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DSLRs

digital cameras

Olympus E-520 Announced, Brings Better Sensor and Face Detection

Olympus is set to follow up their excellent E-510 prosumer DSLR with the E-520, which offers a better sensor, face detection, on-the-fly shadow adjustments and a larger LCD screen. The E-520 is getting the same upgrade treatment as the E-420, where most of the upgrades are incremental, but things like sensor upgrades and bigger screens are always welcome. No release date has been given, and it's not up for pre-order on Amazon, but expect the body to sell for $600 alone, and $700 with a 14-42mm four-thirds lens. [Photography Review]

dslrs

New Nikon Patent Brings In-Viewfinder Display To DSLRs

A newly published patent application from Nikon has revealed plans for a new viewfinder technology involving a small display screen that can be viewed within the optical viewfinder. The photographer could switch between the optical image and digital display for a number of reasons, the most notable being the ability to enable a wide viewing angle when zoomed in on a subject. More »

giz explains

Giz Explains: Digital Camera Image Sensors

Spring is the primetime for new cameras, hence the cheap cam battlemodo, an entry-level DSLR battlemodo, not to mention loads of rumors and breakthroughs. It's a lot to keep up with, and you may not even know what's going on with the camera in your pocket. If that's the case, don't worry, here's a quick primer an digital camera image sensors—just what you need to know. More »

rumor

Nikon D90 and D3x DSLRs Dropping in June?

June is shaping up to be a hot month for DSLRs. Fresh off spotting the 24.4-megapixel D3x lurking in the D3's firmware, whispers out of Japan are that the monolith is due by the second week of June, along with the D90, an update to Nikon's well-loved D80. Pure rumor, but Thom Hogan is symbiotically attached to Nikon equipment, and Photography Bay has a decent BS detector. And the D3x is obviously around. So let's call it 50-50? [Thom Hogan via Photography Bay]

rumor

Canon 5D Mark II Supposedly Surfaces Online, Due in June

A screencap supposedly snagged from Canon's German site spilled some details on Canon's way anticipated 5D Mark II before it slipped back into the ether. June release, and it rocks a 16-megapixel DIGIC III processor that can fire at 6.5FPS. The blurb calls the Mark II "small, light, robust and weatherproof." A bit different than the last batch of rumored specs, and could very possibly be BS, but with the noise steadily growing, we can probably expect something soonish regardless. [Photography Bay]

digital cameras

DSLR Battlemodo Follow-Up

By now you've probably seen our Battlemodo between the four hottest entry-level DSLRs on the market—the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, the Sony Alpha a350, the Nikon D60 and the Olympus E-420. With 91 good-sized comments (and counting), there were obviously some issues raised that merited further investigation. Here are some new details, discussed by camera model. More »

rumor

Nikon D3 Firmware Update Reveals 24-Megapixel D3x, Already in the Wild

Nikon's flagship full-frame DSLR, the D3, is a lot of things, but a megapixel warrior it is not, shooting a mere 12.1MP to other flagship DSLRs' 20+. Nikon said it was avoiding the pointless megapixel war. But the latest firmware update for the D3 turns up a string for the "D3x" containing the image sizes "6048x4032 24.4 M" and "5056x4032 20.4 M." Given that everyone else is speeding along pro DSLRs with 20+ megapixels, the D3x probably exists, and shares common code w/ the D3. Nikon expert Thom Hogan goes further, suggesting the reason it's in the code is because "there are some D3 bodies out there with the new sensor being tested." That's right, the new DSLR king, out there, right now. [DP Review via Gadget Lab]

battlemodo

Entry-Level DSLR Battlemodo: Canon Rebel XSi vs. Sony Alpha a350 vs. Nikon D60 vs. Olympus E-420

This month, four eagerly awaited cameras all hit the market with a big ole thud: Canon's EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Sony's Alpha a350, Nikon's D60 and Olympus' E-420. They are not all evenly matched on paper, as you will see, and they certainly vary in price. But what's different about them, really? They are all aimed at people who wake up one morning and realize their point-and-shoot's pics are pretty crappy, people who don't consider themselves photographers but wouldn't mind spending a little money (under $1,000) to put those high-school photography lessons to practice with a decent body-and-lens kit. I decided to fiddle around with the four hottest new entry-level DSLRs and see what I could see. More »

advertising

Sony "Foam City" Ad Turns Miami Into World's Biggest Bubble Bath

In Sony's new "Foam City" ad, Miami becomes a soapy free-for-all when 120 million gallons of bubbles are unleashed in the streets. The world's largest foam machine was custom-built for the shoot, and pumped out over 500,000 gallons of foam per minute. The commercial is for Sony's cameras, and locals got Alpha DSLRs, Cyber-shots, and Handycams to shoot the experience. The amateur footage wasn't in the ad, but you will eventually be able to see it in an online gallery. While it follows the same urban pwnage theme of the Bravia ads—think clay bunnies and Superballs—we can't help but wonder, "Where's all the color?" See the making-of video after the jump. [Sony] More »

rumor

Samsung Developing Full-Frame Pro DSLR

The new horserace for DSLR cameramakers is in full-frame (equivalent to 35mm) pro cameras, formerly a Canon-dominated market. Nikon's stunning D3 was its first full-frame DSLR (after years of saying it's unnecessary) and Sony unveiled its own 25MP whopper in January (they're trying to quickly build technical prestige). Now Samsung has let on it's cooking its own full-frame sensor for a pro camera. They're probably co-developing with Pentax (again) since the exec that slipped the plans re-emphasized their coziness, so we'll likely see the same sensor in cameras from both makers, with differentiation in the body and software. Digital Camera Review says that the Pentax K20D's "image quality is among the best I've seen in the sub $2,000 price range," and Pentax usually delivers a nice price-to-performance ratio, so this could make the full-frame DSLR market a lot more interesting. [Amateur Photographer via Electronista]

digital cameras

Canon's Digital Rebel XSi Gets an April 27th Release Date

According to the product page on Amazon, Canon's Digital Rebel XSi entry level DLSR will be available for $899.95 starting on April 27th. So save up your cash—fast. [Amazon]

casio exifilm pro ex-f1

Pogue Reviews Casio's 1,200FPS EXIFILM Pro EX-F1 (Verdict: Built for Pure Speed)

We pretty much flipped over the Casio EXIFILM PRO EX-F1's insane rapid fire mode when we get our hands on it: 60fps still shooting, and up to a retardiculous 1200fps video for super slo-mo. David Pogue gives the full review, and spends a page lauding how freakin' fast this camera is. Besides loving the sheer rate of fire, he really digs the pre-record mode, which constantly shoots while you're just halfway pressing the shutter, so even if you're too slow to hit just the right moment, the camera's already got it. But! "Unfortunately, this highly unusual, almost experimental piece of equipment includes nearly as many downsides as breakthroughs." More »

digital cameras

Lightning Review: Olympus E-420, the World's Smallest, Lightest, Cheapest DSLR

The Gadget: Olympus E-420, billed as the world's smallest and lightest DSLR

The Price: $500 for the body, $600 if you want the 14mm to 42mm starter lens too

The Verdict:

More »

dslrs

Sony's Next Gen Alpha A900 DSLR: 25 Megapixels, Due By September

Sony's Alpha A900 practically blew us away when we first had an opportunity to grope it, which was way back during PMA '08 in January. Well, it looks like the Sony lads are again showing off their 25MP full-frame pro sensor toting DSLR in Japan, along with a launch date of August/September. Our pals at Master Chong were able to grab a whole slew of new images of the device, as well as shots of the neat looking, clear-bodied iteration pictured above. [Master Chong; Thanks, Felix]


digital rebel xsi

Canon Digital Rebel XSi Test Shots

We know that Canon's Digital Rebel XSi (EOS 450D to the rest of the world) has about the best feature set of any entry level DSLR. But what do the damn photos look like? DPReview already got their hands on a production model and have thrown up a gallery of sample shots. This one was shot with the new image stabilized kit lens at 800 ISO. Hit the jump for another shot at 1600 ISO to get a taste of how noisy (or not) the higher settings are, or just check out their whole gallery. More »

digital cameras

DSLR Sizemodo: Nikon D40x vs "World's Smallest" Olympus E-420

We just got the Olympus E-420, and before we shoot a million test shots (rough approximation), we thought we'd take a look at it's biggest claim to fame: it's the smallest and lightest DSLR around. Here you see it with the relatively handy and lightweight Nikon D40x, which in body is almost totally identical to its update, the D60. Below you can see the two from all the necessary angles, with starter lenses and even on my kitchen scale—both weighed with batteries, as they should be. OK, Olympus, we get it! You're smaller than the other guys. Stay tuned to find out whether we think all that shrinkage is paying off. [Nikon; Olympus]

digital cameras

Nikon D40x vs. Nikon D60: Deja Vu All Over Again

If you follow Nikon, you know that the newly released D60 entry-level DSLR is really just a refresh of the popular D40x. As you can see above, the only thing that looks different head-on is the tag in the upper left corner of the body identifying the camera model itself. But as you can see below, in addition to some small cosmetic changes, there are new yet subtle hardware benefits, plus a stop-motion video treat that's mostly novelty, but as easy as it gets.
More »

digital cameras

Canon 5D Mark II Rumored Specs and Details

The calendar tells us that the 5D, Canon's second best DSLR range, is due for a refresh. It comes from a message board, so take this with a grain of salt, but someone on DP Review forums has posted specs for a second generation 5D with the following changes: A modest 15.3MP up from 12.8MP, and a massive 2 stop bump in light sensitivity to 25600 ISO. More »