Merry Christmas to everyone reading this blog, and good wishes to the 105+ people with new cameras this season that I have helped put under the tree. The last month has been very busy with no time to update . There is lots of news and reviews to post so I'll try and catch up in the new year. For me this Christmas, the next shipment of Pentax K10ds have been shipped and will be here soon. Again Merry Christmas and good wishes for the new year. Bill and the people at Contact Photo Arts

A photo of my Mother, receiving her award of Freeman of the Municipality of Alert Bay from Mayor John Rowell. She is a regular viewer of my blog and enjoys her digital camera. Congratulations Mom, Bill

They are here Pentax K10D Link

For a while I have wanted to take this photo, with the river frozen and the stabilization in the Pentax K100D it was easy. This cameras review at DPreview has just been posted. Bill

Yes that is a Nikon D40 in my hands in the last post.It is very small, light and I think the quietest DSLR that I have used. I understand there are very few around. I am going to keep this one in the store for a demo and take orders, Nikon has said they may not be shipping more until the new year, so if you would like to hold one and order one this is the place to come. Bill There is a review coming this weekend from dcresource.com

New stock that is in the door or shipped, first in the door, Nikon D40 kit, Nikon 18 to 200 VR Pentax K100d two lens kit, Pentax 12 to 24 lens, Canon XTi kit. What has been shipped and may come today, Pentax K10D , Crumpler bags please see earlier post with link. Coming this weekend some snow photos as I haven't been out in the sun for awhile. Bill

Canon A530 is a very good camera at an entry level price. Here is a link to a review by Ken Rockwell. He is a pro who provides me with lots of info on new Nikon DSLRs and has loads of photo tips. We have this camera in stock. Bill

Canon G7 and A640 If you are someone with a DSLR who would like a full featured camera that has a big file size and fits in your pocket, you might want to read DPreviews review of the G7 and its comparison to the A640. dpreviews link

We have both in stock or in my pocket. Bill

Mini review: the new Pentax Optio T20.

What I liked:

• The shape - thin, light and rugged; a joy to always have in your pocket and to pull out for those moments when you would say "I really wish I had a camera!"
• The screen - vast, vivid and vivacious; simply the best three inch screen I have seen on any device, be it a laptop, a cell phone or a camera.
• The interface - fun, easy to use and an effervescencent joy to explore. What is really neat about this camera is the touchscreen display. You can draw, paint and crop right in the camera, it's a huge time saver!
  

What I didn't like:

• The sliding lens makes a lot of noise (minor)
• When being used for portraits the green AF assist light is rather blinding
• Low-light performance is not as good as it could be

The essence:
An incredible camera! I might just have to get one for myself.

dpreview has not posted a review yet, however the pre-review can be found here

Contact Photo Arts, home of all things super-chic, will be publishing a mini-review this Saturday. The featured are some of the latest, greatest, fashionable and most-exciting products we have ever seen, so be sure to keep an eye open to the blog for the most recent. Enjoy!
Note that this review will be brief but will capture the essence of the product in question, please see the link for a complete review.

Canon G7 This camera is very much talked about because of what it can do and maybe more importantly for some what it can't do. It is Canons newest camera and I have one to test. From what I have seen so far I think it is the best camera now available for the person who wants a quality camera with a view finder that will fit in your pocket. If you now or will have a DSLR and want a camera to carry with you all the time this may be the one. Bill The two photo are the wide and long end of the zoom.

Did I say something about a long weekend? This is new stock coming in the back door with Sandra and Tina very excited about what is in these boxes. Camera boxes are a little smaller.

Many new cameras, Canon A530, Canon A640, Canon SD800, Canon G7, Canon Rebel XTI Kit with 18 to 55, Pentax T20, and we now have more stock of Pentax W20. Also look for our Panasonic flyer coming soon. Testing and getting to know these cameras may take me awhile. We are closing both Sat. the 11th and Monday the 13th. We are looking forward to the time to prepare ourselves for the Christmas rush which began some time last week. Bill

If you have been reading my Blog you will know that I have said before "while washing the dishes and looking out the window", the view is one reason we don't have a dishwasher. Light for photos can also be very nice in November. I like the soft reflections and the morning light.
I used my daughter's Pentax S6 as it was handy. Jack the cat may have been hunting, not enjoying the view. Bill

You must be wondering what happened to me. We ran an add last weekend and have been very busy. Lots of phone calls and e-mails. I promised awhile back some photos from the Pentax 10 to 17mm fish eye lens, here they are. As you can see this is a lot of fun and with software to correct distortion it can be very usable. Enjoy, I hope you can see the one I have fixed a little. Bill

Out the window of our store this morning I spotted this tree and grabbed a camera, Pentax K100D, I have more stock today. Getting out the door I also saw this shot of our bank, who we owe a lot of credit to our success. Bill

Pentax 10 to 17 F3.5-4.5ED fish-eye lens new today. This lens is very special so here is a link to Pentax. I'll post a photo soon.

Nikon 18 to 200 VR I have stock but this is very interesting, if you have not read Ken Rockwell before here is a link Ken Rockell

Next shipment of photo banks coming this week. What is a photo bank? Its like a piggy bank, but instead of putting money in it you put your photos or digital files. I don't think files are photos untill you print them. There is a slot for your memory card and you down load to a very small battery operated hard drive. This can be very usefull while traveling as it can be hard to find a specialty photo store that can put your original files on a CD. Box and chain stores process and down grade your files and give you viewing software you don't need. Sometime this software wants to take you places you may not want to go. We have seen many examples of customers traveling with a 6 to 10 mg camera ending up with a CD of 4x6 print quality files that have been auto corrected by software. Here is a link to see a photo bank

Photos for Mom, for everyone else these are taken with Nikon D80 18 to 200 VR lens. This is a very nice set and I very much enjoyed testing it. Mom if you look close you can see our house from the hill, and there is smoke from the chimney in the shadow. Bill

New compact camera from Nikon today. The L5 is a 5x zoom 7.2 mg that comes with AA rechargeable batteries. This is one of Nikon's newest cameras and features VR, vibration reduction. I'm sure this will be a good seller, did I mention the 2 year Canadian warranty? Bill Nikon L5 Link

Nikon 18 to 200 VR. WE now have this lens in stock, so far this year they have been very hard to find. I enjoy this persons web site and all the helpfull info and he realy likes his Nikon 18 to 200 VR Ken Rockwell link http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

Digital photo workshop tonight at the Grand Forks Library 7:00 PM. There is no charge but you do need to sign up at the library. For the Fall this will be held the first and third Tuesdays. The first Tuesday focused on beginners, the third intermediate. This is the third year and so far I have had fun helping people with their cameras and photography. With the interest in digital cameras photography has again become a fun hobby. Bill

Wide angle lenses are often forgotten with cameras offering longer telephoto lenses. 3x cameras are now seen as too limited and 6x,10x 12x are more popular. The 6x does not mean the camera brings the object 6 times closer but rather the lens changes its magnification 6x from its widest view to the most telephoto. In our need for bigger numbers wide angle often becomes forgotten until you can't backup enough to get what you would like in your photo. I also like what a wide view does to change the feel of a photo. We have a pro we print for shooting wedding photos with a wide view and looking at the photos one gets the feeling you are part of the wedding not viewing the photos.
So today I have new, the Raynox super wide conversion lens added to a Panasonic FZ7 known mostly for its very good 12x Leica lens. This is a photo of our store front shot at a distance of about 20 feet or 6 meters, with and without the conversion lens. The lens does cause distortion that I fixed with acdsee pro software. Here also is a link to Raynox Bill

Buying and selling cameras with cameras changing very fast can be very interesting. Today after reading this review, see link, I canceled my back ordered test camera. At the PMA show I held this camera and got a very good feel for it and would like to sell it. As you may know I really like Panasonic cameras for many reasons but also I find I need to take the time and choose the cameras I sell carefully. This review made me change my mind about this camera. Bill

dcresource link

While washing the dishes this morning I spotted this cold deer making its way across the river. Shake reduction in new cameras is a good thing. Pentax K100D 300mm APO sigma lens cropped photo, one cold deer.

Nikon D80 its here, Big day today just received the first D80 kit with 18 to 135 lens. As a bonus also a 18 to 200 VR that has been on back order for 4 months. Will have to take some time to test and play. Bill

DPreview link This is now a review and highly recommended by Phil 09/23

Pentax W20 is now here. The W20 is the latest Pentax water proof camera. These cameras have been one of our most popular cameras in the last few years. They just keep getting better. Bill

Pentax W20 link

One of the most exciting things Sandy and I found at the recent buying show was Crumpler Bags Not just the bags but their display and the people were great. We are planning to order these bags and thought you may like to check out their web site, the craziest I have ever seen, and tell us what is your favorite bag so we will know what to stock. These bags make great camera bags but can be used also in so many ways. Please let us know which is your favorite bag. This is something to check out, have fun and turn up the sound. Bill

Crumpler link

Foto Source, Contact Photo Arts is a member and share holder in Foto Source. We are linked with 221 other stores from coast to coast in Canada. Sandy and I just attended our annual general meeting and buying show this year held in Ottawa. We have lots of new ideas and will be bring in many new exciting products. Foto Source has a new web site with a photo contest, here is a link. Bill
Foto Source

Foto Source relaunches website; offers Foto ContestFoto Source, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, launches its redesigned website with easier to use navigation and increased information to benefit their customers, says the company. The redesigned site offers a three in one locator that allows consumers to find their nearest Foto Source retailer, and also locate stores that provide specific services and carry brands of interest. When consumers locate their nearest Foto Source store location, they are taken to that store's individual website. Consumers who sign up online can receive various additional benefits. "By creating a single profile, consumers can enter a photo contest, subscribe to photo newsletters, and upload their digital images to order prints online,"added Matt Bondy, president, Interprise Software, who created the new site. With the website launch, Foto Source also offers consumers an opportunity to win Nikon digital cameras in the "What I did on My Summer Vacation FotoContest." Consumers decide which of their summer vacation photos they want to share, go to www.fotosource.com, click, and enter. Prizes include five Nikon digital cameras, including the newly introduced Coolpix S7c as the grand prize. The contest closes Oct. 31. Foto Source currently has 221 individual store websites for its brick-and-mortar stores in all provinces and territories across Canada.

We now have more Panasonic FZ 50's in stock both black and silver. I was able to test the FZ50 with the last FZ30 we sold and I was very pleased. Sometimes more pixels do not make a better print but this one does. Notice I said print, I often wonder if some of the reviews I read include making real photos in a lab. That is something I do as a test for me to get to know a camera before it gets sold. Close to Christmas one year I received 20 plus cameras that I didn't test first and found to my dismay they produced a very bad photo. I had to send them all back. Most of them were presold and it was very hard to tell customers that they couldn't have that camera, and then find them a better camera two weeks before Christmas. Thanks to a rep who found what I needed in a major resellers stock room and shipped them to me and saved the day. I now don't believe every thing I read with out testing and I have never ordered 20 plus cameras with out printing photos. I don't think you should buy one with out seeing a real photo from a real photo lab. Bill update just sold number two of this camera Sept 16 4:30 a silver one, this is a very nice camera Bill

dpreview link

We are back from the PMA show with lots of new ideas and products. The most exciting news for me is the new Pentax K10D and I have them on order, I was one of the first to run from the press conference to the nearest PC and send an order. I'll take orders with a deposit . Bill

update I have sold two so far Bill Sept 16 3:00 pm
dpreviw Link

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