Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Canon DSLR With Vari-Angle LCD Coming?

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Canon Vari-Angle LCD Feature Survey

I just finished an online survey for Canon owners, which they send out via email every so often.  This was a “Camera Feature Survey” and it shows that Canon is thinking hard about a Vari-Angle LCD, which is listed as the 4th item in the screen capture above.

I have included a couple of screenshots as evidence of this possible feature.  Personally, I think this is something that Canon must do – at the very least on the Rebel line.  Sony’s been there for a while and Nikon is knocking socks off with the D5000‘s tilt/swivel screen, particularly for shooting video.

Canon Feature Survey

 

Samsung NX10 Draws Closer

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Update 1/4/10:  The Samsung NX10 has been officially announced.  For more details, click here.

More word from Korea on the release of the Samsung NX10.  The short version is that it should be announced in August and released in November.  A DPR forum poster translated a bit of the info from a SLR Club:

I went to the exhibition today (July 14).

I heard from Samsung Imaging representative today that NX-10 will be available to customers on November. NX-10 displayed on July 7 is pre-production model and is not completed one.

. . . .

Also, he mentioned new compact camera, and it will be a camera could only exist in your imagination. He said it is a camera might be seen in SF movies. It is totally different from existing compact digital cameras. He said it has 2 parts while normal compact cameras usually have only 1, but he didn’t say no more what it is. (Obviously, it is classified.)

NX and new digital camera will be announced around August.

[SLRclub via DPR]

7 Compelling Motion Blur Photos

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Motion blur results from a shutter speed that is slower than would otherwise be used to “freeze” action or movement.  Often times, a slower shutter speed is used when panning a camera with a moving subject and, as a result, the background is blurred because it is stationary.  In other events, the camera may be affixed to the moving object (e.g., inside a car), which also blurs a portion of the scene (e.g., the roadway and lights).  In some cases, it is the subject of the photo that is blurred due to movement – this works great with well lit subjects at night.

Motion blur, through the variety of techniques used to achieve this effect, is commonly used to convey a sense of speed, which is well-demonstrated in the following 7 photos.

Motion Blur Frozen by Mariono Kamp

Untitled by Viernest

Urbis-Deep Blue manchester by Manky Maxblack

November dreaming by mpclemens

Need for Speed by Amnemona

whirling people machine by joiseyshowaa

“Going nowhere fast”, or my $800 picture by NathanFromDeVryEET

Do you have some examples of motion blur worth sharing?  Feel free to join in on the forum thread for Motion Blur Photos or share your advice or thoughts on this effect and technique in the comments below.

Samsung NX10 Reviews and Resources

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Samsung NX10

The Samsung NX10 is a 14.6-megapixel hybrid, interchangeable lens camera.  The NX10 is the first camera in what Samsung plans as an entirely new system, complete with NX-mount lenses and other accessories.

Read Photography Bay’s Samsung NX10 Hands-On Review.

Samsung NX10 Availability

B&H Photo

Adorama

Amazon

Samsung NX10 Key Features

  • 14.6MP APS-C CMOS sensor
  • ISO 100-3200 (Auto ISO setting available)
  • 3 fps continuous shooting speed
  • 3-inch AMOLED (614k dot resolution)
  • Built-in electronic viewfinder (921k dot resolution)
  • 720p HD video capture at 30 fps
  • Samsung NX proprietary lens mount (Pentax K mount adapter coming soon)

Samsung NX10 News

Firmware Updates

Samsung NX10 Reviews

Neutral Day

Pocket Lint

Tech Radar

Photoxels

Trusted Reviews

Imaging Resource

Cnet UK

Photo Radar

Cnet

Photo Review

DP Review

ePhotozine

Cnet Asia

PhotographyBLOG
Samsung NX10

Samsung NX10 Press Release

Ridgefield Park, NJ (January 4, 2010) – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced the Samsung NX10 – an innovative digital camera that provides users with optimum image quality in a sleek, compact body. Delivering creativity without compromise, users can now be as creative as they want on the move, without having to compromise perfect images. The NX10 will be on display during the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, January 7-10, in the Samsung booth #11026 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The NX10 incorporates a fast and decisive auto focus (AF), 14.6 MP APS-C size CMOS sensor and unique, large 3.0? AMOLED screen, allowing users to easily view their images, even in bright sunlight. Users can also record in HD movie to create the full story. Available in two colors, Noble Black and Titan Silver, the Samsung NX10 is small, light and ergonomically designed to ensure maximum portability for everyday use.

The Samsung NX10 ensures users never miss a moment, with one of the fastest AF in its class on the market. The company’s latest innovation, the new DRIMe II Pro engine and advanced AF algorithm, also provide ultra fast AF speed with the higher precision of contrast AF.

The Samsung NX10 has the heart of a DSLR embedded inside the compact frame of a digital camera, successfully integrating the APS-C size CMOS sensor with a mirrorless interchangeable lens, for a sleek, lightweight camera that users can easily take with them everywhere they go.

Consumers are not just limited to taking shots but can also tell their own stories in video format with HD movie recording (H.264 codec).

Samsung continues to extend the usage of AMOLED screens across many products, using a large 3.0? AMOLED screen in Samsung NX10. AMOLED provides easier viewing even in bright sunshine and at acute viewing angles, meaning users no longer need to shield their screen with their hand. The category leading screen also provides 10,000 times faster response rate than conventional LCDs, has a far lower power consumption and higher contrast ratio – 10,000:1 vs. 500:1.

“The new Samsung NX10 marks the start of the next generation of cameras,” said Mr. SJ Park, CEO of Samsung Digital Imaging Company. “We know from our detailed research over several years that what consumers want from their cameras is evolving, which we’ve reflected in the development of the Samsung NX10. With specialist equipment open to everyone and no longer restricted solely to the professional, more and more people want to capture something creative and tell a story through their camera – but they also want something compact that they can carry around with them all day. The large sensor and the ultra fast auto focus give consumers the quality they demand as well as the compactness they want in one exceptional package.”

Mr. Park continued: “Samsung has always been quick to implement cutting edge technology and no more so when it comes to quality of images. For the first time in the market, Samsung has successfully integrated an APS-C size sensor into a compact body by eliminating the mirror box, meaning that our users can now be as creative as they want to be on the move without having to compromise on image quality.”

The Samsung NX10 also contains a range of intelligent features to put professional quality images within reach of the amateur photographer. The Samsung NX10 includes in-depth manual controls and also a Smart Auto function which automatically detects the surrounding environment of the shot and selects the best shooting mode. Its Smart Range feature also enables the user to vividly express both bright areas and dark areas in the same frame, and the Supersonic Dust Reduction system keeps those dust particles clear of the image sensor that can often impair an image. It even senses when the user brings the camera close to their face to look through the viewfinder, and puts the AMOLED screen on standby to conserve power.

Canon Announces New PIXMA and SELPHY Photo Printers

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Canon has announced two new PIXMA all-in-one printers and a compact SELPHY photo printer model today.  The PIXMA MP560, priced at $149.95, is a wireless and compact inkjet printer, also allows you to print directly from USB flash drives.  The MP490 is a bargain-priced photo printer at $99.95 and features a 1.8-inch LCD screen.

The SELPHY CP790 is a $179.99 compact printer, which offers a 3.0-inch LCD panel that allows you to crop images directly from your memory card – no computer required.  Additionally, it is capable of being powered by batteries to use a portable device.

More details on these new printers in the press release below. [Read more…]

8 Great Tips to Get More Out of Your Camera Batteries

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Olympus's Micro 4/3rd's camera

Wouldn’t it be an absolute nightmare to have your batteries die in the middle of an important shoot? Granted, we’re all responsible people that take great care to ensure that something like that doesn’t happen when we’re out on the job. However, after shooting with different systems one can easily see that the battery life of cameras from different companies can vary. Being in the tech industry, I’ve learned tips for conserving battery power and extending overall life. At the beginning of the year, I’ve started applying those tips to cameras: with amazingly positive results. Here are 8 pointers to keep in mind no matter what type of camera you shoot with. [Read more…]

Canon 3D Rumor Refreshed

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Rumors of a Canon EOS 3D have been around since the original Canon 5D was released (maybe before it was released).  The film-based EOS 3 was a very popular camera, and still brings a decent penny in good, used condition.  Canon Rumors received a tip from a confidential source yesterday that brings a bit of a resurgence to the fabled EOS 3D.

I’ve been told, that the EOS 3D is coming. My source sad to me it will be announced after the replacement from the Nikon D300. It is going to be something between the 1D MarkIII and the 50D/60D. The Body is similar to the 5D MarkII. He won´t me to tell something about the specs but said that the D300/D400 will be blown away.

Aside from the totally bogus image above (that’s been floating around the blogosphere and forum world for a couple of years), there’s really no support for such a rumor over the past couple of years that Canon gear heads have been pining for this camera.

Frankly, it seems a bit of an ill fit in Canon’s current lineup.  The camera would presumably be situated between the Canon 5D Mark II and 1D/1Ds models.  That’s really just spreading the top end of cameras a little too thin.

Enough of my commentary . . . What do you think?  Is there a place for a Canon 3D?  What’s the price point need to be for you to buy one?

Tips For Shooting Wildlife

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Moth on a Flower

No matter how excited we get, there are certain things we need to remember when photographing wildlife. This is especially true when you are looking for animals that are notoriously hard to capture on camera. Whatever you do though, you need to keep in mind that practice makes perfect and that perseverance will eventually get you that shot. Here are a couple of reminders for your reference. [Read more…]