Are Mirror-less Cameras Replacing DSLRs

Posted by on January 26, 2012 No comments

I think with the coming mirrorless camera revolution Panasonic is the clear winner followed by Sony.   But answering the question of replacing DSLR technology a lot of experts would say yes. When it comes to manufacturing Mirrorless cameras are just cheaper to produce making them the successor to the DSLR.

 Answering the question if mirrorless will be the dominant technology is easy but when it will happened is hard to say, probably a decade or less before DSLR will look retro.

Sony on the other hand has taken a different approached with using translucent mirror technology but is still considered a move away from the standard DSLR. Sony might have gotten it right with their technology but something only time which ever will be more accepted worldwide will depend on price and quality.

Panasonic and Sony probably just got the lead role in the Mirrorless technology. Olympus taking a distant third in the market share. It’s just looks so sad seeing Nikon rushing the Mirrorless camera so late in the game still testing out the market.

Canon and Nikon DSLR Reliability Test

Posted by on January 26, 2012 No comments

I have heard horrible stories from both cameras failing for very little reason and thats understandable since both brands sell more DSLR cameras than all the other brands combined. 

I recently got an email from a reader asking me which one is more reliable. I can honestly say from my experience canon cameras last longer and get better service worldwide. Although I love Nikon for their lenses they have a long way to go when it comes to customer service.

I know my answer seems to be opinionated, but you can see how well a company performs by looking at their entry level product. Nikon failed completely with their last entry level the D3000 which was plague with power issues. Its really sad since the Nikon D3000 is a favorite entry level camera before the D31000 was out.

Canon also had its share of problems mostly with their older model the Rebel XS but was mostly firmware issues that Canon rectified with updates. There were also issues with lens not being detected but was easily fix with reattaching the lens to fix the contacts in it proper place.

You can see from my examples  that both companies suffer from products issues like any other company. Picking the right brand is usually done from other factors but if product reliability is a major issue then I would pick one with the lesser problems.

Sony Nex 3 with16mm lens

Posted by on January 25, 2012 No comments

There’s a great mirrorless camera on sale right now which is the Sony NEX3. Its usually after bigs electronic shows like CES that prices for lower. If you have read my previous posts, I’m the type of photographer who likes to buy cameras already in the market for at least a year. The process of aging the item I want to buy gives me the chance to get it at a lower price and making a buying decission from real owner reviews who have used the same model I want to buy for a few months. I think reviews comming from really owners are the only review I am interested in reading and taking serously.

The NEX3 is a basic version of the NEX5 but retains the more inportant elements like the screen size and quality. Most of the features taken out are the extra buttons and metallic body. The NEX3 although has a plastic body does no feel cheap. Infact most cameras or even DSLR are made of plastic. The NEX3 has great built quality and does not feel like an entry level camera.

The gorgeous screen which screams sony quality is great indoor and outdoor. The flip out screen which can only be found in higher model DSLR is now standard for the entire NEX line. The mechanism feels strong enough not to scare you from doing some movements on the screen to properly framed your shots.

I’m not going to go into the whole technical details on the NEX 3 but as of Jan 25, 2012 the Sony NEX3 is the best deal ($400) for any photographer wanting to get step up from a point and shoot.

What Camera Reviews Often Forget Tell You

Posted by on January 20, 2012 No comments

There are only a handful of camera reviews online that really tell you their whole experience with a camera. I consider a digital camera a very personal device that really need to picked with the out most care. I usually write a list of the things that I want in a camera before I do some research online.

I have been doing this routine for almost 7 years I usually buy a new camera every other year. After going through several cameras I notice there is one very important factor reviewers often leave out which I think is probably more important than all the reports they tell you. Reviewers never give a camera reliability test.

Camera reliability I think is very important factor a new buyer should consider before making a investment. You need your camera to last long after the warranty which any buyer would expect. But sadly camera manufacturers are not consistent with the built quality of their cameras. Canon’s entry level dslr the Rebel XS was plague with a software error which was all over the Internet. Error code 99 which wreck havoc to a lot of owners was not properly explained by the company. Other manufacturer also had their own problems some wide spread and other isolated to certain batch of cameras.

Knowing the potential problems a camera buyer will experienced before buying a camera is going to mean a lot, even more than the irrelevant list of features reviewers love to talk about.

There are ways to see and rate your cameras reliability. The easiest would be to do some research inside forums and online communities. Its common for owners to complain or ask for help online. Doing a search for example on Canon XS problems will bring you a huge community of owners trying to resolve problems dealing with the Canon XS.

These cries for help is often a great indication of how reliable the camera you are eying to buy. Sadly this method only works with cameras out in the market for more than a few weeks. But as people start to be more connected with social media you will certainly get more information faster in future camera releases.

This is one of the reason why I usually wait a few months before buying a new model. The act of sending a broken camera for repair is just to much trauma and effort which I definitely want to avoid.

Alarming Problems with the Olympus E-PL1

Posted by on January 19, 2012 No comments

It seems my Olympus E-PL1 is playing havoc with my vacation. What started with a strange sound when I press the shutter button turned to a malfunction that renders the camera completely unusable. Its a shame why such nice camera have a high degree of failure.The reason why I can say this problem is not isolated since I’m on my third E-PL1 due to the fact my second E-PL1 had the same malfunction a few days it arrived as a replacement.

Currently the Olympus E-PL1 has the lowest price in all the micro four third cameras. Its price make it very attractive to photographers wanting to get more quality and control. But I’m sad to say the E-PL1 is not camera you would want to have in your hands. Its electronic built quality seems to fall bellow standards making it a highly talked about topic online from owners looking for help fixing the electronic problem.

Although Olympus has made no clear announcement on why such problems occur, the EPL-1 should have been recalled to fix whatever is causing the problems. Although Olympus is still doing fine as a company, I do hope they will offer some explanation on why this has happened.

Nikon P7000 After the 1.2 Firmware Update

Posted by on January 19, 2012 No comments

The Nikon P7000 was supposed to compete against the Canon G12 which is the flagship point and shoot for Canon. But as people started getting the P7000 a lot negative comments came out starting with its slow start up to numerous bugs in its firmware.

As people ignored the P7000, Nikon set out to fix P7000 with firmware updates and lowered its price to a more attractive level to almost half its original retail price. It its current market price the P7000 currently now goes for around $240 in Amazon making it the cheapest camera in its category.

But like any bargain you tend to wonder if there’s still something wrong with the P7000. Since I sold my P7000 a month before the firmware was released I’m curious to know if the upgrade made a big difference. Borrowing my sister’s P7000 I was able to do the upgrade for her following the instructions which only lasted a few seconds. Completely excited to try it out, I was able to take it out for day in the city taking some shots using only natural light.

After having the P7000 for a day and sifting through several comments from other owners. I can conclude the 1.2 firmware update has brought new life to the Nikon P7000. Bellow is a short list of Pros and Cons with the P7000 after the firmware update.

Pros
1. Auto focus is faster.
2. Menus are snappier.
3. Shot delay has been shortened.
4. No more lock ups or freezing.

Cons
1. lens cover in some models don’t fully open ( can be solve by cleaning the lens cover ).
2. some models still have lag in certain sections of the menu.
3. Color rendition in certain lighting is still not accurate.

Balancing out the pros and cons with the Nikon P7000 and living with the limitations of point and shoot, the P7000 is a great cameras for anyone who wants to explore more about photography or to a DSLR owner who wants something smaller.