Crave

After a plunge of about 3,000 feet during a parachuting trip, the Canon Rebel XT still worked, if not flawlessly.

(Credit: Calin Leucuta)

Camera makers tout the ruggedness of their higher-end products, but apparently even an entry-level SLR can withstand a 3,000-foot drop under the right circumstances.

The camcorder didn't fare as well as the SLR.

(Credit: Calin Leucuta)

So discovered Marius Ivascu, a parachuting instructor in Florida whose Canon Rebel XT detached from his helmet mount and took the fast way back to Earth on a skydiving trip. The camera mount detached when Ivascu deployed his parachute, recounted Calin Leucuta, a photographer and friend of Ivascu who earlier had sold him the camera.

After searching for less than a half hour after he landed, Ivascu found the camera and a video camera that had been mounted next to it.

"The video camera cracked open, dead, done deal. The Rebel took the fall a little better, just a crack in the left side of the plastic body," Leucuta said on his blog. "With a glimmer of hope, Marius presses the playback button: Quelle surprise! The camera turns on, displays the last image taken, like nothing happened."

Win a Canon digital camera!

(Credit: Canon)

After giving away a $500 gift certificate a couple of weeks ago, newegg.com is back to provide a sweet little prize today, the Canon PowerShot SD940 IS digital camera.

Josh Goldman, CNET's point-and-shoot professor, says in his review that, "[a]ll things considered, the SD940 IS is one of the best ultracompacts available." (Read the full review).

In case you don't know what Newegg.com is, it made its name selling computer gear and accessories at really low prices. But now it sells not only computer stuff but tons of electronics, so you're looking at a whole lotta selection.

We'd also like to give a shout out to Shopper.com for helping set up this Crave giveaway. Shopper.com powers CNET's price-comparison engine, and it's a great site for finding the best prices on products. (See all of Shopper's deals, coupon codes, and rebates).

Normally, the Canon PowerShot SD940 IS would cost you about $300, but you have the chance to get it gratis.

So, how do you try to win this Canon? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Canon PowerShot SD940 IS. Approximate retail value is $300.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Thursday, December 17 at 6:59:59 a.m. EST.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 7 AM ET on December 17, 2009. See official rules for details.

Good luck.

Come back tomorrow for our next holiday giveaway, which will be a Belkin Gigabit Powerline networking adapter.

(Credit: Ole Jorgen Liodden)

Canon touted the EOS 7D as a weatherproof dSLR with seals at strategic locations that can survive harsh environments. This makes it suitable for photographers who work in extreme conditions like the desert or sub-zero regions.

Photographer Ole Jorgen Liodden recently brought his EOS 7D to the Antarctica for an assignment, and is glad to report that the camera emerged unscathed. He has the pictures to prove it.

Considering that in his write-up that on a previous expedition whereby his EOS 50D went under the sun after a day, the EOS 7D's hardy specs are quite impressive. But do note that you would have to maintain the camera well in order for the seals to function properly.

For more of the Liodden and the EOS 7D's adventure in Antarctica, click here.

(Source: Crave Asia via Canon Rumors)

The Canon SD990 IS is the only pocket camera with an optical viewfinder and manual shooting control worth buying. Or, really, available at all.

(Credit: Canon)

Read through the user reviews of point-and-shoot cameras on CNET and you'll come across a common question: where's the optical viewfinder? The answer is there aren't any. Well, almost any. Canon is basically the lone major manufacturer of compact cameras with optical viewfinders. And even its numbers are dwindling.

In Canon's current lineup of PowerShot Digital Elph and A-series models, there are just five models featuring the company's real image optical zoom viewfinder. If you want manual control over shutter speed and aperture, the only option is the 14.7-megapixel SD990 IS (and it's nearing the end of its life). (On the upside the SD990 can now be found for more than $100 less than its original $399.99 price, making it a much better purchase than when I originally reviewed it.)

Below is a listing of the five models that are still readily available at retail with links to their reviews. Generally, they're all very good cameras and at current prices I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them if you must have a viewfinder. If you want it to be powered by AA-size batteries, too, you're limited to the A-series models. Also, if you don't mind a larger, more advanced camera, Canon's PowerShot G11 and Nikon's Coolpix P6000 models both feature optical viewfinders.

Canon's PowerShot S90 is one of 2009's best cameras.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

If camera phones have got people thinking twice about the need for a decent snapshot camera, no one's told the camera manufacturers. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Kodak, Pentax, Casio, Samsung, and Olympus all continue to produce point-and-shoot cameras in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and abilities. The variety is amazing, bordering on downright silly.

This is why the question "What's the best point-and-shoot?" is difficult to answer; while one camera might excel in low-light conditions or photo quality, it'll more than likely come up short in design, usability, performance, price, or in some other area. Sure, I can stack up some cameras with some similar features and prices, but with so many variables it's very difficult to be specific. But, I'll give it a shot.

Below is a list of the best cameras--or at least those worth considering--that fall under a particular type, size, or feature. These are ones that left a strong enough impression on me to make me recommend them again and again to readers, friends, and family. None of them is perfect, but they have pluses that outweigh the minuses.

While I'm at it, there are a few things you should keep in mind when shopping for any point-and-shoot camera. For capturing kids, pets, or any other fast-moving subjects, you really need a digital SLR. A couple here are pretty quick--the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony WX1 come to mind--but if you're regularly shooting things in motion you'll want to step up to at least an entry-level dSLR. I suggest the same for those wanting the best in low-light shooting without a flash (though again, there are a couple here worth buying).

Optical viewfinders are all but gone from new models. Canon still has a few, but the rest of them are nothing but LCD. Lastly, most of these models use proprietary something or other: a memory card, cable, or, most typically, a battery. It's irritating, occasionally frustrating, and adds to the overall cost of a product--definitely worth keeping in mind when you're shopping.

Canon's new S90 high-end compact camera.

(Credit: CNET)

Adobe Systems released beta software on Wednesday to support raw images from Canon's higher-end new compact cameras, the Powershot S90 and G11, Olympus' rival E-P2, Panasonic's FZ38, and a host of SLRs.

The software updates are betas of Lightroom 2.6, the Camera Raw 5.6 plug-in for Photoshop CS4, and the DNG Converter 5.6. All the software uses the same raw-image processing engine.

Raw images provide more flexibility and image quality but require more processing; typically only higher-end cameras support raw file formats. Most folks are happy with JPEG, but many photography enthusiasts prefer raw.

It's a hassle, though: Adobe and various competitors spend a lot of energy reverse-engineering each new camera's format before software such as Lightroom, Aperture, or Picasa can open and edit the photos.

Raw images are the norm for SLRs. The new beta software supports raw images from Canon's higher-end EOS 7D, and Nikon's new professional-grade D3s, the Pentax K-x, and Sony's A500, A550, and A850. Also on the list are medium-format models from Mamiya and Leaf. For a full list, check the blog post announcement from Lightroom Product Manager Tom Hogarty.

The new software also corrects an error in Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 that could mar images from some Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic and from various medium format digital camera backs. The glitch only affected people with PowerPC-based Macs.

Update 8:02 p.m. PST: As Michael Reichman observed on the Luminous Landscape site, Canon's S90 is a member of a newer breed of camera that corrects lens distortion on its own, making parallel lines parallel again. Naturally, I was curious if Adobe's raw processing techniques did the same, because the distortion can be pretty severe, and fixing that manually is impossible in Lightroom and a hassle in Photoshop.

So I asked Adobe. The answer: yes.

"The S90 raw support in the release candidates (Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6) provides distortion correction that allows our raw processing results to match the optical characteristics of the JPEG output and what's viewed on the camera LCD," Hogarty said.

Canon has released new firmware for its EOS 7D camera that it says fixes a ghost-image problem in which faint traces of one image could show in the next.

Version 1.1.0 of the camera firmware "corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible," Canon said of the update.

The ghost-image problem showed only in some circumstances when the camera was used in continuous-shooting mode and was more apparent when software was used to enhance the image.

The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.

(Via Rob Galbraith)

Canon has warned that traces of one photograph taken with the company's new higher-end EOS 7D SLR can sometimes be seen in the next.

Canon's EOS 7D

(Credit: Canon USA)

The good news: new software for the camera should be able to fix the problem at some point. "Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue," the company said in a a service notice.

The problem occurs only when shooting continuously, Canon said: "In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image."

The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.

(Via Cameratown)

It counts only as a footnote compared to today's announcement of the professional EOS 1D Mark IV camera, but Canon also had a nice nugget of news for those who've invested $2,700 for the 5D Mark II SLR.

Canon's EOS 5D Mark II

(Credit: Canon USA)

Specifically, through a firmware update due to arrive in the first half of 2010, the SLR will be able to shoot 1920x1080 video not just at today's rate of 30 frames per second, but also at the 25fps rate used in European TV and the 23.976 fps rate used in cinematography, videography, and U.S. TV.

Lisette Ranga, program marketing specialist for Canon USA, confirmed the change Tuesday.

The 5D Mark II isn't a cheap camera, but it's an affordable option in some circles--documentaries being one example. "The Battle for Hearts and Minds," a documentary on Afghanistan by independent filmmaker Danfung Dennis, was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II. In some situations 30fps is fine, but a lot of the videography industry is built around a rate of 23.976 frames per second.

However, there's no word on whether the firmware update will also enable 60fps video at the lower 1280x720 resolution--a feat possible with the new EOS 7D, an 18-megapixel camera with a smaller sensor and lower price than the 5D Mark II.

The firmware update reflects how software updates available over the Internet can significantly change a camera after it's introduced, something that gives camera makers some new flexibility to fix cameras and adapt to customer desires. The 5D Mark II arrived in late 2008, but through a firmware update in January, Canon fixed a "black dot" problem that afflicted high-contrast areas of some images, and in June, Canon added manual controls for video.

Via Planet5D