Canon's new S90 high-end compact camera.
(Credit: CNET)Adobe Systems released beta software on Wednesday to support raw images from Canon's higher-end new compact cameras, the Powershot S90 and G11, Olympus' rival E-P2, Panasonic's FZ38, and a host of SLRs.
The software updates are betas of Lightroom 2.6, the Camera Raw 5.6 plug-in for Photoshop CS4, and the DNG Converter 5.6. All the software uses the same raw-image processing engine.
Raw images provide more flexibility and image quality but require more processing; typically only higher-end cameras support raw file formats. Most folks are happy with JPEG, but many photography enthusiasts prefer raw.
It's a hassle, though: Adobe and various competitors spend a lot of energy reverse-engineering each new camera's format before software such as Lightroom, Aperture, or Picasa can open and edit the photos.
Raw images are the norm for SLRs. The new beta software supports raw images from Canon's higher-end EOS 7D, and Nikon's new professional-grade D3s, the Pentax K-x, and Sony's A500, A550, and A850. Also on the list are medium-format models from Mamiya and Leaf. For a full list, check the blog post announcement from Lightroom Product Manager Tom Hogarty.
The new software also corrects an error in Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 that could mar images from some Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic and from various medium format digital camera backs. The glitch only affected people with PowerPC-based Macs.
Update 8:02 p.m. PST: As Michael Reichman observed on the Luminous Landscape site, Canon's S90 is a member of a newer breed of camera that corrects lens distortion on its own, making parallel lines parallel again. Naturally, I was curious if Adobe's raw processing techniques did the same, because the distortion can be pretty severe, and fixing that manually is impossible in Lightroom and a hassle in Photoshop.
So I asked Adobe. The answer: yes.
"The S90 raw support in the release candidates (Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6) provides distortion correction that allows our raw processing results to match the optical characteristics of the JPEG output and what's viewed on the camera LCD," Hogarty said.
Canon has released new firmware for its EOS 7D camera that it says fixes a ghost-image problem in which faint traces of one image could show in the next.
Version 1.1.0 of the camera firmware "corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible," Canon said of the update.
The ghost-image problem showed only in some circumstances when the camera was used in continuous-shooting mode and was more apparent when software was used to enhance the image.
The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.
(Via Rob Galbraith)
Canon has warned that traces of one photograph taken with the company's new higher-end EOS 7D SLR can sometimes be seen in the next.
Canon's EOS 7D
(Credit: Canon USA)The good news: new software for the camera should be able to fix the problem at some point. "Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue," the company said in a a service notice.
The problem occurs only when shooting continuously, Canon said: "In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image."
The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.
(Via Cameratown)
It counts only as a footnote compared to today's announcement of the professional EOS 1D Mark IV camera, but Canon also had a nice nugget of news for those who've invested $2,700 for the 5D Mark II SLR.
Canon's EOS 5D Mark II
(Credit: Canon USA)Specifically, through a firmware update due to arrive in the first half of 2010, the SLR will be able to shoot 1920x1080 video not just at today's rate of 30 frames per second, but also at the 25fps rate used in European TV and the 23.976 fps rate used in cinematography, videography, and U.S. TV.
Lisette Ranga, program marketing specialist for Canon USA, confirmed the change Tuesday.
The 5D Mark II isn't a cheap camera, but it's an affordable option in some circles--documentaries being one example. "The Battle for Hearts and Minds," a documentary on Afghanistan by independent filmmaker Danfung Dennis, was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II. In some situations 30fps is fine, but a lot of the videography industry is built around a rate of 23.976 frames per second.
However, there's no word on whether the firmware update will also enable 60fps video at the lower 1280x720 resolution--a feat possible with the new EOS 7D, an 18-megapixel camera with a smaller sensor and lower price than the 5D Mark II.
The firmware update reflects how software updates available over the Internet can significantly change a camera after it's introduced, something that gives camera makers some new flexibility to fix cameras and adapt to customer desires. The 5D Mark II arrived in late 2008, but through a firmware update in January, Canon fixed a "black dot" problem that afflicted high-contrast areas of some images, and in June, Canon added manual controls for video.
Via Planet5D
(Credit:
Nikon USA)
Budget for a smaller turkey this Thanksgiving; you'll need to save your pennies if you want to upgrade to Nikon's latest pro dSLR when it ships at the end of November. With a few substantial changes that should appeal to nighttime shooters or the video-inclined pro, packed into the old D3 body, the slightly more expensive D3S seems like it'll be a decent successor.
Though it retains the same 12.1-megapixel resolution and 8.45-micron pixels of its predecessor, the D3S uses a new sensor. Combined with updated image-processing firmware, Nikon manages to eke out sensitivity of up to ISO 102,400 (Hi 3), for a whopping 10-stop sensitivity range. How much of that will be usable? Well, the D3's looked pretty good as high as ISO 12,800--formerly Hi 1 and the new top of the standard range--and given the tweaks it should at least gain another usable couple of stops, which is worthwhile in itself. I saw some prints from Hi 3 shots taken with a preproduction model, and they looked pretty serviceable for emergency shooting in the dark.
The other major enhancement is support for Nikon's 24fps, 720p video implementation, which allows for shooting with sensitivities up to ISO 6400, shutter and aperture adjustments in preview mode and selectable sound levels. Like most models it has a built in mono mic, though it has a minijack for stereo audio. Plus Nikon supplies some postprocessing for trimming video and extracting frames.
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Does the body color of a camera say anything about how it performs?
(Credit: Pentax)On September 16, Pentax launched the K-x, an entry-level-ish digital SLR that it's offering in navy, red, white, and black versions. While different body colors are not unusual for point-and-shoot digital cameras, offering more than a black dSLR is still rare. (In fact, just Pentax and Sony offer color options, currently.)
Unfortunately, after testing many snapshot cameras available in a single color as well as those offered in several colors, I've developed a working theory that the more colors a camera comes in, the more likely there's something wrong with the model.
It's not the case with all cameras, but more often than not that's how things shake out. It's especially true if its available in more than four options and if the company has gone with two-word color names like flaming red or warm silver.
Want examples? Check out the Nikon Coolpix S220, the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS, and the Casio Exilim EX-S5. The Nikon and Canon come in six different colors, the Casio in five. And all three of them have issues with performance, photo quality, or both. (Though, if forced to go with one, the SD1200 has the fewest issues.)
All of these are lower-end models, too, which brings me to my next point: expensive point-and-shoot cameras come in three colors or fewer, and usually only in one: black. Serious photographers only buy black cameras, right?
Which brings me back to the Pentax K-x. The camera colors are definitely refreshing and will likely get people questioning you on the street. They also make the K-x more approachable for those switching from a pocket camera, which fits its entry-level status. But would you take someone seriously if they were shooting with a bright red digital SLR? I'm leaning toward "no." Much like laptops, colorful cameras are great until you want to be taken seriously.
Tamron's new 17-50mm lens gets vibration compensation.
(Credit: Tamron)Tamron has updated its higher-end 17-50mm zoom lens with its vibration compensation technology to counteract camera motion.
The company released a 17-50mm model with a constant F2.8 aperture last year, but updated it with vibration compensation to a new model called the SP 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC. Tamron added the new feature "without materially increasing its size and weight," the company said.
But one thing is different: price. The earlier version costs about $450--and note that it's not being discontinued--while the image-stabilized version costs about $650. Tamron is selling a Nikon version initially and a model for Canon SLRs shortly afterward, it said.
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Half a year after the camera's debut, Canon released promised firmware that updates its vaunted EOS 5D Mark II SLR with the ability to manually control camera settings while shooting video.
The much-desired feature lets users set aperture, ISO sensitivity, and shutter speed manually. It was the first Canon SLR to support video, and the only one so far that can shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second, but previously it only could shoot video in a fully automatic mode.
The firmware 1.1.0 update is available from Canon's Web site, as are update instructions (PDF).
The omission led to much carping among those who expected more control over their imagery from a 21.1-megapixel SLR that costs $2,700 with no lenses. For example, people couldn't specifically set a wide aperture to attain a shallow depth of field that blurs the background behind the video subject, a cinematographic effect that's hard to attain with standard point-and-shoot video.
The new video mode is activated using the standard controls for setting ISO, aperture, and shutter speed after the camera dial is set to the "M" mode for manual shooting. See the excerpt from the user manual update below for details.
On my camera, the update took about two minutes to install and my testing showed that the feature worked as advertised. The firmware fixes five other glitches, too; the full list is at the bottom of this post.
Update 8:30 a.m. PDT: Contrary what I found earlier, aperture and shutter speed can be changed while you're shooting. Of course doing so shakes the camera and adds audible noise if you're using the built-in microphone, and exposure changes in fixed steps, not smooth transitions, that are pretty glaring in the video.
You also can set ISO to "auto," in which case the camera makes its best guess about exposure while leaving shutter speed and aperture alone.
(Credit:
Canon)
Aside from the video feature, here's what Canon says firmware 1.1.0 fixes:
• Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
• Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable. Digital Photo Professional software version 3.6.1 or later (for Windows and Macintosh) can be used to automatically correct the peripheral illumination of raw and JPEG images that were captured in the Peripheral Illumination Correction setting with cameras that have Firmware Version 1.0.7 or earlier.
• Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.
• Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.
• Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.
DSLR Camera Remote software lets your iPhone or iPod Touch remotely trigger Canon dSLRs.
(Credit: OnOne Software)Still longing for a decent camera on your iPhone? All you need's an app and a Canon dSLR and the dream is yours. Well, not exactly, but OnOne Software's DSLR Camera Remote application lets your iPhone or iPod Touch control most Canon dSLRs going back circa the 20D.
Announced in mid-May but available now, the system is a combination of two pieces of software: the free DSLR Camera Remote Server application, which runs on a Wi-Fi-enabled host computer, and either DSLR Camera Remote Professional ($19.99 with an introductory price of $9.99) or DSLR Camera Remote Lite ($1.99), both of which are available via iTunes or the iPhone App Store. Basically, you tether the camera to the host system and use the iPhone/iPod to communicate with the camera via the computer over Wi-Fi.
The Lite version looks pretty bare bones: it can fire the shutter, show the image, and tell you battery status and number of photos remaining. The pro version supports Live View (assuming the camera does); lets you adjust shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, ISO, and white balance; choose quality; and zoom during review. It also adds intervalometer capability.
According to the company's blog, "For those of you who are Nikon shooters and are wondering 'Hey, why is this Canon only?' the answer is: 1. Because most of us here have Canon cameras; and 2. This is our first iPhone app and we're not sure how well it will be received." So if you want a version for your Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, or other model, head over there to request it.
Updated 7:16 a.m. PDT with further details from Canon in Europe, and 9:20 a.m. with further details from Canon USA.
Canon plans to release firmware June 2 to address a common complaint about its EOS 5D Mark II, a $2,700 digital SLR that's generally been lauded for its image quality but criticized for its lack of manual controls when shooting video, the company said.
SLR cameras give photographers close control over settings including shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity, and the enthusiasts and professionals who buy high-end cameras often understand and use those options. Since the 21-megapixel 5D Mark II was introduced a half year ago as Canon's first SLR to feature video abilities, the video operated in a fully automatic mode in which the camera selected those settings.
Manual control over video will arrive with Canon's 5D Mark II through a June firmware update.
(Credit: Canon)That became a common cause for complaint. For example, people couldn't select a wide aperture, or F-stop, to ensure a shallow depth of field that would direct attention to a video's subject while making the background an undistracting blur. The lack of manual controls contrasted with two big video advantages of the 5D Mark II, the ability to shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second, and a large, full-frame sensor that's particularly good at dealing with difficult low-light conditions.
"This new firmware will accommodate a great number of user requests for manual exposure control in the EOS 5D Mark II video mode. Manual exposure control while shooting video on the EOS 5D Mark II is expected to make a big impact with cinematographers and videographers using the 5D Mark II for high-end HD video production," Canon said.
A customer newsletter said the feature will permit control over ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Canon's European press release was more forthcoming, saying that shutter speed would range from 1/30th of a second to 1/4000th and that ISO would include the camera's regular span of 100 to 6400 and also the extended H1 setting of 12,800.
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