Yesterday I picked up a brand spanking new iPhone 3GS. Kendra and I made our way down to the Apple store in Soho where we spent all of 10 minutes standing in line. Before I knew it my original non-3g phone was converted into an iPod Touch and my new baby way taking calls and receiving emails.

Later, while eating sushi, I set up my email, took a few pics and started playing around with the cool new compass feature! Kendra laughed for quite a while as I followed the almost "candid-camera-esque" instructions for calibrating the compass...

So, my favorite new feature about this phone is obviously the camera. Auto-focus, macro capability and a bigger file! Once I got home I downloaded and configured Pixelpipe, which is now set to upload pics and vids to Flickr and Facebook ( how cool is that ) and of course Camerabag, which was recommended to me by the editors over at MacCreate.com.

Next month I will be attending the wedding of a close friend of mine. It's sure to be a blast and while they have hired a pro to cover the event, I really want to take some great pictures. Normally, I would probably cover a wedding using a pretty typical equipment kit. Two DSLR bodies, three or four lenses and a couple of TTL strobes would probably do the trick. But, for this event I have decided to try and do something a little different. First of all, I plan to shoot the entire event in black and white. Second, I plan to use only available light. That's right, no flash whatsoever.

I think I have a few options here. The ideal digital tool for the job would be something along the lines of a Canon 5D MKII, or some other small DSLR that does really great in low light and high ISO. This camera coupled with a fixed, fast lens like the 24 f/1.4 or 35 f/1.4 would be just about all I'd need.

Of course I don't currently have any of this equipment, so I would have to either borrow or rent.

Alternatively, I could try and shoot this event on film using Tmax p3200.  I have used this film plenty of times in the past, and it's really great stuff. The grain is HUGE, but smooth and pleasant, and you can even push it a stop or two if you really need to. Of course, I'd need to acquire a bunch of it ( please tell me Kodak still makes this stuff ) and, I'd need to set up a processing line to get at the images.

I did my best yesterday to hold off on commenting about the Olympus EP-1 that was officially announced today. It is indeed a very sexy camera. By yesterday I had already seen quite a few leaked photos and I noticed quite a bit of talk on the flickr.com group forums, but I decided to hold off until the official announcement today.

First off, I will just come out and say that I think this is a very appealing camera. I haven't touched it yet, but I can sort of get an idea from the photos and the really almost comical video on the Olympus site that this camera is probably just about the right size. My Panasonic DMC-LX3 is nice and tiny, but when I'm shooting seriously with it, the controls tend to get a little lost in my hands. There is sort of a delicate balance here between compactness and usability--reminds me of Zoolander's cell phone.

I could go on and on about this cameras specs and buttons and features, but what I'd really like to talk about is how the EP-1 is a camera which seems to be headed in a new direction.  Micro 4/3rds has been on my radar for a while now, but I have been pretty hesitant to give it much thought up until now. It will really be interesting to see what camera manufacturers do with this format in the near future.

As you may notice I am a big fan of small compact cameras. I am basically waiting for something that will be the equivalent of a Leica M. The M8 to me was a big disappointment. I think Leica spent way too much effort trying to make the thing look and feel like an M and forgot about creating a camera that was really worth $5500. In the end it's all about the image, and the M8 failed to deliver in that area. Talk about "less bang for your buck."