Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Oh emm dee

With an honest, throwback design the Olympus OM-D E-M5 ($999, body) builds off of the 40 year-long lineage of OM SLR film cameras. Modernized in Micro Four Thirds format, the 16.1 megapixel shooter comes paired with a built-in electric viewfinder (before you groan, take note of its 1.44 million dot resolution and 120 fps refresh [...]

800 Club

Guess what? Your memory card just got a whole lot smaller thanks to the new Nikon D800 ($2,999). There’s no hiding the fact that the long awaited full-frame FX-format shooter is a direct assault on the Canon 5D Mk II, which has captured the attention (and dollars) of HD-SLR shooters. Built around a Super Bowl [...]

First but not most

With smooth bokeh and a versatile zooming range, both Nikon and Canon full-frame shooters (e.g. Nikon D700 and Canon 5D Mk II) have continually relied on their respective 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses. The only problem? Canon’s option lands in around $1,300, while Nikon’s is nearly 2-grand, making the glass alone cost nearly as much as a [...]

Special K

Don’t let the bright colors — a signature Pentax touch — fool you. Behind the bold design by Marc Newson, the Pentax K-01 ($749+), pronounced “kay-zero-one”, has the intentions of a serious enthusiast’s camera. Within the machined aluminum frame, the K-01 houses a 16 megapixel APS-C with sensor-shift stabilization, compatibility with nearly all Pentax lenses [...]

Poof Positive

Got a Michael Bay-like appetite for capturing destruction, without the matching slush fund to pay for it? Well, $50 can land you a neat bit of photographic trickery, known as Smoke Drops. Imported from Italy by the fine folks at Photojojo, combining a few drops of bottle A with bottle B creates 5 to 10 [...]

Give and take

Mobile devices have progressively borrowed features from cameras to boost their curb appeal — so why shouldn’t cameras reciprocate? That seems to be the logic behind Polaroid’s surprising SC1630 Smart Camera. From the rear, it’s easy to mistake the device as just another 3.2-inch Android handset, until you spy the 16-megapixel 36-108mm lens with 3x [...]

Officially drool worthy

Fujifilm’s X-Pro 1 may be the worst kept secret we’ve ever come across in the photography world — with a veritable Wikileaks worth of details flooding the web long before today’s official announcement. We’re still pleased as punch, however, to finally shell out the official details surrounding the magnesium-alloy wrapped retro beauty. In many ways, [...]

The new fixed lens king?

Canon’s PowerShot G-series has always strived to meld the smaller form factor of a point and shoot with the photo quality of a larger-sensor DSLR, and with the new Canon G1 X ($799), Canon continues to aim to do just that. Building on its predecessor’s, the G12, precedents the G1 X boasts a substantial 1.5-inch [...]

4 and we're floored

Faster, smarter, and more lust-worthy than ever, the Nikon D4 ($5,999) is the culmination of a carefully chosen list of features and enhancements, leaving what works and adding what’s needed for the latest in a long line of full-frame (FX) pedigree pro cameras. That’s something you do when your flagship camera is considered by its [...]

Shooter Insurance

The Cam Crate is the latest Kickstarter project to catch our eye, mainly because it’s dedicated to protecting something near and dear to our gear-loving hearts. Designer Matthew Geyster was inspired to create a waterproof, mudproof, crushproof, and shockproof case for his DSLR after his fear of damaging his camera caused him to miss more [...]

Experience that shows

HoldFast is a new brand born from the passion of professional photographer and long time Gear Patrol reader Matthew Swaggert. After years of being frustrated with the overly complex, uncomfortable, and militia-styled gear that flooded the photography market, he decided to channel his experience and love of American heritage to create something better. The HoldFast [...]

Got my eye on you

It may look like another plastic iPhone dock, but the Swivl ($160) is anything but. Pairing a motorized base and wearable marker the Swivl can pivot, turn and tilt a cradled iOS device to follow a subject — keeping subjects within its field of view — using motion tracking technology. That means, video chats, sports, [...]

Sibling pedigree

You might not consider a grip the most identifiable feature of a new camera, but for the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 ($699), that’s exactly the case. The successor to the mighty successful GF1, a camera we’ve recommended time and time again here at GP, the GX1 certainly packs a wallop: 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor, [...]

Shot to the Heart

Despite widespread adoption, Canon’s approach to video hasn’t been the all out onslaught many of us have hoped for. Particularly when you consider how DSLR’s have taken on increasingly powerful video capabilities, spawning a passionate base of amateur and pro film makers dedicated to pushing the limits of what their trusty Canon gear can do. [...]

Who you calling Micro?

In the last few years a new breed of camera has stormed the digital photography world. Known as mirrorless or interchangeable lens cameras, they forgo the mirror of a DSLR (or SLR) for a smaller, lighter, and more portable package. They’ve grown in leaps and bounds by providing amateurs an opportunity to upgrade from a [...]