CES featured plenty of new cameras, but there were also several exciting lens announcements from some of our favorite lens makers, Nikon and Sigma. Nikon's new 85mm f/1.8 lens is refreshingly small for what it does, while Sigma a new line of lenses for Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX – called DN for Digital Neo, plus an impressive 180mm f/2.8 Macro lens for Nikon & Canon DSLRs... Read more »

It's getting really hard to tell the players without a scorecard. The newly announced Nikon D4 is amazingly similar in specs to the recently announced Canon 1D X. Both are mid-resolution (16MP & 18MP) full-frame cameras -- allowing for larger pixels and stunning low-light performance with ISOs in the tens of thousands promised. And both are wicked fast (11fps and 12fps), with full 1080p HD video, dual card slots, heavy-duty construction, full bit depth image recording, and scads of other features… Read more »

Rather than simply pushing the megapixel limits possible in point and shoots, Fujifilm has designed a very clever camera that can easily capture 3D photographs and videos automatically. By essentially building two cameras into one point and shoot body, and spacing them about eye distance apart, the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 provides a completely unique shooting experience for the photographer looking to expand their creative horizons. Read more »

After playing second fiddle to Canon’s now legendary “G-series” of top of the line point and shooters, Nikon aimed to level the playing field with last year’s introduction of the Nikon P7000. Featuring a full range of SLR-like controls, an “all-in-one” zoom lens, and relatively large pixels for a P&S, the P7000 made converts out of many. But it still had some glaring issues in video capability and raw shooting speed in particular. So I was excited to take the new Nikon P7100 out in the field to see how it compared…

As the old saying goes, “f/8 and be there.” That can be just as true of wildlife photography. Even after 12 years of photographing Alaskan Coastal Brown bears every summer, I am surprised with new opportunities each time. This photo of a sow (mother bear) playing “hide and seek” with her cub just won 1st place in the Professional Mammals (I think that means that the photographer is a professional – not the animals) category of the National Wildlife Federation 2011 photo competition. I’m frankly really honored, as the other winning images are all amazing. A special shout out to fellow bear watchers and dedicated biologists Laura Romin and Larry Dalton, who took first place in the Amateur Baby Animals contest. The images are all showcased on the NWF website and in the November issue of their magazine. Read more »

In a market with literally hundreds of models of cameras to chose from the Olympus PEN cameras have made a name for themselves with a unique blend of old and new. The Olympus E-P3 (PEN 3) is no exception—pushing the envelope of retro metal design in one direction while beefing up its speed to the fastest in its class. There is a lot to love about the PEN 3 as a compact camera, especially street photographers, so I was delighted to take one for an extended field test covering a wide variety of shooting situations…

Each year I think our Alaska safaris can’t get any better. But this year, our twelfth of visiting with the Bears and Puffins alongside the spectacular volcanoes and the mountains lining the Cook Inlet was the best yet. We had two fun groups (kept small as always so we can move around with the bears and provide lots of personal instruction) and our daughter Annie helping with lessons on Photo Books and with the gear hauling…

July is a special time for the bears of the Cook Inlet. Just about all the moms have brought their cubs out into the open along the water to graze, to learn to clam and to start thinking about fishing. It is still early enough that the bears are fairly relaxed and haven’t starting panicking in their fall rush to put on weight for winter. We were treated to many scenes of cubs and moms playing and mothers nursing both spring cubs (born this winter in the den and first out in the world only a couple months ago) and “yearling” cubs—last years spring cubs in their final year before being kicked out by their moms.