Nikon D60 and tilt-shift lenses announced

Nikon today announced several new products for the UK marketplace, with the established Coolpix range of consumer compact digital cameras being overhauled with a range of 22 colours across 10 models, and optical stabilisation via Nikon’s established VR system on every model – from £80 to £300. The L16 and L18 models, offering 7.1 and 8.0MP resolutions respectively, offer flexible shooting at the budget end of the market with ISO 1600 equivalent and 3x optical zoom, plus easily obtained AA batteries. Further enhancements within the range include evolutionary progression of the now de riqueur face recognition technology, with the 10MP S550 offering “smile recognition” and professional features like D-Lighting for under £200. Continue reading »

Canon plays catch-up with EOS 450D

Canon today launches its latest D-SLR, the EOS 450D. Featuring a 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor, EOS Integrated Cleaning System, 3.0” LCD with Live View mode and a new 9-point AF system, it marks Canon’s move away from 10 megapixels to compete with the Sony Alpha 700 and Nikon D300 – or, at least, with their cheaper successors everyone expects to see using the same size sensor. Continue reading »

Pentax K200D updates to 10 megapixel

The entry-level series of PENTAX digital SLR cameras continues with the introduction of the new K200D, featuring the acclaimed Pentax Shake Reduction (SR) system. Blurred hand-held photographs, particularly with telephotos or longer exposure times, are a thing of the past. Two sensors are used by the SR system to detect any vibrations and compensate for any movement by the 10.2 Megapixel CCD. This blurring protection system occurs directly at the CCD saving the user from having to acquire expensive special lenses. Thanks to the Pentax K-mount bayonet virtually any Pentax lens can be used with the new K200D digital SLR. The exciting news is that the new series of PENTAX SDM lenses with ultrasonic autofocus are completely compatible with a new entry-level class camera. Continue reading »

Pentax K20D – the first 14 megapixel APS-C DSLR

Pentax has thrown out a challenge to all rivals with a new 14.6 effective Megapixel CMOS Sensor and integrated Shake Reduction in the K20D, based on the earlier K10D but taken to a level of pixel-count specification which now exceeds anything from Nikon, Canon, Sony or the FourThirds consortium. Samsung developed the new sensor and it will no doubt appear in a similar Samsung body. They describe the K20D as ‘semi-professional’. Continue reading »

Sony Alpha 700 Review Part 1: the Interface

SINCE September 2007 I have had for test the Canon EOS 40D, Sony Alpha 700, Nikon D300, Olympus E-3 and Nikon D3 in that order. The reports have been published in the British Journal of Photography, and later on in Master Photo Digital and f2 magazines (some are yet to appear, in February, in these titles). My own system is Sony Alpha but I have to be as objective as possible when field testing all makes. I also have to seek out the unique selling points, the reasons for owning any given model, rather than just compare them on a tick-chart feature basis.

With the Alpha 200 about to appear, I guess it’s time to sum up what I think about the Sony Alpha 700 and how it compares to the competition. Continue reading »

ACR 4.3.1 hasn’t solved A700 high ISO mush problems

After reading Andrea Nivini’s article in Italian Tutti Fotografi, December 2007, which launches an attack on Adobe’s Camera Raw plug-in and its handling of many camera types – but specifically, the Sony Alpha 700 – I decided to check out whether the December 5th release, ACR 4.3.1, fixed the problems. Continue reading »

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