This is some thing I have wanted to try for a long time, a panorama photo of the view from our deck. Today with the river frozen and the long shadows it was and ideal time to try. I took 4 photos vertical with my Sigma Dp1 and stitched them together in a program called Autostitch. It was very easy to do and I will do more as the ice melts. Click on the photo to see it larger. The mark out on the ice is a hole I cut for the wildlife. And just a reminder the Sigma Dp1 is now priced at 650.00 Canadian. www.contactphotoarts.com Bill Wilby

Here is a photo that I have re-posted. I made this photo to promote my Sigma Dp1 sales in the Spring. It is soon to be a new year and with that some new prices. There will be price increases from some suppliers this year, something we are not used to in this industry. There is also some price decreases. The Dp1 was introduced and sold for a cost of 849.95 in the Spring of 2008. Now it is available for the cost of 650.00 Canadian dollars. This is about 530.00 U.S. We have added a products and price page to our web site to make it easier to find what cameras we have available for on-line sales. I have been very busy this Fall mailing the Panasonic G1 and the Panasonic 45-200 lens to customers from Alaska to California to New York and to Texas. I also sent a blue one to Ottawa in the east Fort Providence NT in the North and Langley in the west. These customers have contacted me by e-mail and phone. I hope our new page will make contacting us easier. There is still no shopping cart because it is important for me to maintain a personal contact with my customers.
In the Spring I sold many Dp1s across Canada but none to the U.S. I have discovered with selling the G1 this Fall it is very easy for me to sell to the U.S. I can drive to a U.S. post office in about 15 minutes. When I look out the window of my store I can see across the border between Canada and the United States. Our web site is www.contactphotoarts.com I also wanted to post this photo again that I titled DP1 still life, it reminds me of Christmas. I hope you have a happy new year. Bill Wilby

Just a quick update on how the logging show is going. While washing the dishes a few days ago, I have lost track of days, and looking out the window, the tree fell before my eyes. It has not taken long for the clean up, I can hear them chomping and dragging the timber during the night. I can see them too if the noon is out and I have thought of a flash photo, but that might end our friendship. They are working on another tree further up river, far enough away it should not effect my sleep. Bill P.S. the camera Sandra's Panasonic Fz 18

Just a few moments to have a little fun. Received more 4/3 adapters today for the Panasonic G1. My friend Henry has lent me his Olympus 50 mm macro lens to try. Here is a quick photo of my beaver friend Bob, to show how close it will manual focus. Auto focus will not work with this lens but the magnifier works very well. Bill

Update, I will have more 45-200 lenses and 4/3 adapters on Friday Dec, 5th as well as extra batteries for the G1.
Panasonic G1, there is certainly a lot of interest in this new camera and the change it represents with digital cameras. Because of having the stock I have been shipping cameras, lenses and 4/3 adapters. If you are one of the many people not able to find the right colour camera or the 45-200 lens, I have stock. To order from our store www.contactphotoarts.com please check our contact info on the site and send me an e-mail, or call. I ship across Canada and to the U.S. through a U.S. post office near by. Please note our store front is closed Mondays, I do check my e-mail and I do ship to the U.S. on Mondays. Bill Wilby

You may know about my friend Bob the beaver. I haven't seen him for awhile but I can hear him working at night. There has been more than one night lately that I can remember waking to the sound of a tree falling. We have an arrangement that works for both of us. He needs a winter supply of food and I am looking forward to a 180 degree view of the river. Look for that panorama view soon, just one more tree to fall. This photo taken with my Sigma Dp1 Bill

It is always fun to have something new before anyone else. This is the new 45-200 lens on the Panasonic G1. I won't have time to try this lens until I get more stock, it seems I can sell this new camera system just as fast I can get them. What is really exciting, this lens is 4 inches long and gives the same magnification as a 400 mm lens on a 35mm film camera, and it is stabilized too. I will post some photos tomorrow if the sun comes out and before I ship stock. Bill P.S. check out our site www.contactphotoarts.com for contact info.

The Panasonic G1's are now here, I am busy charging a battery and packaging the first ones to go out in the mail. I thought I was short shipped until I realized they are shipping two in a box to dealers. Just a reminder this is a small camera. How small, you really have to hold one in your hand to get the feel of how small it is. I have seen some very good comparisons on line for its size but until I held it in my hand, I really did not know. The next step of course is to use it and then see. It feels that I have missed a few weeks with the flu, but it has only been a few days, I am looking forward to using this camera and the new Pentax KM over this coming long weekend. That is if I have any left. Bill Wilby

The new Pentax Km has arrived. This is very exciting and I am looking forward to getting to know this camera. I took this photo very quickly just because I wanted to show it off today. I think size and weight will be some of the things people will take into consideration in deciding if they would this camera to their Pentax collection. I will write an article and do more comparing when I have more time. Bill

Today is a big day in my world, I was just able to order the new Panasonic G1 camera. I may have stock on Friday. There have been many new cameras announced this Fall, but not one that represents a new system the way the G1 does. Small with interchangeable lens this camera has received much attention. I can't wait to get my hands on one, and I am sure many of my customers feel the same way. I will publish my first impression in a article next week on our we-site. Bill note it comes in red and blue too For more info www.contactphotoarts.com

What a beautiful morning. This is my view while sipping my morning cup of coffee. With a morning such as this I can't help but think how lucky I am to be able to live in location with this incredible beauty. I do share this location with a couple of beavers though, and their idea of a beautifully tree may be different than mine. I have been awakened the last few nights with the sound of falling trees as the beavers are preparing for winter. Luckily I think there are enough trees for both me and the beavers to enjoy the beauty. This photo was taken with my Sigma SD14 and a 17 to 70 lens. BIll

Gate Fever is now posted, this is Nik Green's latest film shot with the Nikon D90. Please see earlier post for details. Here is the link to the film, and we do have stock of this exciting new SLR from Nikon. BIll

Choice & distance- a literary focus on photography by Leif Einarson, is a new article published on our web site. I have very much enjoyed reading this article for at least two reasons, first some of the ideas expressed by Leif have lodged themselves in my mind and surface often giving me a new perception of my photography. Secondly my vision of our site becoming a place for people to share their thoughts, wisdom and photographs contained in articles for mutual enjoyment has now become a reality. I hope Leif's article will not only nurture other people's creativity but will also inspire others to publish articles. If you would like to consider doing this yourself please read my article entitled " How to create and publish an article". Bill Wilby

Well the Nikon D90 is finally here. They came late to Canada this time around and there are many people who would like to get their hands on one. One person is Nik Green, film maker, pictured with me and my first D90 out of the box. Watch for a link on Saturday to Niks latest film which will be filmed with the D90. Here is a link to Nik's films on Filmak. One other note I have added a new article to our web-site explaining how we sell our cameras on-line. Here is the link to
"Do we sell cameras?" Thanks Bill

The new Pentax Km is shipping soon. This DSLR is aimed at the entry level market and will be the least expensive Pentax DSLR. When I look at the features this camera has I think it may have a much larger market. If I was planning to travel I would consider taking a KM because of it's compact size and how light it is. I think this camera may also be considered by current Pentax users as a second low cost body as a backup camera or a second body to hold another lens. If you follow the link to the Pentax site and study the features you will discover that this camera is not missing much except for the weight. I hope to have one in my hand soon and I will publish an article in our site www.contactphotoarts.com with my first impressions. I may also need to call my travel agent so I can write a field report. Bill

I still take a Sigma SD14 and a 120-400 os lens home every night hoping that I will get a new photo of my friend Bob the beaver. I have often spotted him swimming by but not in enough light to take a photograph. In the mean time I have been building my portfolio of deer portraits. For more information on this lens and the Sigma 150-500 please follow the link to our web-site and a article written by me regarding these lenses. www.contactphotoarts.com Bill

I am back from Montreal. I was there this week attending the Foto Source annual meeting and the Photo Marketing trade show. To sum up the experience, it wasn't what I saw that made this trip special but rather the people that I met. Pierre, Eric, Tammy and Oliver if you read this, thank you. Oliver is two and mostly speaks french. I hope he enjoys this photo taken from my room of the view. The Intercontinental in Montreal is very nice and it was nice of them to upgrade me to a executive suite. The photo was taken with my Sigma DP1. Bill

Nikon D90 is coming soon. If you have read my blog before you may know that I like to be the first with a new camera. The more exciting the camera the better. Because of our location and size of our store I have often found myself with a new camera days or weeks ahead of the rest of the world. I enjoy this position and it often results with a new customer in Montreal or Toronto or even Florida as with the last new camera the Panasonic FZ 28. We may have the Nikon D90 the week of September 22nd. Stay tuned for updates, Bill

September is here and that means many changes for most of us. As you can see it has been more than a week since I have made a post. I have been involved in our new web site www.contactphotoarts.com and I am very excited about what Max has been able to build for us. I hope to have more articles posted soon by ourselves and our customers. These two photos are going to be part of a article that I am writing about the new long zoom lenses by Sigma. They were taken this morning with my Sigma SD14 and a Sigma 120-400 OS. I have also recently sold two Sigma 150-500 os lenses and we have photos from them as well. Bill

This is our daughter Ann posing for me in front of the Bill Reid sculpture at the Vancouver International airport. She is now in France beginning her year of work and travel in Europe. This experience so far is proving to me again of how small this planet we all call home really is. The family Ann is living with in France we met last summer in our small store in our small town. But another example is us standing in line to check Ann's baggage and meeting people on their way back to France, who we had met last week in our store. And many thanks to them for the help given to Ann with her big bags and direction to her new home in France. Because of my site tracker I know I have readers from many parts of the world who find their way to my blog because of their interest in photography and sharing photos is another way to make our world smaller. With this experience I believe even more that this world is as big or as small as we would wish it to be.

The camera I took this photo was the Panasonic FZ18. Bill Wilby

This photo is with the Panasonic FZ 18 F5.6 ISO 100

This photo Panasonic FZ 28 F5.6 ISO 100

These two photos have been posted to give people an idea of the difference between the Panasonic FZ 18 and the Panasonic FZ 28. These were taken quickly this morning before my coffee and were hand held. They were taken at the widest position with each camera. The cameras were set to 5.6 ISO 100 on aperture priority. I tried f4 and 7.1 but in both cameras 5.6 was notable better. As you will see the camera position is different and I know this needs to be done more accurately. This is all the time I have right now between selling cameras and running to the U.S. and Canadian post offices life is busy. Sandy and I are today also taking a trip to the city to take our youngest daughter Ann to the airport. She is moving to France for the next year to work and travel. We are excited and sad and worried most about her cat Oliver who doesn't understand. Bill

These photos have been uploaded with out resizing, the first one was taken with a Polarizing filter.

Here are some more photos from the new Panasonic FZ 28. I took them this morning from the deck while eating my breakfast. This is when I take most of my photos, in the morning with a cup of coffee near by or if you look back you will see there are a few in the evening with maybe a glass of wine close at hand. As to the new Panasonic, I need some time to compare with the FZ18. I have found in the past with new models there can be improvements but often they come at a cost. With market pressure to continually improve a product and then sell it at a lower price some of the changes may not be for the better. I sometimes wonder if the market we have created is working against product improvement. The last models of 35mm film cameras is an example where I often thought the priority was maximizing profit and not improving a product. Stay tuned for more. Bill

These photos are the first that I have taken from the new Panasonic FZ 28. I will post more and first impressions later. I have a FZ18 for a comparison. This may be your first visit to my blog. I am a camera sales person with a small store and because of that we are often the first to have and use a new product. We do sell on-line but if you visit our site http://www.contactphotoarts.com/ you will not find a shopping cart. I like to talk to my customers and there is contact information on our site. We ship across Canada by express post and for U.S. customers we are 15 minutes from a U.S. post office. The price in Canadian dollars is 449.95



The camera at it's widest angle.

This photo hand is held like the other two 1/200 F4.4 100 ISO

This photo is taken against the sun at 18x ISO 100. If you look closely that is Batman on top of the flag pole.

This camera is the newest in the Panasonic line of ultra zoom compact cameras. The previous model the FZ18 has been one of our best selling cameras for the last year. The question today will be, is the FZ28 a better camera than the FZ18. To begin it is important for you to know that I really like Panasonic cameras. I have twenty years of experience selling cameras and in our store with the point and shoot category you will find only Panasonic cameras and one model of Pentax. This is for many reasons but a few are, usually the customers first request is for a camera that is easy to use, secondly a camera that takes good photos. Panasonic does this very well at each price point but what customers don't often think about is that they need a camera that is well made with good quality control. If a customer who I sell a camera to has a problem with their camera it is also a problem for me. I test the cameras before they go out the door. It is important for me to know that what we sell is a good product. I won't sell something unless I would buy it for myself. I can count the number of warranty claims I have helped with on my two hands from Panasonic cameras that I have sold. I have lost count of how many cameras I have sold but it is more than one a day for the last three years. This is also a company that replaces or repairs their defective cameras faster than any other company that I have ever dealt with. Most Panasonic users never experience this but you can understand what a difference it makes to me the sales guy who depends on happy customers.
In the past when a company introduced a new camera my approach would be to wait to read a compressive review, order one to test and then decide if this was a camera that I would like to sell. I started this practice after an experience of having to return 24 cameras that I had ordered with the belief that they were a good product. Panasonic continually introduce new models that surpass the previous ones. If you have read all of this I think you will understand my statement that I like Panasonic cameras. I plan on posting many photos from the FZ28. We will soon be introducing our interactive new web site and there will be also a feature article written for the FZ28. Stay tuned for more, Bill Wilby

Wildlife as seen by the Sigma DP1. Who says one can't take wildlife photos with a small camera and a wide angle lens. Here is both full frame and a 100% crop of a photo I took last night off our deck. In fairness, it is a little easier when they are not shy about having their photo taken. Bill

I recently received my demo Sigma DP1 back from a customer that I had lent it to. For any of you who may not know what a DP1 is, it is a compact camera with a large foveon sensor. This camera for its small size produces excellent image quality. It has a fixed lens that has a wide angle view equal to a 28mm on a 35mm film camera. I plan on carrying this camera with me more often. This morning Sandy and I when for our early spin on our recumbent bikes. I didn't stop to take a photo of the sun coming up but I do see things differently if I know I could. For most people I think the world can looks different if you are carrying a camera. This photo was taken last night sitting on the deck watching the sun going down. Bill

Here is an evening photo taken just after a light rain. It was one of those moments where I needed to do a U turn and go back for the photo. For me it is much like stopping to smell the roses. All it takes is some magic light and a camera near by. The camera Sigma SD14 and a 24 to 70 lens. Bill

Summer time and the living is easy. Last night I was standing by the river bank testing out a new Sigma 24 to 70 lens on my SD14 and a neighbour paddled by. This lens is an older model 24-70 DG DF but is an EX lens and a pleasure to use in the fading evening light. That was some Sigma talk for a great lens at a good price. I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as I am enjoying mine. Bill

Another photo from the new Pentax 17 to 70 F4 SDM. This is my daughter Laura's friend Mandy. Summer time in Grand Forks means cooling off in the river. Laura is still testing this our first lens but we will have more stock tomorrow. I have put together a comparison with a Pentax 16 o 45 and a Sigma 17 to 70. This will soon be on our new web site which will feature articles written by ourselves and our customers. The site is taking awhile because it is custom built. It is an original idea that I have not seen done in the way we are building it. As for the new lens by Pentax, I have ordered several as I think it is very good value and will be a good alternative to a kit lens. Our price 629.95 cdn. Bill

I am still testing and enjoying using the new Pentax 17-70 F4 SDM lens that I have had for the last week. I have done a comparison with the Pentax 16 to 45 and a Sigma 17 to 70. We are still working on our new site to display them. This is a photo of the river this morning and a wasp outside of our store. I was exploring the lens "Bokeh" when the wasp showed up. Bill

There a lot of interest in the new Pentax 17 -70 DA SDM lens. Because of the photo posted below we have had many new people visit this Blog. We are currently building a new interactive web site with articles from our customers as well as our own articles, and one of the first articles will be about this lens because of this interest. In the mean time here are two photos taken at 17 mm and 70 mm, F4. Doing a test like this is not easy and this is only a start. I used an old copy stand and tried to make it level. The distance from the back of the camera is 15 in. or 39 cm. In reviewing these photos I see that the target is not set quite square. This test is meant to give you a indication of distortion and not sharpness. Bill Wilby

This wedding photo was taken by my daughter Laura yesterday. This is with the new Pentax 17 to 70 lens that we have just received. Laura may be the first to photograph a wedding with this lens and I think I may be the first to post photos with this lens as I have not seen any other. My other post are of a boring brick wall near our store posted on the dpreview Pentax forum. As with any new product there is a lot of world wide interest and I find it interesting even with a small store like ours it is possible to be the first. Congratulations Mairen and Andrew and thank you. Here is a link to http://www.laurawilby.com/ Bill

It has been awhile since the last post. Last night we drove over Hardy mountain and spotted these marmots beside the road. This again is the Sigma 120-400 os lens at 1/25 of a sec. 400 mm 5.6 I was sitting in the car but these are hand held. By the number of hits to this blog regarding this lens that I have seen from all over the world it is becoming very popular. I think every one should have one but that may be just the sales man in me talking. Bill

The evenings have been very pleasant with the warm weather. Here is a photo by Laura of Oliver enjoying the last sun of the day. Laura is now using Sigma cameras for her wedding photography. I can't wait to see the results from this weekend weddings. Bill

Sitting on the deck and watching the sun go down last night and what a show. Missed getting a photo of the lighting, but the sky was very colour full and inspiring. Sigma SD14 and 18 to 200 lens. Saturday morning a beaver swam by in a hurry looked too small to be Bob. I haven't seen a beaver for a month so that was also a little exciting. Bill The wine, northern Italy

My daughter Laura and I went for a walk last night hoping to see some fawns. We didn't find a fawn to photograph but I discovered the other end of my Sigma 120-400 os lens. This is at 120mm and I thought it looked good in B+W. I have started to carry a monopod as well. Bill

We have a new family of birds that have just moved into our upper deck. Jill has been keeping her eye on them. The Sigma 120-400 OS focuses very close, and hand held because of the optical stabilization and sometimes there just isn't enough time for a tripod. I think I will take a mono pod home to add to the collection of photo equipment. We also have new fawns but have not been able to get a good photo yet. Stay tuned. Bill

Because of the rain and wet weather I have not had many opportunities to use my new Sigma 120-400 OS lens. This was a photo I took last night. I have thought of trying to do deer portraits with this lens. There may be more to come. BIll

Our daughter Ann's graduation from high school was this past weekend. Here is a photo of her and her school friends. Her mother and I and family are all very happy for her and her accomplishments. I just thought some of you may want to see how wonderful she looked on the day of grad. These colours are captured with my Sigma SD14. Bill