dslrs

As it seems with every other generation of Canon dSLRs, the EOS 50D was a solid, if somewhat uninspired follow-up to the extremely well-received 40D. Now it's the 60D's turn to be the interesting model. It combines some of the best elements of the T2i and 7D in an updated--and occasionally frustrating--redesigned body. I, along with a few other reviewers, got a chance to shoot with the camera--as per our policy CNET footed the bill for my trip rather than Canon--and have sample photos and some preliminary analysis of the photo and video quality and ergonomics of the camera.

The most notable enhancement over the 50D is, of course, video capture, and the 60D offers the set of frame rates and manual exposure controls that have made Canon's dSLRs a favorite among the small but vocal group of indie filmmakers. The built-in microphone is mono, but has a stereo mic input; it has a wind filter and the same sound controls as the 5D Mark II. The 3-inch articulated LCD is also a great boon for shooting video. While it's a very nice LCD, though, I frequently had trouble viewing it in direct sunlight.

Of more interest to straight photographers, the 60D gains an improved autofocus system--better than the 50D but not as good as the 7D--as well as the advanced iFCL metering system of the T2i and 7D and a built-in wireless flash controller like the 7D. Canon's provided a welcome update to the scene modes, making them a little less rigid; they're less automatic, allowing you to adjust some parameters. Though the camera still only supports a 3-shot bracket, the range has been expanded to 3 stops. And at users' request, the company has added a 3:2 aspect ratio setting. Although the sensor resolution is the same for all the current midrange cameras, the T2i and 60D have 4-channel readouts rather than the 8-channel readout of the 7D's imager, making it slower. Despite rumors to the contrary, the 60D incorporates the same Digic 4 image processor that's been around for the last few years.… Read more

Ah, the concept display. It's a way for companies lagging behind competitors to promise wonderful and amazing things, throwing potential purchasers of seemingly less marvelous products into a paralytic tailspin, without actually have to deliver. They inspire media paeans and page-turning slideshows--guilty as charged, for the latter at least--creating buzz. Most often, the final product turns out to be drastically different (remember the Olympus Micro Four Thirds concept?) or at best is just a parity-match for the competition (Samsung NX10, anyone?).

Sony is this year's concept master, showcasing an entire line of fictional products--plus a couple prototypes, one … Read more

Correction posted at 1:56 p.m. PST to clarify how Joshi attached the lenses to his phone.

The iPhone 3GS has a 3.2-megapixel fixed-lens camera and that seems to satisfy most users, but not Bhautik Joshi. The iPhone 3GS has a 3.2-megapixel fixed-lens camera and that seems to satisfy most users, but not Bhautik Joshi. The engineer at ILM R&D fitted optical drive lenses to the Apple phone's case, then stuck on a few PVC pipes to accommodate his 18-55mm Canon glass.

Personally, I think this this hack is way overdone. I'm pretty … Read more

Lexar follows close on the heels of SanDisk's announcement of its 90MB per second Extreme Pro CompactFlash card with its own player, the Lexar Professional 600X. Like SanDisk's, these expensive, ultrafast cards aren't for everyone; as detailed in the Extreme Pro post, you really need to be shooting with a fast, high-resolution camera recent enough to support UDMA 6 or frequently downloading lots of files with a fast reader to see the benefit.

I repeated the casual testing I did with the SanDisk card, and while the Lexar seems to be faster overall than the SanDisk, there are two things to keep in mind: different capacities will frequently perform differently and Lexar doesn't make the same durability claims or seem to invoke the error-correction algorithms SanDisk touts; the latter probably add some performance overhead, and might be a valuable trade-off for some shooters.… Read more

With the winter Olympics looming on the horizon, Canon's announcement of an update to its pro sports-shooting mainstay, the EOS-1D series, comes as little surprise. While the buzz will probably center around the incorporation of a similar video-capture engine to that of the 7D, (thanks to slick, promotable-at-launch pro videos like this) or the incredibly high max sensitivity of ISO 102,400 (like the D3S), neither of those matters much if it can't deliver on its core mission of fast, accurate autofocus (AF) and low noise in the midrange sensitivities.

The reputation of the EOS' AF system has taken a beating over the past couple of years, and Canon seems to have pulled out the stops to redeem itself--of course, only time and testing will tell if it's succeeded. On paper, though, with more cross-type AF points, enhancements to improve low-light/low-contrast AF, and an update to its predictive AF tracking algorithms, it has the potential to outpower the veteran system in the D3S.

Here's where it stands on the key specs:… Read more

Continuing its tradition of aggressively priced dSLRs, Pentax's K-x model breaks the low ground by offering video capture support in a kit that costs less than $650: the body alone for Nikon's D5000 runs about $700, Canon's EOS Rebel T1i a bit more and Sony and Olympus don't even offer video yet. And for good or ill, Pentax will also be offering navy and red versions a month after launch, as well as its Stormtrooper white and traditional black models. According to Pentax, women traditionally constitute 20 percent of its dSLR sales, but that increased to 50 percent for the white K2000/K-m model. As such, I wanted to thank Pentax for not offering a pink version, as well as for using a single naming convention for the US and the rest of the world.

Now that the K200D has been disoncontinued, the K-x sidles up next to the dirt-cheap K2000 in Pentax's product line; unlike many crowded competing dSLR lineups, the K-x it differs enough from its line mates that Pentax shouldn't bewilder its own customers.

Like the cheaper models, the K-x runs off 4 AA batteries--some people think that's a plus, others not so much--has the same superior-for-its class viewfinder as on the K2000, and looks like it uses a similarly austere design, color choices notwithstanding. It introduces a 3-shot High Dynamic Range capture feature which debuted in the K-7 and sounds like the one in Sony's recently announced (and more expensive than the K-x) Alpha DSLR-A500 and A550 and creative filter modes à la the K-7 and Olympus.

Here's where it fits in Pentax's current lineup:… Read more

Updated, September 1, 2009: As expected, Canon announced the 7D, and all the rumor information turned out to be correct. I've added more details below.

There's enough seemingly reliable information floating around the Internet to guess that Canon plans to announce the long-rumored EOS 7D any day now. For those willing to slog through it, Canon Rumors offers up a difficult-to-parse Google Translate version of a Chinese press release from which everyone's painstakingly pulled the basic specs. (I'll update this post when the camera's officially announced; consensus has that happening on September 1, though it's not clear which continent that refers to, so it might be September 2 here in the U.S.)

Rather than an inexpensive but full-frame version of the 5D Mark II, the 7D looks to be a direct competitor for the Nikon D300s--and it's about time. Canon basically ceded the entry-level pro performance market to Nikon in 2005 with the arrival of the D200; since then, Canon's 30D, 40D, and 50D have taken the slower but less expensive road, with a relatively stagnant AF system, that Nikon leapfrogged. But with entirely new AF and metering systems, a new high-resolution (and seemingly low-noise) eight-channel readout sensor coupled with dual Digic 4 image processors and a new 100 percent coverage viewfinder, plus 1080p video capture, the 7D looks like an aggressive attempt to make a comeback.… Read more

Shipping in November, just in time for your holiday purchasing fun, Olympus' E-600 dSLR will offer a slightly stripped-down version of the E-620 for consumers whose price elasticity is stretched to the breaking point. At $599.99 with the 14-42mm kit lens (28-84mm equivalent), by dropping down $100 Olympus will be taking on the Nikon D3000 (and whatever new model Canon finally decides to ship--its entry-level model is overdue) in a very competitive price segment.… Read more

With the announcements of the Alpha DSLR-A500 and A550, Sony brings what feels like a market microsegmentation strategy to dSLRs. These models raise the total of new Sony dSLRs costing less than $1,000 up to five; if you count the older A700, which hasn't been formally discontinued, then you've got 6 Sony dSLR options squeezed into the $400 gap between $549 and $999. A welcome plethora of choices, or a try-anything-and-see-what-sticks strategy? I can't answer that for Sony, but I've been staring at the specs for hours and still can't figure out why the A380, introduced only 3 months ago, exists in this family.

The cameras incorporate Sony's latest technologies for improving low-light shooting experiences. They both use Exmor CMOS sensors (compared to CCDs for the lower-end models), debuting updated on-chip noise reduction which processes chroma and luma channels separately. The quality of its noise suppression has long been one of Sony's weak points, and this can only help. Will it bear scrutiny up to the extended sensitivity of ISO 12,800? I can't wait to test them and see.

They also debut Auto HDR, a variation on the Hand-held Twilight mode, one of the few things I liked in the company's DSC-HX1 megazoom. Auto HDR snaps two sequential shots at different exposures and combines them into a single shot with "optimal" highlight and shadow detail. It doesn't have quite as much control as I'd like--you'll be able to manually select the amount of the bracket, but it's limited to two shots and it doesn't save the individual frames, just the combined result and only as a JPEG--but it's potentially a superior approach to the gamma-adjusting schemes such as Sony's Dynamic Range Optimization and Nikon's D-Lighting. Provided there's no performance overhead, of course.

In addition to the resolution differential between the A500 and A550, the A550 has a higher resolution LCD--the same one used on the A700 and A900--and a faster burst option called Speed Priority mode, which basically forgoes continuous autofocus. (With AF, the continuous-shooting performance is the same.)… Read more