You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Tools: Hot or Not?’ category.
In a move that won’t surprise anyone that has been listening out for rumors, Nikon has launched the D300S, a refreshed version of its successful mid-level DSLR. Compared to the D300, It offers full 720p HD video recording, a faster 7 fps continuous shooting and Dual CF and SD card slots. It also sees an addition of a new Quiet drive mode and a dedicated Live View and Info button. The camera’s recommended selling price is $1799.
 |
|||
|
Attention, working photographers: this may well be the Eye-Fi card you’ve been waiting for. The new Eye-Fi Pro combo wireless and 4GB SDHC card for digital cameras is the first from the company to be able to transmit RAW files, in addition to JPEG and video, as well as the first to work over a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) Wi-Fi link, no router required. The 4GB Eye-Fi Pro commences shipping today at a manufacturer’s suggested list price of US$149.99 in the U.S. At the same time, Eye-Fi is unveiling a new feature for all Eye-Fi cards called Selective Transfer, which limits the sending of photos to those marked using the camera’s protect feature. Eye-Fi Pro 4GB Like all other cards in Eye-Fi’s lineup, the Eye-Fi Pro 4GB is a combination SDHC memory card and embedded 802.11b/g Wi-Fi transmitter. As the most full featured – and priciest – model the company makes, it includes all of the features found in one or more Eye-Fi cards currently, including optional automatic photo geotagging (using Skyhook’s positioning system), a year of Wayport hotspot access at no additional charge, seamless uploading of JPEGs and video to a variety of online services as well as to your own computer plus optional online service upload notifications that can be sent via email, text message or Twitter. Wireless throughput, as well as memory read and write speed, are expected to be the same for Eye-Fi Pro as they are for Eye-Fi’s 4GB Video offerings. What makes the Eye-Fi Pro different, then, is these two features:
As with earlier Eye-Fi cards, it’s necessary to be online at the time you add a new wireless network configuration, ad hoc or otherwise, to the Eye-Fi Pro. This will mean some network juggling so that your computer is on the Internet and accessing the Eye-Fi website while simultaneously talking to the Eye-Fi card over a separate ad hoc Wi-Fi connection. In most instances, to do this type of configuring you’ll need to get online via wired Ethernet or something like a USB/Bluetooth tethered mobile phone connection, leaving your computer’s Wi-Fi free for ad hoc communications with the Eye-Fi Pro. This is only during the setup phase, thereafter you can make use of the network you’ve added to the card without being on the Internet at that moment. An Internet connection is still required for automatic geotagging and to send photos directly to an online service. Selective Transfer The company is also in the process of rolling out a firmware update for all Eye-Fi models that enables Selective Transfer. Previously, an Eye-Fi card would transmit everything, and it can still be configured to do that; with this new feature enabled, only RAW, JPEG and video files that have been marked using the camera’s protect feature will be sent. The combination of being able to use ad hoc wireless networks and selectively send photos and video should really improve the flexibility of the Eye-Fi system. Plus, Eye-Fi earlier this year added a function called Relayed Uploads that allows photos and video to be sent wirelessly from an Eye-Fi card over the Internet to Eye-Fi’s servers, then forwarded to the user’s computer either immediately or, if it’s not online at that moment, then later when it is. Relayed Uploads is a feature of all Eye-Fi cards, including the Eye-Fi Pro. Bit by bit Feature by feature, Eye-Fi has been breaking down the barriers to versatile and effective use of its Wi-Fi/memory card products by the working shooter. With the Eye-Fi Pro SDHC card and the new Selective Transfer option, those who need to transmit RAW photos, wish to send only certain photos and want to skip toting along a wireless router on certain assignments can now do so. The number of digital SLR cameras that incorporate Eye-Fi specific features is growing as well. In Nikon’s line, the D90 was the first. It provides a menu to start/stop Eye-Fi transfers and the smarts to keep the camera powered up while transfers are ongoing. The D5000 has extended this Eye-Fi functionality to include an on-screen icon showing transfer status. We’ve also observed the Canon EOS Rebel T1i/500D stays awake while an inserted Eye-Fi card is transmitting, regardless of the camera’s Auto Power Off setting. It’s the only Canon digital SLR we’ve seen do that, suggesting that the company quietly snuck in this Eye-Fi related feature. The only remaining hurdle for broader acceptance among those who use midrange and pro digital SLRs is Eye-Fi card’s format. As an SDHC card, it can be used in CompactFlash-only cameras with the help of an SDHC-to-CompactFlash adapter, but usually at the expense of some wireless speed (the adapter can act as a signal absorber) and always at the expense of write speed. Plus, says Eye-Fi’s Koren, the company officially doesn’t recommend the use of their cards in this type of an adapter, because of occasional incompatibilities that can crop up. Eye-Fi continues to evaluate the possibility of producing a CompactFlash Eye-Fi card, he says, but in a phone interview yesterday, Koren made it clear that Eye-Fi’s focus remains firmly on the smaller SDHC format. Based on his words, we don’t expect to see a CompactFlash version anytime soon, if at all. The Eye-Fi Pro is available for ordering starting today, at an MSRP of US$149.99 in the U.S. Eye-Fi cards are sold in the U.S., Canada and Japan. |
|||
ref article
In January, the Leica M8 Safari rangefinder was announced. It’s $10,000 price tag is a result of only 500 units being released worldwide. The M8 comes bundled with a 28mm F2.8 Summicron lens and a matching canvas and leather camera bag. Like all Leica digital rangefinders, each camera body is hand-assembled and manufactured from the finest materials available. Leica is the favored camera for famous photographers ranging from Henri Cartier Bresson and Diane Arbus to Nan Goldin.
Now, they’ve announced another extrememly limited special edition all-white version. The very first one made is pictured above. An extremely limited number of the cameras will be produced, and the price has not yet been determined, but anyone interested in the special edition can call Leica’s toll free number at 800-222-0118 to inquire. Ref: luxist.com
Leave it to Polaroid to debut the very first instant digital camera, that has a built-in printer. This camera, called the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera, will retail for $199 and has an easy-to-use built in printer that prints 2″x3″ inch photos that have a peel away backing for the ability to turn your prints into stickers! The camera holds 10 pieces of photo paper at a time. 10 packs will cost $5, while packs of 30 pieces will cost $13. Here are a couple of other neato features:
- You can make videos!
- Unlike the old school Polaroid cameras, you don’t have to print every image. You have the ability to scroll through and only print the ones you like
There are a couple of downers too:
- Only 5 mega-pixels, which is fine for the prints, but images will be too noisy to print bigger.. but hey, the lo-fi quality of old Polaroids is kinda charming, don’t you think?
- Camera is a bit clunky.. After all, it DOES have a PRINTER in it.
Our overall opinion is that for the price, this sounds like a super fun, conversation starting device. The Polaroid PoGo will be available in June 2009.
Reference Chicago Tribune Tech Buzz
Nikon’s latest lens, the AF-S 35mm F1.8G DX, was announced at PMA 2009. This is an inexpensive, fast and lightweight entry level lens for Nikon DX format camera users. Check out the full specs and Digital Photography‘s full review here.
Dear MR. GADGET GUY:
What’s the deal with the price difference between f1.8 lenses and f1.4 lenses? I can find a 50mm f1.8 lens for around $100, but the same brand (50mm) lens that is f1.4, costs around $300! There doesn’t seem to be this kind of variance between any other speed. Do you know why this is? And is there a great advantage to the f1.4 as opposed to a f1.8?
Thanks,
Nikon Gal
Dear NIKON GAL:
The first lens I bought for my SLR, kit lens excepted, was a Canon EF 50mm/f1.4. And like I am sure many lens shoppers have done, I gave the cheaper f1.8 version of the “nifty fifty” some serious consideration before making my purchase.
I believe that Nikon and Canon are the only SLR manufacturers offering 50mm lenses with just two-thirds of a stop between them (Canon also offers the wallet wilting 50mm/f1.2). It doesn’t sound like much but the extra speed can make all the difference in a dim environment or when shooting fast moving subjects. But there is more separating these lenses than just maximum aperture. The pricier lenses feature superior optical designs, faster auto-focus, and better build quality. The difference in construction is especially evident between Canon’s offerings, with the 50mm/f1.8’s all plastic construction extending to the lens mount as well.
There are countless reviews, forum debates, and shouty discussions on the Internet hashing out the relative merits of f1.8 and f1.4 lenses. Near as I can tell, for most photographic needs, there’s really very little difference, performance-wise. Yes, the 50mm/f1.4 lenses let in a usable increase in light and their construction and autofocus can pay dividends, but in their 50mm/f1.8 offerings, Canon and Nikon have both produced affordable lenses that produce sharp (particularly when stopped down), quality images. You’re spending less on your lens, but they’ll rarely let your photography down.
It begs the question, if they’re so similar in capability, why produce two lenses so close together in the product line-up? I haven’t personally spoken to any Canon or Nikon product planners, but I can see how they both have discrete roles to play in the marketplace. The 50mm/f1.8 lenses are very accessible. Their simpler build — seriously, pick up the Canon 50mm/f1.8; it’s called the “plastic fantastic” for a reason — makes them cheap entries into the world of available light photography and excellent tools for exploring what your SLR camera can do for you. With the 50mm/f1.4 lenses, Nikon and Canon cater to the more serious enthusiast or professional shooter, a group for whom the autofocus performance and higher quality glass are worth the price premium. And considering the gear lust of your average photographer, legions of 50mm/f1.8 users are probably plotting their upgrade paths.
Myself, I bypassed the Canon 50mm/f1.8. In researching the lens, I found numerous stories of the lens’ flimsier construction catching up to owners. I’m pretty careful, but it’s worth paying extra to “me proof” my toys. Would I do it again? Probably not, at least not until I go full-frame. On 35mm film cameras (and on full-frame digital, like the Canon 5D and 1Ds, and the Nikon D700 and D3/D3x), 50mm lenses are the default and a highly versatile focal length. Every picture my family took between 1980 and 1985 was with a Canon A-1 fitted with a 50mm lens. With the APS-C sensors most digital SLRs sport these days, the venerable 50mm becomes a 75mm-80mm lens, more suited to portraits than environmental shots. Which is why my 50mm spends most of its life on a shelf and my Sigma 30mm (a 48mm focal length equivalent on a Canon APS-C) rarely leaves the camera.
It should be noted that Nikon also makes 85mm lenses in both the f1.8 and f1.4 flavors. The 85mm/f1.8 isn’t a cheap lens, going for around $400, while the f1.4 version targets professionals and serious amateurs with a price tag around $1,000.
More than you probably wanted to know,
Mr. Gadget Guy
Submit Your Questions to Mr. Gadget Guy @info@photopotlus.com!
For fashion and landscape photographers, the latest and greatest Nikon is here…for a mere $8000. When compared to the D3, there is one obvious difference; a massive jump in resolution. The 36 x 23.9 mm CMOS sensor provides a resolution of 24.5 megapixels, compared to 12.1 meagapixels of the D3. But this increase also presents a sacrifice of continuous frame speed, with only 5 fps, compared to 9 fps with the D3. Read Digital Photography Review’s extensive review for more comparisons.
The new 5D Mark II is out, and our friends at Digital Photography Review explained the ins and outs of this sleek, full frame, 21 megapixel picture taking machine. Some of us at Photopol.us are Canon folks and we’re drooling right about now.
www.photopolus.etsy.com
