Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

14 Days With a 5D Mark II

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In this article, guest blogger and stock photographer, Rich Legg of LeggNet.com, provides his impressions of the first two weeks with the Canon 5D Mark II. You can learn more about Rich and how to connect with him at the end of this article.

I have been living with my 5D Mark II for two weeks now, and while I will leave the detailed reviews to the professional reviewers, I thought I’d share my thoughts so far.

I make my living as a stock photographer shooting exclusively for iStockphoto and Getty Images.  In addition, I supplement this income with freelance work.  My workhorse camera body for the past couple years has been the original 5D, and it has served me well.   When Canon introduced the new 5D Mark II in September, I jumped at the chance to upgrade my production camera to this 21 megapixel beauty.  Shooting primarily stock photography, I didn’t need all the features of the 1DS Mark III (focus points, weather sealing, etc.) but I really wanted to up the resolution of my images.  The new 5D fit my needs perfectly.

I placed my pre-order the morning of the announcement in September and waited.  Thankfully, my local dealer (Pictureline) was one of the first retailers in the US to receive stock.  With my early pre-order, I was able to walk out of the store with the camera on the morning of November 25th.

My initial thoughts on holding the camera after un-boxing was that the body felt more rugged than its predecessor.  After further inspection, I believe the main reason for this is the combination of the improved rubber gripping and the rougher finish on the magnesium body.  In a side-by-side comparison with my original 5D, the older camera is extremely smooth in contrast to the new textured surface of the Mark II.  I do wonder though if the smoothness of the original 5D has been enhanced by wear.  Otherwise, with the exception of the larger LCD and a couple new or repositioned buttons, the camera handles just like it predecessor. [Read more…]

 

Olympus E-30 Review at Digital Camera Review

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Digital Camera Review has published a first impressions review of the Olympus E-30.

Some initial questions aside, the E-30 is coming off as expected thus far, and with so much technology from the E-3 coming down into this more size-aware platform, it stands a strong chance of vying for a spot as my favorite Olympus DSLR to date.

For more news and reviews, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Olympus E-30 Reviews and Resources.

Flip MinoHD Review

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The Flip MinoHD is a compact, cellphone-sized, digital video camera that is capable of capturing high definition video.  It focuses on simple operation and sharing options.  I’ve had one for a couple of weeks now and, generally speaking, am very impressed with its features, quality and operation.

While I have no shortage of photographs of my kids and the rest of my family and friends, I am severely lacking in video footage.  I’ve owned a Panasonic MiniDV video camera for a few years now.  It is good at what it does; however, I hate the task of getting the footage from the MiniDV tapes to iMovie and out to DVD so we can watch the videos as normal-folk rather than using the little LCD screen on the camera or connecting the camera to the TV via RCA jacks.  As a result, I have a ton of family footage on MiniDV tapes that no one has ever seen.

My daughter just turned one year old.  I realized as her birthday was approaching that her birth is the only thing that I have recorded on video, which still remains on a MiniDV tape in a box somewhere.  This was a wakeup call for ol’ Dad to get some more video footage of my kids on a going forward basis.  Call it an early New Year’s resolution if you will.

I had seen a number of blogs, over the past several months, rave about how awesome the Flip video camera was for them.  Quite frankly, however, I thought the camera and idea seemed very silly and considered it a fad.  That was until I started looking a little closer and examining the workflow to get your video from camera-to-Internet or -DVD. [Read more…]

Nikon D3x First Look Review at Amateur Photographer

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Amateur Photographer has published a first look review of the Nikon D3x.

I have already had the rare opportunity to shoot with a pre-production sample D3x with final firmware, and although the raw files remain inaccessible, low-compression JPEGs taken at ISO 100 at standard settings in a studio environment look stunning.

Stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Nikon D3x Reviews and Resources for the latest.

Canon 5D Mark II First Look Review at Anandtech

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Anandtech has published a first look review of the Canon 5D Mark II.

Resolution is as good or better at the same ISO as the original 5D, but the range is extended somewhere between one and three stops in a sensor with 65% more pixels.

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.

Ultimate $250 Camera Shootout at Gizmodo

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Gizmodo has posted a shootout among 5 popular point and shoot cameras that are likely to be on someone-you-know’s Christmas list.  Several sample pics help prove their case.

Here’s the 5 contestants:

Samsung TL9 ($280)
10MP, 5X zoom, 2.7-inch LCD

Canon SD790 ($250)
10MP, 3X zoom, 3-inch LCD

Nikon S560 ($250)
10MP, 5X zoom, 2.7-inch LCD

Sony W170 ($250)
10MP, 5x zoom, 2.7-inch LCD

Panasonic FS20 ($250)
10MP, 4x zoom, 3-inch LCD

Kodak M1093 ($200)
10MP, 3x zoom, 3-inch LCD

Head on over to Gizmodo and see the results on which one you should pick up.