Panasonic have just introduced five new additions to their compact digicam portfolio. The GPS-enabled TZ10 (or ZS7 in the US) and the TZ8 (ZS5) are the most interesting of the bunch but we also have the rugged FT2 and the budget-minded ZX3 and FX66.
Panasonic TZ10 and Panasonic TZ8
The flagships Panasonic TZ10 and TZ8 are near identical with their 12x zoom (25 – 300mm in 35mm equiv.) LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens and 1/2.33” 12 megapixel sensors. Read more »
Waterproof digital cameras have always been great fun to use – you don’t have to worry about damaging them so much and you can focus on taking photos instead. Unluckily most of them are so ugly that you’d rather not be seen carrying them in public.
Luckily here comes Sony to the rescue with its TX5 Cyber-shot waterproof compact. It is not officially announced yet but the leaked press materials are of pretty high quality so it shouldn’t take too long to appear.
This round of the annual Wildlife photographer of the Year competition, organized by BBC and the Natural History Museum ended with a scandal as the winner was stripped of his award. The judges ruled that Jose Luis Rodriguez used a trained animal to take his winning shot, without declaring it, which is against the contest rules.
A brief look at the rulebook of the contest informs us that “Images of captive animals must be declared. The judges will take preference to images taken in free and wild conditions.” What’s more interesting is how did the judges find out that the wolf in the shot was tame. Read more »
In yet another shootout the Nikon D3S proved that there’s no better DSLR as far as high-ISO performance is concerned. Tested against the closest to direct competitor that it will ever have, the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and the last full-frame camera that Canon released, the EOS 5D mark II, the Nikon D3S left no one wondering who is the real Lord of the Darkness.
What’s interesting to note is that despite being more than a year old and considerably cheaper, the full-frame Canon 5D mark II still performs better than the APS-H 1D Mark IV at both higher and lower ISO. Of course it’s actually making the photo that matters to 1D Mark IV potential owners and things like sturdy weather-sealed body, continues rate shooting speed and focus accuracy are enough to justify its price tag.
ISO 1600 • ISO 6400 • ISO 25600 (from left to right: Nikon D3S, Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 5D Mark II)
ISO 1600 • ISO 6400 • ISO 25600 (from left to right: Nikon D3S, Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 5D Mark II)
Back to the original topic I have to say that the Nikon D3S once again shows that its photos, shot at ISO lower than 51200 are perfectly usable for virtually anything. It gets a little messy at ISO 51200 but if you don’t pixel-peek or make too large prints it’s still pretty fine. ISO 102400 is of pretty limited use of course, but it isn’t much worse than what the 1D mark IV has at ISO 25600. So that’s almost a good two stop advantage in favor of the Nikon, which is light years ahead (in photography terms at least).
ISO 51200 • ISO 102400 (left: Nikon D3S, right: Canon 1D mark IV)
ISO 51200 • ISO 102400 (left: Nikon D3S, right: Canon 1D mark IV)
On the other hand the far better video recording of the Canon 1D Mark IV and the higher pixel count will be more than enough to earn it quite a lot of customers. The reporter’s camera segment was dominated by Canon a few years ago and people (usually) stay where their lenses are in this business so the 1D is safe for now. But maybe, just maybe, the next time Canon announce a sensor with insanely high ISO settings they should also deliver a performance that can justify its existence.
The TransferJet technology was introduced by Sony two years ago, but it’s finally picking up speed. It’s a wire-free data transfer technology, kind of like Bluetooth but going at the speed of 802.11n Wi-Fi – 530Mbps. However it only works over a distance of 3cm range.
After we saw the mcroSDHC standard reaching its theoretical maximum last week it now came turn for the CF to fulfill its potential. Silicon Power released a 128GB 400x card that promises the amazing 90 MB/s read and write speeds, which is basically as fast as they get.
So if you hate how fast the new DSLR video mode consumes free space, this is certainly a happy day. And with a write speed like that you won’t have to worry about your buffer filling up either.
Samsung have just announced 5 new compact digital cameras. The new offerings include something for everyone with the two high-end superzooms Samsung HZ35W and Samsung HZ30W, the mid-range Samsung TL110 and Samsung TL105 and the entry-level Samsung SL630.
Samsung HZ35W and Samsung HZ30W
The 12 megapixel Samsung HZ30W and HZ35W feature really cool sounding 24-360mm (in 35mm equivalent) Schneider KREUZNACH lenses with 15x optical zoom. Read more »
The Canon EOS 1D Mark IV still has a pre-order status at most online shops but some lucky fellas have already gotten their hands on one of those babies. The professional photographer John Deeb is among the chosen ones and he has been kind enough to share some high-ISO shots taken with the new APS-H flagship (APS-H is the name of the peculiar Canon sensor with a 1.3x crop factor).
Sony have just introduced a new member of their Alpha family of DSLR cameras. The Sony Alpha 450 is a budget version of the A550 and is built around the same 14 MP CMOS sensor with available ISO settings from 200 to 12800. A few features have been sliced off to get the lower price tag and here we have the missing link between the A3xx series and the A5xx series.
The jury is still out on the “mirror-less interchangeable lens systems are the future” case but Samsung have already jumped on the bandwagon. And when a company of this caliber enters a new market it is usually a good idea to pay attention. The Samsung NX10 is the first member of the new NX series of mirror-less interchangeable lens cameras.
The Samsung NX10 body is built around a 14.6 megapixel APS-C-sized CMOS sensor, which as we suspect is the same as (or closely related to) the Pentax K-7 one. Considering how bad the Pentax K-7 did, we are hoping we’re wrong on this one as the Samsung NX10 packs quite a lot of interesting features.
The DSLR-style NX10 sports a VGA electronic viewfinder and a 3.0″ OLED Read more »
Taking images at night can be a tough challenge. Either you have to carry around a tripod or you’d better forget about shooting when lights are turned off. But guys, as it turns out, our prayers have been heard: the recently announced full-frame DSLR Nikon D3S may be the solution we’ve been waiting for.
Its specs list looked too good to be true but its first high-ISO tests prove that dreams come true (if you have piles of cash that is). Or at least the one of a camera capable of taking good images in low light. Read more »
We have a feeling the photo community won’t be exactly thrilled about this but here it goes. Canon has just filled a patent for a touchscreen DSLR that would allow changing the aperture and the shutter speed by finger sweeps across the screen.
There are many other features described in the patent that would also be touch controlled such as metering, exposure compensation etc. but there is no saying of the exact nature of the gestures that would be used.
In terms of feature set and technology innovation, the Canon EOS 7D is definitely a ground breaking prosumer camera in the Canon DSLR portfolio. And it’s got a new portfolio segment all to itself.
I was anxious to get it as soon as it became available and for the past couple of months I’ve been using it extensively for various photography tasks. And here’s a spoiler for you – I’m really pleased with it. To learn more, check out the full preview.
This is hardly really tech news but it’s so hilarious that we couldn’t help ourselves but share it with you. Apparently the eternal my lens-is-brighter-than-your-lens war is now taking over the music stage. The rap video below tells the story of the contemporary Romeo and Juliet who cannot be together due to the differences in their photography gear tastes.
The video probably won’t bring any Grammy awards to its creators but we bet it can bring a smile on your face. Check it out after the break.
Casio are obviously keen to refresh their digital cameras lineup in time for the Christmas shopping spree. The new offering by the Japanese company is called EX-G1 and according to the manufacturer is the slimmest shock-resistant camera in the world.
Measuring just under 20mm (19.8 to be exact) at its slimmest part the Casio EX-G1 can withstand a drop of 2.13 meters and is waterproof at up to 3 meters. It is also capable of working in dusty and extremely cold (up to -10°C) environment.
Nokia Lumia 925 comes into our office, flaunts its new design, display and software
Sony Xperia Tablet Z is not afraid of water or our camera, stars in quick hands-on video
US LG Optimus G Pro hands-on
BLU Life One hands-on impressions
Samsung Galaxy Fame battery test complete, numbers are inside