Lightroom 4 has .gpx import built-in. For Lightroom 3 or earlier, you can use the donationware plug-in from Jeffrey Friedl called GPS Support. If you don’t have Lightroom, Mac users can use MyTracks (works with JPGs, not sure about RAW files).

In early 2011, while preparing for a trip to London, I knew I would want to geoencode my images. I don’t own an iPhone; for many users, that would be the easiest choice. So I knew I had to purchase some kind of GPS unit.

The main problem I had was getting the logger to sync with my Mac. If you are a PC user, you’ll have no problem; the units generally come with a small-size CD with PC software on it. On the Mac, you have to download third-party software that will sync with your unit. Most (all?) Garmins will sync with Google Earth directly. For other units you can use the free HoudahGPS or the inexpensive and very elegant MyTracks. Most GPS loggers sync over a bluetooth connection; so you have to configure your bluetooth settings properly, and get the software to download the file. This requires some amount of fiddling with settings to work, even in the best of circumstances.

I began with a handheld Garmin 60C, which I use for hiking and geocaching. It syncs easily with my computer over a USB cable connection, and the unit is accurate. But the battery only lasts a few hours, not long enough for a whole day. Plus the size of the thing is relatively large; carrying this big thing around London was not something I wanted to do.

So, I ordered the iGotU (US$60). The plastic on the logger broke pretty much immediately. I sent it back without further testing.

Then I spent a little more and got the $100 QStarz BT1300ST, which is a beautiful little unit. The battery lasts all day, and it’s small and has a nice keychain attachment. I was able to get it to occasionally sync with my desktop iMac, but it never sync’d with my MacBook. It appears to be highly accurate, but since I couldn’t reliably sync it with the MacBook I would have with me in London, I decided to try another unit.

I then got a Wintec WBT-201, it is almost as small as the QStarz, though noticeably fatter. Luckily,  I can reliably get it to connect to all my macs. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be terribly accurate. During a walk along the south side of the Thames River, the unit had me crossing the river zigzagging from the north side to the south side several times, as if I were swimming across the river again and again.

Disclaimer: Since then, there are new versions of HoudahGPS, and I even have a new MacBook Air with a new operating system. I really ought to try syncing the QStarz again, it’s a great little unit with a small size and long battery life. It’s entirely possible that it sycs fine with the MBA, I just haven’t been traveling in quite a while.

I bought the lens for the Jon Stewart “Rally to Restore Sanity” rally in 2010. I also brought it on a family trip to Florida, and I shot a Brown commencement with it. All of these were outdoor, casual uses. From my point of view, if I’m shooting serious stock, I’m going to use my big gear: the 5DMII and Canon L glass. I got the Sigma because I wanted a low-price lens for casual travel snapshots. I also thought it would be good for family hikes. At $160, it was not a big investment, so it seemed worth a shot.

This lens creates a nice compact, light combination when paired with my Canon 20D. The 50-200 range is very, very useful on a 1.6x crop sensor body; you can get from moderate telephoto/portrait at the 50mm range to significant telephoto at the 200mm lens.

Is the lens sharp in the 100-200 range? Well, looking at some examples a medium apertures, I would say it was sharp enough for my purposes. Would it be sharp wide open indoors? Maybe sharp enough. Would I use it for indoor sports? I would not, as I have a 70-200 f/2.8, so I guess I can’t answer that question. Unfortunately, I’m just not the kind of guy who’s going to do all kinds of objective tests to find out exactly how a lens performs, so this is not that kind of review.

Overall, I think it’s a great lens for the money. I mean, as far as telephoto lenses go, it’s about as cheap as you will find. It’s small and compact and light, which are really important to me in some situations. It’s not very fast, though, either in aperture and focus speed. And the bokeh looks a little funny to me.

Anyway, seeing is believing. I posted some samples at 100% size; please use them for reference only, do not use them for publication of any kind. Also, here are my Flickr photos using this lens.

So, here are the standard links I send folks when they ask about cameras. DPReview got it right recently when they divided up the cameras into market segments. First, pick what kind of camera you’re looking for. Then, read the review and see which one you like. These links are getting old by now, though. I hope DPReview will update them soon.

• Waterproof Group July 2009
• Compact Super Zoom Group May 2009
• Super Zoom Group January 2009
• Budget Group Nov 2008
• Enthusiast Compact Group Dec 2008
• Slim Group Dec 2008
• Premium Group Dec 2008

Also: C|Net: Best Travel Cameras June 2009.

Of course, I still haven’t given my own opinion. Which, simply, is: choose your feature set or price point and buy Canon (or Panasonic). Canon is the leader of high-technology in cameras (and has been since the T90 in 1986), and it shows at every price point of this category. Panasonic is the hungry up-and-comer. Nikon has fallen badly behind in the point-and-shoot cateogry (although Nikon DSLR’s offer both great values and top quality).

Personally, I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3; I chose it mostly because I love the 16:9 panoramic format and the ergonomic, user-friendly design. However, the short zoom range is a limiting factor for a lot of folks. If this is the case for you, the current “serious compact” choice is probably the Canon Powershot G10.

And I have a Panasonic DMC-TS1 for underwater photography. It’s a great snapshot camera in that it’s small, rugged, and lightweight. But the image quality is inferior to the LX3.

I used the TS1 for a few minutes in a hotel pool this weekend. Here are my first impressions:

Pros:

• It functions underwater
• It’s pretty responsive for a P&S digicam
• Movies are beautiful looking, and have sound
• Face detection is cool
• It comes in orange
• Did I mention it functions underwater?

Cons:

• Noise levels are pretty high compared to my LX3 (though probably similar to other cams)
• The lens is in such a location that my thumb and fingers keep getting in the way
• Price is really high for what is essentially a basic point-and shoot
• Does not float
• AVCHD Lite movies don’t play on my Mac, and don’t upload to Flickr; I had to convert to another format using Handbrake
• Uses a different battery than my LX3

I’ve just used it the one time, and the TS1 so far is a lot of fun, but I’m really annoyed by seeing my finger appear in my movies. I never had this problem with any other camera, and I’ve used a lot of cameras, so I have to say this is a design issue. I didn’t try the Motion JPG movie mode, but maybe I should. It’s pretty much a dealbreaker to convert all my movies with Handbrake.

Clearly, if you’re not jazzed about the prospect of taking the thing underwater, you don’t want this camera. You can get an LX3 for about the same price. But if you do want to take snapshots underwater, and you have some money to burn, this is not a bad choice. I enjoy taking photos of the kids in the water, which is mostly why I got it. And I expect I’ll use it a lot kayaking and canoeing. (I just got a kayak this month, although I haven’t had the time to try it out yet). I hope I don’t drop it in the bay, though, because it does not float.

Here’s a full review of the TS1 by Shawn Barnett and Mike Tomkins.

My sense from watching these things has been that this is rarely the case. However, I didn’t have any empirical evidence to back this up.

The Canon 5D was released in late 2005 for US$2500. I don’t have complete data on this, but I can definitely say that by Spring of 2008 the 5D was getting long in the tooth and most retailers had it for about $2000-2100.

Like many, I knew the 5D was expected to be retired and upgraded by Canon; I was initially waiting for the successor. However, a change in requirements by one of my stock agencies convinced me: I needed to upgrade my camera before my Block Island trip. The cheapest price I could find online was US$2000 (going by memory here; it may have been $2099). However, I found an ebay seller through whom I acquired a 5D for $1800 in April 2008.

A few months later (July 2008) Canon had rebates on the 5D. Price after rebate, US$1799 at Amazon ($1899 at Adorama and $1999 at B&H, according to Bob Atkins). After rebate, the price went back to $2300 at B&H.

The 5D Mark II was announced September 17, 2008.

Here it is now the end of 2008, and the 5D Mark II is in-stock and shipping from most major retailers. Amazon currently has the original 5D for US$1863. That’s still more expensive than it was in July during the rebates (although very close).

So, what’s happening here? When a camera is released, it sells for its highest list price. But over time the price does decline gradually, as the model ages and competitors offer better value for the price point. This trend does not seem to change when a new model is released. It seems to me, the gradual decline continues but does not markedly accelerate.

So, the lesson is: rebates are a good deal. The people who skipped buying the 5D during the July rebate period, figuring that the price of the 5D would drop lower in a few months, would have been better off buying during the July rebate period, rather than waiting. They would have had six months of use of the camera in that time, and no advantage for waiting.

As the economic recession widens, we’ll see what happens; maybe all bets will be off. What I expect is that the 5D price will continue to gradually drop until stock runs out. What I believe is that the $1799 rebate price is the lowest we’ll ever see; it’s the absolute lowest floor price on that camera from major retailers.

However, sometimes I do miss the ungainly beast. I especially miss it when I look at actor Jeff Bridges’ new online book Making Iron Man. Bridges has been probably the most visible Widelux photographer around for years, now. He’s really gotten to be a master of this particular medium. Somehow he manages to frame his shots with such precision, it’s uncanny. And he can create a self-portrait with such ease that you barely notice that he’s holding the camera.

Even if you don’t know what a Widelux is, you might enjoy looking at the photos in Making Iron Man.