Digital Camera Reviews

I can’t answer the question about which kit would be better, but I would like to offer you a number of things to consider when you are making that evaluation.

Although getting a kit is often a quick and inexpensive way to get a lighting setup, you will almost always get a better result by building your light kit yourself. Here’s what I mean:

• Pick your style of light: Continuous our flash. Continuous will either be very hot or relatively low output as compared to flash. On the other side of the coin, continuous will give you an excellent visual of how your fill is working. Modeling lights on studio flash units can be weaker and shadows harder to perceive.
• Think carefully about your modifiers and where they will be placed. a big softbox placed over the product will require a pretty stout stand and a boom. in fact, any head placed out over the product requires this unless you have somebody holding the light stand. When you are setting up and composing, you really don’t want to be worrying about whether the darn light is going to come crashing down.
• Think about whether you will be using hard light as well as soft light. These kits did provide a mix, and that should factor into your decision. a reflector with barn doors has its uses. But not always in studio catalog shots.

When I started looking at lights, I became convinced that continuous lighting was the way to go because I was having trouble visualizing how a given lighting setup would work. The more people I talked to about this, the more I discovered that continuous lighting would limit the applicability of my lighting kit. my decision was to get two moonlights, some pretty stout stands, and a bunch of sandbags. I started with a softbox, a strip, a reflector, barn doors, and a grid-spot. that got me a long way and I have tons of excellent shots where I don’t feel any more light was necessary. (The moonlights came with umbrellas that I’ve never felt compelled to use in product photography.)

However, after shooting with variations on the above setup, I later decided to add a boom with counterweight — that gave me a lot of options in terms of light placement that doesn’t get in the way of the shot. I also added a beauty dish because it’s so versatile in terms of light falloff and it can be modified with a sock to perform as another softbox.

As the demand for white backgrounds became an issue, I added two more flash heads for background lights and two softbox modifiers. These can be used with reflectors for directional light or the softboxes for a more diffuse light on the background.

The point is, I didn’t know exactly how I would use the lights when I started building the kit so I added slowly, evaluating what was missing carefully in advance of adding new gear. The decision to go with studio flashes was, in my opinion, one of the best ones I made. I can’t stand a hot set and neither can some of the stuff I shoot, for example food or plastics.

Good luck with this!

Pearstone’s 4 AAA NiMH Batteries with 4 Hour Charger comes with a set of 4 AAA NiMH batteries, and it can also be used to charge NiCad/NiMH AA batteries. The cradle accepts up to 4 batteries, for a charging cycle that lasts 4 hours, regardless of the number of batteries being charged.

The included, long-lasting, rechargeable and reliable batteries can be used at home or on the road. The handy charging unit is small and lightweight. best of all, the unit is dual voltage making it the perfect tool to be taken on a long international journey (requires optional plug adapter). The outlet prongs fold in to the unit giving it a more compact appearance.

Both charging channels are individually monitored by LEDs that will always let you know when your batteries are charged. In addition, the auto cut-off system prevents overcharging or potential damage to the system.

Charges up to 4 AA or AAA NiMH or NiCD batteriesTwo individually monitored charging channelsBuilt-in micro controller to ensure full chargeAuto charge cut-off for safetyCircuit/polarity protectionCompact fold-in outlet prongs110-240V AC worldwide voltage capability

Capacity: 4 AA/AAA batteriesCharging Time: 4 hoursOutput Voltage: 2.8VDC, 500maInput Voltage: 110-240VACDimensions : 2.75 x 1.25 x 4.25″ (7.0 x 3.2 x 10.8cm)Weight: Charging Unit: 4.1 oz (116g) …Read more

Starhawk is a third-person shooter. Actually, scratch that, let me try again: Starhawk is a fighter-pilot game. Although… only sort of. Maybe Starhawk is a real-time strategy game.

This is all getting complicated. how about: Starhawk is a Western, in space. and a fun one. yes. Let’s go with that.

The truth is, Starhawk takes a whole set of divergent styles and throws them together into one game. Bringing third-person shooting, giant mech battles, space dogfights and strategic building together in one could have been a disaster of epic proportions, but LightBox Interactive has somehow made it all work, and remarkably smoothly at that.

The premise is this: in the wild colony west of faraway solar systems, there is a new source of power called rift energy. it glows blue and looks quite impressive against dusty red planets and the dark void of space. there was a rush for it, deeply akin to the rush to take over Texas oil fields in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Of course, this being a science-fiction video game, nothing is ever easy. it turns out that with rift energy comes a horde of rift-mutated monsters called the Outcast. every time you go to cap a rig, there they are, trying to kill you. This means constant work for a man like Emmett Graves, our player character and gunslinger extraordinaire.

The thing is, Starhawk is essentially pointless as a singleplayer narrative. There’s nothing wrong with Emmett Graves or his mercenary ways. He’s mildly interesting, and his frontier family drama is, if not immensely compelling, then at least not poorly told. (In fact, I particularly like the animation style of the interstitial cut scenes.) It’s just beside the point.

WHY: Because it’s a well-assembled, sharp-looking space romp, and the multiplayer focus keeps you on your toes.

Developer: LightBox Interactive, Sony Santa Monica Platforms: PlayStation 3 Release Date: May 8Type of game: RTS third-person shooter flight sim. yes, really.What I played: The singleplayer campaign and a few hours dabbling in various multiplayer modesMy Two Favourite Things

• The sheer sense of speedy, weightless joy in flight sections.
• Dropping buildings from orbit, at a whim, with a satisfying “thud”.

My Two Least-Favourite Things

• Motion sickness. Those flight sections are rough if you are at all prone to queasiness.
• Repetitive tedium in single-player goals. “Defend the X” gets dull after a few dozen rounds.

Made-to-Order Back-of-Box Quotes

• “This is great! Ugh, I’m going to be sick any second. but this is still great!” – Kate Cox, Kotaku
• “my giant flying robot will stomp you!” –Kate Cox, Kotaku

Emmett, his support staff, his family and his allies exist for exactly two reasons. First, to give the you a good sense of setting — the frontier chaos and oil-rush mentality come to the forefront in singleplayer, and that knowledge, once gained, sticks with you permanently. second, and more importantly: the 10 stages of the singleplayer campaign are the tutorial for multiplayer, the game’s true thrust. and they’re all the tutorial you get, so pay attention.

Here’s how every mission goes:

“Oh no! The [building / energy source / ship] is under attack! The outcast will be arriving by [foot / razorback / tank / jetpack / fighter jet] in [twenty, 30, or forty-five seconds]! You should build [turrets / mechs / razorbacks] and prepare to defend the [X]!”

The difficulty curve is this: (1) as you progress, the game increases the arsenal of structures you can choose from and becomes slightly less explicit in telling you what to build, and (2) more waves of outcast are likely to appear between checkpoints. It’s a system that is, at best, uninspired and, at worst, tedious.

But two things save it. The first is the game’s biggest selling point, its “build and battle” system. in short, the energy you collect from barrels or fallen enemies allows you to open up a radial menu and call down massive buildings from the sky. You choose where to put them, and they land at your feet (or, if you don’t move quickly enough, on your head) a few seconds later.

Usually in a game like this, you would find a gun, a vehicle, or an ally waiting for you. and at first, Starhawk provides its resources in the same way. but very quickly you learn that you will need to decide for yourself what to call down from the sky.

Do you need guns and ammo? Call for a supply bunker. Snipers pinning you down? Summon a sniper tower of your own — it’ll have a rifle waiting for you in it. Are you bound to the earth, being shot at by enemies in the sky? Time to summon the building that lets you equip jet-packs or, the game’s other big feature, a Hawk.

At first I approached Starhawk with the wrong mentality, and got wiped out rather a lot early on as a result. I admit to a mild flash of feeling like a genius when I finally started to think the way the game needed me to: I only had about 10 bullets left in my gun and was facing at least three dozen outcast with more on the way. but I called town two turrets and a supply bunker, and hey! Suddenly I had a defensible position to hunker down in, as much ammo as I needed, and turrets mowing down the horde for me while I was still out of range. After that, the wave went much more smoothly.

Starhawk‘s other saving grace is the fluid smoothness with which it switches modes. From running on foot, to building a garage and leaping into a ground vehicle, to building a launching pad and climbing into a giant mech, nothing seems graceless. aside from a few small hang-ups in geography (and my AI companions’ inability to drive down an obvious path), every change, every motion and every vehicle felt surprisingly elegant.

The ground-based third-person shooter segments are dry. they are without any particular artistry or nuance. in short, they are not particularly fun. there is a way to make a third-person shooter dynamic and entertaining, and Starhawk doesn’t have it. but, like the singleplayer campaign writ large, that’s OK, because it doesn’t matter. The moments where you stand on foot, shooting, aren’t the point. Strategy is the point: knowing how and when to drop a building from space, knowing when a wall will help, or when you should just drop turrets all over the place, is the point. and when you have Emmet leap into his hawk and soar into the air? That’s where Starhawk finds its soul.

When you have Emmet leap into his hawk and soar into the air? That’s where Starhawk finds its soul.

It took me a while to see it, because frankly this is not a game for the motion-sensitive and at first I was just trying really hard to avoid throwing up. (I took a break to go buy Bonine, which I made sure to take every day I played thereafter.) but there’s a true joy in the flight and aerial combat segments. The controls are designed such that banking through the air, making a tight turn through a web of pipelines and targeting swarm lasers on your mindlessly spawned enemy is genuinely delightful. if, still, not for the motion-sensitive.

I’ve played a lot of games lately that are entirely driven by quick-time events, and it’s nice to get back a measure of freedom. that said, the negative side to the freedom is that Starhawk doesn’t necessarily give you the guidance you need. for example, when you get a jet pack, the game tells you how to take off but then, after, not how to maintain flight. (I figured out what didn’t maintain flight by plummeting into the interstellar abyss a few times before getting the hang of it.) and while it’s very helpful to have your guide, Cutter, saying, “Outcast coming in from the East and South!”, a map and mini-map utterly without compass direction don’t give you what you need to figure out where South is.

The lack of guidance carries over to multiplayer as well. Leaping into matches, it was at first unclear what, exactly, I was expected to do. Coming into a match already in progress has some distinct problems.

My notes about the “quick match” feature mostly involve long strings of obscenities and no actual play. This is because every time I tried to join a quick match, I found that players in hawks were camping my ground-based spawn point before I even landed on it, and shot me down immediately. Spawning involves being shot at the ground from a pod in orbit, and anyone with eyes can see where the pod will land before it gets there. in at least five or six attempts, I never once got to step more than three inches away from my pod.

Luckily, browsing the game list rather than using quick match allowed me actually to play a few rounds, rather than just to drop dead a whole bunch. The game modes are what they sound like: “capture the flag” has the red team and the green team trying to steal each other’s flags and carry them back to base. “Zones” has teams vying for control of marked regions in the map. and “deathmatch” is, well, exactly what it says on the tin.

All match types can hold up to 32 players, and that can be every bit as chaotic as you might imagine. Popping in with a bunch of strangers, who all start throwing buildings around, is a mess. but once teams have laid down their basic fortifications and the game is in progress, the fun begins. my favourite experience was a Zones match on a platform in space. for a brief, worrying moment I felt clueless and surrounded by equally clueless idiots, but the game began very quickly to take shape and a few minutes later, our team had constructed a launch pad and I grabbed a hawk and went airborne. Weaving through, around, over, and under the map, trying to shoot down enemy turrets before they could shoot me, was a delight.

But for all that I managed with strangers, Starhawk is clearly meant for friends. The co-op mode is invite-only, requiring you either to invite friends from your list, or be invited by friends who have you on their list. likewise, while I personally hate voice chat with the fire of a thousand suns, in the frenzy to build defensible, well-armed positions and maintain good strategy for a 15-minute, 20-minute or 30-minute match, communication is essential.

If you have a couple dozen friends on PSN and have always wanted to soar through the inky skies shooting swarm lasers, Starhawk is a good bet. in the end, I know I personally don’t have the long-term patience for regular 30-minute fights of attrition and patient building placement. Nor, sadly, do I have the stomach to take on an offensive airborne role for very long, although I wish I did. and yet, I find myself eagerly recommending the game to those who can. The play in Starhawk can be intricate and creative, and in terms of graphics, animation, flow and function, the game is superb. and it’s true: dropping buildings right onto a pile of baddies just never gets old.

Big subject. this and any other answer can only be an introduction.

You MUST define “cheap” as you see it. what country?

Your lens will have an extremely major effect on the result. see below. A P&S can meet your spec but you really want a DSLR.

In high light situations some quite basic P&S cameras can work very well. In lower light (“gigs and shows”, street in low light,…) you need a large sensor – at least APSC.

Do not be mislead by megapixel madness. more is usually better all else being equal, BUT all else is seldom equal and higher mp is often at expense of final quality. If your budget is limited, you can get very very very good results from 6 megaixels – better than what was considered ‘wedding quality’ not so long ago!. so an old second hand 6+ mp DSLR can do a very good job in many cases.

You do not want a camera that is easy to understand – you just want a capable camera with a “bunny mode” that you can use until you get used to it. ALL well made cameras are easy to understand after a while – you just need a friendly learning mode.

Lenses that you will require depend on desired style etc. A mid range zoom is a desirable start. A 50mm or 35mm f/1.8 or better prime will be your great friend in due course but is not necessary initially – but if a good & cheap one wanders past, you want it.

Great quality is in very large part dependent on the part of the overall photo taking system that holds & owns the camera (ie = you, in case that wasn’t clear ). “Crisp” is achieved with either a horrendously expensive lens used well in almost any circumstance OR a modest or better lens stopped down, or not used in ultra low light and used very well. that is, a kit lens can often do as good a job as is needed to start. Much better much more expensive lenses can follow along in due course.

To see what the specs of both new cameras and old lower mp models are like in practice look at a quality review site and pore over both samples and tests. I recommend the superb DPReview site , but there are many others.

As an example – DPReview provide General news Reviews Camera database Lens database Technical articles Forums & competitions and more.

Depending on budget, I’d start by looking at:

If “as cheap as possible” is the aim, reviews etc for 6mp range DSLR’s which are available at good prices second hand.

If somewhat more money is available, one of the entry level cameras that has good reviews in the areas that interest you. Note that the DPReview tests and those of all good sites provide sample images taken under a range of conditions. Look especially at the ones that reflect you areas of interest. In my case, I am biased towards cameras that both perform well in low light conditions or allow high shutter speeds –

ie gigs and shows, & street at night, motocross, surfing, athletics … . The two apparently different requirements converge because you need low noise at high ISO for low light photos and you need the ability to use high ISO for action shots so your shutter speeds can be fast. others are biased towards great dynamic range or awesome colour rendition or … . .everything matters, but wht matters most to you needs optimising when you make decisions.

Added from a comment elsewhere:

@weberc2 mentions Nikon & Canon 50mm f/1.8 lenses. Sony make a similar 50mm f/1.8 lens. It is featherweight, and uses as much plastic as it can. BUT optically it offers superb value for money. It is easy and cheap to make due to the fixed focal length and in Sony’s case uses the optical design from a Minolta lens that was introduced decades ago and which has paid its modest development costs many times over. The entry level 50mm primes from all major makers give you the chance to own a “real” lens at an entry level price.

TAMPA — Gunshots ripped up a house filled with sleeping adults and children before daybreak Saturday, wounding a 14-year-old boy three times.

The assault from outside the Sulphur Springs home pierced a living room window and wall as Jontavious Keion Gainous slept on a friend’s couch. One shot lodged near his spine, said resident Tommy Moreland, 47.

The boy, in critical condition, was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, police said. His parents could not be reached for comment.

Moreland said the boy was asleep in a back bedroom of the house at 8510 N 15th St. when the shooting began about 5:25 a.m. an 8-month-old baby, 2-year-old child and 4-year-old child were sleeping near him. about 10 people were in the home.

The sound of gunfire woke him.

“(Jontavious) was sleeping. everybody was sleeping,” Moreland said. “Why would somebody do that with kids in the house?”

Moreland wonders if the shooting was related to a disagreement Friday night at the home. Moreland’s young nephews had been fighting over a computer and the argument spilled onto the front lawn, he said. a few men visiting at a neighbor’s house tried to intervene.

“We told them it was none of their business,” he said.

The men threatened his nephews, he said, and someone called the police, causing everyone to scatter.

“We thought it was the end of it,” he said.

Moreland thinks there were two gunmen. He saw shotgun shells. Several shots went straight into the sofa and through a bathroom wall.

Fred Patterson, Moreland’s brother-in-law, was also at the home when the shooting occurred. He, too, speculated about the men from Friday night. but he can’t understand why it would have led to this.

“They had an argument earlier, but it didn’t mean anything,” he said.

Jontavious is expected to survive, Moreland said, but there could be complications due to the projectile’s proximity to his spinal cord.

“I’m angry, I feel like they were cowards,” Moreland said about the gunmen. “I hope police find them and I hope we get justice.”

Officers were searching Saturday for suspects.

Police also are looking at an Ybor City shooting an hour earlier that reportedly involved a relative of the wounded boy.

In that case, too, a gunman carried a shotgun.

Yashica Johnson, 30, of Tampa was parked on the street with a passenger in front of a home at 3113 N 16th St. when the two saw a silver Hyundai circle the block and park behind them, police said.

A man got out of the vehicle with a shotgun and told Johnson to leave, police said. as they drove off, they heard several shots. Johnson drove to the Tampa Police Department’s District 3 office and reported what happened. she then realized that she had been shot in the lower back, police said.

Johnson and Jontavious are cousins, Moreland said.

The woman’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

News researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Shelley Rossetter can be reached at or (813) 661-2442.

The tour bus industry has set a voluntary 450-km limit on night driving by unaccompanied drivers to prevent accidents, industry officials said.

A group of bus operators and travel agencies informed transport minister Takeshi Maeda of its new voluntary rules, including the distance limit, on Wednesday.

The move follows the fatal expressway crash in Gunma Prefecture last month that killed seven people when the driver nodded off and let the vehicle veer edge-on into a sound-suppression wall that nearly cut it in half.

Maeda asked the group to improve the industry’s safety measures to restore public trust.

The new voluntary rules require bus operators to allocate two drivers per vehicle if it is scheduled to travel a distance exceeding 450 km during overnight.

The rules also call on travel agencies to check on bus operators’ legal compliance and safety measures in written documents, and to inform passengers about the number of drivers who will be on board, the planned distance for each trip and whether the tour is covered by insurance.

The industry group will conduct snap inspections on its members to ensure they are complying with the voluntary rules, and also ask them to report how they intend to respond to them both to the group and on their websites.

Members not in compliance won’t be allowed to sell bus tours.

Buses to replace trains

SENDAI — East Japan Railway co. and municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture will temporarily offer rapid transit buses to replace train service suspended by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, officials said.

A proposal by JR East to pave existing rail line rights of way for high-speed buses has been accepted by three municipalities with train stations on the Kesennuma Line, the officials said.

The unprecedented plan will be cheaper and faster than rebuilding the tsunami-ripped railway. JR East will launch the buses later this year and hopes to have all suspended parts of the Kesennuma Line linked by the end of 2013.

The suspended parts span about 55 km between Yanaizu and Kesennuma stations. the rapid transit buses will use exclusive roads to cover 60 percent of that stretch and public roads for the rest. they will also take routes that access temporary housing and hospitals.

Although the rapid bus plan was floated by JR East last year, Kesennuma was reluctant to sign off on it because the railway hadn’t committed to rebuilding the tracks.

Train commuters have had to switch to ordinary bus lines in the suspended areas, but complaints about delays and relatively expensive fares have been rife.

Elsewhere, JR East has inked a memorandum of understanding with Miyagi and the town of Yamamoto over moving a suspended section of the Joban Line farther inland.

Under the deal, the local governments will negotiate purchases of new property for the line while buying up the land where it already exists for development into prefectural roads.

Our camera lens buying guide takes you through the the world of interchangeable lenses and helps remove a little of the intimidation that comes with buying cameras lenses.

Congratulations! You’ve taken the truly giant photographic leap to an interchangeable lens camera. Sure, compacts had their place and time but now it’s time to spread your picture-taking wings. What follows is a buying guide to your new camera’s most critical accessories—optional lenses.

Shopping around for your next interchangeable lens camera? Check out our picks for the best digital cameras or browse our digital camera reviews.

Your First Step

We know you’ve done your most of your homework before purchasing your new camera. However, make sure you’ve checked out your camera lens options before pulling the trigger. we don’t expect you to buy 10 pieces of glass for your new camera body but whichever model you pick, make sure the manufacturer has a wide range available—from wide angle to telephoto and everything in between.

When you buy an interchangeable lens camera you’re entering a relationship with the specific hardware mount determined by the brand. Nikon uses an F and CX mounts, Canon EF and EF-S, Sony A and E mounts depending on the type you choose. And while they are all interchangeable lens cameras, you cannot use Nikon glass on a Canon and vice versa. Yeah, we know this is very basic but it’s really important you know your options.

Beyond the Basics

DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are sold in “kits,” meaning they are typically supplied with an 18-55mm lens. this may sound impressive but realize this is only a 3x zoom ranging from about 27-82.5mm in 35mm terms. Compare this to a compact $349 Canon PowerShot SX260 HS with a 20x zoom (25-500mm) and you’ll soon realize you’ll have to spend a lot to match that focal range. Comparing a DSLR to a point-and-shoot isn’t really fair since the quality and capability of interchangeable lens cameras is so much greater—never mind all the other pluses—but we just want you to be prepared for some initial shocks.

The Numbers Game

Now get ready to use the calculator on your smartphone. Although a lens’ stated focal length may be 18-55mm, 50mm, 18-105mm and so on, the 35mm equivalent—what you actually capture—is impacted by the size of the imaging sensor. this is called the digital factor. In the case of most DSLRs using APS-C sensors, this number is 1.5x or 1.6x. That’s how we got the 27-82.5mm 35mm equivalent for the standard kit lens (18-55 x 1.5). Now this number varies with each make/model. Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras have a 2x factor, Nikon 1s are 2.7x, Pentax Q is 5.5x and so on. the only instance where the stated lens focal length is one-for-one are DSLRs with Full Frame sensors such as the Nikon D800. since the imager is the size of frame of 35mm film the lenses are direct equivalents. Full Frame DSLRs are wonderful but the price of entry is very high at $2,000-plus.

Zoom and Prime Lenses

The vast majority of interchangeable lenses are zooms. Their convenience can’t be beat as one piece of glass offers a wide range of focal lengths. Beyond the basic 3x there are 7x and 12x editions that we highly recommend. You’ll see figures like 18-125mm or 18-200mm, 55-210mm and so on. so multiplying the common digital factor of 1.5x, you can take wide angles of 27.5mm or 350mm telephotos (depending on your choice, of course). Having this flexibility is great since you don’t have to swap out lenses to capture the image you want.

There are loads of zoom options; just check the manufacturer site for details and prices. And don’t be afraid to venture beyond the name on the front of your camera. there are third-party brands available (Sigma and Tamron, for example) that offer quality, lower-cost options.

Prime lenses are also known as fixed focal length glass. this type is typically for those who are fairly well-versed in photography. they have a style of shooting they like and prefer that vision. A classic instance is a 50mm prime that is well suited for portraits as it comes close to the classic 85mm portrait lens. Recently we used a 28mm prime on a mirrorless camera and loved the results. again this is our point of view but you could love 8mm fisheyes, 14mm wide angles, 60mm macros or 500mm telephotos. again it all depends on your subject matter and style of shooting.

Open Wide

As you start searching for lenses you may do several double takes when you start comparing prices. you may see one 50mm for $120 and another for $1,600 from the same manufacturer. the key difference is the aperture or how wide open the lens can go—this is measured by f/stops; the lower the number, the more light you can capture. In the case of the $120 lens it’s f/1.8 while the more expensive one is f/1.2. the latter also uses higher-quality glass among other factors for the huge price differential. If you do a lot of shooting in low light without a flash, lower f/stops may be a crucial factor and a worthwhile investment. Also the lower the aperture rating the more of a blurring effect you can get for your backgrounds (called bokeh). again this is a matter of style and vision. the lowest f/stop we’ve seen is a 50mm Leica lens rated f/0.95 that costs a cool 11K. Yes that’s absurd but we just wanted to show you the impact of wider apertures on lens pricing.

Stay Steady

Many interchangeable lens cameras have image stabilization built into the body to help eliminate shaky shots. Any lens you attach to the camera will automatically be stabilized. Canon and Nikon–arguably the two largest sellers of DSLRs–do not offer this. If you want stabilization, you have to buy specific stabilized lenses. this is easy enough to determine as Canon labels them IS while Nikon dubs them VR. other manufacturers use a variation of this nomenclature but it’s an important feature—especially if you shoot a lot of extreme telephotos.

We’ve just hit the high points as you enter the world of interchangeable lenses. you can delve much more deeply with research into glass quality and specific formulations. it can be a bit arcane but as far as we’re concerned, you’ve already taken the biggest leap of all, simply by purchasing a DSLR or Compact system Camera. by all means don’t be intimidated and have lots of fun.

What do you think of our camera lens buying guide? did we miss something? let us know in the comments below.

[First image courtesy of cyther5/Shutterstock]

The Spectra is a series of Polaroid instant cameras produced by the company in the early 1980s. These cameras have experienced a huge second wave in popularity recently from those disillusioned by the ethereal nature of digital photography, and likewise enchanted by the unique and quirky nature of these amazing and special cameras.

Are you looking for a cheap source of film for your Spectrac or Looking to buy a Spectra, and get into the exciting and artistic world of Instant Film Photographyc Check out our deals on Polaroid Spectra Film and Cameras today.

Polaroid Spectra film is similar in function to regular Polaroid instant integral film, as the film develops in your hand once the picture is taken and the camera spits out the film. the difference in Polaroid spectra film is the size: spectra film is a rectangular format that differs from the more widely recognised square format used by the popular 600 series.

This unique film, combined with the Spectra’s superior lenses and higher build quality, make the spectra a widely sought after camera by Polaroid lovers of old, and those just getting into the resurgence of the Polaroid photography trend.

Polaroid Spectra film as a result is widely sought after and can be hard to find, and when you can find it, it can be very expensive. Polaroid Spectra film comes in packs of 10 or 12 shots.

You can likely still find film for sale at larger or specialist film camera stores, but as stated it is likely to be very expensive. the best place to buy this rare film is online, and searching online venders such as Amazon or eBay can sometimes yield bargains, or at least prices slightly more agreeable than bricks and mortar stores. keep an eye out for bulk packs, which can be an expensive initial outlay, but the saving per shot can be quite significant. a good idea is to get together with some other Spectra enthusiasts and all pitch in to reduce the cost and split the film between you.

Overview

Offering affordable prints with a professional-quality finish, the Konica Magicolor 1600 is a great investment for the small business or home office. The printer is robust enough to handle a high volume of prints, but offers a fine detail to color and images that makes it useful for those times when presentation matters. A compact size and small footprint add to the great features of the Konica Minolta Magicolor series of printers, which means you can save time, money, and space all in one machine.

Features and Functionality

As the brand name suggests, the Konica Magicolor 1600 offers full, vibrant color prints in addition to the standard monochrome output. Speeds can reach as high as 20 pages per minute for black and white, and 5 pages per minute for color, with a 1200 x 600 dpi resolution.

The capacity of the Konica 1600 is in keeping with its small business size. The paper input tray can hold up to 200 sheets at a time, adaptable for use with both letter and legal-sized paper types. The 16MB of memory is large enough for most small- to moderate-sized print needs, and can help create beautiful results with a minimum wait time. yet, despite these features, at 15.6 x 15 x 10.9, the Konica Magicolor 1600 is considered a lightweight and compact machine. it boasts energy efficient features without sacrificing any of its power, and can handle a monthly duty cycle of up to 35,000 pages.

Connectivity is made easy via a hi-speed USB interface. Single users can begin using the printer right out of the box, while offices can be connected if they hook up to an external Ethernet server. it can be used with most operating systems, including Windows 2000 and newer options.

Toner for the Konica Magicolor 1600 offers some of the most brilliant and detailed images possible, thanks to the Simitri HD Polymerized Toner that this brand is known for. Konica Magicolor 1600 cartridges come in four colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. all four cartridges offer up to 2,500 pages of use, and are easily installed via a flip-down access panel.

Why choose the Konica Minolta Magicolor 1600 Printer?

Konica is known for producing high-quality office machines that outlast and out-print the competitors. The Magicolor 1600 is no different, and offers a low price point for the same great results users have come to expect from the brand. with a small size and a small energy footprint, the Konica Magicolor 1600 fits seamlessly into any small business or home office space, but you’ll always get results that seem bigger, bolder, and brighter than printers of twice the size.

I like water sports and always practice it when on holidays. of course catching and keeping memorable moments also while on and in the sea has always been my wish that recently could become true. For the past couple of years I studied many available underwater photo gadgets for DSLR cameras being both anxious and nervous to deep a precious normal camera into water inside a plastic case.

After many considerations, investigations and comparative analyses my choice failed on a reputable Ewa-Marine bag for $320, but settles for a straight off the $100 DiCaPack WP-S10 waterproof camera housing. I decided that it is worth considering and gave it a try due to affordable price and promising features.

General overview: It was a plastic bag – no doubt. Thick plastic that seems to be strong and protective enough. Plastic has a mixed structure – some parts are transparent, some parts are opaque. Friendly interface and back panel buttons that can be pressed through the plastic without any efforts. The case has also a finger pocket that makes it possible to press shutter button. Two additional finger buttons are placed in the lens sleeve, designed for the zoom control (more about that in a minute). Lens is not attached at all to the lens port. Plastic lens port can be dismantled and screwed back. Pack closes at the top by a zip-lock type strip and then folded over and secured by Velcro.

Practical testing: Step 1 – To test the case safety and options I put first an old cheap film camera in as it was advised by the manual. Then I closed and sealed the case according to instructions and dipped it underwater for some time, then took out and check for leakage. The camera inside the case was dry and safe. Some drops were found in folds but nothing inside.

Step 2 – Pool test was the second step of the experiment. The real camera was put inside the case. Diving weights were placed inside the DiCaPack underwater camera case together with the camera to ensure that it can sink on the right depth and keep camera lens on the level with the sleeve. this test also went OK, the camera was dry and ready to operate in the pool underwater conditions.

Pictures for life and memories: Now it was the time for exciting underwater picture capturing. I bought the DiCaPack waterproof camera case not for testing reason, but to take and share unforgettable underwater pictures and now my dream came true. as the camera fitted into the bag I chose D2H – full body DSLR, and 18-70mm Sony lens. Now I can share my fresh impressions of the funny on-water activities and colourful underwater world with friends and family. What do I think of the case after having tried it for a while? Practical, easy, user friendly and operational: that is my assessment of the process. Highly recommendable and the best reference price-quality. If DiCaPack waterproof camera housing can make the job and bring the full satisfaction – why pay more?