ilcs

Sony's mighty NEX aspirations

Most die-hard camera gearheads have been following the progress of Sony's Alpha NEX-7, hoping that it will offer all the bells and whistles they want in the "right" size. That means big enough to accommodate a large sensor, EVF, great lens, and full manual controls, but still be small enough to fit in a pocket. I'm glad I don't have to build that camera, because science has yet to develop such TARDIS-like technology.

Related link Read all of Sony's Alpha announcements

Still, it seems as if Sony is attempting to try with the NEX-7. It's got an innovative two-dial system that takes the predominantly screen-based NEX operation and moves a chunk of it back to the hardware controls, where enthusiasts want it. For this class of camera, the NEX-7 has almost everything: built-in flash, OLED EVF, large sensor (unfortunately packed tightly with pixels), tilting LCD, and relatively serious video features. … Read more

Vimeo helps you understand your camera lenses

If you are or someone you know is upgrading from a point-and-shoot to a digital SLR or an interchangeable lens compact camera, you might want to look at or share this video series from Vimeo. The series, called "Behind the Glass," is an introduction to lenses and terminology.

Though they're geared for beginners, the videos are entertaining enough that even people who understand how and when to use a particular lens might want to check them out. The videos are targeted at those shooting movies with their cameras, Vimeo being a video-sharing site after all, but much of what's said applies to still photos, too.

You can check out the other two videos in the series over at the Vimeo Video School site.… Read more

How small should ILC sensors get?

To me, one of the defining characteristics of a mirrorless ILC--like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 or Olympus PEN E-P3, just to name two recent ones--aside from the interchangeable lens, is that it produces better photos than a point and shoot. As far as I can tell, people see the lens flexibility as a bonus, but for the extra couple hundred dollars they want better photos.

Which is why I'm confused by the trend toward even smaller sensor sizes in this space as evidenced by Pentax's Q with its 5.5x multiplier and the rumored forthcoming 2.7x-multiplier size from Nikon. (As an aside, I find the easiest way to internalize differences in sensor sizes is by the multipliers and assume that pixels shrink correspondingly. For a comprehensive visualization, check out this Sensor Size Cheat Sheet.)

Some people complain that even the Four Thirds sensor (2x), which uses the Micro Four Thirds mount in Panasonic and Olympus' ILCs, is too small. … Read more

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 review: Beyond the point-and-shoot

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 is the first of what I hope are the Goldilocks generation of interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs): small and fast with good-to-great photo quality that finally merits attention from point-and-shoot users looking for a compelling upgrade. (Sony has consistently delivered small bodies, but the E-mount zoom lenses are too big and heavy and there's only one pancake prime currently available.)

I really like the GF3 as a step-up model; longtime dSLR users will probably find it too small and constraining without an EVF, but for point-and-shoot graduates, the size should feel comfortable and you'll gain the … Read more

Olympus reveals specs, pricing for PEN E-PL3

About a month ago Olympus announced its PEN interchangeable-lens (ILC) lineup for the rest of the year, and has been dribbling out the specs and cameras. The latest info to come out is for the E-PL3, the line's midrange model, which is designed to be more compact than the higher-end E-P3 but with a similar feature set and performance. Here are the complete specs, along with those of some direct competitors:

Olympus E-PL2 Olympus E-PL3 Olympus E-P3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 Sony Alpha NEX-C3 Sony Alpha NEX-5 Sensor (effective resolution) 12.3-megapixel Live MOS 12.3-megapixel Live MOS 12.… Read more

Sony Alpha NEX-C3 review: A sort of compact compact

Now in its second generation, the NEX line has proven to be popular; I generally liked the NEX-5 (we never reviewed the NEX-3), thanks to excellent photo quality and an attractive, compact design, though I still think the line is a bit expensive for people seeking to upgrade from a point-and-shoot.

The C3 incorporates an unnecessarily higher-resolution sensor than both the earlier models, bumping from about 14 megapixels to 16. It's not, however, the same 16-megapixel sensor that's in older models like the SLT-A55. At least the photo quality doesn't suffer from the resolution increase, and given … Read more

Sony Alpha SLT-A35: Low-budget action shooter

Sony's SLT series of digital cameras is a bit hard to categorize. The company considers them single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, but they lack the reflexes; they have fixed, transparent mirrors that don't flip up during shooting the way a dSLR's does. That means they also lack a through-the-lens-type optical viewfinder (OVF), instead incorporating an electronic viewfinder (EVF) like the ones you get in megazoom cameras with insanely long lenses.

What they do share with SLRs is the phase-detection autofocus-system technology, which tends to be faster--especially for burst shooting--than the contrast AF systems used by other types of … Read more

Pentax Q: Too little, too late and too much?

How much are you willing to sacrifice to shave an inch off your camera? That's the question Pentax tacitly raises with its introduction of the Q interchangeable-lens camera (ILC), a model with a body the size and weight of a point-and-shoot (without lens, of course)--and the price of a dSLR. The company achieves this feat of shrinkage by incorporating a tiny 1/2.3-inch backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor, which in turn allows for a smaller-than-usual lens mount and more compact lenses. And it looks like there will be a lot to like in the Q--it's got an … Read more

Panasonic shrinks interchangeable-lens camera

It seems like only yesterday that Panasonic rolled out the Lumix DMC-GF2--and in fact, it's only been about six months here in the U.S., though the older model debuted overseas a few months earlier than that. Regardless, Panasonic's ready with a new, even more compact interchangeable-lens model. The GF3 doesn't replace the GF2, but it's priced the same, which I suspect is going to make for some confusing buying decisions.

The GF2 uses the same 12-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine FHD processor as the GF2, but incorporates some of the enhancements from the … Read more

Hands-on: Sony Alpha SLT-A35

As Sony's replacement for its SLT-A33, the current entry-level model in its line of interchangeable-lens cameras with a fixed translucent-mirror design, the A35 looks like only a modest update, but it is also merely marginally different than the currently shipping A55. That's probably one reason why the A35 won't be shipping until August, at which point I expect that Sony will be ready to announce the replacement for the A55, which will be a year old in September. The other Sony camera announced today, the Alpha NEX-C3, is also slated to ship in August.

The most notable … Read more