Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Pocket-Lint has posted a review of the 12.3 megapixel Nikon D300.
Noise, even at higher ISO is pretty much non-existent up to ISO 2000, beyond here noise is in there but it’s very subtle and even at the boosted ISO 4000 and 6400 settings it’s very clean indeed, in fact the best noise (or lack of noise) performance I’ve seen in a DSLR. Quite simply it is superb.
Get the latest news and reviews on Photography Bay’s Nikon D300 page.
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.
With 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…]
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rumors and photos of an alleged Olympus E-430 have surfaced on the web. The E-430 would most likely serve as a step-up to the outdated E-330. If this is true, it may be a sign of things to come for the E-410 and E-510 successors. Interestingly, the E-430 would go a long way in bridging the gap between the E-330 and E-410. Maybe Olympus has the idea of consolidating its camera line? Other than the unique body design, some of the headline features are as follows:
Stay tuned to this page for the latest news and rumors on the Olympus E-430.
Updates
2/18/08: Camera Town reports that this rumor looks like a hoax. I tend to agree. Read the post on Camera Town for more.
Like the Canon 3D, the Canon 7D is a fictional camera that has been stirring in the rumor mill for some time now. In the months leading up to PMA 2008, the rumor mill has kicked it up a notch with speculations of the introduction of a lower-end 5D camera – the 7D. The Canon EOS 7 and 7n were part of 35mm Elan series that’s been around since 1991. The 7-series camera were the prosumer SLRs of the 35mm film era, which I would classify in or around the same slot as the 20D-40D series cameras in the DSLR realm. One of the cool features of the 7e and 7ne was an eye-controlled focus option. “The Eye Controlled Focus System tracks the glance of the eye, integrating composition and focus into one uninterrupted step. Canon’s fastest Eye Control system to date, it works whether the camera is oriented horizontally or vertically.” (Canon)
Like all of the other unannounced cameras that you see on Photography Bay, these are just rumors and speculations of a Canon 7D. However, there’s been enough buzz on the fabled 7D to start consolidating these rumors and keeping tabs on the latest ones. For example, see this most recent post about a Canon DSLR that’s a step up from the 40D and a “direct hit” to Nikon’s D300.
As always, stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted on the latest and greatest rumors of the Canon 7D.
UPDATES:
2/3/09: Rumors of a 15.1 megapixel 7D due Fall 2009. Read more.