Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Nikon D3 Review at PhotographyBLOG

By

PhotographyBLOG has posted its review of the Nikon D3.

The Nikon D3 has got to be the top choice for anyone wanting high quality, rapid-fire image capture, or extremely low light photography without flash, who is not otherwise wedded to the Canon system. Press – sports and news – photographers are the ones who are going to get the most out of its capabilities, which stretch beyond those needed by the average photo hobbyist, and these professionals are also the ones most likely to be able to stomach that price tag without complaint.

Get the latest news and reviews on Photography Bay’s Nikon D3 page.

 

DSLR “Movie Mode” Patent

By

Mirror - SensorWith the pervasiveness of Live View modes from DSLR makers, it is only a matter of time before similar technology brings a “movie mode” to DSLRs.  While the ability to record video is a common feature among point & shoot cameras, technological challenges make the incorporation of a video recording more difficult in DSLRs.  A recently published patent application by inventor Hiroshi Terada may change all of this.  The patent addresses many of the technological hurdles that have prevented incorporation of a movie mode into DSLRs.

As we all know, DSLRs are designed for optimal performance in capturing still images – and DSLR manufacturers have truly raised the bar over the past couple of years.  Accordingly, DSLRs are specialist tools that have been optimized to have a very narrow focus tolerance and an ever-increasing auto-focus speed.  These features are not quite conducive to smooth video capture.  Additionally, the field-of-view changes, albeit slightly, during auto-focus operation.  Finally, fast and accurate hand-held auto-focus is dependent up accurate phase-difference AF evaluation, which requires a mirror to reflect the image to the AF sensor.

As you can see, getting live image to the image sensor and capturing smooth, in-focus video seems difficult to achieve without sacrificing some still image capture properties of DSLRs.  These obstacles, among others, are what Mr. Terada attempts to overcome in his patent application. [Read more…]

New DSLR Poll Results

By

Poll - New DSLR

Last week, Photography Bay asked which new DSLR you’re buying.  After over 1800 responses, it appears that the new offerings from Pentax/Samsung are the most popular among Photography Bay readers, capturing about 66% of the total votes.  Additionally, 8% of responders don’t intend to purchase on of these new-fangled cameras and 6% still shoot film.

Take a look at all the numbers on the original post.  (Click “view results” at the bottom of the poll)

Nikon D3 Review by Richard Costin

By

Amateur photographer Richard Costin has posted a review of the Nikon D3.

One thing that became very clear when first looking at a D3 RAW file is just how much you can push them exposure wise. The latitude available is astounding and I actually have to try to blow highlights in most situations when shooting raw. (Read more . . . )

For the latest news and reviews, see Photography Bay’s Nikon D3 page.

Canon 1Ds Mark III Review at PopPhoto

By

PopPhoto has posted a camera test of the 21.1 megapixel Canon 1Ds Mark III.

Color accuracy on the 1Ds Mark III also lands in the top tier, with an Excellent rating based on an average Delta E of 6.98 (compared with 7.3 on the 1D Mark III and 7.28 on the Nikon D3, also Excellent ratings.) The color accuracy remained similarly high all the way up through ISO 1600, while resolution dropped only 15 percent when we applied full noise reduction at ISO 1600 and 3200 in Canon’s sophisticated (and included) Digital Photo Professional software. (Read more . . . )

Keep up with the latest news and reviews on the Canon 1Ds Mark III page.

Pentax K20D Review at PopPhoto

By

PopPhoto has posted a full review of the Pentax K20D.

Impressive specs? Yes, but the K20D produced impressive results in the Pop Photo Lab, especially in resolution and detail at most ISOs. At 2350 lines of resolution at ISO 100-400, the K20D delivers slightly higher resolution than the Nikon D300.

Get the latest news and reviews on the Pentax K20D Review page.

Nikon D300 Firmware Update

By

Nikon has released a firmware update for the D300. The new Version 1.02 adresses “[a]n issue that, in rare cases, caused vertical bands (lines) to appear in images captured at shutter speeds slower than 8s has been resolved.” You can download the firmware update via the following pages:

D300 Firmware update 1.02 – Windows

D300 Firmware update 1.02 – Macintosh

Nikon D300 Review at Photo.net

By

Photo.net has posted a full review of the Nikon D300, which they were very impressed with – as most reviewers have been.

The D300 is a strong successor to the D200. The D300 maintains all of the D200’s advantages as an excellent general-purpose, prosumer DSLR and improves on several key areas. For about $3000 less, the D300 offers Nikon’s current best AF module, which is also featured in their top professional model, the D3. With the Multi-CAM 3500 and the ability to capture 8 fps, the D300 also replaces the D2H and D2X as Nikon’s top DX-sensor DSLR suitable for action and sports photography. (Read the whole review.)

For the latest news and reviews, check out the Photography Bay’s Nikon D300 page.