Short Break Shooting: Ditching the DSLR for Travel Photography

Olympus E-P1, Zuiko 14-42 f/3.5-4.5, ISO400, 14mm, 1/90th, f/4.5, -0.5EV

I recently returned from a short break with my family, where I was able to shoot for fun, to record the holiday and make some nice images. I deliberately didn’t take along my professional camera equipment, because I knew I’d start taking the photography too seriously, wanting to spend more time preparing and shooting than would be fair on my family…and, to be really honest, I didn’t want to feel like I was back at work.

Field Review: Nikon D3100 (Day 2)

Camera Nikon D3100 Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500) Aperture f/4.0 Focal Length 35 mm ISO Speed 100

New Jersey was recently hit with very light snowfall and a good day to take pictures. I took the Nikon D3100with me to my day job. Having a good understanding of how the focusing works from Day 1, I turned off the auto area selection feature to really give it a go. Nothing was planned I just had a little fun with my commute.

Field Review: Olympus E-5 (Day 2)

Now that the impressions were given and the Olympus E-5 was customized to my special settings and needs, I decided to take it out into the medium snowfall and that New York City was experiencing not long ago and see what the images came out like.

Field Review: Sony a580 (Day 1)

Sony a580

Within the past two weeks, I have made the move from film to digital. My Minolta career is on hold for a while as I explore every facet of Sony’s latest addition to the alpha DSLR line: the a580. I had a brief hands-on with it at Photo Plus. This camera is a blend of elements as it is an upgrade from the a550, and it shares a 16.2 MP sensor and full HD video with the a55. In this post, I will detail my first impressions as a new Sony alpha shooter. Any images taken with the a580 were shot with Minolta AF glass.

4 Reasons Why the Olympus EPL-2 and XZ-1 Will Dominate in Sales

Admittedly, I haven’t touched either the Olympus EPL-2 or XZ-1 at the time of writing this posting. However, they are two very exciting cameras that are bound to be hot on everyone’s list. Those of you that have been reading the site for a while know that I hated the EPL-1 (more than once) to the point of even refusing to link to it through Amazon and B&H because I wouldn’t tell anyone to buy it. It seems like Olympus has listened to what I clamored for originally, and threw in some amazing accessories as well. If not, it at least will make the decision between the two top dogs in this category a bit more difficult.

Shooting Lights at Night

Reader Sara Emanuel sent in some images to Thephoblographer, asking how to capture some images of colorful lights strung in tress: her images either had burnt-out white lights or a lack of detail in the background, and she wasn’t happy with either.

Field Review: The Pentax K-5 (Day 3)

The other day the I shot a wedding and brought along the Pentax K-5. So far, I believe that the Pentax K-5 is a great event camera, offering a respectable 16.3 MP; compact dimensions; intuitive, creative controls; and a remarkable maximum ISO reach of 52,200. I photographed a wedding this past week and took along our demo K-5 with its Pentax SMC 55mm f/1.4 DA* lens. After the jump: a discussion of Pentax’s flagship 35mm DSLR and its appeal for wedding photography…

Editor’s Note: Day 1 and Day 2 are here for your reading pleasure.