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Canon BG-E2N Battery Grip Review

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The Canon BG-E2N is a battery grip for the Canon 40D. Both were announced simultaneously in August 2007. The BG-E2N replaces the older BG-E2 grip. As such, it will also work with the Canon 20D and 30D. Basically, the difference between the two is that the new model has better sealing for weather resistance.

There’s really nothing sexy about the features of battery grips like this one. You either like’em or you don’t. Personally, I like’em. I find that the ease of use of my camera is increased and it is simply more functional than without the grip. Obviously, there are times that arise when you may not want something this bulky attached. For those times, I simply remove the grip and go on with my shooting.

The BG-E2N mounts to the bottom of the camera, with the protruding adapter you see on the left in the picture above being inserted into the battery compartment of the camera. The door to the battery compartment actually removes to facilitate the use of the grip.

Once mounted, you get the ability to shoot with your camera vertically and your right hand set more naturally along the right side of the camera. This is thanks to the shutter release button on the grip (seen in the bottom left of the above image). The great thing about the shutter release is that it feels just like the shutter release on the camera, so it’s quite natural. Additionally, the grip has a main dial, AE lock/FE lock and AF point selection controls for easier vertical shooting, as well as a tripod mount thread on the bottom. The AF point selection comes in rather handy for me, as I almost always select a different AF point when I flip to vertical shooting. For me, it’s a must have.

Where to Buy

First off, consider going to your local camera store (and I don’t necessarily mean Wolf Camera at the mall). By going to your local camera store, you’re supporting your community and you just might build a lasting relationship with people you can rely on when you need some help or answers. If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices. Additionally, purchasing your camera or accessories through these links helps support this site.

[tags]canon, bg-e2n, review, specs, 40d, 30d, 20d[/tags]

Canon EOS 40D Firmware Update Version 1.0.5

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Canon has released firmware version 1.0.5 for the Canon 40D. It is currently available through Canon Japan’s website.

This firmware update (Version 1.0.5) incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

  1. When playing back images just after recovering from Auto Power Off, the display now shows the last image played back.
  2. During remote shooting, images are now displayed on the camera’s LCD monitor right after they are taken.
  3. Corrects a warning message in Korean that appears when updating the firmware.
  4. Corrects errors in the Spanish menu screens.
  5. Corrects a phenomenon that prevented printing with some print systems.
  6. Corrects a rare phenomenon in which file numbers or image numbers were sometimes skipped.
The Version 1.0.5 firmware being released this time is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.0.4. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.0.5, it is not necessary to update the firmware.[tags]canon, 40d, firmware, update, 1.0.5[/tags]

Canon 5D Mark II Unofficially Official?

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A poster over at fredmiranda.com forums pointed out that he was filling in the bug/feedback form on his Capture One beta 4 software when he noticed that the Canon 5D Mark II was an option to select as a camera model. If you recall, we saw similar leaks prior to the release of the Canon 40D earlier this year. Here’s a screen capture for the 5D Mark II:

You can see it for yourself on the Report a Bug page. Follow all the Canon 5D Mark II rumors on this page.

[tags]canon, eos, 5d mark ii, rumor, news, capture one, release, pma[/tags]

Pentax K10D Reviews and Resources

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The Pentax K10D is a 10.2 megapixel DSLR, coupled with a 22-bit analog-to-digital converter and in-body Shake Reduction (.pdf fact sheet) which also provides a dust removal feature to keep dust off the sensor surface. The K10D features a new image processor called PRIME (Pentax Real IMage Engine), which interfaces with DDR2 RAM, providing a whopping 800MB/s bandwidth. The camera body is dust and weather-resistant featuring 72 seals throughout the camera. Images can be saved in JPG, Pentax’s proprietary raw image format (PEF) or standard DNG format. [Read more…]

Master Your DSLR Camera, Part 1: Program Mode

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In auto mode your camera makes just about all the decisions for you. It’s time to take control, hit the highway, and learn what you can do in program mode. Switching to program mode, however, allows your camera to make some decisions for you, but also puts three things in your control: the flash, the ISO value, and the white balance. Let’s start!

read more | digg story

Google Adds Picasa Images to Search

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Finally, Google has integrated Picasa Web Albums into Google Image Search. Public albums can be enabled for a public search option, meaning your images will be more likely to come up in Google image results. And that’s a huge improvement, because previously images on Picasa (and Blogger, and Google Docs) were not searchable at all.

read more | digg story