Pentax K-7 Wins Adorama Award

Whilst Nikon and Canon hog most of the DSLR limelight, with Sony and the new Micro Four Thirds cameras jostling for the remaining column inches, there are other manufacturers who are producing innovative, advanced and technically accomplished cameras. Pentax is perhaps the most overlooked maker of them all.

Their K-m/K2000 model offered first time DSLR owners a very competent camera at a price that their rivals just couldn't match. The new K-x model has a feature list and colour range to turn Nikon and Canon owners green with envy. And the new K-7 has topped an Adorama poll as the most important camera of the year.

But don't think Pentax are churning out cheap budget units with a few fancy bits and pieces bolted on that simply aren't competitive with the class leaders. They are producing genuinely good cameras, well built, for a fabulous price. If you are in the market for DSLR, Pentax are definitely worth taking a look at.

Nikon Coolpix S70

I've been a happy Nikon Coolpix owner for much of my digital life, starting out with the uber cool Coolpix 880 in 2000, followed up with the Coolpix bridge camera the 8700 in 2004. Which I kept until 2008, and it was still churning out decent images when it was stolen earlier this year from the person I gave it to.

But. It seems such a long time ago now that Nikon produced a genuinely competitive advanced compact. Which is a huge shame, given the history and heritage of the company, and the undoubted excellence and success of their DSLR range. Even when they do innovate and produce a camera such as the S1000pj, you can't help feel that the marketing feature, the projector, is a bit gimmicky, and the heart of the camera, image quality, is again a bit blah.

Enter Nikon's latest assault on the compact range. The Coolpix S70 has a huge, high quality OLED touchscreen which by all accounts is a nice feature. But image quality? Once again, average. I wouldn't even consider a Coolpix today, despite having once been a loyal Coolpix fanboy. Of sorts. It's a great shame.Sony, Panasonic, Fuji and Canon have all moved into a league above Nikon in the compact market, whilst Samsung and others are in the process of surpassing them. And Nikon aren't helping themselves with their pricing policy. Selling middling products at premium prices is not the recipe for long term success.

PhotographyBB Online Magazine

The latest edition of the always excellent PhotographyBB magazine is out now, waiting to grace your PDF reader of choice for free.

Swarovski Olympus EP-1

Is Olympus' PEN EP-1 camera not quite cool or chic enough for you? Even with those gorgeous retro looks, the large sensor and a years worth of hype? No? Really? Well pop down to Harrods in London, hand over the best part of £2000 (thats about $3200US) and wait for them to gift you this delightful little number covered in Swarovski crystals.

PhotoRem

Finding a niche in the online file and photo market is getting increasingly difficult. To say there's plenty of competition is the understatement of the year. But still people try. Like PhotoRem. Store files, upload photos, create presentations and slideshows. Yes, it's all been done before. But what have they done to differentiate themselves from the competition. Firstly, for the moment anyway, it's free and unlimited. That will of course change eventually, either because they decide they need to actually make some money, or because they don't ever have that realisation and go bust.

Secondly, they've turned what is a good concept into a counter intuitive and frustrating user experience. I hate to write bad things about start ups who are trying their best, but unless they change the way things are done soon (start again from scratch springs to mind) this one is doomed. I did eventually manage to create a slideshow though, which can be embedded...what a shame it isn't the slideshow I created, and has instead some woman with a silly grin on her face. Nuff said. Doomed.

Create Your Own Lightbox

Taking quality product shots isn't easy. Or so you thought. This video and this tutorial show you how to create your own little photo studio out of cardboard and tracing paper.

Panasonic Lumix GF1 Review and Video Sample

Of the three 'pocketable' Micro Four Thirds cameras available at the moment (or in the case of the Olympus EP-2, soon to be available...) this is the pick of the bunch in my opinion. More polished than the original PEN EP-1, better value than the EP-2. But that's my opinion. Click here for the full review of Camera Labs and take a look at their video sample below.