`thew's reviews

Caribbean Queen, 10 Dundas East

2012-05-25T14:38:00.000-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: I do not have high standards. The Long Version: This is a tough review to write, because I don't want to reveal just how often I end up getting my lunch from the food-service outlet calling itself "Caribbean Queen". Located in the food court at 10 Dundas East, it combines some of my main crucial elements: sufficient seating, fast

Victoria Park Subway Station

2012-05-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: Second time's a charm. The Long Version: Subway stations on the Bloor-Danforth line are usually a 3:1 ratio of utility to ugly, but for the old Victoria Park station the numbers were reversed. It used an odd layout with an elevated train track and bus bays on the same level; these bays were reached with a pair of up/down staircases

A Specific, Detailed Program on The Online Photographer

2012-05-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: To be determined. Yeah, but: Running out of ink scares me. The Long Version: Today Mike Johnston wrote an interesting article on The Online Photographer, lovingly (and perhaps provisionally) titled "A Specific, Detailed Program for Absolutely, Positively Getting Better as a Digital Printmaker". Essentially, the Specific, Detailed Program is a daily

Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto

2012-05-11T21:18:00.002-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: Avoid the culs-de-sac…s. The Long Version: Stroll is a book that I've been planning to review for quite some time. Published by my favourite printing house, Coach House Books, and written by Shawn Micallef, of Spacing fame, it's a fascinating and involved look at Toronto's neighbourhoods. Simultaneously detailed and expansive, this 279

Canon 5D Mark III: The Ultimate DSLR

2012-05-07T20:43:00.001-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 1 out of 5 Yeah, but: Inconceivable! The Long Version: It's official. Canon has ceded the high-end SLR market to Nikon. It's not surprising, given the seven-month-and-counting wait for the thrice-delayed 1Dx flagship, and the tepid market response to their modest 5D refresh effort, but I still would never have expected their concession announcement to take

KO Burger, 366 Bloor Street West

2012-05-04T21:34:00.001-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: It can be variable. The Long Version: KO Burger is one of those interesting little places that doesn't quite make sense. Originally branded as Wing Shop 366, using the number of their street address – and still serving wings – from the outside they look more like a disreputable place for Bubble Tea. But there seems to be an inverse

Nikon MB-D12 Battery Grip

2012-04-30T20:14:00.000-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Not so remarkable the second time around. The Long Version: I suppose the whole point of disappointment is that it's never expected, which is why I'm a little surprised by the Nikon MB-D12 Multi-Power (aka "Battery") Grip. Physically and functionally it's very much a twin of the MB-D10 grip for the D700, which I quite liked and

MEC Windstopper Gloves

2012-04-27T22:54:00.000-04:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Useful alone or as liners under ski gloves. The Long Version: I've bought three pairs of MEC's Windstopper gloves over the past five years. I lost the first pair, bought another to replace them, and then picked up the third when the second started looking a little disreputable. That's the second pair in the photo above, still

Nikon D800: One Month Later

2012-04-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Is it time for patience and introspection yet? The Long Version: I've had the good fortune to be using a D800 for almost a month now, and have been able to use it in a pretty decent variety of situations. But rather than describing scenarios or shooting styles, there's an easier way to know if it's the right camera for you. Consider

Tekkeon TekCharge MP1580

2012-04-10T22:36:00.001-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's twenty bucks. Beat that. The Long Version: Two years ago I looked at a booster battery for travelling with my phone, which is a good idea that was badly done. This new one, the Tekkeon TekCharge MP1580, fixes every complaint that I had and costs one-third as much. I love progress. The best thing about the TekCharge is that it

Eye-Fi Pro X2 WiFi SDHC Card

2012-04-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 1 out of 5 Yeah, but: I've finally found something that it's good for. The Long Version: One side effect of having this little review blog is that it reminds me of how long I've owned different bits of equipment, especially if I'm thinking about writing a follow-up. I'll look back through the years and be amazed at just how much time has passed without me

First Impressions: Nikon D800

2012-04-01T21:49:00.001-04:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's so pretty. The Long Version: I haven't spent much time with the D800 yet, recently purchased from Toronto's Aden Camera, but this isn't the time for patience and introspection. That can come later. I'm trying to come up with a word other than 'awesome' to describe the D800's image quality. I may have to settle for 'astonishing'.

Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18mm Wide Zoom Lens

2012-03-24T23:12:00.002-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: I love lens names like "M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm f4.0-5.6". The Long Version: Bill has already spent some time with the Olympus 9-18mm lens for Micro Four Thirds, and came away with mixed opinions. So when a friend of mine offered me a chance to borrow his copy, I couldn't resist – so this marks the first time on Thewsreviews that two

Green Clean Wet and Dry Sensor Swabs

2012-03-17T20:10:00.001-04:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's not nearly as scary the second time. The Long Version: Green Clean is the European brand that makes a number of useful products for photographers. My favourite so far has been the Wet/Dry lens wipes, which really do work better than the one-step alternatives that I use, and they also make an innovative vacuum system that's powered

Nikon MB-D10 Battery Grip

2012-03-10T20:41:00.002-05:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: A useful accessory for discontinued cameras. The Long Version: The MB-D10 battery grip is an interesting beast. It makes big cameras bigger, but somehow they become easier to hold as a result. The combination of the D10 grip with the D300 or D700 isn't as nice as the D3 family, or as small, but it does a pretty good job of pretending.

Olympus M.Zuiko MSC Digital ED 9-18mm µFourThirds Zoom Lens

2012-03-05T23:12:00.008-05:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 2* out of 5 Yeah, but: A conflicted lens and a conflicted review. The Long Version: Over a three week period, from mid-May to early June of 2011, I was given the opportunity by B&H Camera to test the Olympus M.Zuiko (MZ) 9-18mm µFourThirds lens on my Olympus E-P2 body. I used the lens to photograph my corner of the world in Orlando, Florida. All of my testing

LensCoat Hoodie

2012-03-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 3 out of 5 Yeah, but: Yes, I did intentionally buy the one in camouflage. The Long Version: I own three Op/Tech Hood Hats for my Zeiss lenses, and have been quite happy with them. But when I wanted a cover for my Nikon 50/1.4G, I decided that I should diversify a bit, and bought a "Hoodie" lens cap from LensCoat instead. It's a big world out there. Like

Keychain WhiBal G7 by Michael Tapes Design

2012-03-02T14:45:00.004-05:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Nothing that includes a biner clip can be all bad. The Long Version: Michael Tapes has been making interesting photographic accessories out of plastic for some time now, and if I'm not mistaken the WhiBal white balance reference is on its seventh generation. That's an awful lot of iterations for such a simple little thing. I have a

D-Rings

2012-02-26T20:35:00.001-05:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 0 out of 5 Yeah, but: No review subject too small… The Long Version: This is a review that probably could have been shortened down to under 140 characters, but I need to rant: WTF is with the D-Rings, bag designers? I bought a cheap portfolio case the other day, and sure enough, the shoulder strap is attached to the body of the case with nylon D-rings.

Hasselblad 500c/m

2012-02-22T12:27:00.002-05:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 1 out of 5 Yeah, but: As if it matters what I think. The Long Version: The Hasselblad 500 is a legend. Immediately recognized and viewed with respect even by non-photographers, it screams 'serious' in a way that few other cameras do. Manufactured for decades, there's a huge base of compatible equipment in use and on the resale market. Some of it is

Opticianado

2012-02-20T20:54:00.005-05:00

Concept: 4 out of 5 Execution: 5 out of 5 Yeah, but: I'm not that easy to impress. The Long Version: Okay, I have to admit that I have a good reason to be biased. That doesn't change the fact that Opticianado, at 2919 Dundas West, is my new favourite place to buy glasses. Opticianado's location puts it solidly in Toronto's west end, which is a slightly surreal place where the street

Elsewhere on the Internet: Shuttertalk

2012-02-19T14:00:00.001-05:00

Concept: 3 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: I've always preferred small communities. The Long Version: I've been around on web photography forums for nearly ten years, including several of the big ones and many small ones. I wouldn't be able to count how many it's been, but it doesn't matter because Shuttertalk is the only one I still visit. "ST" is certainly one of the smaller

Canon E2 Hand Strap

2012-02-10T20:17:00.001-05:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: It's a lateral move. The Long Version: Camera hand straps are an odd thing. I looked at the Canon E1 strap three years ago, which requires a battery grip with an available strap lug to work. The Canon E2 is different in that it attaches to the tripod socket, so it will work on any camera with or without a battery grip attached. That's

Speck "Candyshell Grip" iPhone 4/4S Case

2012-02-07T21:13:00.002-05:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 4 out of 5 Yeah, but: I really like their logo. The Long Version: The worst thing about the Speck Candyshell Grip is the name, and that's the last time I will ever type it in full. I must not be their target market, because that middle wordlike sequence of letters was almost enough to stop me from buying this thing. But careful inspection of the product

Kleen Kanteen Flip D-Ring Cap

2012-02-05T21:01:00.002-05:00

Concept: 2 out of 5 Execution: 2 out of 5 Yeah, but: Who doesn't love carabiners? The Long Version: While my household has a growing collection of Kleen Kanteen bottles – seven and counting – the D-Ring Flip is the first extra cap I've bought. It fits their wide-mouth bottles, of which I own two, and it changes them to have a boxier profile. Like the other wide-mouth caps, the interior is