I've added new photos to the galleries: Ciconia ciconia (White Stork), Podiceps ruficollis (Little Grebe), Phalacrocorax carbo (Great Cormorant), Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard), Egretta alba (Great White Heron), Fulica atra (Coot), Anas clypeata (Northern Shoveler), Rana bergeri (Italian Pool Frog).

The Photokina has arrived and there have been tons of new announcements from every manufacturer. 

Sigma has announced the Sigma SD14, a new DSLR with 4.6x3 megapixel Foveon sensor, and the Sigma DP1, a digicam with the same sensor of the SD14 and a 28mm f/4 lens. Other than that, Sigma has announced the 18-200 OS: I am not a fan of super-zoom, but this one is interesting because it shows that Sigma is still developing OS (image stabilization), and in future it might appear in other lenses.

Sandisk has announced the Extreme III 12GB and Extreme III 16GB compact flash cards. These new cards will be available from December - in my opinion, they are very interesting, and a much more reliable alternative to the HD-based storage devices.

Fujifilm has announced the Fujifilm S5, that has the same 6.1 megapixel sensor of the S3 but the much better Nikon D200 body.

Olympus has shown a prototype of the Olympus E-3, and Pentax has announced the developement of three lenses (16-50, 50-135 and 60-250) with ultrasonic motor and weather sealing.

One of the reasons that led me to choose the Canon system is the wide range of lenses, and the advanced technologies employed in many of these lenses (for example, ultrasonic AF motor and image stabilization)....

I've renewed the Canon Lenses page with more in depth reviews, sample photos and more info about the best lenses of the Canon lineup. Other than that, I added some interesting Sigma lenses to the page - one of them is the Sigma 120-300, that I recently tried.

I added new photos to the galleries: Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard), Anas acuta (Northern Pintail), Anas castanea (Chestnut Teal), Anas sibilatrix (Chiloe Wigeon), Italian Countryside. 

Some of these photos are taken with the Canon 20D - my 350D has broken (it got wet after an heavy rain)...the CPS (Canon Professional Service) has given me a 20D as replacement camera, and I liked it so much that I decided to buy one for myself as replacement for the 350D. 

The camera is the "earth" of the system. To choose the right camera, you have to consider various factors: the first of them is surely the system itself, that is even more important than a single camera. With time, it is easy upgrade the camera with a more advanced model, while it is not easy to change system if you discover that the one you have chooses doesn't satisfies your necessities...

The new article is online : The Camera

The Photokina is very close and every brand is announcing new cameras...the most interesting announcement of today is surely the Pentax K10D: this reflex has an affordable price (just $900) but it offers 10 megapixel CCD with image stabilization, 3 FPS, 2.5" LCD and (wow!) wheather sealed body!

Other than that, Pentax has announced the 70mm f/2.4. More details on Dpreview.

Canon has announced many new 10 megapixel compact cameras (the 6/8 megapixel digicams weren't noisy enough?). The really interesting thing is that these cameras have the brand-new Digic III image processor - this is quite a surprise, since usually the new processors are first introduced on pro cameras (the Digic II was introduced with the 1D MarkII). I expect to see new SLR with Digic III next year.

More details on Dpreview.

Olympus has announced another consumer camera: the Olympus E-400 offers 10 megapixel, 3 FPS x 4RAW, 2.5" LCD, super small body and another 14-42 kit lens. The real surprise is that this camera won't be sold in US - why? Mistery...

By the way, the E-3 is still vaporwave...

Leica has announced a cool new rangefinder camera - the new Leica M8 has a 10 megapixel CCD and a classic "Leica style" body. Leica has also announced some new lenses for the M8 and three re-branded Panasonic cameras (Leica Digilux 3, aka Panasonic L1, the V-Lux 1, aka Panasonic FZ50, and the D-Lux 3 aka Panasonic LX-2). Dpreview has published a preview of the interesting M8.

I've added many new photos in the galleries: Ardeola ibis (Cattle egret), Anas clypeata (Northern Shoveler), Egretta garzetta (Little Egret), Podiceps ruficollis (Little Grebe), Ardeola ralloides (Squacco Heron), Vanellus vanellus (Northern Lapwing), Arda cinerea (Grey Heron), Alcedo atthis (Common Kingfisher).

Other than that, I've added the photo "Cattle Egrets In Fight" in my Portfolio.

The image stabilization is the greatest innovation in lens technology after the introduction of autofocus. The IS allows to handhold every lens at a shutter speed 2-3 stops slower than what could be possible with a non-IS lens, and it greatly reduces the shake even when the lens is mounted on the tripod, in the case of super-telephoto...

I have completely re-written the article : The Image Stabilization

I've added new photos in the galleries: Arda cinerea (Grey Heron), Ardeola ralloides (Squacco Heron), Podiceps ruficollis (Little Grebe), Tringa ochropus (Green Sandpiper), Euphrasia officinalis (Eyebright).

In these months, I've published my photos and articles on various national (Italian) magazines: I have updated the publications page with some recent articles.

I've updated the Canon Lenses page with my opinion about the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 and the Canon EF-S 10-22 f/3.5-4.5; I've added the specs of the new L lenses (50 f/1.2 and 70-200 f4 IS).