Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Archives for March 2009

Sony Cyber-shot HX1 Hands-On Review

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The Sony Cyber-shot HX1 is a powerful new point and shoot camera with an incredible spec list.  Sony had the HX1 on display after it was announced at a press conference just before PMA 2009.  The HX1 is yet another hybrid camera, which were very prevalent at this year’s PMA.

At first blush, the HX1 looks like just another super zoom point and shoot camera.  Dig a little deeper into the features though and you will find some unique and powerful specs.  One of the biggest new features is the Sweep Panorama, which allows you to hand-hold the camera and pan from side to side.  The HX1 captures a 7152 x 1080 panoramic image from a number of images captured and stitched in-camera.

In addition to the Sweep Panorama, the HX1 is capable of capturing full-size 9.1 megapixel images at 10 frames per second.  This is made possible by the mechanical shutter used by the HX1, which is a stark change from electronic shutters found on traditional point and shoot cameras. [Read more…]

 

Canon 5D Mark II Does the Bellagio Fountains

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I couldn’t resist doing a video with the 5D Mark II and EF 17-40mm f/4 L of the Bellagio fountains while in Vegas for PMA. Unfortunately, the embedded version is nowhere near as crisp as the original file. You can see a higher quality version on the actual YouTube page here (just click the HQ icon).

I would love to share the original file; however, it is 1.23 GB, which is larger than the online video sharing that I know of will allow. The version that I uploaded to YouTube was compressed to 883MB.

Does anyone know of a free solution to get the original video file online? I just don’t have enough bandwidth to share it on my server.

UPDATE: Here’s the original 1.23GB file as hosted on DropBox. Right click and “Save As…”

Panasonic Lumix GH1 Hands-On Review

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One of the most exciting new cameras at PMA 2009 was the Panasonic Lumix GH1, which was a follow-up to the Lumix G1 introduced at Photokina 2008.  The GH1 shares most of the same features and specs of the G1; however, it includes one significant improvement – the ability to shoot video in true 1080p HD at 24 fps or shoot 720p HD video at 60 fps.  Panasonic uses an AVCHD format for video capture and records audio via Dolby Digital Stereo Creator.

Panasonic has not announced the price of the new GH1, which will initially only be offered in kit form with the 14-140mm HD lens.  Panasonic’s reasoning for selling it as a kit initially is due to the specialized silent autofocus functionality of the HD lens.  It was designed from the ground up with video in mind, which required Panasonic to overcome some significant hurdles so that AF noise did not interfere with audio capture when recording 1080p video.  According to reps at PMA, the kit should be available in May or June 2009.

Panasonic had a couple pre-production models on display at PMA.  I was able to get some hands-on time with one and even grab some images and a quick video on my SD card. [Read more…]

Panasonic Lumix GH1 Sample Video

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Here’s a quick and dirty sample video taken from a pre-production Panasonic Lumix GH1 on display at PMA 2009. The AVCHD encoding was finicky and still isn’t final form, but I managed to get part of it out to MPEG 4 format so that I could share with you. It’s nothing fancy, but I think it demonstrates the potential that this camera has as a video solution. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get all of the footage converted.

Please remember this was a pre-production model which did have bugs in it. I’m encouraged though at the performance I saw from handing the camera. I’ll have more on my thoughts for the GH1 soon.

In the mean time, if you want the full-res MPEG 4 file for personal use and perusal, you can download it here (right click and choose “save target as”).

Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer

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The Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II is a step down from the Pro9500 Mark II; however, it is still capable of solid performance and 13″ x 19″ size prints.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

More details from Canon’s press release below.

The eight-color PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer – cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan, photo magenta, photo black, red, and green – delivers an even glossiness and vivid color experience rivaling that of positive film for photographers. The Pro9000 Mark II’s impressive quality and speed are the result of the Canon FINE print head technology coupled with the Company’s high-performance, high-density 6,144-nozzle print head which is capable of producing nearly invisible ink droplets of two-picoliters. Thanks in part to an enhanced double encoder system for media control, the PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II achieves three times faster print speeds over its predecessor, producing a bordered 13″ x 19″ size black and white photographic print in approximately 1 minute, 23 seconds2.

The Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II Photo Printer is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated selling price of $499.993.

Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II

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Canon announced the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II at PMA 2009.  The Pro9500 Mark II delivers pro-quality prints at sizes up to 13″ x 19″.  Check availability at Amazon.com.

More details from Canon’s press release below.

The new PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer features ten pigment-based ink colors – photo black, matte black and gray as well as cyan, magenta, yellow, photo cyan, photo magenta, red and green, allowing users the benefit of a wide color gamut for stunning color prints, as well as three levels of black for true black-and-white photographs. Designed for the pro and “pro-sumer” photographers, the PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II provides outstanding resolution and droplet control utilizing Canon’s double-encoder system to produce high-quality portfolio pieces or gallery-quality prints for the marketplace. The Pro9500 Mark II delivers rich detail, texture and tone plus extraordinary color reproduction in the green, red, yellow and orange color ranges resulting in breathtaking photo-art. Employing the Canon Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology along with a sophisticated 7,680 nozzle print-head structure, the Mark II model provides significantly faster production times, delivering approximately one-and-a-half times faster color print speeds on a 13″ x 19″ bordered print1,2 than the previous model.

The printer’s matte black, photo black and gray inks reduce metamerism and provide high-density blacks and truly neutral monochrome prints. Metamerism is an effect in some printed “black-and-white” images where composite gray inks (achieved with combinations of cyan, magenta and yellow ink) make image areas appear a different color hue under different lighting conditions (such as sunlight, fluorescent light and incandescent light). This aberration is due to the differences in spectral reflectance properties of each of the composite colors.

The Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II Photo Printer is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated selling price of $849.993.

Casio EX-FC100 Hands-On Review

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Check out the following video for a demonstration of the powerful little Casio EX-FC100 that I captured at PMA of the UNLV Cheerleading Squad, which was performing routines in Casio’s booth area. The cheerleaders proved to be great models to demo the capabilities of the EX-FC100.

The Casio EX-FC100 is the miniature follow-up to the EX-F1 and EX-FH20, which were geared toward a prosumer audience.  The EX-FC100, however, is a compact point and shoot camera that packs in the same high speed capture technology as the EX-F1 and EX-FH20 – albeit a slightly reduced frame rate.  It’s still a feature that stands alone in the Casio brand in terms of execution. [Read more…]

Sony’s New Alpha Lenses – Up Close

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Unfortunately, details are slim on Sony’s new super telephoto lens; however, I did manage to get some up close images of all of the new lenses from Sony.  No details on the focal length of the super telephoto lens or anything else, other than what you see in the mock up models.

Again, the new lens lineup is as follows:

Undisclosed Sony G Super Telephoto

28-75mm f/2.8

DT 30mm f/2.8 Macro

DT 50mm f/1.8

DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

DT 55-200mm f/4-5.6

Expect some of these lenses to start hitting the market possibly as soon as this Summer.  Sorry, but that’s all the detail that Sony is giving us for now.

Plenty more images below. [Read more…]

Samsung NX Series – A Closer Look

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The Samsung NX Series mockups were on display, albeit behind glass, at PMA 2009.  Hoping to get more info out of Samsung personnel than the scant press release revealed, I launched into a series of questions about the new NX cameras.  Unfortunately, details were wrapped up so tight that the representatives on the floor claimed complete ignorance to anything other than what was displayed on the show floor – and even then continued to qualify the apparent specifications with suggestions that “these are just mockups” and “anything can change between now and final release.” [Read more…]