We’re currently re-evaluating the direction that our humble blog has taken - and while we will still be bringing you updates on the latest and greatest products in the world of photography - we will also be working on more articles focusing on photography tips and techniques, and how you can best take advantage of all your gear!

Image copyright - iMorpheus - Image used under a Creative Commons (Attribution 2.0 - Generic) License.

Image found on, and hosted by Flickr.

Covering a 16-37mm zoom range (in 35mm terms) this f/3.5 - f/4.5 lens also features a minimum focus distance of about .24m though out its entire zoom range.

Tamron is probably going to price this lens just above the excellent Sigma 10-20mm (currently at just over $500 at Amazon.com) but well below Canon’s 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 and Nikon’s 12-24mm f/4.0. Or for those of you who might see a Nikon D700 or D3 or a Canon 6D (or any full-frame DSLR) in your future - you might also want to look into the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5 - 5.6 which can cover the full 35mm frame, something which all the other previously mentioned ‘digital only’ ultra-wide lenses can’t!

The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5 - 4.5 will be available in Japan in late September 2008, and should make its way to the rest of the world in time for Christmas. We will have sample images here on WhatPhotogear.com as soon as they become available. Stay tuned!

The VC stands for Tamron’s Vibration Correction feature (similar to Canon’s Image Stabilization (IS) and Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) ) - which should ideally give you a 2-3 stop advantage when hand-holding the lens.

Other features include a minimum-focusing distance of about .49m over the entire zoom range and a maximum magnification ration of about 1:35 at 270mm, on paper, this looks to be the ultimate ultra-zoom yet - the only significant potential downside so far is it being an f/6.3 towards the long-end of the zoom.

All-in-all, this looks to be quite an interesting lens for Tamron - a 15x zoom definitely has its upsides, especially if you don’t want to be carrying around too many lenses. But with Nikon’s 18-200 VR finally becoming widely available, and Canon having just announced its own 18-200 IS zoom lens, not too mention Sigma’s 18-200 OS lens - it’s getting pretty crowded in ultra-zoom territory.

This lens is scheduled for a Sept 20th release in Japan. We’ll get you sample images as soon as we can. Stay tuned.

Image © biscuitsmlp. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution License. 

Once you get on location, and you’ve set up your camera, why not just sit back and take in the scene for awhile? I’ve seen it happen a lot of times. I get on location, I set up my camera and then someone comes along, they set-up, fire a few frames, then they’re done. And I haven’t even fired a single frame yet.

Why not try this, when you get on location, or see a scene you want to shoot, don’t bring your camera up to your eye just yet. Just sit back, and enjoy the scene. Take everything in. Ask yourself what kind of shot you really want. Do you think it’ll benefit by shooting lower? Maybe moving back a bit more to add some foreground would work better? What about using a different lens? Horizontal or Vertical?

Once you have a better idea of how you want to capture the scene, then its time to bring your viewfinder up to eye-level and start framing. Try a few different looks. Move back, zoom-in, see what works for you. And before you hit that shutter, check the edges of your frame. You sure there isn’t a tree branch just creeping at the top right there? Maybe you should move to the right or left just a bit more?

Now, this might sound like a lot of work, but it isn’t really. Once you’ve learned to do it with almost every shot, it will only take a minute or two. Now, why not just keep firing like you always do, afterall, with digital you aren’t wasting any film? Well, personally I’d rather get home with fewer shots on my memory card knowing that I’ve worked to make sure I had everything right, rather than having thousands of images and hoping one of them works.

We’ve all done it, we get home, upload our images to our computer only to end up disappointed. Somehow, it just wasn’t how we expected them to turn out. Maybe there are one or two keepers, maybe a dozen or so. But most of them will head straight to the Recycle Bin. But by slowing down, I guarantee you, you’ll not only spend less time slogging through images after you’ve uploaded them to your PC, but you’ll increase your quality shots (keepers) to number of shots taken ratio.

So why not try it? Slow down, and don’t be too trigger happy.

Image © biscuitsmlp. Image used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

With the TZ 50 you are able to wirelessly upload your photo’s to Google’s Picasa Web Albums straight from the camera. You also get 12 months worth of free access to T-Mobile’s Hotspot services (T-Mobile US Only)

Pretty useful I’d say, though I almost always run my photographs through a bit of post-processing in Photoshop or Lightroom before publishing them, there are times when I’d definitely want the ability to just wirelessly upload them straight from the camera.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50:

• 9.1 Megapixels
• 10x optical zoom with image stabilization (28-280mm equivalence)
• 3 inch LCD
• 720p HD Video Capture
• SD and SDHC support
• Allow automatic uploading of images to Google’s Picasa Web Service via 802.11 b/g Wireless

I’m still not clear on this - but from what I understand the wireless uploading option is limited only to Google’s Picasa Web Albums, so no direct wireless uploading to any other services such as Flickr. The Panasonic TZ-50 will be available in May with an MSRP of $ 449.

Full Panasonic Press Release after the jump!

PANASONIC’S COMPACT WI-FI LUMIX DIGITAL CAMERA UPLOADS PHOTOS TO GOOGLE’S PICASA WEB ALBUMS VIA T-MOBILE HOTSPOT SERVICE

SECAUCUS, NJ (April 16, 2008) –

Panasonic today introduced a new addition to its award-winning TZ-family of digital cameras, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ50 - complete with Wi-Fi capabilities, standard 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity and access to T-Mobile® HotSpot service, users can upload digital photos taken with the TZ50 directly to Picasa Web Albums, a free online photo-sharing service from Google. The 9.1 megapixel TZ50 is packed with a 28mm wide-angle lens, 10x optical zoom and the ability to record HD video, making it the ideal digital camera for active users.

“This advanced digital camera makes it possible for users to share their photos with friends and family with unprecedented ease and without a computer,” said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Active users will appreciate the TZ50’s Wi-Fi capabilitilies so they can share photos while on-the-go, but they will also benefit from HD video recording, a 10x optical zoom and a 28mm wide-angle lens, so capturing images, whether far or wide; moving or still - is all possible with this compact camera.”

Panasonic uses the T-Mobile HotSpot service and Picasa Web Albums’ APIs to create a new optimal online environment and community for sharing digital photos. After taking photos with the new Panasonic LUMIX TZ50, users will be able to wirelessly send one or multiple photos at a time, directly to Google’s Picasa Web Albums. Users can connect to standard wireless home networks, but furthermore, the TZ50 can also connect to the T-Mobile HotSpot Service, which provides fast and reliable Wi-Fi Internet acess at more than 8,800 public locations throughout the United States, including Borders® Books & Music stores, Hyatt Hotels and many major airports. The LUMIX TZ50 comes with an offer for 12-months of complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot Wi-FI service**.

Users can register one email account with their TZ50, so after uploading their photos to Picasa Web Albums, they can have the URL to that album sent to the registered account. Since many cell phones and smartphones receive emails, users can register their own email address and then forward that Picasa Web Albums URL to friends and family, all while away from home and without using a computer. In addition, users can browse their albums to confirm that photos have been successfully uploaded, and choose to delete uploaded photos directly on the digital camera.

The TZ50 is the latest member of the LUMIX TZ-Series, renowned for packaging a 28mm wide-angle 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens (equivalent to 28-280mm on a 35mm film camera) into a compact body. The 28mm wide-angle lens captures subjects and scenes wider at the same standpoint than a normal 35mm camera. Notably, the new TZ50 integrates the capability of recording 720p HD (high-definition) motion pictures together with its direct output function allowing users to enjoy watching both still and motion pictures in impressive HD quality on a HDTV via an optional component cable or by inserting the SD Memory Card into the SD slot, which is available on all Panasonic VIERA HDTVs.

The Panasonic LUMIX TZ50 also incorporates Panasonic’s advanced Intelligent Auto (iA) mode consisting of seven intuitive technologies, all which are specifically designed to help make photo-taking enjoyable and easy. When in Advanced Intelligent Auto mode, the following technologies all operate automatically; the consumer does not need to change any settings:

• Intelligent Exposure - Photos will no longer be under- or over-exposed. Instead, the TZ50 instantly analyze the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting or the use of the flash. The camera will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.
• Digital Red-eye Correction- Helps eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at the night. Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash, detects red-eye and will digitally correct it.
• MEGA O.I.S. - Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent hand-shake from creating a blurry image.
• Intelligent ISO - Determines if the photo subject is moving and change the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly.
• Intelligent Scene Selector - Senses the ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and will automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode. This intuitive technology, helps the consumer use the most common scene modes that are built into the camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments.
• Face Detection - Detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure settings so portraits come out clear and crisp. Detecting up to 15 faces, Panasonic’s Face Detection can even track a face if the subject is moving.
• Continuous AF - The Continuous AF (auto focus) system maintains focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, thus minimizing the AF time.

Once a user is in iA mode, these multi-capable functions happen automatically no adjustments or settings changes need to be made. Furthermore, the DMC-TZ50 boasts Intelligent LCD function, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer a display with excellent clarity in any situation with the newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in 3.0-inch LCD screen.

The TZ50 incorporates the Venus Engine IV, Panasonic’s new high-performance image processing LSI. The Venus Engine IV produces higher-quality pictures than its predecessor, the Venus Engine III, by using a more advanced signal processing system. The new Venus Engine IV also improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects in both MEGA O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO and reduces the shutter release time lag.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ50 will be available in silver in May 2008 for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $449.95.

* *35mm film camera equivalent: 28-280mm

** One year of complimentary, camera-specific T-Mobile HotSpot service begins from the first time you automatically connect your LUMIX digital camera to the T-Mobile network at a T-Mobile HotSpot location within the U.S., subject to certain limitations, terms and conditions. The complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot service does not include access to the Internet at other Wi-Fi roaming locations. This offer expires on August 31, 2009.

The more I read about this camera, the more interesting it gets. Now if I could somehow cough up that $999 street price, I would definitely be in line for one. The high-speed 60 frame-per-second shooting can definitely open up a lot of opportunities that I would’ve otherwise missed with a regular superzoom.

But unfortunately it’s not all good news though, despite the fast shooting speed, the camera seems to be saddled with slow start-up times, and if the EVF is anything like most superzooms, then it can get pretty laggy at times. And David complains about the sluggish lens as well.

The 12X zoom is nice to have, but it’s slow to react. And during video capture, when you turn the lens ring to zoom, it jerks spastically through the zoom range, effectively ruining your shot. The camera has great difficulty changing focus during filming, too.

All in all, this looks to be a step in the right direction for Casio, the price might put off quite a few people, especially since image quality isn’t really anything special, but comparable to other super-zooms - but for those of us who can find value in its shooting speed, it could be worth the pretty hefty investment.

Now if Casio can drop a larger sensor on the EX-F2 with a lens worthy of the shooting speed, without upping the price.. that could be quite something.

From: The New York Times via What Photo Gear

The camera looks suspiciously like a Canon S5 IS to me though, and I wish Nikon would’ve been a bit more daring with this one. Although this is a big re-design for Nikon’s P series (P stands for ‘Performance’) of digital cameras as previous P series models weren’t ultra-zooms - there are quite a few ultra-zooms out in the market right now. We’ve got the aforementioned Canon S5 IS, the Fuji S8100fd, the Olympus SP-560 UZ, the Sony H50 and the Panasonic FZ-18.

I wish Nikon would’ve thrown in an articulating LCD, or had taken the lens wider. (I’m still waiting for an update to the Nikon 8400 from 2004!) But all in all, specs wise, the Nikon P80 looks all set to rumble with all the other ultra-zooms. But will it be a case of too little too late for Nikon in this market segment?

The Nikon P80:

• 10.1 Megapixels
• 18x zoom lens (27-486mm equivalence) (f/2.8 - f/4.5)
• Vibration Reduction (And with a lens like that, VR is going to help a lot) (Nikon’s Press Literature only says that the P80 comes equipped with Optical Vibration Reduction, and interestingly, DPreview’s news article claims it comes with CCD-Shift VR, not lens based)
• Full Manual Controls
• ISO 64-1600 (ISO 3200 and 6400 only at 3MP and smaller)
• Available this April with an MSRP of $399.95

Hit the Read More Link to see the full Press Release.

NIKON “ZOOMS” IN ON PERFORMANCE WITH THE NEW COOLPIX P80, AN 18X ZOOM COMPACT CAMERA

MELVILLE, NY (April 10, 2008) – Nikon Inc. is pleased to announce the COOLPIX P80, a high-performance compact camera built to satisfy the needs of camera enthusiasts and family photographers alike. The P80 harmoniously integrates a 10.1 megapixel CCD image sensor with Nikon’s innovative EXPEED™ digital image processing concept and an 18x optical Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed with the compact and comfortable styling of the Nikon COOLPIX brand.

“The COOLPIX P80 addresses a need from consumers for an ultra-zoom compact camera that offers unrivaled Nikon performance and clarity,” said Bill Giordano, General Manager, Marketing, COOLPIX for Nikon Inc. “Nikon is proud to continue delivering the highest quality imaging products for photo enthusiasts and aspiring photographers with a broad range of creative control options and superior imaging ability.”

Packing the power of 10.1 megapixels, the P80 captures fine detail with the creative freedom to crop and edit. The P80 features Nikon’s legendary NIKKOR optics, ensuring quality images even while at a distance to subjects. The P80’s 18x Zoom-NIKKOR lens covers focal lengths from 27-486mm (35mm format equivalent). To ensure steady shots while utilizing the camera’s versatile zoom capabilities, the COOLPIX P80 is equipped with Optical Vibration Reduction (VR).

In line with other COOLPIX P-Series cameras, the P80 includes intuitive controls via dedicated command and mode dials, providing easy access to shooting controls and exposure mode settings. The P80 offers Programmed Auto [P], Shutter-priority Auto [S], Aperture-priority Auto [A] and Manual [M] modes granting users the ability to tap into the creativity of D-SLR functions while maintaining the simplicity of COOLPIX functionality. What’s more, the P80 has the benefit of an all-new Sport Continuous Mode, allowing users to shoot as many as 30 consecutive pictures at four, six, or a quick 13 frames per second.¹

Capturing photos in lower light conditions is no problem for the P80. With a light sensitivity range up to ISO 6400², users can now create new opportunities to capture more natural-looking photos with minimal light, or fast moving subjects with unparalleled clarity.

Composing and reviewing photos is an enjoyable experience on the large, 2.7-inch LCD monitor with anti-reflection coating, wide viewing angle and 230,000 dots of high resolution. An eye level electronic viewfinder is available for quick easy viewing in challenging lighting conditions.

The P80 also offers quick access to a selection of 15 different scene-optimized and movie modes including the ability to shoot pictures in both black and white and color simultaneously. The new graphical user interface has an enhanced pop-up design allowing for more precise menu navigation and interaction.

Nikon has incorporated its user-friendly Imaging Innovations into the P80, designed to make the photo-taking process easier and more intuitive. These technologies, referred to as “Nikon In-Camera Innovations” include In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™, D-Lighting, and Face-Priority AF. In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™ automatically detects and corrects red eye, a common condition that occurs in flash photography. In playback mode, D-Lighting compensates for excessive back-light or insufficient flash in images. Nikon’s enhanced Face-Priority AF automatically finds and focuses on one person’s face or up to 12 people’s faces within one frame. Face-Priority AF provides faster and sharper focus to produce clear, crisp portraits wherever the subjects are positioned in the frame.

The COOLPIX P80 comes packaged with Nikon’s COOLPIX Software Suite for organizing, editing and sharing photos. It also has PictBridge support and is compatible with SD/SDHC cards. The COOLPIX P80 will be available nationwide beginning April 2008 and has an MSRP of $399.95**. For more information about the P80 and other COOLPIX cameras, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

** Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Actual prices are determined by Nikon Authorized dealers and are subject to change at any time.

¹At 3MP and smaller resolution.
²At 5MP or smaller resolution

About Nikon
Nikon, At the Heart of the Image™. Nikon Inc. is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. Nikon Inc. distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights and system accessories; Nikon COOLPIX® compact digital cameras; COOLSCAN® digital film scanners; 35mm film SLR cameras; Nikon software products and Nikon sports and recreational optics. Nikon D Series digital SLR cameras are recognized as “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Digital SLR cameras,” according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study. Nikon Corporation, the parent company of Nikon Inc., recently celebrated its 90th anniversary and announced the production of over 40 million NIKKOR SLR interchangeable lenses. For more information, dial (800) NIKON-US or visit http://www.nikonusa.com, which links all levels of photographers to the Web’s most comprehensive photo learning and sharing communities.

Nikon today announced a couple of new digital camera’s. First to be introduced are a pair of almost identical (save for one feature) compacts. The S52 and S52c (the S means they’re part of Nikon’s “Style” series of camera’s.)

And as I said, they’re almost the exact same camera’s, with the difference being that the S52C will be Wi-Fi enabled and will have an MSRP of $30 more than the plain S52. But otherwise, everything should be pretty much the same. They both feature a 3x zoom lens, with a pretty boring 38mm - 114mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range, the lens has a folding lens design, so you won’t see the lens extending away from the body even when zooming in and out. The good news is the lens will come equipped with Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) to help minimize camera shake, and to help you get sharper pictures. (And this one is a true lens based vibration reduction feature, it’s not just the ISO boost you see in some camera’s)

The Nikon S52 and S52c:

• 9 Megapixels
• 3 inch LCD
• Compact body, less than an inch thick (3.7×2.3×0.8)
• 3x Optical Zoom (38-114mm equivalence)
• Vibration Reduction
• Auto ISO (from ISO 200-800) (Up to ISO 2000 in High Sensitivity Mode) (But ISO is selectable up to ISO 3200)

Full Nikon Press Release after the jump.

NIKON INTRODUCES THE NEW COOLPIX S52 and S52c, STYLISH CAMERAS DESIGNED TO OPTIMIZE YOUR PICTURE TAKING AND SHARING EXPERIENCE

MELVILLE, NY (April 10, 2008) – Nikon Inc. is pleased to introduce the new COOLPIX S52 and S52c to its Style Series of digital cameras. These cameras combine Nikon’s stunning wave-surface camera body with advanced features designed to produce incredible pictures with ease. With 9.0 effective megapixels, a 3x, 38-114mm Zoom-NIKKOR lens, Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization and manual sensitivity settings as high as ISO 3200, the COOLPIX S52 and S52c are for consumers looking for a stunning camera that takes equally stunning photos.

“We are pleased to introduce the COOLPIX S52 and the S52c to our Style Series line of compact cameras, as they combine an elegant camera design with advanced imaging capabilities,” says Bill Giordano, General Manager, Marketing, COOLPIX for Nikon Inc. “With the versatile COOLPIX S52 and its Wi-Fi enabled counterpart, the S52c, users will have the opportunity to take incredible pictures with exceptional detail and sharpness.”

The COOLPIX S52 and S52c feature Optical VR Image Stabilization technology, which compensates for camera shake as well as ISO capabilities up to 3200, which provide more opportunities to capture fast moving subjects and greater flexibility and clarity when shooting in low-light settings. These cameras also boast an AUTO ISO control, which automatically selects the optimal sensitivity across a range between ISO 100 and ISO 800, and up to ISO 2000 in High-Sensitivity mode.

Providing even more control and freedom in photo taking, the S52 and S52c come with a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed to capture brilliant detail and vivid colors in every photo and a huge 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen allowing easy sharing and viewing of images. Also, these new cameras are built on Nikon’s innovative EXPEED™ digital image processing system designed to enhance noise reduction and improve the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio.

Like all cameras in the COOLPIX line, the S52 and S52c include Nikon’s unique image innovations including enhanced Face-Priority AF, which automatically finds and focuses on up to five faces within the frame; In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, which can automatically detect and correct red eye in a photo; and D-Lighting, which compensates for excessive backlight or insufficient flash in images.

The Wi-Fi enabled S52c can send images directly via email through its Wi-Fi connection, as well as support my Picturetown, Nikon’s photo sharing and storage service. Through my Picturetown, users can email pictures directly to friends and family, publish pictures to the photo community sharing Website Flickr®, and link their photos to blogs and social networking sites. Pictures can also be sent to the email addresses of a BlackBerry® device for viewing.

The S52 and S52c both feature the Pictmotion function which will allow users to combine their favorite movies and photos and create in-camera slide shows with music including songs uploaded from iTunes®.

The COOLPIX S52 and S52c come packaged with Nikon’s exclusive COOLPIX Software Suite for organizing, editing and sharing photos. The S52 and S52c are SDHC compatible and utilize Nikon’s ultra-compact EN-EL8 rechargeable Li-ion battery. The S52 will be available in Crimson Red and Midnight Black. The S52c will be available in Vibrant Black.

The COOLPIX S52 and S52c will be available nationwide in May 2008. The S52 has an MSRP** of $249.95, and the S52c has an MSRP** of $279.95. For more information about these and other COOLPIX cameras, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

** Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Actual prices are determined by Nikon Authorized dealers and are subject to change at any time.

About Nikon
Nikon, At the Heart of the Image™. Nikon Inc. is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. Nikon Inc. distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights and system accessories; Nikon COOLPIX® compact digital cameras; COOLSCAN® digital film scanners; 35mm film SLR cameras; Nikon software products and Nikon sports and recreational optics. Nikon D Series digital SLR cameras are recognized as “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Digital SLR cameras,” according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study. Nikon Corporation, the parent company of Nikon Inc., recently celebrated its 90th anniversary and announced the production of over 40 million NIKKOR SLR interchangeable lenses. For more information, dial (800) NIKON-US or visit www.nikonusa.com, which links all levels of photographers to the Web’s most comprehensive photo learning and sharing communities.