Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Archives for 2008

Nikon’s BIG News

By

Something BIG is coming from Nikon.  In a not-so-subtle ad that Nikon placed in Rangerfinder Magazine, Nikon notes that it’s got some “BIG” news for wedding and portrait photographers, which it plans on bringing along the MGM Grand Arena at WPPI in February 2009.

Additionally, the ad reveals that Nikon will unveil the BIG news “next month.”  I can’t imagine that this boastful ad could be a reference to anything other than the 24+ megapixel Nikon D3x (or whatever it will be called) announcement at Photokina 2008, which will obviously be shown off to WPPI attendees at the BIG advertised event next February.

What do you think?

[via Nikon Rumors]

 

Casio EX-Z300’s Make-Up Mode

By

Casio’s announcement of additions to the Exilim line include the EX-Z300, as well as the EX-Z19, EX-Z85 and EX-Z250. The EX-Z300 is a 10.1 megapixel model with a 3-inch LCD display, along with a special feature: a “Make-Up” mode. This mode works like the cloning tool in Photoshop does: it blurs and smooths blemishes in the camera when you take a picture.

Samsung offers a similar mode on one of their newer compact cameras, called Picture Perfect. It seems likely that this sort of in-camera airbrushing will become popular, at least in consumer cameras. After all, who doesn’t want to look their best?

Canon 50D Info Leaked – REAL SPECS!

By

UPDATE: The Canon 50D has been announced on August 26, 2008. Please see Photography Bay’s Canon 50D Reviews and Resources page and Canon 50D Official Announcement page for more.

You can pre-order the Canon 50D now from Amazon.com via the following links:

Canon’s China website has published specifications for the 50D in its public webspace. Although the info is not on the front page of the site yet, it is accessible to anyone. Here is the link (update: it’s down, but this one is still live for the moment 11:51p.m. ET).

We keep check for availability; however, there is no listing on Amazon.com search results or any other vendor yet.

I’ve set forth the relevant translated specs and info below. Please note that the original specs listed here listed in-body IS as a feature. The translation was wrong and the feature has been removed from the spec list below. The specs referenced the advantages and compatibility with lens-based IS instead.

  • 15.1 megapixel CMOS sensor
  • DIGIC 4
  • 1.6x crop
  • Dust Reduction
  • Auto Brightness Processing
  • 95% viewfinder .97 magnification
  • 9 point af (All Cross Type)
  • 35 meter area equipped with high-precision sensors
  • AF Fine Tuning
  • ISO 100-12800
  • 6.3 fps (high speed) 3fps (low speed)
  • Buffer: 16 RAW – 60 JPG – 10 RAW+JPG
  • 920,000 points VGA 3.0-inch LCD monitor
  • 100,000 cycle shutter
  • Rugged magnesium alloy bodyFull Specifications

Canon 50D Full Specifications

General

Camera Type: Has a built-in flash AF / automatic exposure single-lens reflex digital cameras
Media Type: I or Type II CF card, UDMA compatible
Image Sensor Size: 22.3×14.9 mm
Compatible Lenses: Canon EF-series (including EF-S series lenses) (35 mm converted the focal length of the lens focal length is about 1.6 times)
Lens mount: Canon EF mount

Image Sensor

Type: CMOS Image Sensor
Effective Pixels: Approx.15.1 million pixels
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Dust removal function: Auto, Manual, add the dust data

Recording System

Recording format: Camera File System Design Rule 2.0
?Design rule for Camera File System 2.0? (Design rule for Camera File System 2.0)
Image types: JPEG, RAW (14 place Canon original); RAW + JPEG
Records of pixels: (4752 x 3168? Large: about 15.1 million pixels (4752 x 3168)
Medium: about 8 million pixels (3456 x 2304)
Small: about 3.7 million pixels (2352 x 1568)
RAW: about 15.1 million pixels (4752 x 3168)
sRAW1: about 7.1 million pixels (3267 x 2178)
sRAW2: about 3.8 million pixels (2376 x 1584)
Create / select: Folder Yes

Image Processing

Photo style: Standard, portrait, landscape, neutral, reliable setup, monochrome, User-defined 1-3
White Balance: Auto, the default (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Lamp, White fluorescent light, flash), user-defined, Color temperature settings (2500-10000 K)
Noise Reduction: Can be applied to long time exposure and high ISO sensitivity shooting
Automatic image brightness correction: Automatic brightness optimization
High-priority tone: Yes
The amount of light surrounding the lens correction: Yes

Viewfinder

Type: Eye-level pentaprism
Rate outlook: Vertical / horizontal direction about 95 percent
Magnification: About 0.95 times (-1 m-1, using 50 mm lens on the infinite distance AF)
Focus: About 22 mm (eyepiece lens from the central -1 m-1)
Built-in diopter adjustment: -3.0 – +1.0 M-1 (dpt)
Focusing Screen: Ef-A equipped with the standard screen, and can replace the screen (2 sold separately)
Mirrors: Express back –
Depth of Field Preview: Yes

AF

Type: TTL auxiliary video coincidence, the phase detection
Automatic focus points: 9 (all cross-)
Metering range: EV -0.5 – 18 (23 ° C/73 ° F, ISO 100)
Focus modes: Single AF, AI Servo AF, Artificial Intelligence AF, manual focus (MF)
AF-assist light: By the built-in flash for a short flash
AF fine-tuning: AF can be fine-tuning

Exposure Control

Metering Mode: 35 Zone TTL full-aperture metering

  • Evaluation meter (with the focus of any automatic linkage)
  • Partial metering (the viewfinder about 9 percent of the area)
  • Spot (viewfinder central area of about 3.8%)
  • Central focus of the average metering

Metering range: EV 1-20 (23 ° C/73 ° F, the use of EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)
Exposure Control: Programmed auto exposure (automatic, portrait, landscape, Macro, Sports, Night Portrait, Flash off, creativity automatic, procedures), shutter priority automatic exposure, aperture priority auto exposure, depth of field priority auto exposure, manual exposure
ISO Sensitivity: (Recommended exposure index)

  • Basic shooting zone mode: automatically set between ISO 100-1600
  • District creative shooting modes: ISO 100 – 3200 (in 1 / 3 increments), Auto, ISO sensitivity can be extended up to ISO 6400 or ISO 12800

Exposure compensation: Manual and automatic exposure bracketing (with manual exposure compensation can be used in combination) – Can be set numerical: ± 2 Stage 1 / 3 or 1 / 2 units to adjust
Auto exposure lock Auto: evaluation of the use of metering single AF mode – Manual: auto exposure lock button

Shutter

Type: Electronically controlled focal plane shutter
Shutter speed: 1 / 8000 second to 1 / 60 seconds (automatic mode), flash synchronization speed of 1 / 250 second 1 / 8000 to 30 seconds, B Mun (the shutter speed range. With the availability of various shooting modes. )

Flash

Built-in flash: Recoverable, auto-flash
Flash: 13/43 (ISO 100, to m / ft unit) flash coverage: 17 mm camera angle. Recycle time of about three seconds
External flash: X series of flash (camera can set up some flash function)
Flash Metering: E-TTL II automatic flash
Flash Exposure Compensation: ± 2 Stage 1 / 3 or 1 / 2 units to adjust
Flash Exposure lock: Yes
PC terminal: Yes

Driving System

Types: Single-shoot, high-speed shot, low shot funny (10 seconds or two seconds delay)
Continuous speed High-speed: Approx. 6.3 / sec. max
Low: the most about 3 / sec.
Continuous maximum number of (High-Speed Continuous):

  • JPEG large / distinctions: about 60 (90)
  • RAW: about 16 (16)
  • RAW + JPEG large / distinctions: about 10 (10)

* Based on these values to use 2 GB of memory cards, Canon testing standards (ISO 100 photos and standard style).
*Value in brackets apply to the testing standards based on Canon’s Ultra DMA (UDMA) 2GB memory card.

Live View Shooting

Focus: Fast mode (testing phase)
Real-time mode, real-time facial priority mode (contrast detection)
Manual focus (can be enlarged five times / 10 times)
Metering Mode: The use of image sensors to evaluate Spot
Metering range: EV 0 – 20 (23 ° C/73 ° F, the use of EF50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)
Mute shooting: Yes

LCD Monitor

Type: TFT color liquid crystal display (there are seven brightness adjustment)
Monitor size and resolution: 3 inches, about 920,000 points (VGA)
Coverage: About 100%
Language: Interface 25 (with English)

Image playback

Image display format: Leaflets, pamphlets + information (image quality records, the shooting information, the histogram), four images index, nine image index, rotating images
Zoom: About 1.5 times – 10 times
View images method: Leaflets images, 10 or 100 images, screen, the date, Folder as a unit Jump
High-warning: Excessive exposure of the regional high-flicker

Direct Print

Compatible printer: PictBridge-compatible printers
Print Image: JPEG and RAW image
Print command: DPOF1.1 compatible version

Custom

25 Custom Functions
Camera user settings In the mode dial position of the C1 and C2 registered
Registration menu: Yes

Interface

Digital Video: For computer communications and direct printing (Hi-Speed USB)
Video output terminal: 3.5 mm mini-jack (optional NTSC / PAL)
HDMI mini OUT: terminal C –
Remote Terminal: And N3-compatible line of the shutter
Docking Systems terminal: WFT-E3 Used to connect wireless file transfer for WFT-E3

Power

Battery: Battery BP-511A (1)
* AC adapter can be packaged using the AC ACK-E2
* Installation of the battery box and handle BG-E2N or BG-E2, you can use on the 5th (AA/LR6) battery
Battery capacity shooting (Based on CIPA testing standards): 50 percent of the normal use of flash photography: 23 ° C/73 ° F at about 640. 0 ° C/32 ° F at about 540. 50% of the use of flash photography of real-time display: 23 ° C/73 ° F at about 170. 0 ° C/32 ° F at about 130.

Size and weight

Size (Width x x high-thick): 145.5×107.8×73.5 mm / 5.7 x4.2×2.9 inches
Weight: About 730 grams / 25.7 ounces (body only)

Operating Environment

Temperature range: 0 ° C-40 ° C/32 ° F-104 ° F
Working humidity range: 85 percent or less

Battery BP-511A

Type: Rechargeable lithium batteries
Rated voltage: 7.4 V DC
Battery capacity: 1390 mA
Size (Width x x high-thick): 38x21x55 mm / 1.5 x0.8×2.2 inches
Weight: About 82 grams / 2.9 ounces
Battery Charger: CB-5L

With battery BP-511A, BP-514, BP-511 or BP-512
The length of the power cord: About 1.8 m / 5.9 ft.
Charging time: About 100 minutes
Input Voltage: 100-240 V AC
Output voltage: 8.4 V DC
Temperature range: 0 ° C-40 ° C/32 ° F-104 ° F
Working humidity range: 85 percent or less
Size (Width x x high-thick): 91x67x32.3 mm / 3.6 x2.6×1.3 inches
Weight About 105 grams / 3.7 ounces (not including the power cord)

More info is coming in and I’m still working on verifying the translations of the above specs, so stay tuned to PB’s home page and the Canon 50D page.

Photosynth Leaves Beta

By

As of this morning, Microsoft’s Live Labs project, Photosynth, is out of beta. The application / browser plugin combination allows you to stitch standard photos into 3-D panoramas.

Currently, Photosynth is Windows only — if you aren’t a Windows XP or Vista user, you’ll have to wait to get your photo-stitching fix. Photosynth uses a desktop application for creating your own ‘synths,’ and a browser plugin to see them online, if you choose to upload your work. All synths are public.

I’d recommend trying out Photosynth with only a few photos at first — it can take quite a bit of time to build a complex synth, though the end result is worth it.

We covered a new Photosynth demo at the beginning of the month.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 Review at PhotographyBLOG

By

PhotographyBLOG has published a review of the Sony Cybershot W300.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 is the latest top-of-the-range addition to Sony’s extensive line-up of W-series digital cameras. The W300 boasts a headline grabbing 13.6 megapixel resolution, scratch-resistant titanium coating and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with stabilized, 3x optical zoom. On the back there’s a large 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD screen with 230,000 dots, and the DSC-W300 has a range of automatic modes to make life easier, including Smile Shutter, improved Face Detection, D-Range Optimiser and Intelligent Scene Recognition. Finally, there’s a HD Output connection that’s compatible with a PhotoTV HD BRAVIA television, great for showing off your winning shots. The Sony W300 is currently available for around £250 / $350.

For more reviews and coverage, check out Photography Bay’s Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 Reviews page.

Olympus E-520 Review at DP Review

By


DP Review has posted a review of the new Olympus E-520.

The level of customizability is astonishing for the price, both in terms of the function of external buttons and the ability to fine-tune the output of the camera to perfectly suit your subject, shooting style and personal preferences.

You can read more about the new camera on Photography Bay’s Olympus E-520 page.

Photographers Face Paranoia in UK

By

The Telegraph has an article this week about the paranoia that even casual photographers are facing in the UK. Photographers have been chased down by police for taking photographs while in a town centre. The writer behind the article, Sam Delaney, described his own experience sitting in a coffee shop while simply taking a look at a camera he had borrowed:

As I sit familiarising myself with this new toy, I sense suspicious glances from the people sitting beside me. I tell myself I’m probably just imagining it. I hold the camera up to my face, point the lens through the window at the busy street outside and peer through the viewfinder. The first thing I see is a large, bearded, angry-looking middle-aged man thrusting two fingers in a V-sign at me.

His story gets better. Delaney left the coffee shop, hung the camera around his neck and walked towards some nearby stores. The lens cap was on, but a security guard immediately homed in on Delaney and announces that photographing the area is prohibited. The guard insisted that Delaney put away the camera or leave.

There are so many incidents these days when photographers are assumed to be up to no good, simply because they’re taking photographs. How did photography become a crime?

Nikon D60 Deal Alert

By

Ritz Camera has a killer deal on the Nikon D60 kit with 18-55mm VR and 55-200mm VR lenses, which also includes a gadget bag and Nikon DVDs.

It’s only $799 through this Saturday.

You can also pick up an HP All-in-One printer for free after the mail-in rebate with the D60 kit.

The Nikon D60 is a solid camera, which Photography Bay highly recommends.  Read Photography Bay’s Nikon D60 Review for more info.

Click here to go to the Ritz Camera sale page for the Nikon D60.

Nikon D90 on Aug. 27 – Mark Your Calendars

By

According to rock solid info from Thom Hogan, Nikon’s next press conference is set for August 27 and he’s betting the farm on the Nikon D90’s release on that date (not really the farm, but he’s pretty sure of himself).

So get your credit cards warmed up and ready for the pre-ordering race once the D90 is announced.

For the latest news and rumors on the Nikon D90, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D90 page.