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Kivi Shaps
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I use email, the Web, texting and What's App. No longer can sleep at night. Mind is always working. iPhones, Ipad and laptop. Constant distractions and by touch screen on my car. It would probably kill me to start up with all these other anti sanity social media sites.
Shot o' the Day
...And sign o' the times...this is our friend Ned Bunnell, past President of Pentax USA, who is, of course, very active on Instagram. Kids these days! (I'd try Instagram, but there's a danger you would never hear from me again.) Mike (Thanks to Ned) Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael ...
Mike, Gotta go with the Leica M10-D. Technology takes a back seat to the purist.
Camera of the Year?
So what should be our Camera of the Year for 2018? I have a pretty good idea. Looking only at enthusiast cameras, there weren't actually very many all-new cameras. Many, from the Lumix LX100II to the Leica M10P, were derivations of already-existing models. This is a salutary trend in my opinion....
Mike, your problem is that you are a liberal (same problem if you were a conservative). What I mean is that if someone tags themselves with a label then they are already giving up on spontaneous self expression. Quit the labels and think for your self. After 8 years, I just bought a new car, a 2019 VW Jetta 40 MPG sedan. Could not be happier. Goes so well with my Fuji X100f. Have a bright and sunny day.
Which SUV...Er, Sorry, FFM Would You Choose?
The new Lumix—er, Panasonic—er, Lumix by Panasonic—S1R full-frame mirrorless. It's not actually out yet. Everyone in America must buy an SUV now. It's a new law that was passed some while back when I wasn't looking. SUVs or pickup trucks—they're what Amurricans drive now. It isn't actually a la...
Fuji X-Pro2 with Fuji 14/28 and the 35/2 for my "tele".
More on a Two-Lens Kit: The Classic Variant
Of course there are many ways to construct one's own arsenal of lenses. (No one—or very few people anyway—ever has all of them, so choices must be made.) Two methods that are the farthest from the present topic might be: 1. To own many different cameras of many different brands, plus a few lense...
always been a classic Nikon guy (F, FM2n, FE), but years ago I tried out the Pentax cult. After about a year I went back to Nikon (luckily I never sold my stuff). Just more sturdy (at least to me). And price? The FE was $75 and the F was $25, okay I paid $200 for the FM2n. So good luck Pentax folks.
So You Say You Want a Film Camera?
"Slow photography" is hip, and everybody thinks you need an old Leica or an old Nikon if you want to participate. Not so, I say. If you want a film camera and have never shot with one, the way to go is Pentax. Old silver Pentaxes are the quintessential 35mm film cameras. Mainstream, but iconic. ...
My Pany/Leica 15/1.7 lens (I know that is a 30mm field of view) really lives on my Pany GX8. Glorious.
The Best 35mm Lens
Just for fun, what's your favorite 35mm (or 35mm angle-of-view equivalent) lens? [UPDATE Sunday noon: Still awaiting the enigmatic oracular Oren's pick. Hoping to lure him out of his usual inscrutable silence. As Ctein (sincerely, not sarcastically) says, Oren sees things in lens performance mo...
That is a hellava a story. I have a weatherproof Pany kit (GX8 and 12-60). Been through a lot of sea spay down here in Florida, Everglades mud. Next time it snows here in South Florida, I will try out the 4 month snow thing just to keep you honest.
How Weatherproof Are Olympus Cameras?
Words and pictures by John Lehet Recently TOP had some comments about the weatherproof qualities of Olympus pro gear. I can tell you that it's hard to exaggerate how good these cameras are at keeping the wet out. I think I might have subjected mine to the ultimate test. Even though 90% of my exp...
My Leica M7 because it has all the technology I need. I send the negs to Precision Camera along with a flash stick. In a week or so I get digital photos on my stick. At this point, I am as digital as the next guy.
What's the Best All-Around Digital Camera on the Planet?
To run a blog like this you look at a thousand things, remember a hundred, and write about ten. Recently (I mentioned my birthday, and my age—I suppose it's related) I've been having more trouble keeping the threads alive in my mind. I let more things drop, and lose some things I meant to write ...
Happy Chanukah and Festive Greetings to all.
Fruits of the Season
First, Happy Hanukkah! To all our Jewish readers. Today is the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, when Jewish people celebrate the re-dedication of the Holy Second Temple of Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabees. It's also known as the Festival of Lights, and one of its many traditi...
Right now the GX8 with the Pancake 20 mm f1.7 II is my go to street shooter. Got the GX8 with the 12-60 deal. That lens is a tour de force. Love the whole rig. Love the weight (came from Nikon), love the ergonomics.
Panasonic: The Sleeper Camera Company
I've always liked sleepers. A "sleeper" can be defined as something that becomes a success when no one thought it would, or something that turns out to be more than what it appears to be on the surface. Mazda, for example. A small car company perennially taking a back seat to the big boys, both ...
Oh how far Leica has strayed. From the gritty street fighter M, outfitted with a 50 mm/1.4 lens taking a 43 mm filter to behemoth needing an 85 mm size filter!!!!! weighing in at 1,065 grams!!! Obviously the SL was made for RAW wrestlers, I guess.
Leica SL Gets a Prime
It's been more than a year since the Summilux-SL 50mm ƒ/1.4 was announced at the same time as the Leica SL, and now it's available for pre-order...just in time for Christmas. The SL has earned fans among those who use it—people speak especially highly of its state-of-the-art electronic viewfin...
As a Pany GX8 owner I was told that the newest firmware had a sufficient work around for shutter shock. Anyway never had any in the first place. And oh yes the GX8 is starting to get more use than my Leica's.
The Best Digital Cameras Part I
TOP's current favorite digital cameras, Q4 2016. Camera: The Pentax K-1 Why? Ignites a deathless warm glow in owners' hearts. Pentaxians are nice people, conservative about their cameras, remarkably loyal, and tend to have a higher level of satisfaction with their gear than people who buy othe...
Thom is cranky but intelligent. I like it. He certainly is not a poster boy for Nikon.
My Bad
Thom Hogan is clearly not the leading independent Nikon expert, either on the English-speaking Internet or in the whole world outside of Japan. I will be careful to specify that in all future references to him. :-) Always scrupulous, Mike the Ed. (Thanks to Paul Braverman) P.S. If this post mys...
George Martin and the Beatles was just pure magic.His passing reminds us, once again how timeless it was and is. R.I.P.
RIP (OT)
George Martin 1926–2016 - Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. TOP's links! (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.) Featured Comments from: No featured comments yet—please check back soon!
Do not agree, Mike. Islam is at war with the West. Wake up!! This is not going away. Concentrate on defeating it not coddling so called innocents.
To Our Friends
Solidarité - Members of our "community of interest" span many divides. We come from different countries, we're different ages, we speak different first languages, we practice different religions or no religion. But all of us know how it feels when another community we're a part of comes unde...
Those Ricoh's (aw Pentax's)are like little tanks. I love my K-5iis. Thinking of adding the Real Ricoh (the GR)as a pocket camera. Yehaa!!
The Ten Best Digital Cameras
Always with a thumb clamped on the pulse of the Zeitgeist, herewith TOP's totally idiosyncratic, completely subjective, plausibly deniable, and cheerfully self-incriminating list of Digital Cameras We Love at the cusp of 2015—the digital cameras we think are the hottest at the moment and the mos...
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Dec 18, 2014
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