The Gadget Blog » dSLRs

Now That’s Auto Focus, Says the Olympus E3

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:58 +0000

What better way to advertise the Olympus E-3 Digital SLR Camera’s auto focus ability, than by showcasing a very automatic focusing activity? Out more than two years ago, this scene of men stealing quick glances at ample mammaries is nonetheless timeless—especially if the female subject of attention has a low neckline and shiny slender legs.

In any case, thanks to its relative age, this high-end dSLR now goes for $200 less than its original $1300 launch price, from Buy.Com.

Olympus E-3 Digital SLR Camera – 10.1 Megapixel – 2.50 Active Matrix TFT Color LCD ($1050 from Buy.Com)

From Ads of the World (Thanks Teh Mordo!)

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Awesome Canon 7D Preview Video

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:00:12 +0000

Photographer Jason Magbanua was lucky enough to get a pre-production Canon 7D unit. And since he was only given less than two days to try it out, he decided to create a mini-documentary. Perya features what’s apparently a staple of his home culture, and shows off the 7D’s 24p 1920 x 1080 video capture capability, and good performance under low-light conditions.

The video benefited from Magbanua’s wide arsenal of lenses. According to him, it features no color grading or even lighting whatsoever. Here’s the video description, edited for clarity:

We wanted to document something truly Filipino and came up with the idea of shooting a “Perya”. There really is no direct equivalent in English. It’s not as grand as a carnival, not as permanent and posh as an amusement park, there are no pumpkins nor cows in competition like a country fair. It is what it is—a Perya.

Shot in 1920 x 1080 at 24p. Transcoded to XDcam codec. Edited in Premiere Pro CS3.

No color grading was utilized. No additional lights used.

Lenses:

16-35 mm 2.8

17 mm TS

35mm 1.4

50 mm 1.4

85mm 1.4

100 mm 2.8 macro

70-200 mm 2.8

I’m no professional photographer, but all I know is that the 7D’s video quality definitely outdoes the Canon 5D’s. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the above video in full-screen mode, fool.

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New Sony DSLRs Support SD Cards!

Rico Mossesgeld — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:00:36 +0000

Sony’s new Alpha DSLR-A230, A330 and A380. But for those who are fans of the maker’s cameras, here are the useful facts (courtesy of Crave):

Model	A230	A330	A380
Sensor	10-megapixel CCD		14-megapixel CCD
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 – ISO 3200
Viewfinder	95 percent coverage 0.83x magnification	95 percent coverage 0.74x magnification
LCD	2.7-inch fixed	2.7-inch tiltable
Live View	No	Yes
Continuous shooting	2.5fps
Autofocus	9 points
Dimensions (W x H x D)	5.0″ x 3.8″ x 2.7″	5.0″ x 3.8″ x 2.8″
Weight (ounces)*	15.9	17.3
Replaces	A200	A300	A350
Price	$549 (with 18-55mm lens) $749 (with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses)	$649 (with 18-55mm lens) $849 (with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses)	$849 (with 18-55mm lens) $1,049 (with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses)

*add about 1.8 ounces for battery and card

Most interesting about all three new models though is its support for SDHC cards, on top of typical support for Sony’s own Memory Sticks. Here’s to hoping the same happens to some future version of the PSP.

All three cameras will become available for pre-order “this week” from sony.com, for a sometime July release.

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Probably the First dSLR Lens You’ll Buy

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:04:52 +0000

So you’ve spent on your first dSLR, and it probably comes with kit lens. Eventually, you’ll realize working with just one set of lens is pretty limiting. The prospect of buying new lens to increase your versatility becomes more enticing.

That’s the subject of a great article on Gearlog, which attempts to take the literally endless suite of lens options and trim the list down into something not too overwhelming for dSLR newbies.

So, what’s it going to be? I’m not going to steer you toward a specific brand or size, but I do have some advice to help you narrow your choices. I can see this is going to take more than one entry to cover properly, so lets start with prime lenses versus zoom.

A prime lens is a lens with a single focal length. A 50mm lens is a prime lens. A 17-55mm lens is a zoom lens.

Why would anyone ever buy a prime 50mm when that 17-55mm or 18-125mm zoom covers its function and a lot more? It’s simple. Prime lenses are less complex, make fewer compromises and are more often than not faster and sharper.

From personal experience, I do suggest that new dSLR owners get a set of 50mm prime lens. Most (if not all) of my friends and acquaintances who are into photography—whether enthusiast or professional—reveal that their second set of lens was the 50mm prime.

That’s because the 50mm prime is the cheapest lens you can get with high aperture. In layman’s terms, aperture usually dictates the blur difference between the subject of your camera’s focus, and the rest of the picture. It produces a great effect, particularly when taking portraits: while the background is blurry to the point of pointillism, the face remains really clear.

The same effect is also useful when you want to call attention to a particular object in the picture, isolating it from everything else. Or you like your foreground to be really sharp while the background isn’t, or vice-versa. The point is, even though you’re limited to one zoom level (50mm), there’s a lot you can do with this kind of prime lens, making it worth the relatively low cost compared to more advanced lens. Since you can’t zoom though, you may have to do a little forward or backward to get the frame you want. In most cases though, that’s no problem.

(image courtesy of Canon USA)

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Canon Promises 21.1 Megapixels With 5D Mark II

Rico Mossesgeld — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:30:02 +0000

Canon USA just announced the Canon 5D Mark II, continuing the tradition of offering full-frame digital SLRs at a significantly lower price. For the uninitiated, full-frame dSLRs feature an image sensor as big as a 35mm film frame, allowing more versatility in terms of photographic possibilities and usable lens.

Anyways, this baby’s powered by the DIGIC 4 image sensor, sensitivity up to ISO 25,600, and the ability to capture full-HD clips at 1920 x 1080 resolution—with a max of 30 minutes or 4GB (looks like Canon’s stepping up to the Nikon D90’s challenge). Whatever’s captured is viewable via the 3″ screen on the back, or by an HD display via the HDMI port.

Canon promises an SRP of “only” $2,699, which is a lot less than the initial $3,000 price tag of the first 5D. Check out all the details in the full press release.

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