If you’ve been in photography for more than ten years, you probably remember the way things used to be on old film cameras. There was no electronic interconnect between the lens and the body, so lens-related functions (focus, zoom, aperture) were on the lens and body-related functions (ASA, shutter speed) were on the body. That changed as autofocus and auto-exposure, particularly on digital… → Read More
It’s been difficult to avoid news about Sony’s new line of digital cameras these past few months. Leak after leak has exposed body designs, lenses, sensor sizes, and other specs. They’re all official now, though, and while I won’t subject you to a case-by-case analysis of which rumors were on and off, I will say they were mostly on the money. The new gear looks very promising, as well.
Let’s… → Read More
In order to extend the news cycle a bit, companies tend to release variants of their gadgets on an extended schedule. Case in point: the T3 DSLR was announced back in February, and we are supposed to believe they just now achieved the level of technology required to paint them colors other than black! I kid, I kid. But only kind of. → Read More
We heard about the SD1 back in September: a Foveon-based DSLR with 45 megapixels, as they define them, though the “megapixel” rating is difficult to compare when you have different sensor patterns going on. They’re confident enough to price this thing above even Canon and Nikon’s pro level cameras. Yes, it’ll set you back $9700. That’s $2000 more than a 1D mk III and $4000 more than a D3X or… → Read More
So Nikon just put out its new D5100, a consumer-oriented movie and photo machine that competes with Canon’s T3i for consumers looking for both great stills and cinematic video. But a problem DSLRs face with video is the poor sound quality — they generally have weak little pinhole mics that suck wind and sound worse than cell phones. You can get a third-party mic, but it looks like Nikon… → Read More
The DSLR wars continue, and Nikon may have taken the lead against Canon today with the new D5100, which more than matches Canon’s similarly-priced T3i on features. It has the swiveling LCD we saw leaked back in March, and the specs that Nikon Romania posted by mistake today appear to have been accurate.
Read on for the vital statistics and our take. → Read More
Sony made a surprising announcement today in Spain, saying that all future models of its Alpha line of DSLRs will feature beam-splitting translucent mirrors. This is an alternative to the standard fully-reflective reflex mirror in most DSLRs that swings out of the way to expose the sensor. Instead, the light mostly passes through the mirror and can be captured without waiting for the reflex module… → Read More
Despite having only ever used one for a few minutes, I’m a fan of the K-5. It’s a solid-feeling camera, and it’s got a lens selection going back decades. And with Pentax, if you don’t like the look of the camera, wait a few months and they’ll put out one with a new paint job. This month, it’s silver! → Read More
Compact DSLR video has been made slightly more crowd-friendly with Canon’s latest cameras, the T3i and T3. The former is clearly a direct successor to the T2i, which we reviewed here, and the T3 is a somewhat downgraded version of the same. Details, sweet details, follow. The T3i and T3 also have aliases, as per the Canon usual: 600D and 1100D respectively. And as usual, you’d expect… → Read More
Olympus has updated its DSLR line with a successor to the E-3. It’s got a micro four-thirds sensor but it’s still an SLR, so M4/3 fans had better look elsewhere. This is a full-size camera. It’s aimed at the prosumer crowd, and like the upcoming Pentax K-5 and Canon’s 7D, it’s weather-proof (they say “splashproof and dustproof) and capable of HD video. → Read More
Hot on the heels of the consumer-level K-r released yesterday, Pentax’s K-5 is making an appearance, though not quite as officially. Some unethical retailers leaked the specs, and Lens Tip found the leaked photo, though they appear to have taken it down. Chances are this thing is right around the corner, probably set to be released next week. → Read More
Pentax has updated its DSLR line with the new K-r, successor to the K-x. The improvements are modest: you’ve got improved ISO range (up to 25600 expanded, but I wouldn’t), a better burst rate (6FPS, which is sweet), and a much-improved LCD (3″ at 640×480). You’ve still got the same 12 megapixels and the 720p video is limited to 25FPS, which is likely what I’d choose anyway (well, 24, but eh). → Read More
If you’ve been following the rumors about the Nikon D3100, you pretty much know all there is to know. Early reports were dead-on regarding new features, specs, and even the day of the announcement.
The D3100 is a long-overdue update to Nikon’s consumer DSLR, putting it on equal footing with Canon’s excellent T2i — if not outdoing it. → Read More
Being a Canon man, I’ve had little occasion to check out the Sony Alpha series of DSLRs, but honestly, I’ve heard lots of good things about them. They might not have the lens prowess of the Canons, Nikons, and Pentaxes, but they’re good cameras. The upcoming α33 and α55 look like strong contenders, and the addition of swivel screens sweetens the deal. → Read More
These spy shots appear to show the swivel-screen DSLR that’s been rumored for the past few months. We also hear that there’s a Canon event being scheduled internationally for August 26th, which tallies with previous rumors. Is it the 60D announcement? There’s no way to be sure, but I’m just going to act like I’m sure anyway. Yes! → Read More
Our usual source for unreleased (and possibly false) Canon info, Canon Rumors, has posted a few specs for the 60D that actually seem perfectly likely. The 60D is supposed to be a video-focused replacement for the 40D, and reports indicate it’s more than a rumor, and possibly hitting in early September.
The specs quoted at Canon Rumors are limited but telling. → Read More
There were some rumors swirling that the mythical 60D, supposedly a prosumer DSLR situated between the T2i and 7D, would be announced tomorrow. That doesn’t seem to be the case after all, but with all this chatter, when else could it be? Oh I don’t know, how about at Canon’s once-every-five-years Canon Expo event, happening September 2nd-3rd? If I had any money, that’s the… → Read More
I heard about this a little while back when they had just wrapped. The director was excited to have shot an episode (the season finale) on the 5D mk II and was answering questions about it, a bit inexpertly I think, no doubt to the chagrin of the DP who actually shot the episode. The episode is airing tonight at 8PM tonight on FOX — watch it with your friends and then say “oh yeah they… → Read More
New Nikon DSLRs… that wouldn’t be much of a rumor — of course they’re coming. But this rumor has specs! Things! Being! Rumored! It’s exciting! So what have we here… three new cameras coming? So exciting. → Read More
If you’re using a DSLR for video (as I’m about to, having just received a T2i to check out), your monitor options are pretty limited in-camera. Obviously you can’t look through the viewfinder, but the live view on the LCD is so small that you can’t really make much out — and the resolution is rubbish, too. SmallHD thinks they have a solution in this camera-mounted tiny HD display, but it too… → Read More
There’s a lot going on here, but what you’re basically looking at is a focus ring, attached to an iPhone, which sends a signal to a remote unit, which then turns the real focus ring on a DSLR that would otherwise be inaccessible. There are other tools a bit like this, but the integration of an iPhone as interface element could streamline things immensely.
Looks like you can also control aperture… → Read More
I’ve been looking forward to this camera for quite a while, and although I’ll be reviewing it later, it won’t be quite to the level of DPReview’s 30-page monster. Flagship cameras like this one get the royal treatment from the big photo sites, and the T2i is nothing if not a flagship camera. → Read More
Good news for those of you shooting video on your 5D mk IIs — this month will bring the highly-anticipated 2.0.3 update, which improves a number of aspects of this already-excellent camera. A 24p mode has been added, thank god, which I know a ton of people were looking forward to — and 30p has been changed to 29.97 in order to be NTSC-compatible.
Audio sampling has been bumped from… → Read More
Sigma seems to be releasing cameras the way Google releases software: put out something that’s blatantly incomplete and then revise it until it’s competitive (or more than competitive) with the rest of the market. The DP1 is approaching its third revision, the DP2 its second, and the SD15 DSLR is just about to make its debut — and I’ll give you three guesses which is the most attractive to… → Read More
It seems like it was just a few minutes ago that I was posting the leaked specs almost in their entirety. Oh, it was. Well, we’ve got more pictures! → Read More
Short version: If you are familiar with the Nikon D300, then you can just expect more of the same. The D300s doesn’t do anything ground breaking, but what it does is add some nice features to an already excellent DSLR — most importantly, HD video and SD card support. The D300s is the latest version of Nikon’s award-winning D300, which was released in August of 2007. The D300s… → Read More
All this info got released a little early, so you can head over to the earlier post to get the specs. The news here is that it’s going to be $600 with a kit lens (18-55 f/3.5-5.6). There are a couple more pictures as well. Looks like a solid little camera, and that’s the lowest price for decent DSLR video I can think of as well. → Read More
I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this soon, but it looks like someone ate Pentax’s cake today by releasing some details about the upcoming K-x camera, an entry-level DSLR with HD video capability. There are a couple pics and all the vital statistics, but no samples of video or anything like that. → Read More
The Nikon D300s, at $1800, represents a good option for serious prosumer photographers who don’t want or need a full-frame camera like the 5D mkII. Now that it shoots video, it’s an even more serious contender — but does it have the same rolling shutter/skew/jell-o-vision as the D90 and other DSLR video? Check out these two videos and see for yourself. → Read More
We got a call from Nikon earlier, and they laid out for us what we know was coming: the new entry-level D3000 and prosumer D300s. We’ve known these were coming for months now, and as it turns out, the specs that were leaked a while ago were exactly on target. You’re leaking, Nikon! So what do these things have to offer? → Read More
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