by Patrick on November 19, 2008
It seems like only yesterday that I was extolling the virtues of the Nikon D90, since it’s become fashionable to pan the D90 as of late, due to a not so perfectly implemented (but in our opinion, still very cool) high definition video feature. Unfortunately, this railroads an important forgotten feature of the Nikon D90, it’s abilities as an actual camera, at which, it is an adept performer. Today Think Camera reviews the D90, and yes it receives high marks. I liked the distinction they made between the D90 and D300:
The D90 is no slouch in its abilities, it just isn’t the same camera as the D300 - nor is it meant to be. In fact the emphasis is perhaps weighted more towards a creative and ‘fun’ side; the feature set it well-rounded across the whole shooting spectrum - speed, image quality, body size (smaller and lighter beast), continuous shooting, plus the bundle of creative picture controls and emphasis on in-camera manipulation.
-Think Camera
No question, the D300 is much more serious camera, but the D90 is a capable camera, with its own benefits, smaller stature, more affordable, hd video, while at the same time equaling the D300 in image quality. Not a bad deal at all.
You can get your Nikon D90 here at Amazon or here at B and H Photo Video.
by Patrick on November 19, 2008
Hands down one of the most gorgeous compacts, the Sony Cybershot DSC-T700 is also packed with drool worthy features. Inside there’s a 10 megapixel sensor with Super Steady Shot and processing courtesy of the BIONZ image processor, pulled in from Sony’s DSLR line up. The back of the T700 is dominated by 3.5 inch LCD, a 921,600 dots per inch 3.5 inch LCD to be exact. Optics are handled by a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x zoom lens. All of that wrapped in the brush aluminum case measuring 5/8″ in width. So yes there’s a whole lot to like in the T700, and the folks at Imaging Resource tend to agree in their review. On the enormous internal storage (4GB) of the T700 and its benefits:
But what really sets the Sony T700 apart is its 4 gigabytes of internal storage.
If you’ve got an iPhone, an iPod touch, or an iPod photo, you know how much fun it is to have an album in your pocket. And the bigger the better. It won’t really hold your entire photo collection but it will probably hold a year’s worth of images if you shoot birthdays and holidays and a vacation — especially if you don’t bother shooting at the highest resolution.
-Imaging Resource
To be clear, the T700 isn’t going to win top honors in image quality from a compact, but it does a fine job nonetheless, and does it with amazing good looks.
Sony Cybershot DSC-T700 at Amazon
Sony Cybershot DSC-T700 at B and H Photo Video
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
Nikon has released firmware version 5.02 for the SB-900:
The following improvements have been made in version 5.02
- With uninterrupted shooting with the SB-900 set to i-TTL mode, images captured just before the flash ceased firing were sometimes overexposed.
This issue has been resolved. By resolving this issue, metering precision has been further increased and the number of times the flash fires has also been increased.
- When the SB-900, set to TTL auto flash mode, is used with a camera supporting the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), flash mode automatically changes to A mode according to camera communication status. That flash mode was previously maintained, but it has been modified so that TTL auto flash mode is rest
Get the updates here: mac | windows
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
The best application for adding custom borders to your photography, PhotoFrame 4 Pro has a new interface and an improved selection of borders, making it much easier to come up with the right frame for your photographs. Photography Blog has a review posted of the new PhotoFrame 4 Pro and came away liking it.
To make it easier to browse through the thousands of options, the light table can show you an entire group of similar effects that can be zoomed in for more detail. When you find frames that you use frequently, you can add ratings and add them to your favorites group for quick retrieval. The content has also been dramatically updated to provide more usable frame and effect options.
-Jon Canfield/Photography Blog
Frames are fun to try, but easily overdone. I’m always on the fence about borders, and film effects, but it can help define a photo when done appropriately. Key word: appropriately.
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
iPhone lomography apps by Erik Peterson, now available on the app store. Just a dollar each, and perfect for giving pictures on your iPhone that vintage look. I have to say I’m quite agreeing with Scott that “Vint Green” is the hands down winner.
h/t ISO50
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
The fully featured Canon PowerShot SX10 IS packs a lot into its rotund casing. Flip out LCD, movie mode with stereo sound, a 20x zoom, a reasonable 10 megapixels, and DIGIC IV processing. It’s recently been featured in a number of reviews:
The Canon SX10 IS then proves to be a solid and reliable option for both the uninitiated moving up to a bridge model for the first time, and those stepping down momentarily from a DSLR who are looking for a model as a back up, or perhaps to supplement their existing lens range, but in a more portable and user-friendly format.
-Photography Blog
and
Canon’s PowerShot SX10 IS is a great choice for anyone in the market for a super-zoom camera. It delivers a massive 20x range with quick AF and highly effective stabilisation, a fully articulated monitor, flash hotshoe, movies with stereo sound and full manual control. The only downsides are visible fringing in the corners, slow continuous shooting and the lack of RAW recording and HD video – coincidentally the same downsides as its predecessor.
-Camera Labs
There are some worthy competitors out there, including Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ28, which might look slightly better on paper. In addition Canon offers the Canon’s PowerShot SX1 IS, which is faster, shoots 1080p video, a bigger LCD, and a handy HDMI port. It’s also more expensive. Tough choices, but the SX10 IS would be a fine one, just perhaps not the best looking one.
Camera Lab’s review.
Photography Blog’s review.
The Canon PowerShot SX10 is now available at Amazon for $339.48.
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
That was pretty fast:
About MacBook, MacBook Pro Trackpad Firmware Update 1.0
This firmware update addresses an issue where trackpad clicks may not be recognized on MacBook (Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (Late 2008) systems.
The update package will install an updater application into the Applications/Utilities folder and will launch it automatically.
Just check your software updates to get it.
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
The D90 has gone from darling to duck recently, largely on the basis of the video feature, a freebie thrown in by Nikon, that has no negative impact on the D90 being able to take incredible pictures. The D90 is essentially a D300 in D80 clothing (Last I checked the D300 was a pretty good camera) and it seems odd that being able to shoot HD video, even if not perfectly implemented, somehow effects the value of the Nikon D90. Luckily Let’s Go Digital comes in with a review with some reminders that as a camera, the D90 isn’t too shabby, some excerpts:
Color reproduction of the Nikon D90 is fairly consistent and deviates only slightly over the entire light sensitivity compared to the Gretag Macbeth Color Checker. The color reproduction looks fine and extremely natural….
The dynamic range is excellent; the Nikon D90 even gets more out of it compared to the D300. The consistent graph shows an excellent to fine result of the D90 up to and including ISO 6400….
The Nikon D90 responses extremely fast which gives you the feeling you never respond faster than the camera….
-Let’s Go Digital
So let’s be clear, the Nikon D90 is a great camera, I’d say the best in its class, then on top of that you get a bonus HD movie mode that you can use or not use. That sounds like a good deal to me.
Read Let’s Go Digital review.
You can get the Nikon D90 at Amazon for $893.99
or at B and H for $999.95.
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
For the most part, the Pansonic G1 has gotten excellent reviews and there hasn’t been a whole lot of hatin’ on the EVF, a crucial design feature on this and all future micro four thirds cameras. Of course there’s always a contrarian out there:
But I find EVFs incredibly distracting when I’m shooting. For one thing, they never simply fix exposure; when you focus and recompose, or if the light simply changes, it has to gain up or down to compensate so that you can still view the scene. Even if you mentally adjust for that and know that what you see in the viewfinder doesn’t reflect the real exposure, the constant change is incredibly annoying.
-Lori Grunin/Crave
I can see how that would be a problem…
link
by Patrick on November 18, 2008
Looking awfully similar to something found in a Cracker Jack box, the Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS is actually the kit lens to the Panasonic G1 and its small stature is a big part of the appeal of the micro four/thirds format. In a review at SLR Gear, it’s pretty clear that just because the Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS is small in stature, doesn’t mean it’s lacking in performance:
The 14-45mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 produces very sharp images in a wide array of focal length / aperture combinations. At its wide-angle settings (14mm) and used wide open at ƒ/3.5, the lens is very sharp, hovering at about one blur unit with just a hint of corner softness.
-SLR Gear
It’s not just sharp at wide angle, but also pretty sharp mid-range and telephoto too. The Panasonic 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS holds up well in the other tests as well, CA, distortion, build quality, all good. All in all, a pretty nice fit for the G1, and not so bad for Cracker Jack lens.
