Nikon has really come on strong with new additions to its dSLR line, adding models to both the High End Pro market as well as the Consumer dSLR market. Not wanting to be left behind, Canon had released a new model for the Consumer market, the EOS 1000D.
DPReview.com has a preview of the new camera and appear to be testing it. Here is the Preview, and here is a sample gallery from a pre-production camera.
Some of the features include a 10 megapixel sensor, dust control, Live View and high ISO noise reduction. I bet this camera is the lowest prices Canon dSLR yet!
In addition to the new body, Canon is also releasing a new flash, the 430EX II. DPReview has the details. Some of the new features seem to from the new 580EX II, such as a new mounting foot. It should also recycle faster and with less noise then before.
I think that the 1000D will come in at a fairly low price, perhaps with a street price in the $450 to $500 range. Canon seems to be facing pressure from other manufactures on price and features. The Nikon D40 may have been a wake-up call at Canon, the 1000D may be the response.
Showing posts with label Nikon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nikon. Show all posts
Friday, June 13, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
5 tips for buying your first dSLR
In the last few years photography has experienced an explosion of not only new cameras but also new photographers! There has been a massive amount of new digital camera offerings bringing about Photography Version 2.0. The ability to take a photograph and then retake it if it does not look good on the camera's LCD screen is nothing but revolutionary compared to where we were in the good old Film days.
Due in part to lowering cost as well as fast performance, the Digital SLR (or dSLR) is one of the hottest electronic items today. But where do you start, how to decide what camera is best for you? Read on and pick up a few things to look for when you decide.
1) Try it on for size! - Before buying a new dSLR go to your local camera retailer and handle a few. For me, Canon just seems to fit better in my hand then other brands. The controls work well for me, but that's just me. You need to go to the store and see what works for you. It may be a small consumer model, such as the Canon XTi or Nikon D40, or perhaps a larger body will work better for you. There is only one way to find out!
2) Megapixels don't matter (that much!) - Lets be honest here. Have you ever made a print larger then an 8x10? Are most of your prints 4x6 or 5x7? Then 4 megapixels are enough. Today's offerings of 6, 8 or even 10 megapixels in a consumer dSLR is plenty, so don't base your choice on megapixels alone. It is more important to consider image quality.
3) Get an extra battery - Most dSLR cameras come with great battery systems, capable of taking hundreds of shots without recharging. But what do you do when the battery runs out? Dropping in a few AA batteries is not an option. Be sure to get an extra battery so you don't run out when you cross paths with a great shot.
4) Buy a fast Memory Card - Your camera will bog down with a cheap, no name memory card. It's important to buy a card that will keep up with your camera and given how inexpensive they are today its a no brainer! I prefer Sandisk Ultra memory cards for my cameras, don't skimp when buying yours.
5) Don't buy a deal that sounds too good to be true! - Too many people have fallen victim to scams when they fall for the deal of a lifetime. There are many camera stores that advertise a low (way too low!) price for an expensive camera, only to try to sell you hundreds of dollars of "required accessories" that you don't need or could buy on your own for just a few bucks.
When you turn down the offer for the accessories (perhaps for the fourth or fifth time!) all of the sudden the camera will no longer be in stock! Ordering online is not an easy way around this either! They will call you to confirm the order and then try to up-sell you, and when you turn them down, again, it will out of stock. Just walk away, it is not worth getting involved with these shady companies. Go with a reputable store like B&H, Adorama, Calumet and other good businesses. This is a great time to search for them on resellerratings.com to see what kind of a business they run.
BONUS Tip!!! - When you buy a camera you are buying into a camera system. Make sure that the camera line you buy into will be able to grow with you. Some camera lines have more lenses, flashes and accessories then others. Take this into consideration when it is time to buy.
"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter." - Ansel Adams
Good luck with your new camera!
Due in part to lowering cost as well as fast performance, the Digital SLR (or dSLR) is one of the hottest electronic items today. But where do you start, how to decide what camera is best for you? Read on and pick up a few things to look for when you decide.
1) Try it on for size! - Before buying a new dSLR go to your local camera retailer and handle a few. For me, Canon just seems to fit better in my hand then other brands. The controls work well for me, but that's just me. You need to go to the store and see what works for you. It may be a small consumer model, such as the Canon XTi or Nikon D40, or perhaps a larger body will work better for you. There is only one way to find out!
2) Megapixels don't matter (that much!) - Lets be honest here. Have you ever made a print larger then an 8x10? Are most of your prints 4x6 or 5x7? Then 4 megapixels are enough. Today's offerings of 6, 8 or even 10 megapixels in a consumer dSLR is plenty, so don't base your choice on megapixels alone. It is more important to consider image quality.
3) Get an extra battery - Most dSLR cameras come with great battery systems, capable of taking hundreds of shots without recharging. But what do you do when the battery runs out? Dropping in a few AA batteries is not an option. Be sure to get an extra battery so you don't run out when you cross paths with a great shot.
4) Buy a fast Memory Card - Your camera will bog down with a cheap, no name memory card. It's important to buy a card that will keep up with your camera and given how inexpensive they are today its a no brainer! I prefer Sandisk Ultra memory cards for my cameras, don't skimp when buying yours.
5) Don't buy a deal that sounds too good to be true! - Too many people have fallen victim to scams when they fall for the deal of a lifetime. There are many camera stores that advertise a low (way too low!) price for an expensive camera, only to try to sell you hundreds of dollars of "required accessories" that you don't need or could buy on your own for just a few bucks.
When you turn down the offer for the accessories (perhaps for the fourth or fifth time!) all of the sudden the camera will no longer be in stock! Ordering online is not an easy way around this either! They will call you to confirm the order and then try to up-sell you, and when you turn them down, again, it will out of stock. Just walk away, it is not worth getting involved with these shady companies. Go with a reputable store like B&H, Adorama, Calumet and other good businesses. This is a great time to search for them on resellerratings.com to see what kind of a business they run.
BONUS Tip!!! - When you buy a camera you are buying into a camera system. Make sure that the camera line you buy into will be able to grow with you. Some camera lines have more lenses, flashes and accessories then others. Take this into consideration when it is time to buy.
"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter." - Ansel Adams
Good luck with your new camera!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Canon 500D Close Up Lens: The Un-Macro
I wanted to take detailed shots at weddings of the small things, like the rings and such. Macro images have a place in the album along side the regular shots. But I was missing an important piece of equipment; a Macro lens.
The best choice for me seemed to be the Canon 100mm Macro. It has great image quality and people were also using it for portraits. The two downsides with the 100mm Macro are slow focus and price. Seemed to be a great studio lens but not so great for on-location shooting where the focus may change for every shot. So I kept looking, trying to find the right fit for me.
Reading a lot of forums pointed me in the right direction. Somebody suggested to try out the Canon 500D close up lens. It is a lens that attaches to your regular lens just like a filter. It does have its own limitations like it will only work with lenses in the 70 - 300mm range, and it cannot focus farther then 4 feet. On the positive side it was less expensive then the 100mm Macro, it was small and easy to carry in my bag and it worked with my 24-70 and 70-200 lenses!
Here are some images taken both with the 500D and without. All shots were taken on white seamless paper, Alien Bees with umbrella and a Canon 580 EX in a small softbox.
Canon 500D Close Up Lens
This is an oil lamp, taken with the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L.
Taken with the 24-70 f2.8 L and 500D.
Taken with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS.
Taken with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS with the 500D.
As you can see, the 70-200 really delivered with the 500D attached. I would use a tripod with it since the 500D adds a bit of heft to the end of the lens.
Want to go even cheaper? How about using your Point and Shoot? Depending on the assignment, you may not need 12 Megapixels to capture a great image! Here is an example from my 6 year old Canon G3, a great 4 Megapixel camera. A lot of Point and Shoot digital cameras can also take great macro shots. They benefit from really small sensors that deliver awesome depth of field. Here is an example.
Canon G3, set to Macro
The old Point and Shoot didn't do too bad, huh? I think a Point and Shoot can be a great choice over a Macro or Close Up Lens depending on the subject and output quality.
The best choice for me seemed to be the Canon 100mm Macro. It has great image quality and people were also using it for portraits. The two downsides with the 100mm Macro are slow focus and price. Seemed to be a great studio lens but not so great for on-location shooting where the focus may change for every shot. So I kept looking, trying to find the right fit for me.
Reading a lot of forums pointed me in the right direction. Somebody suggested to try out the Canon 500D close up lens. It is a lens that attaches to your regular lens just like a filter. It does have its own limitations like it will only work with lenses in the 70 - 300mm range, and it cannot focus farther then 4 feet. On the positive side it was less expensive then the 100mm Macro, it was small and easy to carry in my bag and it worked with my 24-70 and 70-200 lenses!
Here are some images taken both with the 500D and without. All shots were taken on white seamless paper, Alien Bees with umbrella and a Canon 580 EX in a small softbox.
Canon 500D Close Up Lens
This is an oil lamp, taken with the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L.
Taken with the 24-70 f2.8 L and 500D.
Taken with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS.
Taken with the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS with the 500D.
As you can see, the 70-200 really delivered with the 500D attached. I would use a tripod with it since the 500D adds a bit of heft to the end of the lens.
Want to go even cheaper? How about using your Point and Shoot? Depending on the assignment, you may not need 12 Megapixels to capture a great image! Here is an example from my 6 year old Canon G3, a great 4 Megapixel camera. A lot of Point and Shoot digital cameras can also take great macro shots. They benefit from really small sensors that deliver awesome depth of field. Here is an example.
Canon G3, set to Macro
The old Point and Shoot didn't do too bad, huh? I think a Point and Shoot can be a great choice over a Macro or Close Up Lens depending on the subject and output quality.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm in D76 and Diafine
I have read a lot of information on the developers used with Kodak Tri-X 400 on the photo.net B&W Photo - Film & Processing Forum. Two of the most popular are D76 and Diafine. To see just what each can do I decided to test for myself.
All shots were from a Canon Elan 7ne with a 70-200 2.8 L IS. The lighting was from an Alien Bees 800 monolight. Exposure was at f9.5, 1/100 for a given ISO rating, the lens was set to 135mm. All film was from the same 35 mm 100 foot roll. For comparison, I am including some shots from my Canon 5D to see what a Full Frame digital camera can deliver.
Please note: Even though I loaded no more then 15 frames per roll for this test, the D76 1 to 1 development included 8 fluid ounces of D76 Full Strength and 8 fluid ounces of water. This is importand on full rolls to ensure that you don't exhaust the developer. I followed this practice here to ensure proper development.
All times were sourced from the Massive Dev Chart on digitaltruth.com.
Scanning was done with a Nikon Coolscan V ED. Settings were 4000 dpi, 16 bit gray, to a .tiff file.
Here is the full scene
Here are the crops
D76, Full Strength @ 400
D76, Diluted 1 to 1 @ 400
D76, Full Strength @ 1600
Diafine @ 1600
5D @ 1600
Conclusion:
If you are going to shoot Tri-X at ISO 400, then D76 1 to 1 is great. I think the image has more clarity then at full strength. If you want to shoot Tri-X at 1600, although the D76 negative looks pretty good, to me the Diafine image has a more gritty, B&W look.
It is interesting to see that the 5D can pull such detail out of a 1600 ISO image. Although a great camera, it does lack the dynamic range that film can deliver. Hopefully they will start looking to improve DR in the future instead of more megapixels.
And don't forget! If you want to have great film like this available 20 years from now buy some today and create some art!
All shots were from a Canon Elan 7ne with a 70-200 2.8 L IS. The lighting was from an Alien Bees 800 monolight. Exposure was at f9.5, 1/100 for a given ISO rating, the lens was set to 135mm. All film was from the same 35 mm 100 foot roll. For comparison, I am including some shots from my Canon 5D to see what a Full Frame digital camera can deliver.
Please note: Even though I loaded no more then 15 frames per roll for this test, the D76 1 to 1 development included 8 fluid ounces of D76 Full Strength and 8 fluid ounces of water. This is importand on full rolls to ensure that you don't exhaust the developer. I followed this practice here to ensure proper development.
All times were sourced from the Massive Dev Chart on digitaltruth.com.
Scanning was done with a Nikon Coolscan V ED. Settings were 4000 dpi, 16 bit gray, to a .tiff file.
Here is the full scene
Here are the crops
D76, Full Strength @ 400
D76, Diluted 1 to 1 @ 400
D76, Full Strength @ 1600
Diafine @ 1600
5D @ 1600
Conclusion:
If you are going to shoot Tri-X at ISO 400, then D76 1 to 1 is great. I think the image has more clarity then at full strength. If you want to shoot Tri-X at 1600, although the D76 negative looks pretty good, to me the Diafine image has a more gritty, B&W look.
It is interesting to see that the 5D can pull such detail out of a 1600 ISO image. Although a great camera, it does lack the dynamic range that film can deliver. Hopefully they will start looking to improve DR in the future instead of more megapixels.
And don't forget! If you want to have great film like this available 20 years from now buy some today and create some art!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
