Nikon's long-awaited announcement arrives - to mixed thoughts

It has been rumored for some time now that the world could expect a "big" announcement from camera titan Nikon. The public thought that the announcement would come a handful of weeks ago, but only a small release of Coolpix cameras made their debut.

Then rumors started about a new announcement date of Sept. 21 and sure enough, at midnight, an official press release announced Nikon's entry into the mirrorless arena.

Here's the rundown, if you're in the market for a mirrorless system, it's probably worth the wait until late October when the new V1 and J1 offerings from Nikon hit the shelves - or so we hope. The system offers plenty to admire and several things to question. Let's take a quick preliminary look at the Nikon 1 system.

Potentially good:

Size: The 1 system is tiny for an ICL (interchangeable lens) system. In fact, Nikon claims that the V1 is the smallest and lightest in the world with a built in EVF.

Options: The 1 system comes in two flavors, a base J1 body and a bigger brother in the V1. They have the same features, but the V1 offers a 1.4 million dot EVF that's auto activated when you raise it to your eye, has a magnesium alloy body, both an electronic and mechanical shutter and an accessory port for external flash and GPS unit as well as an external mic port.

Lenses: Both bodies will be offered in kit format with a 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens (more on this in a minute). With a 2.7x crop factor this works out to a 27-81mm equivalent and makes for a good general purpose lens. Other optics that will be available in the beginning include a 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 VR (81-297mm eqiv.) a 10mm f/2.8 prime (27mm eqiv.) and a full range zoom in the 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 VR (27-270mm equiv.). This is a decent lens lineup right out of the gate, but Nikon has SIX additional prototype lenses in the pipe that range from fast portrait primes to macro optics to sports zooms.

Accessories: The V1 is compatible with the new SB-N5 external flash for more powerful fill (the J1 has a popup flash built in) and the new GP-N100 GPS unit for geo tagging images, etc. Finally there is the FT-1 which is an optical converter which lets users mount existing F mount lenses on their 1 series bodies.

Specifications: The sensor, though smallish by comparison to other mirrorless systems (more in a minute) offers 10 MP resolution and full 1080p HD video at 30fps or 1080i at 60fps. The bodies incorporate a new hybrid 73-point AF system that uses both contrast and phase detection for optimal autofocus accuracy in a variety of conditions. The shutter speed caps out at 1/4000th on the mechanical shutter (V1) and 1/160000th on the electronic shutter. The camera can capture up to 10 fps in autofocus mode for rapid-fire action-stopping images. The sensor boasts an ISO range of 100-6400 with hi/lo expansion.

Potentially bad:

CX Sensor Size: For most people, this is going to be the kicker. Many, myself included, think the introduction of the CX sensor size is rather odd. Here's why. Nikon's late to the mirrorless game. In fact, the only other camera manufacturer that anyone really cares about that's not in the game now is Canon. So, let's consider the competition. The companies that really started the fad are Olympus and Panasonic with their open format micro 4/3 offerings. Two huge benefits for O and P are: 1. the sensor is roughly TWICE as large as the Nikon CX offering here and 2. the mount is an open standard, making lenses from multiple manufactures simple to use and the selection much broader. Virtually all offering from O and P have slightly higher resolution, but it's rather negligible in therms of numbers, but perhaps not in terms of image output.

Going up the ladder, you have Sony, with its NEX system which offers a standard APS-C sensor on board. It boasts the highest resolution sensor on the market with the new lineup offering 24 MP of larger sensor data. The APS-C sensor is the same size that's in the majority of consumer and enthusiast DSLR bodies and at a resolution few can match at the time of this post.

So what? Well, typically (though not always) larger sensors can handle detail and color better than smaller sensors and this gets exponentially better as the ISO increases. The new image test of choice is how well a sensor/lens combo handles moderate to low light levels with regard to image noise and detail. So with Nikon's CX sensor weighting it at half the size of m4/3 and 1/4 the size of the industry leading NEX sensor, Nikon is going to have it's work cut out if it wants to compete with the industry leaders.

Saving grace - if Nikon has manages to produce images equal to or better in quality than the bulk of it's rivals despite the smaller sensor, it's going to be a game-changer for sure. Right now there's a funky middle ground in the ICL camera market. The mirrorless "advantage" was supposed to be superior quality in a smaller package. Kinda like Blade, the day-walking vampire slayer. Mirrorless was sort of touted as having "all of the strengths (of a DSLR) and none of the weaknesses (bulk, weight, cost)." So, you get a smaller, lighter, capable, flexible system that costs less (potentially) and does virtually the same thing as it's bigger brother. Was mirrorless designed to tempt the avid pro? No. No SI shooter or Vogue photographer is going to shoot anything important on a tiny ICL unless it's for fun. Will they make enticing personal walk-around cameras? Yes. For those of us used to lens choices and manual versatility, yes - as long as we can justifiably afford a completely new auxiliary system!

The problem has been in image quality. So far, normal, every day images have been great out of all but the worst mirrorless systems. In fact, the Panasonic GF line and Olympus Pen cams have been extremely popular with users. However, when the light falls, the images do tend to suffer. Sony has done more in this territory with it's larger sensor, but even it can come up short. In fact, many have indicated that given it's obvious size advantage it should actually do better. All of these offerings trump point-and-shoot images even from the higher end contenders like the Canon G series, which also rivals the mirrorless market in price.

So, if the Nikon 1 system can manage strong image quality, especially in lower light, it will make a run and might just find itself at the top of the pile in the ever-growing mirrorless pool. If, however, the smallish sensor does suffer from weak quality, the entry might just be dead on arrival. It's really going to come down to the sensor. If it performs, Nikon's got a home run. If it fails, the line will fail. They came along simply too late in the game to hope to build a broad fan base on anything but brand loyalists if the images aren't strong.

The provided sample images from Nikon do reveal wonderful color reproduction, good detail and effective low light performance to ISO 800. However, these images are always strongly controlled situations that the average shooter would never mimic and the low light shot is more a moderate ISO boost in subpar light than in a bat cave at 6400. We will see more on this soon.

Lens Selection: It's good that Nikon is offering four lens choices that cover a very respectable focal range. However, many enthusiasts who know what they are looking for will be patiently awaiting those faster prime prototypes that Nikon has put un display - especially with the smaller sensor. Why? Well, theoretically the smaller sensor will offer weaker low light performance, so a faster lens will help in that regard as well as potentially helping with shallow DOF. However, the later is strongly effected by the sensor size as well, so a wider aperture alone won't likely make a massive difference in a blurrier background.

Nikon has been an industry leader in optics for forever, so maybe they have an ultra wide design coming down the line. They do have a wide angle "landscape" prototype, but no focal length numbers are available yet. Right now 27mm is as wide as you're gonna get, which is respectable, but for a lot of users, they're gonna wanna see something approaching the 20mm range or even wider. Panasonic offers a 7-14mm f/4, which with the mere 2x conversion equates to a 14-28mm. Now the lens also costs around $900, but it's available for those who want it and will work on either Olympus or Panasonic bodies.

Advantage - as of now all but the 10mm prime are equipped with VR which makes hand-held work easier.

Hot Shoe: The lack of a hot shoe is not going to phase most people, but more experienced shooters might be turned off by this. It's a similar issue that the early Sony NEX bodies faced as well, though the new NEX flock has the ridiculous proprietary shoe added. Most of the Panasonic and Olympus offerings, including the X series, have a standard shoe. This is helpful if you want to add a larger flash option or a radio trigger system. I know this sounds advanced for such a system, but it's actually super handy. When I traveled with my Olympus E-PL2 system to Hawaii with our softball team, I used the hot shoe countless times. I set my Nikon speedlight on a shelf or on a small stand to the side and triggered it with my handy Alien Bees radio transmitter and receiver. They are both tiny and it makes for a versatile lighting setup. Just for fun I even did some portraits in the studio with the Olympus.

Is it a deal breaker? Probably not, but the little SB-N5 add-on will not compare in versatility or power to a more capable SB speedlight. I suppose if you have an optical slave it'll work, but a popup flash in that situation is just as helpful.

Cost: At $650 to $900 (suggested retail) for a single lens kit it's not cheap, but nicely in line with some of the other offerings. The larger sensor Sony NEX-C3 comes in at $600 and the NEX-5 retails for $650. The NEX-5N has a tag of $700 and the new NEX-7 with 24mp presses on the wallet at $1350 with comparable lens.

The new Olympus E-P3 costs $900 and the new E-PL3 is $700. Panasonic's GF2 runs $500.

The thing to remember is this; a brand new Nikon D3100 DSLR with 18-55mm is only $650 and currently $600 with some instant savings options.

And those add on lenses? Not much cheaper. The 10mm and the 30-110mm will have a suggested retail of about $250 each. A 70-300mm lens can be had for about $170. Keep in mind that that's a 105-450mm equiv. on a DX sensor. It lacks the VR ability, however. And that 27mm 2.8 equivalent? The superb 35mm (50ish mmm equiv.) f/1.8 DX is longer, but faster and costs only $199.

The cost of the optics is not excessive, but it will make consumers considering this as a SECONDARY camera think twice.

Looks: Though it's about as essential as having nice-looking golf clubs, since the camera is a tool and not the end product, people want pretty equipment. I'm less concerned about this since I'll use anything that gets the job done effectively, but the esthetic quality is indeed a bit off, especially in the V1. The EVF hood makes for what appears to be a half-witted effort by a first year industrial design student. Suffice it to say that the designers would be fired if they worked at Apple, but that's not the point. They were obviously trying to keep it clean and simple and to that end I think they might have succeeded though few have had a hands-on experience as of yet.


THE EARLY VERDICT: In my opinion it's an odd, but interesting offering. It's compelling for a few reasons. 1. Nikon's finally in the mirrorless game and could make huge waves if the 1 series is well-received. 2. It's small and light and despite this, seemingly feature laden. 3. The lens choices are good for a startup and the others look like they could bring a lot to the table. 4. It's somewhat pricey, but well within the range of what you'd expect for this type of system. 5. It's a new gadget that a lot of people are gonna wanna play with.

The questionable: 1. I'm concerned about the image quality and overall performance, though as I mentioned earlier, the standard images available right now look fairly strong. 2. Ergonomics, will the system be too smallish for practical use without HAVING to use a neck strap? Some of these smaller cameras can come free easily in your hands.

Overall I think, and certainly hope, this is a strong contender for Nikon. In the point-and-shoot market Nikon is getting spanked by Canon in terms of image quality and they really need this venture to be productive.

The BIGGEST problem with this announcement is the LACK of a new pro DSLR. I know, it has nothing to do with this camera, but the fact that so many were expecting a D700 replacement at least has inadvertently made the early 1 system flavor a bit sour. Perhaps the new higher end camera is still indeed coming soon and perhaps Nikon felt that it would overshadow the 1 announcement if launched together. Who knows? Hind sight is always 20/20, but it seems that at last for US audiences a D700 upgrade today followed by the 1 system next week would have made more sense. It's been forever since any full frame updates have come out of Nikon and users keep seeing the improvements offered by other manufactures - mainly Canon - and are starting to wonder what gives.

Any undo negatives will soon fade from the 1 system facade to make way for any serious negative reactions that are legitimately based on performance once testing is under way.

The 1 system is promising, but only time will tell if it will be a true contender in the mirrorless market.

Fuji X-100 impressions

The photography world got a pleasant surprise when they announced that the X100 would be arriving this spring. Amidst all of the other big releases, it was this little, simplistic, retro unit that really caught the attention of so many people. Why? Well, even though the needs and likes of each photographer are different, there has to be something about it that's indeed a universal draw and I think that the simplistic functionality coupled with the retro styling and just the right amount of technology has really boosted this camera into the limelight.

The retro styling is the first thing that jumps out about this camera. It's unlike anything else on the market, with perhaps its closest competition being the Olympus PEN series, which doesn't go this far down the retro styling track.

There is a manual knob on the top for shutter speed and another for exposure compensation. There is a retro style shutter button that takes the syringe-style screw in remote shutter release cable and there is a hot shoe - that's it!

The aperture dial is where it used to be - on the lens. The newest lenses out there have the aperture controlled electronically. This has the aperture dial right where it should be at the base of the lens next to the body and it's marked with full stop increments starting at f/2. It appears that ISO is still dialed in via the menu system.

The lens is fast, but fixed. That means you have 35mm equivalent all the time. Because of this, the camera will probably appeal to hobbyists as well as travel and street photographers more so than traditional shooters or those looking for more focal range. The lens has a four leaf shutter that is very quiet and fires at up to 1/4000 of a second.

Behind the lens is a 12 megapixel APS-C size sensor. That puts it on par with sensor sizes in most DSLRs and up in size from the four thirds offerings from Olympus and Panasonic. The only other major small body APS-C player is the Sony NEX series. It offers interchangeable lenses and a lower price point, but it lacks a viewfinder - even an option for an add-on - and a hot shoe. There are other pros and cons that come into play, but the bottom line here is that Fuji will have a love it or hate it following as there isn't much out there that can compete with the feature set directly.

The flagship feature of this model is the hybrid viewfinder. The camera features a genuine optical viewfinder with digital overlay indicating the exposure information, EV levels, a histogram, color temperature, digital level and more. With the flip of the switch on the front of the camera, the optical window closes and a super high resolution electronic viewfinder takes over. It's the first of it's kind and it has certainly generated a great deal of discussion and from the hands-on reviews I've looked at so far, it's very good. Or, if you must, you can use the LCD screen to compose your images. (PS, if your doing this, you might want to look at some less expensive cameras as you're eliminating one of the camera's strongest features).

For a complete look at the features, visit the product site here.

The body is well built, simple and will certainly be fun for the lucky owners.

The bad? Other than the arguably limited fixed focal length, it's expensive at $1,200. You can get a very well equipped DSLR with various lenses for the same price or less and offers you more versatility. But you wont get the looks, build, and hybrid finder. And not to mention a small, easy to use, compact take-anywhere shooter.

Others will compare it to maybe something like an Olympus E-PL series. Well, you get a body and more versatile 28-84mm equiv. lens, but it's slower and there's no EVF built in. If you want to make a similar package you'd need the $350 Panasonic 20mm (40mm equiv.) f/1.7 lens and the $250 EVF adapter and pairing that with a $600 E-PL2 body puts you in a similar price point. Remember, the E-PL2's shoe will be occupied by the EVF, so you LOSE your hot shoe potential. 

Again, this is not a review as I have not had any hands-on experience with it nor will I be purchasing one. This is a look at the potential pros and cons and my opinion on where this little guy will fall in the end.

PROS:

Sexy, sleek, retro design

Build quality

Fast lens

Great simplicity - it gets to the shooting and away from living in menus

Extraordinary viewfinder

APS-C size sensor really puts it in a league of it's own

Quiet leaf shutter

Cool built in modes including panorama stitch similar to that found on Sony cameras

Seemingly great high ISO performance - see DPREVIEWs sample images here.

Everyone will be jealous of you

CONS:

Expensive

Fixed focal length

Smaller body may not be for everyone

Bottom line: Get in line, because even at $1,200 these babies are going to fly off the shelves. 

Velbon Ultra VOXi L Tripod Review

One of the fundamental components of the photographer's gear bag is the beloved tripod. Some "authoritative" figures out there on the web like to lobby for the "with improved high ISO performance and stabilized lenses, one doesn't need a tripod nowadays" theory. In my humble opinion, and of course the opinion of anyone who shoots in a variety of settings with a variety of settings, this mentality is simply problematic. There are situations where there is absolutely no substitute for a good tripod and this review will look specifically at the compact traveler companion rather than the industrial studio rail or the heavy-deuty landscape trekker's sole mate.

Criteria: I want to state up front that your tripod needs depend on many things. The two most important things to consider when purchasing any tripod are 1.) the size and weight of your camera equipment and 2.) your intended use. For example, if you are using an 8x10 large format camera a $28 tripod from WalMart isn't going to cut it no matter how hard you try. The opposite is not necessarily true. There's no such thing as "too much support," but you probably wont want to carry a 20 lbs. set of legs out into Yellowstone to mount your pocket point and shoot camera. Therefore, consider your needs carefully before purchasing your legs and you will often find, depending on how versatile your shooting and the conditions in which you shoot, that you need more than one set of legs.

I already own a conventional tripod that I love, but wanted something light weight, compact, versatile and as close to normal shooting height when fully extended as possible (50"+ in my case) for travel and street photography with my Olympus E-PL2 camera. I was willing to compromise on some features if necessary, but was really wanting to get as many of these features in a tripod as possible...oh, and I needed it to be as inexpensive - within reason - as possible. My budget for legs and a ball head was about $200, but I was willing to be flexible - a BIT - if something significant came down the pipe.

Therefore, this review will compare my ultimate choice, the Velbon Ultra VOXi L, with some competition and will ultimately look at the key features of this excellent little stabilizer.

Alternate Tripods: Whether you've been a player in the tripod game for a while or are new to the arena, several brand names are very likely already familiar to you. Gitzo, Manfrotto and even Benro have been around for quite some time and have an almost cult following among shooters today. Personally, I've worked with Manfrotto of and on through the year and love their gear. But when it comes to something as specific as the traveler companion I was after, huge brand names were shifted to the back burner as far as being mandatory. If I could find an affordable winner among the popular brands then that would just be a bonus. Quality was definitely an important component in my search, but was willing to go with an "unknown" if the product could meet my needs.

The Players: Although there are several other tripods out there that could fall into the traveler category, I was specifically looking at the sub 3 lbs units which ultimately evicted some would-be companions right out of the gate. Ultimately, my search generated the following legs: Gitzo Traveler 1541T and 1550T, Manfrotto 190CX3 and 732 M-Y, Feisol CT3441S and SB, Benro A0680 Travel Angel, Horusbennu M-2530TT, Tamrac ZipShot and the Velbon Ultra VOXi L. The Feisol and Horusbennu are most commonly acquired through eBay.

To keep the body of this already lengthy post somewhat condensed, I've attached the chart of the specs and sort of my mindset when narrowing down my choice. Several of the units scored higher than the Velbon in certain areas, but as a whole they didn't quite level out due mainly to a severely week point in the criteria or an absurd price. The later really took a toll on the Gitzo and Feisol offerings even though the units themselves had very strong marks in some of the necessary areas.

To sum it up, the Velbon had the most bang-for-the-buck out of the models I compared by my standards. This review is to help you in your decision making or introduce some players you might have overlooked and NOT to tell you which tripod to get. You can look at the chart and see how I rated each element on the list and how I came to my conclusion. I tried to be both flexible, but fair. For example I didn't even score the Velbon in the weight category as a Top 3 pick even though it missed the cut by just 0.2 lbs! I tried not to lean in any particular direction. I did however, give some leniency in my ratings. For example, in weight, I marked 1.98-2.2 lbs all as second place units because the weight was virtually the same.

At the end of the day the Velbon had the best height-to-folded length-to-weight balance of any of the devices that were under $300. And with a max recommended load of just shy of 8 lbs, I was home free. 

As you can see in my ratings the Manfrotto 732 M-Y and the Benro Travel Angel came in second and the relatively unknown Horusbennu ranked third. In fact, had the Hoursbennu not had a ridiculously unusable max height of just over 46" then I would have definitely given it a shot. But, I really wanted a normal height option and the 60" offered by the Velbon as well as it's versatility in setup ultimately won the day.

THE REVIEW

Now that I've described how I made my decision, I'll take you through a guided tour and wrap up with a quick list of pros and cos as I find them.

The above images show the VOXi alongside a Velbon El Carmagne 630 - a more standard 22.5" tripod for size comparisons. The VOXi stands at just a peep over 14" long when folded. The top image shows both tripods standing closed and the second shows them at their base unfolded length. As you can see the VOXi is significantly small both in length and width at its base settings.

However...

...when fully extended you can see how comparable the two become. The Carmagne does have more height, but for a compact unit, the VOXi is capable of running as a standalone device if needed. This was a HUGE plus for me when I was considering my options and it s major factor in going with the VOXi. It reaches to just over 5' tall with column extended!

Although not the most "ideal" option for a full size DSLR, it can handle the load if you want it to. Here I've mounted my D700 with grip and extended battery, RRS "L" plate and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I put the ball head - a Velbon 41Q - at an off center alignment to illustrate the holding power of the LEGS. They are not going to tip over on you. I would recommend a stronger head for cameras north of perhaps a Rebel or D3100 or so, but honestly the legs are fine. You will get less vibration and more overall stability and peace of mind if you opt for standard legs, but in a pinch or on travel, the VOXi is a great alternative to a standard pod. It's rated at 7.7 lbs, but could easily hold more with the right head - though as usual, you are running a risk whenever you exceed the manufactures specifications for anything.

Above are the various leg angle settings on the VOXi. I removed the base portion of the center column (it unscrews) for these illustrations. These positions allow you to get lower to the ground without having to inver the column. If the lowest leg spread is not low enough you have the option to inver the center column and either rotate a telephoto tripod collar to an upside down position or, simply mound your camera upside down and rotate the image in post. The image below is an example, again with the D700 and telephoto mounted from the lens' tripod collar.

Remember, I'm going to be using the VOXi with a micro 4/3 camera, but used the D700 to illustrate the abilities of the tripod. Smaller cameras are even easier to manipulate on the unit for obvious reasons.

The platform is well designed, but only has a small thread for a head. So your RRS BH-55 ain't gonna work here. But then again, the 55 weights more than this thing! It's designed to work with smaller, more modest heads and the pairing is not an issue for the weights it's rated for anyway.

The leg angle adjustment switch has been moved over on the front leg for illustrative purposes. Doing so allows the leg to be fully extended out for the lowest shooting angle. As you bend the leg back toward the center column the switch 'clicks' and locks into each subsequent setting with needing to reactivate the switch. The joint has been very strong, quite and fluid thus far.

The two photos above are to illustrate relative size. I have short, though fat fingers and as you can see the, though small, the legs do have some admirable girth to them - unlike say, the Tamrac ZipShot. The rubber leg locks are a decent size too and the bottom lock doubles as the leg foot. NOTE: One of the upper rubber grips did come loose while shooting at the beach over the weekend. Some super glue will fix this issue. I think there is an urge to really tighten the legs when a modest amount of torque will do the job fine. I am uncertain if the issue was a result of tension on my part, lack of the necessary glue in production or the very damp conditions I was shooting in. Either way, it's not a deal breaker for me.

The unit is rated at just over 2.4 lbs, but our postage meter clocked it in at just over 2.6 lbs. Either way, it's tiny and light by virtually any standard.

Above you can see the thickness of the leg sections. The top sections has the gray rim all the way to the left. The second section connects to the first lock, then three more sections extend to the foot. The following video is a brief look at how the legs work:

The unit measures just over 14". I tried to shoot it from a low angle because of glare.

It's a bit harder to illustrate how the center column lock works with photos, so I've added a short video for that as well.

I plan on doing a quick video review of the VOXi soon (I hope - extremely busy right now) for YouTube. If and when I do, I'll embed the video in this post.

CONCLUSION:

In short, it's a wonderful tripod. If you own a PAS, micro 4/3, super zoom compact, 4/3 or even an entry level DSLR this could serve as your only tripod if you pair it with the right head. For the PAS through to the average sized 4/3 owner, you're home free with an inexpensive ball head like the Velbon 41Q - which I used for the Olympus Pen series. If you are using longer lenses however, like say, the Panasonic 100-300mm for micro 4/3 or any major telephoto, you should really consider a larger, sturdier head as the 41Q might display a bit of shake at longer focal lengths and it certainly isn't wonderful for manually focusing lenses in video mode when every bump or shake is recorded in all it's glory! But for smaller cameras and shooting that doesn't require tons of subtle adjusting or incorporate significant weight, the 41Q is plenty of support.

For the avid pro, this is a great auxiliary pod for travel or for your fun camera (as is the case here).

These legs are really brilliant. Though perhaps not as well built as the Gitzo Traveler series, it's also not $600+ dollars. It's certainly got stability to spare given the criteria I mentioned earlier. You can pick it up easily with a single finger when fully extended, but at the same time, not worry about it blowing over in a normal wind. It's fun and easy to use, packs easily and is indispensable for low light, macro shooting and long exposures. 

You get upwards of 8 lbs of support (rated - though it will hold more with the right head), 60.5" of max height, ground level shooting with an inverted column, 14" of compact length at just over 2.6 lbs. for less than $200 and that is a real bargain.

If you're in the market for a compact traveler and the specs meet your criteria, I highly recommend the Velbon Ultra VOXi L!

PROS:

Very light weight

Small folded size

Sturdy for size

Well built

Several shooting heights and orientations including a reversible center column for very low shooting

Good max load rating considering packed size

Well-designed center column lock

Excellent max height

Great for point-and-shoot, mirco and standard 4/3 cameras as well as many DSLRs

Comes with a decent bag

CONS:

Somewhat expensive for a 'travel' device if that's what you're going to use it for

Legs can be tricky

Rubber on twist locks can become loose with turning or extreme weather (super glue will fix that)

No foam grip/protection on legs to guard against dings and help in extreme temperatures

No "bag hook" on column to secure a small camera bag for better center of gravity and convenience

No head included in the price

I hope to add a review of the Olympus E-PL2 soon. I am waiting on an additional lens and a bit more shooting experiments with it first. If you are interested in that camera, check back soon.

Until next time, be safe and happy shooting!

- R

Apple launches App Store, mostly exciting...

Today Apple launched the much-anticipated App Store that offers users an iTunes-like venue in which to purchase some current and upcoming application titles. The idea is simple and brilliant - put software in a familiar, intuitive  and downloadable arena and users will flock to the water hole. That seems to be happening, so far.


If you use iTunes, then the App Store layout will be more than familiar with Top Paid and Top Free apps running down the right and side and top new titles in a slideshow-like window at the top. There also New and Noteworthy titles, Staff Favorites, etc.

The new Air, and why I'd love one...

Ok, for the two of you out there who are not Apple users - that's a joke, but seriously, if you're not an Apple user, and especially if you're in any type of visually-driven industry, give them a hard look - this is the new MacBook Air. So, let's start with the obvious. Reason No. 1 why I, and you, want one - look at it. That is reason enough for approximately 40% of future owners of this device. For the remaining 60%, lets take a closer look.

Reason No. 2: Instant on. Because the OS is embedded in the Flash based hard drive (see below) the system boots quickly. Closing the lid sends the computer into hibernate mode, as usual, and opening the unit powers it back up instantly. Much like the iPod/iPad. When not in use it goes dark and then when you need it, it's ready. There is no drive to heat up, and therefore, less moving parts and theoretically fewer drive failures and less lost data. Standby time is rated at 30 days in hibernate mode. Which is excellent considering my current Air is only good for a few days if it's not used at all. On the 11" this promotes 5ish hours of battery life and up to 7 hours on the 13" - both are excellent.

Reason No. 3: Flash based storage. This provides extremely fast and silent operation. Think of it as a built in thumb drive, but considerably faster since it's not communicating through a USB 2.0 interface. As of now, storage options are smaller than traditional laptops, but those looking at this device are likely not going to suffer from storage space as this will probably be a secondary unit or something for college or work in which case most information is saved to an external hard drive - or should be. The lower end 11.6" model sports a somewhat scant 64GB hard drive. Hilarious, given that my $4,000 Gateway (yes, after my Mac LC II, I went to the dark side, but have since repented and returned to the light) desktop that I purchased back in the late 90's had a whopping 10GB arena of storage, and now my iPhone has more than triple that. The only reason that 64GB would become problematic is if you do lots of high resolution digital picture taking and have an iTunes vault rivals that of the Library of Congress. So, if you are a media savvy college student, an engineer packing countless Auto CAD designs, an art director who likes to carry the entire portfolio, or filmmaker with the RAW footage of your next Sundance award-wining masterpiece, consider the MacBook Pro line - or at least the 13" with the larger storage options. For the user looking for the pint-sized 11.6" model, I doubt the 64GB flash storage will be a major deterrent, especially considering that you can double it for $200.

Reason No. 4: Screens and Sizes and everything else. For the first time ever, Apple is offering the Air in both a 13.3" and 11.6" model. This is a superb, and might I say, belated idea. So many users, even Apple lovers, have been looking for something that has Apple reliability, usability, functionality and performance in something along the netbook lines. With netbooks offering screens from 7-10" and units running around 2 lbs, it's easy to see why people on the move would be interested in such a device. Where the netbook line has been crippled, in my opinion, is in the following key areas: screen resolution and size, battery life, durability and feature set. The screens on some, but certainly not all of the models, are simply too small for practical use. Sure, a 7" screen is nice to carry around, but try typing a term paper on it or reading text on the web for long periods of time or even trying to organize and, dare I say, manipulate your digital images. It becomes rather obvious that this screen size sounds good, but for people that actually intend on using their laptop for productivity, it sucks! Then there is the resolution issue. Well, I'll keep it short. With the tolerable exception of a few Lenovos or some HPs and Dells, the resolution on most units leaves much to be desired, color is often poor and the lighting is dim. Next we have battery life. Some units have managed to pull off five hours or so, but usually that's with an extended life battery that is an add-on option. Some of these extended life batteries, especially offerings from Acer and Lenovo are also extended space and add as much as 2 inches to the back of the unit to gain that extra juice. Durability is usually terrible in the PC world overall. The good thing is that the plastic is so tightly restricted due to size that they seem to have better build quality at first glance than their bigger brothers. Companies started trying to disguise the fact that their gear is made out of loosely screwed-together plastic by decorating that plastic with pretty colors and various designs. The offerings from several netbook manufactures look like a Sherwin Williams exploded during the coloring process. This marketing tactic was really spearheaded by Dell. They offer more shell options than hardware configurations which is interesting for a company that is known for it's hardware mix-and-match availability. This is cool in one degree because it offers some variety in an overly crowded and boring market. On the other hand there's still a good chance that you'll run in to someone that has the same "personalized" laptop running the same outdated software. And that brings us to feature set. Lets sort out the first group of plagued netbooks right off the bat - the half-witted Linux-based OS as in the Acer Aspire One. This is a cool, easy to use interface. The problem is, it doesn't do anything. Nothing that you're used to doing on a computer can really be done on such a device. So, enter the Windows based models. Say what you want about Microsoft, I certainly will, but they are a lightyear ahead of the Linux units. They at least feel like a computer and you can install other normal software on them as long as your hardware supports it. So, you just need to figure out if you want Windows XP, XP Home, XP Business, 7 or one of the other 641 variations of the same inadequate OS and let 'er rip! Once you've spent $600-100o on your micro machine, then all you have to do is buy a competent photo manager/editor; a video production kit, if that's your thing; download iTunes because you know you have an iPod (Zune, really?) and then pick up Office - the most practical and, dare I say, quality product in the Microsoft lineup. Or you could go with an Air that has the highest resolution, instant-on super bright LED display on the planet. It also happens to be in the same weight category; is made of super durable aluminum; has a full, single-option OS that is so easy to use you'll be confused as to why you don't get a headache searching for your applications; has all of the best digital productivity software on the market INCLUDED (iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Garageband, iWeb and iDVD); has excellent battery life and is backed by the best customer service in the industry. The only serious thing missing is an Office software suite. I love iWork. It's faster and more practical than Microsoft Office and is about half the price. It includes Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel) and Keynote (Powerpoint) and pretty soon it looks like these will be available independently through Apple's upcoming Mac App store which is sure to revolutionize the way we all get and use our desktop applications.

Reason No. 5: New Additions. I have the older generation of the Air and I love it, but these new improvements really push the device over the top and make it a worthy upgrade. Some other new features that the newer generation(s) sport are the addition of a second USB port, which is a huge plus, and in the 13.3" you get an SD card slot which makes importing photos from most consumer cameras a snap and it provides an alternate storage option if you don't want to use the optional Super Drive, an external USB hard drive or a thumb drive. They've also moved all of the connections to the sides of the device instead of in the bay door on the old model which was kinda cool until you had to use them while trying to work with the laptop on a flat surface. The keyboard remains full size and is, in my opinion, the best portable typing surface on the market. When OSX Lion hits, everything is going to get even better.



I love the new Airs. Bang for buck, they still aren't quite same deal as the impressive entry level MacBook Pro 13", but if you're looking for thin, light and very capable, it's the best thing going. Personally, I'd love to upgrade to the new 13.3" with the 128GB drive and bump it to 4GB of RAM for $100. It's got excellent battery life for something with a 13" screen that is so thin, it's whisper quiet, has decent expansion for a thin-and-light, has the SD slot, instant-on and a superb display. It will run $1,400 for that configuration, but I can run all of my most important applications on it with ease and it's an excellent travel companion. It wont fit on an in-flight tray table quite like the 11.6", but I have and iPhone for that. Or better yet, use an iPad! The funny thing is, I don't really see the two devices (Air and iPad) competing. They both really do different things. At the end of the day, I'd side with any of the Airs because of their versatility over the iPad, but I wouldn't hate owning both.

As a professional photographer and journalist of sorts who is on the go quite often, this is the ideal partner - for me. I have screen real estate and power in my office. When I'm covering events, traveling and writing articles on the move I want light, fast and versatile. I can shoot, upload, sort, select, drop, export and deliver the images along with my articles from one spot without any issues. If I'm doing a longer trip, I'll throw an external drive in my bag for storage. I almost never do hardcore editing in the field and always transfer the files to my main system anyway. The Air running iWork and Lightroom is, in my book, the perfect travel device for shooters on the go because it really gives you everything you need and doesn't lack much of what we want. If it had a Firewire 800 port for faster CF card file uploading, then that would be cool, but I'm a practical guy. I also have the Super Drive which is convenient for loading software and burning discs when necessary. You can certainly get more power for your money in a portable package, but if you want something sexy or are just looking to go as fully capable and as light as possible the Air is simply the only option in my book.

Again, all of this is opinion. Take it as such and enjoy.

- R