slr

Amazon.com has the Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only) for $499.99, after $99.96 savings.

Amazon.com has Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only) for $499.99, after $99.96 savings. >> Regular price is $599.95 >> Sale price is $499.99 >> Savings $99.96 (16.66%) >> Click here for deal

Amazon.com has the Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body only) for $619, after $180.95 savings.

Amazon.com has Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body only) for $619, after $180.95 savings. >> Regular price is $799.95 >> Sale price is $619 >> Savings $180.95 (22.62%) >> Click here for deal

Adobe embraces latest Canon, Nikon, Sony SLRs

Adobe Systems has updated Photoshop's ability to deal with raw-format images from several of the latest SLR cameras with its new version 4.6 of the Camera Raw plug-in. Adobe's John Nack has the download links.

Less than a month after beginning beta testing, the final version is out with support for Canon's newer entry-level EOS Rebel XS, its brand-new midrange EOS 50D, Nikon's freshly released midrange D90 and full-frame D700, Pentax's newest entry-level model, the K2000, and Sony's ambitious 24-megapixel full-frame Alpha A900.

Also released is a new version of the DNG Converter … Read more

Why that Canon lens costs so much, part II

Last year, Canon posted an interesting video showing the manufacturing process behind the EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens that costs about $5,800. Now a photographer has posted his own site that that illustrates why the comparatively lowly EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM costs about $500.

A FredMiranda forum member named Sam posted some photographic details of his lens disassembly after his model suffered a stuck aperture, the mechanism that regulates how much light goes into the lens. Fittingly, the last photo he took was of an exhibit at a Parisian Arab-Islamic museum that features dozens of … Read more

New Lensbaby: Same lens effects, simpler interface

Lensbaby's selective-focus lenses thus far have brought a seat-of-the-pants, analog feel to the electronic and digital world that photography has become. But a new model announced Tuesday has a more traditional interface for those who weren't happy with the company's earlier approach of squeezing and flexing the lens until the image looks about right.

For the uninitiated, the company's approach deserves a little explanation here. Lensbaby lenses let people focus tightly on a selected spot; the rest of the view quickly recedes into blurriness. It's a bit gimmicky, but it gives a different look than … Read more

Nikon brings better optics to new 50mm lens

Nikon announced an update to its 50mm f/1.4 lens on Monday, a relatively high-speed mainstay set to go on sale for $440 in December.

The new lens, called the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, has less chromatic aberration and internal flare than its predecessor, Nikon said. It's also got a silent wave motor for quiet, speedy autofocus, a close-focus distance of about 18 inches, and nine rounded aperture blades for a smoother look, called bokeh, in out-of-focus regions.

Lenses with a fixed 50mm focal length are very common, though not as much as during the era … Read more

Adobe tests Lightroom 2.1 with new SLR support

Adobe Systems has put out a Lightroom 2.1 release candidate that stamps out a number of bugs, improves performance in some cases, and adds support for several newer Nikon cameras.

As with the test version of the Camera Raw 4.6 and DNG Converter software released last week, the new software supports raw images from Nikon's midrange D90 and higher-end D700 SLRs, its top-end Coolpix P6000 compact camera, and Fujifilm's Finepix IS Pro camera, according to the Lightroom 2.1 release notes. (Updated 9:35 a.m. PDT Sept. 22 with the correct Nikon camera model number.) … Read more

Adobe supports latest Nikon SLRs; Canon next

New beta software for Adobe Systems' Photoshop means those with Nikon's latest SLRs, the mid-range D90 and higher-end, full-frame D700, now can handle those cameras' raw files with the company's widely used image-editing software.

In addition, the software supports Nikon's Coolpix P6000, a high-end compact camera, and the Fuji Finepix IS Pro, said Adobe's Tom Hogarty in a blog post Wednesday.

The update includes unofficial, preliminary support for Canon's 50D, a mid-range SLR due to ship in October, Canon's new low-end Rebel XS, Sony's ambitious full-frame Alpha A900 SLR due in November, the … Read more

Canon SLR teaser teases more

Canon has taken the art of the tease to a new level with its unveiling of what everyone expects to be a successor the full-frame EOS 5D SLR camera.

The faux moonlight in Canon's SLR a tease site is gradually illuminating more of the new model, an alert reader discovered, and he's right. Compare the screenshot above with the earlier version at the bottom of the post, which Canon ran when the SLR teaser campaign began earlier this month.

Of course, there's not much more to be discerned. (Surprise! It has an EOS logo!) But I think … Read more