What Photo Gear

The great folks over at DPReview have come out with one of the first (most likely the first) in-depth review of Nikon’s latest version of it’s basic kit lens - the 18-55mm DX VR.

The good news is that despite the changes in the optical design (more elements, no ED glass) optical performance is still decent and on par with lenses at this class. The big news is of course the addition of Nikon’s Vibration Reduction which helps us shoot hand-held in lower shutter speeds than normally possible without a tripod.

There are still design issues carried over from the previous two versions of the lens, such as the rotating front element (not good for those using filters), the thin manual focus ring, and there is still no hood included (and the lens is fairly prone to flare). But all in all, if I were to conclude from DPR’s review - still one of the better kit lenses out there, and still one of the better value Nikkor’s out there especially for beginners.

You can check out the rest of the Nikon 18-55mm DX VR Review courtesy of DPReview.

The Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens is currently available for under USD $200.00 and will of course be available as the standard stock kit lens for Nikon’s latest DSLR - the Nikon D60.

And the Sigma DP1 reviews just keep coming. And the good thing is, these hands-on reviews are in English.

Both hands-ons were based on pre-production models from the Focus on Imaging 2008 tradeshow that’s currently on-going.

Sigma DP-1 Review from geextreme.com
And a Sigma DP-1 Hands-on from the Ricoh GR - Diary.

And the interesting thing is, both hands-ons offer us two different conclusions. Although the second link focuses more on the handling and physical aspects of the DP-1 and comparing it with the the Ricoh GRs and it doesn’t discuss any of the image quality at all.

Yes, you read right, some lucky soul has an online “review” of the Sigma DP1 up on the world wide web - but, but? But what? Yes, there’s a but - unfortunately it’s not in English. But - yet another but - it has quite a few sample images, and that’s really what’s most important isn’t it?

Just point your browser here. The site is a bit wonky, and the images do take awhile to load. Also, after all the sample images with all the robots, there should be more sample images featuring a lovely female model as well as some landscape shots. If you’re running Mozilla Firefox, you should see the first image with the model load - then you have to click your middle mouse button and scroll through the images. If you’re running Internet Explorer, it might need a few hits to your ‘refresh button’ to load.

Although the site seems to be more of a Sigma marketing site to me - all the images do look impressive. The Foveon X3 sensor seems to really shine when compared to the puny sensors found in most compacts. (Of course, at an MSRP of US $999 it’s not priced like any compact either) Note: Currently available for pre-order via Amazon.com for just $799!

For a more technical description of the Foveon X3 sensor click here. You can also view a flash video of how the sensor works by clicking here.

And up next for today is Sony’s new ultra-zoom camera, the DSC-H50. This 9.1 megapixel shooter features a 15x zoom lens with ED glass, full manual controls and a 3″ tilting LCD.

• 9.1 effective megapixels
• 15x zoom (31mm - 465mm equivalent)
• Adjustable Noise Reduction (Low, High, Standard)
• Up to ISO 3200
• Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization
• Optical zoom usable during movie mode
• Available in May for about $400

On paper not a bad super zoom from Sony here - there are other ultra-zoom camera’s with wider lenses - Fuji’s S8000 series with its 27mm - 486mm lens comes to mind as well as Panasonic’s FZ-18 with a 28mm - 504mmm equivalent lens. Although the Sony H5- does of course win out in the longer end of the zoom, but most photographers (me included) would prefer a wider zoom to a longer reach.

But this Sony is capable of using accessory lenses to further widen or extend its field of view. You can use the Sony VCL-DH0774 wide-angle accessory lens (as pictured above) to give you a new wide angle equivalence of just over 23mm or the Sony VCL-DH1774 telephoto accessory lens attachment to give you a paparazzi worthy 790mm telephoto equivalence!

Full press release and a pic of the tilting LCD after the jump.

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Sony has chosen today to announce 2 new digital camera’s - and first up is the Sony W300, which their press release has dubbed as a megapixel powerhouse. And with a whopping 13.6 megapixels crammed into its 1/1.7″ CCD, it’s hard to argue with that.

The Sony W300:

• 13.6 megapixels
• 3x optical zoom (35 - 105mm equivalent)
• Sony’s Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization
• Up to ISO 3200 (ISO 6400 available in a new ‘extra high sensitivity mode’)
• 2.7″ LCD and an optical viewfinder
• User selectable Noise Reduction options (High, Low, Standard)
• Titanium coated, 1.1″ thick body
• Available May 2008 at an MSRP of $350

Full press release after the link.

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So what do we aim to accomplish with WhatPhotoGear.com? Well, just like the name says, the focus will be on all that shiny gear that helps us make pictures. We hope to cover news, churn out some reviews, show you tips and tricks and etc and etc.. But we’re not just limiting ourselves to the latest super duper ultra mega pixel DSLR or the just released, ultra-thin and available-in-6-different-colors point and shoot - but we’re also going to cover tripods and heads, bags, lenses and all those other gear that most other photography gear websites tend to overlook.

But just a bit of a disclaimer here - I do subscribe to the your camera and all your gear is all secondary school of thought - and I’m sure most of us do. After all, there are numerous photographers out there with their little point and shoots and entry level DSLRs producing better photographs than those lugging around thousands of dollars worth of gear.

But at the same time, I don’t totally follow the your camera and gear don’t matter school of thought either. I will readily recommend that everyone purchase the best gear we can afford - but I also believe that all our gear are simply tools to help us in making better photographs. Good gear should go hand in hand with a good photographic eye and a good grasp of the basics.

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