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About Derek

Our resident web guru, Derek graduated from Ball State with a BFA in Visual Communications. When not in the office slaying CSS dragons, jousting social media windmills, or working on the blog, he's also a fine artist, working in oil paints and photography. Derek Martin+

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Here are my most recent posts

It Begins: Olympus Dropping Entry-Level Point-And-Shoot Line

OK, look at this post. Now, look at your smartphone. You were reading this on your smartphone, weren’t you? It’s OK, I probably would’ve been, too. Now, flip your smartpthone over (for those of you who really are reading this on your smartphone, don’t worry, I’ll wait for you to come back). Did you see that lens there? The one that works that camera that, let’s face it, you probably use more than anything else?

Congratulations, you’ve just observed the reason why Olympus has decided to drop its entry level point and shoots. This is something we talk about at Roberts often, and honestly it’s been a long time coming. But this is probably the first open admission that smartphones are killing the compact market. So it begins. And, while so far there’s no word about the future of Oly’s super-zoom line and Tough lines, we’re assuming that they’ll keep making those. For the time being, at least. It’s going to be interesting to see where the market goes from here.



Nikon Announces New 32mm Lnes for 1 System, Equals an 85mm Portrait Lens

Ha! Bet you thought I’d forgotten about Nikon’s new lens announcement today, didn’t you? Not so! I was merely distracted by what I consider to be an important matter:

With jalapeno chips. Always with jalapeno chips.

With jalapeno chips. Always with jalapeno chips.

However, now that that small matter is out of the way, let’s talk about Nikon’s new 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 portrait lens.

The sandwich is still better looking, but only just.

The sandwich is still better looking, but only just.

Thanks to the Nikon 1′s system’s odd choice of a 1″ sensor with its accompanying 2.7x crop factor, this lens has the field of view one would expect from an 85mm on a full-frame body. But, as a reminder for those of you new to this, that’s just the field-of-view, the rest of this lens (subject/background separation and depth of field) will continue to behave exactly like a 32mm lens. So, while it’ll look like an 85mm as far as what fits in the frame, you’re still going to see over twice the depth of field a full-frame 85mm f1.4 would at the same distances and the same f-stops. However, the f1.2 will also still really be f1.2, and that means this thing will be rockin’ in low-light, where that extra depth of field will also help make your life a lot easier. Seriously, you ever tried to focus on the eye of a hard rocker in a dark venue with an 85mm f1.4 and prayed you got it close enough that even half his face is in focus? That’ll be less of a problem with this.

And… actually, that’s most of what I had to say. It’s a 32mm (85mm FOV) f1.2, it’s really pretty honest upfront about what it’s gonna do for you. It’s got a silent-wave motor, as you’d expect, and nano coating to reduce flare. No VR though, in accordance with the prophecy. or at least with Nikon’s general thoughts on lenses f2.8 and faster not needing VR regardless of focal length. Ooh, there is an MTF chart though:

3359_MTF_01_en

Not quite as strong as your average 85mm f1.4 turns out, but lets not forget this is an f1.2 lens and also like a sixth the size of your average 85mm, so, that’s actually a pretty strong showing there. And, if you’re a 1 system owner, it’s really about your only choice for portrait primes. So, the question really becomes: do you want it, or don’t ya?

http://robertscamera.com/1-nikkor-32mm-f-1-2.html



Canon’s New 200-400mm f4 Has the 1.4x Extender Built In, Costs As Much As A Chevy

Have you heard of anchoring? It’s a psychological phenomenon where once you’ve had one number put in your head, regardless of whether it’s actually based on anything, you make subsequent valuation calls based on it. With that in mind, I’d like to present a little exercise in anchoring:

Chevrolet Spark, MSRP starting at $12,185

Chevrolet Spark, MSRP starting at $12,185

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, MSRP $11,799

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, MSRP $11,799

See? If I did that right, you’ll now forever remember that the Canon 200-400 is cheaper than the spiritual descendant of a Geo. You’re welcome.

In other news, the newly announced Canon 200-400 is one heckuva lens. I mean, other than the nice focal range and constant f4 aperture and IS that you probably figured out from the name, there’s the built-in dedicated 1.4x extender that can be toggled on to make it a 280-560mm f5.6. And on top of that, well, have you seen the MTF charts? probably not, let me help you with that:

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_tele_off

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_tele_on

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_wide_off

ef200-400_4lisu_mtf_wide_on

 

For those of you not so good with MTF here’s the really super simplified how-to guide for making sense of these:

  • The dark blue solid line represents contrast
  • The light blue solid line represents detail
  • The left side of the graph is the center of the frame, the right side is the corners
  • The closer to the top the lines are, the better they are
  • The dashed lines represent various astigmatism effects
  • The closer to the solid lines the dashed ones are, the prettier your bokeh will be.

So, with that quick coder ring there, a scan over those MTF charts suggests that this is one sharp lens. If you can’t see that light blue line, it’s because it’s essentially at the same place as the dark blue one, which is near unheard of. This lens may cost as much as a domestic sedan, but it has the optical chutzpah to back that tag up.

By now, I figure you’re either refinancing your house to get one, or have decided you won’t ever be doing anything but lusting over this, so, instead of dragging this out more, I’ll just post this preorder link here for those of you in the first group, k?

http://robertscamera.com/photo/lenses/for-slrs-dslrs/zooms/telephoto/ef-200-400mm-f-4l-is-usm-extender-1-4x.html



Olympus Comes Clean With New Pen E-P5

PEN_E-P5_EZ-M1442IIR_silver_black__Product_010__x290

 

Back when Olympus launched their mirrorless Micro Four-Thirds system with the rebooted Pen brand and the Pen E-P1, it was one of the best looking cameras anyone had made in ages. Then, along came the rebooted OM series a few years later, and the bar for handsome retro was upped again with their attentive resurrection of the classic SLRs of yore. So, now the newest Pen takes even more retro cues from it’s bigger brother in the OM-D line, resurrecting a design style Olympus says is based directly off the original Pen F. Can’t say it’s too bad a plan, judging by how it turned out in the looks department.

Any way, the Pen E-P5 is now slated to be the second highest model in Olympus’ rather sizey Micro Four-Thirds system. it sits on the top of the Pen system, but still just below the OM-D E-M5 (most obviously through lack of integrated viewfinder and weather-sealing). However, that place blurs a little bit as you skim the specs sheet. The E-P5 sports a top shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, and flash x-sync at an earnest 1/320, both of which tidily surpass even the E-M5. Other specs like 9fps shooting speed, 0.044 second lag speeds with AF, the E-P5′s AF system and 5-axis (compensating for shift in the X-Y-Z axes and also for pitch and yaw rotational shake), built-in wifi and an available app for select smartphone platforms, and a new switch that changes the dials from controling aperture and shutter to changing ISO and WB with a simple flick help reassure that this is quite a contender indeed.

The usual other specs are on board too, such as a 3″ high-rez tilting touch display, 16 megapixels, a virtual level, a built-in flash with Olympus’ usual advanced hotshoe that allows mounting both extenral flashes and an optional EVF, HD video, and so forth.

The Pen E-P5 sounds like quite a camera for those invested in the M4/3 system, and will come body only in black, silver or white for right at $1000, or with a 17mm f1.8 frime and the new VF-4 viewfinder for $1500 in only black or silver. Availability for all of it is slated as this month, but you could still go ahead and hit up our preorder pages to reserve one before then:

http://robertscamera.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=e-p5&archived=1776



PSA: Canon’s 5d Mark III Firmware Update Is (Finally) Out

Well, would ya look at that. It’s been so long since they pre-announced it I’d almost forgotten Canon still owed all you 5D mark III shooters a new firmware, and at long last that fabled unicorn has burst majestically through the gates.

So, what does your patience land you today? According to the official change log, you get the following:

Firmware Version 1.2.1 incorporates the following functional improvements and fixes.
1. Uncompressed HDMI output is now enabled.
2. Enables the center AF point to autofocus when the camera is used with Canon EF lens/extender combinations whose combined maximum aperture is f/8.
3. Improves the speed of the camera’s acquisition of focus when using a Canon Speedlite’s AF-assist beam.
4. Fixes a phenomenon in which the LCD monitor may freeze and display Err 70 or Err 80 when a still photo is taken during Live View or in movie shooting mode.
5. Fixes a phenomenon that may occur when the continuous shooting priority setting is enabled for multiple exposures, such that, after the sixth image is taken, there is a slight pause before the remainder of the sequence is completed.
6. Fixes a phenomenon in which the viewfinder display shows incorrect information during AEB shooting.
7. Communication with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter has been improved.
8. When images have been successfully transferred with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter through the FTP protocol, an “O” will be displayed. When images have not been successfully transferred with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter through the FTP protocol, an “X” will be displayed.
9. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera may not function properly when an Eye-Fi card is used.
10. Fixes a phenomenon in which the focal length value listed in the Exif information is not displayed correctly for images shot with the EF 24-70mm F4L IS USM lens.
11. Fixes a phenomenon in which the lens firmware cannot be updated properly.
12. Corrects errors in the Arabic language menu.
13. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera changes the AF microadjustment value to -8.
14. Fixes a phenomenon in which the on-screen guidance cannot be fully displayed when setting the maximum limit value for the “Setting the ISO Speed Range for Auto ISO” option.

* Items No.1 through 12 have been incorporated into firmware version 1.2.0.
* Items No.1 through 14 have been incorporated into firmware version 1.2.1.

Not too shabby. Uncompressed HDMI, AF improvements with extenders, bug fixes, fixes for the wireless transmitter, and so on. It’s available now from Canon USA, just use the source link below, select your OS and it’ll walk you through downloading the right firmware package and getting it installed. Now, hop to.



Panasonic US Confirms G6 and LF1

ImageG6KK_lores

 

We’re going to be honest with you: we suspect we’re not the only camera blog you read. It’s OK. We understand. *sniff* So, we also assume most of you are probably by now already aware that Panasonic has announced a new G-series micro Four-Thirds mirrorless compact (their first one that’s just a “G” and not a “GH” or “GF” since 2008, says their graphic) dubbed the DMC-G6, and a somewhat more exciting new point-and-shoot called the DMC-LF1. I mean, every other tech blog in the world was talking about them Wednesday night (see, I read those other blogs too, it’s OK. Really). So, we’ll just do a quick recap here for anyone who does actually just follow us, but more in-depth stuff can be found other places quite easily. Mostly we’re just confirming that yes, finally, Panasonic US is showing that these will be officially coming over here, so now we can finally say something about them.

So, the one pictured above is the G6, and it’s a quasi-DLSR shaped mirrorless compact with a built-in EVF and a general design and feel made more for people used to DLSRs than people wanting a better point and shoot. It’s a 16 megapixel shooter with a newly designed processor and filter that offer increased performance and 3-5% gains in resolution over other Panasonic designs, as well as ISO up to 25,600 (extended) and 7 frames-per-second. It’s got wi-fi and NFC built-in, a 3″ tilt/swivel 1036k dot touch panel on the back, a new higher resolution OLED EVF, Panasonic’s well-respected movie mode and quality settings, and support for all the usual M4/3 accessories and lenses, including those made by Olympus, Metz, and Sigma. So far they’re only talking about it as a kit with a 14-42mm II lens, and no price has been mentioned yet.

LF1_F2_lores

 

More exciting is the new LF1 compact camera. It’s smaller and simpler than their awesome LX7, but has an EVF built-in for people who prefer a viewfinder at all to the arms-length LCD-only shooting of most modern compacts. It’s got a 12 megapixel 1/1.7″ sensor, a 28-200mm equivalent f2-5.9 zoom, a high-rez EVF and rear 3″ LCD, wi-fi and NFC, support for Panasonic’s RAW format, vHD video, and a control rign around the front lens (a la Canon and Olympus’ counterparts in this range). And did I mention it’s smaller all-around than the already not-chunky LX7? I did? Good! What i can’t mention is the price, because there isn’t one yet, but I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for you.



New Video From Sigma Demos USB Firmware Cradle

Sigma has just sent us a link demoing their firmware cradle which was announced along with their ART 30mm f1.4 and which will work with their new lenses going forward. Excitingly, it looks like not only does it allow for focus microadjustment, but it does so for different values at different focus distances within the same focal length. So, instead of the one-size-fits-all microadjustment offered by bodies, you can tweak your new Sigma lenses so have different compensation at their closest focus distance versus infinity. Now that kids is cool. Check it out for yourself below.



Sigma Announces World’s First f1.8 Constant Zoom: 18-35mm for APS-C Bodies

sigma-18-35

 

See that lens up there? That’s Sigma’s upcoming 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM | Art, which has the very awesome privilege of being the world’s first f1.8 standard zoom. Since it’s for APS-C bodies (Canon’s Rebel / XXD / 7D series bodies, and Nikon’s DX bodies) you’re talking an equivalent FOV of 29-56mm on Canon and 27-53 on Nikon. But, that’s just the FOV equivalence. What’s exciting here is the aperture. You see, depth-of-field isn’t reliant on the “equivalent” field of view, it’s a simple function of sensor size, actual focal length, aperture, and distance to subject. As a result, you’ve probably heard people talking about the DOF stops of disadvantage when using a lens on a crop body. Things like, “sure, it’s f2.8, but since you’re on crop that’s really more like f4.” That’s a sort of simplistic and somewhat wrong way of thinking about it, but the underlying concern is true. because we use shorter lenses for the same field of view on crop bodies then we do on full-frame, and because the shorter a focal length is the deeper it’s DOF is at the same aperture, you do see deeper depth of field on an “equivalent” crop body lens than you will on a full-frame one.

Enter the f1.8 zoom. Excited to see how the f1.8 would fare in real DOF comparisons, I broke out my DSLR toolbox calculator and ran some maths for you. I ran things for two bodies, full-frame and Nikon DX (1.5x crop). Then, I picked two focal lengths with the same field of view: 18mm on the DX, 28mm on the full-frame. I kept the distance to the subject the same at 2 yards. Then, I calculated for f1.8 on the DX, and f2.8 on the full-frame. The results? At 28mm f2.8 and 2 yards to my subject on full-frame my total depth of field was 2.3 feet. At 18mm f1.8 and 2 yards to the subject on DX, the total was 2.34 feet. So, Sigma’s f1.8 zoom here will let you APS-C shooters get the same shallow DOF we full-frame shooters get from those abundant f2.8 standard lenses we get for our bodies.

And, as a perk, f1.8 is still brighter than f2.8 by 1.3 stops. So, not only will you finally be able to get the same shallow DOF, but you’ll be able to do it at lower ISOs (which should help counter for full-frame’s low-light advantage, but that’s an entirely different discussion) or faster shutter speeds. Neato.

No words on availability or pricing yet, but this new Art series lens will be available for Nikon, Canon, and Sigma mounts.

If that sounds like your cuppa, head on over to our site to learn what little more there is and get your name on our list for your own copy of it. http://robertscamera.com/18-35mm-f-1-8-dc-hsm.html



An Interesting Interview About Developing Tamron’s 24-70mm VC

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Call me biased (because I am), but I actually really enjoyed reading this interview with the people at Tamron who helped develop their new SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD lens, the first image-stabilized 24-70mm. Those of you who’ve only ever shot Nikon or Canon might not understand the appeal of such a thing, since their company line has always been that at shorter focal lengths and f2.8 stabilization isn’t need, but any of you who’ve had a system with in-body IS will likely know just how handy it is even on fast standards. But, making one work for full-frame was apparently an endeavor, and the developers talk about shrinking the VC unit and giving it more power, developing their own USM focus drive, figuring out an optical formula to keep the lens shorter, and more. It’s a good read, especially for what’s proving to be a gray and chilly Indiana Friday out here. Read it yourself via the source link.



Roberts Set To Carry Sony’s Cybershot TX30 Waterproof Compact

DSCTX30P

 

I have just been informed this morning that Roberts will be carrying the new Sony Cybershot TX30. At least, I was told to make sure it went up for preorder, so, I assume we’re going to carry it and not just execute some poorly conceived post-April Fool’s April Foll’s Day joke (ha! Anyone can pull a prank on April 1st, but it takes skill to pull it off on April 3rd!). Anywho, once upon a time this type of camera was much more of a novelty (and pushed mostly by Olympus), but at this point it’s getting a bit more expected to say things like “it’s waterproof to 33 feet, shockproof for drops form 5 feet, and freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.” Such a camera is no longer a novelty, it’s a demographic. But, in this case, it’s a demographic applied to Sony’s very solid T-series Cybershots. These cameras feature a “deck of cards” style with a slim body and a corner mounted lens that uses folded optics to keep the size down. There’s a sliding plate that serves both as a lens cover when closed and to turn the camera on and off. It’s a nice style for compacts, and I’ve been a fan of both Sony and Fuji’s cameras that use it for several years now. The TX30 has an 18 megapixel  1/2.3″ EXMOR-R (ie, backside-illuminated) sensor, a 5x optical zoom (though, no image stabilization. Not the real kind, anyway), and no buttons on the back. Instead of buttons you get a 3.3″ OLED touchscreen to work most of the camera’s menus, making it very much like a smartphone. If the image quality holds up to what other EXMOR-R units produce, this’ll be a solid camera, and one that can survive more than average circumstances of use. It’ll run $350ish, and come in your choice of pink, orange, blue, or black.

Get on the preorder list here: http://robertscamera.com/cybershot-dsc-tx30.html