Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Top Digital Cameras

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Since we looked at the most wished for cameras last week, I thought we could see what the actual best sellers are this time around.  Again, this is based on info available at Amazon’s digital camera page.

Best Selling Digital Cameras

  1. Panasonic ZS7
  2. Canon PowerShot SD780 IS (black)
  3. Polaroid t1031
  4. Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS
  5. Canon Rebel T1i
  6. Canon PowerShot S90 IS
  7. Nikon D90
  8. HP PB360
  9. Canon PowerShot G11
  10. Canon PowerShot SD780 IS (red)

This is just a snapshot in time, as Amazon updates its bestseller list on an hourly basis.  It does provide an idea of what’s important to people though.

Looking at the customer reviews, it’s easy to see why many of these are at the top, as all of the cameras have received overwhelmingly positive reviews.  It’s also interesting to see $60 cameras and $800 cameras moving in nearly equal quantities.  It’s a pretty diverse group.

 

Firmware Friday: Nikon S230; Pentax H90, I-10, W90, X90; Sigma DP2, DP2s

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Camera Firmware Update

I’m instituting a new practice today with regard to camera firmware.  From now on, I’ll be consolidating firmware notices to a single post each Friday.  If something really hot (like the 5D Mark II firmware 24p update) is announced, I’ll pass that along as it happens.  Everything else will fly on Friday from now on.

Fridays are typically slow news days and so this seems like a good fit.  We’ll try this for a while and see how it works.

Nikon Coolpix S230 firmware version 1.1. “An issue that, in some rare cases, prevented accurate recording of pictures taken in Night landscape or Dusk/dawn scene mode has been resolved.” [Nikon website]

Pentax Optio H90 firmware version 1.01 – Adds additional Eye-Fi SD card support and functionality. [Pentax website]

Pentax Optio I-10 firmware version 1.01 – Adds additional Eye-Fi SD card support and functionality. [Pentax website]

Pentax Optio W90 firmware version 1.01 – Adds additional Eye-Fi SD card support and functionality. [Pentax website]

Pentax X90 firmware version 1.01 – Adds additional Eye-Fi SD card support and functionality. [Pentax website]

Sigma DP2 firmware version 1.05 “Improved image quality at ISO400.” [Sigma website]

Sigma DP2s firmware version 1.01 “Improved image quality at ISO400.” [Sigma website]

Nikon Coolpix L22 Review

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The Nikon Coolpix L22 is a 12-megapixels, budget-friendly compact camera that is powered by 2 AA batteries.  Nikon’s target for the L22 is clearly a casual snapshooter who isn’t really interested in thinking about photography.  It’s basic.  It’s simple.  It’s cheap.

To see whether this bargain-basement bare bones camera fits your bill, read on. [Read more…]

Canon Shows Off 1D Mark IV in the Hands of Vincent Laforet

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Vincent Laforet VW Commercial

Canon has launched a new Shooter’s Insight video series in the Canon Digital Learning Center featuring the 1D Mark IV with Vincent Laforet.  A number of episodes appear to be in the works and “coming soon” that will focus on Laforet’s use of the 1D Mark IV in a recent VW spec commercial.

More on this series can be found online at the Canon Digital Learning Center.

Mastering HD Video with Your DSLR – Book Review

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So, you’ve got that Rebel T2i, 7D, 5D Mark II, D300s, D5000 or any other number of DSLRs that can record video.  But how do you get a worthwhile movie captured, edited and in front of others’ eyeballs?

A decent starting point for answering that question can be found in Mastering HD Video with Your DSLR from Helmut Kraus and Uwe Steinmueller.  [Read more…]

Fuji S1800 and S2550HD Review: A $200 Special Delivery

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The Fuji S1800 and S2550HD are virtually identical cameras, with only a few minor differences in their feature set.  The duo offers a 12.2-megapixel sensor, coupled with an 18x optical zoom.  For cameras that cover an equivalent zoom range of 28-504mm, both are quite affordable (in the $200 street price range at the time of this review).

To find out what you get for that bargain-basement of a price, read on. [Read more…]

Samsung NX10 Firwmare Update Ver. 1.15

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Samsung has issued a firmware update for the NX10 mirrorless camera.  The new firmware addresses the following issues.

  • Added EVF selection function on the AMOLED displayed menu.
  • Added MF Asist On/Off selection function.
  • Added MF usage function while using K-Mount Adapter.
  • Improved Auto White Balance function of Low color temperature condition.
  • Improved SD Card Read/Write speed.
  • System stablization

Additional info, download access and installation instructions can be found on Samsung’s website.

Canon 5D Mark II Firmware Update Version 2.0.7

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Canon has issued a firmware update for the 5D Mark II.  Firmware version 2.0.7 addresses the following issues, which were introduced in firmware versions 2.0.4 and 2.0.3.

  1. Fixes a phenomenon in which the aperture exhibits abnormal movement when shooting movies in manual exposure mode and Aperture Priority AE (Av mode) using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
  2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the exposure level shown in the LCD panel differs from what is shown in the viewfinder when shooting still images in manual exposure mode.
  3. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Wireless File Transmitter (WFT-E4 or WFT-E4 II) may not automatically power off when used for FTP transfers.

Download and installation instructions for the firmware are available on Canon’s website.

Fuji HS10 Firmware Update

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Firmware version 1.02 is now available for the Fuji HS10.  The new firmware addresses the following issues:

  1. In Raw data a line is visible where colors slightly change when developed by Raw File Converter.
  2. Battery indicator turns on too early.
  3. When “Image Disp.” in set-up menu is set to “Zoom”, sometimes image corrupts.

Additional info and download instructions are available on Fuji’s website.