Peter K. Burian

Lens NewsLens Reviews
Tamron’s AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro; A 13.9x Zoom (!) For D-SLRs
Peter K. Burian  |  Aug 01, 2007

Although Tamron makes some wide aperture, pro-grade lenses, the affordable "multi-platform" 28-300mm zoom and the "digital only" 18-200mm zoom have been their best sellers. That's understandable, since those are unusually versatile and portable lenses. Now, Tamron is marketing a newer 18-250mm Di II model, the first lens on the market with a 13.9x...

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Lens NewsLens Reviews
Three Carl Zeiss T* Lenses From Sony For The Alpha, And Soon-To-Come Sony D-SLRs; Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 ZA Zoom, Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA, And Sonnar T* 135mm f/1.8 ZA
Peter K. Burian  |  Aug 01, 2007

When Sony first unveiled their Alpha D-SLR system in June 2006, the company made a pledge to expand its line of lenses with additional Sony G models as well as some Carl Zeiss lenses. The first three of these products, with a ZA designator indicating Zeiss Alpha, are available at this time, distributed exclusively by Sony. A fourth model, a wide aperture (f/2.8) zoom, should be...

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Lens NewsLens Reviews
Sigma’s APO 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM & 70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro; A “Constant Aperture” Zoom And A Multi-Platform Close-Up Lens
Peter K. Burian  |  Aug 01, 2007

Because most consumers demand very compact, lightweight equipment, the majority of lenses are designed with a relatively small aperture: f/4 to f/5.6, for example. That makes sense because the same focal length with a wide aperture would be larger, heavier, and more expensive due to the oversized optical elements and barrel. Even so, many photo enthusiasts really appreciate an...

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New Gear For 2007: PMA Report; Fast, High-Capacity Memory Cards
Peter K. Burian  |  Jul 01, 2007

Now that most enthusiast-level cameras are boasting resolution of at least 8 megapixels, memory card speed and storage capacity have become particularly important. When shooting in raw capture or ultrahigh JPEG size/quality, there's definitely a benefit to using the fastest/largest memory card. The extra speed is also ideal after a long trip, when uploading hundreds (or...

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Compact Camera NewsNews
New Gear For 2007: PMA Report; Hot New Digicams
Peter K. Burian  |  Jul 01, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2007

New digicams now offer higher resolution, larger LCD screens, longer zoom lenses, more compact body size, greater speed, and some other amenities that I'll discuss in this report. And the megapixel race has not really slowed as we had expected a year ago. Apparently, some consumers are not satisfied with 6- or 7-megapixel (MP) resolution, making the ultrahigh-resolution...

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Lens News
New Gear For 2007: PMA Report; New Lenses For Digital And 35mm SLRs
Peter K. Burian  |  Jun 01, 2007  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2007

Although most of the new products shown at PMA 2007 were digital, at least some of the new lenses are just as useful for anyone still shooting with a 35mm SLR system. While some of the new zooms were designed exclusively for use with D-SLRs with the APS-size sensor, the multi-platform lenses work perfectly with both analog and digital cameras. That's because they project...

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Digital Darkroom
Picture Taking; Get Perfect Exposures Every Time; Get It Right Out Of The Camera And You'll Need Less Fix Time Later In The Computer
Peter K. Burian  |  May 01, 2007

In digital photography, exposure control is sometimes considered irrelevant. “You can easily fix any problems in your computer,” some friends will suggest.

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Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-L1; High-Tech Digital SLR With Conventional Controls And Traditional Style
Peter K. Burian  |  Feb 01, 2007

Technical Specifications
Sensor: 17.3x13mm (Four Thirds format) Live MOS; 7.4 megapixels effective
Maximum Resolution: 3136x2352 pixels
Image Formats: 4:3 aspect ratio; also, in Live View, 3:2 and 16:9 selectable (lower resolution)
Lens Mount: Four Thirds mount; 2x focal length...

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Mirrorless Camera NewsMirrorless Camera ReviewsNews
Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-L1; High-Tech Digital SLR With Conventional Controls And Traditional Style
Peter K. Burian  |  Feb 01, 2007

The first Panasonic D-SLR, the Lumix DMC-L1 is a product of an alliance with Olympus, since it employs, according to the company, some "jointly developed technologies and components." In fact, this camera shares many attributes with the Olympus EVOLT E-330, including the lens mount, Supersonic Wave sensor dust removal system, and Panasonic's Four Thirds format...

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Canon’s Digital Rebel XTi; A Lightweight D-SLR With Heavyweight Performance And High-Resolution Image Quality
Peter K. Burian  |  Feb 01, 2007

Technical Specifications
Image Sensor: 22.2x14.8mm CMOS sensor, 10.1 million recording pixels; 1.6x field of view crop
Recording Options: Various JPEG options, raw (CR2 format), and raw+(Large Only)JPEG format
Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100-400) and ISO 100-1600 selectable
Shutter...

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