dSLR

Sony's confusion of dSLRs

2/1/2008: Thanks to lack of sleep and rusty HTML skills, the previous table entries for the A700 were incorrect. Sorry for my own addition to the confusion. Fixed now. Lori.

I suppose it was inevitable. With its latest camera announcements, Sony brings its scorched-earth camera marketing philosophy--blanketing each price segment with multiple choices in hopes that one combination of design and features hits pay dirt--to consumer digital SLRs. Today's announcement of the Alpha DSLR-A300 and A350 brings Sony's total number of dSLRs in the $700 to $900 range to three. The models, despite some really nice … Read more

Exclusive video: Hands-on with the Canon XSi

You've read the blog, now see the video. Starring Phil and Canon's new consumer dSLR, the EOS Rebel XSi.

Pentax 14.6-megapixel dSLR leapfrogs competitors

You've gotta admire feisty little Pentax. Undeterred by a dSLR market dominated by Canon and Nikon, plus the deep-pocketed relative newcomer Sony and tireless veteran Olympus, Pentax continues to refine and innovate its offerings rather than just trying to sell cheap models built from off-the-shelf parts. This year sees the first tangible result of the company's alliance with Samsung, a 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor, which makes its way into Pentax's new midrange model, the $1,300 K20D (body only). Pentax's other new model, the entry-level $799 K200D (a kit with the new smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm … Read more

Sony's $700 dSLR looks like a contender

Though Sony's Alpha DSLR-A100 currently occupies the price slot of an entry-level dSLR, that's just an accident of time, a midrange model that stayed too long at the party. Sony's first true foray into the entry-level market arrives in the Alpha DSLR-A200, slipping into the market niche currently hogged by the Nikon D40x and Canon EOS Rebel XTi. Preliminary specs include:

10-megapixel, 23.6mm x 15.8mm Super HAD CCD ISO 100 to 3200 Super SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization 9-point AF sensor with single cross-type sensor in center 40 segment exposure metering system 230,000-pixel 2.7-inch … Read more

Stereoscopy for your digital SLR

I have had a pet interest in the 3D photography technology called stereoscopy ever since my mom gave me a stereoscope of 19th century design for some boyhood birthday. Although the technology remains a small niche of photography, it is being adapted to the digital age.

I recently came across the Loreo 3D Lens in a Cap, a stereo lens that works on most film or digital SLRs. It's a 38mm lens with an f/11 of f/22 aperture that takes two images of the same scene from slightly different perspectives.

With stereoscopy, your brain can reconstruct depth … Read more

Shoot to kill with the Canon Digital Rebel XT digital SLR, $382

Been waiting to pull the trigger on a digital-SLR camera? Wait no more: Dell has the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT--by all accounts a fantastic model--for $382. Considering that this baby sold for upwards of $900 when it debuted a couple years ago, it's pretty much a steal at that price.

Specs include an 8-megapixel sensor, 7-point auto-focus, and loads of fancy photographic features that, quite frankly, I don't pretend to understand. I can tell you that I bought an original Digital Rebel several years back, and I absolutely lurve it. (I won't, however, tell … Read more

Sony firms up Alpha A700 firmware

Sony just released a firmware update for early models of the Alpha DSLR-A700--to version 2.x from firmware version 1.x--well as updates for the Image Data Converter and Image Data Lightbox bundled software applications. If your current firmware version is 2.x, you're already covered. To find the magic info, press Menu & Display together to check.

According to Sony, "The camera firmware update improves image sharpness and reduces noise under certain circumstances. It also improves flash control at very short distances with non-ADI control lenses. The updates for the bundled software applications correct the functioning of … Read more

Is the Olympus E-3 dSLR unfashionably late?

Olympus shipped its first interchangeable-lens dSLR, the pro-level E-1, in the fall of 2003. Four years is a long time to wait for a new model, especially given the rapid pace of technological change in the dSLR category and a cast of photographic characters hungry for the latest and greatest to help boost their earnings potential. Consumers buying their first (and perhaps even second) dSLRs will follow where great technology leads, but pros must commit to a camera system that includes lenses and flashes. Once they've moved on, it takes more than just a snappy shutter and flashy LCD … Read more

Sony's Alpha for Amateurs

Although it made its unofficial debut under glass at last winter's PMA show with naught but "Sony's amateur dSLR" to identify it--and an equally and still mysterious big brother by its side--Sony's Alpha DSLR-A700 finally gets a name, a price, and some specs today.

The long-awaited (at the very least by Konica-Minolta diehards) midrange dSLR incorporates Sony's latest 12-megapixel CMOS chip. Unlike most other sensors, this new model performs its analog-to-digital conversion on its chip, rather than in the imaging pipeline, which Sony claims delivers better control over image noise.

I had a chance, … Read more