The Online Photographer has just published the fifth and last part of its epic series of articles called "Great Photo Books You Can Buy New." The series encompasses reissues, current books, a backgrounder on photo book collecting, and lists by Martin Parr and by Jeff Ladd of the photo book review site 5B4.

Part V, by T.O.P.'s regular book reviewer Geoff Wittig, concentrates on classic books by major figures, with a concentration on Dr. Wittig's favorite genre, landscapes. Links to all the earlier posts are listed at the end of the new article.

Link: T.O.P. - Geoff Wittig's List (Great Photo Books You Can Buy New Part V)

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Amazon has the VF-11 external optical viewfinder for the Sigma DP1 in stock at a price of $87.61 with free shipping. That's nearly 40% cheaper than other reputable dealers like B&H ($150 plus shipping) or Adorama ($140 plus shipping).

I just ordered mine. You can help support this site by using the link below to purchase yours.

Update: I received my VF-11 viewfinder yesterday. Like the CV minifinder, this is nice and small, appropriately so for the DP1. Having heard the knocks on VF-11 (plastic build, marked barrel distortion, difficult to view brightlines, and lack of parallax correction), I have been pleasantly suprised. The build seems very solid, and the view is large and bright. I can simultaneously make out all brightlines while wearing my glasses, which is something I had more difficulty with using the CV minifinder. Barrel distortion is moderate and I don't anticipate it being a problem for my intended use of the viewfinder. The VF-11 seats snugly in the DP1 hot shoe; I don't think it will dislodge easily by accident. I had been waiting for a good deal on the VF-11, and I can certainly recommend it at this price.

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David Farkas Photography Blog has some of the best Photokina coverage around. His latest post has excellent photos of and commentary regarding the Leica D-LUX 4 system. I found the following statement regarding the D-LUX 4 to be of particular interest:

The camera ships with Capture One v4 software which allows RAW file processing. Interestingly, the Panasonic LX3’s RAW files are actually different and are not supported in C1. So, the differences go beyond skin deep between these compact camera cousins.

If true, this would be the first time that a Panasonic product were to differ at the RAW level from the Leica version of the same product. It's remains to be seen whether there are such substantive differences. Perhaps a simple camera name change in the EXIF will be all that it takes to get LX3 support in C1.

At any rate, when choosing between a D-LUX 4 and LX3, don't forget to factor in the longer warranty, included RAW software, and higher resale value of the Leica product.

Source: David Farkas Photography Blog - Photokina 2008 - Day 5 - Gitzo, Manfrotto, Lastolite, and Leica compacts revisted

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 video review on CameraLabs.com.

Update: this blog by Juha Haataja has several interesting posts during September about the use of this camera.

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The Panasonic LX3 (black) is in stock and selling for $436 with free shipping at Amazon. You can support this site by buying via the link below.

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Serious Compacts contributor Wouter Brandsma has blogged a report from Photokina 2008. There's lots of great information there, mainly from the perspective of a compact camera user.

• Which compact had Wouter saying "I made a few photographs at ISO 400 and ISO 800 and was amazed by the details and the amount of noise. Only some noise to be spotted in darker areas, but much better than my GX200"?
• How was the Panasonic G1 EVF?
• How does the LX3 feel compared with the D-LUX 4?
• Was there anything to learn about a digital Leica CL?
• Will the DP2 improve on any of the DP1 shortcomings?

Find out the answers to those questions and more at Wouter photoblog: Photokina 2008

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In 35mm film photography terms, I've been partial to the 40mm way of seeing for some time. Nothing would make me happier than a digital version of my Olympus OM-2N on which I could mount the unassuming OM 40mm f/2 lens. It's been a pleasant surprise to recently see Panasonic and Sigma bring out compact, fixed focal length lenses with this, my favorite angle of view for candid people photography.

For those who are wondering what's so special about 40mm, The Online Photographer revisted an excellent article today.

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A French magazine Réponses Photo has leaked the long-rumored Sigma DP2, which features a 24.2mm (40mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens.

This looks legit. Hopefully Sigma has addressed some of the criticisms of the DP1 (poor LCD, LCD freeze, long shot to shot time). The lens speed and angle of view should be well received.

Sources: CI c'est fou!, DPReview forums

[Thanks Mark H]

Update:

Additional views:

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I've been testing out the new Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)/Lightroom (LR) preliminary support for Sigma DP1 files. Color results are very good.  They're as good as what I can manage with Sigma Photo Pro (SPP) and with less time and effort.  What about black and white conversions?

First, a few observations about SPP: SPP seems to apply color and luminance noise reduction to RAW files, increasingly with higher ISO.  The one way to get around this is to use the "monochrome" white balance setting, which has three consequences besides converting the image to black and whte.  First, the luminance NR, which otherwise cannot be disabled, is turned off in this setting.  Second, the apparent exposure increases.  It's as if SPP is throwing away light as part of the color processing workflow and makes use of that light during B&W conversions.  I don't know how or why, but it seems this way.  If an image is properly exposed in color, the monochrome WB setting typically requires about a stop of negative EV.  If the color image is about a stop underexposed, the monochrome WB setting usually looks pretty good.  The third "benefit" of the monochrome WB setting in SPP is that "pushed" results look the same as native increases in ISO.  For example, a color image shot at ISO 200 underexposed by two stops and pushed to +2EV in SPP looks blotchy and noisy compared with a color image shot at ISO 800.  However, those two images will look identical (or close enough) using the monochrome WB setting.  For those three reasons, I've found that I get much better B&W results from the DP1 by using the monochrome WB setting in SPP than I do with a color RAW conversion subsequently processed from TIFF to B&W in Photoshop CS3.

In order to demonstrate the differences between SPP and ACR/LR B&W conversions, I'll use two examples taken today.  Both were significantly underexposed and basically worthless in color.  The reader may feel that they are worthless in B&W as well, but this is a technical demo not an artistic one.

The first example is a photo of my son Oliver showing me a massive African bullfrog.  The image was taken at f/4, ISO 200, 1/50s.  Here's what it looked like when opened with native settings in ACR and SPP respectively:

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Great news for Sigma DP1 users! The latest Adobe Camera RAW release provides support for Sigma DP1 RAW (X3F) files. DP1 RAW support is considered preliminary "due to an unresolved white balance bug that will require additional testing". However, users are reporting good results using automatic WB in camera in tandem with processing the RAW files in ACR.

More information at Lightroom Journal
Get Camera RAW 4.6 from Adobe Labs

[Thanks Britton]

Update: Thanks to kmoon for pointing out that ACR 4.6 fully supports the Nikon Coolpix P6000. There had been widespread concern that Nikon's new RAW format in the P6000 would not be supported by third party developers.

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Canon has announced the Powershot G10.

Looks like there will be some nice half cases available in limited production:


[Thanks Marco]

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I'm selling a Canon G7, Olympus E-420, ZD 14-42, and ZD 25/2.8. All are lightly used in truly excellent condition. See our Buy and Sell area for the details. Thanks! -Amin

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Andy Westlake of DPReview had some very interesting comments based on his hands on experience with the Panasonic G1.

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From the GetDPI forums:

Good to see Leica taking a system approach to the D-LUX 4, but I'm wondering how many small sensor compact camera users will be willing to pay that much for a 24mm opsteekzoeker.

In case anyone has forgotten, a "street ready" LX3 is also quite attractive:

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Here is an idea which could make many cameras cheaper, more compact, and less intimidating to beginners: The movement to eliminate the Mode Dial.

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The Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 ASPH may be the most exciting Micro Four Thirds product to date. It's the product that best shows that Panasonic has photography enthusiasts in mind during Micro Four Thirds product development. Doesn't the G1 look nicer wearing this lens?


Source with larger version: Digital Camera.jp via The Online Photographer

[Thanks Mark]

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The new Panasonic G1 Micro Four Thirds camera was announced today.

Key Features (Click here for full list of specifications):

- 12.1 MP Live MOS sensor
- 17.3 x 13mm image sensor size
- Dust reduction system
- No video capability
- 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (195gm weight)
- Contrast AF system
- ISO 100-3200
- Max image size 4000x3000 (4:3), 4000 x 2672 (3:2), 4000 x 2248 (16:9)
- 1,440K dots equiv Live View Finder
- 460K dots 3:2 aspect articulating LCD
- 3.29" x 4.88" x 1.78"
- Weight 0.85 lbs

Contrary to expectations, this body does not appear to preserve the diagonal angle of view in all aspect ratios. This is clear from the sensor dimensions (typical of Four Thirds sensors) as well as the maximum image pixel dimensions given.

Imaging Resource has an excellent hands-on preview here.

Addendum: DPReview, DCResource, and Imaging Resource are all indicating that the contrast detect autofocus on this camera is SLR-like in speed. The EVF is also bright with 0.7x magnification (35mm equivalent), 100% coverage, and a 60 frames/second refresh rate.

Lenses:
- Besides the 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, a 45-200mm f/4-5.6 lens was also announced.
- Both lenses feature optical image stabilization
- Lens roadmap:



The "HD" added to the 14-140mm lens name means that the lens will support focusing during video capture on a body to be introduced in 2009 (source).

Until seeing the roadmap, none of what I've learned about the G1 had me reaching to sell my Olympus E-420. However, the idea of a 20mm f/1.7 lens on a future, smaller Micro Four Thirds body is very appealing!

Leica branding remains conspicuously absent in this announcement. Until now, all Panasonic lenses for Four Thirds have carried the Leica name. That the new lenses do not makes me wonder whether Leica will bring out competing products or avoid Micro Four Thirds altogether.

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In the French photo magazine Chasseur d'Images (number 307 page 12) there is an announcement of the Leica D-Lux 4, the Leica equivalent of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.

Read this dpreview thread where the news was first spread.

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shogunloverboy, Cow & Calf.

The SeriousCompacts.com Flickr Group is continuing to grow and improve. We're nearly at the 500 photographer mark!

Be sure to visit David's Flickr photostream.

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In our SeriousCompacts.com Flickr group discussion area, Antrix has started a discussion concerning "The inevitable rise of Serious Compacts". He argues that "On the compact side of the market, which is dominated by casual consumers (by definition: not 'serious' consumers), there's only a few more years before consumers will be completely happy with the camera that comes integrated with their phone."

What do you think? Come read the rest of Antrix's post and join the discussion.

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Corporations have to protect their trademarks or they can lose them. That's why Apple starting going after everything with "pod" in the name. Yet even Apple has a little bit of restraint in setting the legal dogs on fan sites. Sure they sued Think Secret, but at least they eventually did the right thing (They paid the kids off to shut down if I recall correctly). Hopefully they recognize that sites like MacRumors and Apple Insider are good for them in the long run. After all, the people who come to those sites are their biggest fans

Today, Canon USA sent a cease and desist letter to their excellent fan site, Canon Rumors. They are insisting that the site's domain name violates their trademark. Clearly Canon Rumors is no different than Nikon Cafe, Nikonians, or the Apple site examples I gave above. This is no way to treat the people who come to a site day after day hoping to find out when they can give you some more hard earned money, Canon! It's amazing that companies with that kind of intellectual capital make such dumb mistakes.

The more blogs calling Canon out on this one, the better. I see that our friends at 1001 Noisy Cameras are on the case.

On a separate note, I'll point out that Canon sent the C&D order shortly after Canon Rumors reported on the highly plausible Powershot G10 and 21MP 5D II with HD video rumors. Coincidence??

Update: Canon Rumors heard back from Canon USA legal and posted an update today. Canon USA is insisting that Canon Rumors stop using the domain www.canonrumors.com. I am no lawyer, but I hope they don't give up the domain without first researching their rights. Perhaps the EFF would be of some help?

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Cristian Sorega has an enlightening series of comparisons between the Ricoh GRD I, GRD II, GX100, and Panasonic LC1 over at Ricoh GR-Diary. Check it out if you're interested in any of these cameras but especially if you're wondering how the GRD I and GRD II compare.

Links:
GRD I vs GRD II - Teaser no. 1
Black and White Comparison
RE
Color Comparison - Part 1
Color Comparison - Part 2

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Although I never formally announced it, a few of you may recall that I set up a digg-style user-generated rumors site at www.camerarumors.com. I've now replaced that site with a blog focused on photography gear news and rumors.

While the new site isn't limited to coverage of compacts, I'm hoping some of the readers of this blog will stop by Camera Rumors and say hello. I'd love to get some feedback about the appearance and organization of the site. User submitted rumors and news are always appreciated both for that site as well as this one.

Thanks!
Amin

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