Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

slr

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

Phase One takes lead in camera sensor test

Medium-format digital cameras, which have larger sensors and higher price tags than even high-end SLRs, didn't fare so well in earlier tests of sensor quality by measurement firm DxO Labs, but Phase One's newly tested top-end technology has risen to the top of the DxOMark Sensor test.

Phase One's 60-megapixel P65+ camera scored 89.1 on the test, edging out the Nikon D3X, which scored 88, according to data released Thursday. In addition, the 51.7-megapixel Hasselblad H3DII 50, an older model than Phase One's, scored 78.2. Click here to compare the two models and Nikon's D3X.

The DxOMark sensor test measures a camera sensor's dynamic range, color depth, and low-light performance. DxO Labs cautions that differences of less than 5 points aren't really distinguishable, and of course many other factors including price, lens quality, autofocus, and resolution factor into overall camera quality.

The P65+ features the best color performance yet, but DxO Labs said its comparatively good performance in low-light conditions helped it carry the day. … Read more

Nikon D5000 consumer dSLR does video

Thanks to a rather public ad photo shoot, one of the most notable aspects of Nikon's new D5000 dSLR leaked early last week: its flip-down and 360-degree twist articulating LCD. This model, which more or less replaces the popular and long-lived D80, also includes perks such as video capture and a lower price. (Tables updated with corrections 10:30a 4/14/09)… Read more

Study: Camera market slump to hit SLRs, too

Thus far, SLR camera sales have been a bright spot in the camera market, but analyst firm IDC expects the recession will hit the higher-end models, too.

Worldwide camera shipments are expected to drop 6 percent to 129 million units in 2009. Single-lens reflex (SLR) shipments won't be hit as hard, but still will drop 5 percent to 9.2 million units, according to an IDC forecast released Monday.

"Countries will emerge from the global recession in mid-2010, starting with the U.S. However, unemployment will lag behind the recovery, dampening consumer spending for the next two years, … Read more

Nikon mystery firmware unmasked

With the debut of theNikon D90, a third and mysterious L firmware module appeared below the A and B readouts on the camera. Until now, no one has really known what it was for.

Estimable former CNET freelancer and prolific book author David Busch took the time to solve the mystery and share the results in his blog: it's for the updateable lens database. Not the most thrilling news in and of itself, but interesting when you consider that it can also hold lens-specific distance information, which can theoretically improve performance of many of the subsystems, such as … Read more

Q&A: Canon helps usher in the video SLR era

The camera industry and photographers, having just gotten accustomed to the arrival of video in point-and-shoot cameras, just now are beginning to grapple with its arrival in the more serious SLR realm.

Chuck Westfall, technical adviser for Canon's professional products marketing division and a 26-year veteran at the Japanese company, is in the thick of it. Nikon was the first to market with a single-lens reflex camera equipped with video, the D90, but Canon offers video in two SLRs: the high-end EOS 5D Mark II, with a large sensor the size of a full frame of 35mm film, and the Rebel T1i, a more affordable, mainstream model.

These cameras combine high-definition video--1900x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second in the case of the 5D Mark II--with SLRs' advantages when shooting in dim conditions and with a broad variety of lenses. But even though today's video SLR features offers hold some appeal to enthusiasts and professionals, they're something of an awkward afterthought. SLRs and those who use them that haven't yet had much time to adapt.

Welcome to the world of digital photography, where change is incessant. In an interview with CNET News, Westfall talked about not just video, but also OLED displays, the arrival of rival full-frame SLRs from Sony and Nikon, changing flash card and file format standards, wireless networking, and more.

Question: The age of the video SLR has begun. A lot of people in the high-end camera market are set in their ways, and video is a radical difference for a lot of them. How does that change the camera design, the marketing, and everything you have to do to sell a camera?… Read more

Nikon prepping new low-end SLR?

Nikon's lower-end SLR line is due for a revamp, and there are some signs that it could come soon in the form of a model featuring an articulated screen.

Photos of an SLR with a screen that pivots out and twists surfaced Sunday at the Something Awful forum and Monday at Engadget; the photos depict the production of a Nikon commercial in Eastern Europe, according to the forum posting from "indyjb" and Engadget.

Articulating screens are nothing new; some Olympus and Panasonic SLRs feature them, while some Sony models have a pivoting LCD that can be useful. … Read more

Olympus goes to space for 90th anniversary

Olympus was founded in 1919, which makes this year its 90th birthday. To celebrate this special occasion, the Japanese company is sending its cameras beyond the stratosphere into outer space.

Astronaut Koichi Wakata will take with him to the International Space Station the Olympus E-3 dSLR, with its 11-22mm F2.8-3.5 lens, ED 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD telephoto optics, and peripherals such as a battery grip. Wakata will snap pictures of Earth from Kibo, a Japanese experimental module built within the ISS. As a new facility is being built near it, the view of Earth will soon be … Read more