Maybe you thought it was going to be something like the Sony RX1-R II, RX 100 Mk IV or Sony RX10 Mk III; Leica Q; Panasonic GX85; the newly-announced Canon M5; or maybe the iPhone 7 Plus. All of them -- and many more, most likely including whatever you already have -- are capable of exceptional imagery in the right hands. Use the money to get your learn on in the real world instead. Isn't that what travel's about?
Read moreThree Days with a Pile of E-Mount Lenses, an a6300, an a6000, an RX10 III, an iPhone 6s+, and a Couple of Bags: What Better Way to Stress Gear than at a Presidential Nominating Convention?
It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, but this time (unlike in April) I wasn’t official press. Forget about a tripod or monopod - Secret Service rules prohibited even selfie-sticks. Forget about a lot of glass, especially long, fast glass: not only would everything have to be hand-held, but those same rules stipulated no backpacks and no bags bigger than 18” x 13” x 7.” And then there were the closed-door meetings where even if I had been press, no press were allowed. Traveling small, light and unobtrusive were the orders of the week. Heads-up: this is a post about gear -- not politics -- but if you don’t want to see photographs from the Democratic National Convention in Philly (along with protests) you’d better stop reading here.
Read moreAnother Nail in the Coffin of Entry-level/Budget Enthusiast DSLRs? Sony RX10 Mark III Takes On the Sony a6300 with Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8
I didn't think I'd like this camera: I'd chosen to buy Sony's RX100 Mk IV last year when I faced the choice. But then I returned that camera when I realized it didn't have enough reach and I didn't like futzing with the pop-up viewfinder (I loved everything else). Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when an RX10 Mark III loaner showed up on my doorstep, in the middle of my on-going love affair with the Sony a6300 and a just-arrived Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 - a true rock 'n roll combo. So I did the obvious - I pitted them against each other during a family portrait shoot. I’ll cut straight to the chase: the Sony RX10 Mk III is so good – and so close to an a6300 with the already-legendary Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 - that if you can’t get amazing photos with it, the problem is…ahem…do you see it coming… YOU (or, in my case, me). Even bigger: the RX10 Mark III may be another nail in the coffin of entry level/budget enthusiast DSLRs.
Read moreFirst Images from the Sony RX10 III May Make Me Change My Mind About Super Zoom Cameras
Whenever I hear about 20x, 25x or even more lenses on smaller sensor cameras, my eyes glaze over. They're going to be crap, right? Umm...well, I've only had the Sony RX10 III in house a couple of days and I've had a lot of other things going on, but these first few images -- straight out of the camera, no nuttin' -- look pretty damned good. Then again, for $1,500 they ought to.
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