cameras

Smart Point and Shoot? /  by Michael Durr

It's only a matter of time...  

I have not picked up a point and shoot camera in almost two years. Why? Well, I have an amazing 5D Mark III and an iPhone4. Back in the day when I went to parties, family/friend gatherings, or was out and about all day and did not want to lug the big mamma-jamma with me, I used to go straight for my point and shoot. I would come home and do a quick edit of my JPEG images and then post a little album to the Internet. Over time, my phone has become my point and shoot and my Camera Roll is my seemingly never-ending life reel. There is no doubt sharing photos immediately is amazing! My app of choice is Camera+...Snap, Edit, and Post. It was only a matter of time before point and shoot technology would offer instant sharing of photos along with the power of filters and editing that our phones have. It's either that or they go the way of the VHS tape.

Technology is fascinating. I consider myself a photographer right now, and I still hope to consider myself one in 10 years, but it's no secret that technology will remarkably change my current hardware and workflow. What the new hardware and workflow will be is anyone's guess. It is interesting for me to look back to when I first picked up a disposable camera from Walgreens and shot 24 images, brought the camera back to Walgreens and a day later opened an envelope with printed 4X6 photos in it. From there, any time I would see someone, I would sit on the couch with them and look at those 24 prints. Now it’s Snap, Edit, and Post...and immediately everyone has seen everything. I do miss part of the excitement of seeing someone's face as they look at an image for the first time, but I think it is trumped by the sharing with everyone who is interested... immediately.

Of course as a photographer quality and flexibility is very important, but cameras like the Canon G12 and the Fuji X100 blur the line between DSLR and point and shoot and emerging phone technology continues to blur the line between phone and point and shoot. We shall see what the future holds.

My photographer buddy Cal Engel has had the X100 for awhile and has done some posts on it. Fuji X100Disney World Fuji X100

The 5D MarkIII /  by Michael Durr

The date... March 2, 2012. I was sharing a room with my two co-workers while on a work trip in Charlotte, NC. We had to be up at 6:30am to give us ample time to arrive at the event we had to cover. The first thing I did, as I do most mornings, was look at my phone. I noticed Twitter had exploded with the launch of the Canon 5D MarkIII. So... What did I do? I rolled over and mumbled to my co-worker, who was in the other room, to toss me my wallet because they just announced the 5D MarkIII. I placed the order shortly after 6:30am East Coast time. Alas, the long wait is finally over. I now have the 5D MarkIII in my possession. I received the camera on Saturday March 31, 2012 and after a day of running around with my girlfriend buying screen protectors, memory cards, and debating what my first shot was going to be I did not end up starting the trial run until Sunday night. In the my brief experience with the camera I can say it has met all my expectations. I can not say one bad thing about it thus far. The upgraded 61 point auto focus, insane ISO values, silent shooting mode, in camera HDR, and video capabilities are just a few of great upgrades that come with this camera. Well, enough chit-chat. Check out some of the images.  

This was the first image I captured with the camera. I knew immediately I was going to like it.

I will have many more images to come. I am going to do some shooting this weekend and potentially try out some video as well. I will try and give a more in-depth review after I have had a chance to work with it in some different scenarios. Stay tuned.