Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
In my prior quick and dirty comparison of the Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D700, we looked at some sample images taken from these two cameras and relied largely on each camera’s autofocus and built-in metering with very little manual tinkering by me. The prior comparison also featured 100% crops from each camera at its native resolution.
Based on reader feedback, I’ve gone back to the drawing board for a second, more in-depth comparison of each camera’s image quality and ISO range. [Read more…]
In case you don’t have your calendar marked, Canon’s Instant Rebate promotion for the Digital Rebel-series, 40D, 50D, flashes and lenses expires on January 17, 2009. That’s just a smidgen over 3 weeks from now.
As has been the case for the past couple of years, all of these savings are instant rebates, which means they are applied to your purchase at the time it is made – no worries about mailing in UPCs and receipts.
Amazon has a special page set up for all the cameras, lenses and flashes. (See Amazon.com)
The full set of lenses and flashes are listed below along with the rebate amount. Links will take you to the Amazon pages for each particular item. I also recommend Adorama and B&H Photo as trustworthy and reliable online retailers.
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM $125
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM $100
EF 300mm f/4L IS USM $85
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM $80
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM $80
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM $75
EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM $70
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM $50
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM $50
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM $100
EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS $50
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM $50
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM $35
EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM $30
Extender EF 1.4x II $25
Extender EF 2x II $25
Speedlite 580EX II $50
Speedlite 430EX $30
Speedlite 430EX II $30
Imaging Resource has published a review of the Canon 5D Mark II.
Unless you need high speed capture, and a 30fps HD movie is out of the question, the Canon 5D Mark II appears to offer the best of both of its competitors, with high resolution capture and what we expect to be very good high ISO performance.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
Let’s Go Digital has published a review of the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS.
From a technical viewpoint, the Canon SX10 IS finds itself on a high level. The camera does prove itself and delivers sharp pictures with natural colors, all of which with extensive users ease.
For additional info, see Photography Bay’s Canon SX10 IS Reviews and Resources.
Roland Lim has published a review of the Canon 5D Mark II.
The image quality is simply amazing with very high resolution and very good high ISO performance. As far as image quality is concerned, I think most users would be more than pleased with the 5D Mark II. However, in areas such autofocus, Canon still lacks behind the competition.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
Photo Review has posted a review of the Canon 5D Mark II.
Image noise was barely visible in test shots taken at ISO settings up to 3200, regardless of whether they were short or long exposures. Beyond that point, the visibility of noise increased steadily, although colour accuracy and sharpness were retained right up to ISO 25,600.
For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.
B&H Photo has sent out an email regarding their holiday deals on digital cameras (some are better than others). However, the big deal about this for those last minute shoppers of you is that you can get free overnight shipping on all Canon cameras and certain video cameras. Here’s the link to B&H’s Holiday Deals page.
Jeremy D. over in the forums posted a question that’s gone unanswered for a few days now. Can anyone lend him a hand?
I have a Canon Rebel XTi (400D) and would like to buy an external flash. If I purchase the Sigma EF-500 DG ST, can I manually control the flash brightness with the in-camera FEC controls?
Here’s a link to the forum thread.
Digital Photography School has posted a review of the Canon Powershot G10.
Each day I became more and more enamored with the quality and accessibility of this little camera.
For the latest news and reviews, see Photography Bay’s Canon G10 Reviews and Resources.
Canon USA has released an official statement regarding the 5D Mark II and its, now infamous, black dots phenomenon, along with a banding issue for sRAW1 settings.
We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera have identified two types of image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions.
- “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
- Vertical banding noise
We are currently investigating and analysing the causes, and examining measures to reduce or eliminate these phenomena by providing correction firmware. An announcement will be made on the Canon Web site when such measures have been determined.
Details of the phenomena and shooting conditions under which they are likely to occur are as follows.
- “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or above on a monitor or, if large prints of the images are made.- Vertical banding noise
If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background.
- Vertical banding noise is not noticeable if the recording format is set to sRAW2.
- Vertical banding noise does not occur if the recording format is set to RAW or JPEG.
Noise can be reduced if C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority is set to 0: Disable.
Additional information can be found on Canon USA’s website.