in the compact full-frame interchangeable lens camera world. I talked with industry insiders and sources. Well it’s hardly any news that most likely Sony is ahead of the rest. They got the capital, they got the technology, they made clear with the ambitious RX1 that it’s […]
The photo of a naked girl fleeing from a napalm cloud is one of the classic symbols of the Vietnam War. A historian analyses the image-related connotations and criticizes the media. Should a photographer — or any journalist for that — help victims of atrocities while trying to perform his or her duty of reporting? […]
Cameras haven’t really come a long way since the days of Karl Nüchterlein, inventor of the first SLR for the mass market, and Oskar Barnack, father of 35mm photography who sealed the fate of large format cameras. Since them, camera design didn’t evolve much for decades. The Konica Autoreflex gave us workable exposure automation, but […]
Each job requires a different set of tools. A camera good enough for one job may be completely inadequate when shooting a more demanding job that requires better accuracy and more speed. It’s only normal to long for a jack-of-all-trades equipment that can do it all. Fact is, size still promises better performance. Today’s mirrorless […]
The old argument that I have to spend heavily on good fast prime glass because I love to shoot in low light is dead. That’s a reasoning that dates back to film and early digital photography when you had to push that Ilford and early imaging sensors too achieve the best possible compromise between detail, […]
Must say I was pretty excited when I got the Canon EOS M — “M” = mirrorless? — for testing. But to cut a potentially long story quite short: Canon, this camera is nice, but so slow, please go back to the drawing board. In the mirrorless world, in my book, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 […]
We’re currently living at the threshold of a new camera age. Well that’s what camera names suggest. It’s the age of cameras with a “1” in their name, symbolizing the start of a new era, doesn’t it. Take the Sony RX1, the Fujifilm X-E1 after the X-Pro1, the Nikon 1 series or Samsung NX1000. Add […]
I’m doing some traveling right now with two exciting cameras in my bag — two M cameras to be more precise: a Canon EOS M and the Leica M Monochrom (with the stellar 28mm Cron and 50mm Lux). Both mirrorless, both totally different beasts. The other day, however, when going skiing, it was a no-brainer […]
By KLAUS ZELLWEGER Barely a year after the launch of the X-Pro1, Fujifilm introduces a second model. Our test will show whether this is its “little sister” or biggest rival. The Fujifilm X-Pro1 was one of the most acclaimed cameras of the year. Trimmed down externally to look retro, the newly developed X-Trans sensor outclasses […]
It’s no more secret that Sony, the probably most innovative and aggressive camera manufacturer these days, aims for the top spot in the digital imaging world. And boy are they on track, poised to steal more photographers’ hearts, first and foremost with their full-frame formula making photographers’ longed for dream of compact digital full-frame come […]
Meet Lorenzo Moscia, an Italian photographer from Rome who has lived in Chile for some years with his wife and three children. Moscia talks to THEME about his inspiring work, preferred gear and love for good old film and the epic Contax G2 with the stellar Zeiss glass (my all-time favorite combo as well). His […]
Please forgive this post, but who hasn’t been there, done that. Who’s never hesitating, if not confused when planning to buy new gear. Choices, choices, choices. So many shiny new cameras promising photographic heaven on earth. If you’re pondering back and forth which way to go, here are some simple guidelines to consider. First, be […]
Surprise, surprise. No one expected this one. But what to think of the latest mirrorless kid on the block, Hasselblad’s peculiarly different Lunar? How many trees do they chop down for it? A toy for the wanna-look-rich? Seriously, am kind of flabbergasted. One thing is sure, it’s a victory for Sony on many fronts. Because […]
Digital photography is not only a boon to camera makers, but also for us who are so lusting after ever new gear. Back in the days when you bought a film camera, the model’s next series could only have minor improvements. That’s the nature of film photography. Autofocusing was about the biggest revolution in decades. […]
+++ As you all know, Sony updated the stellar RX1 with the RX1R lacking an anti-aliasing filter, something that seems very fashionable at present. Currently for the same price as the predecessor with AA filter, the newer model should deliver superior detail resolution, but potentially at the expense of increase moiré patterning in areas of […]
It took Sony some time to come up with a successor to its full-frame flagship, the trusty, chunky A900. Sony eagerly wanted to get it right. Now the Japanese introduce the long-awaited, all weather-sealed and ruggedized Sony Alpha SLT A99, promising a new performance standard for professional DSLRs by combining all of the benefits of […]
Right down my alley – well I’m not talking price, but Leica and Fujifilm better listen up (forget sleeping CaNikon): Photoprice.ca leaks a head-on Leica competitor, a compact Sony mirrorless full-frame, the RX1, to be announced shortly. Beautified by a Zeiss Sonnar 35mm F2 with a copper-colored lens ring (see image further below), this camera […]
This post gonna be a bit longish, so let’s get on with it. At the recent Alpbach Forum, U.S. technology lobbyist Robert Atkinson did not haver. “The Asian economy is essentially based on the copying and stealing of intellectual property,” Atkinson said according to futurezone.at. “If you’re good at it and, as the Chinese, don’t […]
It’s either a very nice Photoshop job. Or the latest addition to Fujifilm’s growing X series family: Meet the not yet released Fujifilm FinePix XF1 (or XP1, could be either). A stylish, compact, elegant X series with a relatively fast F1.8-4.9 lens and a 25-100mm 4x zoom equivalent (based on the X10‘s likely similar 2/3″ […]
By MING THEIN What do cameras, watches and handbags have in common? Easy: for the most part, they’re luxury items. The most basic entry-level models have long past the point of sufficiency; if you can’t get a good image out of a Nikon D3200, then you should be examining your technique, not your camera body. […]
So you love photography. How about your gear? Are you pampering your camera more than your partner? One might come to think that the perfect condition of gear can be more important than images. There are other unhelpful photography habits, such as the camera without strap — doomed to drop — or lots of post-processing […]
It took Canon nearly four years to come up with an answer to Olympus’ and Panasonic’s first digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera system announced in August 2008, a.k.a. Micro Four Thirds. Sony and Nikon followed suit. Finally Canon joins the mirrorless market with the Canon EOS M and its 18MP APS-C hybrid CMOS sensor (specs). […]
Sony has what may be the new king of premium pocket cameras: the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, an enthusiast point-and-shoot fixed lens camera with lots of power under the hood and an ultra bright F1.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T*. It’s a camera that looks like others, but the big difference is it’s large sensor. As […]
I might be someone too biased for a review of this gem of a camera, the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Am a Four Thirds veteran, was an early adopter of Olympus’ back then revolutionary E-System that invented the dust reduction features which were soon copied by everyone. What an amazing Kodak sensor the E-1 had — […]
By RONN ALDAMAN Many people say today’s digital imaging sensors deliver quality comparable to film. Two of today’s questions on many a photographer’s mind are: 1) The difference between digital and film photography, and; 2) Would Henri Cartier-Bresson have used a digital camera today? Of course, we will never know. The master died in 2004, […]
Sooner or later Canon has to jump into the mirrorless fray. Sure they’re losing market share. On the other hand they maneuvered themselves into a comfortable position: observe the competition’s trial and errors, learn from others’ mistakes — and proceed from there with a lineup hopefully mature, thought-out and unique enough right from the start. […]
