dSLR Dad

Leaving everyone to wonder why it just wasn’t called the D40x Mark II

We are hitting the final stretch before PMA 20008. Today, Nikon USA issued their flood of Press Releases. The headliner for all of you dSLR Dads is the new D60. This is an update (although, a somewhat minor update) to the very popular Nikon D40X. Key features and “upgrades” include:

• Same 10.2 megapixel CCD sensor.
• Advanced 3-D Color Matrix Metering II with EXPEED image processor.
• New dual dust reduction countermeasures.
• Eye Sensor that turns the 2.5-inch (that’s right, still 2.5 inches) color LCD monitor on and off automatically. This is the same functionality as Canon Digital Rebel XSI and XTi.
• Stop-Motion Movie mode that enables users to create stop-animation movie clips from a series of as many as 100 consecutive JPEG picture files.
• Customizable LCD monitor user interface with in-camera editing tools.
• Supports Eye-Fi memory card functionality, enabling the convenient wireless transfer of images from the D60 to a computer, when using Eye-Fi Wireless SD Memory Cards.
• Kit will be packaged with the 3x zoom 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Lens
• Available in February 2008.  Order now at B&H Photo. (more…)
  

  Popularity: 12% [?]

  Tags: APS-C, camera, camera body, D60, DX lens, News, nikkor, nikon, Nikopn D60, photo, photograph, press release, SLR

Canon USA also announced today that the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-55.6 IS zoom lens and EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS zoom lenses are now available.

The following is an excerpt from the Canon USA Press Release: (more…)

Popularity: 24% [?]

Canon announced their new EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens back on August 20, 2007 along with new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Amazon, B&H Photo). It is not yet shipping, but Klaus Schroiff over at PhotoZone.de has already picked up a sample for review.<

Technically the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS is a tiny lens with a great performance potential. The resolution is very good across the range. Chromatic aberrations are basically a non-issue. The level of distortions remain moderate. The most obvious flaw is, unsurprisingly, vignetting at large apertures. The build quality is fine for a lens in this class and it is one step up from the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS that we’ve seen here recently. Regarding the target market you may surely forgive the plastic mount. The AF (micro-) motor is pretty fast and silent. So’s everything cool here ? Well, the AF accuracy didn’t really convince in the field - specifically at the wide-end of the zoom range - but to be fair this is much better on an EOS 40D (e.g.) with its improved AF capabilities. I had some trouble with the image stabilizer in the field but according to early reader feedback this impression seems to be an exception to the rule. If so the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS has certainly the potential to be another hot seller.

You can read the full review here.

Popularity: 46% [?]

Bjørn Rørslett,Professional Nature Photographer, PhD. Member of NN (Norwegian Nature Photographers) and BioFoto (Association of Nature Photographers in Norway) has just posted his review of the Nikon D3 (order one at Amazon and B&H Photo).

Every one waited for Nikon to move up to the next level of digital sensor size, the “full-sized” FX or 35mm-like solution. Years went by and seemingly nothing happened. We admired Nikon’s clever ergonomic solutions and at least some of us ogled the high-ISO performance of the competition with a little envy. Then, Nikon struck back with a camera advertised to “defy the limitations” no less.

The D3 is not only a 35mm-frame camera, it is so much more and with high-ISO performance unheard and undreamt of as well. With a blazing firing rate up to 9 fps(FX)/11 fps(DX), this is a sports and action shooter’s dream camera come true. But what can it achieve for other fields of photography? In this review, I shall try to elaborate these aspects of this new Nikon DSLR. Consider this more akind to a personal travelogue written as I made myself familar with the D3 rather than a compilation of features….. (more…)

Popularity: 17% [?]

Tags: APS-C, camera, camera body, comparison, D2X, D3, full frame, ISO, ISO1600, low noise, nikon, photo, photograph, review

40D Body only Price of $1,149

Happy Holidays everyone. Nikon ramps up production on the D300, and then all of a sudden, Canon lowers the price on the 40D. Right now, you can get the Canon EOS 40D for $1,149 at B&H Photo. That’s $150 off (more…)

Popularity: 13% [?]

It was out for a while, but Nikon’s new D300 with the Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom Lens is now back in stock at Amazon as a kit. A note of caution to you potential D300 dSLR Dads: the price seems to fluctuate wildly on this one (no matter where you shop). In fact, it has stayed at the expected street price of $1800 only briefly during the past month. Before you buy, make sure that the kit price is cheaper than buying the lens. (more…)

Popularity: 11% [?]

High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists

For you dSLR Dad’s looking for a new avenue to try in photography, may I suggest High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI). HDRI is the process of combining photographs at different exposures (typically bracketed at +/- 2 stops). This allows you to keep proper detail in those tricky situations where you have a bright sky (the ‘blinkies’ on your LCD screen) mixed with objects that have shadow detail. One book that looks really promising (after my in-store review) is The HDRI Handbook: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists by Christian Bloch. (more…)

Popularity: 13% [?]

Is it better than the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens through the same range?

PhotoZone puts Canon’s latest entry level EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (Amazon and B&H Photo) through the test, and the results are impressive for a kit lens:

The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is the next generation budget “kit” lens for Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs. It is a long awaited and, frankly, urgently needed successor for the rather mediocre EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II which was not able to convince anymore ever since the release of EOS 20D. However, Canon did not only improve the optical design - they also added an image stabilizer, changed the finish and introduced circular aperture blades for a better bokeh (out-of-focus blur). (more…)

Popularity: 21% [?]

Nikon’s been getting a lot of the press recently, but Canon has new cameras too. The new 40D was announced the same time, but has been shipping since early fall. With that, I present you dSLR Dad’s with all the information you need to justify spending more money. (more…)

Popularity: 16% [?]

The Nikon D300 dSLR has been out in the wild for some time (shipping now at Amazon). For all you dSLR Dad’s out there who are looking for one more bit of information to justify that purchase, here you go: (more…)

Popularity: 25% [?]

I love this site. If you have never visited PhotoZone, head over there now. They have posted their review of the new Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens (available at Amazon and B&H Photo). Nikon announced this lens earlier this fall along with the D3 and D300.

The Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED exceeds the already very good performance of its predecessor. The center quality is nothing short of outstanding matching or beating the resolution of a 10mp APS-C sensor. (more…)

Popularity: 35% [?]

Popular Photography Magazine has released their review of the new Nikon D300 dSLR (available at Amazon). Let’s just say that they liked it:

…But what (Nikon has) on the inside pushed the D300 to new performance records in the Pop Photo Lab:

• It’s the first DSLR to earn an Excellent image quality rating from ISO 200 all the way up to ISO 3200.
• It sports the fastest (and most sophisticated) AF we’ve tested so far. (more…)
  

  Popularity: 10% [?]

  Tags: AF-s, amazon, APS-C, camera, camera body, D200, D300, DX, fps, frames per second, ISO, ISO1600, live view LCD, magazine, MB-D10, MBD10, nikon, order, photo, photograph, pop photo, pop photo mag, popular photography, price, review, shop

Photoshop guru Scott Kelby has posted his review of the Nikon D300.

I’ve spent the past two weeks, many hours, had two meetings with Nikon Professional Services staff, and taken thousands of photos with my new Nikon D300 and I’m ready to spill the beans and let you know what’s hot (and what’s not) about Nikon’s new arrival. (more…)

Popularity: 14% [?]

Apparently, the rumors about a shipment of D3’s hitting the US the end of this week were true. The Nikon D3 is now in stock and shipping at Amazon (or the dSLR Dad Amazon Storefront). As always, these links help to support this site. Many thanks to all of you dSLR Dads who have done so this Holiday (more…)

Popularity: 8% [?]

John Harrington has posted an article in which he compares both of his new purchases: A Nikon D3 (Amazon, B&H Photo) vs. the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III (Amazon, B&H Photo).

What follows is a muti-part review of both cameras. Since I own both systems, and am not endorsed by either, and in fact, have been critical of both, I think I can take an unbiased look at each camera. My most critical concern was noise, and I don’t shoot sports, so, for example, fast focus-tracking is not a top priority for me. I’d dropped $20k on a Canon system, having been a die-hard Nikon photographer, having found the noise in my D2x files at iso640 and above offensive. Couple that with Nikon’s failure to address or even acknowledge that elephant in the room was just down-right inconsiderate. (more…)

Popularity: 17% [?]