One of the main reasons it took me so long to purchase a DSLR was the size and weight factor of these beasts. Not only are they not fun to carry around, they make you stand out and look like a tourist. My first bike ride with my new Nikon, a mere two miles, was miserable. I used the camera bag that came with the camera, not a bad bag, but not what you want to have over your shoulder on a bike ride or a hike. So I did some research and came to the conclusion that I needed a “sling bag.” A sling bag is like a backpack, except that you don’t have to take it off to get the contents out. Based on the reviews of others, I came to the conclusion that many are not waterproof, not easy to use, fall apart, or have no space for a tripod. The one that consistently got good reviews on these four issues, and could be had for well under $100, was the Case Logic SLRC-205 SLR Camera Sling Bag. I made the purchase and have been using mine for over a week now.

So far the bag has exceeded my expectations. The rotation of the bag works smoothly. I can have my camera out in just seconds.

The SLR suspension system in the main compartment works great. It suspends the camera in the pouch so the camera lens isn’t touching the bag. You don’t even have to put the lens cap back on the camera since the lens isn’t touching anything in the compartment. This allows for even quicker shots. Alternatively, you can take the SLR suspension fabric out (via the velcro fasterner holding it in place), leave the lens hood on, and insert the camera. The SLR suspension does not work with a lens hood. I was happy to see that my D7000 with 18-200mm lens still fits (barely) with the lens hood.

I haven’t tested the sling bag in wet conditions yet, but it seems like it will do just fine. My new tripod easily attaches to the exterior, and the bag can still be slung around with the tripod attached.

This past weekend I went on a 20-mile bike ride with the sling bag and discovered another use of the straps for the tripod. The day started out in the low 50s so I had a jacket on. Halfway through my ride the temperature was in the upper 60s, and I wanted to remove my jacket. I didn’t have my tripod on the bag on the ride so I used the external straps to secure my jacket to it. It worked great. Taking off my jacket was the only time during my entire ride (which included over 200 pictures) in which I took the sling bag off!

There is another, newer model (308) of this bag which appears to have more space for storage. Personally, I’m glad I went with the 205 as it has all the space I will need on most outings and is less than half the weight of the DCB-308.

There is a compartment in the 205 that can be used for an extra lens (or lunch or water bottle if you don’t have another lens like me), another for lens caps and/or filters and/or SD cards, and another that can also be used for such things although I have found it handy thus far for storing my keys. There are also handles in just the right places to sling the camera to your front side or sling it back to the best position on your back.

Check out this video for more.

Finally, one of the things I like best, is that you don’t look like a tourist with this sling bag. Others won’t even know that you have a camera on you until you take it out. The sling bag looks (and feels) like a mini-backpack, not a bulky camera bag or full-blown backpack. You no longer need to have your DSLR tied around your neck like an anchor.

Posted on May 4th, 2011 under Other. Tags: photography, reviews, travel related goods. Comments: 7

Given how my prior post discussing my new Nikon D7000 DSLR with 18-200mm VR II lens has quickly become the most popular page on the blog (in terms of hits), I thought I’d give a brief update to that entry.

The first thing is that I really, really love my new Nikon D7000 with the 18-200 mm lens. Even though it is so much bigger and heavier than my old cameras, I take it with me instead of my far lighter Panasonic alternatives. I feel like I don’t want to trade the weight/size/inconvenience for the quality of even a single shot.

The second thing is the vastly improved possibilities with respect to sports photography. Granted, the conditions in the above photo were ideal with lots of sun and blue sky, but still, I couldn’t have captured the ball and players so frozen and in so much detail with my other cameras in these conditions. Not even close. Also, firing off half a dozen shots in a second allows me to capture the perfect still instead of a picture that is a second too early or too late.

The third thing is the detail and lack of noise in photos is so far beyond what I’m used to. Check out this photo on my other blog. I have taken dozens of similar shots from my home over the years with other cameras. The best ones don’t have this kind of detail. Most require some noise reduction in Photoshop and/or Corel’s Paint Shop Pro. The noise reduction makes the detail even worse. I didn’t do any noise reduction to this image taken with the Nikon D7000.

The final thing to point out is with respect to my earlier comment on getting the 18-105mm lens instead of the 18-200mm lens. I take that comment back. If you can afford it, definitely get the 18-200 instead of the 18-105. Although the lens is bigger and heavier, I’ve found myself using that extra 95mm on so many shots. The difference is almost 2X which is more than a little difference as I erroneously said before. Changing lenses would be a huge hassle (and cause missed shots) so I’m very glad with my choice to go with a lens capable of a wide range than two lenses with narrower ranges like I was initially considering.

Posted on April 1st, 2011 under Other. Tags: Nikon 18-200mm VR II, nikon d7000, photography. Comments: 3

I didn’t realize that buying a Nikon would somehow make my Panasonic TZ10 more useful. As I mentioned before, I purchased the TZ10 mostly for the added zoom over my LX3. The GPS feature on it, which automatically tags every photo with your longitude and latitude coordinates, isn’t something I used often. While travelling, it is sometimes nice as the TZ10 will tell you where you are or what landmark you are nearby. However, I could never find a way to enter a picture’s coordinates after the fact to figure out where I took the picture.

Fast forward to my D7000 purchase. It came with software called View NX2 (free for anyone to download–you don’t need to purchase a Nikon to use it) which does some cool things to photos I took (or will take) with my TZ10. Not only does it show you on a Google map where you took a given picture, but let’s say you have 300 pictures in a directory that you took at various locations. If you want to quickly pull up only the photos you took at one place, you can click on that pin on the map, and it will highlight just those photos for you. This is very cool and useful if you have a camera with GPS capabilities but have yet to figure out any use for the GPS.

Here is an example with some photos I took in Tokyo. You may want to click on the image for a bigger and better view.

Posted on March 27th, 2011 under Other. Comments Off on Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 (DSC-ZS7) GPS Geo Tagging

After 4 days of research and deliberations I purchased a new camera today. That’s my new baby up there.

I went with the Nikon D7000 digital SLR Camera with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II lens. It also came packaged with an SD card, bag, and a few other goodies. Costco had them for $250 off until tomorrow. I’m glad I went and made my purchase today though as their online store sold out today and many of the stores have sold out as well. Amazon has a similar deal with even more extras for about $1,200 here.

As this is my first DSLR I can’t really compare it fairly. All I can say is wow! Maybe I’d say the same with an entry level DSLR, but this thing really smokes. We had poor weather today, but my test shots still came out great. Normally I have to really work hard to get a shot right, but with the D7000 it seems to just do everything perfect for you. The auto focus is so good and so fast. It blew me away.

The feel and sound is so nice. My P&S cameras now seem so cheap and error prone. That said, size and weight wise the D7000 is a beast. Lugging it around all day does not seem like it will be fun for long.

I’ll post some comparison shots and other feedback once I’ve messed around with it a bit more. For now, photos on this blog will still be with my old cameras. Photos with the D7000 won’t appear here until my European adventures this summer. I will soon start posting photos on my other blog with the D7000 though.

Posted on March 25th, 2011 under Other. Tags: Nikon 18-200mm VR II, nikon d7000, photography, reviews. Comments: 1

Although my Panasonic DMC-TZ10 (ZS7 in the USA) has somehow fixed itself, it still occasionally gives me problems. In addition to those problems, sometimes photos look great on the LCD screen, but when I get them onto my computer monitor all of the detail disappears and I’m disappointed with the result. Low light photos, in particular, can look funny or at least not be true to the scene I was trying to capture. Also, macro shots sometimes won’t focus. I have fewer complaints with my LX3, but the lack of zoom (24 – 60 mm) limits its usefulness.

Should I finally take the plunge and buy a DSLR camera? I won’t be carrying it with me everywhere, but on certain outings I suppose carrying such a beast around won’t be too bad, will it?

For four more days, Costco has what appears to be a super deal on the Nikon D90 with two lenses.

Will the quality of my photos go up with the D90? I’m guessing yes. Leaving the issue of portability aside, my other concern is having to swap lenses every time I want to zoom a shot. Anyone have any advice for me? Should I purchase the D90? Will I be disappointed? Happy? Frustrated with having to change from the 18-55 lens to the 70-300 lens on a regular basis?

Feedback would be appreciated.

Posted on March 22nd, 2011 under Other. Comments: 7