Archive for April, 2008
Sealife DC800 underwater camera goes deep, stays dry (Digital Photography News)
Attention wet people: Sealife has released the DC800 Underwater Digital Camera. This modular unit — it drops into a waterproof case or will operate as an out-of-water point-and-shoot — includes an 8-megapixel camera with 2.7-inch display, wide-angle lens, SD/SDHC card support, and 4x optical zoom. So what makes this camera diver-friendly? Its menus and modes are designed for sub-surface snappers with five underwater modes to deal with the various water bodies’ muck, grime, and color. The DC800 will function at 200 feet, weighs about 17 ounces and will set you back $549. Sure, you could get another point-and-shoot and waterproof case, but prepare to suffer the ridicule of your diver friends.
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[eminimall ... ] [tags]digital photography news, digital camera news, camera news, photography news[/tags]
Nikon D60 Review (Digital Camera Review)
, a slightly upgraded entry-level model, is a prime example of just how much digital SLRs have improved in less than two decades. With a 10.2 megapixel sensor and a lot of carryover from the well-regarded D40x, the D60 is clearly an incremental upgrade rather than a major shift in direction for Nikon’s amateur line. Still, some minor polish and feature-expanding upgrades along with an excellent new kit lens keep the Nikon in the hunt for consumer dollars in this competitive space. Continue…
While its specs don’t exactly jump off the page, the new Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS looks and feels like a step forward in Kodak’s apparent efforts to become a serious player again among serious amateur photographers. With a 10 megapixel sensor, 5x zoom, and optical image stabilization, the Z1085 sports the basic physical tech that serious shooters are seeking. Wrap all of this in an all-business body, drive it with a new, very polished interface, and price it competitively and you’ve got a product that has the potential, at least, to go toe-to-toe with the heavyweight contenders in the enthusiast compact arena. Continue…
As consumers, we tend to buy in to the idea that technology marches forward, offering substantive improvements with each new generation of devices. As savvy digicam users, however, we also know that newer doesn’t always mean better where high-ISO noise control is concerned. Tech heads like to make a lot of noise about noise, spending countless hours studying high-ISO images at improbably huge enlargements to make pronouncements about camera performance. But are we, the tech heads, right in our basic assumptions about noise and resolution? Does the aging Canon PowerShot SD700 IS perform better or worse at high ISOs than the new SD890? Where would a high-res compact like the 12 megapixel SD950 fit in the mix? With three Canon SDs at my disposal, these questions are easy enough to answer… Continue…
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Olympus largely pioneered the long zoom point-and-shoot digicam with the introduction of the 10x zoom C2100 in 2000, and their ultrazoom digital cameras have been built on that pedigree ever since. The folks at Olympus clearly believe that size does matter, and the new Olympus SP-570 UZ features the longest zoom lens currently available on a fixed-lens camera – a whopping 20x f/2.8-f4.5 optic that goes from the 35mm equivalent of 26mm to 520mm. That extraordinary zoom range makes the SP-570 UZ the current record holder in the extended-zoom arena. Continue…
One of four Coolpix S-series digitals announced in January 2008, the Nikon Coolpix S600 takes its place as the most expensive Nikon “style” camera and features “an astonishingly fast start-up time, advanced functions, outstanding photographic performance and a slim and stylish body.” Other excerpts from the press release claim the camera has the “fastest start-up time for any camera in its class,” allows shooters to take “stunningly sharp photos, faster and easier than ever before,” and boasts “extraordinary speed.” There seems to be a pattern developing here. Let’s see if speed thrills. Continue…
Fujifilm’s F series compact digitals with the Super CCD sensor have enjoyed a reputation for better than average high ISO noise performance dating back to at least the F30. When the F50fd got a healthy boost in sensor resolution on the same-sized sensor, noise performance slipped a bit, at least by Fuji standards. Now the F50fd has been joined by the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd, and the question on the minds of many Fuji fans is whether the new model – with a current-generation sensor and new processor – will restore the FinePix line to its former prominence as the undisputed low-light leader. Continue…
[eminimall ... ] [tags]digital camera review, camera reviews[/tags]
Camera Tips and Tricks – EOS Discovery From Canon
, News, How-to’s, Events
Canon are to host a series of free shows aimed at photography enthusiasts focusing on using their EOS camera system ,
The shows will take be at London’s Business Design Centre in Islington. There are two sessions planned – Thursday 3 August at 6.00-8.00pm, and on Saturday 5 August at 9.00am-12.00pm or 2.00-5.00pm.
Presented by various experts including celebrity and music photographer Andy Earl (www.andyearl.com) they will demonstrating how professional photographers use EOS in their work. Nature, fashion, sports and reportage photography are all to be covered and will supply tips and techniques to help amateurs extend their photographic skills. Post-shoot possibilities will be demonstrated with iPhoto and Aperture image processing applications from Apple.
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Tessera’s OptiML Zoom gets cameraphones 3x closer without moving parts (Digital Photography News)
, Digital Cameras
Oh sure, those with no shame whatsoever can snag a totally sketchy LV 2008 with an attachable zoom lens, but those of us with a shred of dignity are waiting on something better. Enter Tessera Technologies, which is today announcing that its OptiML Zoom solution is available for licensing. Said innovation brings a unique lens design and specialized algorithms to replace “traditional mechanical zoom capabilities,” giving equipped cameraphones 3x optical zoom capabilities in a “compact camera module without moving parts.” Hailed as the industry’s first non-mechanical optical zoom solution, it promises to not degrade images the way digital zoom does, and while it’s eager to see handset OEMs pick up the tech and integrate it into forthcoming mobiles, we’ve yet to hear of any big players jumping on board.
[Via PhoneScoop]
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Screen Grabs: Lost’s Ben shoots Nikon (Digital Photography News)
Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.
Ben (aka Benjamin Linus), leader of the Others and all around creepy manipulator, doesn’t just shoot guns all the time — as we find out in a flashforward to 2005, he also apparently shoots Nikon as well. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with a D100, but Ben does kind of strike us as the calculating, discerning type that would probably prefer a full-frame Canon though, you know?
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Golla “Music” Camera Pouch Review (Digital Camera Review)
When I received a few Golla “Music” pouches for review, I quickly figured out that they’re versatile little bags with lots of possible uses beyond their stated purpose as MP3 player or cell-phone holders: among other things, they’re the perfect size to hold an ultracompact digital camera. The question is whether these stylish, affordable bags from this up and coming accessory maker are a practical alternative for casual photographers looking for a fun way to tote a tiny camera. Read More…
Fujifilm’s F series compact digitals with the Super CCD sensor have enjoyed a reputation for better than average high ISO noise performance dating back to at least the F30. When the F50fd got a healthy boost in sensor resolution on the same-sized sensor, noise performance slipped a bit, at least by Fuji standards. Now the F50fd has been joined by the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd, and the question on the minds of many Fuji fans is whether the new model – with a current-generation sensor and new processor – will restore the FinePix line to its former prominence as the undisputed low-light leader. Read More…
As consumers, we tend to buy in to the idea that technology marches forward, offering substantive improvements with each new generation of devices. As savvy digicam users, however, we also know that newer doesn’t always mean better where high-ISO noise control is concerned. Tech heads like to make a lot of noise about noise, spending countless hours studying high-ISO images at improbably huge enlargements to make pronouncements about camera performance. But are we, the tech heads, right in our basic assumptions about noise and resolution? Does the aging Canon PowerShot SD700 IS perform better or worse at high ISOs than the new SD890? Where would a high-res compact like the 12 megapixel SD950 fit in the mix? With three Canon SDs at my disposal, these questions are easy enough to answer… Read More…
[eminimall ... ] [tags]digital camera review, camera reviews[/tags]
Camera Tips and Tricks – Shooting the July sky
, Tips and Tricks
With the 4th of July (and Bastille Day, and a whole host of other regional excuses to set off large explosions in the Midsummer sky) in the offing, John Watson has a short tutorial on shooting fireworks. there are thousands of tutorials on this subject out there, but he boils it down to the essentials: use a reasonably slow ISO setting (100-200); don’t forget the tripod; exposure = length of trail; aperture = brightness of trail.
Working out the timing so that the starburst is centered wherever you’ve aimed the tripod is left as an exercise for the reader.
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Digital Camera News, 4/19/08 (Digital Camera Review)
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Canon’s Rebel XSi gets emphatically unboxed (Digital Photography News)
Well, what do you know? The actual Rebel XSi comes packaged in a box that looks exactly like the one that cropped up earlier this month. Still, there’s just something special about seeing Canon’s latest DSLR cautiously unboxed, with the fortunate unboxer taking special care not to insert an obscene amount of blur into each snap. Sure, the model shown above was unboxed within a retail location, but that’s not to say you can’t hand over some cold hard cash to do the same at your abode. Check out the whole process in the read link below — just brace yourself for some serious (albeit SFW) gadget affection in that first shot.
[Thanks, Ryan]
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Camera Tips and Tricks – Digital Holga mod
, How-to’s
As I was browsing through the DPGuru Flickr pool looking for a photo of the day, I came across the image to the right. I put it on my “further consideration” list, scanned down quickly to see whither it had embedded EXIF, said to myself “oh, that’s nice, he’s using a Canon Holga,” and moved on. You can tell I hadn’t had my coffee yet; it took about 45 seconds before I sat straight up in my chair, said “waiddaminute, an EOS what?!?” and clicked back.
It turns out Joachim Guanzon had the bright idea to mount a Holga lens on his 20D. He even put the directions online so the rest of can do the same. The Holga lens gets destroyed in the process, but it’s probably $19.99 well spent. The real stroke of genius, as far as I’m concerned, was using a white film canister for the lens tube so you get that authentic Holga light light bleed.
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