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April 2007 - Monthly Archive
 DigitlalCameraInfo have the first impression on the new Olympus E-510. Here’s the conclusion: “Olympus is steadily improving its Four-Thirds cameras. We like the styling and operation of the EVOLT E-510 much more than the E-330. We don’t know about the EVOLT E-510’s image quality, but there was a significant jump in quality from the E-300 to the E-330. Our full review will tell if that trend continues, but given the state of the art at this end of the DSLR price range, we expect the EVOLT E-510 to be a player based on its features and styling.”
Likes
- Small size
- Enlarged live view
- Image stabilization
- Dust control system
Dislikes
- Outdated autofocus system
- Small optical viewfinder
- Flimsy kit lens
- Slow projected burst speed
Website : Olympus E-510 First Impression
 
 Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the immediate availability of the highly-anticipated Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 Design Premium and Standard editions and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Standard editions. This revolutionary release of brand-new, tightly integrated, design and development software unites the best of Adobe and former Macromedia® product innovation to provide designers and developers worldwide with a broad spectrum of creative options.
Also available for purchase today are new versions of the following stand alone Adobe creative applications: Adobe Photoshop® CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe InDesign® CS3, Adobe Illustrator® CS3, Adobe Flash® CS3 Professional, Adobe Dreamweaver® CS3, Adobe Fireworks® CS3, and Adobe Contribute® CS3. These new Adobe CS3 applications and Adobe Creative Suite 3 editions are available as Universal applications for both PowerPC® and Intel-based Macs and support both Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista™. Customers will experience increased levels of performance and speed running Creative Suite 3 natively on Intel-based Macintosh systems and the latest Windows hardware.
Website : Adobe Announced Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended
Download : Adobe Photoshop CS3 DataSheet (PDF)
 The Microsoft Future Pro Photographers Photography Contest is the most lucrative contest of its kind and provides a unique opportunity for college and university student photographers from around the world to showcase their artistic talent and photographic style. Microsoft is committed to carrying the art of digital photography forward by encouraging new and emerging talent at the student level to learn, utilize, and implement state-of-the-art equipment, software, and techniques to produce the finest images possible.
For student photographers, this is an opportunity to Kick Start Your Career as a future professional photographer. The exciting prize packages include a Grand Prize of US$20,000 cash and a digital workflow prize package. There will also be three First Place winners in the following categories: Nature & Landscape; People & Portraits; and Fine Art who will each win US$2000 cash and a digital workflow prize package as well.
The submission period is April 1st through May 31st.
Website : The Microsoft Future Pro Photographers Photography Contest
 Linda Knapp from the Seattle Times recently wrote an article titled “Nikon’s D80 wins over one more shutterbug” that compares the 70-300mm lens on the Nikon D80 camera with her previously owned D70. Here’re some interesting comments from the article:
“The D80 has 10.2 megapixels, compared with the 6.1 megapixels on my D70s. That’s a significant difference, and it enables the newer camera to gather a lot more image information when capturing the shot. That’s good. But. … All those extra megapixels take up significantly more space on a hard drive.
Good thing I’ve already switched to saving my RAW and TIFF image files on an external hard drive rather than on my Mac’s internal hard drive, which is filling up.
According to Nikon, the D80 also features a high-resolution 12-bit image-processing engine, faster startup (.18 seconds) and faster shutter response (80ms).
It can take up to 2,700 images per battery charge (with the Nikon EN-EL3e Lithium Ion rechargeable battery). It has a more sophisticated metering system and a larger 2.5-inch LCD view screen with wide-angle viewing.
…Again, I’m successful shooting in low light because I shoot in RAW, which enables me to increase the exposure later, in Photoshop, without adding noise.”
Website : Nikon’s D80 wins over one more shutterbug from Seattle Times
 JDArt from the PhotoCamel website posted these useful tips about buying a used DSLR camera from the web. “…smaller cameras such as the Nikon D70 or Canon 20D boast more megapixels and smaller size. These once sold for as much as 2 thousand dollars when new just a couple of years ago. Now, they’ve available for a quarter of that price.
But does it make sense to buy an older DSLR when the latest models offer more megapixels? The short answer is “yes.” The longer answer is that savvy digital camera buyers have long known that image quality is about more than megapixels. Pictures from the Nikon D1X, for instance, have been used in National Geographic for years, and you probably look at images from older DSLR cameras from Canon, Nikon, or Olympus every day in newspapers and magazines. Here’s what to look for to help you find a true bargain at a good price.
What’s the condition?
You really can tell a book by its cover when buying a used DSLR. A camera that’s been well cared for be obvious, although you should ignore minor scratches and scuff, as these will appear on most used equipment. Handle the camera if you can. If you’re looking at online auctions, make sure the picture you see is of the actual camera being sold. Ask the seller if you’re not sure.
Pro-level DSLRs such as the Nikon D1H or D1X and the Canon 1D are built tough to withstand the rigors of frequent professional use, so the camera itself is likely to last many years.
How many pictures?
Approximately how many pictures have been taken with the camera? Getting an answer to this question will tell you a lot about how much the camera has been through.
Digital SLR cameras are designed to take anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000 pictures before the camera’s shutter - the mechanism that moves inside the camera when you snap a picture - may need to be replaced. Replacing the shutter is generally not cost prohibitive - around 200 dollars from a factory-authorised service centre - but the more life you have left on the original shutter, the better.
Owners of Canon 1-series cameras can find out exactly how many pictures a camera has taken by using the CanCount utility, which can be downloaded freely from the Internet.
Money back?
It’s not too difficult to find sellers of used DSLRs who will offer a money-back trial period. Take advantage of this if you can find it. That way, if anything is wrong with the camera, you can return it for a refund.
Dead pixels?
It’s not terribly uncommon for older DSLR cameras to have one or more dead pixels that show up on photographs. Ask the seller of the camera whether there are any dead pixels. Look for units with none.
Buttons, termainals, and flash
Make sure that all buttons work without sticking, and check all terminals and on-camera sockets to be sure that they are not damaged.
Serial number?
Prefer cameras that come with original box and paperwork, and get a copy of the original receipt, if possible. Exercise more caution if someone is selling a camera body only, without accompanying paperwork. Get the camera’s serial number and check it against a stolen equipment registry.
Remember that a DSLR is often sold without a lens, so you’ll either need your own compatible lens or you need to look for a camera that’s sold with a lens. Lenses are precision optical instruments and come in many focal lengths, which is one reason why DSLR cameras are preferred by photographers who want to get the best possible picture.”
Website : CanCount Software to show Number of Shutter Actuations
 Sigma today announced its first firmware update for the SD14 DSLR, version 1.01. The update is said to offer three improvements:
- Sensor cleaning can be done by powering the camera from the battery
- Improved speed setting and slow-sync mode for “A” mode flash photography
- Improved image quality when reviewing images on the camera’s LCD monitor
In addition, the update fixes overexposure when using flash, incompatibility with FAT16 CF cards, occasional camera freeze, LCD flicker, and wireless flash problems. A bug in the menu which didn’t save the AdobeRGB setting when changed from sRGB has also been fixed, as well as improvemnts in the Korean-language menu.
The Sigma SD-14 is a 14MP DSLR with a Foveon X3 sensor and is claimed to provide unusually good color reproduction due to the unique construction of the sensor.
Website : Firmware Update for Sigma SD14
Sigma may be better known as a lens manufacturer, but it has a long-running history as a camera manufacturer too, with a number of well-received 35mm SLRs to its name before digital capture became the dominant force. As the digital SLR market grew it wasn’t long before the company joined the fray, announced the new SD14 with help from sensor manufacturer Foveon. Here’s conclusion of the review from WhatDigitalCamera:
“We don’t mind that the SD14’s specification isn’t groundbreaking because what’s on offer is all you need to take a photograph. There aren’t the distractions of scene modes or features that you’ll never use or need, making this camera the closest thing to a ‘manual’ DSLR that we are likely to see and it makes a refreshing change.
Unfortunately, what features the SD14 has got just don’t seem to have gelled together this time round. While the metering system is sound, the automatic white balance is unpredictable, the AF is lacklustre and the overly soft images (especially 14MP JPEGs) make picture- taking less pleasurable than it should be.”
What Digital Camera Score 79%
Website : Sigma SD14 Review by WhatDigitalCamera
 Luminous Landscapes has reviewed the Delkin DSLR SensorScope and concludes, “The complete Delkin SensorScope sells for US $189.99. It is a brilliant product, and I know of nothing else on the market that is equivalent, or as useful. But, the bad news is that to get the SensorScope one is forced to buy the entire kit, which includes a fitted carry case, the SensorVac, and the SensorWands and SensorSolution.
The vacuum device didn’t impress me, and I can do without it. The swabs and solution are fine, but there are alternatives. The fitted case is OK as far as it goes, but bulky and unlikely to end up anywhere other than in basement storage.
The real star here is the SensorScope itself, and frankly it gets my highest recommendation. But at close to $200 it is seriously overpriced, and so on that basis the entire kit (the only way to currently get a SensorScope) isn’t something that I can recommend. My advice to Delkin is – ramp up manufacturing to get past the current backorder situation (April, ‘07) and make the SensorScope available as a stand-alone product for under $100. Then you’ll have a product that few photographers will want to be without.”
Website : SensorScope 5X magnification for DSLR Sensor Cleaning
Website : Delkin DSLR SensorScope Review at Luminous Landscapes
 
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