(Credit:
10x10)
Although its Web site calls it the Transformer Camera, we don't really see it resembling an Autobot or a Decepticon. However, there's more here than meets the eye as this large film canister is actually a working 35mm film camera.
The online store is in Korean. Here's what we can make out of it after running it through Google Translate. The lens' focal length is fixed at 35mm with an aperture of F10, and it requires an AA-size battery to operate.
Measuring 2.5 inches by 5.5 inches and weighing just less than half a pound, the camera is portable enough to carry around in a sling bag or backpack.
Given that film cameras are enjoying a mini revival these days, we'll probably see the Transformer Camera soon in novelty stores. If you can't wait, the Web site prices the shooter at approximately $20. No shipping details were provided.
(Source: Crave Asia via Crunch Gear)
(Credit:
Nikon)
Today Nikon announced the AF-S DX 35mm f1.8 G lens, a "fast-fifty" for DX shooters. It's a fast aperture prime lens with a DX-equivalent focal length of 52mm, replicating the classic 50mm focal length, long a standard in photography for having a field of vision similar to the human eye.
The fast f1.8 aperture is great for low-light shooting, and it has a narrow depth of field for portraits for intentionally blurring the background. The lens has a closest-focusing distance of 11.7 inches and features Nikon's Silent Wave Motor for fast and quiet auto focusing. It is compact and lightweight at 7 ounces.
Nikon's Super Integrated Coating on the lens works to reduce chromatic aberration and lens flare. A rounded diaphragm with a 7-blade aperture creates a nice bokeh, adding a more pleasing look to out of focus background elements.
The new Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.8 G lens has an attractive estimated price of $199.95, and is scheduled to be available in March, 2009.
Is Hasselblad feeling some pressure from the more plebian realm of 35mm SLR cameras?
That's the thought I had when I got a promotional e-mail from the high-end camera maker offering a 31-megapixel H3D-II and an 80mm lens for $17,995--a lower price, the company is eager to note. The tagline of the promotion: "If you thought you couldn't afford a Hasselblad, think again."
Hasselblad's H3DII-31 medium-format camera now can be purchased for $17,995 with an 80mm lens.
(Credit: Hasselblad)Those of you who aren't photographers for Vogue advertisers or astronauts taking snapshots of the moon might not be familiar with the Hasselblad name, but it's a prestigious brand that makes "medium format" cameras. However, like every camera maker, it's navigating choppy waters during the transition from film to digital photography.
For photography, bigger can be better. The larger film area provided by medium-format cameras can outdo the smaller frame size of 35mm film in detail, and some of those advantages carry over to digital sensors.
But with digital, the math is unforgiving: it's not much more expensive to make a large frame of film, but it's a lot more expensive to make a large digital image sensor. Medium-format digital camera technology from Hasselblad, Mamiya, Phase One, and others are costly, and indeed, even the 35mm format is confined to a small, higher-end segment of the SLR business as camera makers moved to sensors that are roughly two-thirds the size.
The H3D-II uses a sensor that's 44x33mm, significantly larger than the 36x24mm of 35mm film but not as large as the 50-megapixel 48x36mm sensor Kodak builds for Hasselblad's top-end camera.
Canon, the leading seller of 35mm SLRs, has its eye on the medium-format market. Its $8,000 top-end 21-megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark III is specifically geared for studio photographers, for example. Sony has committed to full-frame 35mm digital SLRs, with a 24-megapixel model planned for later this year, and Nikon is rumored to have its own high-resolution full-frame rival in the works. (I should have been clearer that I meant a high-resolution Nikon alternative to the EOS-1Ds Mark III; Nikon has offered a lower-resolution though high-sensitivity full-frame model since introducing the D3 in 2007.)
Hasselblad is aware of the threat: "For a little more than high-end 35mm solutions and much less than many competing medium format solutions, you too can begin using the world's most advanced digital camera system," the company said.
Sony's new 24.8MP sensor could help make the relative newcomer to the SLR market become a force to be rekoned with.
(Credit: Sony)In a surprise announcement that underscores how dedicated Sony has become to its digital camera division, the company says that it has developed a full-frame, 35mm-format 24.81-megapixel CMOS sensor. As if a high-rez, full-frame sensor isn't good enough, Sony says that the new sensor will be able to yield an impressive 6.3 frames per second. By contrast, Canon says its 21.1MP EOS 1Ds Mark III can shoot up to 5fps. The strange part about the new Sony sensor is that it only offers 12-bit output, while higher-end SLRs, such as Canon's 1Ds Mark III and Nikon's D3, already offer 14-bit output.
Further details remain murky, for the most part, though Sony did say that the sensor uses what they call a Column-Parallel A/D Conversion Technique, which means that each column of pixels on the sensor gets its own analog-to-digital converter. Sony says that this helps keep noise levels low, while allowing for faster A/D conversion, which likely contributes to the sensor's fast frame rate. However, Sony hasn't said whether this new sensor will be part of its Exmor line of sensors or if it will be included in the company's upcoming pro-level SLR, which was first announced at last year's PMA show. We will continue to try to dig up more information about the sensor while at the show and will provide an update if any new information comes to light.
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