What is the best-all-in-one compact travel camera?

Say you are going on a trip where speed, light weight, and image quality are of the upmost importance. A DSLR is not going to make the cut for you because of weight and size issues. What do you do? Fear not, there are some truly great compact cameras out there right now.

The Canon s90 and Panasonic LX3 are two of the best choices for a compact all-in-one. Both have great lenses and full manual control, along with slightly larger sensors than most compacts in order to capture more light in dimmer conditions. This results in less grain at higher iso, leading to better image quality.

The Lumix (Panasonic) has an F2.0-F2.8 lens, which is one to three or four stops faster than other cameras in this category. The s90 is an F2.0 on the wide end (matching the Panasonic) but is a dismal F4.9 on the long end, which is much slower. This means your iso will have to be much higher in low light to have the same shutter speed as the Panasonic. The Canon G11 is also good camera, as it handles well; but is much larger, has the same chip as the s90 and also a slow lens on the wide side. The Olympus Pen/GF1 twins are far better in low light than either the Panasonic of s90, but the interchangeable lenses are limited in selection, and again, the two cameras are larger than the s90/Lx3 (not to mention 2-3 times the price).

My choice would be for the LX3 as the do-all camera for travel, with the s90 running a virtual tie. After that, I would go with the GF1 over the Olympus (as it focuses much faster with virtual identical images) and then last the G11. However, if the best quality images are what you are after (in a small package price no option) then you really can't beat a Canon 5D Mark II (without the grip) with a 28mm f1.8 and a 24-105is lens. Truly a great travel combo. I know, I shot a 21 day job in Europe primarily with that setup. www.brianach.com

Stellazine: The Photographer Project by Brian Ach

Stellazine: The Photographer Project by Brian Ach

The Photographer Project

Brian Ach has been shooting celebrities for the past four years: walking the red carpet, attending invite-only events, and on occasion even vacationing with them. After a fellow shooter fell ill, Brian came up with the concept for this coffee-table book, turning the tables on the photographers and asking them about themselves and their work.

Enter The Photographer Project, a fascinating personal photography project from New York-based photographer Brian Ach.

It’s all in a day’s work for celebrity photographers, who regularly grace red carpets and are granted inside access to exclusive premieres, events, and concerts. The Photographer Project prompted over 60 New York entertainment photographers to answer questions such as:

“Which celebrity undeservedly gets a bad rap?”

“Who is your favorite/least favorite celebrity to photograph and why?”

“Tell, please, in detail, about the most crazy, interesting, funny, odd, or touching celebrity story that you have been part of.”

This new coffee table staple consists of full-length studio portraits of entertainment photographers who are based in New York City, along with ten standardized questions they answered about celebrities and celebrity photography. The Photographer Project gives the tabloid-hungry public a unique, exclusive glimpse into the world of celebrities, parties, and entertainment photography. The portraits are as unique as the varied personalities of the photographers themselves, and  The subjects include high-profile photographers such as Kevin Mazur, Patrick McMullan and others, as well as paparazzi shooters.

The Photographer Project was originally conceived to raise funds for Mr. Paul Hawthorne and his family. Paul was an entertainment photographer in New York City, and one of the best. He became ill with amyloidosis, a rare blood disease, in the fall of 2008, and passed away from complications on December 20, 2008. Paul was a son, a (twin) brother, husband to Amy, and a father to two great kids, Max and Lucas.

The Photographer Project has been made into a fascinating book, containing the aforementioned portraits and questions, along with an irreverent glossary of industry-specific terms and outtakes from the photo sessions. A portion of the proceeds from sales after printing will be donated by Brian Ach to the Hawthorne family.

The project is available in book form at blurb.com here.

See more at www.brianach.com

Launch of THE PHOTOGRAPHER PROJECT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Launch of THE PHOTOGRAPHER PROJECT

 Provides an exclusive glimpse into the world of celebrities, parties, and entertainment photography.

 Project Originally Conceived to Raise Funds for Now-Deceased NYC Entertainment Photographer, Paul Hawthorne.

New York, NY- December 5, 2009- Ever wonder what it’s like to stand two feet away from Hollywood A-lister’s like Tom Cruise, Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Elton John? Enter The Photographer Project, a fascinating personal photography project from New York-based photographer Brian Ach.

 It’s all in a day’s work for celebrity photographers, who regularly grace red carpets and are granted inside access to exclusive premieres, events, and concerts. The Photographer Project prompted over 60 New York entertainment photographers to answer questions such as:

 “Which celebrity undeservedly gets a bad rap?”

 “Who is your favorite/least favorite celebrity to photograph and why?”

 “Tell, please, in detail, about the most crazy, interesting, funny, odd, or touching celebrity story that you have been part of.”

 This new coffee table staple consists of full-length studio portraits of entertainment photographers who are based in New York City, along with ten standardized questions they answered about celebrities and celebrity photography. The Photographer Project gives the tabloid-hungry public a unique, exclusive glimpse into the world of celebrities, parties, and entertainment photography. The portraits are as unique as the varied personalities of the photographers themselves, and The subjects include high-profile photographers such as Kevin Mazur, Patrick McMullan and many others, as well as paparazzi shooters.

 The Photographer Project was originally conceived to raise funds for Mr. Paul Hawthorne and his family. Paul was an entertainment photographer in New York City, and one of the best. He became ill with amyloidosis, a rare blood disease, in the fall of 2008, and passed away from complications on December 20, 2008. Paul was a son, a (twin) brother, husband to Amy, and a father to two great kids, Max and Lucas.

 The Photographer Project has been made into a fascinating book, containing the aforementioned portraits and questions, along with an irreverent glossary of industry-specific terms and outtakes from the photo sessions.

 More of the Project can be seen at 

http://www.brianach.com/

 The book is available immediately in time for the holiday season at 

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1041918

Pricing is $69.95 for an image-wrap hardcover and $49.95 for softcover, both printed 

on premium paper. A portion of the proceeds from sales after printing will be donated by 

Brian Ach to the Hawthorne family.

A book-launch party is tentatively scheduled for December 19. Details TBA.

A traditional publisher is being sought for the book.