Craig January 28th, 2008
The worlds largest annual photography trade show is set to start for another year. PMA 2008, held in Las Vegas from January 31st to February 2nd, has already seen a few announcements of the DSLR side of things.
In a widely expected move, Canon have announced the successor to the 400D, to be called the 450D (Rebel XSi). With 12 megapixels, a new 14-bit processor and Live View, it’s sure to be a big seller for Canon. DPReview has all the details.
Pentax have announced a couple of new cameras. As an entry level camera, the K200D replaces the K100D, and the K20D replaces the K10D.
The sensor technology in the Pentax was developed and made by Samsung, so it comes as no surprise to see a Samsung DSLR announced as well. The GX-20 is essentially the same as the Pentax K20D with a slightly different body design and a different menu system.
Craig October 29th, 2007
One of the often overlooked aspects of digital imaging is the need to properly color calibrate monitors and printers to ensure that you are seeing accurate colors. Datacolor have just released the Spyder 3 calibration tools. I’ve been using the Spyder 2 Pro for a couple of years now and it has been a good performer for me, ensuring that the colors I see on my monitor look the way they are meant to. I’ll be writing a more detailed post about color calibration in the future, so anyone who wants to learn more should keep an eye on this space.
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Here’s Datacolor’s press release for the Spyder 3.
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Craig September 17th, 2007
What was Henri Cartier-Bresson talking about when he said it felt like “a big warm kiss, like a shot from a revolver, and like the psychoanalyst’s couch.”
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Leica. The closest a camera comes to a religion. Mike Johnston of the Online Photographer put it like this.
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And if you really get used to a Leica, nothing else will serve, either. It kinda gets under your skin. You get used to having nothing available but prime lenses—no zooms—in set increments within a fairly narrow range of focal lengths. (.72X Leicas can use lenses from 21mm to 135mm, but for practical purposes their best range is from 28mm to 90mm.) Your eye gets used to seeing like your lens does. You practice pre-focusing—that is, guestimating distance by eye and setting focus by feel—and get used to having a rather cavalier attitude toward the viewfinder, which you only use sometimes. You stop getting distracted by depth of field considerations, since you never look through the lens (think about it—with an SLR, you’re always seeing the least d.o.f. the lens is capable of). You get used to the ultraresponsive shutter and addicted to the quiet little “snick,” the one that splits into two parts at slow shutters speeds and that hardly anyone ever notices.
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In the New Yorker’s September 24 issue, Anthony Lanes takes a long, informative look at Leica - the history, the cult and the cameras. So grab a coffee, sit back and have a read. You won’t be disappointed.
Craig August 29th, 2007
Rounding out the major announcements from the big two manufacturers is Nikon’s D300 which features a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion, EXPEED image processor, sensitivity up to ISO 6400 (with boost), the new CAM3500DX AF sensor (51 point), HDMI video output, UDMA CF support and a 3.0″ 922,000 pixel LCD monitor with Live View. No ordinary Live View either as this one supports Auto Focus in two ways; using the current ‘normal’ mirror-drop / mirror-raise but also contrast detect in the same way as a compact camera (although slower). The D300 will be available in November, at around US$1800.
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Craig August 27th, 2007
Canon has moved digital SLR resolution over the twenty megapixel barrier with the new EOS-1Ds Mark III. The much anticipated Mark III version of the full-frame EOS-1Ds delivers medium-format threatening resolution; 5616 x 3744 (21.1 million) pixels to be precise, in a portable and robust five frames per second Canon EOS body. From a built, function and usability point of view the EOS-1Ds Mark III is identical to the EOS-1D Mark III apart from the full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor, (naturally) larger viewfinder and UDMA support (up to 45 MB/sec) for Compact Flash cards.
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