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Canon Fodder

More new cameras are rolling in, as those caissons go rolling along. Canon Powershot digital cameras are here and on sale. Three models rolled in Tuesday and they are nice. The Powershot SD 960 IS is here and has several innovative features.  A few of the new canon point and SD960 IS is actually a great camera, heck its almost a bonafide Canon Camcorder.
Here are the Bullet points from Canon.

12.1 Megapixel resolution with a 28mm wide-angle 4x Optical Zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilizer.
HD movie shooting capability plus HDMI output for easy playback of video and photos on your HDTV.
Large 2.8-inch PureColor LCD II widescreen and wide viewing angle.
Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settings for the camera based on 18 predefined shooting situations.
New Active display technology for quickly switching between images during playback with a shake of the camera.
Four elegant, sophisticated colors with a new easy to use button configuration.
DIGIC 4 Image Processor has evolved Face Detection Technology that tracks the faces of moving subjects and lets the shooter enter the frame seamlessly with the Face Detection Self-timer.

Check out the big HD format screen on this beauty.  I can just imagine the YouTube movies from this in HD. Should be sweet.  Come on in to Roberts Imaging in Carmel or Indianapolis for a demonstration.



The Wait Is Over

Those of you who have been clamoring for new Nikon lenses clamor no more. At least if the object of your attention was the Nikon AF-S 35mm 1.8 G then your wait is over. We here at Roberts Imaging in Indianapolis have them now.  At under $200.00  and featuring fast glass, faster focusing, sleek design and tremendous Bokeh, this lens promises to be as big a crowd pleaser as the Nikon AF-S 50mm 1.4 G’s  that have been flying off our shelves. 

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Shutter Niftiness

OK, so, it’s no secret that I’m a big friggin’ nerd. I’m a webmaster, right? It’s part of the turf, really.

So, it should also come as no surprise that as I was making my daily rounds, I was excited by Digital Photography School getting their tutorial how shutter works up.

It should surprise you even less that when I found a link within that article that goes to an interactive slideshow that shows a physical, real-life D3 firing in astounding slow motion, that I was basically entirely too excited.

So, I’ve always had a vague concept of how first and second curtains work on cameras like Nikon digital SLR cameras and their ilk, but seeing it physically happen as fast or slow as I want to, frame by frame, certainly makes it make a lot more sense.

So, go ahead, get your nerd-goggles on and go check this out:

D3 Mirror and Shutter Firing in Slow Motion



All In The Family

I’m almost done with the New Nikon Coolpix Camera introductions. At least the ones that have arrived here at your headquarters for Nikon camera sales in Indianapolis, or on the Internet.  We’ve talked about the Nikon Coolpix L-series cameras, the Nikon Coolpix S220 and S230 cameras, and in an earlier blog (The Next Wave; February 19th) I talked up the new Nikon Coolpix S560 cameras.
Now it is time to move up to the next branch of the Nikon family tree. It’s time to look at the Nikon Coolpix S630 cameras.

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Panasonic gets real with SLR video recording

Panasonic announced what I believe to be a pretty big announcement at PMA 2009 in Las Vegas.  They premiered the DMC-GH1 Micro Four Thirds SLR that records full HD video.

It sports a 12.1 MP Live MOS sensor that can record up to 1080/24p or 720/60p high definition videos and has continuous AF and a built-in stereo microphone.  You can add your own microphone to the camera through the optional mic input jack.  The camera can be coupled to the new Panasonic Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm lens that is designed for the video feature.  It’s image stabilized too.

These new SLR’s with video keep pushing the borders of High Def camcorders.  The big drawback up to this point has been autofocus and auto exposure on the video side of the SLRs.  Panasonic has supposedly addressed this.  I can’t wait to get my hands on one.  The fact that this model records in AVCHD is also a plus because you can squeeze a lot more onto the SD memory card, and AVCHD, like it or not, is the format that most camcorders are using today.  Compatibility is always a good thing.

Check out the hands on preview at DPreview.com.  Looks pretty cool!  I lifted the following picture from their site.  (Thanks DPreview.com)

Panasonic DMC-GH1



Family Ties

Yesterday I told you about the entry level Nikon L series cameras. Now we move up the ladder to the number 3 and 4 spots. The S220 and the all new S230, like all Nikon Digital Cameras today these too have Nikon digital camera lenses with Optical glass elements for better contrast, color and picture clarity.  The Nikon Coolpix S220 camera replaces the S210 which replaced the S200. Each step up increased the megapixels, from 7.1 to 8 and now to 10 in the newest generations.

Here are some of the Bullet points for the S220:
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PMA in Swing, Canon Service Updates Top of the List

Canon digital SLR camera model 1D Mark IIIAttention all you Canon pros out there, this update is for you:

Canon today announced service repairs for 1D Mk III users experiencing problems with either AF of with the ERR 99 error code. Looks like you send them a form concerning the service of your choice and then they contact you and it goes from there.

AF people, click here
ERR 99 people, click here

Also, not to be missed on the AF service page is a link to a mini-site Canon has made to document how its AI Servo mode works. I haven’t made it through yet, but I was just reading some scuttlebut on how AF works in general on Canon digital SLR cameras yesterday, so this’ll be a nice follow up for me as well.

AI Servo Auto Focus Manual (via Canon)

Also, new firmware for the 1D Mk III (here) and the bigger bro, the 1Ds Mk III (here)



Family Affair

The new Nikon Coolpix cameras have started shipping. It is indeed a family affair. It may be awhile before all the Nikon Digital Cameras ship but we are seeing some now. There are new and exciting colors (I’m excited, are you excited?) and added features and larger and clearer LCD screens and, and, and…  O.K. I’ve caught my breath. All this excitement, I got a little dizzy.

Above is the new entry level models from Nikon Camera sales. The silver model is the L19, with 8 megapixels, a 2.7 inch screen and many new or upgraded features. Here are a few of Nikon’s bullet points.

  • 3.6x Optical Zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens NIKKOR optics provide exceptional pictures and gets you close to the action. The lens is built on a proud heritage of producing precision camera optics that deliver superb color and razor-sharp results.
  • New EXPEED Image Processor ensures high-quality pictures with stunning color and sharpness. Nikon’s comprehensive digital imaging processing concept incorporates know-how and technologies accumulated throughout our long history of photographic and digital imaging development. EXPEED is custom-tuned for COOLPIX and applies optimized technologies to render natural-looking pictures of incredible quality and quick response so you will not miss that special moment.
  • Incredible, Bright 2.7-inch High-Resolution LCD makes it easy to compose and share your pictures. In addition, the high-contrast and anti-reflection coating on the screen assist in clear viewing, even in direct sunlight.
  • Motion Detection automatically controls shutter speed and ISO settings to compensate for camera shake and subject movement reducing the chances of getting image blur.

There is more, but you get the gist. Newer, better, faster, stronger. Are we looking at the Steve Austin of Digital cameras? No, at under $110.00 this camera does things even the six million dollar man couldn’t! And just that’s the entry model.  The other two cameras above are the new L20′s the deeper Red is new, as are the 10 megapixels and 3 inch high resolution LCD.
See I can tell you are joining me in the excitement.  Wait until my next blog when I introduce the next cameras in the line-up.
Get me Oscar Goldman on the line!



Lenses are expensive

So, here’s one of the more common sentiments among those unfamiliar with the camera industry: man, those lenses are ridiculously expensive. Heck, I can remember a time when I couldn’t conceive paying more than a couple hundred for a lens (and now my favorite one is valued at around 800-1000 bucks.)

So, to help put things in perspective, I stumbled across this video which I’ve encountered a couple times in my stint here, and thought I’d share it with everyone. It’s a short segment on how lenses are made (in the general, so it applies no matter if we’re talking Canon lenses, Nikon lenses, Sony lenses, Oly lenses, Sigma lenses, Tamron, Tokina, blah-de-blah-de-blah). Seriously, basically any camera lens going these days is a flat-out marvel of engineering. Just check this cut-out version of Olympus’ revised “standard” zoom, the 14-54:

Cut-Away View of the 14-54mm f2.8-2.5 Mark II

Impressed? I sure am. I certainly couldn’t have engineered something like that, and yet hundreds of people take that lens for granted every day. And it doesn’t even have any fancy tricks like ED glass.

And, if that’s not enough, here’s that video to show us just what it takes to make each of those actual glass lenses inside that sucker:



Sony XR HD Camcorders raise the bar!

The new Sony XR high definition camcorders are finally available here at Roberts Imaging!  They include the top end HDR-XR520V, XR500V, XR200V, and XR100.

I have had a Sony HDR-SR11 now for about a year, and I have been blown away by the quality of that camera.  Having said that, playing around with the 520V/500V, I notice two major improvements.  The first is the image stabilizer.  Wow!  The stabilizer is so improved its hard to explain here.  I don’t know what they did, but the improvement is remarkable.  The second big improvement is digital noise in low light.  As good as the SR-11/SR-12 was, the new units are vastly improved.  I would put these against most 3 chip high def camcorders out there today.  I can see details in low light levels that I could never see with the SR-11.

Need GPS built into your HD camcorder?  Well, now you can.  The XR-520V/500V have GPS built in.  You will now be able to tell exactly where you were when you shot that special moment.

With capacities topping out at 240GB, storage will no longer be an obstacle.  (As if 60GB on my SR-11 hindered me!)  The smallest capacity being 80GB is no lightweight (XR-100).

Impressive as always.  Sony HD camcorders.  Come on down and give them a test drive!




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