dSLR Dad

Popular Photography Magazine as published their review of the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilized (IS) Zoom Lens:

In the past two years, the 11X IS superzoom has become the ideal general-purpose lens — certainly for shooters whose cameras don’t have on-board shake reduction. This Canon fits the mold. Very light and compact, it’s a gracious and adaptable traveling companion. Impressively sharp, it’s also an obvious choice for handheld low-light pictures, including event and theater work. Its real fortes, however, are close-up macro subjects, distant wildlife, and almost everything in between. Sports? Go for it!

You can read the entire review at PopPhoto.com.  You can also find more reviews at the dSLR Dad Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Resource Page.  Of particular note, for those of you who may be interested in this lens, there is a $50 instant rebate on this lens through January 17, 2009.

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Vote For Your Choice

It’s that time of year again. Time to push out one year and bring in another. And on this, the last day of 2008, I offer up the nominees for dSLR Dad Camera of the Year 2008 (listed in chronological order): (more…)

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Camera Labs has reviewed the Canon EOS 5D Mark II dSLR Camera:

Had the EOS 5D Mark II not suffered from the black dot issue, it would have easily earned our highest recommendation. It’s one of Canon’s most powerful DSLRs to date, capable of delivering superb image quality with decent handling and all the latest bells and whistles. The movie mode is also an excellent addition, and while it’s not a practical replacement for a camcorder for most amateurs, the results can be spectacular and independent film makers will love it. Indeed its testament to how good the 5D Mark II is that it can be highly recommended as a still-camera alone, or a movie camera alone.

You can find out more news and reviews about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the 21.1-Megapixel Canon EOS 5D Mark II. They seem to think it is a pretty decent little camera:

If you’re moving up from an APS-format DSLR, you will be happy with the 5D Mark II. Make that ecstatic. Life is fuller in the full-frame lane.

And the vast amount of detail that goes along with 21.1MP, as well as the sophisticated image processing served up by its new DIGIC 4 engine, cannot be understated — it’s a wow! The low-light image quality is almost life-changing.

But the 5D Mark II’s old-fashioned AF system can’t keep up with the cutting-edge imaging power. Nor is the 3.9-fps burst rate state-of-the-art. So if you’re a pro, understand these limitations.

Yet if you’re looking to trade in your old 5D for this version, while you gain nothing in AF, you pick up everything from low-light to video capability. And those are very impressive — perhaps irresistible — upgrades.

You can read the entire review over at PopPhoto.com.  You can also find out more news and reviews about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Michael Reichmann, creator of The Luminous Landscape, has published his review of the 24.6-Megapixel Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 dSLR Camera:

The Sony A900 is a very serious undertaking for that company, and is a camera to be reckoned with. Sony plays to win, and it becomes a dominant force in virtually every segment of the consumer and professional electronics industry that it chooses to participate in. (One of their only failures was with Betamax, but they then transformed that format into a professional product and went on to dominate the broadcast industry with it for the past 20 years.) So, as we look at the A900, think of it not just as a new high-end DSLR, but also as Sony’s stake in the ground – claiming their intention to become a major player in the DSLR marketplace.

You can read his entire review here.

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LetsGoDigital has published their review of the Nikon D90 dSLR Camera:

The image quality is steady as a rock. Excellent color reproduction and superb dynamic range combined with Nikon’s 3D Matrix metering ensure an outstanding DSLR. Nikon shows to be able to swiftly integrate innovations coming from the professional DSLR in the amateur market, making this segment also stand out from the crowd. The D90 is definitely worth its money and well worth stepping over to from the D80. Although the Nikon D90 is not completely perfect, it offers good value for money. A superb DSLR camera

You can read the complete review here.  As always, you can find out more about the Nikon D90 in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the Nikon D700 12.1MP dSLR Camera .  Oddly enough, they really liked it:

Does the D700 obviate the more expensive D3? Not for high-end pros: Hardcore types who find themselves shooting in the Arctic one month and the desert the next will prefer the D3’s extraordinarily tight level of weathersealing. For paparazzi, who shoot lots of vertical images and so prefer a built-in vertical grip to a bolt-on battery grip, the D3’s better. And pro sports shooters blasting off frame after frame need the faster native burst and extra CF card slot of the D3.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will be more than happy with the D700 fulfilling our full-frame fantasies.

Of course, if all your Lenses carry the DX moniker of Nikon’s APS-sized format, you should stick with the D300. After all, it basically mirrors the image quality and performance of the D700, and your DX Lenses will yield only 5.1MP images on the Nikon D700. In other words, those digital-only lenses will fit this full-frame camera, but at a cost of massive cropping — a sacrifice that hardly seems worth making on a regular basis.

But if you have some full-frame lenses or want to move toward Nikon’s FX glass, the D700 is money well spent.

You can read the entire review of the Nikon D700 over at PopPhoto.com.

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Digital Photography Review has published their epic odyssey on the full-frame, 24.6-Megapixel, Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 Camera:

The success of the Alpha 900 amongst the Minolta, Konica Minolta and Sony faithful seems assured; at a launch price of just shy of $3000 it offers a lot of ‘bang for your buck’ and there is undoubtedly a significant number of Minolta film SLR users who’ve been waiting years for a full frame digital body on which to use their existing lenses. The challenge for Sony, however, is to generate some interest from people without an existing investment in the Minolta (or subsequent Alpha) system. And on paper the Alpha 900 looks promising - and we’re already impressed with the build, handling and viewfinder, so let’s find out how well the latest addition to the small but growing ‘full frame club’ performs.

You can read all 37 web pages over at dPreview.

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Digital Photography Review has published their odyssey on the Nikon D90 dSLR Camera:

Almost exactly two years after the D80 was announced comes its replacement, the rather predictably named D90. The D80 has been one of Nikon’s quiet successes, and even today, despite being positively Methuselah-like in digital camera terms it continues to sell and often makes its way into our top 10 most clicked on cameras. Because it looks so similar to the D80 the D90 appears at first glance to be one of those rather subdued incremental upgrades, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s plenty to keep Nikon fans happy.

You can read all 37 web pages over at dPreview.  As always, you can find out more about the Nikon D90 in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Michael Reichmann, creator of The Luminous Landscape, has published his preview of a pre-production Canon EOS 5D Mark II and it’s 1080p video prowess:

Lurking inside the Live View mode is video capability. Oh your say. That’s interesting. Nikon announced their D90 just last week. Must be a trend.

Well, yes. It’s a trend alright. In fact I’ve been forecasting the convergence of stills and video for quite some time now, as anyone who reads this site regularly knows.

So – let’s see – how does it work and what are the specs?

You can read the entire article here.  You can also find out more about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Digital Photography Review has published their typical in-depth review of the Nikon D700 dSLR Camera:

When we reviewed Nikon’s first full-frame DSLR, the D3, in April this year we said it was ‘possibly the most compelling, capable and well-rounded professional digital SLR ever made.’ Only three months later Nikon announced another full-frame camera with the D700. The new model’s ‘compact’ dimensions and much more affordable price tag make it a more appealing proposition than the D3 to many professional photographers and serious amateurs alike but can it keep up the high standards that have been set by its bigger brother?

You can read all 33 web pages over at dPreview.

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Michael Reichmann, creator of The Luminous Landscape, has published his review of the Nikon D90’s video capabilities.

This is clearly a first generation product. Nikon saw an opportunity to add video capability to the DSLR and did so in a simple manner with little intention of creating a new type of hybrid camera. The D90 is a stills camera (and a very good one) at a very reasonable price, that happens to also shoot moderate quality video.

There’s little doubt that stills / video convergence is on the way. The Nikon D90 though is simply a harbinger, and shouldn’t be seen as much more than that. As discussed above, while it is no replacement for a camcorder (even a consumer grade one), in the hands of Indy film makers it will likely turn out to be a productive tool, filling in when shallow DOF or special lens use is required.

You can read his entire review here.  You can also find out more about the Nikon D90 in the dSLR Dad Resource Guide.

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Does the Canon EOS-1D Mark III now offer reliable AI-SERVO autofocus?

Rob Galbraith has updated his endless odyssey on the Canon EOS 1D Mark III autofocus issues.  While this may be his final installment, the questions remain the same:

This entry in our ongoing analysis of EOS-1D Mark III autofocus recaps and updates our experience with the camera and firmware v1.1.3 loaded, compares that to the camera’s autofocus performance with firmware v1.2.3 installed and answers some of the most commonly-asked questions we’ve received in the past few months, including this one: after more than a year, three firmware updates and a hardware fix, does the Canon EOS-1D Mark III now offer reliable autofocus?

Click here to continue reading Rob Galbraith’s August update.

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Now in 1080p High Definition

It has been quite an interesting three years since Canon first released the original EOS 5D. At the time, it was the first full-frame, compact digital SLR that sold at a somewhat affordable price of $3,299 at launch.  It proved popular with dSLR Dads who required really big pixels for their landscape and portrait work.  Remarkably enough, it is only recently that Canon has faced competition in the space it created with the introduction of Nikon’s D700 and Sony’s Alpha A900.  And while those are some mighty fine cameras, Canon has once again decided to set itself apart from the crowd.  With the introduction of the 21.1 Megapixel full-frame EOS 5D Mark II, Canon is also the first to introduce 1080p high-definition video recording in a digital SLR Camera.

(more…)

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Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the Nikon D90 dSLR Camera:

Borrowing its 12.3MP APS-C sized CMOS sensor from the higherend D300, the D90 is the fourth successive 12MP Nikon DSLR. Clearly, the company has eased off the megapixel race, instead focusing on other areas of image quality, such as low noise at high ISOs and convenient features. And the results are impressive. In our lab tests, the D90 scored Excellent in overall image quality right up through ISO 3200….

You can read the entire review at PopPhoto.com.

For all of the latest news and reviews, check out the dSLR Dad’s Nikon D90 Resource Guide

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