Abarth, it's poetry in motion

There's a lot to say so I'll get right into it. Here's a car that I wouldn't mind having ... Ran into it on my way home from work, it's not exactly a mean looking car ... but you don't see a whole lot of these in Sydney. In my street you see a lot of Range Rovers, R8, Cayenne S, 300C, and the occasional AMG or Gallardo (owned by rich real estate agents).

But this car ... you definitely don't see too many of these. Yep, it's the Abarth powered Fiat 500. If you're thinking "are you serious dude?" or "what the f@$*?". Well I like cars that are unique. There aren't even that many Brabus Mercs around here, so seeing an Abarth Fiat 500 was quite a sight. If you don't know what the fuss is about ... go right ahead and google it.

I know all my readers are lazy, so I did the googling for you. Read car reviews here and here, and believe me ... the Abarth treatment is definitely worth the extra money.

By the way, even Michael Schumacher drives a Fiat Croma as a family car. I'm not lying, just watch Topgear season 13 episode 1.

Last wednesday I posted a pre-hands-on preview on the Olympus Pen E-P1 (you can read it here). The Olympus sales rep for our store came in today to let us play around with the camera and see our input. The first thing you notice when you hold the camera is the exceptional build quality. The all metal body, with a shiny silver finish across the middle (undoubtedly inspired by the old Pens) puts it in a class of its own.

The next thing you notice will be the kit lens 14-42mm that retracts in a locked position (much like the LX-3) when not in use. Both zoom rings and manual focus ring are nicely dampened, reassuring the user that the Pen is more than a compact camera. All the camera functions are easily accessible, changing the shutter speed, aperture, ISO quickly became 2nd nature. Manual focus was VERY easy, I found manual focusing on the E-P1 easier to do than in DSLRs (I'm not kidding).

So you've heard me talk up the build, ease of use and how nice this next generation Pen is .... but what about image quality? I'm going to go out on a limb and say ... its GREAT, AWESOME, SURPRISINGLY GOOD.

This photo was taken with the Olympus Zuiko 17mm f2.8, wide open, manual focus and at 800 ISO. Yes, 800. You can't judge it very well from this image, so hopefully I'll put up some 100% crops soon. Take my word for it, it's sharp, colour rendition is nice, and keep in mind this is STILL not an SLR. Long story short, I love this camera.

So now that you're more informed about the world (or just my world) ... until next time :)

Read more...

Somebody say Pen?

The original Olympus Pen camera, revolutionary, sharp, simple, ingenious. By using the half frame format (rather than 35mm film), Olympus was able to reduce the size of cameras while still maintaining great image quality. These Pen series cameras sold over 17 million units before eventually giving way to the Olympus Pen F cameras which were capable of interchangeable lenses.

In mid 2009, amidst masses of leaked information and rumours, the camera gods stepped beyond the golden arches and sent the son of the Pen down to earth.

I present ... The Olympus Pen E-P1, a new breed of compact digital cameas that utilises the "micro four-thirds" system (used also by the Panasonic Lumix G1/GH1). Camera enthusiasts will appreciate the retro look despite almost 30years since the last Pen camera was made.

Key Features/Specs

- 12.3 mp Live MOS sensor

- TruePic V Image processor

- Micro four-thirds mount

- Sensor shift stabilization

- HD (720p) movies with stereo sound

- HDMI output

- SD card! (thank god, those flimsy XD cards were the downfall of Olympus)

- Interchangeable lenses

- Hot shoe

- Built in pop art filters (much like the Olympus E-30, E-620 DSLR)

- 3in Hypercrystal LCD

- In camera RAW processing

In other words, this is an SLR without the mirrors in the camera body, allowing it to be much smaller while still retaining SLR quality to an extent. Regardless of how the camera performs, it will almost certainly outperform most compacts released to date. If not for the Panasonic G1 and GH1, this new generation Pen would be in a class of its own (it could still be).

If you are as intrigued as I am about this camera, you can read more at the Olympus website here. No doubt this camera will be a hit and you can order this camera at most camera houses.

Why is it so good?

- It's small

- It's EASY to use

- Timeless design with good build quality

- Interchangeable lenses

- It was made to be perfect for EVERYBODY (in EVERYDAY situations)

- SD and SDHC cards :)

This camera actually makes me want the original Pen camera to have in my camera cabinet. if anyone is selling, let me know :)

Read more...

What ... it doesn't come with a card?!

As a salesperson at Camera House, I get a lot of camera enquiries. Most of the time, the conversation goes well, and the customers leave either with a brand new camera or freshly learnt info about photography and what's right for them.

The end of the conversation typically goes like this (other salesmen will feel my pain)

Me: Yep so this seems like it'll do what you need. Good sized screen, Li-ion battery, 10x zoom.

Customer: Sounds great

Me: mmmhhhmm

Customer: So how big's the memory card that you get?

Me: It doesn't come with one, but it takes SD cards, and you can have a look at our range of SD cards over here *points to accessories cabinet*

....

and from here I generally get a variey of responses ranging from complete understanding to complete outrage. Depending on that response I'm either cracking jokes with the customer or left trying to defend the manufacturer (I seriously don't get paid enough to argue this every single time :P)

Today I had an absolutely brilliant classic from a customer during this conversation. When told that the Panasonic TZ-11 doesn't come with a card ... he said "But when you buy a car, it comes with batteries". I stood there and thought "This guy just threw the worst argument at me", but me being on the clock I restrained myself and politely said "Well when you buy this camera you get a battery too". Needless to say, this sequence of events left him wondering how on earth he lost that argument.

Everyday I wonder why people expect to get a memory card with the camera (free). I always tend to end up saying to the customer "When you bought your film camera, it didn't come with film either ... and I'm also pretty sure that it didn't come with free processing". This notion of NOT getting everything you need is not new, it's been around for ages ... so I just can't understand why people ONLY expect this kind of freebie when buying a camera.

To assist my argument I will come up with a list of examples (just off the top of my head) that I have/will use when people complain about not getting a card.

Customer: Well the camera's useless without a card, why don't they give you one?

Me: - Toasters don't come bundled with free bread, what good is a toaster if you don't have bread? Go complain to Myer about that before you ask me that again.

- Your CD burner didn't come with blank CDs

- That wallet you're holding didn't come with free money

- The toy that your kid's playing with ... I'm sure batteries weren't included

- Did your iron come with free shirts?

- These photo frames don't come with photos either

- My car didn't come with free air con ... and I didn't complain

- That $4000 camera over there *points at the 5D MkII*, that doesn't come with a card either

- Those professional photos you got printed a week ago, you had to pay extra to get the photos didn't you? That's what I thought ...

I can go on and on and on about this, and if you work in this industry you'll know the frustration so feel free to go ahead and use these arguments. If you are a customer, and have asked that question before, I hope you now know how annoying and how wrong you were (or still am). Since manufacturers (Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Sony etc) don't have to deal with these questions, I'll take one for the team (for FREE) and I hope I've changed your way of thinking with this blog. I guess what I'm saying is ... take this advice, it's FREE advice and it's good advice.

Tomorrow's blog will be less ranting and more reviewing, stay tuned for a preview of the much anticipated Olympus "Pen" E-P1 camera that even the layman can undestand.

Read more...

More Surprise

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Panasonic LX-3 to complement my SLR, mainly for the times when I don't want to carry around the SLR (first post with the LX-3 here).

On a recent trip out of Sydney, I originally planned to bring only my LX-3 ... photography wasn't the main reason for the trip. On second thoughts, I decided to bring both my 50D + 24-105, and the LX-3. I covered most scenes with both cameras, and surprise surprise, the LX-3 photos came out better.

The question is why?

There is actually no plausible reason to justify this result.

After further speculation, I narrowed it down to being:

- All i had to do is point & shoot with the LX-3

- My fingers were way too cold to navigate the controls in the 50D

- I just wanted to get my photo and get to somewhere warm

Conclusion

I'm not saying the LX-3 is a better camera, it's lower res, has lower quality lens, settings are actually more fiddly. BUT in certain situations, such as the one listed above, the LX-3 wins out. To top it off, the camera fits in my pocket ... unlike the SLR.

I won't be carrying the LX-3 to jobs anytime soon, but as a complement to my 50D, it's perfect. To all the photographers out there contemplating about a compact to add to the collection ... GO FOR IT. I personally suggest Lumix LX-3, Canon G9/G10, Sigma DP1/DP2

(also eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Olympus E-P1)

For reviews of all the cameras, click on the links.

Read more...