dSLR

Pentax launches K-r to take on the Canon T2i

The Pentax K-x was in many ways a breakout product for the company; it delivered exceptionally fast performance, low-noise images, and a robust feature set in a rainbow of colors, all for such a low price that it couldn't help but make waves in a market heretofore locked up by Canon and Nikon. In some ways it's easy to beat them, since they don't release new models at the bottom of the food chain--they just tend to let older models sink in price.

So what's an underdog to do for an encore in the murky step-up market? There you have to compete with Canon and Nikon's current-generation products, plus you have to offer obvious advantages over your cheaper product, but without incurring significant cost increases. Pentax seems to play it safe with its new K-r, basically preserving what's good about the K-x with just enough improvements to attract the more price-elastic buyer.

That amounts to using the same body and sensor, but incorporating an enhanced version of its autofocus system, a larger and higher-resolution LCD, and support for a dual lithium ion/AA battery design. In addition, Pentax has updated the viewfinder to display the focus points (yay), implemented the now-popular multishot Night Scene HDR mode, bumped the maximum shutter speed to 1/6,000 second, and will provide SDXC support via a firmware update later in the year. And, naturally, it still comes in colors, albeit a smaller selection of black; black and white; and red and black.

But the real key will be how the K-r stacks up against the competition. Here's how it fares compared with some current models:… Read more

Canon recrafting supertelephoto lens lineup

Just after Canon announced second-generation 300mm and 400mm telephoto lenses for its SLRs, the Japanese camera maker also said Friday that it will show prototypes of revamped supertelephoto lenses with 500mm and 600mm focal lengths.

The two prototypes, officially called the EF500mm f/4L IS II USM and EF600mm f/4L IS II USM, are second-generation successors to the current products introduced in July and September 1999, respectively. They'll be on display at the Photokina show in Cologne, Germany, later in September, at which the spotlight shines brightly on high-end gear.

Canon was characteristically reserved about the prototypes, saying release dates and specifications haven't been decided, but the company appears to be applying the similar revisions that it brought to the 300mm and 400mm lenses: better image stabilization, better image quality, and lighter weight.

"The EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM and EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM are being developed as L (Luxury)-series lenses equipped with a high-performance image stabilization system," Canon said. "Employing fluorite and other special optical materials to correct for a variety of aberrations, the lenses aim to realize high-resolution, high-contrast imaging performance in a lighter-weight body design." … Read more

Nikon updates entry dSLRs, lenses

Nikon updates its entry-level dSLR with the addition of video capture, new processing algorithms, and the de rigeur bump in resolution. The D3100 adds HD video capture with continuous autofocus. Continuous AF is unusual in dSLRs, but for good reason; the focusing mechanisms in the lenses are generally too noisy and an unwelcome addition to your soundtrack. This remains true for Nikon's solution, and without a mic input, you really have no way around it. Consider it a tradeoff. The camera does have a direct-access button for movie mode rather than shunting it off to the mode dial.

Here are some basic comparisons with Nikon's other current entry-level models (tables updated with more specs):

Nikon D3000 Nikon D3100 Nikon D5000 Sensor (effective resolution) 10.2-megapixel CCD 14.2-megapixel CMOS 12.3-megapixel CMOS 23.6 x 15.8.mm 23.6 x 15.8mm23.1 x 15.4mm 23.6 mm x 15.8mm Sensitivity range ISO 100 - ISO 3200 ISO 100 (expanded)/200 - ISO 3200/12,800 (expanded) ISO 100 (expanded)/200 - ISO 1600/3200 (expanded Continuous shooting 3fps n/a raw/n/a JPEG 3fps n/a 4 fps 9 raw/100 JPEG (medium/fine) Viewfinder magnification/effective magnification 95% coverage 0.80x/0.53x 95% coverage 0.80x/0.53x 95% coverage 0.78x/0.52x Autofocus 11-pt AF center cross-type 11-pt AF center cross-type 11-pt AF center cross-type to f5.6 Shutter speed 1/4000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 sec x-sync 1/4000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 sec x-sync 1/4000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/200 sec x-sync Metering 420-pixel 3D color matrix 420-pixel 3D color matrix 420-pixel 3D color matrix Live View Yes No Yes Yes Video No 1080/24p; 720/30p AVCHD MOV 720/24p LCD size 3 inches fixed 230,000 dots 3 inches fixed 230,000 dots 2.7 inches articulated 230,000 dots Wireless flash Yes Yes No Battery life (CIPA rating) 500 shots n/a shots 510 shots Dimensions (inches, WHD) 5.0 x 3.8 x 2.5 4.9 x 3.8 x 2.9 5.0 x 4.1 x 3.1 Body operating weight (ounces) 18.8 17 (est) 21.6 Mfr. Price n/a n/a $629.95 (body only) $549.95 (with 18-55mm lens) $699.95 (with 18-55mm lens) $699.99 (est, with 18-55mm lens) n/a n/a n/a Ship date July 2009 September 2010 April 2009

A curvaceous dSLR designed for the future

Inspired by the twin-lens reflex cameras of old, where photographers look down into the shooter to frame their shots, designer Yaniv Berg has conceptualized a dSLR that follows a similar principle. Instead of holding the snapper up to their faces, shutterbugs just need to look down at the LCD.

Berg's design is fairly simple. The camera body is housed in a tube that curves toward one end where the LCD is housed. On the other side is the lens mount. Hence, when shooting, you'll probably be cradling the camera with your palm and bracing it against your stomach. … Read more

DIY wooden dSLR shoulder rig twists for focus

Ever since dSLRs with video-recording functions were introduced two years ago, many third-party manufacturers have developed stabilizing rigs for filmmakers who want to shoot movies with such cameras. However, most of these contraptions are very expensive and probably out of reach for the average consumer.

Swedish shutterbug Jonathan Clifford Berqvist wanted to shoot videos with his Canon EOS 7D, but like most users, found the specialized rigs too pricey. Lucky for him, his dad is well-versed with woodwork. After looking at some of the stabilizing devices, Berqvist's father took a large tree branch and fashioned a shoulder rig out … Read more

New Canon 5D Mark II firmware scheduled for March, updates video features

Update: March 19, 2010: And we're back. Canon claims it's fixed the audio recording glitch it introduced with Firmware 2.0.3 and it's up to 2.0.4, which you can download at the link below. My suggestion (which I make about all firmware and driver updates) is unless you're experiencing a specific problem that the update purports to fix, it always pays to wait at least a week for reports of software-induced mayhem to emerge.

Update March 18, 2010: But wait! If you go to Canon's USA site there's now a cautionary … Read more

Canon revs up Rebel video

Canon traditionally avoids lower-margin market segments--nice work if you can get it--and its announcement of the new EOS Rebel T2i continues that trend. Instead of replacing its tired, old XS and XSi models to compete with younger, spryer sub-$700 models from Nikon, Sony, and Pentax in that extremely popular price segment, Canon instead chose to release an update to its more expensive T1i, in the less competitive $800-$1000 range. Included in the new T2i are some notable enhancements to the video capabilities and the updated metering scheme from the 7D, but the T2i also seems to retain the old autofocus system from the T1i and a possibly unwelcome jump to 18-megapixel resolution.

Given Canon's focus on staying ahead of the field for video implementations in dSLRs, unsurprisingly the most whizzy new feature of the T2i is support for 1080p video at 30 frames per second (as well as 24p and PAL-friendly 25p) and 720p at 60/50fps. Those video files may make the camera's SDXC card support a necessity. There's also a jack for an external microphone. Canon also claims full manual controls and on-demand autofocus during shooting (which you don't really want to do with most lenses, since they're too noisy) as well as the usual set of manual exposure controls. In addition, in VGA quality (which the company mistakenly refers to as standard definition) the T2i camera supports a form of digital zoom where it optically crops to a smaller area on the sensor in order to produce a greater telephoto effect.

For photographers, the new high-resolution display--it uses a slightly wider 3:2 aspect ratio instead of the 4:3 ration in the T1i--and the incorporation of the 7D's metering system should also be very welcome. Canon also says that it has an expanded exposure compensation range up to five stops, which sounds really nice for HDR work, although it's not clear whether it can handle more than the typical three-shot bracket. … Read more

Sony whelms with yet another consumer dSLR

LAS VEGAS--Sony's already overcrowded dSLR product line--the company offers six dSLRs under $1,000 if you include the now fire-sale-priced A700--gets another middle sibling in the Alpha DSLR-A450. This model won't be available in the US, however. Also, Sony didn't announce pricing, but there's not a lot of room to squeeze between the $699 A380 and the $749 A500.

The A450 seems to be a stripped-down version of the A550, mostly with the same everything except a smaller 2.7-inch, nontilting LCD and possibly no Fast AF in Live View.

iPhone app to remotely control your Canon dSLR

Still longing for a decent camera on your iPhone? All you need's an app and a Canon dSLR and the dream is yours. Well, not exactly, but OnOne Software's DSLR Camera Remote application lets your iPhone or iPod Touch control most Canon dSLRs going back circa the 20D.

Announced in mid-May but available now, the system is a combination of two pieces of software: the free DSLR Camera Remote Server application, which runs on a Wi-Fi-enabled host computer, and either DSLR Camera Remote Professional ($19.99 with an introductory price of $9.99) or DSLR Camera Remote Lite ($… Read more

Sony debuts three new entry-level dSLRs

Sony announced its three new entry-level dSLRs for 2009, the Alpha DLSR-A230, A330, and A380, which replace the A200, A300, and A350 respectively.

The products preserve Sony's three-tier strategy for its low-end SLRs. The cheap A230 differs from the slightly-less-cheap A330 by the viewfinder and the tiltable LCD, plus the A330 will be available in brown. And except for its higher resolution sensor--14 megapixels versus 10 megapixels--the A380 is otherwise identical to the A330. Sony's big marketing points on these models is lighter weight and friendlier, more point-and-shoot-like guided operation.

But perhaps most notably, these models have dual memory slots, one of which takes SDHC cards and the other Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo. I can only imagine the internal politicking it took to pull that off.… Read more