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[UPD] Photokina Live coverage : Part One

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This is the first part of my article about the Photokina fair. First I would like to start with a few general comments :

First this was a somewhat frustrating fair this year because a lot of products have been delayed , due mostly to the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan earlier this year. As a result some new models here are only shown under glass as non-functioning prototypes or just pre-announced.

Obviously, this  Photokina edition was not a great one for the BIG guys : Both Nikon and Canon seem “off the tracks”. Both brands dominate the declining market of professional digital DSLRs, no doubt, but I think they are losing precious ground in the other segments of the camera market.
Let me explain what I mean :
CANON :
Canon just introduced a new model in its APS mirrorless “M” line and everyone will agree that the M5 (which follows the M1,M2,M3 & M10) is the best M model so far : Nice ergonomics, current sensor and MUCH improved AF over its predecessors. From the specs sheet alone, the model has enough appeal for traveling photographers and professional Canon photogs looking for a small camera as a backup. Unfortunately, Canon seems to think that the target audience for its M line is a different one and, as a result, has as a very limited choice of lenses for this system: Seven lenses in the M line including five entry-level zooms. In my opinion, only the 2/22mm  can be looked at as a serious lens. This is very little when compared with the competition. Think about this : during this fair while Canon penibly introduced one more kit zoom to get to that 7 number, the m4/3 rd duo made by Panasonic & Olympus will launch SEVEN new lenses for the M4/3 lens line up, including four which are really pro lenses.
Unless you are a Canon afficionado , investing in the system today is a long shot and probably not the best decision if you are looking to get into mirorrless system quickly and with several lenses. In my opinion the fact that Canon chose to release only a consumer kit zoom along this new model clearly shows that for Canon the M system is first and foremost aimed at current Canon users.
On the DSLR front Canon introduced a few weeks ago its 4th iteration of its highest-selling 35mm model (5D mark IV) and, suffice to say, that some of the choices made seem to have upset a lot of current Canon DSLR users, especially those shooting video regularly.

NIKON :
For Nikon, I honestly think things are even worse.The “big” news this year was the introduction of three action cams.Without going into specific details about these products, it is also not always clear where they bring something better than the competition (Go pro mostly). Of course, one can argue that Nikon had some new products introduced this year prior to Photokina. Yes, the D500 was a long-awaited model (and a very good one at that) but Nikon continue to ignore its pro DX customers when it comes to new lenses.
Not to mention that virtually any DSLR launched over the last 2 years had some flaws or quality control issues.
On the mirrorless front, the Nikon 1 system seems dead in the water, despite some vague assertions to the contrary and even if the line has not been officially discontinued (Nikon may be waiting until stock runs out). Again, Nikon seemed to have decided that this system target was the “soccer mom crowd”.
But worst of all, Nikon had created some enthusiasm early this year by announcing three new seemingly attractive models with a fixed lens and a 1″ sensor. The models were first delayed because of the earthquake in Japan that disrupt Sony sensors facilities as well as other part suppliers but now Nikon is facing other problems on this. As a result, the DL models are nowhere in sight at the fair  and no dates of availability are being given on these three new models.

LEICA
This was relatively a quiet edition for Leica this year. Traditionally Leica introduces a lot of new products during Photokina because of the “home field” advantage. First thing to notice is that this year Leica separared its gallery space from its products booth. Most noteworthy here, Leica introduced some fancy expensive and heavy new lenses ( along with a grip for the gigantic SL camera body for its SL camera (1.4/50mm, 2/75mm, a 2/90mm and a vario 18-35mm).
Of less significance , Leica also introduced “SOFORT” which is only a rebadge of a Fuji Instamax instant film camera (visible on the Fuji booth). Both models will be able to use 2 new films one in color and one in B&W. [Read more…]

This week : Live Coverage from Photokina 2016

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Hello everyone,
I am pleased to announce that, once again, I will be covering the Photokina fair live from Cologne (Germany). This fair takes place every other year and is arguably the most important fair in the world for camera products. For those of you who have followed this site since the beginning , they might remember that this will  mark the unofficial two-year anniversary of this blog as my first article was published on the previous Photokina. Tomorrow, monday will be the day of  annoucements to the press before the official show debuts on Tuesday.
There has already be some announcements in the days and the weeks prior to the fair including most recently :
Canon new mirrorless body EOS M5 already available for pre-order body only at $979 here or with a kit zoom here. The camera is unarguably a step-up from the previous M models and features very good AF system and the new standard 24 MP APS sensor.

I am looking forward to the announcement of the new Olympus M4/3 flagship the Olympus OMD- EM1 mark II -yes, this is the full name of the camera :)

Also of interest would be the introduction of the first mirrorless Medium Format camera introduced by Hasselblad and there are also rumors of a Fuji model. I will definitely post some first comments on these new products

As always if you are interested in any of the products here, your ordering the product by clicking the links provided here help this site without any additional costs to you

Do not forget to check this site several times over this coming week as I will be updating it every day

Traveler ‘s alert on car rental

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For domestic and overseas travel alike, some of your journeys are likely to include renting a vehicle at some point. Nowadays , the choice is plentiful. You can book through your travel agent, directly from the car rental company(online or not) or through third-party sellers on the internet. This last method is becoming popular because it seems to offer some savings over the other methods. But one has to be careful for the kind of companies you are dealing with.
I am now able to advise you against one of these companies : Arguscarhire.com ( also doing business as car trawler.com). First a foreword: when I rent a car, I use all these THREE methods for car rentals depending on several factors ( Is there a rental company that I trust in the car pick-up area, have I dealt with this location before, do I need a specific vehicle,..)
Over the last 2 years, I had rented vehicles from this company several times before I found the issue. On first sight, the choice seems to make sense : the site is easy to navigate, allows you to pick the rental car company  (a MUST, in my opinion, when renting a vehicle), the pricing is competitive and clear BUT there is a catch, and a big one in my opinion !
Very often, when you rent car online, you have TWO different prices for one given rental  depending if you want a cancellable and refundable contract or not. It is the same as when booking hotels room online on many sites. As for me I generally prefer to pay a slightly higher price for the added flexibility, especially if the car rental is taking place during the middle of the trip. No problem since arguscarhire has a option with a 24 hour prior notice policy, you think : well yes EXCEPT Argus carhire does not honor its policy and will try every dirty trick in the book to prevent you from cancelling your reservation.
In July I had made three reservations with Argus carhire one in the USA and two in France. As it happened I needed to cancel two of them and was dumbfounded about the response from the company. For the US reservation, I tried to cancel online 36hours before but when logged in  got a message saying that this could not be canceled online as it was supposed to be. The “contact” button was strangely unresponsive. The company is based in the UK so calling from somewhere with a 8 hour time difference is both an expensive and unpractical option. I tried and got nowhere.I finally was able to get an email address and the got an answer THREE days later saying that the car cannot be cancelled AFTER the pick-up deadline. In other words, they just sit on the email until AFTER the deadline to inform you that this too late to cancel. What they tried to do for the French reservation was even worse and the emails I got were almost insulting with their content.
BOTTOM LINE is if you are a smart traveler and do not want to get screwed by a company which is dedicated of giving you phony excuses when you try to change or cancel the reservation when you are within the time frame to do so, do NOT use this company. I know I won’t . Not worth the hassle.

My Top 5 “best bang for your buck” micro 4/3 lenses

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When choosing a camera system, one must pay attention to the lens line-up. It is not wise to select a camera if most of the focal lengths you need are not in the line up. Without a doubt the micro 4/3 system has the largest lens line-up among any digital mirrorless system. It offers over 40 different AF lenses from Olympus and Panasonic with a few Sigma additions (I am not even counting the manual focus lenses available for the m4/3 mount for this ranking). Recently olympus added some highly professional lenses with the 4/40-150mm and the 4/300mm. Other highly regarded lenses from their build and performance include the Panasonic 1.2/42.5mm or the Olympus Zuiko 1.8/75mm.

However lots of m4/3 users  chose the system for its diminutive size and weight. The light traveler is also going to pay a close look at small lenses for the systems. Most of these very light lenses bring about a lighter build and smaller maximum apertures . But what you lose in DOF control and build does not necessarily means you have to compromise too much on performance. Early on Olympus and Panasonic proved that they could offer useful lenses being very small and light while providing very good to excellent performance and at a very reasonable cost. I voluntarily excluded ANY m4/3 lenses which retail at $400 or more. the Olympus 1.8/45mm and the Panasonic 1.7/20mm were among the first to establish this trend in the m4/3 system years ago but we got more little gems over the last few years.
I would like to add that I own ( and have tested) ALL the lenses included in this article.
The Sigma 2.8/60mm DN (here in black and here in silver) is both a useful focal length of 120mm (in 35mm equivalent) and a lens getting  great reviews. It is currently priced at $209 and $239 for the black and silver versions respectively and includes both a pouch and the hood which is really amazing at that price-point.Therefore probably deserves to be on this list but since I never tried it, I decided not to include it for the time being.
Now,without further ado, here is  MY TOP 5 selection for small and lightweight m4/3lenses which offer great value for the price : [Read more…]

Almost too good to be true

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courtesy from Olympus

courtesy from Olympus

2016 is going to be an odd year for digital camera sales , especially mirrorless. Every manufacturer is being afftected by the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan. As a result, lots of rumored or announced  new products have been delayed (think Nikon DL line for instance). It is safe to assume that Photokina next month will see more products being launched without  a specific release date.
That being said, this may help to get products at bargain price as manufacturers & retailers need to move some stock off their shelves.
For micro 4/3 users, Amazon US currently has  a deal which is hard to miss. The very competent OMD-EM10, originally priced at $699 is currently available at the amazing low price of $399. This includes the body and the 14-42 kit zoom  but I would argue that, even if you do not need this kit zoom, this is really a GREAT bargain

this deal is available for both the black version and the silver version. This could constitute a great back-up body for users who already have another OMD model. Grab one while you can !