slr

We're sure there are many of you who are anxiously awaiting for Nikon's newest flagship SLR, the Nikon D4, and for some, the wait is finally over and for others, well, hang in there.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is part of the latter group as Nikon moved the D4's original February ship date to some time this month, but here's something to tide you over till then. Our friends from CNET Australia got their hands on the Nikon D3S's successor today, as it goes on sale Down Under tomorrow, and put together an unboxing gallery. … Read more

The Canon 5D Mark III made its glorious debut yesterday, sending many a photographer's heart aflutter.

With such improvements as a new 22.3-megapixel sensor, enhanced video capabilities, faster continuous shooting, and a better viewfinder (to name just a few features), we're sure many of you are fantasizing about picking up the full-frame dSLR when it starts shipping in a few weeks. Its steep $3,500 price tag, however, just might snap you back to reality.

Given that the camera calls for such a large chunk of change, it should come as no surprise that there's renewed buzz around the 5D Mark III's predecessor. As CNET digital-imaging Senior Editor Lori Grunin rightly points out, though the 5D Mark III is obviously a big deal, Canon's plan to drop the price of the 5D Mark II is news in and of itself. … Read more

I've found that photographers fall into two camps: those who use their camera till it drops dead of exhaustion before considering a new model, and those who feel the need to update as often as possible.

I think the wait for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III has been killing both those groups. It's been so long that a lot of hard-used 3-plus-year-old 5D Mark IIs are ready to surrender, and the frequent updaters have been buffeted on a sea of rumors and delays. But the 5DM3 is almost here--shipping within a few weeks, in theory--and it looks like it will have what it takes to please them both.

While the 5DM3 is obviously big news, Canon's intent to drop of the price of the 5DM2 (to what, I don't know yet) and keep it on the market is pretty important, too: $3,500 is pretty steep for a lot of people who want to go full-frame, and it helps keeps Canon in competition with the newly price-reduced Nikon D700.

As you'd expect, the 5DM3 consists of a combination of technologies, features, and design updates rolled out in the EOS 7D and the more recent 1D X. The result is a camera that looks similar to its predecessor but that's otherwise almost completely different. … Read more

It looks like Nikon's highly anticipated D800, a large-sensor SLR that supplants the three-year-old D700, will cater to photographers who want to leave behind that mixed blessing of digital photography, the antialiasing filter.

The job of that filter is to remove moire artifacts--wavy lines and other visual distractions that can occur when an image sensor's grid of pixels captures an image with repeating elements such as fabric patterns. The antialiasing filter works by slightly blurring the image, which is convenient when moire is a problem but which degrades sharpness in the many situations where it's not. … Read more

The Sony Alpha SLT-A77V is an excellent, well-designed camera for deep-pocketed amateurs.

I'll lead off by saying that I enjoyed shooting with the A77V more than any camera since the Nikon D7000. It's heavy, especially with the 16-50mm kit lens (which, by the way, has become my favorite Sony lens), but the grip is comfy, it feels well balanced, and with only a few exceptions, has the controls in the right places. The EVF is a pleasure to use. It's packed full of solid features, although still missing a couple key ones. And of course the photo … Read more

Photographer Stephen Oachs didn't go to Kenya to take product photos, but he might have gotten a doozy anyway--shots of an unreleased but highly anticipated Canon SLR.

It's not clear what exactly Oachs found, but he posted photos of the apparent Canon SLR on his blog for those who want to take a guess. The usual caveats about prototypes and other uncertainties apply, of course, but it's definitely possible that he stumbled across a prototype of the Canon 5D Mark III.

The design looks in many ways similar to a Canon 7D, a 2009-era SLR released after … Read more

Nikon hits the important highlights with this replacement for the D3S: improved autofocus, increased durability, better performance, and more-competitive video capabilities.

Updated 1/10/12 with slideshow.

We've been anticipating this one for a while--Nikon Rumors pretty much nailed it down on December 19--but a copy of Réponses Photo surfaced with the story just ahead of Nikon's formal announcement.

According to the magazine, the D4 will replace the D3S; unlike Canon, Nikon doesn't seem to be merging its vertical-gripped pro bodies into a single line. It should also be available before the 1D X, as well as cheaper, supposedly shipping in February for about $6,000. The lower price is unsurprising given the slightly slower burst and less magnified viewfinder, which are the features in a dSLR for which it's increasingly expensive to eke out 1 more frame or a fraction of a multiple. In fact, it reportedly will retain the (quite good) viewfinder from the D3S.

Here are the specs as far as I know them (I will backfill with more details when they become available): updated at time of announce:… Read more

Big Lens is an image-editing app with a unique interface for adding effects and manipulating focus in your images. You start by snapping a picture or importing one from your photo library, then use touch-screen controls to set the aperture, change periphery blur levels, and adjust background light to create a bokeh effect. What's interesting about the app is that you have the ability to draw where you want focus or blur effects.

You start by drawing over the part of the image you want in focus, then hitting the arrow in the upper right to apply the effect. … Read more

The tl;dr on Canon's new pro camera: Yowza.

Canon's celebrating the 10th generation of its EOS-1 pro body with an overhaul, both of the hardware and the line itself. A consolidation of the fast, sports shooter with the high-resolution full-frame camera, the EOS-1D X replaces both the full-frame 1Ds Mark III and the APS-H 1D Mark IV with a single, double-grip full-frame model with fast continuous shooting. The price most closely resembles the 1Ds, though, at $6800.

That opens a big gap between the please-replace-it-already 5D Mark II and the new top of the line. And I suspect that when a 5D Mark III eventually surfaces (probably not until next year), it's going to be a lot more expensive--in part because of a weak dollar and the increased costs associated with the various natural disasters that have plagued production in Asia, and in part because Canon could probably get away with it. Especially if it incorporates some of the whizzy new technology (assuming it all works as advertised, of course) that's in the 1D X.

Where to begin? On the outside, you'll find an updated control layout, with some extra buttons joysticks designed to streamline shooting with the vertical grip. On the inside, there are new autofocus and autoexposure systems in addition to the de rigueur new sensor with an enhanced dust-reduction system. It has an entirely new shutter mechanism. There are new features, including a 1000BaseT Ethernet port, 3 custom settings groups (finally!), and a nine-shot multiple-exposure mode.

Basically, it's a whole new camera. Check out the basic specs before I get into details:… Read more