Month: September 2012

Canon 24-70 f2.8 II Preview – Hands On

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This lens has been a long time coming as it was originally announced back in February but faced many unspecified delays on the way to dealers.  I just received mine this morning, one from the first small batch that made it to Canada.  I plan to do a proper review within the next week or so once I’ve had some more time with it but being one of Canon’s most anticipated lenses ever, I also wanted to post some first impressions and a couple of samples that I shot this afternoon. I performed all my initial tests with the lens

Skier Magazine Cover Image From Whistler

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Shot on a stormy day in my home resort of Whistler Blackcomb.  Colston VB airs through the burn zone trees near Crystal chair. This magazine just went to print this week…. winter is on its way……!

Sony Takes The Bull By The Horns – RX1, A99 , NEX-6

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Anyone that monitors the photographic industry can’t help but notice that Sony has been making some noise in recent years.  Just two or three years ago I wouldn’t dream of looking to them for groundbreaking photo technology or lust-worthy camera hardware but fast forward to 2012 and Sony are making big waves.  As their lens lineup expands and improves, Canon and Nikon need to watch their back because Sony are intent on becoming number one and they are on the right track. Tonight saw the simultaneous launch of a frankly bewildering number of new products for the 2012 Photokina show. 

Sony About To Launch Full Frame Compact – RX1

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This week is set to be Sony’s biggest ever week in the photography industry.  Not only are they about to launch the A99, a full frame DSLR with incredible photo and video specs, but they are also set to launch a full frame compact camera called the RX1.  The development has been hinted at by well connected people in the past but the confirmation was broken today by PhotoPrice.ca when they got hold of the first image of the upcoming camera.  The only other compact, mirrorless full frame camera on the market is the Leica M9 , and soon to

First Canon 24-70 f2.8 II Reviews Coming In

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I have this lens on order myself and intend to do a full review as soon as I get it. Unfortunately there are so far no signs of it coming to Canada. In fact a Canon rep even said he’s ‘not expecting it this month’ which is somewhat worrying as B&H is expecting to begin shipping theirs next week. I have to buy mine in Canada to take advantage of my CPS discount otherwise I would have just gone with B&H. video via CanonRumors

Think Tank Urban Disguise Special Offer

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Our friends at Think Tank Photo have a special offer for September that might of interest.  Should you order one of their popular Urban Disguise® shoulder bags, you can receive one of their Urban Disguise® Attachment Straps or a Shoulder Harness V2.0 for free! With Think Tank Photo’s completely upgraded and larger Urban Disguise shoulder bags, you can travel in style while still protecting your valuable equipment from prying eyes. The Urban Disguise V2.0 Series is specifically designed for professional digital SLR equipment, with some models including special laptop compartments.  Each model features multiple pockets, YKK lockable zipper sliders, a

New Line Of Zeiss Lenses Coming For Canon & Nikon – First Is Distagon 55mm f1.4

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Zeiss issued an interesting press release this morning that revealed some future plans prior to the Photokina show next week. As well as revealing that they will produce some mirrorless system lenses next year , they unveiled the first in a new line of lenses for full frame Canon and Nikon cameras.  The first will be the Distagon 55mm f1.4 and it is pegged as a lens family for ‘demanding users’.  In other words this is going to be bomb-proof but also incredibly expensive.

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Why Bother With The Fuji X-Pro 1? Just Get the X-E1!

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So Fuji went and announced a new camera in the X-Series today called the X-E1.  It’s pegged as the more affordable version of the X-Pro 1 but in my mind it makes the X-Pro 1 a now pointless purchase.  You see the X-E1 features the exact same 16MP sensor as its bigger brother, it adds a built in pop-up flash and it is physically quite a bit smaller.  What’s the catch then ?  Well you loose the hybrid optical viewfinder that Fuji touted as the major feature of the Fuji X100 and the X-Pro 1.  But here’s then thing, that

Behind the Shot: Night Racing at Le Mans

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The Le Mans 24 Hours is without a doubt, one of the most incredible sporting events in the world. Every summer over a quarter of a million people descend on Circuit De La Sarthe in Le Mans, France, for the greatest motor race on the planet. National Geographic even called it the #1 event on the planet! The cars and drivers battle for a continuous 24 hour period around a race track that is partly made up of local roads, and partly a modernized F1-style facility. From a photographic standpoint the race delivers many challenges because of its length, and

Gura Gear Kiboko 22L Review

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IMPORTANT NOTE

Gura Gear acquired the Tamrac brand and merged the two together.  Gura Gear as a standalone brand is gone, and all of their bags have been renamed to be sold under the Tamrac name in the G-Elite collection.  Aside from small aesthetic changes to use the Tamrac logo, the bags have remained the same.  Throughout this review, I have used the name Gura Gear, but when searching for more info on these products, or searching to buy them, you should now search for the Tamrac G-Elite bags instead.

Design & Features

Exterior Dimensions: 14x18x9 inches (35.6 x 45.7 x 22.9 cm); 22 Liters useable

The Kiboko 22l+ continues on from the popular 30L with a the same butterfly opening design.  The benefit of this is that you can selectively access your gear whilst keeping other parts of it away from the elements.  The downside is that you have to lay the bag with its back on the ground when you do this and padded back panel picks up a lot of dust and dirt.  The outside of the bag is made from VX-21 , a lightweight yet tough and abrasion resistant material which is often used to make sails.  It is expensive but it seems to do a decent job and designing a bag that was lightweight was a top consideration.  If we’re all going to have to deal with reduced carry-on allowances there’s little point using up half our allowance with the weight of the bag.  It’s a theory that I very much like.

gura gear kiboko 22l review

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