Sony’s First DSLR Breaks Out
Posted by Ken Milburn in Digital Photography News, Photography Equipment, Product Reviews
When Sony first announced their first DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex), the press release touted an almost unbelievably rich list of features, especially since this camera was to sell for less than $1,000. This list of features really set me to drooling and I begged my publisher, O’Reilly Media, to let me write the first in their new series of electronic manuals for DSLRs on the new A-100. As soon as I got the contract, I even went out and paid cash for the first camera that Seawood, my local pro photo store, got into stock. I wanted to be completely objective in my recommendations for using this camera and figured it would be best not to owe the manufacturer any favors. That’s a good thing because, in some ways, this camera is proof that you should be careful what you wish for. Still, I have to tell you that I’ve made a very good investment. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »
Sandisk’s fastest and biggest new card is the Extreme IV pictured at left. It costs a pretty penny ($636) but it’s guaranteed to work at temperatures ranging from 13º F to 185º F. Of course, that means you shouldn’t leave it on the dashboard of your car when travelling through Death Valley or leave it lying on a Polar ice cap. It also has 40X read/write speed…in case your computer and card reader are or will be fast enough to take advantage of it. It also comes with data recovery software…just in case you do something foolish and delete the files. 
It seems as though your flash always runs out of power when you least expect it. Prepared photographers always carry an extra set of batteries for the flash so they can continue a shoot with iminimal interuption. But they don’t exactly give away AA batteries anymore, especially the Alkaline and Titanium types. That’s why I use rechargeable AA batteries. But the ones I use can be recharged in 15 minutes.
Monolights are those strobes that have the power pack built into a tube or box right behind the flash head. They typically weigh between four and six pounds, so carrying them is about half the burden of carrying a full power studio strobe system. Not only that, but because they each have their own power supply, they’re terrific for placing in otherwise inaccessible positions…such as behind the model for a hairlight or clamped to a banister for an interior architectural shot. Because there’s no central power pack, you don’t have cords running all over the place.
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