Three members of the flickr group SeriousCompacts.com joined together to start a collaborative blog.

Erik Ahrend, Ronald Bunnik and I (Wouter Brandsma), three photographers with different backgrounds, different perceptions of the World around us, different influences, and different styles of photography, started a collaborative photoblog with the intention to make and post photographs based on themes or ideas. Why? To challenge ourselves, broaden our views, have fun and learn from each other. To get out of our comfort zone and think outside the box.

Feel free to have a look. Sharedphotography

Serious Compacts contributor Cristian Sorega posted his Ricoh GX200 review. It is an extensive 8 parts series that starts here. If you want to jump straight to the conclusion go here.

The Sigma DP1 is now selling for $489 at Amazon. Introduced at $800 less than a year ago, the DP1 still sells for $700 at a number of major distributors such as Adorama and J&R. The Amazon price is $100 lower than I have seen anywhere else.

It will be interesting to see whether Sigma introduces the DP2 for $800 or at a lower price point.

Link: Sigma DP1 at Amazon

Serious Compacts Flickr group member JohnHHill has added an entry to our reader generated Hall of Fame, the Fuji Finepix F11/F10. Check out his post here. Thanks John!

Click here to learn how to add one of your own favorites to our Hall of Fame.

I'm very happy to report that our Flickr group has hit the 1000 member milestone! Welcome to our 1000th member, Pre Fix. If you haven't checked out the group, come have a look. Our pool is full of great photographs made with compacts, and the discussion area is active as well.

Announced last year, the Super CCD EXR sensor in the new Fuji F200EXR allows the photographer to choose between three different implementations depending on the shot: 1) All 12 million pixels can be applied in the usual manner for maximum resolution; 2) Pixel binning can be applied to combine pixel pairs for improved sensitivity and low noise; or 3) Half the pixels can be used to capture an image of one exposure and the other half a different exposure; the two exposures are then combined in camera to produce an image with wide dynamic range (a similar approach to that employed in the Fuji S3 and S5 DSLRs).

While the maximum resolution and high sensitivity configurations don't represent a radical change from what is offered in other cameras, the wide dynamic range mode addresses a major shortcoming of small sensor cameras. The following example from the Fuji site shows the effects of the application of this mode:



Until now, the only way to get a truly wide dynamic range in a camera was to go with a large sensor. Yet, as Sigma has found with the DP1, the only way to get a large sensor in a compact camera is to limit lens speed and zoom range.

Unlike a large sensor, the 1/1.6" Super CCD EXR sensor cannot simultaneously yield high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. In fact, unsurprisingly, early samples of the high sensitivity mode aren't earth shattering. There's no way to collect a ton of light on a small surface. However, if this little sensor can deliver Fuji's claimed dynamic range, it could go a long way towards improving small sensor image quality.

Now please, Fuji, take this sensor and put it in a larger (but not too large) camera with a faster lens, RAW, and intuitive dials to control ISO, aperture, and exposure compensation!

Go to 1001 Noisy Cameras for full coverage of the new Fuji F200EXR.

The Canon Powershot G series cameras have consistently been amongst the best selling and most highly regarded serious compacts. Along with that, they are the subject of great scrutiny. Critics will point out that, beginning with the G7, the series abandoned some of the defining G characteristics (articulating LCD and fast lens), instead picking up where the Powershot S series ended with the S80. The series, too, has been criticized for its trend towards stuffing more and more pixels into roughly the same size sensor.

Róbert Irházy of PixInfo.com takes a fascinating look at the evolution of the G series. The entire series is compared carefully on screen and in print. In the end, the results may be predictable, but it is well worth a look.

Link: PixInfo.com - 9 years in the megapixel race - noise or quality

[Thanks Simbabu]