Here is another from the new Panasonic 14 mm 2.5 Bill

Here is my first photo from the new Panasonic 14 mm 2.5 pancake lens. Gus and I are inside near the wood fire waiting for the first snow of the year. This lens if very small and will be nice for landscapes, I will use it to post a photo of the first snow fall, may not be long, Bill

P.S. www.contactphotoarts.com has stock, 449.00

There is nothing better than a new camera to try out, this is taken with the new Panasonic FZ40. I am still looking for my deer in the cross walk photo but I am getting close, Bill

Link to Face Book page Deer Grand Forks

Hi, Have received my first stock of the Panasonic FZ40. I do plan on using one over the weekend and comparing the difference in sensor with the FZ100. The cost in Canada is 449.00, cheers Bill

Morning light and the Samsung Ex 1, I was waiting for a deer to walk into the photo but they most have slept in today. I still have a demo Ex 1 and have become very attached to this camera. This was using the cameras smart range which captures two files and combines them for a greater dynamic range. Bill

Here is a photo that I took this morning with our trusty Panasonic FZ18. I have a new project that I have titled Deer Grand Forks It is a Face Book page focused on the deer population of Grand Forks B.C. If you have been a long time reader of my blog you will know that Grand Forks is home to many, many deer. Some of the photos that I have posted here in the past I have re posted there but there is also new ones and other peoples deer photos as well. If you have photos of deer in Grand Forks please consider adding yours. If you are a Face Book fan please consider "liking" the page as I would like to build the numbers, cheers Bill

Here is one more that I took at ISO 200, the photo below is ISO400

Panasonic FZ100, there is quite a fuss about this new camera as introduced in my last post. I was one of the first in the world to post photos from this camera on Dpreview and they have received much attention. Dpreview have also posted their comparison of the FZ100 to other cameras and there is cause for concern. There maybe a problem with their comparison photo or the photo may be an accurate representation of the camera. If the photo is an accurate representation of the quality of this camera's still image then I think we may be seeing a shift in Panasonic's priorities. The camera has a very nice feature set and may be better suited to people using the cameras video mode more than people looking for a ultra zoom camera for stills. For me I am now waiting for the FZ40 to arrive in early Sept. This camera will have the same lens but a ccd sensor and it will be interesting to see how the still images compare. This is a photo that I took while walking to work this morning. I was thinking of the people out there who may be using the FZ100 as a birding camera. Stay tuned for more, regards Bill

It has been a while again between photos but the summer here is so nice and with a bike ride every night and a swim in the river..... well.

Here is some exciting news, soon I will have stock of the new Panasonic ultra zoom, the FZ100. The is the first big change in the very popular Panasonic ultra zoom camera since the introduction of the FZ18. I have posted many photos from the FZ18 in the past and for myself felt no need to use the later EZ28 and last years model FZ35. This may change as the new FZ100 has a 24x lens. This will be a very popular camera and you may see some of the first photos taken with one posted here. I expect stock any day now. The cost in Canada is 549.00 Here is a link to the products page on our home page Contact Photo Arts.

With the rain this year the wild flowers are very colorful. This morning light photo has been taken with the Samsung Ex1. Bill

One more from the EX1, it is still raining off and on here and summer seems like it will never come but the clouds do make for nice sunsets. The price of the EX1 is still 499.00 for my remaining stock. Bill Wilby

We now have a new cost of the EX1 in Canada, the SRP price is 549.00 and Contact Photo Arts have a price of 499.00 until the end of June. cheers Bill

It stopped raining long enough for me to take a few photos, one good thing about the clouds is that they do provide a nice background for the river and trees. This photo was taken with the Samsung EX1 using smart range and editing in camera. I lowered the density by two stops which is the maximum amount. It is possible to edit a photo twice though which I have tried. Bill Wilby

Today is a nice day, we have been waiting awhile for sunshine and with the flowers and a little heat it is beginning to feel that summer is really on its way. These photos I have just taken with the Samsung EX1, a great little P&S shoot camera. The AMOLED screen is very usable in bright sunshine. I was one of the first in Canada and the world to have stock of this camera as I received stock mid May. It is taking the photo community awhile to notice this camera but that may soon change as Luminous-landscape has just posted their review. This review reflects the experience that I have been having with this camera. I have only one problem, I need to sell cameras and it has been difficult to sell this camera. In our global market place it is very easy for us to see prices of products in other countries. It would be nice to have global pricing but this has yet to happen. Canada was the first to receive this camera and we also have the distinction of having the highest cost. My goal is to be a source for the Samsung EX1 in Canada but this may not happen unless the price of this camera increases in the rest of the world or decreases here in Canada, most of us would like to see the decrease, "eh" Bill

Here is a photo for you Mom, we are still looking for our first fawns but if you look closely at these deer you may see that it may be soon. I am still enjoying using the Samsung Ex1. I have re-sized this file in camera before posting, Bill

please note here is a link to this file full size posted on dpreview forum, I had forgot that I resized this as small as I did to post to Face Book, there is a Face Book page for the EX1/Tl500, here is a link.

We have received our Samsung lenses, the 30 mm F2 is very small. Both the 30 mm and the 50-200 feel very well built. There is bundle pricing for the body and extra lenses, 1049.00 including the 30mm and 995.00 including the 50-200. We have stock of the Nx10 with 18-45 at 790.00. This still-life has been taken with the Samsung Ex1, have I told you how much I enjoying using this Ex1, Bill

I have now returned home and am back to work. I have enjoyed using the Samsung EX1 and will take one on my next trip. Now that I have been able to print my photos I am very happy with the jpeg files and for me see no reason to consider using raw. I am looking forward to using the wide angle adapter and the optical viewfinder and will post photos when I have them in stock. Here is one more travel photo unedited from the camera. I have stock of the Ex1 and I am receiving stock of the 30 mm and 50-200 lenses for the NX10 next week. Bill

So here I am in my home town of Alert Bay. I am really enjoying using the new Samsung Ex 1. I think I may have told you that already. Tonight I am walking down the street and a young man asks me "what are your doing?" You need to understand not to many people walk too far in Alert Bay. So I say I'm going for a walk, he thinks about this just a minute and says I think I will go for a walk too, so we start walking down the street together. Then he asks " where you from?" I have to think about this a bit and finally say, from here but a long time ago. Now you need to further understand this person has had just a little alcohol to drink and is now a little confused so he doesn't quite believe me, so I ask him who his parents are. As it turns out I went to school with his father who is the same age and was able to amaze him with a few old details. Alert Bay is where my roots are, even if I haven't lived here for 30 years the 25 that I did put down some deep roots. Alert Bay is the kind of small island community that I don't think anyone who was born here and lived a few years here would ever want to say they were from any where but here, Alert Bay. The photo of the old dock is where I used to tie up my first boat, an 8 foot punt, the other photo is a salmon berry, if you have never tasted a Alert Bay salmon berry I feel sorry for you because you are really missing something special, cheers Bill

I am really enjoying using the Samsung Ex1. Here are a few photos that I have taken in Victoria on my way to visit my Mother in Alert Bay. I am hoping to post more photos of Alert Bay if I can work my way through the list of things I can do for my Mother. I also have received more stock of the Ex1 back in the store, cheers Bill P.S. I see I may need to find a lens shade

This seems to happen to me each Spring, the river comes up and things just start to get exciting and I go away and miss it. In this photo we are packing the van and heading out to Vancouver Island. I am looking forward to returning to my home town of Alert Bay and using this new camera, the Samsung Ex-1. There is a chance the river may be high when we return but this is a low water year. This photo has been taken from a bedroom deck and with the 24 mm equivalent focal length lens the Ex-1 is very good for landscapes. The photo was resized in the camera but other than that unchanged. I will post more from this camera as I am traveling. Bill

P.S. I do have good stock of this new and hard to find camera, check under products www.contactphotoarts.com

We are still waiting for spring to come, it was only 2 degrees above freezing this morning. This photo was taken with the Panasonic 20 1.7 lens on my G1. I am still waiting for the Samsung 30 mm pancake to compare. I have used this lens very little and I have taken few photos of late. I noticed the morning light and as I was set to take the photo two Canadian geese saw me with my camera and decided that I really needed them to complete the scene. Bill

I am still enjoying the Samsung NX10. I am looking forward to receiving the 30 mm and the 50-200 which may arrive in early May. This photo was edited in the camera with the Samsung Photo Style Selector. I selected Vivid. I also re sized the photo to make it easier to post. I have not used a camera to edit my files before and with the NX 10 have found that this is very easy to do. There is a cropping mode too and I could see myself using these features when traveling and posting photos to my blog. The large 3 inch AMOLED is also useful for in camera edit. I took this photo this evening of my chair and the rising river. The vivid mode added a little snap and my lawn has never looked so green. Bill

Here is another of my photos taken with the Samsung NX10. It was taken in the West Edmonton mall with auto white balance. It was resized in the camera with no PP. I have set the camera to Adobe RGB colour space and not the default SRGB. The black and white was converted in camera. I was attending a meeting held at the mall. I am looking forward to some more travel with this camera and viewing this photo reminded me that it has been over a year since my last trip to Europe, way way too long ago. Bill

It has been a very long time since I have posted to my blog. My mother has again even stopped looking for new photos. Well spring is here and I have a new camera to play with so between those two things I hope to catch up. I now have the Samsung NX10 in stock and have been using one this past weekend to get to know it. You may know how much I love my Panasonic G1 and I did feel just a little uncomfortable and a bit unfaithful when I first picked up the NX10. Myself like many people are looking for the ideal camera to travel with that will be light, small and still delivery the quality and photography experience we enjoy with a full size SLR. The Panasonic M/4/3 cameras were the first to enter this market and because of their success there may be several other companies who will follow. The Samsung NX10 is the latest. I have enjoyed using the nx10 and it is similar in someways to the G1 and different in many others. The first two things that were different for me was that I found myself using the manual mode often because unlike the G1 it does not gain up the display. I also used the AMOLED screen more because it is very impressive. I do wish it would tilt and swivel like the G1 but it doesn't. I also can't remember what AMOLED means but it is very good. I will look it up, I did read the book, something that I don't always do but the NX10 is very easy if you are also someone who may not get around to use the book. The second thing for me is that I did use the movie mode. They look great in the camera now I just need to learn what to do next. When traveling in the past there have been times I would have like to capture movement and sound. I do have the two extra lenses that are made for this camera on order and am looking forward to seeing more including something very wide. The photos I have posted are jpeg's straight from the camera and re sized in the camera to make them easy to post. I do plan on posting more. I do also have an entertaining movie of two sea lions performing in the West Edmonton Mall. I am also looking forward to receiving the next new Samsung camera, the EX-1. Cheers Bill

Happy New Year every one. Time can go by very fast this time of the year and for this year much faster than most. It has been awhile since I have had time to post a photo, just ask my Mother. She has stopped checking my blog, like I am sure most of you have too. This year is going to be a year of many changes for us. The biggest change is the sale of Contact Photo Arts, our family owned camera store and photo lab. The sale will be complete at the end of January. For our customers who may be reading this please do not panic, I will be working for the new owners part time for the next year. The new location of Contact Photo Arts photo department will be inside Value Drug Mart Grand Forks with the new owners Carol and Dave. We have been working together to create a win, win and win situation. Firstly Sandra and myself will be now semi retired. Secondly the increased traffic and extra services for Carol and Dave will add to their already busy and successful business. And thirdly our customers will benefit with increased service from more days open and more service staff. There is also a new dry print photo lab and more customer photo kiosks. We also plan to offer more instruction including camera and photography workshops. We would also like to help people become familiar with our web site, Foto Depot that enables customers to order and archive their photos. Back to my blog, I was able to take this photo of a blue heron because of my day off on Monday. With more time at home I hope to be able to take many more back yard wildlife photos this year. The camera was my Panasonic G1 with the 45-200 lens. Bill