camera tips | J.D. Hodges

Category Archives: camera tips

Olympus E-M5 vs. Panasonic GX1

Tuesday, 2012.06.26 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Here is an initial comparison table between the GX1 and EM5 mirrorless cameras: Brand Panasonic Olympus Model Lumix DMC GX1 E-M5 Resolution 16.60 Mpixel 16.10 Mpixel Maximum_resolution 4592×3448 4608×3456 Minimum_resolution 1712×1712 512×348 Sensor_size 17.3×13.0mm 17.3×13.0mm Sensor_type Live MOS CMOS Focal_length_multiplier 2 2 ZoomWide Digital_zoom Yes Yes Auto_focus Yes Yes Manual_focus Yes Yes Focus_range_cm Flash_modes anti red-eye, auto, fill in, off, slow flash anti red-eye, auto, fill in, off, slow flash Storage_types SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital Iso_ratings auto, 160

35mm vs 50mm Nikon DX lenses! (and telephoto too)

Monday, 2012.01.02 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Question from longtime friend RW: Hey JD, I’m settling in with the Nikon D5100 and have been using the 18-55mm kit lens to get a feel for using the camera, and I think I am ready to upgrade and buy 1-2 more lenses and wanted to get your opinion. First I am looking at a decent portrait lens for snapping shots of the little one when she arrives and am either going with a 35mm or 50mm. I am kind of

Christmas Giveaway: Black Eveready Case for Olympus E-P1

Monday, 2011.12.19 J.D. H. 4 comments

Win an Olympus Eveready Case for the Olympus E-P1 micro four thirds camera! How to enter: Simply leave a comment at the end of this blog entry to enter to win. No purchase necessary. Your email address will ONLY be used to contact you if you are the winner of the contest. Winning info: Winner will be randomly chosen on December 24th and notified via email. Case will be shipped via USPS to the winner. About the case: This is

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM – What do you think of this lens? – Ask J.D.

Saturday, 2011.11.05 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Ali asks: EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM – $180.00 What do you think of this lens? I would like it for taking photos of wildlife and sports mostly. I am also wondering about quality of any other brand of lenses that will fit my camera. I have a canon EOS rebel xsi. JD answers: (condensed version) Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM +FOR THE PRICE, this lens can’t be beat for wildlife photography and sports on bright sunny days. For

Christmas Camera Recommendations

Friday, 2011.11.04 J.D. H. Leave a comment

I always enjoy hearing from friends and readers. Recently a long time friend emailed me asking for a camera recommendation. And thus begins my 2011 Christmas Camera Recommendation post! JD, I hope all is well, and congrats on the 2nd little one coming your way. Michelle and I are expecting our 1st in February which brings me to the reason I am e-mailing. We are looking to upgrade our digital camera so we can take lots of photos! We currently use

Best CHEAP Nikon/Nikkor lenses

Saturday, 2011.09.10 J.D. H. Leave a comment

These are the best cheap lenses available for Nikon. The definition of “cheap” in this list is going to be lenses readily available for less than $250* USD. Some of these lenses are out of production and you will have to buy used, others are brand spanking new and you can pick them up on Amazon or your other favorite photo store. These are all “5 star” lenses in my book: [starreview tpl=16] Read on for the goods… *if $250 is too

Bought & Sold: Olympus E-P1 – 12.3 MP Digital Camera & 14-42mm lens

Tuesday, 2011.07.05 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Introducing: Bought & Sold This entry marks a new feature on jdhodges.com: Bought & Sold Here I will list items that I purchased and then sold at a later date. Simple enough huh? Here we go… First item: Olympus E-P1 12.3 MP & 14-42mm kit lens This was my second Micro Four Thirds based camera and it was quite a lovely little camera. 🙂 Purchase date: 2009.06.16 Purchase price: $799.99 (from Amazon.com) Sale date: May 27th, 2011 Sale price: $320.00 Owned for:

The best dynamic-range cameras, updated for 2013

Monday, 2011.07.04 J.D. H. Leave a comment

NOTE: this is a rough-draft and as such it is meant to be updated, please view these findings as preliminary and in progress. Thanks! As photography enthusiasts are well aware, there are a number of image-quality criteria that are important when choosing a camera: +lens/optical quality +color fidelity and color vibrance +dynamic range I will save the first two for later, but today I did want to briefly discuss dynamic-range and start compiling a list of the best d-range cameras: