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Why I don't have a DSLR

A few days before Apple started selling the iPhone, I decided I wasn't going to buy one, and I said… Read more

Full-frame camera sensors: a tough technology

Update: I added a tidbit about Nikon not manufacturing its own sensors.

Steve Hoffenberg, a camera analyst at Lyra Research, had a ready response to news that Nikon now has an SLR, the D3, whose sensor matches the full size of a frame of 35mm film: "I think it's about time."

Indeed, Canon has a five-year head start in the market and, unlike Nikon, has spread the technology down from professional-level models to the enthusiast category. But it's not simple to add full-frame sensors alongside the more common SLRs with smaller sensors.

One big reason is … Read more

Canon decision bodes well for raw photo fans

The people, bless their hearts, have spoken.

As reported Monday, Canon will restore raw-image support for its G line of compact cameras when its new $500 PowerShot G9 goes on sale in October. Raw images, the unprocessed data from an image sensor, retain a lot of information that's otherwise thrown away when cameras convert sensor light into a JPEG image. Raw images are useful for tasks such as correcting underexposure, enhancing tonal subtleties and tweaking color balance for different lighting conditions.

Raw images are not for everyone. They're bulky, usually proprietary, and photographers have to spend time staring … Read more

Ogling the innards of new Canon SLRs

Cameras have always been marvels of miniaturization, but with the switch to digital technology, engineers have had to squeeze electronics and computers into camera bodies already filled with mechanical and optical components.

Most folks only see the outsides of cameras, but the insides can be works of engineering art, too. Canon's latest SLRs, the $8,000 EOS-1Ds Mark III and $1,300 EOS 40D, are a good case in point.

Here are some of the views I found most interesting.… Read more

Canon launches a barrage of new printers

Have you recovered from the onslaught of new Canon cameras yet? Now that you have a shiny new camera, how about picking up a shiny new Canon printer to go with it? Because as many cameras an Canon released this week, they're not losing pace on the printers. The new offerings include three photo-oriented multifunctions, three office-oriented multifunctions, two single-function photo printers, and one portable photo lab. Whew! Ready for the rundown? Here we go...

If you're interested in a photo-oriented printer but still want the flexibility of being able to scan, copy, and fax, check out the … Read more

Canon barrage

Whether you're in the market for a professional high-resolution heavyweight or a feather light ultracompact, Canon's got you covered with one of the 8 new models on its Fall lineup.

Canon announces the EOS 40D. Really. This isn't a rumor. Canon's EOS-1Ds Mark III reaches 21 megapixels Canon PowerShot G9 hits 12 Canon's budget megazoom, the PowerShot SX100 Canon updates high-end Elphs Canon's new dSLRs get some new accessories

Canon announces the EOS 40D. Really. This isn't a rumor.

Although rumors began to circulate about this model as much as a year ago--for example, here's a Crunchgear post from September, 2006--the Canon EOS 40D will finally hit stores within the next two weeks. Unsurprisingly, the much-speculated upon replacement for the EOS 30D introduces some long-requested features, integrates some of the new technology from the EOS 1-D Mark III and delivers the usual bump in resolution and performance. The pricing remains similar to that of the 30D, with a body-only version for $1,299 and a kit including the EF f/3.5-5.6 28-135mm IS USM lens … Read more

Canon's new dSLRs get some new accessories

In conjunction with the Canon EOS 40D and 1Ds Mark III announcements, Canon also let loose with some new lenses and accessories.

At the high end, intimidating all the other lenses, sits the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, a $2,199 prime lens optimized for use with the 1Ds Mark III. Among other things, it's got improved dust-proofing and weatherproofing around the lens mount, and a round aperture (for a more natural depth-of-field blur). Canon says it's sharper than the original in the corners as well as the center, and that the increase to two aspherical … Read more

Canon PowerShot G9 hits 12

Despite the plethora of cheap dSLRs on the market, there's still room for some all-in-one, relatively compact enthusiast cameras--at least that's what seems to keep Canon's PowerShot G series going year after year. The latest model, the PowerShot G9, replaces the G7; the model naming skips a digit, lest it be confused with the more economically inclined G8 summiteers.

Key specs: 12 megapixels f/2.8-to-4.8, 35mm-to-210mm-equivalent (6X) optically stabilized lens Raw file support 3-inch LCD Digic III image processor

Still smarting from users' response to its having dropped raw-format support form the G7, Canon reinstates … Read more