What a well thought-out mirror-less camera. It has absolutely everything going for it, but for one major thing - lenses. Sony has to get off their butts and get lenses they offer into retail stores.

The electronic viewfinder is nothing short of spectacular. There has been some complaints about the NEX 7 auto focus but frankly I found it excellent - certainly not as fast as a DSLR but then that is typical of this type of camera.

There has been much ado about Sony's manual focus - focus peaking system - which is very helpful for focusing a manual focus only lens - such as 30 year old Nikon 50mm F2.0  I had lying around.

Unfortunately the only lens mount adapter I could lay my hands for the time being was Nikon F mount to Sony E mount - and I was immediately impressed with how well focus peaking works.  I am awaiting a Leica M to Sony E mount adapter which will allow to use various Leica, VC, and Zeiss lenses in manual focus mode on the NEX 7.

Sony has several lenses for the NEX 7 but the only one that truly interest me is the Zeiss 24mm F1.8

-30-

I recently took the Fuji X100 LE out for a spin - it remains singularly one of the best fixed lens (35mm F2 equiv) cameras available as of Feb. 2012. A lot of great photography has been done with a 35mm lens - and Fuji has acknowledged this with the X100.

The 23.5mm (35mm equiv) lens is amazingly sharp - the IQ is top rung at all ISO available on the camera. The Auto WB nails it every time.  The auto focus albeit slower than a DSLR is dead accurate, and the jpg color is exceptional. The viewfinder configuration is outstanding in both the optical and evf positions. The X100 is totally silent - in other words far quieter than a Leica M9 with a 35mm F2.0 Summicron.

Most important it is fun to shoot, but not for the faint of heart - I realized quickly that the X100 has a bit of learning curve, but once mastered can be very rewarding.

The Panasonic GX1 is better than the EP3 in so many ways - but most important about a full stop (or more) better ISO/Dynamic Range/Resolution. I do have both...

Had a short play with the up-coming Fuji X Pro 1 and the current three available lenses. Impressive (and expensive), but only time will tell just how impressive. Fuji has a tendency to over promise and under deliver ala the X100 and X10.

The Lumix Power X 45-175mm zoom is outstanding. I have shot using it at the 2012 Lunar Parade and most recently at a Valentine's Day protest on the DTES. It is sharp - very sharp and easy to handle.

For the past couple of months I have been shooting with the Lumix GX1. The GX1 is simply an excellent 'street camera' when coupled with the Panasonic 25mm F1.4 or the 14mm F2.5.

Sophie Staying Warm...

Happy Moon Festival To All My Friends…..



New Westminister, BC Over-looking The Fraser River Looking South East

The third iteration of the Olympus PEN has hit Canadian retail. Olympus began the PEN revival in July 2009 and since then has released no less than four bodies. The latest is the PEN E-P3 which is as close to a professional level camera body as it is going to get.

As a PEN film body and lens collector I have followed the PEN digital very closely. The E-P1 was well done but missed on a few significant points - the main objection was auto focus speed and the E-P2 was not a whole lot better. Olympus wisely issued a firmware upgrade that significantly improved AF in both bodies the E-P1 and 2. Olympus followed on with the E-PL1 which improved AF speed but wasn't the best construction or ergonomics, followed by the E-PL2 a complete redesign of the E-PL1 and a significantly improved AF system and over all speed, cheaply built but a very good performer.

The knock on m4/3 is small sensor more noise at higher ISO and less resolution when compared to the larger APS-C sensors in various cameras in the market place. Thus the challenge for Olympus with the E-P3 was to meet or exceed APS-C image quality and resolution in a full featured fast auto-focus body - did they meet the challenge? I will be giving that a good look see in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Summer has arrived on the W. Coast. It has been just beautiful since the BC Day long weekend. After a so-so July coupled with a miserable spring it is a pleasure to enjoy the sun along with an ocean breeze. HRH Sophie is really enjoying the heat.

Happy Summer everyone.