As an aside, I’ve just received a X-E1 loaner from Fuji along with an assortment of lenses to test for an upcoming feature on travel photography. Also being tested is the Panasonic GX-1 and I’m waiting to hear back from Sony about their competing products.

I’m looking for a few volunteers willing to read the final draft and provide frank feedback. Please let me know if you’re interested!

The specs of the new Canon PowerShot G15 include a 12.1 MP sensor, 5x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom, and the multiple exposure modes that keeps many of us coming back to the G-series.

Here are some REAL customer reviews:

“Nice upgrade from the G12. Simple review.”

I’ve long been a fan of my trusty Canon G12. Since it hasn’t been upgraded in quite some time, I thought it was the end of the line for the series. When the G15 was announced, I immediately wanted one. Having had it for a couple of days now, I’m very…Read more

“An excellent camera”

The first thing I noticed when I took the G15 out of its box for the first time was its impressive build quality. Everything is tightly constructed and what feels like a tough mag alloy body. It’s not necessarily pocketable but is slightly smaller and…Read more

“Quick summary of my first impressions of the Canon G15″

I have owned and loved my Canon G12 for the past two years. When I recently learned of the new G15 I wound up buying it on impulse due to my previous good luck with Canon and the promise of improved performance. Also influencing my decision was the fact…Read more

Get Canon PowerShot G15 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom at the best price available today.

The specs of ‘Nikon D7000 16.2MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)’ are:

• Manufacturer: Nikon
• Product Dimensions: 8.7×6.7×5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds

Here are some REAL customer reviews:

“Review Written for Beginner Photographers”

I am a photography teacher in NYC and online. (See my Amazon profile for my website.) I teach beginner and intermediate photography students every week. I’ve also been a professional photographer for the last five years with images published in The New…Read more

“Great Camera — A perspective from a D300/700 Owner”

This is very simple, if you are a Nikon shooter looking for a new camera then stop reading and buy this camera. It’s that good.HandlingThis camera is brilliant to hold and use. Nikon has done it again and has made the user interface more…Read more

“Cool things you might not know the D7000 can do”

Just take it for granted that this takes amazing pictures under all conditions, including low light, and that it contains all the manual controls that you’d ever want.Instead, here’s some things that the camera does that you might not have…Read more

Get Nikon D7000 16.2MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only) at the best price available today.

It also features an ISO range up to 12,800, aperture range from f/2.8 to f/16, and a 4x optical zoom from 28-112mm. It’s powered by Canon’s new DIGIC 5 processor, which Canon says is its fastest yet. The G1 X has RAW support, a super sharp, 922,000-dot 3-inch LCD, and 1080p video recording at 24 frames per second.

By default, Lightroom stores all metadata (including changes to the image) in its catalog. If you only use Lightroom on one computer and you never have any problems with your catalog, you’ll probably never notice – your changes just work. However, if you were to delete your catalog, all changes will be lost. In other words, you’ll only have your original image files. So even in simple use cases, it is critical that you back up your Lightroom catalog.

If you use more than one computer to work on your images, and use you a catalog on a portable hard drive, the same situation as above applies. However, since Lightroom will not use a catalog on a shared drive, the situation becomes more complex for those of us who share images across their network.

Lightroom, like many other photo packages, is also capable of reading and writing image metadata from image containers such as jpegs and from “sidecar” files. If you right-click on an image or folder in your library, select “Metadata” and then “Save Metadata to File”, the data will be written to either the appropriate place in the image file or an XMP file in the same directory as as the image. There is also a setting to do this automatically:  Edit > Catalog Settings > Metadata Tab and place a check in the box for “Automatically write changes into XMP”.  I strongly recommend that you turn this option on:

1. It increases compatibility with other applications including Photoshop.
2. If your catalog becomes corrupt, you can re-import images without loosing all your work.
3. Assuming you backup your images, you will also back up the metadata.
4. You can open images from another PC or import them into another Lightroom catalog and preserve all your edits.

If you’re starting to work with a second computer and haven’t turned this option on:

1. On your primary computer, right click on the top folder in your catalog and select “Save Metadata.”  It’s going to take a while, perhaps overnight, but it will write the XMP files.
2. Turn on “Automatically write changes into XMP.
3. You can now create a new catalog on your second computer and import your images into the catalog. Lightroom will pick up the XMP data.  Don’t forget to turn on the “Automatically write changes into XMP” option for each new catalog.

As you’re working, you might notice an indicator in the upper right corner of an image warning you that metadata has changed on the hard drive, presumably because you edited the image on a different computer or within a different catalog. You can right click on an image (or a selection of images) under “Metadata” and select “Read Metadata from File”.  If you’d like to force Lightroom to read Metadata at the folder level, simply click on the folder, choose Metadata from the main menu at the top of the screen, and select the appropriate option.

There are two drawbacks you should be aware of:

1. Writing XMP data to disk may reduce Lightroom performance in some circumstances.
2. If you have a lot of jpegs and write XMP data, each file will change (as opposed to raw files, where a separate .xmp file will be created).  If you use an online backup service, beware that writing XMP data en mass may result in all your files being uploaded again. On the other hand, your work will now be automatically backed up.

To recap:  By default Lightroom 3 stores all your work in the catalog only unless you configure it to automatically write XMP or manually force it to. XMP files are cheap insurance and for most users I recommend configuring Lightroom to write them automatically.

Some digital cameras offer built-in greyscale conversion, and some of the latest models such as the Nikon D7000 also include simulated filters. However, if you’re photographing landscapes I strongly recommend shooting RAW and converting in post.

I use Lightroom for most of my editing these days, and the product includes a number of good presets for black and white conversion. I usually try them first. However, in this case the original image is very flat so I went the manual route.

First, I adjusted the image, slightly tweaking the black level, brightness and contrast. Since the majority of the digital information was in the middle of the range, I left the exposure level alone.

Next, I used the Tone Cure to significantly increase the contrast. I spent most of the time here. Note that the sliders at the bottom of the histogram set the areas of the curve (regions) that are changed by the Highlights, Lights, Darks, and Shadows sliders.

Finally, I converted to B&W by selecting “B&W” and tweak the mix slightly.

Depending on where the image is to be used I likely would tweak this some more, but as you can see even such a flat colour image can be turned into a reasonable black and white image.                                 

If you’re looking for more advanced information, Adobe has a great video tutorial.  Happy converting!

The D7000 is Nikon’s latest consumer DSLR.  It includes a 16.2 megapixel CMOS Nikon DX format sensor (1.5x crop) and is capable of shooting up to 6 frames per second. It shoots video at 1920 x 1080 24fps, and has twin SD (SDHC/SDXC) card slots.  The latter is a great feature – you can configure the camera to separate JPEG and RAW files or JPEG and movie files onto separate cards, or use the second to just keep shooting.  I personally would prefer the larger and more sturdy CF cards, but SD has become the standard for consumer cameras, and the ability to simultaneously shoot JPEGs and RAW files to separate SD cards has definite advantages should one card fail.

Shown with Nikon 18-105 included in kit bundles. Full specifications are here.

Compared to my D200, I found the D7000 small and light. The live view (though the LCD) feature made some types of photography easier.  The autofocus was fast, accurate, and responsive. But the dramatic difference was in low light capability. With a fast lens, I found myself shooting without flash indoor and outdoors at night.

In the end, image quality is what counts, and images from the D7000 were superb. The D7000 takes image quality to a new level.  Ken Rockwell calls the D7000 “Nikon’s best DSLR ever.” Taking into account its $1200 price tag, I agree.

Added Oct 2011:  The Nikon D7000 appears on our new recommended cameras page.

Added Nov 2011: I purchased a Nikon D7000 and Nikon’s new 35mm f/1.8 DX lens. They make a great lightweight combination.

The Nikon COOLPIX P7000 specs include a 10 megapixel sensor and a 28-200mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8-5.6  lens with vibration reduction. It records video at 720p. It offers ISO settings as high as 6400 at full resolution and 12,800 in 3-megapixel night mode. (Full specifications are here). Nikon has brought back dial controls for ISO and exposure compensation, which improves overall handling for those of us who like more control over our images.

Overall, I found the P7000 a pleasure to use, but wished it had an articulating LCD screen. One of the great things about small light cameras is the ability to hold them at waist level or place them close to the ground, but that’s difficult without an articulating screen. Despite this one snivel, the P7000 handled well, produced good quality images, and exhibited reasonable low light performance.

“Panasonic’s LUMIX GF3 is extremely small and its newly-designed rounded body is quite attractive, which we expect to be popular among users wanting to step-up from a point-and-shoot,” said Doug Borbath, senior product manager, Imaging, Panasonic Canada Inc. “While the size and weight has been greatly reduced, Panasonic does not compromise what is at the core of every LUMIX camera, which is exceptional photo and video quality with an easy-to-use
interface.”

The specs certainly look impressive, I’m looking forward to testing one out!

These are somewhat extreme samples — it’s difficult to shoot steady video while being pounded by ocean waves.  But it’s the fact that I could shoot this video at all that has me in love with the PlaySport.  Yes, there’s no optical zoom.  Yes, water and wind affect sound quality. (I don’t know how you’d avoid that in a pocket-size vidcam.)  But with this camera I can shoot HD video in locations and under conditions that would destroy most video cameras in seconds.  As a parent (and camera geek), that’s really cool.

720p video is on my YouTube channel.

“My camera is a Nikon SLR D40 and I was thinking of getting a new lens for it. I take a lot of pictures of my daughter and family. I want to get a bigger aperture to get that blurry background that looks so good in portrait pictures but seems like the lower I can go with my camera is 4.0 for some reason and sometimes the pictures turn out blurry itself if I don’t use the flash. I really like natural lighting in the pictures instead of using the flash. What do you recommend for a beginner like me?”

I’m a huge fan of the Nikon f2.8 lenses — the Nikkor 28-70 f/2.8 is on my camera most of the time, but that’s an expensive lens.

You should be able to throw the background out of focus at f4 — you’ll want to ensure that the distance between you and the subject is much smaller than the distance between your subject and the background.

Another alternative to consider is a prime lens.  Both the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 ($200) and f/1.4 ($400) lenses are great, sharp lenses that will act as the equivalent of a 75mm lens on your D40.  That’s a nice focal length for portrait work. It is a different kind of photography (no zoom), and it may take you a bit of time to get used to it, but you can get very nice results.

http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photo-effects-tutorials/quick-tip-remove-a-person-from-a-photo-with-photoshop-cs5%E2%80%99s-content-aware-feature/

Here’s a quick recipe to get you going:

1) Mount your camera on a tripod and use a cable release (or self timer if a cable release isn’t available and your subjects will hold still that long). Turn your flash off.

2) Use tungsten light (i.e. standard light bulbs) to light your subjects. I use an inexpensive hot light that takes a standard size bulb and a 10-inch reflector.  This year I used a common 100w bulb and placed it high and center. Move it closer or further away until the tree light, ornaments, and the face of your subjects have the look you want. Be creative – use room lights, lights with clamps, or whatever you have.  Just try to stick to the same colour temperature to preserve the balance and help achieve that warm look.

3) Set your camera in aperture priority mode (“A”) and select the smallest aperture (i.e. largest f-number) that still results in a shutter speed higher than 1/10. You may need to adjust your ISO to a higher number, such as 400. f5.6 at 1/20th or faster would be ideal, but you may not get there.  Some of my favourite shots this year were at f2.8, 1/15th, ISO 400. With large apertures pay careful attention to focus and depth of field. If your camera allows you to “zoom” in while viewing images, use that feature to check for focus and sharpness, especially if photographing kids that don’t hold perfectly still.

4) If you have an advanced camera you can set your white balance manually. If not (or if you don’t want to) just shoot with auto white balance and adjust in Lightroom or your favourite photo editor after the shoot.  3000k is a good starting point.

Enjoy!

During the summer Kodak was kind enough to lend me a Playsport to test out for a two-week camping trip. The Playsport is a light-weight, pocket-size HD video (and still) camera that is waterproof to 3 meters.

The Playsport features a 5 megapixel sensor and shoots video at WVGA, 720p and 1080p through a fixed focus lens that works out to a 35mm equivalent of 36mm for stills, WVGA, and 720p and a 48mm equivalent for 1080p.  It offers 30 frame per second on all video modes plus an additional 60fps mode at 720p. The lens is a fixed focal length, but it does offer a 4x digital zoom and electronic image stabilization. It has 128MB internal memory, but is primarily designed to shoot directly to a SD or SDHC card. And finally, it has a built in mono microphone and speaker for playback, USB 2.0, AV out, an HDMI connector, and accepts a standard 1/4” tripod mount.

But enough of the technical specs. The PlaySport is the most fun video camera I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. I used it in the truck, in the trailer, in the pool, and it spent several hours in the ocean off of Cape Cod tethered to my wrist.

Like all other cameras in the pocket video class, it’s easy to criticize the lack of optical zoom, fixed-focus lens, or the fact that the audio can get a bit strange sounding when the microphone is wet. But I kept coming back to, “It costs $160 and it’s waterproof.”  I own an expensive video camera, and I wouldn’t take it to the beach for fear or getting a few grains of sand in the mechanism. But there I was, playing with the kids in the ocean surf and shooting video clips.  I shot mostly at 720p to balance quality with file size, and I was pleased with the results.

When it came to uploading a few clips to YouTube, it was also a breeze because the Playsport produces H.264 .MOV files that can be directly uploaded, no editing or re-encoding required.

The bottom line:  Two weeks with the Playsport changed the way I see personal video – from expensive and fragile to something really fun I could carry with me all the time. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use digital video camera that you can take anywhere, look no further. Highly recommended.

Over the weekend while searching for some help, I ran across this gem: Color Scheme Designer.  It’s a free web-based application that allows you to choose a hue, adjust saturation, brightness, contrast and other options to develop your killer colour scheme.

When you’re done, you can click on the “Scheme ID” (look for it on the right under the four colour squares) to obtain a URL to your new scheme – perfect for sending to friends, colleagues and web designers for their opinion.  Thanks to Petr Stanicek for this excellent tool!

1. Shoot in continuous mode – If you’ve ever had trouble taking crisp, clear photos of a constantly moving subject, a child or pet for example, try changing your camera settings to a continuous burst mode. Several frames per second will increase your chances of catching your subject just the way you want. If you have Subject Tracking, you’ll have an even greater array of features to help you capture that perfect shot.

2. Flash forward – Using a flash ensures all your photos are crisp and clear, especially in darker lit settings such as a dinner or dance party. And don’t stop there – be sure to use flash outdoors as well to help balance any dark contrasts.

3. Work with what you’ve got – Take advantage of your camera’s settings whether it’s a low-light sensitive capability such as a broad ISO range, or automatic setting selections for taking pictures in various environments. Learn the features your camera offers and use them to create impressive images you’ll be proud to put on display.

4. Shutter finger – The beauty of digital is the ability to review any photographs you take instantly and decide which you would like to keep or re-shoot. With this in mind, don’t hold back. Take more pictures rather than fewer and sort through them later. This will help you focus on the photo opportunities at hand, giving you a better chance of capturing that perfect shot.

5. Exposure is key – Any good photo has an intended balance to the amount of light used when the picture was taken. Experiment with your camera’s exposure settings, bracketing the brightness levels for different effects. Sometimes an over or underexposed photo can be a creative expression of an otherwise normal photograph. Just remember, when in doubt, underexpose – these images can be brightened later on, whereas an overexposed image won’t pick up all the details and not much can be done to correct it.

6. Get to know, be a pro – Take into account who or what your subject is. If you are photographing a person, learn what their personality is like and what they are comfortable with; if you are taking photos of an animal, you will need to know what its temperament is; and taking pictures of an object requires you to identify the best features to highlight. The more you learn and understand, the better you will be able to model your photograph in its best light.

7. Wherever you will go – Take your camera with you so you never miss a moment. When selecting a new camera, consider how you will transport it. If you select a smaller unit, this will be less of a concern, but if you purchase a larger, heavier camera with additional lenses and flash attachments, consider investing in a good camera bag to protect your equipment and make it more portable. When on foot, take advantage of a camera strap around your neck – many of today’s digital SLR cameras feature rapid start-up times, so you’ll always be ready if a picture opportunity arises.

8. The more the merrier – Challenge your skill level. Investing in a few accessories can make photography easier and help to produce better photos. A tripod can help to steady a shot, while additional lenses provide various zoom options, macro options, wide-angle, and more. Adding an external flash can make a photo more dynamic. Digital SLRs are great because they are customizable to every photographer’s needs.

9. Don’t forget to touch up – Make life easier by performing simple image corrections right on the camera before uploading them to your computer. This makes picture development a snap.

10. Have fun! Be creative – Get up high or down real low to capture that perfect shot, creating dimension, angles and a personal flare to all your photos. Develop your own style of photography to set yourself apart from the crowd.

–

Gregory Flasch is Advertising & Communications Manager in the Consumer Products Division of Nikon Canada Inc.

The key to choosing a camera is to consider it a tool. Your challenge is not to find the perfect camera because it doesn’t exist. Instead, we’re looking for the best tool for the job. So to begin, we’ll divide the digital camera marketing into three categories: Pocket, Compact and SLR.

Pocket Cameras

Pocket cameras are ideal for those who want a small camera they can carry anywhere, anytime. This category of camera fits in a shirt pocket or a small purse. Due to their popularity, almost every camera manufacturer has at least one model in this category. Camera design involves sacrifice, and in a small camera this usually results in a short zoom range, a weak flash, and limited manual controls. Pocket cameras are therefore best for those seeking an automatic, “point and shoot” style camera. However, they are also a popular second camera amongst SLR owners for those outings where taking an SLR isn’t practical.

If you’re looking for a pocket camera, the best place to start is your local camera store. Prices and features vary, and the more expensive camera is not necessarily your best choice. While I generally refrain from recommending one brand over another, Olympus products really stand out in this category due to their water and impact resistant designs – both common causes of death in small cameras.

SLRs

On the other end of the spectrum are Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras. Buying an SLR is different than buying a pocket or compact camera primarily because of the interchangeable lenses. Many models are offered as a body (camera only, no lens) or as a bundle (body plus a lens). For beginners, purchasing a bundle is sometimes attractive, but in the long run it can be more expensive if one ends up upgrading the lens for a higher quality or larger zoom range. Of course your budget may be the deciding factor, but my general advice to the first-time SLR buyer is to put your money into the lens, not the camera body. A good lens will last you a lifetime, while the camera body, no matter how fantastic, will be outdated next year.

It is also important to understand that with an SLR, you’re not buying a camera. You’re buying a system. Over time you will probably acquire additional lenses and you’ll quickly reach a point where changing brands becomes prohibitively expensive. For that reason, it is important to consider the range of products that the SLR manufacturer offers. Canon and Nikon dominate the professional SLR market and offer a very wide selection of consumer products. Olympus also produce some great products, although their lens selection is not as extensive as Nikon and Canon. It also pays to consider what other members of your family shoot. For example, if your spouse has invested a number of Nikon lenses, buying a Canon might not make sense, and vice versa. As usual, your best bet is to begin at a local camera store that has knowledgeable staff.

SLRs are generally the best choice for those seeking high quality images, the flexibility offered by interchangeable lenses, and the speed required to photograph sports. They are also usually best if your goal is to take up photography as a part-time or full-time career. However, they’re also more expensive, heavier, and larger than cameras in the other categories. So before you purchase, make sure that the intended user is willing to carry it.

Compact Cameras

Between the pocket camera and the SLR lie a vast range of what I call compacts. Some are just slightly too large to fit a shirt pocket, yet are perfectly wearable on your belt, while others approach the size of a small SLR. There are so many cameras in this category that choosing one can be overwhelming. So to help you along, I spent several weeks testing the latest cameras, and here’s what I found.

The Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, at 103.0 x 60.5 x 37.6mm, is by far the smallest camera in the group I tested, and some might argue that it fits in the pocket category. The SX200′s retracting lens includes a built-in cover so no lens cap is required to keep out dust. However, the shutter-like lens protector could easily be damaged by objects such as keys, so I’d still recommend a small protective case. Unlike many other cameras this size, the SX200 has a pop-up flash. The extra distance this creates between the lens and the flash helps to eliminate red-eye, and I found the flash quite impressive while testing in my living room considering its small size. Presumably to keep the cost and size down, the SX200′s LCD screen does not move and there is no optical viewfinder. Overall this camera handles well, produces nice 12 megapixel images on an SD or SDHC card, and includes full manual controls. I also enjoyed shooting video clips of the kids at 1280×720, 30 fps. My only complaint is that the tiny dimples on the back of an otherwise smooth case aren’t enough to get firm one-handed grip. You’ll definitely want a wrist strap on this camera to avoid dropping it.

I also test drove the Nikon Coolpix P90, Panasonic DMC-FZ35, Pentax X70 and Sony DSCHX1 — in alphabetical order if you’re wondering. Overall these four cameras have much more in common than they do differences. All four are approximately 2/3 the size of an average SLR, provide full manual controls, a pop-up flash, both an LCD display and viewfinder, and a 20x give-or-take optical zoom range putting them all solidly into the “super zoom” class. All were capable of producing good quality images under good conditions. Not quite SLR quality, but good enough that most people won’t notice the difference if you use the camera properly. And while I love my SLR, these relatively light weight cameras made them a joy to carry. So what are the differences?

The Nikon Coolpix P90 ($450 street price) features a gorgeous 3″ LCD that can be tilted as much as 90 degrees upward or 45 degrees downward. Being able to shoot from waist level or over your head increases the versatility of the P90. It also shoots video at up to 640×480 30fps. My single — admittedly minor — annoyance with the P90 is that Nikon has yet again providing a battery charger with a bulky AC cable. The charger and cable combined require much more space in a suitcase or backpack than do chargers by vendors that use a fold-out plug design.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ35 ($500 street price) features a fixed LCD display and 1280 x 720 AVCHD Lite format (MPEG-4/H.264) movie capability. It includes a compact battery charger with fold-out blades that takes up far less space in your bag. Unlike most cameras that use a rotating selector or a playback button, the FZ35 has a small switch close to your right thumb that takes some getting used to, especially the first time you flip it by accident. However, overall this is a solid camera and the only real downside as compared to others in this class is the lack of a tilting screen.

The Pentax X70 ($400 street price) was the least expensive of the group and didn’t have some of the features found in the more expensive models. The LCD display is fixed in place and the movie capability is more limited: 1280x720at 15fps or 84×640 at 30 fps. However, I found the zoom seemed faster than the others and strategically placed rubber pads result in a camera upon which you can get a solid grip. In many was the X70 reminded me of the old days with my K1000. A solid camera with few frills that does the job it was made to do, and not much more. Like Nikon, Pentax also needs to build a smaller charger with fold-out prongs.

Sony DSCHX1 ($530 street price) was the most expensive of the four cameras. However, it offers a great tilting screen and movie recording up to 1440 x 1080 at 30fps. While the zoom speed did seem a bit slow, overall it was within what I’d consider a normal range for this type of cameras. The battery charger is small with fold-out blades, proving that Panasonic isn’t the only company who gets it. I really liked the Sony despite it being the most expensive of the bunch, but I found it annoying that the camera uses Sony’s MemoryStick format rather than the SD or SDHC cards that have become the defacto standard for consumer electronics. Both my netbook and notebook computers have SD card slots, meaning that I have to either plug the camera into the computer (and waste camera battery power when on the road) or carry an external card reader.

And now for something different…

Over the past year a new class of camera has evolved to fill the gap between compact digitals and SLRs. Back in the film days, these were rangefinders, highly capable cameras that produced SLR quality images, but without the space-consuming mirror and prism.

There are currently two cameras in this class, the Olympus E-P1 and the newly-announced Panasonic Lumix GF1. (The GF1 was not available at the time of writing). Both cameras use the new “four thirds” format sensor and offer interchangeable lenses.

The Olympus E-P1 is a solid camera with a metal case and a retro rangefinder look that just begs you to pick it up. There’s no optical viewfinder and no built-in flash, but the back-mounted LCD display gives you a live, through-the-lens view. The E-P1 offers automatic and manual exposure modes and also shoots video at up to 1280×720 at 30 fps. Olympus, known for using xD memory, wisely used standard SD/SDHC memory for this model, allowing high capacity cards.

I had the pleasure of testing the Olympus E-P1 with the bundled Olympus 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 lens (35mm equivalent zoom range of 28-84mm) and took it on a hot air balloon ride over Ottawa. Due to the relatively small body and neat lens design (the front of the lens retracts into the main lens housing when not in use), I was able to put the camera in a large jacket pocket for takeoff and landing.

I shot in RAW and the results were impressive. Olympus is known for their accurate colours, and the E-P1 is no exception. While I had no regrets about leaving my SLR at home, I did occasionally find the screen difficult to view in bright sunlight. Back on the ground I tried the camera’s continuous auto-focus mode, and I was a bit disappointed to find that it continuously hunts even when pointed at a stationary object like a tree. Hopefully Olympus will address that issue in an upcoming firmware release.

Overall, the E-P1 is a great option for those seeking high quality images without SLR size and weight. However, using the E-P1 requires more skill than an entry-level SLR, and the lack of an onboard flash will be an issue for some. So while I was very happy with my results, this camera is not the best choice for a beginner or as a general purpose family camera. However, if you’re an experienced photographer who understands the compromises involved, you should check this camera out.

Final words

No matter what kind of camera you’re looking for, the best place to start is a local camera store where experienced photographers can answer your questions. Other great sources of information include dpreview.com and you’re more than welcome to ask any questions you have at my photo site, MyPhotoSucks.com.

All of the cameras that I tested for this article were on loan from their respective manufacturer and were returned at the end of the review period. The Canon G11 was not available for testing at the time this article was written.

“I’m using a Canon S3. It’s a simple SLR so and I’m a beginner. Is it a good camera for me?”

I haven’t tried that camera, but from the specs it certainly appears to have all the features you’ll need to learn photography.  As I often say, “It’s not the camera, it’s how you use it.” If you haven’t signed up already, please consider joining 12 Weeks to Better Photography!

I’ve tried recently to photograph lightning but with little success.
Is there a basic set of rules to follow for this? Or some sort of guideline where I can try to find what works best for me?

I personally haven’t tried lightning, so for this one I turn to the National Geographic Photography Field Guide by Burian and Caputo. They recommend as follows:

• Use a tripod and point the camera at an area of the sky where lightning has been seen;
• Focus on infinity;
• Set the shutter to bulb (b);
• Set the aperature to f8 or 11 for ISO 100 or 200 respectively; and,
• Open the shutter for several lightning flashes.

They also note that if there is a lot of ambient light, you’ll need to limit exposure times to between 5 and 20 seconds.

While this book remains one of my favourites, it is about ten years old and the techniques were perfected using film cameras. Using a digital SLR may require some adjustment, both due to the propensity for blown-out highlights and digital noise that many cameras create during long exposures.

Keep in mind that lightning, like studio strobes, is so fast that your exposure time only controls how much ambient light is recorded. Either your shutter is open during the flash or it isn’t. Your main exposure control is the aperature. As far as digital noise is concerned, many cameras have features to reduce the noise in long exposures. However, since you’re not paying for film, you might consider making a large number of short exposures and simply deleting those in which no lightning appears.

Good luck, and please leave a comment to let us all know what worked for you and what didn’t!