Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Win a Canon PIXMA iP2600 Photo Printer

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Photography Bay is giving away a new Canon PIXMA iP2600 photo printer to one lucky reader.  The iP2600 is an entry-level photo printer that prints photos with borderless edges, from credit-card size, up to 8.5″ x 11″, and with resolution up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi.

How to Win?

  • Post a review of one photography product in the forum.

If you’re not a member of the forum, you can register here.

The product review can be positive or negative.  It can be anything related to photography – such as cameras, lenses, tripods, software, or prints from a particular vendor.  Spammy posts will not be considered – quality counts.  Among the quality reviews that are posted, a winner will be randomly selected.

Deadline for Entries

February 20, 2009

Details and Eligibility

This contest is limited to the Continental US. Shipping is covered by Photography Bay.  Winner will be contacted by the email he or she used to register for the Photography Bay forum.  If selected winner does not respond within 72 hours, an alternate winner will be selected.

 

Faster Autofocus for Canon EOS DSLR Live View Mode

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A patent application filed by Canon was recently published by the USPTO (App. No. 12/188,385) that may give us some insight as to how Canon will solve the abysmal autofocus performance of Canon’s Live View mode.  If you are unfamiliar about how Canon’s Live View AF system currently works (or doesn’t work), you can read my prior rant in Photography Bay’s Canon Rebel XSi Review.  For some insight on how Live View AF should work, see the Sony A350 Review.

Nothing works faster for DSLR autofocus systems than the tried and true phase-difference method.  If you don’t know what phase-difference AF means, the you can read about it on Wikipedia; however, it’s not essential to understand all the technical details to get excited about Canon’s new patent.

The fundamental problem with making phase-difference autofocus work in a Live View mode is that the AF sensor receives light from the mirror, which also reflects light up into the pentaprism for the optical viewfinder.  When you press the shutter button, the mirror flips up and you get a brief moment of black out in the view finder while the shutter opens and exposes the image sensor to the light from the lens. [Read more…]

No Canon 1-Series Updates at PMA 2009

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Contrary to prior rumors of a Canon 1Ds Mark IV and 1D Mark IV coming out soon, I received a tip from a reliable source today that there will be no Canon 1-series DSLRs released at PMA 2009.  This person explained where the information originated and I believe it to be accurate.

Unfortunately, that is all the info that I can reveal while keeping the source anonymous, which I agreed to do.  I can say, however, that I still expect a Canon Rebel XSi replacement to be revealed very soon.

Kingston Increases Capacity of CF Elite Pro Card to 32GB

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Kingston has stepped up the capacity for their Elite Pro series to 32GB.  I’ve been using a 16GB Kingston Elite Pro CF card for a a couple of months in my Canon 5D Mark II and have to say that it works quite well.  It slows down after about 9 continuous frames (the best I’ve seen so far has come from Lexar’s 300x 4GB CF Card at 15 continuous frames before it slows down).  With the Kingston 16GB Elite Pro, it’s also nice to have plenty of room for the 25MB to 30MB RAW files that the 5D Mark II produces.

The Kingston 32GB Elite Pro CF card retails for $154.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

More info in the following press release. [Read more…]

Canon 5D Mark II Review at Digital Camera Info

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DCI has published a review of the Canon 5D Mark II.

The full-frame sensor translates to superior flexibility when shooting wide-angle and panoramic scenes, the high megapixel count means more flexibility in cropping and editing files, and the extraordinary level of customizability allows users to tailor the camera features to precisely match their image style desires and shooting preferences.

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.

Panasonic DMC-G1 Firmware Update

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Panasonic has released an firmware update (Version 1.2) for the DMC-G1.  The update addresses the following issues:

1. Performances in the Auto White Balance and the color reproduction were improved.

2. A reliability on the flash operation in low temperature environments were improved.

3. File write back from PC to the camera was enabled also for the models shipped for Europe.

You can find instructions on downloading and installing the firmware on this page.

For more news and reviews, visit Photography Bay’s Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Reviews and Resources.

Nikon D400 Ads Surface

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I was checking to see if anything had surfaced on the Nikon D400 and I noticed that an “exact match” (when you put your search term in quotes) search for “Nikon D400” produced a number of new stories about the rumored camera, but also revealed that legitimate retailers, like B&H Photo, Adorama and Amazon.com, are buying ads in Google’s search results for the exact match term “Nikon D400”.

Here’s a screen capture of the search results for “Nikon D400”:

I recalled that B&H and Amazon did the same thing with the D90 back in August, just prior to its release.

For now, the links are going to search results pages for Nikon D400.

B&H Photo Nikon D400 Ad Link

Adorama Nikon D400 Ad Link

Amazon.com D400 Ad Link

And, here’s the search query that I used.

The rumors and chatter are in full force now.  If anything new is coming from Nikon at PMA, I’m strongly leaning toward the Nikon D400 as their DSLR release.

As for specs, I’ve seen several rumors lately that compare it the Canon 50D, which if true, the Nikon D400 will stack up quite nicely:

  • 15 megapixels
  • 6 frames per second
  • ISO 12800
  • 51 point AF
  • 1080p video

While none of the sources I’ve read indicate substantial reliability on the specs, I think these make sense and are quite reasonable.  First, it crushes the Canon 50D, particularly if high-ISO performs anywhere near the D700.  Second, it’s enough of a step up from the D300 to be a true replacement as opposed to an “oh, we’ve got an upgrade” kind of release.

For the latest news on the D400, stay tuned to the Photography Bay front page and the Nikon D400 Rumors page.

What do you think?

Anyone heard of, seen, touched or dreamt of the Nikon D400?  Fire away in the comments below or email me at pic at contact [at] photographybay.com.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens

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The Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G lens is designed for use exclusively with the Nikon DX-format (1.5x crop factor). With a wide aperture of f/1.8, the AF-S 35mm lens is equivalent to 52mm on a 35mm frame, which makes it the ideal “normal” lens replacement for Nikon DX-format DSLRs. The inclusion of the a AF motor inside the lens makes it a great prime lens for D40/D60 users.

The AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 lens should be available in March 2009 for $199.95. Check availability on Amazon.com.

More details in the press release below.

[Read more…]

Sony A300 Review at Trusted Reviews

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Trusted Reviews has published a review of the Sony A300.

Image quality is pretty much identical to the A200, so no surprises there. The same 10.2-megapixel APS-C sensor has been used in the A100 and A200, as well as the Nikon D60 and D80, and it is a well-proven piece of kit.

For the latest news and reviews, check out Photography Bay’s Sony A300 Reviews and Resources.