October 2016

MindShift Moose Pack MP-3 v2 field-tested: A winner for wildlife and action shooters

Moose Peterson MP-3 V2.0It’s no secret that I loved my original MP-3, and made it my “go to” camera bag when I had to bring my wildlife photo gear somewhere and needed to make efficient use of space – particularly for trips involving small planes or a bit of hiking. So it was great news for me when Moose Peterson teamed up with Think Tank’s MindShift brand to produce a new, improved, version. I’ve been using it for a while now, and am very impressed. It retains the flexible design of the original, but offers improved shoulder straps, an even more-rugged build quality, and a few other nice touches.

Upgraded Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 and new Nikon PC 19mm lenses announced

Photo of  AF-S NIKKOR<br/> 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VRThe Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens (in all its incarnations) may be one of the most popular pro lenses ever. Now, Nikon has improved on an already great lens with the new . It features a closer MFD (Minimum Focusing Distance), new coatings for yet lower distortion, improved VR, all at about the same size and weight (actually a touch lighter according to the specs). The only downside is the by now familiar price increase. The current is selling for about $2100, while the .

Lumix ZS100: A Goldilocks camera for image lovers who need more zoom from their point and shoot

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 Digital Camera (Black)A common theme in compact cameras is the tradeoff between zoom range and image quality. The very top rated () has the best image quality, but a small zoom range of 24-70mm. The () stretches that to 24-100mm, but that’s not much of a gain. On the other extreme, the () provides both an amazing zoom and great image quality, but is much larger and more expensive. Enter the . It is larger than the RX100 or Canon G series, but not by a huge amount. In exchange it offers a larger, 25-250mm, zoom range but doesn’t trade off much in image quality.

Sony RX100 V: Solid upgrades keep it ahead of the pack

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V Digital CameraSony has set the standard for high-end point-and-shoot cameras since it first introduced the Sony RX100 Mark I. Each year has brought additional features in the form of a new model, and this year is no exception. The adds the increasingly-popular Phase Detect AF, and a startlingly fast 24fps burst mode. 

Adobe Elements 15 is the cheapest and easiest way to get started with Photoshop or Premiere

Without question, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro are two of the most feature-packed applications for editing images and videos. However, they are also two of the most complex. Initially little more than toys, the “Elements” versions of each of them have improved steadily. Now in their 15th version, they provide more than enough capability for most photographers and videographers who don’t already know how to use, and are willing to pay for, their Pro siblings. You can read , but in short, since about version 13, Elements has packed plenty of punch for most editing tasks, and 15 ups the ante with some cool new quick edits and some potentially-interesting AI-assisted object recognition. With this latest update Adobe's Photoshop and Premiere Elements have become the best way to get all the editing tools you're likely to need, in a package you can learn to use right out of the box. As always, the products are competitively priced, with , and . Purchasing both in a bundle saves you some money as .