August 26th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Canon has just announced the brand new EOS 60D—an 18MP D-SLR with in-camera RAW processing and full HD video. The 60D comes with a 3-inch vari-angle LCD screen; a new multi-control dial, which streamlines the layout and navigation of controls; and “for the first time ever in an EOS camera, the EOS 60D features in-camera processing of RAW image files, new reduced resolution image copies, and post-processing creative image filters for exceptional flexibility in digital image rendering.” The new 60D also comes with creative image filters, which they’ve pulled over from the PoweserShot line, to make the bridge D-SLR more attractive to photographers who maybe haven’t made the foray into the digital SLR world before. The EOS 60D will be available for $1,099.00 (or in a kit version with Canon’s EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens for $1,399.00) toward the end of September. More info and images from Canon below.
August 19th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Canon announced today three new compact PowerShot digital cameras—the PowerShot S95, the SD4500 IS and the SX130 IS. The PowerShot S95 is the upgrade to the popular and powerful compact S90, which many professional photographers have taken on as their additional pocket cam. The new S95 boasts RAW shooting capabilities, 720p HD video capability and in-camera HDR scene mode. It will be available for $399.99 later this month.
The SD4500 IS features 10x optical zoom and full 1080p HD video mode. It also has Super Slow Motion Video Mode, capable of capturing a subject at 240fps. It will be available for $349.99 in early September.
The SX130 IS is an ultra-zoom compact with a 12x optical zoom lens and Canon’s Optical Image Stabilization technology. It also features unique creative modes, including: Miniature, Fisheye, Poster, and Super Vivid. It will be available for $249.99 in late August. See more images and info from canon below.
August 19th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Nikon announced today the new D3100—the world’s first D-SLR to introduce full time auto focus in Live View and D-Movie mode, in order “to effortlessly achieve the critical focus needed when shooting Full HD 1080p video.” The D3100 also boasts Nikon’s new EXPEED 2 image processor and a 14.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor. The D3100 will be available for $699.95 in September. See more images and info from Nikon below.
August 18th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Nikon has announced the new COOLPIX S1100pj–an update to the S1000pj, which was the first compact digital camera to boast a built-in projector. If you recall, we reviewed the first generation camera at the beginning of the year, and quite liked it. Upgrades with the 14.1MP S1100pj include: a 40% increase in projector brightness (14 lumens), a 3-inch touchscreen LCD and the ability to connect the device via USB to project images from a computer. The look of the new generation camera seems to be a lot less sleek and more aimed at maybe seeming like professional equipment—there are knobs and dials where once there was only brushed metal and flat surface. The projector on the front is also much more prominent (helped along by the fact that PROJECTOR is written across it). The COOLPIX S1100pj will be available for $349.95 in September. Read more from Nikon below.
August 4th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Samsung has been rolling out a number of compact camera announcements this summer and now they’ve launched the PL90—a 12.2MP compact digicam with a built-in USB connector, which “enabl[es] consumers to capture images and connect to a computer on the move without the need of additional wires or cords.” On the one hand, this could be an incredible convenience to point-and-shooters who want to unload images in the easiest possible way. However, many photographers prefer to use a memory card rather than store images directly within a camera’s built-in memory, and USB card readers already exist to bypass the messy wires. Granted this is one extra step in comparison to a built-in USB camera, but storing images on a card allows more freedom (namely, switching between equipment). What do you guys think? The PL90 will be available for $149.99 in September. More from Samsung below.
Casio EX-FH100 Review
Text and Photos by Allison Gibson
The Casio EX-FH100 has been making waves since its announcement at CES due to its inclusion of a back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 10x optical zoom and—most notably—high-speed video and still recording. Priced at $349.99, the FH100 offers a lot of features, including full manual shooting and the ever-alluring possibility to capture slow-motion video, all in a sleek and compact body. The fact that the FH100 can shoot high-speed movies at 1,000 frames per second (fps) and burst mode stills at 40fps tops the list of reasons that it’s an exciting piece of equipment, and the superb quality of its still image capture makes it a nice overall camera, albeit with a few frustrating UI kinks.
High Speed Still Images
High-speed shooting is accessed at any time by pressing the HS button on top of the camera, or by turning the shooting mode dial to the red Continuous Shooting option. With the HS button you can toggle between continuous shooting and single shot, regardless of whether you are in CS mode, Manual, Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority. Continuous shooting is not available when shooting in Best Shot mode. In continuous shooting mode, you have the option of capturing up to 30 images at rates of up to 40fps. These choices are accessed by pressing the SET button. For capturing action such as sports or fast-moving subjects such as pets, the EX-FH100 is almost unparalleled among compact cameras.
Super Slow Motion Video
As I mentioned, the show-stopping feature of this camera is its ability to shoot high-speed movies at up to 1,000 frames per second—which allows for a super slow-motion effect (33 times slower than true life). With video becoming not only popular but expected in compact cameras these days, the Casio EX-FH100 goes above and beyond in delivering exciting possibilities for creating slow-motion movies with pocket-size equipment. The drawback, however, to recording these impressive slow-motion movies at 1,000fps is that the resolution is substantially decreased, bringing videos all the way down to 224 x 64 pixels in size (640 x 480 at 120fps, 448 x 336 at 240fps, 224 x 168 at 420fps).
What Needs Work
This camera is a serious piece of equipment—both the features and the price reflect that—and yet the thing handles quite inelegantly. The screeching electronic noise that the lens motor makes when you zoom and focus is truly painful. It sounds as if the camera is frying on the inside. Frankly, it sounds cheap. And then there’s the auto focus lag, which is a problem in several of the shooting modes from the Best Shot menu—even when you press the shutter release half way down. The worst of it happens when shooting in “Multi-motion image” mode from the BS menu. Once the image is finally captured, the screen goes black and then says “Busy…Please wait…” for 15 seconds. Obviously in the interim you are bound to miss any other photo-ops. It’s hard, however, to complain too much about this when the high-speed camera offers continuous shooting mode to make sure you capture a whole sequence instead of worrying about shot-to-shot lag time. But sometimes you just want to take one picture, not 30, not 10, not even 5.
The layout of the camera’s buttons also leaves much to be desired. Where one’s thumb would naturally sit when gripping the camera, the video record button also sits. There is also the chance that a thumb will inadvertently press the HS button when pressing the shutter release because of where it sits, making it easy to accidentally switch to or from high-speed mode. The camera’s large 3-inch LCD is nice and bright, but is probably the culprit as to why buttons seem awkwardly placed in the meager space beside it.
Conclusion
The battery life of the EX-FH100 is remarkable, and its compact size makes it easily portable, though it is noticeably heavier than many point-and-shoot cameras on the market right now. Because it uses a backlit CMOS sensor, it does incredibly well in low-light, capturing sharp images even in the dimly lit temperate rain forests of northern Washington State. With a whole host of Best Shot scene modes, as well as Manual, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, the EX-FH100 does stand alone as a feature-rich compact digicam, but if you are looking into purchasing this camera it’s most likely for its specific high-speed capabilities.
July 28th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Samsung has just announced the ST80—a 14.2MP Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera. Similar to the technology we’ve seen in the Sony Cyber-shot G3, the Samsung ST80 allows users to upload and share photos and videos instantaneously, directly from the camera to Facebook, Picasa, et al. The slim point-and-shoot offers 3x optical zoom and a 3-inch wide touchscreen, as well as Samsung’s new in-camera editing “Smart Crop” feature. The ST80 will be available in September for $249.99. Read more from Samsung below.
July 21st, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Samsung has just announced three new compact digital cameras—two DualView models and one 14.2MP point-and-shoot. We are big fans of Samsung’s DualView cameras here at DP (see the review of the TL225), so the new ST600 and ST100 are spiking our interest. Both 14.2MP compacts are equipped with 1.8-inch front LCDs (compared to the TL225’s 1.5-inch) and offer Schneider KREUZNACH lenses with Optical and Digital Image Stabilization. They also look a lot more sleek and modern than the previous generation. The ST600 and ST100 will be available in September for $329.99 and $349.99, respectively.
The Samsung PL200 will be available in September for $179.99. The slim (0.83-inches thick) digicam has a 7x optical zoom lens (35mm film equivalent focal length of 31mm-217mm) and can record HD video (720p at 30fps) in H.264 format. See the press releases from Samsung for all three cameras below.
Samsung NX10 Review
Text and Photos by Allison Gibson
Interchangeable Lens Digital Cameras
A new genre has emerged in digital photography gear: the compact interchangeable lens digital camera. Not to be confused with its rival, the Micro Four Thirds system camera—which is, in turn, the rival of the digital SLR camera—the interchangeable lens digital camera is, in bare-bones terms, a hybrid point-and-shoot/D-SLR. With a large APS-C size CMOS image sensor that’s as big as those found in entry-level D-SLRs, the compact interchangeable lens camera has the advantage of a smaller, more lightweight body. The major defining difference between the compact interchangeable lens digital camera and the D-SLR is that the former is mirrorless, meaning it abandons the mirror box (which in a D-SLR is necessary for the viewfinder to see exactly what the lens sees), operating exclusively with Live View shooting—the same way that the Micro Four Thirds camera does. (See my recent review of the Panasonic Lumix GF1 to learn more about the Micro Four Thirds standard.)
So far in 2010, three cameras of this type have been announced: the Samsung NX10, which was floated as a concept at PMA 2009 and then introduced in full at CES 2010; and the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5, which were both announced on May 11, 2010 after Sony introduced the concept at PMA.
June 9th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Sony has announced two new a(Alpha) D-SLRs: the a290 and the a390. Both 14.2MP cameras are regarded as entry-level or first-time D-SLRs because of affordability (Sony is calling the a290 “the most affordable new DSLR from Sony”—though they have not released official pricing. However, CNET.com reports that the a290 18-55mm kit will cost $499.99 and the a390 will be a hundred dollars more)—and because of the intuitive interface and features that they offer. Sony says, “Both cameras offer the speedy shooting responses that are prized by DSLR users. The α390 adds the extra benefit of Quick AF Live View.” The a290 and a390 will be available this summer. See the press release below.
There's no way around it, this photo is stunning! closeUP: lazy sunday http://bit.ly/aB8AOS4 hours ago
Remember that for your tweet entry to count in the DOMKE CAMERA BAG GIVEAWAY u need to link to it on the contest page! http://bit.ly/bWAUTJ23 hours ago
RT @AylesGroup: I could really use this cool DOMKE DSLR camera bag from Digital Photographer! Hopefully I will win... http://ow.ly/2y7BO23 hours ago
Introducing DP's DOMKE CAMERA BAG GIVEAWAY! Enter now to to win (a $250 value)! http://bit.ly/bWAUTJ2010/09/01
