Photo-John, a.k.a. John Shafer, is the managing editor of PhotographyREVIEW.com and has been since the site launched back in 1999. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends as much time as possible on his mountain bike, hiking or skiing in the mountains. He's been taking pictures for ever and ever, and never goes anywhere without a camera.
My Dream Date With The Leica M9
The Leica M9 is a manual focus, 18-megapixel full-frame digital rangefinder camera. Other than the digital sensor, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of what most photographers are using now. That said, the Leica M-rangefinder’s simple, German design and rich history are an aphrodisiac for pretty much every experienced photographer I’ve ever known. I’ve […]
Read More »Canon EOS 600D – Featured User Review
With an excellent feature-set and a very friendly price, the Canon EOS Rebel 600D (called the EOS Rebel T3i in the US) has been one of the most popular and best-selling cameras in 2011. So I was happy to see this fine user review by community member Anthony Reiss. It gives me a chance to […]
Read More »The iPhone 4S – Point-And-Shoot Camera Killer?
Apple announced the iPhone 4S today. There’s been a lot of grumbling on the Internet about how the 4S isn’t much of an upgrade but I don’t agree at all. Although the number “5″ isn’t in the name and it looks like an iPhone 4, the guts of the new iPhone have been given a […]
Read More »Lowepro DSLR Video Fastpack AW Camera Packs Announced
Seems like everyone with a digital SLR is now a filmmaker as well as a photographer. Lowepro hasn’t missed this development and they’ve made a few tweaks to their “top-selling and award-winning” Fastpack camera packs and come up with their new DSLR Video Fastpack AW series. Besides padded storage space for your HD digital SLR […]
Read More »Tenba Adds Top Load And Messenger Camera Bags To Their Discovery Line
Looking for a lightweight, outdoor-friendly case for your digital SLR gear? Tenba just added two new camera bags to the Discovery line they launched earlier this year: the Top Load and the Photo/Laptop Messenger. The Tenba Discovery Top Load is designed to carry a prosumer digital SLR (Canon EOS 5D, Nikon D7000, Olympus E-5, etc.) […]
Read More »Adobe Camera Raw 6.5 And Lightroom 3.5 Final Versions Available
Adobe has announced the final versions of Camera Raw 6.5 and Photoshop Lightroom 3.5. Both were made available in August as “release candidates.” The final versions are available for download now and include support for over twenty new cameras as well as updated lens profiles and some Lightroom bug fixes.
Read More »Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 Announced
Adobe released Photoshop Elements 10 this month. Photoshop Elements 10 offers much of the same basic functionality as the full version of Photoshop, including RAW processing, layers, sharpening, color correction and resizing; but it’s designed for regular folks who don’t want to invest hundreds of dollars or spend weeks learning their software. Some of the […]
Read More »Pictureline Digitalfest Event
I don’t often promote local dealers or events. However, Pictureline is a great Salt Lake City camera dealer and their Digitalfest event is a good example of something lots of pro dealers do. The Pictureline Digitalfest includes seminars by outdoor adventure photographer Corey Rich (North Face, Apple, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Illustrated, Outside Magazine, etc…) […]
Read More »Sony Alpha DSLR Guide
Sony was a latecomer to digital SLRs. But don’t let that fool you into thinking they don’t have game. About six years ago they bought all of Konica-Minolta’s digital SLR patents and a few months later they released their digital SLR, the Sony Alpha A100. There was a lot of skepticism about Sony’s ability to […]
Read More »Nikon 1 Compact Mirrorless Camera System
With the announcement of the Nikon 1 mirrorless camera system, the longest running rumor in the camera industry has been put to rest. Speculation about a Nikon EVIL camera (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) started even before Panasonic and Olympus announced their Micro Four Thirds system partnership in 2008. To start, there will be two Nikon […]
Read More »Olympus E-P3 Pen Super Compact Travel Kit
Traveling with photography equipment is always tricky. Either you sacrifice comfort and convenience for quality or you sacrifice quality and versatility for convenience. International travel with multiple plane changes is even trickier. In the past I’ve traveled with a suitcase, a laptop shoulder bag and a 30-pound camera backpack. If you end up on a […]
Read More »Samsung NX200 – 20-Megapixel Compact System Camera
Samsung updated their NX mirrorless compact system camera line last week with the new NX200, their fourth NX-Series camera. With a 20.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, full HD video, improved auto focus and shot-to-shot time and a metal body, Samsung is clearly targeting the NX200 at serious photographers and pros. The camera has a full range […]
Read More »Panasonic Lumix FZ150 Superzoom Camera
The Panasonic Lumix FZ150 is a compact superzoom camera with a 24x 25-600mm (equiv.) zoom lens. One of the things that makes the 12-megapixel FZ150 interesting is that Panasonic actually lowered the resolution compared to the older, 14-megapixel FZ100. Why would they do that? Simple – lower resolution means better image quality. The FZ150 is […]
Read More »Wi-Fi Enabled Panasonic Lumix FX90 Digital Camera
Last week, Panasonic announced a new point-and-shoot camera with built-in Wi-Fi. The 12-megapixel Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX90 has a fast 5x f/2.5 24mm wide-angle zoom lens, full HD video and a 3-inch 460k-dot touch screen LCD display. Those features alone add up to a great pocket camera. But of course, what really sets the FX90 apart […]
Read More »Panasonic Announces Two Micro Four Thirds Power Zoom Lenses
Panasonic made an interesting announcement last week – two new power zoom lenses for their G-Series Micro Four Thirds cameras. I believe these are the first compact system camera lenses with power zoom – usually that’s a point-and-shoot camera feature. The Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 45-175mm/F4.0-5.6 ASPH./POWER O.I.S. and the LUMIX G X […]
Read More »Fujifilm X10 Premium Compact Camera
There’s been a lot of speculation and a fair amount of leakage, but it’s official now – the Fujifilm X10 premium compact camera is for real. Fujifilm’s X100 digital rangefinder had a powerful emotional effect on photographers. They connected with the stripped-down look and simplicity of the camera. The Fujifilm X10 echoes the look and […]
Read More »Sony Alpha SLT-A77 – Prosumer DSLR Crusher
I predicted 2011 was going to be a big year for Sony and they just came through in a big way. Last week they announced four new cameras, including the 24-megapixel Sony Alpha SLT-A77. The A77 is Sony’s new top-of-the-line transparent mirror SLT camera and the follow-up to our 2010 Camera Of The Year, the […]
Read More »Sony NEX-7 – 24-Megapixel Mirrorless Camera
Sony’s new top-of-the-line NEX-7 mirrorless camera is a departure both in design and pricing. A lot of the new features and specs are also in the new, less expensive Sony Alpha NEX-5N (improved auto focus, reaction time, etc.). But Sony has clearly built the NEX-7 for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. It has a super-high-resolution […]
Read More »Sony Alpha SLT-A65 Translucent Mirror Camera
The Sony Alpha SLT-A65 was announced last week along with the SLT-A77. It’s a 24-megapixel translucent mirror DSLR-style camera. I say, “DSLR-style” because the SLT-A65 replaces the TTL optical viewfinder of a traditional SLR with a 2.3-million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF). The transparent mirror design makes the camera faster and allows it to use continuous […]
Read More »Sony Alpha NEX-5N – New Compact System Camera
The new Sony Alpha NEX-5N is their fourth compact, mirrorless system camera and builds on the NEX platform with new features, improved performance and some interesting new accessories. Sony calls the NEX-5N a, “a giant step forward from its predecessor in terms of still image and HD video quality, Auto Focus and speed-of-capture performance.” The […]
Read More »Nikon Coolpix AW100 – Nikon’s First Waterproof Digital Camera
Come on in – the water’s fine! Nikon has finally joined the rest of the kids in the pool. The other kids being Canon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, Samsung, Olympus and Kodak – and the pool being the rugged, waterproof camera market. The brand new Nikon Coolpix AW100 is Nikon’s first waterproof camera – since […]
Read More »Nikon Coolpix P7100 Premium Compact Camera Announced
Nikon launched a bunch of new Coolpix compact digital cameras last night. Among those cameras was the P7100, the latest incarnation of their high-end, full-featured rangefinder-style compact. The Nikon Coolpix P7100 has a large, 1/1.7-inch, 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor and captures 720p HD video as well as still photos. It has a 7x 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 (equivalent) […]
Read More »Adobe Lightroom 3.5 And ACR 6.5 Release Candidates
Adobe has new “Release Candidate” versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw available. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.5 and Camera Raw 6.5 Release Candidates add support for new cameras and lenses, including new Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras, the new Sony NEX and Alpha SLT-A35 cameras and Phase One digital backs. New lens profiles have […]
Read More »Canon PowerShot ELPH 510 HS Touchscreen Pocket Superzoom Camera
Canon announced three new compact PowerShot digital cameras today. The most exciting of the three – to me, anyway – is the new Canon PowerShot ELPH 510 HS pocket superzoom. I’m really into pocket superzoom cameras and I believe this is the first superzoom Canon has included in their ultra-compact ELPH point-and-shoot camera line. The […]
Read More »New Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS Pocket Camera
Canon added a couple of new HS System cameras to their ultra-compact, stylish Digital ELPH line. The totally pocketable Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS has an 8x zoom lens, a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor with Canon’s HS System for improved low light image quality, 1080p full HD video and it comes in a rainbow of colors. […]
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