...return of the G6 !

...I missed the Panasonic G6...sold it about 6~9 months ago...why, not sure ? ...but I missed the handling...so, now it's back !!! IMHO the handling of a camera is ALWAYS better if it is shaped as a traditional DSLR rather than the Rangefinder / Leica style, with or without a handgrip...the DSLR handling just fits the hand PERIOD ! ...but will not slide into a jacket pocket...life is ALWAYS a trade-off, isn't it ??? I also needed a SNOW car, this is a 2011 Mini-Cooper S...it's a long story but the Shelby kept me stranded at home too many times during snow...I still have the Shelby but it's winter driving days are over...so you ask, why, would you purchase a Mini-C for a snow car... ...it was an impulse purchase, very low mileage for a 2011, front wheel drive with traction control, rave reviews, and a price about $3~4k lower than the current market...SOLD ! ...it also pushes 30~40mpg around town, accelerates like a rocket (200hp), fits like a glove and goes vrooom - vrooom !

...High Country color !

...it's a different weekend than the previous post...and as you would suspect everything had changed...all in the same day...rain, fog, snow, bright blue sunshine...something for everyone ! ...these pix will not make the front cover of NatGeo...but there quite viewable...Sony Nex-6 with either the Zeiss 16 ~ 70mm (24~105mm FOV) or the Tamron manual focus MIRROR/Reflex SuperTelephoto 500mm (750mm FOV) handheld...all pix sharpened a tad ! ...enjoy !

...Aspen Time in the High Country !

...the turning of the Aspen's are an experience which can vary with the 'catch of the day' ...sometimes there spot on and other times there NOT! ...bottom line, you have to do a lot of driving to find the perfect 'crop'... these were shot with the Nikon V2 and either the Ultra Wide 6.7 ~ 13mm (18~35mm FOV) or the 55 ~ 200mm AFS DX telephoto (150~540mm FOV) ...all pix were just sharpened a hair... ...enjoy !!!

...just another day at the office !

...sort of...the horse flies were thicker than rush hour traffic...I'm amazed we actually got so many shots...so the setup was Holly B the model, the colorado horse park stalls and 6 ga-zillion horse flies...oh, forgot to mention it was the Olympus OMD EM-5 with 45mm f1.8 prime (90mm FOV) coupled by an extension cable to the dedicated TTL FL-50R strobe...the EM-5 was set to iso 400 and f4 at 160th of a second for flash syncro...enjoy !!!

...the V2 does the full-size Nikkor DX lens WELL !!!

...one of the benefits of the Nikon 1 system is the ability to mount all AFS series Nikkor lens on a V2 and still maintain the blazing auto focus along with TTL functionality...so with the Nikon 1 system you have a full set of CX series lens along with any Nikkor FX or DX size lens, manual or autofocus...sweet ...let me mention that if there is money to be spent, I'll spend it... why not... ...also, these cats were a long way away...this is a refuge, not a ZOO ! to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado for a quick test to the Nikon V2 with the Nikkor 55-200mm ( 150-540mm FOV ) coupled thru the FT-1 adapter...The combo is still quite light, feels more like a smaller dslr, but shoots well ! ...again, as in the test of the GM-1, no award winning pix here but more than adequate for a field test of the V2 with a DX sized Nikkor ...enjoy !!!

...of course you can hand-hold THIS !

...this is the Panasonic GM-1 with the 100~300mm (200~600mm FOV) lens...and, as previously written in other blogs, very clumsy to hand-hold with a large lens...WRONG !!! ...I actually found this combo very easy to hand-hold...just cradle the lens in the left palm and bingo...start shooting... ...the GM-1 has received rave reviews primarily because it uses the same sensor/process engine as the acclaimed GX7...and the body is super TINY...so why not couple the smallest body with a huge lens...makes perfect sense to me ! ...so off I went to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keensburg, Colorado...first the disclaimers...this is not a ZOO, the bright sun is intense with no-shade, and you are walking on a raised walkway approx 25 feet above ground level, wild animals tend to SLEEEEP endlessly... and other than that it was a beautiful day... ...the GM-1 does NOT have a built in EVF, so mix with bright sun and it was workable but not ' a walk in the park ' the GM-1 is being superceded by the GM-5 in November...the GM-5 is to be the successor to the GM-1 and the GX-7...the GM-5 still uses the same sensor/engine as the GX-7 but will pick up a built in EVF and Flash Hot Shoe for external flash/triggers...while maintaining the same style body with only a hair's increase in overall size...hmmmm, I think this may be on my shopping list... ...enjoy the pix...these are not the greatest, but will suffice for a GM-1 test at 600mm !!!

...a3000 again !

...I again used the sony a3000 for this shoot of a high school acting model...her first shoot and she did great...the a3000 was up to par and the handling (deep hand grip, 1/2 weight of traditional dslr) allowed for effortless shooting of about 300pix...I used the Sigma 60mm f2.8 prime for the first time (90mmFOV)... ...enjoy !

...boarders !

...I spotted a boarding park the other day and just happened to have the Nikon V2 sitting in the front seat...so I thought a few pics would be in order... these are nothing special, just a few grabbed snaps... The V2, as with all the V series, is reputed to have the fastest AF in the land, and coupled with 10~60 FPS shutter rate make is sound like a light-duty UZI when you hold down the shutter...these were probably shot at 5 FPS...and 300mm (FOV) handheld ! ...enjoy !