Welcome to a new decade! And as you would expect, technology leads the way with cameras at the center stage. Most hikers, trekkers and climbers love to take pictures from their perils so picking the right camera is important. I have updated a long time section of my site for the latest technology now available in 2010.
Probably the most exciting announcement in the past year or so was a brand new format called Micro Four Thirds. The promise is of a camera with the performance of a DSLR in the size of a point and shoot. Panasonic and Olympus are leading the way trying to put long time leaders Nikon and Canon on the defensive.
However there is a lot of action in the point and shoot and Digital SLR markets as well. Manufactures have come to their senses and have slowed the megapixel race and in some cases dropped back. By now, consumers are starting to understand that more is not better with respect to megapixels.
Simply put, a 4mp camera with a great lens can take a better picture than a 12mp model. But we have been trained that a big number is better than a small number so most cameras today start at 8mp and most at 10-12mp. Sadly these result in poor pictures.
Video has come a long way with most cameras now offering some form of high quality video and many with full 1080p HD video. This is now available on some DSLRs, something new in the past year. Dedicated video cameras continue to evolve as well including some inexpensive flip cameras that offer great convenience while at the cost of quality video.
And what about cameras in your phone? That is another entire story. Apple’s iPhone seems to be leading the way with features and software but decent pictures are available from Nokia and Sony Erikson as well.
So if you want to catch up or just read about digital photography, visit the Digital Photography page.
Climb On!
Alan
