tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7540373596901076422024-09-14T21:20:36.939-04:00Matthew's Reviews: Your source for diverse and varied reviews of dubious accuracy. Cameras, lenses, transportation, current events, design, electronics and technology, books, TV, music, movies, and more.Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.comBlogger479125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-8364026069419557912017-10-20T22:59:00.002-04:002017-10-20T22:59:58.863-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Flared base for safety. The Long Version: I've said this before, but it bears repeating. If you're looking for a 'tactical' flashlight because you think that someday you might be in a position where your best course of action is to hit someone with it, then you've made fundamentally poor life choices. In fact, if you're looking for

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-30418145196834391542017-10-12T17:53:00.001-04:002017-10-20T23:06:26.558-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: I like it not because it's perfect, but because it's good. The Long Version: There are hundreds of Fujifilm X100F reviews already. I’ve started a half-dozen myself in the six months that I’ve owned the camera, but always give up halfway through. Really, what more is there to say? It’s an excellent camera. Twenty-four megapixels

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-5976292524503363782016-09-14T22:50:00.008-04:002016-09-15T01:05:46.207-04:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 5 out of 5 Yeah, but: Pelican Ugly. The Long Version: The Pelican 3310PL is the best flashlight ever created. It's probably also the least sexy flashlight ever created, but even that’s part of its appeal. There have been a few generations of the 3310PL, so make sure you're buying the new one with “378 Lumens” clearly marked on the packaging. That headline

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-80528880519378549042016-02-12T16:31:00.001-05:002016-02-12T21:36:54.148-05:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: It really only makes sense for phones. There's a certain perversity that the best keyboard for iPhones is made by Microsoft, but the counterpoint is that Microsoft's folding keyboard makes no sense unless it's paired with a large-screen smart phone – the computing revolution that has largely been their undoing. My mobile

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-66696682182426567522014-12-30T22:11:00.000-05:002014-12-30T22:11:24.924-05:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 5 out of 5 Yeah, but: The GR abides. The Long Version: It’s been over a year since I reviewed any aspect of the Ricoh GR, so it seems like a good time to do a long-term report. But not much has changed from my experience in the first few months: it’s still my favourite camera, and now it's my hardest-used and most-travelled camera, too. The grip has

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-19282789335954297382014-11-30T21:24:00.000-05:002014-11-30T21:27:54.033-05:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 5 out of 5 Yeah, but: You had me at "Heavy Duty Rubber-Coated Twist Tie". The Long Version: It's possible that the NiteIze GearTie is exactly what has been missing from your life. Godlike in its simplicity and angelic in its execution, the GearTie is a flexible wire that has been coated in grippy ridged plastic with knobby ends. And as if that wasn't enough

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-8285369880807254742014-10-11T23:28:00.000-04:002014-10-12T09:28:23.610-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Doing as I say, as well as as I do. The Long Version: I've been using a Sony PCM-D50 audio recorder for ages, so whenever someone asks me for buying advice, I've suggested its newer sibling, the PCM-M10. It's 80% of the D50 for half the price, and even exceeds the abilities of the bigger unit in some ways. My arguments in its favour

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-72790133380118821472014-10-07T23:10:00.000-04:002014-10-08T11:20:49.363-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 1 out of 5 Yeah, but: Buyer Beware The Long Version: The Purchase From Amazon Reader beware. I'm coming at this review with a very big chip on my shoulder. Here's why. I purchased a Panasonic GX7 black body from Amazon because it was marked down over a 1/3 from its original MSRP. Now when I purchase a camera body, I expect a camera body properly marked

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06749942763035029635noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-14579520915698008682014-09-14T21:03:00.000-04:002014-09-14T21:16:01.501-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Okay, but seriously… The Long Version: The Sigma DP3 Merrill is a camera that puts the decimal point in the wrong place. My comfortable high-iso limit is iso640, it takes about 50 photos per battery, writing a burst of one raw file to a fast memory card takes 13 seconds. Even its memory cards hold just a fraction of the images its pixel

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-10737166075500885442014-09-12T17:28:00.001-04:002014-09-14T21:17:05.394-04:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: They say to think of it as a film camera… The Long Version: There's something really incredible about the Sigma DP3 Merrill. It's small, it's light, and it produces great photos. Normally we need to trade off quality in exchange for smaller size or more convenience, and accept smaller formats with lower resolving power and coarser

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-47712777573152756752014-09-07T20:05:00.000-04:002014-09-07T20:07:19.410-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Small, quick, and good. The Long Version: The Fujifilm XQ1 is an interesting camera. Well, actually, that's not entirely true. It's a raw-shooting compact camera that's trying to make its way in a world of ubiquitous smart phones. There are similarly-sized but more expensive cameras that have much bigger sensors, and cheaper

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-76731473418664169772014-08-15T20:34:00.002-04:002014-08-15T20:37:25.214-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: So, about that thing I said earlier… The Long Version: Sometimes, as I'm writing a review, I'll think of something that completely undermines it. I did it again, this time with my Sigma LH3-01 lens hood. The problem of almost any hood is that it conflicts with filters that need to rotate, such as a polarizer. So in my Sigma

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-60228512427750514012014-07-17T22:07:00.000-04:002014-07-18T09:50:50.329-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: Behold with cautious optimism. Counter Opinion: I know what I'm risking by saying this, but I'll say it anyway – Nikon has gotten the D810 right. Sadly it's a truism that Nikon has the ability to screw up the most surprising and basic things, even on simple model refreshes, so that sound you hear may indeed be the other shoe dropping.

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-59683651785570687162014-07-05T17:53:00.000-04:002014-08-15T20:51:59.413-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Lens hoods are cool. The Long Version: The Sigma LH3-01 for the DP3 Merrill might be the most obscure camera accessory I've ever reviewed, given that it's a sold-separately $48 add-on for a cult camera that's at the end of its sales career. Lens hoods are not the most exciting accessory, it's true, but this is one of the more

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-45380428456349181442014-06-13T21:12:00.000-04:002014-06-13T21:16:29.388-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Smaller and simpler. The Long Version: LCD viewfinders are designed to work around usability problems that shouldn't really exist in the first place, so I suppose it was inevitable that one would find a home on my Sigma DP3 Merrill. While I'm happy enough with a bulky and complex tripod-mount one on my big SLR, a compact camera needs

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-87491339581146849002014-06-08T20:41:00.000-04:002014-06-13T21:14:02.483-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: I'm not a video person. The Long Version: I was just starting a project that had me manually-focusing my D800 outdoors when I had the chance to try out the Kamerar QV-1 head-to-head with my classic Hoodman Hoodloupe. I bought the QV-1 on the spot. The Kamerar QV-1 is a magnifying viewfinder loupe that's designed for recording video

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-13012455305433538642014-06-06T22:31:00.000-04:002014-06-06T22:31:43.686-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 1 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's a classic. The Long Version: The Hoodman Hoodloupe, patent US 7,386,229 B2 and 7,034,877, was the first thing I thought about when I needed to use my D800's live view for manually focusing a lens when outdoors. And why not? It's been around forever – I remember seeing ads for it back in the days of actual print magazines, so it

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-12459127860511680522014-05-24T21:31:00.001-04:002014-06-26T19:40:17.732-04:00

Maj. William Stryker (Josh Helman) and Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) working together to create a fiendishly complicated movie plot. Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Like its actors, the franchise is showing its age. The Long Version: I know I said I was about movied out after viewing Godzilla 2014 last weekend. The key word here is "about." This weekend I hit

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06749942763035029635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-8441263703033410152014-05-19T23:25:00.003-04:002014-06-05T17:59:59.894-04:00

Actor Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa expressing my exact sentiments about this latest film. Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: A US$200 million mindless cinematic weekend juggernaut, to which I contributed $6. The Long Version: Everybody in Hollywood who has nothing to do with real cinematic creativity is going absolutely ape-shit over the latest Godzilla iteration

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06749942763035029635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-87284541947740067142014-05-13T08:35:00.002-04:002014-05-13T08:36:39.380-04:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 5 out of 5 Yeah, but: This is not the review you're looking for. The Long Version: Matthew likes to produce the occasional counter review of equipment that he doesn't own but that instead comes across the counter-top of the camera store he works at. He at least gets to handle it before passing judgement. This micro-review, which I'm labeling as a Tech Note, is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06749942763035029635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-70950209364280027992014-05-02T21:03:00.001-04:002014-05-06T21:00:29.798-04:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Pixel = Picture Element. Sensel = Sensor Element. The Long Version: This is not a review of the Sigma DP3 Merrill. It has already been scrutinized by some of the best and there's really not much to add; these cameras are not creatures of nuance and subtlety. The DP series, and the 75mm-e DP3 in particular, is so unambiguous that anyone who

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-38067646629249958492014-04-23T20:28:00.000-04:002014-05-03T09:34:53.051-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's better to marry than date. The Long Version: When I'm writing these reviews I sometimes ask myself: 'Self, if this (whatever) went away through no fault of its own, would I buy another?' That is, with the benefit of experience, and everything that's changed between my first buying decision and the time when I write about it, would

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-3918655925080337082014-04-18T01:37:00.001-04:002014-05-10T04:20:59.300-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: Safety razors are back, but did they ever really go away?   The Long Version: Rick Harrison from the reality TV show 'Pawn Stars' has been pushing this model in commercials, which is what first piqued my interest. While my father was missing somewhere in Laos during the 1960s I used to dig around in his belongings

Keith Alan Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02240947048783657561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-35160197974579003642014-04-06T17:10:00.000-04:002014-04-07T21:29:26.264-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: April 6 is National Tartan Day. The Long Version: Scarves are something of an odd idea. Creating a strip of fabric specifically for wrapping it in the gap between ones' collar and chin hardly seems like a functional idea. Despite growing up watching "Dr. Who" episodes that prominently featured scarves, I never saw much point to them.

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-754037359690107642.post-1535355515019371332014-03-28T19:14:00.000-04:002014-03-28T19:30:03.805-04:00

Concept: 5 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: "It has 53 teeth still in place." The Long Version: After two years the Nikon D800/e remains the best camera on the market. It's tough, it's fast, its image quality in good light is unequalled by any camera costing less than three times as much, and it's still among the very best in low light as well. Its viewfinder is superb, the

Matthew Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04134787874718415563noreply@blogger.com0