Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Canon 7D Service Notice Re: Residual Image in Picture

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Canon USA has issued a service notice regarding a phenomenon where traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible in an image file from the Canon 7D.  This has apparently occurred in situations using continuous shooting mode.  According to Canon, the problem “is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure.”

As the notice states, “Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue.”

I have been unable to reproduce this effect in testing the 7D today; however, an unofficial discussion and sample images demonstrating the problem appear in DPR forums here.  According to one observer, optimal conditions for reproducing this error include the following:

1. Shoot with maximum continuous shooting rate.(8.05fps)
2. Shoot with fast shutter speed.(>1/500s ?)
3. Image’s back ground is flat and bright.(Blue sky,etc)
4. Target is a fast moving object.(Bird,Jet fighter,etc)
5. 2nd or later frame image has a ghost of previous frame image.

You can read the entire service notice on Canon’s website.

 

Canon 7D vs Nikon D300s ISO Test

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A couple of years ago, after Canon announced the 40D, Nikon dropped a bomb with the D300 and D3 combo.  I remember the cover of Popular Photography read in bold print “Nikon Strikes Back.”  That was a very fitting description in the face of what many thought was a rather mild upgrade to the Canon 30D, which was in turn a mild upgrade to the 20D.   A year later, Canon failed to really “wow” us with the 50D; however, I found the 50D to be an excellent performer.

Fast forward to Summer 2009 and the stage is set for both Nikon and Canon to take another turn at “wowing” us.  The D300s is mostly a rehash of the D300, along with video capture.  Canon, however, stepped out with the feature-packed 7D, which also featured video, but added a spec-list that made it look like a 5D Mark II Jr.

Since the introduction of the D300 was Nikon’s turn to “Strike Back,” will the Canon 7D, in response to the D300s, be “Return of the Jedi Canon”?  Keep on reading this first round of comparisons, which takes a side-by-side look at the ISO performance of these two prosumer cameras. [Read more…]

Nikon D3s Hands-On Review

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The Nikon D3s is the successor to the Nikon D3. The camera is not much of a change from the previous model except for higher ISO settings and the addition of a new video mode. Nikon users will still appreciate that much of their beloved D3 has not been touched and that this camera is still meant for its intended audience. Sports shooters and photojournalists alike will very much so enjoy the capabilities offered to them on this camera.

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Hands-on: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 85mm F3.5G ED VR

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The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 85mm F3.5G ED VR that was recently announced received some fondling by me at this year’s Photo Plus. If you’re a Nikon shooter, you will appreciate quite a bit of the design, weight and engineering that went into the lens. Seemingly targeted more towards the lower-end prosumer audience, Nikon D300s users especially will love this lens. [Read more…]

Leica X1 Hands-On Review

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The Leica X1 is a compact camera with a fixed lens and an APS-C sized sensor. The camera has the largest sensor in it’s class, dwarfing Micro Four Thirds and the Sigma Foveon. I received some personal hands-on time with the camera. While I wasn’t able to put a card in to take samples (I handled a prototype) the short experience with the camera was overall quite positive and, in fact, it may very well be a camera that will put more pressure on other companies to start really developing their technology to do just the same thing.

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HDR Poll Results – Lightroom vs. Photomatix

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Last week, I showed you a couple of images that I processed with a goal of creating an extended dynamic range.  One was processed in Lightroom from a single image and one was processed from three separate images in Photomatix to create an HDR image.  This grew largely from an experiment with a Canon 5D Mark II RAW file to see how far I could push the dynamic range from a single file in Lightroom 2.5.  Nothing scientific.  Just a little fun.

If you missed it, here is the original post.

To make things a little more interesting, I posted both images with metadata stripped and asked you to decide which was a single image processed in Lightroom and which was a combination of 3 images processed in Photomatix. Take a look at the results of that poll below. [Read more…]

Spider Holster Hands-On Review

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The Spider Holster is a unique, new holster belt for a photographer. It allows them to mount their cameras safely and securely while enabling quick access should the need arise for it. It is great for wedding photographers, sports shooters, photojournalists, event shooters that carry a backup body amongst others. While I was at first skeptical, a hands-on demo quickly disproved my initial reservations.
[Read more…]

Windows 7 Photography Solutions and Applications

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Windows 7

If you haven’t heard already, Windows 7 is here and available everywhere.

If you use Windows Vista on your computer, you may be more than ready for the upgrade.  Microsoft has been hyping Windows 7 as a better solution for a long time.  What follows are some of the latest developments for photographers, along with a brief look at what casual photographers can expect out of Windows 7 for helping organize and edit images. [Read more…]

Canon 1D Mark IV Hands-On Review

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After getting some hands on time with the 7D before, my impressions going into Photo Plus with the 1D Mark IV were that it was basically a “grown up” version of that camera. In some ways I’m wrong, and in some ways I’m right. The 1D Mark IV is a camera that Canon users of all types and backgrounds will drool over. From the amazing high ISO photos to the lovely HD video modes, there is lots to love in this camera.

[Read more…]

Nikon D300s Review

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Nikon D300s

The Nikon D300s is a 12.3-megapixel DSLR that can also capture video at 720p resolution and 24 frames per second.  The D300s is a follow up to the D300 and serves as more of a refreshed version of the D300 as opposed to a totally new product.  It has most of same components and features as the D300 with a few new bells and whistles thrown in for good measure.

Since the recent announcement of the D3s, Nikon appears content in offering video capture at 720p for this generation of cameras.  All of the Nikon DSLRs that offer video only allow a maximum resolution capture of 720p at 24 fps.  Canon has stepped out of the box from its initial video limitations in the 5D Mark II by offering serious firmware updates to it (and promising more to come) and additional video options to its other new DSLRs like the Canon 7D, which offers 1080p HD video capture at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps, as well as 720p HD video at 60fps and 50fps.  While Nikon has received much criticism on the video limitations of its recent DSLRs, it has shown no signs of stepping up the game in this generation of cameras.

That said, the Nikon D300s (and every other DSLR for that matter) is first and foremost a still image capture device.  Sure, video is relevant nowadays; however, performance for still image capture and quality is still our golden measuring stick.  With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at the key features and jump into the rest of this review. [Read more…]