Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
If you haven’t heard already, Windows 7 is here and available everywhere.
If you use Windows Vista on your computer, you may be more than ready for the upgrade. Microsoft has been hyping Windows 7 as a better solution for a long time. What follows are some of the latest developments for photographers, along with a brief look at what casual photographers can expect out of Windows 7 for helping organize and edit images. [Read more…]
The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG OS lens is a consumer-oriented lens and is available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma DSLRs. This lens is one that is relatively compact for its abilities. It feels very light in your hands and should be very enjoyable for amateurs, enthusiasts, etc. Granted, the lens is not an EX (Sigma’s top of the line) and it surely shows it. I received some brief hands-on time with the lens and was able to judge the Canon version’s abilities vs. something like my much older Canon 80-200mm F2.8 L.
The Sony A850 has no differences from the flagship Sony A900 besides a slower rate of fire, a slightly smaller viewfinder and $700. For the money, it is the best bang-for-your buck value out there right now for full frame photographers. Put some nice Minolta or Zeiss glass in front of that sensor and you’ll begin to see some very nice results. During my hands-on time, I noticed some other slight differences in handling.
After getting some hands on time with the 7D before, my impressions going into Photo Plus with the 1D Mark IV were that it was basically a “grown up” version of that camera. In some ways I’m wrong, and in some ways I’m right. The 1D Mark IV is a camera that Canon users of all types and backgrounds will drool over. From the amazing high ISO photos to the lovely HD video modes, there is lots to love in this camera.
The Nikon D300s is a 12.3-megapixel DSLR that can also capture video at 720p resolution and 24 frames per second. The D300s is a follow up to the D300 and serves as more of a refreshed version of the D300 as opposed to a totally new product. It has most of same components and features as the D300 with a few new bells and whistles thrown in for good measure.
Since the recent announcement of the D3s, Nikon appears content in offering video capture at 720p for this generation of cameras. All of the Nikon DSLRs that offer video only allow a maximum resolution capture of 720p at 24 fps. Canon has stepped out of the box from its initial video limitations in the 5D Mark II by offering serious firmware updates to it (and promising more to come) and additional video options to its other new DSLRs like the Canon 7D, which offers 1080p HD video capture at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps, as well as 720p HD video at 60fps and 50fps. While Nikon has received much criticism on the video limitations of its recent DSLRs, it has shown no signs of stepping up the game in this generation of cameras.
That said, the Nikon D300s (and every other DSLR for that matter) is first and foremost a still image capture device. Sure, video is relevant nowadays; however, performance for still image capture and quality is still our golden measuring stick. With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at the key features and jump into the rest of this review. [Read more…]
During a quick visit to the Digital Transitions store in NYC, I got to spend some personal hands on time with some of Phase One’s newest products in a studio environment. Being medium format, the images are really quite spectacular. On top of this, using the equipment was very simple to do but is very much different from using traditional DSLR cameras. The experience is something that photographers would truly love.
All you Lightroom users out there, get ready. Adobe just dropped the beta version of Lightroom 3 out onto the Interweb, and it’s packed with all sorts of new bells and whistles.
Improved efficiency, Flickr integration, overhauled developing engine and more are served up in this revised processing powerhouse.
So, what are you waiting for? Go download the Lightroom 3 Beta now. The beta is schedule to expire in April 2010, so you should continue to use your current version of Lightroom for serious work until this is for real.
There’s more details in the press release below for you over-analytical types. [Read more…]
Following suit with SanDisk and PhotoFast, Lexar has introduced their Professional 600x CF card line. They come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB flavors. The 8GB version and 16GB version should start shipping this week. The 32GB version will ship in November.
It looks like they smoke too – just check out Rob Galbraith’s tests of the new cards. They hit it where it matters most, in camera.
The Lexar cards are faster in the Canon 7D than the SanDisk Extreme Pro and just a smidgen faster than the PhotoFast 533x Plus. The SanDisk Extreme Pro is a little faster than the new Lexar 600x in the Nikon D300s; however, the Lexar cards manage to get 8 more images out of a burst of RAW + JPEG files than the SandDisk Extreme Pro (58 images vs. 50 images), which makes the Lexar on par with PhotoFast 533x Plus cards for burst capacity.
More details about the new Lexar 600x CF card series in the press release below. [Read more…]
Lexar has announced Image Rescue 4, which is included with Lexar Professional CF and SDHC cards. It can also be purchased separately. Image Rescue 4 aids in the recovery of lost or delete images from any brand of memory card.
More details in the press release below. [Read more…]
A tipster has sent in some info on the rumored Nikon D800 that he purports originates with a “very reliable source.” According to the tipster, Nikon will not be revising the D700 for a “S” model, as was the case with the D300 and D3.
Instead, Nikon will release a completely new model to replace the D700 – the D800.
Rumored Nikon D800 features from the tipster include the following:
1) Video mode 1080p video recording (full HD)
2) High resolution 24.5 MP.
3) High frame rate: 7 fps without battery grip (similar to D300s)
4) 51-area Nikon Multi-CAM 3500FX (same technology as D3X)
He also tells me that the D800 will launch before Christmas.
I can’t confirm the veracity of this info or the reliability of the tipster yet. I am reaching out to him for further details in hopes to substantiate these rumors. Keep in mind that these D700x/D800 rumors have been rattling around for over a year now.
Stay tuned for updates on the D800 or whatever else Nikon decides to throw at us.