One of the Spider's favorite cameras, the Lomo LC-A. Its an old plastic Russian film camera. People call it a rangefinder, but it doesn't have a rangefinder "finder", so it is really a point'n'shoot. In any case, it is still wonderful (and cheap).

The LC-A produces unique images and the camera itself encourages quick, informal shooting. I expect no more than one good shot per roll -- but I am generally surprised at how interesting that one shot is.

I think everyone should try the Lomo out at one time or another.

In normal sensors, red, green and blue colors are captured by adjacent but separate sensor that together form a single image pixel. In this arrangement, a block of 4 sensors are grouped together - typically 2 green, 1 red and 1 blue. The 4 sensor outputs are summed together into a dithered single pixel. Green must be adjusted because it is twice as luminous as it should be.

The Foveon sensor on the other hand has 3 stacked sensors and the material of the sensor itself filter light into its separate colors. In this sensor each pixel location captures all light frequencies and are summed together to form the final color output.

Common sense would seem to tell us that capturing a single pixel of information at a single point would produce sharper detail that blending adjacent pixels into a dithered mess. And it does, but there is a catch. Although the DP2 is advertised as a 14MP camera, they could each color sensor so its actually 14/4 or about 4.7 MP. Let's just call it 5MP. Most people will agree that the Sigma's 5MP output captures about as much detail as a typical 12MP camera.

But its an apples to oranges comparison, and Sigma DP1/2 supporters will rave about the sensors superior colors and dynamic range. Without getting nit-picky, most reviewers do see the appeal.

At any rate, the Foveon sensor is a fascinating technology. It may or may not be for you, but real choice is always welcome.

Take a look at what's new under the Sigma link in the upper right menu.

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View full post on Reviews (latest): Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

One of my favorite photography trips included giving a near stranger my camera for the day to get some pictures of his every day life. This was in India and the results were absolutely amazing. Pictures that I would never have an opportunity to take myself.

A single use digital camera can be a great photography tool just as a backup camera can be. Give one a try someday and you might be surprised what happens.

There are a of cameras like this available. Generally you purchase them and part of the cost included getting the results transfered to a CD or printed.

If you are handy with a soldering iron and feeling adventurous, you can try a hardware hack and install a USB port so you can download the images yourself. Here is some more info on a project like this.