Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Sony A550 Review

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Sony A550

The Sony A550 is a 14.2-megapixel DSLR that boils down to a more expensive entry-level camera.  As with other Sony Alpha DSLRs, the A550 features a built-in stabilization system that uses sensor-shift functions rather than lens-based stabilization.  As a result, every lens you attach to the camera benefits from image stabilization – as opposed to Canon and Nikon, for which you must buy “stabilized lenses” that can be more expensive.

Another familiar feature on the Sony A550 is the articulating LCD screen.  Like the lower-level models, the A330 and A380, the A550’s LCD will tilt up and down, allowing you to hold the camera up high or down low and still be able to easily see the LCD screen.

A tilting LCD screen wouldn’t be much use without the ability to compose your scene on it.  Again, the A550 offers the same Live View system that I have loved since it was originally introduced on the A300 and A350.  In my opinion, no one does DSLR Live View better than Sony.  It just works intuitively and feels very natural for those moving from point and shoot cameras. [Read more…]

 

Canon DSLR Firmware Updates for WFT-E2 II and WFT-E4 II Compatibility

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Canon WFT-E4 II

Canon has made available firmware updates on several DSLRs for compatibility with the recently announced, and soon to be available, WFT-E2 II and WFT-E4 II wireless file transmitters.

Note that the 5D Mark II firmware update also “Corrects a phenomenon in which visible noise may appear in images taken by continuous Bulb shooting.”

See the following links for the respective firmware update pages.

Canon 1Ds Mark III

Canon 1D Mark III

Canon 5D Mark II

B&H Offers Free Overnight and 2nd Day Shipping for Procrastinators

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If you were thinking that you had waited a little too long to order a Canon or Nikon camera and figured you’d just pay a little more at a retail store, B&H Photo has got you covered.

You can still get some solid deals at B&H on Canon and Nikon cameras and get them shipped quick and free – with plenty of time to wrap them up before Christmas.

Here’s the Canon free 2nd day shipping promo items:  Canon cameras @ B&H Photo.

And, here’s the Nikon free overnight shipping promo items: Nikon cameras @ B&H Photo.

CES 2010 Preview

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CES 2010

The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show takes place January, 7-10 in Las Vegas.  There will be a whole lot of photo tech on display at CES this year.  Some of the manufactures present include Canon, Casio, Fuji, Lowepro, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

This page will be our ground zero for CES news through the event.

Traditionally, CES has been the time for camera manufacturers to release a barrage of point and shoot cameras.  With the market moving lots of low-end DSLRs at a much broader consumer base, it will interesting to see whether this affects the product announcements at CES which offers much more exposure to general consumers than say a PMA show (directed specifically toward pro and enthusiast photographers).

In this evolving page, we’ll highlight some of the big movers and shakers in the photography world as more details come in as related to their presence at CES 2010.

If you’re on Twitter, consider following Photography Bay as I may have some instant updates from the show floor and some mobile pics of new gear coming out as Tweets quicker than what you’ll find here or on the front page.

Canon

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II

New Canon Point & Shoot Cameras: A3100 IS, A3000 IS, A495 & A490

Casio

My guess is more of those high frame-rate point and shoot cameras, like the FC100.  Most likely they’ll be smaller and have better image quality.

Fuji

More EXR-equipped cameras maybe.  These are good little cameras that seem to be doing well for Fuji.  That’s for a good reason though, everything that I’ve seen from them really seems to produce solid images.

Kodak

New Kodak Point & Shoot Cameras: Kodak Slice, Kodak M580, Kodak Playsport

Nikon

More point and shoot cameras.  Maybe we’ll see the camera that sends emails?  Of course, we’d all love to see the Nikon D800 or D700s.  Don’t hold your breath though.  I wouldn’t expect this to be a CES ticket – perhaps a pre-PMA 2010 announcement?

Olympus

Olympus Stylus Tough 3000

Olympus Stylus 7030, 7040 & 5010

Olympus FE-4020 & FE-47

Panasonic

Pansonic F3

Panasonic FH20, FH3 & FH1

Panasonic FP3 & FP1

Pentax

Expect some point an shoot cameras like everyone else.  What I’m really curious about though is whether they’ll release the much-rumored and poorly kept secret 645D medium format camera.

Samsung

Samsung NX10 Announced:  It’s a 14.6MP camera with a DSLR-sized sensor in APS-C format.  The NX10 has no mirror like DSLRs, so it’s a bit more compact.  Other features include HD video capture, an AMOLED screen and a built-in electronic viewfinder.

Samsung CL80 & TL240

Samsung TL210 & TL205

Sony

Sony A450: 14.2MP sibling to the A550 and A500.  Essentially, the A450 is an A550 without the tilting LCD and Live View.

New Sony Cyber-shot Point and Shoot Cameras:

Sony W370, W350, W330, W310 & W300

Sony HX5V & Sony TX7

More Tech at CES 2010

If you are interested in more than just cameras, check out the rest of the tech scene at Tech Tilt’s CES 2010 Roundup.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens and TC-20E III Teleconverter

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Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens

Nikon has announced the AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens and TC-20E III teleconverter.  The new AF-S 300mm lens features Nikon’s VR II image stabilization and Tripod Detection Mode, which detects and compensates for tripod-specific vibrations.  The new lens also features three Extra-low Dispersion glass elements for superior image quality and Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor.  The TC-20E III teleconverter is a 2x focal length converter and uses an aspherical element to reduce aberrations.

The AF-S 300mm f/2.8 lens will be available in January 2010 at an initial retail price of $5899.95.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

The TC-20E III will be available in January 2010 at an initial retail price of $499.95.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]