Today’s summer series recap looks at some of the hottest ‘gear’ related posts on dPS from 2011. It includes some reviews but also some recommendations and discussion starters.

• A Visual Tour of Canon’s 24-70mm f2.8 Lens
• 17 Best Selling DSLRs Among our Readers
• Nikon D3100 DSLR Review
• Black Rapid RS-7 Camera Strap Review
• 5 Cheap Must Have Photographic Accessories in our Toolkit
• Nikon D7000 DSLR Review
• 5 Kinds of Photography Equipment that Waste Your Money
• Canon vs Nikon: A Financial and Consumer Comparison Infographic

Lastly – don’t forget to check out our Popular Cameras and Photography Gear page for the latest in what gear is most popular among our readers.

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]This camera seems to tick quite a few boxes: the CMOS sensor captures an effective 16.1 million pixels; the Nikkor lens has a 14x range, equating to 25-350mm in a 35 SLR lens; it’s very compact and pocketable, at only 33mm depth with lens withdrawn.

The maximum image size is 4608×3456 pixels or, 39x29cm as a print. Movies can be shot at Full HD res of 1920×1080.

Differing to the Nikon P7100, there is a dedicated red button to fire off movie recording, which happens with smooth AF and exposure correction throughout the zoom range. Maximum movie length is 25 seconds; and you cannot shoot stills while recording video.

While you have …

They’re all looking pretty much of a muchness. Peas in a pod. Hard to tell one from the other: mirrorless, interchangeable lens cameras.

Sony’s NEX approach broke from cover soon after Olympus and Sony had got going with their Micro Four Thirds models. It soon achieved some notice and not a little notoriety because of its large lens size, attached to a reasonably small magnesium alloy body. But it’s still a design worth well worth spending some time with. So I did. Spend time with the NEX-5N!

The review camera was fitted with the f3.5/18-55m lens.

Sony NEX-5N Features

An initial moment of pleasure was delivered, thanks to the articulated LCD screen, which moves vertically 80 degrees up or 45 degrees down….

It’s that time of year again – the time when most of us photographers find friends, family, and co-workers asking us what photo related gifts we’d like to receive. As much as we’d love to say, “Oh I wouldn’t mind a EOS-1D X or a Nikon D700,” the cold, hard reality is if we don’t want a gift certificate for a hair cut or something worse, we’re better off giving the inquiring gift-giver options under $20. Here is a great list of affordable gift suggestions that will put a smile on any photographers face just in time for the holidays!

1. The Nice Clip

A small, lightweight clip that sticks to your lens cap so you can clip your cap to your pants, shirt, camera bag, or wherever you like. I designed The Nice Clip because …

Cute as pie. Cheap as chips. Well, on the latter count: nearly.

I’m still figuring out why Olympus has launched virtually the same camera in three different guises that this Micro Four Thirds system gear encloses. It beats me!

Look around the DPS site and you’ll see my recent views of the E-P3 and Lite E-PL3. Now we have the Mini E-PM1 with very similar specs and varying prices. Oh! and body sizes.

This is the Mini of the range. And, as an entry level model, it is surely a delight. If you feel fashion is allied to function, then you’ll be delighted: the Mini can be acquired in six body colours: black, brown, pink, white, silver and purple. The review model was in silver and, with the silvery f3.5/14-42mm lens attached, simply glowed….