Category Archives: Cameras

The Best Digital Cameras – 2016 (Including 2010 – 2015)

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Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR

The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models. You can start with these lists and then narrow it down to a camera with the specific features you are looking for. I will help you in that regard with some information and advice on choosing a camera. The lists below will be updated throughout the holiday season as new reviews for highly rated cameras become available.

Posted Nov. 19, 1016. Updated Dec. 2, 2016.

This is one in a series of articles on The Best of the Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs and More.

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The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Three

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This is pretty much the same kind of rip off I have written about before. Take a cheap smart phone lens that people can buy at Amazon for $16.99 or less, jack up the price to $56, make outrageous claims, and see how may people you can sucker into buying the item at the higher price. They even used the same “questionable” technologist who has multiple identities.

Posted Oct. 17, 2016. Revised and expanded Dec. 2, 2017.

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Best Digital Cameras of 2015 (Including 2010 – 2014)

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Canon 5DMark III camera. Canon EF 17-40 mm f/4 lens. Really Right Stuiff L-Bracket.

The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models. There is also some information and advice on choosing a camera. The lists will be updated throughout the holiday season as new, highly rated cameras become available.

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The Best of the Best: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs and More

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The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

It’s the time of year that the number of photo questions I receive increases dramatically. Many of them have to do with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from someone shopping for a photographer, or photographers shopping for themselves.

So once again here is my list of “best of the best” of articles recommending the best photo gear, software, books, DVDs, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. I will revise some of these articles in November and December, but most of the advice is good as it stands. The best books on photographic composition or the best photo labs haven’t changed in the last 12 months. As I rewrite articles I will update the links below. You can check the date at the top of each article.

Originally posted Nov. 21, 2015. Updated December 11, 2015.

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Best Digital Cameras of 2014 (Including 2010 – 2013)

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Canon 5DMark III camera. Canon EF 17-40 mm f/4 lens. Really Right Stuiff L-Bracket.

The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models. There is also some information and advice on choosing a camera. The lists will be updated throughout the holiday season as new, highly rated cameras become available.

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GoPro Hero4: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Camera

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GoPro Lineup

New GoPro Lineup

Looking for a small, mountable, “ideal for sports and action”, inexpensive, high definition video and still camera with a waterproof housing and image quality that Lucasfilm (the Star Wars people) calls “amazing”?  This camera will go anywhere and mount just about anywhere. Prices range from $499 to $129, depending on the model (which is a lot less than your typical DSLR with HiDef video).

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The Best of the Best: Recommendations For The Best Photo Equipment, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Software, and Online Photo Labs

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The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

It’s the time of year that the number of photo questions I receive increases dramatically. Most of them have to do with the upcoming holiday season and gift giving questions: “What should I get for . . . .”

So once again I am revising my list of articles recommending the best photo gear, books, DVDs, software, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. As I rewrite each article I will update the links below. You can check the date at the top of each article. This is the most recent update to the list (Nov. 10, 2014).

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GoPro Hero 3+: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Camera

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GoPro Hero 3+ Cameras

GoPro Hero 3+ Cameras

Looking for a small, mountable, “ideal for sports and action”, inexpensive, high definition video and still camera with a waterproof housing and image quality that Lucasfilm (the Star Wars people) calls “amazing”? Take a look at the amazing video footage at the end of this post (with skiing, snow boarding, surfing, cliff diving, motocross, auto racing, jet piloting, base jumping, and parasailing). This camera will go anywhere and mount just about anywhere.

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Best Digital Cameras of 2013 (Including 2009 – 2012)

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Canon 5DMark III camera. Canon EF 17-40 mm f/4 lens. Really Right Stuiff L-Bracket.

It’s that time of year. The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models. There is also some information and advice on choosing a camera. The lists will be updated throughout the holiday season as new, highly rated cameras become available. (Originally posted Nov. 26, 2013. Updated Dec. 3, 2013.)

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Best Digital Cameras of 2012 (Including 2009 – 2011)

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(Originally written Nov. 19, 2012. Most recent update: Jan. 16, 2013.)   It’s that time of year. The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models. There is also some information and advice on choosing a camera. The lists will be updated throughout the holiday season as new, highly rated cameras become available.

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Pop Photo’s Best Camera of 2012: Canon EOS 5D Mark III

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Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L lens, RRS L-Bracket

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L-series lens, Really Right Stuff L-Bracket

According to Popular Photography magazine, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is “the best low-light DSLR we have yet tested. A near perfect tool for the still shooter, it can double as a top gun for the videographer” (Jan 2013 issue, p. 58). Pop Photo‘s top three cameras for 2012, all full frame digital SLRs, are the Canon 5D Mark III, the Nikon D800, and the Sony Alpha 99. So why did they pick the 5D MkIII as the best of the best?

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The Best of the Best: Photography Recommendations For The Best Photo Gear, Books, Software, and Online Photo Labs

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The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.

This time each year I put together a collection of articles recommending the best photo gear, books, DVDs, software, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. The articles are revised every year, some of them extensively. Here’s the list of linked articles.

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Digital Cameras and the “Field of View” Crop

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Caribou, image circle, sensor sizes

Caribou, image circle, sensor sizes

What is a “field of view” crop on a digital camera? What difference does it make if your  camera is full frame, or has a field of view crop? It makes a BIG difference, so I just updated my illustrated article on the digital field of view crop. It will help you understand how to work with your lenses and how to chose lenses that will work best with your camera (and a warning about lenses that won’t work with, or could even damage some cameras).

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The New Canon 5D Mark III

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Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III isn’t just an upgrade to the 5D Mark II, it’s a big jump forward in quality and technology.  It combines some of the best features from the Canon 7D and the new, top of the line Canon 1D X.  It’s been a long time since the 5D Mark II came out in 2008, and if you have been waiting for the upgrade, the wait has been worth it. You can pre-order the 5D Mark III using the link at the end of this article.

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Best Digital Cameras – 2011 (includes 2009-2010)

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Sony Alpha NEX-5N

Sony Alpha NEX-5N

Updated Dec. 26, 2011.

It’s that time of year with the holiday season approaching and I am already getting questions about which digital cameras I recommend. The camera lists below will point you to the highest rated models, along with information and advice. The lists will be updated throughout the holiday season as new, highly rated cameras become available.

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New Canon EOS 1D X

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The new Canon EOS-1D X

Canon introduced the new EOS 1D X today, the new flagship, pro level camera that replaces both the EOS 1Ds Mark III and the EOS 1D Mark 4.  It is an 18.1 Megapixel, full-frame DSLR with a high-precision 61-point AF system, an ISO range that’s expandable up to ISO 204,800, and a top shooting speed of 14 frames per second (fps).  Details are here.

Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Camera

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Looking for a small, mountable, “ideal for sports and action”, inexpensive ($179 – $299) high definition video camera with a waterproof housing and image quality that Lucasfilm (the Star Wars people) calls “amazing”? Take a look at this amazing video footage (with skiing, snow boarding, surfing, cliff diving, motocross, auto racing, jet piloting, base jumping, and parasailing). Then keep reading! This camera will go anywhere and mount just about anywhere.

For several months on various “outdoor” TV networks (National Geographic, Discovery Chanel, Animal Planet and others) I’ve watched some remarkable video footage from a very small, mountable HD video camera. I didn’t recognize the brand or model so I’ve been searching for the camera and finally located it. It is the GoPro HD HERO which can be mounted on helmets, cars, motorcycles, surfboards, and about anything else you can imagine. Imagine mounting it on a pole with some bait to record the bite of a shark from inside the sharks mouth ( it was the “inside the shark’s mouth” video sequence that got my attention and started me on my search for this camera).

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