Minor update to the index sites

Here is a small recap of the updates to my index sites:

• Leica  150 links, 12 new links to quality articles
• Samsung Index 100 links, 3 new links to quality articles
• Sigma Index 345 links, 1 new links to quality articles
• Zeiss Index 140 links, 0 new links to quality articles
• Pentax Index 572 links, 0 new links to quality articles
• Canon Index - 2001 links, 12 new links to quality articles
• Nikon Index - 2940 links, 61 new links to quality articles
• Panasonic Index - 387 links, 6 new links to quality articles
• Fujifilm Index - 316 links, 6 new links to quality articles
• Olympus Index - 431 links, 8 new links to quality articles
• Sony Index - 1064 links, 16 new links to quality articles

There is a lot of quality information to be found here. Check out your equipment or what you are considering to buy.

Not that many new article this time, but the RSS feeds are now live and I have been working on other new features and content. Stay tuned ;-)

So keep coming back. I am working hard to make these site better.

Still in a build and major indexing phase, so a lot of articles being added at the moment.

Index sites has been updated and a new news section

Here is a small recap of the updates to my index sites:

• Leica  138 links, 11 new links to quality articles
• Samsung Index 97 links, 13 new links to quality articles
• Sigma Index 344 links, 14 new links to quality articles
• Zeiss Index 140 links, 0 new links to quality articles
• Pentax Index 572 links, 33 new links to quality articles
• Canon Index - 1989 links, 98 new links to quality articles
• Nikon Index - 2879 links, 93 new links to quality articles
• Panasonic Index - 381 links, 32 new links to quality articles
• Fujifilm Index - 310 links, 33 new links to quality articles
• Olympus Index - 423 links, 53 new links to quality articles
• Sony Index - 1048 links, 91 new links to quality articles

There is a lot of quality information to be found here. Check out your equipment or what you are considering to buy.

A new feature has hit the site, which is the first step toward newsletter and RSS feeds. The sites now have a news section. It is a bit hidden so far (look in the bottom of the pages for "News overview"), but will get a better position as time goes by. The news is divided by major group (which also will be features in the newsletter and RSS feeds), so if you only are interested in lenses you will be able to find what is new on the Internet about these and so on. The grouping is:

• Compact cameras
• Digital SLR cameras
• Flash and other
• Lenses
• Medium format cameras
• Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras

So keep coming back. I am working hard to make these site better
Still in a build and major indexing phase, so a lot of articles being added at the moment.

The index sites keeps getting bigger and bigger

Here is a small recap of the updates to my index sites:

• Leica  127 links, 8 new links to quality articles
• Samsung Index 84 links, 20 new links to quality articles
• Sigma Index 330 links, 48 new links to quality articles
• Zeiss Index 140 links, 0 new links to quality articles
• Pentax Index 539 links, 61 new links to quality articles
• Canon Index - 1891 links, 94 new links to quality articles
• Nikon Index - 2786 links, 155 new links to quality articles
• Panasonic Index - 349 links, 26 new links to quality articles
• Fujifilm Index - 277 links, 26 new links to quality articles
• Olympus Index - 370 links, 39 new links to quality articles
• Sony Index - 957 links, 96 new links to quality articles

There is a lot of quality information to be found here. Check out your equipment or what you are considering to buy.

A lot of new products have been announced lately, so it is a fun time to be a photo gear guy :-) Also working on a couple of new features that I hope to introduce soon. A small preview of what to come:

• Newsletter via Mailchump with more detail news that the above list
• RSS feed a lot like the above for those that prefer that way of getting news
• and some other secret stuff

So keep coming back. I am working hard to make these site better

Still in a build and major indexing phase, so a lot of articles being added at the moment.

Nikon Coolpix S02 vs S01, first thoughts (more in the same size package) and links

The new Nikon Coolpix S02 is the replacement of the Nikon Coolpix S01. As many of the Coolpix upgrades there isn't that much news from edition to edition. The same is true with the Nikon Coolpix S02.

Nikon Coolpix S02

The Nikon Coolpix S02 have gotten a new sensor, so now the sensor is 13 megapixel, where it was only 10 megapixel in the Nikon Coolpix S01. And the picture quality has most likely also gotten a small upgrade.

The surprising thing is that Nikon has managed to put a larger LCD screen on the back of the Nikon Coolpix S02, and it is still almost the same size and weight as the previous version.

The Nikon Coolpix S01 is rated 65 out of 100 on Nikon Index based on 2 reviews, so the new version really has something to improve. Otherwise you might just be better of with nice smart phone camera.

The price difference is at the moment huge. The Nikon Coolpix S01 can be gotten for around $90 and the new Nikon Coolpix S02 is priced at about $175, so it is about twice as expensive. The reason behind this huge price difference is that Nikon is trying to sell the last cameras in stock as it goes out of production.

If you want one of these cameras just go for the old version. The price difference don't justify the small advantages in features.

Follow the Nikon Coolpix S02 at Nikon Index.

Links:

• Product page
• Press release

Nikon Coolpix P7800 vs Nikon CoolP7700 first thoughts and compare (too expensive)

The new Nikon Coolpix P7800 is the expensive replacement to the Nikon Coolpix P7700. The most important news with this camera is that it got a electronic viewfinder, so you can use the camera like a digital SLR camera.

Nikon Coolpix P7800

Otherwise the is almost no news with this camera refresh other than some very small tweaks where you are going to be a detective to find them.

The existing Nikon Coolpix P7700 got a good rating of 78 out of 100 at Nikon Index, so it is a good camera to buy and as the Nikon Coolpix P7800 doesn't change much this should also be a good buy when it comes down from its initial high price.

The price difference between these two cameras is huge (September 2013), so if you are considering the one over the other please go for the older model as it is almost half price of the new model. The price difference is just to big to justify a electronic viewfinder.

Follow the Nikon Coolpix P7800 at Nikon Index

Links:

• Product page
• Press release

Sony CyberShot QX100 first thoughts (short term winner)

The new Sony CyberShot QX100 camera/lens is a very interesting innovation in the camera market and it will be the start of a new form of photography, where the line between smart phones and digital cameras gets smaller. This camera has a great target user group in the more advance camera users where image quality is a high priority and with gear freaks that has to be first moves on new innovative products.

Sony CyberShot QX100

The Sony CyberShot QX10 is the choice you make that gives you the most versatile choice between the Sony CyberShot QX10 and the Sony CyberShot QX100 as it has a better zoom range. The Sony CyberShot QX100 is the choice if image quality is your top priority when you want one of these products. If you want a lot of control when you take pictures you should go for the Sony CyberShot QX100 as it has manual focus options and other nice features for advance photographers.
 
I see the Sony CyberShot QX100 as the short term winner. It is the perfect gadget for photographs and they are going for this model as it is based on the Sony CyberShot RX100II, which is a great camera, but I do have my doubts if it is going to be a long term winner. So far I think it is missing to many of the advance features that photographers have come to love and depend on.

So will this be a success? It is based on the same technology as the Sony CyberShot RX100II and it is $250 cheaper, which is close to 33% cheaper. So if you are going for a compact camera and are considering the Sony CyberShot RX100II then why not save the $250. There are some features that you wouldn't get in the Sony CyberShot QX100, but these features are not something that the average compact user is going to miss, but lets look at them in more details.

The autofocus modes in the Sony CyberShot QX100 is worse than in its rival Sony CyberShot RX100II as you don't get some of the more advance autofocus options. This may change as the software on the smart phone gets better

You will have less light metering options in the Sony CyberShot QX100, but for most of the potential users this really don't make a difference as they don't know that the compact camera has these options.

Many of the software options that is in the Compact Camera like the scene selection, options and so on is very limited so far in the Sony CyberShot QX100, but again this might change over time.

There isn't any flash to the Sony CyberShot QX100 which might be one of the major issues with this kind of camera. How are you going to take pictures at night with this camera? Maybe the smart phones flash can be used, but this isn't a good option.

And there are not burst mode so far, so using this for fast action photography like a sports event isn't going to happen so far, but again this might change as software on the smart phone gets better.

This announcement raises a lot of questions about what Sony (and other camera companies) at going to do in the future. Will they allow third party camera apps like "Camera Zoom FX" to access the Sony CyberShot QX100? How will they decide which Compact Cameras that comes as a CyberShot edition? Will they launch a E-mount (or other mount) adapter with sensor, so you can add your own lens of choice and use the smart phone to control it? How will the other camera companies react to this invention from Sony? Is this the death of the Compact Camera market? Will Sony launch a small controller device just like they have smart watches?

Sony is in a very unique market situation. It is almost the only company that have a large market share in both the camera market and the smart phone market. The only other company that I can think of is Samsung, but they isn't that big in the camera market. So the other camera will have a hard up hill fight to catch Sony.

So you are are a potential compact user looking for a camera that can do more than your smart phone, then I would seriously, seriously consider the new Sony CyberShot QX100 camera/lens. If you are (like me) looking for a more mobile choice than your SLR camera gear and are not truly happy with the image quality and features from you smart phone then this could really be an option, but I would like to see it work in real life. Let some other people try it out for a period of time. This is for some part a first version product and there are bound to be some initial issues. I will (and recommend) to do the wait game. Wait and see what kind of experiences that other users are having.

Follow the Sony CyberShot QX100 at Sony Index.

Links:

• Product page
• Press release

Sony CyberShot Q10 first thoughts (Long term winner)

The new Sony CyberShot QX10 camera/lens is a very interesting innovation in the camera market and it will be the start of a new form of photography, where the line between smart phones and digital cameras gets smaller.

Sony CyberShot QX10

The Sony CyberShot QX10 is the choice you make that gives you the most versatile choice between the Sony CyberShot QX10 and the Sony CyberShot QX100 as it has a better zoom range. The Sony CyberShot QX100 is the choice if image quality is your top priority when you want one of these products. If you want a lot of control when you take pictures you should go for the Sony CyberShot QX100 as it has manual focus options and other nice features for advance photographers. I see the Sony CyberShot QX10 as the long term winner. It is much more compact than its rival compact cameras and a lot easier to share on the Internet. Only question is if it is two hard to use for very novice users, that are the typical compact camera users.

So will this be a success? It is based on the same technology as the Sony CyberShot WX150 and it is $150 cheaper, which is close to 50% cheaper. So if you are going for a compact camera and are considering the Sony CyberShot WX150 then why not save the $150. There are some features that you wouldn't get in the Sony CyberShot QX10, but these features are not something that the average compact user is going to miss, but lets look at them in more details.

The autofocus modes in the Sony CyberShot QX10 is worse than in its rival Sony CyberShot WX150 as you don't get some of the more advance autofocus options. This may change as the software on the smart phone gets better

You will have less light metering options in the Sony CyberShot QX10, but for most of the potential users this really don't make a difference as they don't know that the compact camera has these options.

Many of the software options that is in the Compact Camera like the scene selection, options and so on is very limited so far in the Sony CyberShot QX10, but again this might change over time.

There isn't any flash to the Sony CyberShot QX10 which might be one of the major issues with this kind of camera. How are you going to take pictures at night with this camera? Maybe the smart phones flash can be used, but this isn't a good option.

And there are not burst mode so far, so using this for fast action photography like a sports event isn't going to happen so far, but again this might change as software on the smart phone gets better.

This announcement raises a lot of questions about what Sony (and other camera companies) at going to do in the future. Will they allow third party camera apps like "Camera Zoom FX" to access the Sony CyberShot QX10? How will they decide which Compact Cameras that comes as a CyberShot edition? Will they launch a E-mount (or other mount) adapter with sensor, so you can add your own lens of choice and use the smart phone to control it? How will the other camera companies react to this invention from Sony? Is this the death of the Compact Camera market? Will Sony launch a small controller device just like they have smart watches?

Sony is in a very unique market situation. It is almost the only company that have a large market share in both the camera market and the smart phone market. The only other company that I can think of is Samsung, but they isn't that big in the camera market. So the other camera will have a hard up hill fight to catch Sony.

So you are are a potential compact user looking for a camera that can do more than your smart phone, then I would seriously, seriously consider the new Sony CyberShot QX10 camera/lens. If you are (like me) looking for a more mobile choice than your SLR camera gear and are not truly happy with the image quality and features from you smart phone then this could really be an option, but I would like to see it work in real life. Let some other people try it out for a period of time. This is for some part a first version product and there are bound to be some initial issues. I will (and recommend) to do the wait game. Wait and see what kind of experiences that other users are having.

Follow the Sony CyberShot QX10 at Sony Index.

Links:

• Product page
• Press release

HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited first thoughts (nice upgrade)

The new HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited replaces the existing smc PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited with a lens construction that is almost the same. The main difference is a new coating on the lens and better bokeh effect.

HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited

The HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited has gotten a new coating called HD coating. This is something a lot of camera companies are doing these days on their premium lenses. The coating on other lenses has proved to improve the image quality of the pictures, so I think you can expect the same here with the HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited.

HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited also have gotten an improvement in the bokeh effect, which is how the background is shown behind the main subject as small apertures. This one of the main reasons why photographers are going for high end lenses.

The existing smc PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited have gotten a rating of 75 at Pentax Index, which is considered to be one of the better lenses you can add to your camera. I expect that the new HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited will have a performance and rating that is close to this and my though is that it should get a better performance.

The price difference between the existing smc PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited and the new HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited is not that big, so if you are going to buy this wide lens it is better to go for the improved new HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited.

You can follow the HD PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited at Pentax Index, where I will collect reviews, articles and other interesting information as they come available from different Internet Sites. It is the easiest way to find a lot of quality, validated information about Pentax/Ricoh photography equipment.