Hasta La Gadget!

You do NOT have steady hands, and the laser proves it. Photo Preston Scott

You know when you read that you should use a tripod to get the sharpest possible photographs, especially in low light, and you’re all like “Whatever,” and “I have steady hands, dude.”

Well, take a look at this video, which shows just how much you SLR can shake, even when it is on a tripod. Preston Scott at Camera Technica secured a laser pointer to the hotshoe of his Canon 7D and made this video to show you just how wobbly things can get.

The clip shows the laser as it shines onto a wall 20 feet away from the camera. The 7D was locked down on a tripod and took three shots. The first is made by pressing the shutter release carefully with a finger. The resulting vibrations, caused by both the finger and the mirror slapping up inside the body, make the laser careen wildly.

The second shot was taken with a remote release but with the mirror still flapping free. It isn’t much better than the first.

Lastly, the shutter was fired remotely with the mirror locked up (a function of higher-end SLRs).

It’s amazing how much vibration is caused by the internal mechanics of the camera, and when your fat fingers are factored in, it’s surprising you can manage to take a sharp photo. Clearly, at slow shutter speeds, it is worth locking up that mirror, using a tripod and a remote release.

Alternatives are to use a mirrorless or a rangefinder camera, which eliminates mirror slap entirely, or to buy a Nikon SLR, which will have considerably smaller mirror bounce (oh no he didn’t).

DSLR Mirror Lock-Up – Worth the Effort or Not? [Camera Technica via PetaPixel]

See Also:

• Sony's Transparent-Mirror Cameras Repackage 1965 Canon Tech …
• 5 Reasons to Ditch Your Digital SLR
• Olympus Camera Packs SLR Aspirations in Compact Body

A photo taken using the Pinwide on an Olympus EP1

The Pinwide is a plastic pinhole for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The little injection-molded cap bayonets onto the camera like any other lens, only instead of focusing the image using glass, it has a precision-etched, circular pinhole at its center.

You could make your own, but at just $40 it’s a deal even for DIY types. It looks like fun to use, too. The high-quality pinhole gives some fairly sharp images, and because it has an aperture of around ƒ96-ƒ128, everything from front to back in your image will be in focus.

The Pinwide has another feature that your homemade version won’t: it’s wide-angle. By dishing the disk and putting the hole back inside the body, the Pinwide achieves a focal length of 22mm, or 44mm on the Micro Four Thirds bodies. This, along with the infinite depth-of-field, makes for some interesting photo opportunities. Also: Pinhole video.

Sounds good, right? In fact, I convinced myself and just ordered one. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Pinwide product page [Wanderlust]

See Also:

• The $50 Hole: Photojojo's Body-Cap Pinhole Conversion
• The Battlefield: DIY Three-Hole Pinhole Camera
• Six-Month Pinhole Exposure Shows the Sun's Travels
• Flickr User Gives Away Free Pinhole Cameras
• Almost Free Pinhole Digicam Hack

We’re not the only site to put Nikon’s new mid-range DSLR through its paces. Plenty of others have taken the D5100 for a spin and we thought you might like to know: they’re all pretty impressed. The new 1080p30 video mode was much appreciated as was the larger, higher resolution swivel screen around back. The biggest props generally went to the improved high-ISO performance (which was already quite respectable on the D5000 it’s replacing) and the boost in autofocus speed, especially when using the LCD as a view finder in Live View mode. Oddly, the built-in effects also garnered a lot of attention. The Miniature Effect (a tilt-shift simulator) and Selective Color mode impressed reviewers the most with their surprising level of sophistication for in-camera processing. All of the effects can also be used when shooting video, so you can make your HD footage look like black and white 8mm by turning on Night Vision. Criticisms were relatively minor and applicable to most mid- and entry-level DSLRs — primarily that the body is plasticy and there is a slight lag in focus and shutter performance. The D5100 is an obvious upgrade over the D5000 and more than holds its own against its competitors, but if you want to dig deeper check out our review and the ones below.

Read – DPReview
Read – Photography Blog
Read – CNET
Read – Nikon Rumors
Read – Pocket-Lint
Read – Pocket-Lint (2)

Nikon’s D5100 impresses, captures children’s birthday parties with incredible clarity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon’s new nifty fifty is a must-have lens for pretty much anyone (who owns a Nikon SLR)

Nikon’s widely-leaked new 50mm ƒ1.8G lens has finally been made official, and comes in at the reasonable, reasonable price of $220. If you have a Nikon SLR and are still using the horrible kit zoom lens, you should go place your order now. I’ll wait.

Back? Good. Let me tell you what you just bought (and thanks for trusting me, by the way). The main difference between this new “nifty fifty” and the almost decade-old ƒ1.8D is that it has an autofocus motor inside. This means you can use it with any current or recent Nikon SLR. The older lens lacks this motor and is instead driven by one in the camera, which cheaper bodies don’t have.

The other change is that the aperture ring has gone. For younger photographers who never used a ring on the lens to change the aperture, this isn’t a big deal. For oldies who find twisting a ring way easier than twiddling a dial, it’s a shame.

And that’s about it. The 50mm lenses have long been some of the sharpest (and cheapest) lenses available. This, coupled with the shallow depth-of-field that lets you isolate subjects from the background and the great low-light abilities of the ƒ1.8 aperture mean that everybody should have one. And if you put it on a crop-sensor, DX-format body, you get an awesome 75mm portrait lens.

So well done for ordering it. Now sit back and wait, because it’s not shipping until June 16th.

Nikon 50mm ƒ1.8G [I Am Nikon blog]

See Also:

• Nikon Lets Slip New 50mm ƒ1.8G Silent Wave Lens
• Nikon Launches 50mm Silent Wave Lens. At Last.
• Nikon Announces Hot, Fast 35mm “Standard” Lens

Flipbac’s camera grips help you grapple with today’s tiny cameras

Today’s tiny, tiny cameras are very comfy to use. If you have tiny, tiny hands that is. The problem is that most of us don’t have pathetic T-rex-style paws but normal mitts with fingers that just can’t grip a digicam very well. The answer — aside from a thumb graft — is to add an extra grip.

These three grips come from Flipbac. They’re made from silicone and have a sticky 3M adhesive back that holds them firm but leaves no sticky residue when removed. The three models are all the same size — 38 x 22 x 6mm — but each comes with a different-shaped bulge. These shapes are “inspired by” the grips on the Canon G12, the Panasonic GF2 and the Samsung TL500.

Available in three delicious, chewy silicone flavors

Choose the one you think would be most comfortable for your big shovel-like hands, stick it onto the flat surface on the front of the camera and you’re done, now able to take pictures with one hand.

The very best part of this is that the grips cost just $10 each. In the world of overpriced photo accessories, that’s virtually free. Available now.

Flipbac Camera Grips [Flipbac via Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• Custom Grip Makes Canon S90 Almost Perfect