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Category Archives: Product Releases
The Best Free RAW Conversion Software – RawShooter – No More?
I was going to review the 2006 version of Pixmantec Rawshooter Essentials but it looks like the product will be disappearing soon. PhotographyBLOG has an Open Letter from Pixmantec
As we work to integrate Pixmantec technology and expertise into Adobe’s raw processing pipeline, we will no longer be working on new versions of the RawShooter | premium product, and have stopped selling this product. Of course, your RawShooter | premium product will continue to work and serve you well
They do say Canon 30D support will be arriving later so perhaps all is not lost …
Technorati Tags: raw, photography, camera, software, adobe
Canon 350D DSLR Upgrade – What will replace the Rebel?
Over at Flickr: Photographer’s Tech Resources I asked the members to speculate what the replacement for the Canon 350D will look like. I got some great answers and the discussion is still going on.
There are a couple of features that would be great but I can’t see
happening, resolution increase and full size sensor. Full sensor would
make it ridiculously expensive even if the engineers could sneak it
past marketing. On the resolution side I think they could feasibly
manage a consumer camera now with 10mp for same price as the current
8mp but I don’t think they would want to eat into the rest of their
lineup. Having said that the 300 to 350 did bring with it an increase
of 2mp …One thing I would love them to do is match the Nikons and have digital
overlays for the focus screen, I find them so nice to line up horizons
and for rule of thirds shots (so shoot me, I am an amateur, why do you
think I own a 350d in the first place!).All the features I can think of them adding would eat into the 20D/30D
market in some way. My wishlist makes it basically a smaller, lighter
20D.So what do you think the 350D replacement will be like and what will they call it? The 400D?
FWGroove suggested a list of features that I completely agree with apart from number 3, I think the 350D starts up just fine and it is actually one of the faster DSLRs on the market for boot time:
- Put focus points in “rule of thirds” locations. After all, that’s where you’re supposed to put your subjects right?
- Flash exposure compensation. We shouldn’t have to hack our firmware to get this feature.
- Faster startup.
- Stop making the grey ones…They tarnish the image of the 300D/350D.
I just feel they look like cheap point and shoots and they look funny
with black or white lenses. - Larger viewfinder for better manual focus.
We all seem to be agreed that Sony is going to have a big influence on the final design, they are aggressively entering the market with a decent machine with a good heritage. There is some discussion about in-body vibration reduction, probably to early to draw conclusions about what impact that feature will have and there is some doubt that Nikon and Canon will follow suit. Sensor cleaning, another Sony feature, would be a welcome addition. As Fenster says though, perhaps too late to change the design of this coming model he also speculates if the successor will not be an upgrade but a dumbed-down model like the D50 was to the D70s.
Back when we were rumour-mongering about what turned out to be the Canon 30D there was talk of a budget DSLR, the 3000D. Perhaps that will be it?
My guess is while we might know by autumn in time for Christmas,
probably some big photo show like Photokina, it might well be Feb 2007
(PMA?) like the 30D ..
dslr, canon, cameras, 350d, rumours, photography
Carl Zeiss Lenses for Sony Alpha
One thing I had missed yesterday when discussing the new Sony Alpha announcement was the fact in the official line-up there are Carl Zeiss lenses. It’s not as impressive as it sounds, not all the range is Carl Zeiss. Other sites seem to be buzzing with this news, for example The Online Photographer.
There is an official list of lenses, specifications and prices here in their accessories pages if you are interested, and you can check out what DPReview have to say.
Technorati Tags: carl, zeiss, lens, lenses, sony, alpha, camera, dslr
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Sony Announce α (alpha) A100 DSLR and 18-70mm Lens
News just in from Sony, their much anticipated first DSLR offspring from their Sony-Konica-Minolta mashup, the Sony Alpha A100 DSLR plus 18-70mm lens kit. Judging from the pictures it looks pretty nice, pretty much standard DSLR fare. Only practical hands on experience would tell if it is usable and comfortable.
10mp puts it in competition, in purely sensor terms, with Nikon D200, D2X, Canon 5D, etc, although it is very strange the ISO starts at a wopping 160 – where is the ISO 50 and 100? It goes up to 1600 maximum. Not a huge problem but not a competitor to pro-level cameras that currently have greater range and also steps in between. Remains to be seen what the noise is like, presumably it is so good at 200 they do not see the need to go any further but as a ISO 100 user on a camera with great noise control I think they have missed a trick. The sensor is a 1.5x crop, like Nikon.
The kit lens is a pretty standard walk-around zoom, pretty bog standard. I don’t expect anyone to be jumping for joy but neither will too many people be disappointed, it would have been nice for them to come out with a real knock-out lens to get people talking.
Specifications Imaging Device: 10.2 (effective) APC CCD Sensor; 23.6 x 15.8 mm; RGB primary color filter Chipset: Bionz™ Processor LSI with Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO/DRO+) Recording Media:
Memory Stick® Duo/Memory Stick PRO™ Duo media (via MSAC-MCF1N adaptor);
CompactFlash™ Type I/ CompactFlash Type II / Microdrive™ mediaShutter Speed: 30 ~ 1/4000 sec, with Bulb Exposure: Manual Exposure: Yes, w/EV indicator EV Compensation: ±2.0 EV, 1/3 EV Steps ISO: Auto/160/200/400/800/1600 LCD: 2.5-inch (measured diagonally) TFT (230k pixels) LCD with Clear Photo ™ design; Eye-start Auto-focus sensor Display: Histogram: Yes, Live, RGB Playback Microphone/Speaker: No/ No Red-Eye Reduction: Yes: On/ Off White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash ( with custom White Balance color temperature adjustments) Burst Mode: Continuous burst mode at 3 FPS to limit of media; Up to 6 RAW images in burst. Color Mode(s): Black & White, Standard, Vivid, Adobe RGB (Except for Adobe RGB, all other color modes use the sRGB color space) Scene Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night View/Night Portrait Self Timer: Yes (10 seconds, 2 seconds, Off) Still Image Mode(s): Normal (JPEG Fine/Standard), High-speed Burst (JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG), RAW (.ARW) Memory Stick PRO™ Media Compatibility: Tested to support up to 4GB media capacity; does not support Access Control security function Flash Modes: Manual Pop-up: Auto, Fill-flash, Rear flash sync, Wireless off camera flash (with Flash HVL-F56AM, F36AM) Flash Effective Range: GN12 at ISO 100 (39 feet/ 12 meters) Output(s): Video: Yes, NTSC/PAL Selectable USB Port(s): Yes, Supports USB 2.0 Hi-speed Battery Type: NP-FM55 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery ( Battery Capacity: 7.2V, 1600 mAh; CIPA standard: approx. 750 pictures3 Supplied Software: Picture Motion Browser for Sony v1.1 (Windows), Image Data Converter SR Ver. 1.1 (Windows & Macintosh), USB Driver Operating System Compatibility: Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional, ME, XP Home and Professional; Macintosh® OS X (v 10.3 or later). OS must be installed at the factory. Limited Warranty: 1 Year Parts & Labor Weight: 1 lb., 3 oz (545 g) body, not including battery, lens and media Dimensions (WHD): (WHD) 5 1/4″ x 3 3/4″ x 2 7/8″ (133 x 95 x 71 mm) SAL1870 DT18-70mm F3.5-5.6 Lens Specifications: DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom DT Lens Design for optimum DSLR performance Superb wide-angle to mid-range telephoto shots Aspherical Lens Elements for wide-angle accuracy ED Glass for telephoto shots with well defined colors Circular Aperture for pleasing defocused effects Focal Length – 35mm Equivalent: 18-70 mm Focal Length – APS: 27-105 mm Angle of View – 35mm Equivalent: N/A Angle of View – APS: 76ﾟ- 23ﾟ Min Focus Distance: 1’ 2.4″ (38 cm) Aperture – Maximum: f3.5-5.6 Aperture – Minimum: f22-36 Maximum Magnification: 0.25X Lens Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups with 7 aperture blades Filter Diameter: 55 mm Dimensions: 2-5/8 x 3-1/8” (66 x 77 mm) Weight: 8.3 oz (235 g) Supplied Accessories: Front and rear lens cap, SH0006 lens hood Supplied Accessories: NP-FM55 Lithium-Ion Battery BC-VM10 Battery Charger Video Cable USB Cable Sony Picture Package software Sony Image Data Converter .SRF software Shoulder strap with eyepiece cap and Remote Commander clip MSAC-MCF1N MS-Duo to CF Adaptor Body cap Accessory shoe cap Image Data Converter SR Ver.1.1/Picture Motion Browser Ver.1.1 CD-ROMs NOTE: No Memory Stick media or adapters are included.
Technorati Tags: sony, news, camera, dslr, alpha, a100, photography
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Nikon announce D2Xs 12.4 megapixel pro DSLR
Nikon have announced their new replacement for the D2X DSLR aimed at top end users.
D2Xs shares many performance and design innovations with the D2X. It also offers Nikon’s acclaimed DX-format CMOS image sensor capturing 12.4 million effective pixels per image, producing 4,288 x 2,848-pixel images with the high resolution and sharp detail needed for demanding professional assignments. The D2Xs, however, also introduces a range of revised features that make operation significantly more responsive – including refined viewfinder performance that makes for easier composition when shooting in Nikon’s exclusive High-Speed Crop mode, a new 2.5 inch LCD with a 170-degree wide viewing angle calibrated at the factory to ensure consistent color fidelity, significantly increased battery life and a wide range of firmware enhancements.
Most of the buzz seems to be around the features that I find quite ho-hum. It’s hard to get excited about 12mp and 2.5 LCD screens, not much news there. No, the specs that have me intrigued are
- 6mp crop mode allowing 8 frames a second burst
- GPS capability (with optional adapter)
- Wireless transmission and control through WiFi
Go check out the D2Xs announcement at the Nikon site, and the preview by Nikonians/LetsGoDigital. I am sure there will be a boatload of reviews in coming weeks.
Technorati Tags: nikon, dslr, d2xs, news, digtal, camera, photography
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Nikon DSLR Camera Rumours – New D70s?
I don’t know if the Nikon fans amongst you have gone to the Nikon Site lately but they have a flash teaser there about a new 10.2 megapixel Nikon DSLR due in 20 days. A replacement for the D70s? With the release of the Sony Alpha sporting the same sensor as the pro line of Nikons (but hundreds of dollars cheaper) hurting Nikon marketing machine that is where I would put my money right now …
Technorati Tags: new, nikon, dslr, cameras, rumours, photography, news