It’s again time to get drunk and watch explosions in the sky as we honor our country’s independence…. and with with this always comes tons of questions from friends and readers on tips for shooting fireworks. We’ve written about it before, so we aren’t gonna write about it again, but what I do have for you is a pretty comprehensive collection of links that should get you on the right track.

• Another Fireworks Post? WTF? via CameraPorn
• Secrets of Fireworks Photography via O’Reilly
• Fireworks photography in 5 easy steps via MSNBC Travel
• The Best Way to Photograph Fireworks via PC World
• Fireworks via Keith C. Roberts
• How to Photograph Fireworks Displays via Digital Photography School
• How To Shoot Fireworks via Photography Bay
• Videos How to Photograph Fireworks via Imaging Insider
• How to Shoot Fireworks via Photoshop Insider
• Get Better Fireworks Photos This Fourth of July via Life Hacker

I think that list should satisfy just about all the fireworks photography education anyone can absorb in one sitting, but I’ll leave you with the most important tip of all… Educate yourself on the methods and best practices, but don’t follow along like a lemming, put a little bit of your own creativity into your shots, and when you load them up Sunday morning, your happiness with your orignal shots will help ease your 5th of July hangover. Until next time…

I’m currently at a conference and don’t have my gear with me, so I can’t try it out yet. And, obviously, I suspect that this will void warranties and so on. Therefore, assume the standard “try at your own risk” stuff that you’d expect. That said, I expect to give it a shot as soon as I can.

Without further adieu, go over to the project wiki and check out the Magic Lantern Firmware.

A few months ago, in what I would call an act of impulsiveness, I picked up a Leica D-Lux4. I was looking for the much less expensive Panasonic DMC-LX3 – which on the inside is the same as the Leica from lens to sensor to LCD… but what it didn’t have was clean lines and a pretty red badge that makes most photo people get a little weak in the knees. So I made the mistake of holding the Leica in one hand and the Panasonic in the other, and the clean lines and little red badge with so much history behind it sold me.

Brand whore? Maybe, but I don’t regret the purchase one bit… in fact after using it for the first time, my opinion of point-and-shoot cameras changed for good. In my opinion, this camera is the all-around best point-and-shoot available today. Read on to find out why…

Ya, I said it… Its the best point-and-shoot camera ever. You might say, hey there buddy, aren’t you a Canon guy? What about the G10? Well, yeah I’m a Canon guy, but before all you Canon G series users get all upset, let me explain why the Leica is the best…

1. Image Quality

f/2.8 : 1/60th : 60mm : ISO 800

I could go into a long explanation of why I think the image quality is great.. but instead, just take a look at some of these shots. Yes, they came from a point-and-shoot. Note: In well exposed and well lit photos, I’d say the Canon G10 is as good or better than the Leica. I think part of it is that Canon’s RAW format is a bit better.. but we all know every shot isn’t perfectly lit or exposed. In overall image performance, I prefer Leica shots over any of the other similarly equipped compacts.

2.Low-Light Performance

f/2 : 1/30th : 24mm : ISO 320

The image above was shot hand-held, at night, at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. This shot and many others from the festival are what really made me fall in love with this little workhorse.

f/2 Leica Lens + Image Stabilization = Big Win

Ya, I thought it was a typo the first time I read it too, but the D-Lux 4 does in fact have an f/2 lens. This great little lens, coupled with pretty solid image stabilization technology makes for some pretty interesting low-light opportunities. I’m talking consistent, sharp, hand-held shots at as slow as 1/8th of a second.

Now, of course you can’t expect this lens to give you the blur of an f/2 SLR lens, because you you have to keep in mind that the f/2 is relative to the smaller physical size of the lens and sensor, but you do get the speed advantages which means sharp images at slow speed, which is half of what you need in low-light.

Usable ISO 800+ on a Compact? OMFG!

f/2 : 1/40th : 24mm : ISO 800

High ISO is really where the Leica shines over the competition. Does it even come close to any of the newer generation Canon or Nikon DSLRs? Absolutely not, but it’s not supposed to. THe smaller the sensor and the pixels in the sensor generally, the more noise you get, so the quality achieved with this camera is even more notable.

3. Form Factor

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Canon guy, so obviously the G series was very intriguing to me… RAW, hot-shoe, manual controls… everything the Leica has, but Canon.. but what in the end kept me away is that it is a frikkin BRICK! You just can’t fit the thing in your pocket. If i want something I have to carry in my hand or a bag, I’d bring my SLR. Although depth-wise with the protruding lens, the Leica and Canon are similar, but I challenge you, try to put each in your pocket and I think you’ll agree with me.

Quick Specs

Full Specs (pdf)

Buy it on Amazon

That’s gonna wrap it up for the first “real” post I’ve done on CameraPorn for quite a while. I hope you enjoyed it

Want More of the D-Lux 4?

• Flickr Group
• All my Flickr Photos shot with the D-Lux 4
• Review: Boxed Light
• Review: Serious Compacts
• Review: Photography Savvy

So, I know it’s been a while, and I’m not gonna sit here and give you all some blogger sob story about why we’ve let CameraPorn sit and fester with no new content for months. The bottom line is, we got frikkin lazy. What’s important now is that we’re back at it with a new site and lots of cool posts in the pipeline. Stay tuned for some new stuff, but in the meantime hows about you follow us on twitter?

These things are set to drop is U.S. and Canadian markets on March 1st for Canon and later in the year for Nikon. Pricing is speculated to be $199 for the Mini and $219 for the Flex.

More Coverage:

PocketWizard Announcement
FlexTT5 Product Page
MiniTT1 Product Page
Full Strobist Review

Amazon has the Mark II available for preorder at the MSRP of $2699. Get it while its hot! I would guess that upon launch these puppies are gonna be hard to come buy.

Pre-Order your Canon 5D Mark II

Via PhotographyBay, Carl Zeiss has just announced that they have begun manufacturing a pair of manual focus Canon EF mount lenses called the ZE series. First available, a 50mm f/1.4, will be released on September 29th, and coming later this year an 85mm f/1.4,

I’ve long felt Canon would benefit from a premium quality alternative that differentiates itself from the lower-priced brands such as Sigma and Tamron. Hopefully Zeiss will continue to expand this line to full auto-focus lenses.

Learn more about the lenses and read a firsthand account of the quality in action over at the Zeiss website.

I know this is off-topic from what I usually post, but any Kanye acting silly stories are always a good laugh. Via CNN, apparently Kanye West was a bit cranky at the LA airport this morning and reportedly broke a “commercial photographer’s” aka Paparazzi’s (i would guess) camera, valued at more than $10,000. Must have been a Canon 1Ds Mk III. Anyways, Mr. West was arrested along with his road manager.

When are these guys gonna learn, you cant just go and attack photogs, even if they are annoying paparazzi!

Canon 5D MKII rumors were lit on fire late this week with the launch of a teaser campaign by Canon, teasing what we all must assume is the release of the newest 5D. The image included here comes from Canon’s UK site. They have also launched a sparse teaser site titled “Destined Evolution”.

I think its finally safe to say, after a long, arduous wait, the announcement is imminent, and if Canon feels the new camera is worth all this drama, then we can expect the new Camera to be a game-changer…. something Canon has been needing to keep up with Nikon’s amazing progress recently. More coverage on this from Photography Bay and Engadget.

• 21.1 MP 1.0x
• DIGIC IV
• ISO 100-6400 L:50 & H:12800
• 5 FPS
• 3.2″ High Resolution Screen (LCD)
• 19 point AF
• HDMI Out
• Liveview
• HD Movie Mode
• Viewfinder: 100% Coverage
• Full weather sealing
• EF Lenses only

D-D-D-Digic IV? HD Video mode? 19 Point AF? Full Weather Sealing… I just got chills. Looking mighty fine to me. I of course will bring you more info as I see it.