The Bridge Is Now A Snap

Remember the old days when the connection between you taking pictures and you seeing them was a chemist shop and a week's wait? Well, you can restrict your visit to the chemist's to buying overpriced vitamins and something for the weekend - you need not wait for your pictures with the Nikon Coolpix B700.

The new feature of a number of Nikon cameras now is SnapBridge. It is a low-powered Bluetooth connection that your camera can make to your mobile phone or tablet. If this sounds old-hat, the difference now is that the business of connecting he two wirelessly does not need a complex procedure every time you swith one or other of the devices on - there is a continuous connectivity once you have made the initial connection, and you are spared trying to remember yet another blasted password.

This may be the closest yet to a combination of a true camera with the ubiquitous phone or tablet - and it opens the way for competent yet lightweight travel reportage. if you are addicted to selfieing your way around th world you can pester your Facebook friends with high-quality Nikon shots instead of a low-resolution phone image.

This Nikon camera has one of the tourist-bridge lenses that goes to an extreme of 60X zoom range optically and then steps off to another 4X electronically. This is the lion/bear/NK border guard sort of shooting that you just cannot get with a phone. The fact that the camera also has a VR mechanism makes the whole thing plausible. The range of focus - from 1cm in macro out to infinity in the zoom range means you can pursue most tourist shots.

It is a 1/2.3" CMOS sensor in there and can run up to 3200 ISO so you will stand some chance of working in low light. f3.3-6.5 on the lens. a 3" LCD screen and about 400 shots per battery charge - BTW, it charges in-camera so that is one less charger to pack.

Now for that lens performace...Jandakot on a bright morning. The shutter will go to 1/4000 second, but I doubt you'd need that for most of the light aircraft. Some of them just sat there with their rotors turning...And the magpies are the most blasé birds I have ever seen.

Actually, the chief problem using a lens this powerful on a small camera is actually tracking the targets. You need a duck-shooter's eye to lead them enough...

See the Nikon range on the Camera Electronic website here

Blinded By The Excitement - The Canon SX 60 HS

Okay, there are days and days. And some days you are in a daze.

I have to confess that I have forgotten to take a picture of the subject of this column - the Canon SX 60 HS camera. It was in my hand for a day, and I shot pictures all over the place with it, and then forgot to set it down on the table and take a picture of it. My only excuse is I was so excited about what it does that I concentrated on that and let the external appearance go.

Okay, You're looking at this weblog column on a computer. Google over to the Camera Electronic site for the camera and see what it looks like and read the gush about it. Then come back and I'll tell you what I found out.

Right. The target buyer for this camera has always been stated to be the newbie African or Alaskan traveller. They would benefit from the long zoom contained in the camera and as it can be run in a pretty sophisticated way straight out of the box, they are likely to produce some good animal and scenery shots even if they don't know how or why. Good thinking, Canon, and please always include something of this nature in your lineup.

I figured the best studio review test would be to imagine I was one of the novice tourists -  I had just picked it up, hopped on the plane, and then hit the ground shooting in Johannesburg or Vancouver*. I charged the battery, threw in a San Disk card, and whizzed round the back of the studio looking for airplanes.

None, but the birds were on the wire and the TV aerial and they sat still long enough for me to find out how good this lens and sensor combination is on distant wildlife. It is very good indeed. Note that I shot JPEG at Intelligent Auto setting with no more knowledge of what I was doing than a clerk in a lumber yard.

Next to the studio table and a '41 Chevy hot rod. ISO, WB, and focus selected by the camera - I just pointed, zoomed, and shot. The results haven't been tweaked - it really does what you see as a straight JPEG. By any criterion, it is doing good studio work.

That's kinda horrifying. It calls into question all the other fussy things I do to get these tabletop scenes and suggests that the careful artistic genius and fabulous technical skill I exhibit could just as easily be done by a guy in gloves holding a snow shovel. As long as he was holding the Canon SX 60 HS he could beat me.

Just as well I forgot to take a picture of the thing - you might have come into the shop and bought one and gone out and made me look bad. There are dangers everywhere...

Vancouver - City of Mystery. Home of the British Columbia Museum Of Wood Pulp. Twinned with Odessa in the Ukraine...bet the Ukrainians are nervous about that...I spent a month in Vancouver one week...

DL AND COOLPIX - Nikon Has Some New New Cameras Coming

COOLPIX is a familiar name for Nikon enthusiasts - it has been the model name for a number of their compact digital cameras for a number of years now. They have wisely retained it to introduce four more new compact and bridge cameras: the COOLPIX B700, B500, and the A900 and A300.

We've just been sent the promotional sheets for them and to give you a précis of the new features, essentially you can regard the B series as the ones with electronic viewfinders while the A series are screens alone.

The B700 will have a 60X optical zoom, 20.3 Megapixels on a back-lit CMOS sensor  and a new processor. It will shoot 4K video and has a number of new features for video like "Superlapse" to combine numerous pictures.

The B500 is similarly-shaped but has a 40x optical zoom. and 16 Megapixels for the sensor. All the other good stuff , though.

The A900 has a 35x optical zoom and 20.3 Megapixels but has the additional capability of a 1cm super macro mode. As well as " Superlapse ". Super! 4K as well.

The A400 is the stylish compact of he series with an 8 x optical zoom and a variety of body colours. Good for panorama or 2 cm macro and hosts a wealth of features that will appeal to the selfie shooter...like Glamour Retouch. I need Glamour Retouch. Actually I would be satisfied with Not Quite So Hideous Retouch...

OKAY - now the new news for bigger shooters. People who would like to carry pocketable Nikon camera to supplement their big Nikon DSLR outfits - or who would like to take the Nikon lens quality out for a run where weight and size matter.

Nikon have introduced the DL range of cameras - looks as though there will be three of them initally - with a host of new features across the models. These are large compacts with lenses that are fixed in place...however there are three models with zoom lenses that are intended for three ranges of work:

1. DL 18-50

As the title implies, this is the wide-angle model of the series. It will have a lens capable of 18-50mm equivalent fixed in front of a 1" backlit CMOS sensor. The lens runs at f:1.8-2.8. There is an effective VR system, new processor, Nikon Snap Bridge data-sharing capability and an optional OLED electronic viewfinder available.

2. DL 24-85

Here's the medium range lens model - again at f:1.8-2.8 but with the same features as the wide one. Also noted on the press release: an in-built neutral density filter to let you use those wide apertures in bright light. Plus a super-macro mode.

3. DL 24-500

Well, here Nikon have had to include an electronic viewfinder in the design from the start - that long telephoto lens capability demands it. Aperture is f:2.8-5.6 for this longer lens.

The delivery times for these new cameras extend into the next few months but we'll be letting you know when they hit the shop shelves. You can also pursue them through our on-line store.

Yellow And Black And Money Back!

Yes!

There is nothing quite as nice as getting money back...unless it is getting money back and a brand new camera and lens for the start of summer. The Nikon Australia people are keen exponents of the cash-back system and have come up with a list of goodies that will qualify for this deal.

Have a look at the cash-back offers here and come on down to Camera Electronic to see the goods in action. All of these cash-back offers go from the 1st of November 2015 until the 31st of January 2016 so you have plenty of time to get shooting and to contact Nikon Australia on the web for the money.

We start out with:

Nikon D3300 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D5200 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D5500 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D7200 camera...............$ 100 cash back
Nikon D610 camera.................$ 300 cash back

Now for the more compact Nikon cameras:

Nikon P610 camera..................$ 50 cash back
Nikon S9900 camera................$ 50 cash back
Nikon AW130 camera..............$ 50 cash back

And if you would like to step out with a complete new kit:

Nikon D750 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 300 cash back
Nikon D810 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 300 cash back
Nikon D610 camera and 24-120mm f:4 ED VR lens............$ 600 cash back

Please note these last three deals are only cash back if purchased as body and lens in one transaction.

Now is the time to jump into the quality of a Nikon camera and start to enjoy the benefits of the Nikon system. Your pictures have never looked so good.

That's Why - the New Canon G3X

It looks like...but it also looks like...and what's with the two tripod sockets?

Okay, you're going on safari or bear hunting. You want to take landscapes as as well as  wildlife. You don't want to take a big camera. You want to take video as well. You don't want to have to change lenses. You have a tablet and a mobile phone and want to back things up and send off reports to social media every night.

Easy to do? Up till now, no - few cameras combined all those requirements. Now we have the new Canon G3X and it does.

Long lens - up to 600mm equivalent.
Wide lens - back to 24mm equivalent.
Articulating screen that can go to 180º for selfies.
WiFi inside.
Instant access to social media.
Full video.
Man-sized grip without massive body weight.
External control access and two custom channels.
Macro.

The two tripod sockets are really one threaded and one smooth - to integrate with the anti-twist mechanisms that many tripod manufacturers put onto their quick-release plates.

A very good travel idea.

The Long View From Nikon -Coolpix P900

A question arose the other day as to what camera would be best to use for South African safaris or Alaskan bear expeditions. After the clamour died down - everyone has their own favourite best perfect opinion around here - I took the Nikon Coolpix P-900 out of the Nikon cabinet, dropped a card into it, and walked out front of the shop.

The skyline towers of Perth are a long way away from Stirling Street - longer even than the distance that you would choose for lion or grizzly bear shots.

The lens of the Coolpix P-900 has the equivalent of 2000mm in the old film estimation - a fabulous thing in the day and a focal length than none of us ever aspired to. Thus this camera is an extension of our capabilities far beyond what we could do.

The two shots are hand held. No tripod, no monopod. The camera was set in pure tourist mode - AUTO everything. Point, find the target, shoot.

Sharp enough? Close enough? You judge. Come stand out front of 230 and look at those towers.

Nikon are remarkable designers and they have come out with a truly remarkable camera- that is eminently affordable. Don't leave home... for Kruger or Denali... without it.

View Nikon P900 specs

The Successor Succeeds - A Canon Camera For Safaris

 
We sold a lot of the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS cameras earlier this year - they were at a very good price and people flocked in to get them. We trust those customers are off enjoying their purchases right now - taking the camera out for wildflowers, tourist landscapes, and family pictures.

Well, the SX 50 HS is replaced with the Canon PowerShot SX 60 HS and the fun carries on - but with even more range. You see the lens has a greater pulling power - a full 65X zoom range. In addition there is very capable HD video shooting and deliberate provision for steady shooting while recording.

In even more respects this is the camera of choice for many of our clients who are going to go on African or Canadian adventure tours. The thing that they like to do, besides shop for cheap booze in the duty-free shops, is to see the wild and savage animals; the lions and elephants in Africa and the Edmontonians and Newfoundlanders in Canada. SOme venture to Alaska to see grizzly bears but really this is somewhat of an extravagance as the same grizzling can be seen round our house early on Sunday mornings and we're in Bull Creek...

Never mind. The Canon is a great camera for long-distance shooting combined with landscape capability. It's easier to haul than a DSLR and for the average web or A4 shooter in decent light it will be perfect. As it fires the files off to a tablet with wifi, you need not take cumbersome external drives or things on the plane with you. Save weight - more space in the luggage for warm clothing and brandy.

New Canons For the Optical Artillery

It's New Time for Canon photographers and there are quite few press releases smoking hot on the internet today. Plus we have seen and handled one of the new products just this morning. ( It won't be here this afternoon as the rep has whisked it off to another dealer...but we saw it! )

I. Cameras

The new Canon EOS 70D mkII is here - we handled it and saw the detailed presentation regarding it. Don't be fooled - the designation might suggest that it is an update bit with all the new features...it's a new camera.

Okay. Start out with performance. 10 FPS for over 1000 jpegs! Or 33 RAW shots in a burst! 65-point all cross-type AF points and two processing computers inside! Full HD video at 60 p!

Darn, the ! button fell off the laptop. Pardon me while I glue it back on...

The part that iced my doughnut for this camera was the fact that they've put the radio command wireless control into it - you can fire off the superb Canon 600EX RT flash  wirelessly the same way that you can on the 5D MkIII.

There is GPS built -in. There is a widely adjustable interval timer. There is the HDR capability of the 5D MkIII. It is a knock-your-socks-off  APS-C sensor camera that should be perfect for sports action at a fair distance.

There will also be a new Canon Powershot travel or bridge camera - the SX 60 HS. This leads on from the wildly successful SX 50 HS but adds more zoom range and a wonderful new feature - it can compensate for the maddening moments when your subject runs out of frame and you can't find them again.

Okay, it won't locate Ambrose Bierce at this stage of the game... but if you lose the plot while shooting at the long telephoto end you can press a little button on the side of the lens barrel and it will zoom out but still let you see the AF point - pick up the subject and release the button and you're back in business.

If you're doing video, you can change things manually during filming - and if you're dong stills there are even more creative filters in-built.

And finally - a new small Powershot G7X camera - Pocket size with a tilting LCD screen. 1.0" 20.2 megapixel sensor. Digic 6 processor. And ultra-easy settings to deal with star photography, in-built ND filter work, HDR, full WiFi connectivity, and full 60pHD video recording.

Perfect travel pocket camera.

II. Lenses

The new 24-105 f:4 lens with the STM mechanism should become a firm favourite with full-frame users and video shooters. It is smooth and quiet.

Wide-angle? Here's an announcement of a 24mm f:2.8 STM pancake lens. Canon are saying it is a street lens but I say it is a landscape lens for those people who only want to take two lenses up the side of a mountain while breathing.

Should you wish to photograph tigers while feeding or family weddings from a safe distance, Canon have announced a new EF 400mm f:4 DO IS II USM lens. This is 400mm of focal length in a shorter frame - that's the DO lens element at work - and the rigidity and durability of the L series lenses with three IS modes. Best of all for the wedding food fight - the lens is listed as dust and drip proof...

You can't say that Canon are resting on their laurels...or any other portion of the corporate anatomy. They think ahead and bring out good stuff.

Good Design From Panasonic - In Store Now

The Panasonic FZ 1000 has been a camera on the lips of many callers over the last few weeks - now at last we can satisfy the curiosity and ambition of the people who rang - we have the camera in stock.

It is a bridge camera, whatever that has come to mean these days and if previous cameras were stone arches, this one is a cantilever suspension with multiple spans. The big daddy of bridge cameras.

It starts with a 1" sensor - large enough to deal well with detail and electronic noise. It has an f:2.8 lens ( that goes to f:4 at the longest focal length...) and it has a massive zoom range - the equivalent range of 24mm to 400mm.

The electronic viewfinder has been upgraded to 2,359 K OLED. and there is a hybrid form of image stabilising incorporated.

The big move for the video side of it is the 4K High Speed Video with an FHD of 120fps /100fps.

This currently may well be the ultimate convenient Africa/Alaska camera for the wildlife tourist. It has been made with an attention to the ergonomics of the hand that is characteristic of Panasonic - the good grip design that they showed with the GX-7 is echoed here. A man's hand can comfortably operate the camera. The eyepiece is also made with enough extension that the nose can comfortably fit behind it. Not an inconsiderate matter for some.

Come in and try it - we're charging the battery right now.

Authentic Photography

A few years ago I decided to be an Authentic Photographer. So I went out and bought things to make myself look like I was living in the 1950's. It was an easy choice - I still had a number of inherited articles of clothing from the time in my wardrobe and they were not worn-out yet so all I needed to add was the camera and film and darkroom equipment and film and chemistry of the period.

I chose a Crown Graphic camera and a Graphic View with lenses and shutters from the same company - I think the glass was by Wollensack. I chose Ilford HP5 and Kodak Portra 160 sheet film. I used Rodinal developer and Fuji's version of C-41 chemicals. the paper was Ilford Multigrade IV. I ate pastrami sandwiches and drank cups of tea.

I include the last reference because I haven't have a big breakfast and I'm hungry. It is equally authentic and equally false. The photography of the 1950's had nothing to do with me - any more than it had to do with C-41 chemistry from Fuji or Multigrade IV. I never encountered pastrami in the 1950's - we called it corned beef - and I didn't drink tea. The whole attempt at being authentic was actually playing at being someone else.

So I sat and thought what would be " authentic ". I could go out and capture the universe on a Kodak Starflash camera if I care to - you can find them at junk sales and on eBay. I could wind the clock forward to 1966 and get myself an Asahi Pentax SV and some Plus X and  Kodachrome II. Or not, as the Kodak case may be...

Would my pictures look better? Would I be able to go to the hot rod show and bring back certain results? Would I spend 5 x the amount of money and time getting 1/5 of the results? I think I know the answer to that question...

This train of thought was occasioned by seeing a van on the road this morning with the sign " Authentic Bathroom Renovations ". It caused me to ask myself what an inauthentic bathroom renovation would look like...probably a lot like me with a Crown Graphic camera.

Selfies - Showing You Who You Really Aren't

We have all seen the dreadful selfies that our friends send us on Facebook. Horrid things taken with mobile phone cameras - men take them in the bar and women take them in the toilet - and the worst of them squeezed through Instagram or some other filter until they turn brown and fuzzy. The saddest of them are seized by other viewers and batted endlessly around the net. ALL of them are stored somewhere in Langley, Virginia or Beijing or Moscow to bolster some data base or other. Perhaps they make trading cards of them...

Selfies do not need to be bad - they can be rather good evocations of what we look like or who we are. They can also be projections of who we want other people to think we are. Self-promotion is the lifeblood of a lot of industries these days - from dentistry to photography to design bureaux. It is all legal, if a little narcissistic, and if you can stand the shame of it you can put yourself on the back of a bus or the face of the moon quite happily.

Every camera we sell takes selfies - from the compacts through the bridge to the big DSLR's. Any time you see the little symbol for a self timer you can turn the lens on yourself and blaze away. Even if there is no self-timer, there is generally a remote release available that you can trigger off. The better class of compact has a pop-up flash and internal computer power to balance what happens with the main subject and the background - you get a very even sort of exposure. All the big TTL flashes on the DSLR's will do this too.

Beware of the low camera angle that will reveal all your chins - if the flash fires as well you may look like a Hollywood monster. Set the camera to look at you from your eye level and you can't go wrong....actually you can, but if you keep snapping away and deleting the ones that make you look like Gomer Pyle, you will eventually get a good one.

Do not be surprised if the camera sees you in a different way than your bathroom mirror does - your bathroom mirror, and you, see you in reverse. Unless you are taking selfies with a dageurreotype camera you will have to accept the physical evidence as is. Yes, that is your hair. No, it will not look better if you dye it. Yes, that is your body. Yes, it will look better if you diet...

All joking aside - self portraiture has been accepted and welcomed by all art media. For an artist who has made other good things it is a real contribution to future generations - your friends may not care a damn what you look like but someone in 2500 AD may marvel at it!

We Sell On Sale And You Win - Panasonic FZ60

Yay. We have a big 'ol new stack of Panasonic FZ 60 cameras downstairs and Saul sez we are cheaper than our competitors! We this is your chance to come in a score a travel bargain.

The Panasonic FZ60 is a long zoom camera -a bridge camera if you will, that takes your photo possibilities far beyond the little compacts. If you are setting out on an African safari or wish to participate in the Canadian government's program to feed tourist to the polar bears at Churchill, you can take this camera with you and be confident that you will bring back great images.

You see, 24 x zoom is nothing to be sneezed at, and even if you do sneeze, the power OIS optical stabilizer will help to dampen it down. The lens is from the Leicaq company - a Vario-Elmarit f: 2.8-5.2. that zooms from 4.5 to 108 mm. The 4.5 means a very wide shot indeed and you'll also be pleased with the macro capability.

There is a high-speed burst shooting capability that will allow 10 frames per second - useful for when the bears get one of the other tourists - and you can also shoot the camera as a full HD 1920x 1080 video.

This package is complete with a fitted case - have a look at the image - small enough and sturdy enough to go on any tour.

Best bottom line - We sell the entire kit for $ 349. And there are a stack of them ready to go. Yay.

When Is A Bridge Not A Bridge? - With Canon

When is a bridge not a bridge? When it is an entry-level DSLR that is the same size as a bridge camera.

For those late into the movie, the DSLR cameras have traditionally been physically larger than the compact cameras, with interchangeable lenses and a higher specification. They have been the entry to a whole sophisticated system of photography, as opposed to a point-and-shoot convenience.

Then the bridege camera came on the scene - smaller than the DSLR, larger than the compact, with many of the convenience features of he compact and a fixed zoom lens. Good compromise instrument for the traveller or those who wanted simplicity. Simplicity, like soup, can be a variable concept - some of the bridge cameras can have as many controls visible as a DSLR.

Canon have just introduced the EOS 100D. We have them as single kits with an 18-55 lens and can easily do double kits with a 55-250 as well. From the looks of it, the camera is a winner in the entry-level DSLR stakes and may well obviate the need for a bridge camera.

It is the size, you see, and the ergonomics. I am constantly using that word here to try to sound all scientific and stuff - but mainly to get people to try the cameras they consider in their hands and see if the heft, the shape, and the arrangement of controls well suits their own anatomy. it is not the same for everyone.

The EOS 100D is small - hence the comparison to the bridge camera - and light. The body is polycarbonate over a metal frame, as most modern cameras are. The shape of the RHS hand grip is different from previous Canon models in that there is a distinct shelf to rest the firing forefinger on. And as you will see from the image, there is a chequered grip material on this area and on the mode control knob at the top that lets you have a really firm control. Okay, call it aesthetics, but there is a practical value there too.

There are no over-profusions of buttons at the back, nor have Canon scattered them to the four corners of the body - you can get to the menu and the control patch easily. The menu is pure Canon, and is therefore laid out quite clearly in sequence. You can get a newbie to set their criteria quite easily, and by the time they have advanced enough to want to change these over and above the helper programs on the mode dial, they can do it logically.

The kit 18-55 is a new version of this lens, and as the front element does not revolve, is ideal for polariser work. For a newbie ( or someone willing to look at the pictures instead of internet chat room forums...) this is a delightful piece of glass. The 55-250 that you can pair it up with is also good value both aesthetically and financially.

I think I am going to be able to confidently sell this camera to new friends - and if they take to the art, perhaps some more new glass as well....