dSLR Dad

Digital Photography Review has also published their review of the 720p HD Nikon D300s dSLR:

The Nikon D300 made quite an impact when it was first launched – enough to prompt us to conclude: ‘There’s simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market.’ And, in many respects, it is still the camera to beat in that class – nearly two years later and it is still able to command essentially the same price as at launch (though the strong Yen has pushed all prices up). And this success appears to have left Nikon unsure how to improve on its APS-C flagship.

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Digital Photography Review has published their gargantuan 33-page review of the 15-megapixel Pentax K-7 dSLR Camera:

Our in-depth review of the Pentax K-7. When it arrived in May we were impressed by the way the K-7 managed to squeeze all the features of its predecessor and a handful of new tricks into such a compact package. It still has a 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor but gains a new metering system, revised autofocus, a faster shutter mechanism, a high resolution LCD, faster continuous shooting and the ability to shoot HD movies. And, as that svelte little magnesium alloy body has been passed around the office, it’s continued to leave a good impression. So, how did it fare in our studio tests?

As usual, they have released another gargantuan 33-page review. You can read the entire Pentax K-7 review at dPreview. You can find more dSLR Dad article on the Pentax K-7 here.

A note for Pentaxian dSLR Dads: There is now a $100 instant rebate available on the Pentax K-7 from retailers like Amazon and B&H Photo.

Photography Blog has published their own review of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 Camera:

The Sony A380 is a new 14 megapixel DSLR camera featuring a restyled design and user interface to make it easier to use. Replacing the A350 model, the A380 retains all of its predecessor’s key features, with a 2.7 inch tilting LCD screen, Live View, anti-dust system, ISO range of 100-3200, anti-shake system that’s built into the body, eye-start auto-focus system and Dynamic Range Optimiser. Sitting in the middle of the Sony Alpha range above the entry-level A230 and A330 and below the prosumer A700, the Sony A380 has a street price of around £700 / $850 with the 18-55mm kit lens. Does the A380 offer enough to rival the Canon EOS 500D / Rebel T1i, Nikon D5000 and Olympus E-620? Mark Goldstein found out…

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Digital Photography Review has published their traditional all-consuming review of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 Camera:

When Sony launched the A380’s predecessor, the DSLR-A350, in January 2008 it was arguably one of the best specified cameras in the entry-level segment sporting the highest resolution sensor and an impressive set of features. However, while today, approximately 18 months later, the A380 comes with a specification that is very similar to the A350 (and in some areas even slightly downgraded) all of the competitors in the entry-level segment have inevitably moved on and not only caught up with the Sony but overtaken it quite clearly.

You can read the entire ginormous review at dPreview. dSLR Dads considering this camera should take note that that just because a camera has equivalent specs to the competition on paper, that doesn’t mean it translates to the actual photographs.

Digital photography Review has published their review of the Olympus E-620 dSLR camera:

The E-620 takes most of the features from the semi-pro E-30 and fits them into a body only slightly larger than the E-420, making it the most powerful entry-level Four Thirds camera yet. It has been a little overwhelmed by the buzz about E-P1, but does the little DSLR deserve a second look?

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Neutral Day has published their review of the Nikon D90 dSLR Camera:

The Nikon D90 is the successor to the very popular and very capable D80, and currently occupies the prosumer niche for Nikon. At about $1000 for the camera body only, the Nikon D90 offers consumers a 12.3 megapixel sensor, an ISO range of 100-6400 (including boost), a 3 inch display with 920k resolution, and a frame rate of 4.5 fps. Additionally, as most of you will remember, the Nikon D90 was the first DSLR to start the now pervasive trend of high definition video in a DSLR camera. For the D90, this meant 720p HD video at 24 fps with mono sound in up to 5 minute clips (for HD). In short, the Nikon D90 offers quite a bit of the performance of the professional level Nikon D300, plus HD video, but in smaller size and with less impact on the wallet. As a previous owner of the Nikon D80, I was more than curious how far things had come with the D90. As it turns out, Nikon sent a D90 kit for me to test, bundled with the AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm lens, and after nearly a month of frequent use (make that non-stop use), I’m ready to share my thoughts in our review of the Nikon D90 digital SLR camera.

You can read the entire D90 review over at Neutral Day.

Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the Olympus E-620 dSLR camera:

In all, this is a very competent little DSLR. Being little is its strength—and if you’re sensitive to noise, its weakness. This might be one of the last DSLRs not to include video capture. After all, both the new Canon EOS Rebel T1i—which costs within $100 of the E-620—and the similarly priced Nikon D5000 pack it. But many dedicated still shooters aren’t clamoring for it. For those photographers, there’s plenty in this small package already.

You can read the entire E-620 review at Pop Photo.

LetsGoDigital has published their review of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 Camera:

To introduce the Sony DSLR-A380 as the successor of the Alpha 350 is definitely a logical step. Although the ’spec driven’ fans were rather disappointed upon getting hold of the technical specifications, it’s not fair to take it out on the Sony A380.

Considering the current market, a 14 Megapixel digital SLR is completely in place, there is by no means a relapse of specifications and on top of that, it’s an entirely new design. The Sony Alpha 380 is a digital SLR camera that you would expect to find in the current DSLR market. Still, we can imagine the consumer had expected just that little extra on some points. This is also how we feel after the technical tests and test in practice…

You can read the entire  Sony A380 review at LetsGoDigital.  Notes I’ve made while flipping through the review:

• Capturing only 2.5 frames-per-second just isn’t good enough anymore.
• Sony removed the Auto Exposure lock button from the A350.
• The quality of the telephoto zoom lens found in kit 2 was disappointing.
• Sony’s Live View Quick AF function is unchanged, but it is still the fastest in class.
• Sony has introduced a built in help guide to answer questions.

Neutral Day has published an in-depth review of the full-frame Canon EOS 5D Mark II dSLR camera:

The 5D Mark II, naturally offers much more than this, but these are what grabbed my attention, in part because of what the competition was offering. Nikon had been producing its well received D700 for a short time with a 12 megapixel sensor, better AF system, and no HD video, while Sony had only just announced its own full frame offering, the Sony A900, with a whopping 24 megapixels, but no live view, no video, and a less sophisticated AF than the D700. (more…)

Phil Holland has published his detailed review of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Full-Frame dSLR:

Much like many of you I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Canon 5D Mark II. Many things intrigued me and excited me about the camera, but the points that stood out to me personally were: Higher quality/range ISO, increase of resolution, full 1080p video support.

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