dSLR Dad

Photography Bay is reporting that Canon Europe is sending out a press invitation for an event to be held on March 26.  The scuttlebutt appears to be an expected introduction of the Canon 500D.  The Internets are all a twitter over a potential 15-Megapixel, HD-video recording, Rebel-series dSLR.

The timing of this announcement makes sense.  Canon normally ships their Spring cameras around April, so it’s perfect timing.  Also, thanks to Sony entering the dSLR market after purchasing Minolta, Canon has switched to a yearly model update cycle on the consumer side.  We now see the EOS 50D dSLR release in the fall and the XXXD/Rebel released in the Spring.  As far as potential specifications? Well, the 5D Mark II introduced the DIGIC 4 image processer combined with a CMOS sensor capable of HD video recording, expect that to carry over to all future models.

What I think will be most interesting is the actual price.  Currently trading around 98 Yen-to-the-dollar, and after briefly touching 87 not too long ago, the falling Yen has created extreme pricing pressure for all Japanese consumer electronics companies.  Both the 450D/XSi and 400D/XTi cameras had an MSRP of $799 ($899 with the zoom kit lens) when released.  If Canon is not able to keep their costs down with this new model, they may be forced to raise the price.  However, if they can keep the price consistent, they will put more financial pressure on Nikon, Pentax, and Sony.

Red Digital Cinema to Release Digital Still & Motion Camera in 2009

Jim Jannard is the founder of both Oakley and the Red Digital Cinema Company.  If you have not heard of RED, they are responsible for flipping the entire digital cinema industry upside down.  By shipping a camera with the best digital sensor in the industry while still offering a system whose components are entirely upgradable in the future.  After focusing all of their energy at the Cinema industry, Jim Jannard has dropped quite the bombshell on the Camera industry:

We believe, and are developing for late 2009, a replacement for DSLRs. Currently, we call it a DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera).

While (insert code name) is not a replacement for Epic or Scarlet, it is strategically targeted at the DSLR space. As Nikon and Canon release their 720P and 1080P, respectively, DSLRs with video capture… RED has a more advanced view of the future. We look forward to rapidly pushing the “big guys” along in feature sets and capabilities.

RED firmly believes in higher resolution, higher S/N, higher DNR, higher frame rates, smaller bodies, more system flexibility, and many more options as we move forward in camera development.

The strength of RED is in our sensor development program, REDCODE, and having no legacy platforms to deal with. That left us free to explore, develop and prepare to deliver a new platform. DSMC.

We think all our customers already know what the future will bring. They are just afraid to wish for it for fear of disappointment. Fear not. Sleep tight. RED is awake…..

…..If people are not stunned by the specs and design, I will retire… truly.

…..We believe it marks the end of DSLRs.

In a prior topic he states:

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I’m sure the press release will be out soon, but the USA Today has already published an article on the new Nikon D90:

Nikon hopes to hammer that point with the release of its latest digital single-lens reflex camera, the D90, expected in stores next month for $1,299 with a lens. Nikon is billing the D90 as the first SLR with video capability…

……”The big plus is that you can now shoot video with a great lens,” says Steve Heiner, Nikon’s senior technical manager.

Kamera&Bild, one our Scandinavian brethren, has a video interview with Chuck Westfall of Canon from PMA 2008 (in English). In it he discusses the new Canon Rebel XSi (available at Amazon and B & H Photo), the lack of a Canon EOS 5D update, his thoughts on the new Nikon D3, and if Canon’s APS-H sized sensor in the EOS 1D Mark III is properly positioned in the marketplace.

Some notes, for you dSLR Dads on Canon product cycles. They have now stretched things out to where the Pro level cameras have moved to a 3 year product cycle. Consumer grade cameras are shifting to roughly a 2-year span between releases. The Canon EOS 1D Mark III (Amazon, B & H Photo) was announced last year before PMA on February 21, 2007. While the Pro Sports Photographer market has finally seen some worthy competition with Nikon’s introduction of the D3 (Amazon, B & H Photo), the 1D Mark III is still early in it’s life cycle. True, it has had a disastrous release so far, but it still remains in the drivers seat. Unfortunately, the impact of a somewhat-unreliable, professional camera in it’s first year of production will not truly be understood until we see the launch of the next 1D and D3.

Will all future Canon 1-Series be full frame? I think the Pro market is clearly showing that is becoming the standard. The only real question is will the 1D Mark III replacement ship in 2009 or 2010? My guess is it depends on how much black Nikon glass you see at the Olympics this summer.

You can watch the entire video interview here.

via Slash Gear.

Today, Sony Corporation has announced a new 35mm full size CMOS Image Sensor with a 24.81 Effective Megapixel resolution. The importance of this announcement is significant. Specifically, which manufacturer is going to release a 24.8 Megapixel, Full Frame dSLR at PMA2008 on Thursday?

Last year, Sony showed a prototype Flagship Alpha dSLR at PMA 2007 along with a prototype of the Alpha A700. The details were few and far between, but the Flagship Alpha was not expected to ship until after 2007. Now Minolta dSLR Dads are hoping that Sony will finally introduce a Full Frame Alpha dSLR, but I’m not so sure. I would put the probability at 60% for a new Alpha. I only remain reserved because 24 Megapixels requires excellent optics, something that Sony must show it can deliver with the Alpha brand.

The higher probability is for Nikon to introduce a new Full Frame dSLR flagship above the D3. Nikon has used Sony almost exclusively for their CMOS production in the DX00 series and D3. In fact, the Sony Alpha A700 shares the same sensor with the Nikon D300. If you go back in time to the announcements of both the Nikon D300 and the Nikon D200, you will notice that they were preceded by a Sony CMOS press release just a few days prior. Finally, Nikon’s own corporate messages have hinted at a potential D3X dSLR to compete with the 21.1 Megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. The dSLR Dad puts the probability of such a D3X announcement at 80%. Of course, don’t expect it to ship until the second half of the year. Maybe production units could be available by Photokina in September?

Either way, 2008 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for all dSLR Dads.

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So the new Canon EOS 40D only comes in two ways:

1. Canon EOS 40D (body only, at Amazon or B&H Photo)
2. 40D dSLR with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens (at Amazon or B&H Photo)

You may note that the neither the original EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (Amazon, B&H Photo), nor the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Amazon, B&H Photo) are offered as part of a kit package like the 20D or 30D did. Hmmm, maybe Canon will introduce a new EF-S lens or two at PMA. Will Canon finally have an 18-200mm IS to compete with Nikon? At a minimum they need something in the 18-135mm range. We shall see in one month……