Camera Bodies

 If you want the ultimate shirt pocket camera, and can stand one in a little bit larger form factor than the ultra-tiny Elph series, Canon has kicked its “S” family up another notch by replacing the excellent S95 with the brand new S100. Available from B&H as of this morning for $429, it is almost impossible to believe the combination of quality and features in a camera this easy to have with you all the time…

The most talked about new Nikons this year, the mirrorless “Nikon 1” family, have finally started to ship. B&H has the Nikon 1 J1 in stock for $649 as a kit with a 10-30mm lens. Or you can get it with both the 10-30mm and a longer 30-110mm lens for $899. So if you’re a Nikon shooter and have been jealous of the amazing mirrorless cameras from Olympus and Sony, now is your chance to get one that’ll be familiar to you! Mine shipped yesterday, so I’ll be writing more about it over the coming weeks, but if you want to be the first on your block to have this exciting new camera, now is the time.

UPDATE: As of this morning, the J1’s big brother, the V1, is also avaiable! It is $1149 for a kit with both lenses. (The V1 adds an Electronic Viewfinder and supports an external flash, as well as an upgraded chassis, and a stereo microphone input)

More and more birders are becoming interested in photography. To go beyond the limitations of digiscoping (limited low light capability, tricky auto-focus, limited panning or ability to capture action, etc.) requires a fairly serious investment in a camera body and lenses. In this section of our exclusive GearGuide we'll cover tips for what to look for in a camera body...