A brief summary and rating of each item appears in the table below. Click on the item name to open a new page with the full review for that item (available shortly). Please remember I am VERY hard on equipment, so many items I break may last ten times longer in normal use.
| Item | Brief Summary | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Sony Alpha 55 SLT | HD Video is superb and the translucent mirror allows fast phase-detect autofocus during video. Image quality excellent. Very good High ISO performance. 10fps is perfect for action photograhy. Reliable metering and fast, accurate autofocus. Some functions hidden in menus which should be more readily available. Automatic GPS tagging of images very useful for wildlife photography. Awkward to change focus point when using viewfinder. EVF is better than most others but no match in any way for a proper viefinder. No manual exposure autogain option which leaves black viewfinder when shooting with manual flash (ie studio or night-time wildlife). Battery has too small capacity, considering the power drain of features like GPS tagging and video shooting. Superb camera, let down slightly by a few little niggles, most of which could easily be fixed in a firmware upgrade. |  |
| Sigma 70-300 f4-5.6 APO DG Macro Lens | Remarkably good image quality for the price (matched images taken on a Nikon D200 with Nikon 200-400 f4 for detail and sharpness!). Macro function very useful for close-up (not true macro) photography. Chromatic aberration held to absolute minimum. Outstanding value. Focus speed not fast but reasonable for price point. Suspect build quality: focus drive stops have a habit of breaking with alarming regularity. |  |
| Sony Alpha 550 DSLR | Many of the defects noted in the Alpha 350 were corrected in the 550. Excellent image quality. Useable images up to ISO 1600 and sometimes beyond. Excellent exposure metering and fast, accurate autofocus. Viewfinder dreadfully poor. Live-view implementation superb. Beautiful rear screen. Some features hidden in menus which should be button controlled. | |
| Velbon ULTRA MAXi L Tripod | Quite superb little tripod. Extremely light weight makes it ideal for expeditions. Variable leg geometry gives immensely versatile tripod. Surprisingly stable for such a lightweight. Small foot-plate may not support larger cameras or lenses but as a carry-anywhere tripod for a standard-sized DSLR with standard zoom or superzoom lens, this is unbeatable. Collapses to around 12 inches, so very portable. Twist-grip legs prone to slipping if not tightened enough. | |
| LowPro Computrekker AW Camera Backpack | Like a tardis on your back! This fantastic backpack will take two bodies, two lenses and a heap of other kit. The integrated laptop pouch will take laptops with screen sizes up to 15.6 inches. Sturdy, compact and comfortable to wear. This is the ultimate backpack for serious travel photography. Highly recommended. |  |
| Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro | Excellent close-focusing. Superb image quality. Razor sharp even wide open but sharpness drops off slightly above f11 and is unacceptably soft above f16. Chromatic aberrations kept to a minimum. Good value for money but minimum aperture should have been restricted to f16. | |
| Craghopper NosiLife Sherman Gilet | Lightweight, quick-drying, loads of pockets for small pieces of kit and several hidden pockets for important items. Very comfortable to wear. Permanent insect repellence. Only failing is the poor quality of the velcro-type fastenings on some pockets. | |
| Craghopper Classic Kiwi Cargo Pants | Comfortable cut for outdoor work, fairly hard-wearing, good number of pockets, including several security pockets. They do dry fairly quickly, which makes them useful in tropical conditions. As with most Craghopper products, the quality of the velcro-type fastenings is the only poor point. | |
| Sony Alpha 350 DSLR | More of a concept camera than a functional DSLR. High ISO performance very poor in all but optimal lighting conditions. Serious back and front focus problems. Very good screen. Excellent live-view implementation. Button layout haphazard. Kit lens dreadful. At ISO 100 gives astonishingly detailed images when paired with a good quality lens. Exposure metering inconsistent. |  |
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