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

One more taken with the Sigma 120-400 os and my Sigma SD14. Bill

Yesterday morning leaving for work I was surprised to see Mr. Coyote on the other side of the river. Note this is a non Sigma photo, we do take a Panasonic FZ18 home most nights for a point and shoot with a 18x zoom. I have learned living on the river you never know what you may see and having a camera near by is a good thing. Bill

Here is a photo with my Sigma Dp1. It was taken the other night while my mother and I were enjoying our glass of wine and watching the sun set over the river. Bill

I know it has been a long time from the last post and many of you have been checking back waiting for a update on the river. The river has been down since we have been back but I don't think we have seen the peak yet. The weather has turned warm again and it may rise. As well one of the reasons I update my blog is for my mother to see as she lives on Vancouver Island, actually not on the island but on another island close by. She is visiting right now and we have been sitting together with a glass of wine watching the river so there isn't the same need to post. Other excitement is today receiving the new Sigma 120-400 os lens today and this photo, I posted on the Sigma forum at DPreview. I think I was the first to post a photo taken with this lens on this forum but I am really not that kind of a competitive person. I do hope to sell many of these lenses though, because from what I have seen so far they are very good. I think it is time for another glass of wine. Bill

I am going to have to tear myself away from the river for four days. We are leaving tonight to attend Laura's university graduation. I can't think of a better reason. The river is still aways from a peak and I will update as soon as I return. This morning it broke through the channel on the other side and turned very brown. There has been some very large trees going by as well. Bill

Another update, this one taken from a lower level this morning. The river still can rise another meter or two and that can get really exciting. I am enjoying the wide angle view from the Sigma DP1 as it captures more of the sky. It nice when there is a cloud or two around when you need them. Bill

River update, after yesterdays 29 c the water is coming up. Today's forecast is for above 30. This photo is taken from our bedroom balcony with a 28 mm wide angle view so it does make it appear further away than it really is. The camera is of course my Sigma DP1. Bill

With this post I hope to begin this years river watch. The weather has been cool this year and the river slow to rise. I enjoy the river the most this time of the year, being close to all that power is very exciting. I plan on posting updates often but we will be away next week , Monday to Thursday. Also my mother is coming to visit next week so she can share in the excitement. I do understand some people may consider me not completely sane when I get excited by huge trees zooming by. Bill

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I may have started something with the pink hard hat photo, I keep seeing pink, while I was unpacking a new pink Panasonic camera, this vehicle appeared in front of our store. Some may think it is our new delivery vehicle, but we don't quite sell that many pink cameras. Bill

Grand Forks and pink hard hats. One of our local business owners, John Thomas, had this idea to help promote the Canadian Cancer Society's relay for life campaign. What if many Grand Forks residents donned a pink hard hat, and helped promote cancer research. My idea was, what if we could get them together and take a group photograph? So far, the hat idea is working better than the photo, There are more than 500 hats out there and about 100 people in the photo. I would like to try again. The city of Grand Forks has less than 5000 people or more than 10 % who are proud of their new pink hard hat. The camera Sigma SD14, photo by Bill

Max and I just had too much time on our hands Saturday. Here is Dp1 still life #3 taken with a Sigma Sd14 with factory 1.07 software installed. My new stock came that way last week which tells me they were fresh from the factory. As you can see I am trying to put together must have accessories for the Dp1. I have B+W close up filters coming and step up rings to fit them. I have seen some very good close ups on the forum at Dpreview so that might be next. Bill

Here is a update on my earlier post of IR photos. There was one I titled 'beware of dog' and was a B&W infrared photo taken with my Sigma Sd14. This one is with my Sigma Dp1 and wonderful light. I think I will call it "beware of dog two". People are presently cleaning up the yard in the photo and I am going to miss the photo opps. Bill

Here is a short story that I posted on the DPreview Sigma SLR forum. I thought I would copy it here for you, who may not read the forum every day as I do. I have posted my businesses card as well because someone reading the forum suggested that I might be a good sales person. I think so and that is one reason I gave myself the title super duper sales guy. Another reason is that a few years ago I sat through a presentation about how to encourage sales people and I thought I could use a reward with a new title. Also as you may know I like to see customers smile. Bill

Last Saturday I was working my way through an airport security line when a security officer asked me, 'is that an ordinary digital camera?' well before I could think what I was saying I explained,'no this was no ordinary digital camera, this was the new Sigma Dp1, the first compact camera with the foveon sensor and very good 28mm equivalent F4 prime lens with incredible image, and he stopped me there because I was holding up the line and asked, but is there film in it? If not move along. At that point I realized he must be one of the people who don't read this forum. I still smile to myself when I think back to it, I hope it makes you smile too. Bill Wilby salesperson

April 21st and we received one of the largest snow falls of the year. It was very beautiful and changed very quickly with the first light of the morning. I did think to myself if this was a few years ago we could plan for a very busy morning with people dropping off their film. Now this event may only be remembered as long as our hard drives lasts. This is a nice way to enjoy the snow knowing that there is green grass under the melting layer of white. Bill

Finding the right bag for the Sigma Dp1. The bag I use for travel and carrying a SLR around is the Lowpro Slingshot. These bags are designed to be carried on your back, but slide to the front for easy access to your camera. The Dp1 is a much smaller camera but having a similar style bag for me is ideal. Now I like to call my camera bag my purse, because I use it for much more than just my camera. The bag I am modeling in the photo is a Roots bag and it is a sling that unlike the Lowpro can be worn over ether shoulder. There is enough room for the camera with the viewfinder, lens hood and lens shade attached. Also in the main compartment I put my sunglasses and a cleaning cloth. The side and front compartments will hold the battery charger and cables. There is a zippered pocket to fit my passport, tickets and boarding pass. Located on the strap is a pocket for your cell phone. Other items I would put in it are loose change, keys and a tooth brush. I am sure I could find a place for a map if I thought I might need it, most of us men don't need maps, right. I also like Roots bags because there is a picture of my friend Bob, on every bag. Here is a link for more details. Bill

Edmonton and the Sigma Dp1, the weather was great and even with all those meetings and dinner parties I still had time to use the camera. Bill

With spring here there is something new to see every day. We have two river otters that swim by, and Canada geese checking out the barn. While I was away this weekend Sandy kept the camera ready. Here is her goose on the roof photo. We have been using a Panasonic FZ18 for our point and shot camera and with its 18x zoom and excellent stabilization these shots are fun. Bill

Still life number two of my Sigma DP1s. As you can see I am going to be busy. Bill

Good news for people waiting for their Sigma DP1s as they are on their way. Actually this is the second shipment. My friend Max took this picture for our archives. This happens to be our busiest shipping day so far. Bill

Black and White and Dp1. am I having fun. Bill

Meet Martha, she is our motor home purchased in 1973. As you can see she has seen better days, most recently used as a play house. But even that was awhile ago. I have posted these photos for Leif by request. I took them yesterday in the afternoon sun with my new Sigma DP1. Bill

Sigma DP1 still life is the title I gave this photo that I posted on the Sigma forum at dpreview. I thought I would put it here for those of you who may not have seen it. As you may be able to tell I am really excited about this little camera and am enjoying using it. Bill

We woke up to a dusting of fresh snow this morning. Here is my first photo with the new Sigma Dp1. I am really going to enjoy using this camera. Bill

Update, March 20 the cameras are here but the Dp1 accessories must be on a truck, should be early next week.
Update, March 19th, my cameras have been shipped as well as all the DP1 accessories. This is very exciting.
The Dp1 is coming. We will have our stock next week. We would have had it Friday if it wasn't a holiday. This is a very exciting and I might even choose it over a day off if I had a choice. Photographers around the world are lining up to use this unique camera. We have very limited stock and have been taking pre-orders for the last month. There is a link on our home page www.contactphotoarts.com for DP1 info. Bill

I was watching for Bob this morning but didn't see him. I did photograph these two geese swimming by and was very surprised with the detail. The photo is hand held, I sold my monopod, the camera Sigma SD14 with a Sigma 70 to 300 APO lens at 300mm. Bill