dSLR Dad

Patrick Dean on Digital Photography School has published his review of the Canon EOS 7D dSLR Camera:

The Canon EOS 7D is a camera that excels in nearly every regard. From excellent build and handling, to beautiful high resolution images, the EOS 7D is perfectly suited for any enthusiast or semi-pro photographer. While Canon claims the EOS 7D isn’t intended to replace any of their current models, it is clearly intended to compete with the Nikon D300s, and in nearly every regard the EOS 7D is equal to or better than its competitor. It’s an adept performer with class leading high ISO capabilities and the most versatile movie options available from a DSLR camera. In total, the EOS 7D isn’t just a great value, it’s also the best APS-C DSLR that you can buy right now.

You can read the entire Canon 7D review at Digital Photography School. You can also read more articles about the Canon EOS 7D on 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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I must admit, this is a great service that I hope every manufacturer adopts.  Canon USA has made available 16 tutorial videos (at the time of this post) on the new Canon EOS 7D.  These instructional videos can be watched on the website, or downloaded to your iPod, iPhone, and even your Camera.  That’s right, all a dSLR Dad has to do is copy these videos to your CompactFlash Card and then you can watch them on the Canon 7D’s 3-inch LCD screen when out in the field.  The following EOS 7D On-Camera Tutorial Videos are available:

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Not one to shy away from a good discussion, Professional wildlife photographer Scott Bourne has published his thoughts on the Canon EOS 7D dSLR. For his first chronicle, Mr. Bourne assesses the EOS 7d’s prowess as an HD video cam:

I’ve been playing with all the current crop of DSLRs that shoot video. They are all very good at some things. None is perfect. But after all my tests, I have settled on two favorites. The Panasonic GH1 surprised me as the early favorite. It’s small, easy to use and has a ton of features that some of the more expensive cameras don’t. I like it a great deal and had pretty much settled on it as my favorite. Then came the Canon 7D. It’s a real game changer. It really caught my attention as well. It’s got very wide third-party support since most of the video accessories made for the Canon 5DMKII will also work with the 7D. It also offers access to more lenses and a larger sensor to capture video. That translates to better shadow detail and less data loss. In short, I have decided to use it as my primary video camera. Now I suspect Nikon is coming out with a new video platform any day. So could I change my mind? Absolutely. I may even end up using both. But for right now, I think the Canon 7D is the best hybrid video camera out there so that’s what I am going to use.

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Digital Photography Review has published their review of the Canon EOs 7D dSLR Camera:

Canon’s X0D series was, for many years, essentially the default choice for keen enthusiasts, professionals and aspiring-professionals who wanted top-level image quality and functionality without the bulk (or price) of a pro-level camera such as the 1D series. The 10D, 20D and 30D were hugely successful and popular cameras, and you didn’t have to spend long shooting with them to understand why. However, like every other sector of the DSLR market, there are some very competitive rivals, in terms of both price and features. Cameras such as Sony’s A700 and Nikon’s D200 and 300 have meant the most recent X0D EOSs have been held to higher standards and have found it a little harder to stand-out. Which brings us to the 7D, a camera that seems determined to wrestle back the king of APS-C crown. At first glance it looks a lot like the EOS 50D – it’s unmistakably a member of the EOS family – but a closer look shows that this is far from being the gentle refresh that we’re used to seeing in this range. And indeed, this is intended as big brother to the 50D, rather than as a replacement for it.

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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 camera test review of the 720p HD-shooting Nikon D5000:

The Nikon D5000 is a successful crossbreed of the D90 and the D60. The new DSLR combines the imaging assembly, AF module, Live View and HD video recording capabilities of the former with the beginner-friendly infopanel-based operation of the latter, in a form factor that lies somewhere in the middle between the two.

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Popular Photography Magazine has published their review of the Nikon D5000 dSLR Camera:

What’s Hot:
Flip-down, swiveling LCD.
Speedy autofocus. 4-frame-per-second bursts.

What’s Not:
Noisy at ISO 3200 and 6400.
Only one command wheel.
No wireless flash control via pop-up unit.

Who’s This For?

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Camera Labs has published their review of the Nikon D5000 dSLR Camera:

By inheriting the D90’s sensor and processing pipeline, the D5000 boasts two major benefits over its predecessor which bring it bang up-to-date: Live View and HD video recording. Making Live View more useful than any Nikon DSLR to date though is the inclusion of a fully-articulated monitor on the rear. Interestingly, this is hinged not at the side, but the bottom, but still allows for a great deal of flexibility when composing in Live View and filming movies.

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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.