Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Here’s a screenshot of the Nikon D90 video screen in action. Check out the record icon at top center and mic icon and time remaining in the right top corner.
[via Nikon Rumors]
For the latest news and rumors on the Nikon D90, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D90 page.
Evidently, Sony’s proud of the size of this camera. Any smaller and they’ll take the “pocket-size” label down to “wallet-size”. If you missed the news on the new Sony T77, check out Photography Bay’s announcement coverage.
The Canon 50D was confirmed as of August 21, 2008 and was officially announced on August 26, 2008. Read the full Canon press release here. The Canon 50D carries a retail price of $1399.99 for body only and $1599.00 with the EF 28-135mm kit lens.
You can order the Canon 50D now from Amazon.com via the following links:
Canon 50D (w/ 28-135mm kit lens)
The Canon 50D is pictured top left with the simultaneously announced EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, which carries a retail price of $699.99 USD.
Read Photography Bay’s Canon 50D Review.
The camera offers a lot of functionality for photo enthusiasts and professionals, yet still has a small handful of scene modes and Creative Auto mode which appeal to users who want to enter and test the waters of the digital SLR world (if they’re daring enough to start out with this camera).
The Canon EOS 50D performs very well and deserves an excellent rating among DSLR cameras. Image quality is certainly good with low-noise, good color accuracy and reliable exposure.
Overall, the 50D is an excellent photographic tool that’s flexible and delivers very good image quality.
The Canon 50D is a great mid range camera. Not quite a professional level camera in that it’s not using a “full frame” sensor but by no means “entry level” This camera will produce great results for you.
The combination of speed and performance makes this the perfect camera for the enthusiast or anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level dSLR.
The ultimate test of a camera for me is whether I’d want to own it, and I’d want to own the EOS 50D.
If you are serious about your photography in general and can afford the higher price, the Canon EOS 50D is my recommendation over the XSi.
The 50D continues to prove that Canon has one of the fastest (if not the fastest) AF systems, extremely high-resolution CMOS sensors with very impressive high ISO performance, and now offers (for some users, at least) a functional live view system.
So while the 40D is great, and will remain in the market, the Canon 50D incorporates plenty of enhancements worth the couple-hundred extra bucks. The Canon 50D is an excellent digital SLR.
It is an all-round DSLR camera for the enhanced hobby photographer who can deal with any branch of photography with this camera.
Below ISO 1600 image output is clean with well balanced contrast and colors and as you would expect from a DSLR with a 15 megapixel sensor the 50D delivers a fair amount of detail.
The 50D is a solid performer, but didn’t outshine the alternatives. If you’re already a Canon user, possibly moving from entry- to mid-level SLRs, and with a lens or two already in your hands, then it could be a good choice for you.
The Canon EOS 50D is a worthy update to the already excellent EOS 40D, equipping it not just with the latest features, but also a significant boost in resolution without compromising noise levels.
Though the 50D isn’t the successor to the 40D, it offers numerous improvements that may be worth the upgrade–or the outright new purchase–depending on your priorities. After having experienced the quality and depth of color in the new LCD screen it will be very difficult to go back to the 40D and to other comparable models in its class.
Interestingly, low-light performance was generally outstanding, with no visible noise in shots right up to ISO 1600 and very little noise at ISO 3200. By ISO 6400, noise was visible – although not obvious.
The extra resolution, and the addition of three anti-reflective coatings makes a huge difference to clarity and visibility in both bright and poor light. Arguably, the EOS 50D is the first Canon DSLR that really shows sharp images as properly sharp on the LCD, which makes checking critical focus in playback much easier than it was in the past.
Considered on its own terms, the EOS 50D is a more than worthy addition to Canon’s semi-pro DSLR line-up. It boasts a significant number of refinements to a proven design that current EOS users will welcome, whilst adding enough features to catch-up with and in some ways surpass the Nikon D300.
It is overall a nice camera and I don’t think most poeple would be disappointed with getting the 50D. However, the only caveat is that, do not expect the 50D to show any real imrpovement in high ISO performance comapred to the 40D and the competition.
One of the most striking differences is the provision of a greatly improved LCD. The size remains unchanged at 3.0″ but the resolution rises from 230,000 dots to 920,000. This is effectively a change from 320 x 240 RGB pixels to 640 x 480 RGB pixels, putting it on a par with the latest high-end Nikons and Sony A700.
As usual, Photoclub Alpha has a keen ear to the ground on the upcoming Sony Alpha gear. This time it’s more news on the flagship A900. We’ve all been waiting anxiously to see the A900 since Sony announced its development last year at PMA.
While Photoclub Alpha notes two Cybershots on August 14th (today), I’m pretty sure we got those last week.
With regard to the A900 though, they point out:
The Alpha 900 will, as far as we are aware, be shown to the press on September 9th/10th worldwide.
Additionally, their info reveals that the A900 will go on sale on September 30th.
Expect to see lots more A900 coverage as we approach Photokina 2008.
For more on the Sony A900 flagship DSLR, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Sony A900 page.
Just a little note to point out that B&H Photo and Amazon are already taking out Google Adwords ads on the keywords “Nikon D90”.
When you search for “Nikon D90” on Google, you’ll see the ads on the right side of the results page (opposite of the natural search results). The ads are written by the companies and they bid on them for a given cost per click.
The Amazon page takes you to Amazon’s “search” page for the Nikon D90. . . . No, there’s nothing exciting there yet.
B&H Photo’s ad takes you to a B&H “search” page for the Nikon D80.
We know it’s coming, so this is really just another hint of things to come.
For the latest news and rumors on the Nikon D90, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D90 page.
Last year, Photography Bay dropped a note on the power Photosynth technology that Microsoft is developing.
Microsoft has been working hard and has posted a new demo video of Photosynth, which is pretty darned amazing stuff.
[via Crunchgear]
Yes, the Nikon UPC has been spotted . . . in the UPC Database. And, everyone is reporting it as fact.
This is a bit of a misnomer though. See, the user-created UPC Database can be edited by anyone, which makes this most likely bogus and something someone submitted to stir up some buzz.
Over the past couple years, we’ve seen links to the UPC database for the fictional Canon 7D and a variety of other cameras.
This doesn’t mean that the Nikon D90 is not real; however, this UPC news is really non-news until there is confirmation from a more reliable source.
For the latest news and rumors on the Nikon D90, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D90 page.
Canon has not varied in its release schedule for the Rebel series and 10D-40D series DSLRs. Like clockwork, Canon has released a new one every 18 months . . . until this Summer when Canon announced the Rebel XS, which added another “level” of camera to its DSLR lineup.
Previously, the old Rebel model had become the step-down model in Canon’s entry-level lineup after a new camera was introduced. Canon now clearly has a two-tier entry-level lineup with the Rebel XS and Rebel XSi.
Even though I’ve seen a few rumors for a while now, I have not posted any to Photography Bay because I generally considered it wishful thinking. I fully expected the Canon 50D to arrive at PMA 2009, which would be 18 months after the Fall 2007 release of the Canon 40D, which has been taking some serious drops in price lately.
I am beginning to think there may be something to the rumors now. Here’s one of the most recent rumors on the 50D specs:
[via DPR]
Perhaps Canon is feeling pressure from Nikon with the successful entry of the D300 and D700. While the 40D is still a stellar camera, it’s beginning to show its age when stacked up against Nikon, Sony and Pentax’s latest offerings.
Granted, some are calling BS on these specs. Others say they’re real. Either way, we’ll know in a few weeks.
Stay tuned to Photography Bay and our Photokina 2008 coverage for more.
After showing up in Circuit City’s inventory, it didn’t take long for an industrious Best Buy employee to capture this screenshot of the Nikon D90 in Best Buy’s inventory. It appears to offer the same specs and pricing revealed by the Circuit City leak a couple days ago. [via endgadget]
For the latest news and rumors on the Nikon D90, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D90 page.
I must admit. I’m one of those guys that shoots in RAW and only uses the Auto White Balance (AWB) setting. When my DSLR misses the white balance of a scene, I “simply” make adjustments in post processing. Boy did I have it all wrong – until the folks at ColorRight said I had to give their product a try.
ColorRight is a tool for properly setting custom white balance on your DSLR. It looks much like a lens filter with a dark ring and partially see-through hole inside the filter glass. Placing the ColorRight tool over the end of your DSLR and taking a sample shot gives your DSLR an accurate reading of the temperature of the light in your scene. All subsequent shots taken with your DSLR under those lighting conditions will have an accurate white balance. [Read more…]