Category Archives: Photography

Panasonic DC-Z80 – One Zoom to Rule them All?

The Panasonic DC-Z80 has a 20mm-1200mm equivalent super zoom lens. The maximum aperture is a nice F2.8. The camera will retail for $400. My Nikon Coolpix P900 has an 83X zoom lens, and goes all the way out to 2,000 mm. It takes surprisingly good pictures. It is more expensive than the Panasonic though.

Sony’s New HX350 Superzoom

Sony is releasing its new superzoom, the Cyber-Shot HX 350, for the European market. The 50-power Zeiss lens has gives shooters the equivalent of a 24- 1200 zoom range. Sony says its clever image stabilization system gives crystal clear shots at full zoom. It has a 20.4 megapixel image sensor and an ISO range of 80- 12,800. It also has a manual zoom/focus ring on the lens, a really useful feature. Camera size is 5 X 3.75 X 4 inches. The camera will cost 450 Euros and will be on sale in January. Sony has not announced when or if it will be available in the U. S.

Best APS-C DSLR’s of 2016

APS is the acronym for Advanced Photo System. APS-C refers to the image sensors these cameras have. They are for the photographer who wants a better camera than a beginner level DLSR but does not want to pay the cost of a camera with a full frame sensor. The prices listed are for the camera body only.

1. Canon EOS 80D – US $1,100. I have a Canon EOS 60D, and it’s an excellent camera. but too heavy with a lens mounted on it to carry around comfortably.
2. Nikon D7200 – US $1,000
3. Pentax K-3 II – US $850 – I have owned several Pentax 35 mm cameras. Pentax is now owned by Ricoh.
4. Sony A77 II – US $1,200
5. Canon 7D Mark II – US $1,550
6. Nikon D500 – US $1,800
My advice would be to not buy a camera with an APS-C sensor, but to buy a mirrorless camera instead. Today’s mirrorless DSLRs take great pictures and are very small and light weight, even with a lens.

ProCamera Turns Your iPhone into an SLR

This is an iPhone only app that makes taking a picture with your phone similar to taking one with a single-lens reflex camera. It costs $5.00. The app’s features include:

1. Many controls and information, such as whether of not the flash is active
2. White balance and ISO setting
3. Live histogram
4. HDR shooting
5. Anti-shake feature
The Google Play Store has an app called Pro Camera, but this is not the same app as ProCamera. There is a similar app available for android devices called Camera FV-5. It costs $3.95.

The 5 Best Mirrorless Cameras for Beginners

They are, according to this article:

1. Canon EOS M10 – $450 with 15-45 mm lens
2. Fujifilm AX3 –  $600 with 16-50 mm lens
3. Olympus E-M10 II – $ 700 with 14-42 mm lens
4. Panasonic Lumix GX 80/85 – $800 with 12-32 mm lens
5. Sony Alpha A5100 – $600 with 16-50 mm lens
NOTE: The numbering used does not indicate ranking.