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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Canon 40D Ad – “Coming this fall.”

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Another image of the Canon 40D has surfaced. This time in the form of an ad bearing the caption “Coming this fall.” This is supposed to appear as an ad in Shutterbug soon. (via POTN forums)

Keep up to date on the Canon 40D here.

UPDATE 8/15/07: I emailed the editor of Shutterbug yesterday re: this ad. He says to regard it as bogus attribution and that “all our production team are women.” The significance in that factoid is that the original poster of the ad (on the POTN forums mentioned above) said that his “man” at Shutterbug emailed the image to him. . . . Your guess is as good as mine, but I thought I’d just pass along the info.

[tags]canon, eos, 40d, dslr, rumor, fall, news, release[/tags]

 

Sony Alpha A300 and A500 News

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Check out the latest rumored specs from the Chasseur d’Images forum on the Sony Alpha A300 prosumer model:

  • Lens magnification – (Crop factor) 1.25 x
  • Sensor type and size – CCD sensor (28.6 X 19.8 mm)
  • Resolution – 14.4 mega pixels
  • Maximum resolution – 4648 x 3098
  • Processor – image processing system and two standard of Bionz pixels
  • LCD screen – 2.5 inch (230,000 pixels TFT display)
  • Viewfinder – 95% view coverage
  • Magnification – 0.9 times magnification with diopter adjustment and eye-function
  • Battery – standard NP-FM55H
  • Memory – Recorded media CF I & II which can record a capacity to support more than 4 GB of memory
  • Image format – JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
  • Sensitivity – ISO 100 – 3200 / Mode speed LO80/HI200
  • Autofocus – Focusing AFS AFC DMF focusing area regional/local wide area/fixed focal
  • Flash – Support high-speed flash mode flash synchronization function, with wireless flash function and cited slower doors automatically synchronized flash, fill
  • Wireless Flash – from the camera (using HVL – F56AM, F36AM flash) arrange of the X-synchronization flash: 1/160s and 1/200s
  • Flash Control – ADI, pre-flash TTL, Manual adjustment built-in flash for flash 12 shooting performance coil-support functions 10 the second gold 2 seconds
  • Sequential shooting function – 5/dry sequential shooting, JPEG unlimited, RAW, RAW + JPEG
  • Support anti-red eye exposure
  • Automatic exposure mode, aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual
  • Exposure modes, such have exposure compensation +-3EV 1/3 to adjust the exposure
  • Measurement central x-ray meter, spot metering, 40 regional cellular linen meter,
  • Shutter Speed – 12 shutter speed 1/4000 seconds to 30 seconds the door to other B focusing system edge Be optimized, focusing faster more accurate.

    • . . . along with this little tidbit from the dyxum forums:

    I already told you that my brother-in-law works for Sony on the Alpha project. Here is some more info, some is repeated from my previous posts. The advanced model will be 14.* MP and close to FF. It will have 1.25x factor and a switch for lenses with 1.5 factor. It will be called A300. Because of the pixel pattern similar to Sony ClearVid CMOS sensors, Sony will claim up to 2x effective pixel resolution. The flagship model will be called A500 and will be 100% full frame. Nikon is supplying Sony new steppers to create FF sensors in one shot. Sony first joined forces with Konica Minolta, now with Nikon. This gives to both Sony and Nikon advantage over Canon, which Sony believes will eventually drop to a 3rd place; Sony will move up to 2nd place in overall volume of DSLR’s sales. The least expensive Sony DSLR will not have optical viewfinder and will be called A50. The flagship model will be 20 MP, 40 effective. That is the reason why Sony concentrates on top quality glass. Sony’s advantage will be fact that they are the foremost sensor maker; their output is several times higher than Matsushita, which is second largest CCD maker.”

    The 2 DSLR prototypes that were shown at different shows by Sony were no wooden mock ups, but the actual cameras that will be produced. The same goes for the lenses. All these were pretty much final prototypes, but Sony could not disclose this due to its competition. The main thing that is holding these projects up is development of SSS which has to work harder with larger sensors; the insides of the cameras may be a little different than on the prototypes shown, not the outsides. That was finalized before showing them to the public.

    “Sony was originally going to buy the Contax brand from Kyocera, but then used this infomation in its negotiations with KM, from whom they managed to get the DSLR division with all its expertise for pennies on the dollar. KM really wanted the DSLR division to be in the best hands; they cared about it more than about anything else; the Minolta portion of the KM team wanted to see the legacy of the system to continue and to improve as much as possible. The decision to sell to Sony was rather emotional.

    [tags]sony, alpha, a200, a300, a400, a500, rumor, news, specs[/tags]

    Canon 40D Pricing and Availability Leaked

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    (via Zee’s Photography Blog)

    Looks like the pricing and availability of the Canon 40D is out in the open now. If you look at the Best Buy inventory report above, it shows the Canon 40D “in-stock” on September 2, 2007. If that’s the price card for the 40D, the you’re looking at a whoppin’ $1600 for the new camera, presumably with a kit lens.

    Also on Gizmodo.

    Looks like it started on (where else) DPReview.com.

    After digging in the forum a bit, it appears that camera includes the Canon EF 28-135 IS lens.

    [tags]canon, 40d, rumors, news, eos, 30d, replacement, dslr, best buy[/tags]

    Nikon D3 and D300 – Imminent Release Pending?

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    Several forum posters are alleging the release of the Nikon D3 and D300 is imminent.

    Just spoke with a relation of mine at one of Europe’s major Nikon distributors and D300 is coming very soon (she mentioned end of this month) with the specifications as already mentioned in Chasseur d’Images, 12Mp & D2X AF system.

    Out of respect for my source I can’t mention any names or more specifications.

    Read more . . .

    Late August is now pretty busy – Pentax European press conference, 23rd; Canon Autumn Collection launch London, 21st; Nikon London launch, 24th. All announced, press contacted, RSVPs done etc.

    Read more . . .

    I just got a Nikon Free prize draw competition leaflet, to be drawn on 31st October for which the prize is your “ultimate Nikon Digital SLR camera” a “D2Xs or equivalent”.

    Equivalent?

    Read more . . .

    World Athletics Championships begin on the 25th August… in Nikon’s home country… with Nikon as an offical sponsor. My understanding is that Nikon have a history of launching high profile products at major sporting events, instead of at photographic exhibitions.

    Read more . . .

    The UK press conference scheduled for Friday August 24th is the day before the IAAF

    Read more . . .

    In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the DPReview.com forums is a major source of the rumors that we see. Part of the reason is because the forums are so active. You can view the Nikon threads page here.

    You can keep track of all the juice on the Nikon D3 on this page and the D300 on this page.
    [tags]nikon, d300, d3, d3x, d3h, dslr, release, news, announcement, rumor[/tags]

    Canon 40D Leaked Photos . . . . Finally!

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    Everybody and their brother is reporting on these latest images that look like true studio shots of the Canon 40D that originated over at slrclub. They’re no longer up over there, but it looks like there’s a few million of these floating around on the web now.

    _____________________________________________

    Keep up with the latest developments on the Canon 40D on this page!

    [tags]canon, 40d, eos, dslr, news, rumors, release, august, 20, 23, 25, announcement, features, price[/tags]

    Canon 40D, Nikon D3 and Nikon D300 Rumors version 3.0

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    Here’s some 4th-hand information that was originally in spanish:

    “From the same Spanish reliable source (Rafa Irusta Blog site: En busca de la Luz) that did revealed the specs of the 400D and the MkIII before get the official announcement (and match them !!), here are the specs:

    *No weather sealing*
    1.6x – 10 MP Self cleaning sensor
    3 inch LCD with LiveView
    Formats JPG, RAW and sRAW
    ISO 100 to 1600 in steps of 1/3
    Shooting speed 6.25 fps
    Buffer 75 JPG or 17 RAW

    DIGIC3
    Launch date: August 23rd””

    Join in on the rumor mill with the usual suspects on DPReview.com.

    Chasseur d’Images says readers will be reading about the Nikon D300 and Canon 40D side-by-side in September. (via -you guessed it- DPReview.com forums)

    Is Canon really scheduled to make press releases on August 20th?

    More word of a Nikon D3 release SOON:

    This isn’t official but I’m pretty certain there’s a fair bit of truth in this: Today my husband spoke to his relative who works for Nikon and they’ve apparently been sent information regarding a new camera (Nikon D3 – somewhere in the range of 18-22 mega-pixels) & new lenses all of which will be announced on 25th August. I’m not certain if he mentioned a full-frame sensor or if it’s going to be a 1.1 crop (my attention span on the phone is pretty bad!) Whatever the case, I hope they stick to this date for the announcement & don’t put it off for too much longer…

    Maybe I should plan for some vacation time from the factory – there’s gonna be a lot of blogging to do this month if these rumors are legit.

    Come on Canon and Nikon . . . I’m running out of creative names for these posts.

    [tags]canon, eos, 40d, nikon, d3, d3x, d3h, d300, dslr, rumor, release, announcement, august, features, digic, 3, iii[/tags]

    Nikon and Canon Reps Galore

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    As the summer goes on, it seems that more and more people have talked to a Nikon or Canon “rep” or perhaps someone else that they “know” in either company. Based on these conversations, several individuals around the web have “confirmed” that the next big thing from both manufacturers is coming . . . soon.

    For instance, just yesterday in the Nikon forums over on flickr, spincycle gave his first-hand account of an encounter with a Nikon engineer:

    in a conversation with a Nikon engineer at an event one week ago, I was told that there would be a new pro-level DSLR released ‘within a month or two’.

    I asked him “D3?” “yes.”
    I asked him “full frame?” “yes.”

    Then he said: “in a couple months, Canon won’t even know what it them.”

    Yes, it’s hearsay….but given the persistent info from the consistently reliable “jeff_c” on DPReview and the comments from this guy last week, I’d say that we’re about to see at least one pro camera with crop, full frame with crop mode or full frame, probably upward of 16-20mp, and a huge modular viewfinder.

    I did NOT get the impression that we’d see a D3H right away, or that dramatically new sensor tech would be involved, although that may well be wrong.

    Likewise, Seaside Photographer recently got the lowdown on the Canon 40D from a Canon rep:

    I spoke to the Canon rep, when he was visiting my local camera shop, the other day… he told me that the 40D is due to come out in the next month, using the same sensor as the XTi and the Mark III… and the price of the 30D will be dropping $200.00 … I’m seriously considering the 40D…. more fps and other advantages..

    Do people really get this info from “reps”? Do reps really “know” what’s going on? Anybody else out there seen or heard from a rep that has the scoop? Let us know; comment below.

    You can find the latest and greatest on the Nikon D3 here and the Canon 40D here.

    [tags]canon, 40d, eos, nikon, d3, d3h, d3x, dslr, camera, digital, news, rumors, announcement, release, price[/tags]