Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Steve’s Digicams has posted a review of the Sony Cybershot DSC-H50.
The Sony Cybershot H50 is loaded with features and abilities that really make it stand out from other cameras. Its main selling point, the 15x optical zoom lens with O.I.S. makes the camera extremely versatile.
Sony has packed a mind-boggling 13.6 megapixels into a tiny CCD image sensor in the DSC-W300, which features a Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom, up to ISO 6400 and a 5 frames per second burst mode. Below you will find links to several sites that have published reviews of the Sony Cybershot W300.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 is the latest top-of-the-range addition to Sony’s extensive line-up of W-series digital cameras. The W300 boasts a headline grabbing 13.6 megapixel resolution, scratch-resistant titanium coating and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with stabilized, 3x optical zoom. On the back there’s a large 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD screen with 230,000 dots, and the DSC-W300 has a range of automatic modes to make life easier, including Smile Shutter, improved Face Detection, D-Range Optimiser and Intelligent Scene Recognition. Finally, there’s a HD Output connection that’s compatible with a PhotoTV HD BRAVIA television, great for showing off your winning shots. The Sony W300 is currently available for around £250 / $350.
The W300 is Sony’s best W-Series digicam, bringing a titanium shell, a 13.6-megapixel sensor, ISO 6,400, high speed burst mode, and real color mode in addition to the other innovations introduced to the W-Series this year.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 is bound to be attractive to a broad range of consumers. It can be used by the novice who requires a fully automatic camera, while more experienced users will appreciate the options of manual control over exposure and other settings.
With a street price of US$349 or less, it offers a good value if you’re one who wants all the latest technologies, stuffed in the tiniest of packages.
How come nobody is talking about how astonishingly good this little camera is? Image quality is really fine up to ISO 400 on Super A3 sized prints, or even larger. Quite remarkable.
If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices.
Scott Kelby has posted his “field report” review of the Nikon D700.
The D700 just takes a better looking photograph than the D300 (and really, that’s what it’s all about-all the rest is really just bells and whistles). The new sensor, the autofocus, the low noise-it all adds up to photos that just beat the D300 (with the D700 you get D3 quality photos, which the D300, good as it is, just can’t deliver).
For the latest Nikon D700 news and reviews, be sure to visit Photography Bay’s Nikon D700 Reviews and Resources.
Photo Review has posted his review of the new Nikon SB-900.
Suffice it to say we found the test sample to be an excellent performer that delivered an evenly-exposed set of test shots with different camera-to-subject distances and focal length settings.
DC Resource has posted a review of the Canon PowerShot SD890 IS. The new SD890 IS features a 10 megapixel sensor, a 2.5? LCD panel and a 5x optical zoom (a 35mm equivalent of 37-185mm). The SD890 IS also features a macro mode that allows close focusing at a distance of less than one inch.
Canon’s PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH is a good choice for those who want a little extra zoom power from a compact camera. It offers very good photo quality (in good light), a 5X zoom lens, optical image stabilization, good performance, and plenty of point-and-shoot features — all in a stylish package.
Steve’s Digicams has published a review of the Sony Cybershot W300.
With a street price of US$349 or less, it offers a good value if you’re one who wants all the latest technologies, stuffed in the tiniest of packages.
The Canon 50D was confirmed as of August 21, 2008 and was officially announced on August 26, 2008. Read the full Canon press release here. The Canon 50D carries a retail price of $1399.99 for body only and $1599.00 with the EF 28-135mm kit lens.
You can order the Canon 50D now from Amazon.com via the following links:
Canon 50D (w/ 28-135mm kit lens)
The Canon 50D is pictured top left with the simultaneously announced EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, which carries a retail price of $699.99 USD.
Read Photography Bay’s Canon 50D Review.
The camera offers a lot of functionality for photo enthusiasts and professionals, yet still has a small handful of scene modes and Creative Auto mode which appeal to users who want to enter and test the waters of the digital SLR world (if they’re daring enough to start out with this camera).
The Canon EOS 50D performs very well and deserves an excellent rating among DSLR cameras. Image quality is certainly good with low-noise, good color accuracy and reliable exposure.
Overall, the 50D is an excellent photographic tool that’s flexible and delivers very good image quality.
The Canon 50D is a great mid range camera. Not quite a professional level camera in that it’s not using a “full frame” sensor but by no means “entry level” This camera will produce great results for you.
The combination of speed and performance makes this the perfect camera for the enthusiast or anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level dSLR.
The ultimate test of a camera for me is whether I’d want to own it, and I’d want to own the EOS 50D.
If you are serious about your photography in general and can afford the higher price, the Canon EOS 50D is my recommendation over the XSi.
The 50D continues to prove that Canon has one of the fastest (if not the fastest) AF systems, extremely high-resolution CMOS sensors with very impressive high ISO performance, and now offers (for some users, at least) a functional live view system.
So while the 40D is great, and will remain in the market, the Canon 50D incorporates plenty of enhancements worth the couple-hundred extra bucks. The Canon 50D is an excellent digital SLR.
It is an all-round DSLR camera for the enhanced hobby photographer who can deal with any branch of photography with this camera.
Below ISO 1600 image output is clean with well balanced contrast and colors and as you would expect from a DSLR with a 15 megapixel sensor the 50D delivers a fair amount of detail.
The 50D is a solid performer, but didn’t outshine the alternatives. If you’re already a Canon user, possibly moving from entry- to mid-level SLRs, and with a lens or two already in your hands, then it could be a good choice for you.
The Canon EOS 50D is a worthy update to the already excellent EOS 40D, equipping it not just with the latest features, but also a significant boost in resolution without compromising noise levels.
Though the 50D isn’t the successor to the 40D, it offers numerous improvements that may be worth the upgrade–or the outright new purchase–depending on your priorities. After having experienced the quality and depth of color in the new LCD screen it will be very difficult to go back to the 40D and to other comparable models in its class.
Interestingly, low-light performance was generally outstanding, with no visible noise in shots right up to ISO 1600 and very little noise at ISO 3200. By ISO 6400, noise was visible – although not obvious.
The extra resolution, and the addition of three anti-reflective coatings makes a huge difference to clarity and visibility in both bright and poor light. Arguably, the EOS 50D is the first Canon DSLR that really shows sharp images as properly sharp on the LCD, which makes checking critical focus in playback much easier than it was in the past.
Considered on its own terms, the EOS 50D is a more than worthy addition to Canon’s semi-pro DSLR line-up. It boasts a significant number of refinements to a proven design that current EOS users will welcome, whilst adding enough features to catch-up with and in some ways surpass the Nikon D300.
It is overall a nice camera and I don’t think most poeple would be disappointed with getting the 50D. However, the only caveat is that, do not expect the 50D to show any real imrpovement in high ISO performance comapred to the 40D and the competition.
One of the most striking differences is the provision of a greatly improved LCD. The size remains unchanged at 3.0″ but the resolution rises from 230,000 dots to 920,000. This is effectively a change from 320 x 240 RGB pixels to 640 x 480 RGB pixels, putting it on a par with the latest high-end Nikons and Sony A700.
PhotographyBLOG has posted a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.
Today we bring you the World’s first online review of the highly-anticipated Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 compact camera. The LX3 is primarily targeted at the serious photographer looking for a backup to their DSLR, or maybe even as their main camera. A full range of creative shooting modes, RAW mode, fast and wide f/2.0, 24mm lens, high-res 3 inch LCD screen and an ISO range of 80-3200 are all present and correct. Panasonic haven’t forgotten the novice user either, with a wealth of scene modes and the highly effective Intelligent Auto mode on offer if you just want to point-and-shoot. Retailing at £399 / $499, the LX3 is a premium camera that comes with a premium price-tag – Mark Goldstein find out if it’s worth investing in.
Buy-n-Shoot has posted a review of the Samsung GX-20.
Overall, the Samsung GX-20 is well-priced and well-put-together. It is an attractive, solid unit, both in terms of its build as well as its performance, and it is unlikely to disappoint. Highly recommended.
For more news and info on the GX-20, be sure to visit Photography Bay’s Samsung GX-20 Reviews and Resources.
The Sony A900 was officially unveiled on September 9, 2008. The A900 is the first 24.6 megapixel DSLR, making it a class leader at the time of its release. The DSLR-A900 body will be available in November for about $3,000.
It is available from the following trusted online retailers:
Editor’s Note: Although Photography Bay was promised delivery of a review copy of the Sony A900 prior to launch of the camera, none has been provided and, therefore, I have yet to publish a review of the A900. Sony has not communicated a reason why they have failed to deliver one and I’m afraid I will not be able to provide a proper review of the camera in the foreseeable future as my most recent inquiries have essentially gone unanswered. I do hope that this situation is unique to us and does not indicate some development or shipping issues with Sony. From what I’ve read and seen thus far, the A900 appears to be a capable first endeavor in the pro-level arena for Sony. I apologize to Photography Bay readers and, hopefully, this situation will rectify itself before long. In the mean time, I have provided for your consideration links to a number of reviews of the A900 below.
In the end, what the A900 does, it does exceptionally well,and in my opinion is the finest Sony camera ever made (as of todays date). I hold no reservation in that conclusion.
Overall, noise is probably one of the A900’s weakest areas considering that anything beyond 400 means a visible decline in image quality as a result of obvious noise.
The Sony A900 delivers excellent image resolution at 24.6-megapixel resolution, paving the way for substantial cropping and large-format prints.
No other camera aside, perhaps, from the 21.1 Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III has produced such rich, luscious, and true-to-life tones in good lighting as the A900.
Its viewfinder is the best you’ll find south of medium format, the build is incredibly robust, the controls are intuitive, with some of them – such as the dedicated Histogram button, the metering mode knob or the well-implemented rear joystick – being close to pure genius.
A good first try at a pro-level camera, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 has the high resolution but unfortunately lacks some of the performance and usability you expect from a model in its price range.
For those without major lens commitments to other brands the Sony A900 offers tremendous value for the money. In almost every objective test criteria measured on DxOMark the A900 comes in in the top two or three, and in many categories does so against camera either costing twice as much or offering half the resolution.
For an experienced photographer not married to another brand’s system, the A900 deserves a look. If you have even a modest stockpile of Konica Minolta lenses, then it demands your attention.
No doubt about it, there is much to like about the Alpha 900 – from the quality of images it produces to the extensive control over image parameters and, as I’ve already mentioned, the excellent, intuitive and uniquely user-friendly handling.
There’s no doubt the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 delivers an impressive specification for the money, and one which stands-up well against its rivals. You get very high resolution images, quick continuous shooting, a superb viewfinder and built-in image stabilisation which works with any lens you attach.
The British Journal of Photography
Sony’s first full-format camera is designed to meet the needs of ambitious amateurs and semi-professionals. JPEG compression is perfectly balanced, and input dynamic range at high ISO speeds is excellent. Tonal reproduction focuses on instant image appeal (rather than something more neutral, which you see with more pro oriented cameras), and the sharpening is OK.
Bright, vivid and spacious viewfinder. Excellent in-camera image stabilization system. Easy no-menu adjustments with Fn button and multi-selector toggle. Killer price for the highest resolution, high functioning, easy to use DSLR.
If you want the most pixels in a small package, the Sony A900 is where you’ll find it. It’s bulky, but less so than the more expensive 1Ds Mark III, and that makes it easier to bring along. I enjoyed shooting with the 24-70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss so much that I recommend it if you can afford it.
Luminous Landscape (field report)
All things considered I’d have to give this camera a big thumbs up.
PopPhoto (hands-on preview)
All told, with the Alpha 900, Sony solidifies itself as a serious player that’s here to stay. So, we can definitely look forward to Sony building out its lines of lenses and accessories as it reaches for the same footing as Nikon and Canon.
Cnet (hands-on preview)
The bottom line is that when you look at shots from a camera in this class you should have at least a few “wow” moments and that hasn’t happened yet.
DP Review (hands-on preview)
As we started to dig a little deeper, pore over the fine print and actually use the Alpha 900 we were, however, increasingly surprised – and almost always pleasantly so – at some of the decisions made by Sony’s engineers when designing its flagship SLR.
A900 delivers the unmatched image quality, creative expression and performance demanded by professional photographers
The A900 digital SLR from Sony sets a new benchmark for serious photo enthusiasts who demand the unrivalled quality and creative possibilities of full-frame imaging.
The flagship of the Alpha digital SLR camera range features the industry’s first ever 24.6 effective megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. Developed by Sony, this groundbreaking sensor’s ultra-high pixel count and large size – equivalent to a 35mm film frame – deliver extraordinary image detail and wide dynamic range.
The new-generation sensor captures flawless images with unprecedented fidelity, characterised by vibrant colours, ultra-real textures and subtle tonal gradations. Complementing the extremely high native resolution of the sensor, Exmor performs on-chip analogue/digital (A/D) signal conversion and two-stage noise reduction. This guarantees ultra-low noise image files that take advantage of the superb resolving power of high-precision ? lenses.
Realising the immense creative potential of the 24.6 megapixel full-frame sensor, the new advanced dual BIONZ processors handle massive amounts of image data at extremely high speed. Powerful noise reduction algorithms are applied prior to RAW data conversion and then again during image processing, yielding flawless, detail packed images with an absolute minimum of noise. The dual BIONZ processors also underpin the camera’s razor-sharp shooting responses, allowing sustained 5fps continuous shooting at full 24.6 megapixel resolution.
Serious photo enthuasiasts will appreciate the ground-glass optical pentaprism viewfinder that offers exceptional brightness and a field of view covering 100% of the full-frame sensor’s imaging area (approx.).
The camera’s uncompromising credentials are underlined by a fast, high-accuracy 9-point AF system to ensure fewer missed shots. It’s supplemented by 10 focus assist points to assist subject detection, improved out-of-focus detection to reduce focus hunting and a dedicated F2.8 sensor for enhanced AF accuracy with wide aperture lenses.
The A900 digital SLR camera is also the world’s first full-frame camera to feature SteadyShot INSIDE. This enhanced in-body optical stabilisation system delivers up to 4 steps of anti-shake correction with all compatible lenses*, opening up even greater creative possibilities when shooting handheld.
Shots can be evaluated critically on the 3.0-inch Xtra Fine LCD with an exceptionally high resolution (921k dot) that offers sharp, clear viewing – even outdoors or in bright ambient light. There’s a wide choice of index view options to simplify best-shot selection, plus a full-featured RGB histogram and shooting information display.
At the touch of a button, the LCD display switches to Quick Navi mode, allowing rapid on-the-fly adjustment of camera settings without disturbing your creative workflow.
A new Intelligent Preview function simulates the effect of White Balance, D?Range Optimiser and exposure level on the LCD screen without actually taking a picture. By simple confirmation on the camera, all the new settings are applied to take the next picture. This simplifies precise control over the final image in complex setups.
Shots can also be viewed on a connected HD television. PhotoTV HD mode provides optimised still image viewing with breathtaking clarity and lifelike colours on compatible BRAVIA televisions. The HDMI terminal also give acces to HD picture viewing on any compatible TV.
Built for years of unstinting service in challenging environments, the A900 digital SLR camera is ruggedly constructed from a high-tensile aluminium chassis with magnesium alloy body panels. Viewfinder, card slots, controls and other sensitive areas are protected from dust and moisture by rubber seals for worry-free shooting. The inside of the camera is also protected by an anti-dust system that safeguards the full-frame sensor from the effects of dust entering the body during lens exchange.
Allowing stable, comfortable handling in portrait or landscape orientations, the optional VG-C90AM Vertical Grip holds up to two high-capacity batteries for extended shooting time and all the major controls are available in vertical holding for easy operation. The grip has also been designed in same high quality material as the A900 with magnesium alloy and rubber parts.
There’s now wide range of compatible ? lenses to fully realise the incredible imaging potential of the camera’s full-frame sensor.
The choice of premium G series optics by Sony is joined by the high-power 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM telephoto, featuring a High-torque Super Sonic wave Motor for fast, silent AF operation.
Also from Carl Zeiss, the Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM is a fast, high-performance wide angle zoom that’s ideal for interiors, landscapes and challenging photo-reportage applications.
The complete ? system is further strengthened by the new HVL-F58AM – a high-power flash (GN 58) featuring Sony’s innovative ‘Quick Shift Bounce’ system that offers even more creative control over lighting, flash and bounce angles. It’s unique ‘Quick Shift Bounce’ design make the flash head able to rotate instantly in portrait mode to keep the bounce direction for much more natural and beautiful subject lightning. For those using studio setups, Wireless Auto Flash Control also computes power ratios for up to three groups of flashes, simplifiying the management of complex lighting set-ups.
* Automatic crop factor is applied when DSLR-A900 is used with DT format lenses. Exposure accuracy is not guaranteed with DT lenses in certain shooting situations.