Camera Review - Canon 50D

Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera:

Canon strengthens its EOS range with the addition of a powerful new digital SLR: the Canon EOS 50D / Canon EOS . With a 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 6.3 frames per second shooting and Canon’s latest DIGIC 4 image processor, the EOS 50D delivers unparalleled speed and resolution at a price point that is unique in today’s market. A newly designed 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor delivers ultra-detailed, low-noise images - ideal for large-scale reproduction or creative cropping. New manufacturing processes, plus redesigned photo diodes and microlenses, extend the light gathering capabilities of the sensor - allowing more pixels to be fitted on the CMOS sensor without compromising image quality.






Canon EOS 50D Sensor Cleaning System:

These changes ensure improved high ISO performance and low noise. High-speed, low light shooting is enabled by ISO levels of 3200, expandable to an ultra-sensitive 12800. The EOS Cleaning System which has been integrated in the Canon EOS 50D - including the improved Self Cleaning Sensor Unit with a new fluorine coating - increases protection of image quality by helping to reduce, repel and remove unwanted dust from the sensor. Stubborn particles can be removed automatically in post-production with Dust Delete Data and Canon’s included Digital Photo Professional software.

Canon 50D perfect for sports and wildlife photography:

Canon’s new DIGIC 4 processor is fast enough to allow up to 6.3fps continuous shooting, in

bursts of up to 90 JPEGs with a UDMA card. When using the Canon EOS 50D with Canon’s wide area AF system, which locks onto subjects with 9 individual cross type sensors, stunning action sequences can be captured - even in low-light conditions. This makes the Canon 50D particularly suited to sports and wildlife shooting. DIGIC 4 works with the CMOS sensor to deliver 14-bit image processing, for smooth gradation and natural-looking colours - as well as ensuring ultra-fast startup times and near-instant image review after shooting.



Canon EOS 50D incorporates CMOS technology:

Canon’s CMOS technology is one of the company’s key competitive advantages, with noise reduction circuitry at each pixel site delivering virtually noise-free images. In comparison with CCD technology, the lower power consumption characteristics of Canon’s CMOS sensors also contribute to longer battery life. Signal conversion in Canon’s CMOS sensors is handled by individual amplifiers at each pixel site. Unnecessary charge transfer operations are avoided, vastly speeding up the process of getting signal to the image processor. Noise generation is reduced, power consumption is limited and faster frame rate potential is increased.

Live View mode integrated in the Canon EOS 50D :

The Canon EOS 50D features a new 3.0” Clear View VGA LCD, providing extra-large and wide angle-of-view image review, with plenty of clarity for accurate focus checks in playback. By switching to Live View mode - which displays a real-time image on the LCD - photographers can enjoy simplified shooting from awkward angles, or connect to a PC for remote shooting. Live Mode now offers three ways to auto focus: Quick AF, Live AF, and new Face Detection Live AF, which optimizes focus based on faces detected in the frame - for fast, spontaneous portraiture.

Canon 50D developed for semi professional photographers:

The famously intuitive EOS menu system includes a new Quick Control screen, for instant access to the most commonly-changed settings. A new Creative Auto mode offers automatic focus and exposure - while still allowing creative ‘tweaks’ to settings such as background sharpness. “For advanced amateurs and semi-professionals - or professionals looking for a powerful backup model - the Canon EOS 50D stands alone,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “No other camera in this price bracket offers a comparable combination of speed and image quality.”

Canon EOS 50D offers Picture Style pre-sets:

Picture Style pre-sets simplify in-camera control over image qualities. Picture Style pre-sets can be likened to different film types - each one offering a different colour response. Within each selectable pre-set, photographers have control over sharpness, contrast, colour tone and saturation. The camera’s factory default configuration is set to deliver immediately-usable JPEG images without need for additional menu settings. Picture Style presets applied to a RAW image can be revised with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software. The six pre-sets are:

• Standard - for crisp, vivid images that don’t require post-processing
• Portrait - optimises colour tone and saturation and weakens sharpening
• Landscape - for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines
• Neutral - ideal for post-processing
• Faithful - adjusts colour to match the subject when shot under a colour temperature of 5200K
• Monochrome - for black and white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green).

Canon EOS Digital Photo Professional Software:

Digital Photo Professional software provides high speed, high quality processing of lossless RAW images. Processing with Digital Photo Professional allows real-time display and immediate application of image adjustments, giving control over RAW image variables such as white balance, dynamic range, exposure compensation, noise reduction and colour tone - plus the ability to view Auto Focus points on an image. The Lens Aberration correction tool allows precise correction of different types of distortion caused by certain cameras. Images can be recorded in camera with sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space.

Canon EOS Utility on the EOS 50D SLR camera:

The latest version of EOS Utility provides essential support for Live View remote shooting, camera configuration and image transfers. Tightly integrated with Digital Photo Professional, EOS Utility can be configured to monitor ‘hot’ folders, automatically renaming and moving incoming images to a structured file system. Users can also tag their images with EXIF data, including copyright information.

Canon EOS 50D price & availability:

The Canon EOS 50D (body only) is available in Europe from the end of September 2008 priced at €1599.99 / £1199.99 inc. VAT. In the United States, the Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera is scheduled for October delivery and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1,399 USD.

Camera Review - Nikon D700

Nikon Europe is pleased to announce the introduction of an all-new FX-format digital SLR: the 12.1 megapixel Nikon D700, designed to enable many more photographers to enjoy the acclaimed image quality of the Nikon D3, but in a smaller form factor. ”The Nikon D3 has taken the action photography industry by storm, motivating many pros to change brands and we expect the Nikon D700 to continue that trend,” said Robert Cristina, Manager Professional Products and NPS at Nikon Europe. He added: “The Nikon D700 excels in the extreme low-light and high-contrast conditions under which today’s cameras are judged and affirms Nikon’s ongoing commitment to meeting tomorrows imaging needs too.”




The Nikon D700 inherits the ‘must have’ image quality of the Nikon D3. Using the same core technologies such as the highly-sensitive 12.1 effective megapixel CMOS image sensor with large pixel pitch and gapless micro lens array that affords bright, clean files across a broad ISO range. The Nikon D700 SLR also features the same innovative EXPEED high-speed image-processing system, 14-bit A/D conversion and 16-bit processing pipeline to provide the detail and smooth gradation necessary for outstanding print enlargement and reproduction.




The D700 is ideal for those seeking a perfectly-balanced DSLR on the move, without compromising durability or environmental resistance to moisture and dust. The Nikon D700 body incorporates an image sensor cleaning system that uses high frequency vibrations to reduce the accumulation of dust on the image sensor surface. A responsive 5fps is possible with the compact 1500mAh EN-EL3e lithium-ion battery, with up to 8 fps possible by attaching the optional MB-D10 battery pack to use the powerful 2500mAh EN-EL4a battery if desired. This offers complete power supply integration for those already using the D3 and D300. Another first is the practical i-TTL built-in pop up flash with 24mm lens coverage, ideal for discrete flash lighting when a full size Speedlight might be too cumbersome.

Despite its attractive price tag, the D700 makes no compromises in its comprehensive feature array with a highly responsive shutter release time lag of just 40ms, the acclaimed accuracy of the 51-point MultiCAM3500 AF system, DX Crop Mode and Live View with contrast-detect AF displayed on the same high-definition 3-inch TFT monitor used on the D3 and D300.

One of the most important advantages of FX format cameras is the viewfinder experience and the D700 features an outstanding solid glass pentaprism, 95% coverage and adjustable AF point LED illumination for a bright, uninterrupted view. A clever new feature is the ability to display the Virtual Horizon level indicator during Live View mode to determine camera orientation at arms length.

The Nikon D700 D-SLR is designed for the future without ignoring the past. As Nikon celebrates the 75th anniversary of the very first NIKKOR lens, and with well over 40 million sold, intelligent image processing technologies to control peripheral illumination (Vignette) and chromatic aberration enable photographers to rediscover the creative possibilities of their existing NIKKOR F mount lenses. For newcomers, the ever-expanding Nikon Total Imaging System provides lenses, Speedlights, Software and accessories for every photographic challenge both now and in the future.

The Nikon D700 SLR is supplied with battery EN-EL3e, Nikon charger, and Nikon Software Suite and will go on sale on 25th July 2008 with a MSRP guide price of €2599. (calculated in USD 4,093.43 and GBP 2,052.24)

Nikon D700 Key Features:

• Large image sensor, developed by Nikon; 12.1 effective megapixels
• Wide sensitivity range
• High-speed performance
• EXPEED image processing
• Scene Recognition System
• Picture Control System
• Active D-Lighting
• AF system with high-density 51-point AF
• Choose from two Live View modes
• DX cropping mode
• High-definition, 3-inch VGA, TFT LCD monitor with wide viewing angle
• Viewfinder provides 95% frame coverage, 0.72x magnification in FX format
• Image Sensor Cleaning
• Built-in flash with wireless commander function
• Engineered durability
• Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 (option)
• Exclusive Wireless Transmitter WT-4/4A (option)
• Fine tuning for AF
• Improved Function button feature
• HDMI output (High-Definition TV) supported
• Info display
• My Menu
• Electronic Virtual Horizon
• ViewNX/Nikon Transfer image-management software included in Software Suite CD-ROM

TIPS & HINTS

What To Look For When Buying a Digital Camera?

1. The most critical element in a digital camera is the lens because all light must go through the lens. So choose from traditional film camera makers, especially those renowned for their optical lens.
2. Consider what type of storage media the digital camera uses. SmartMedia is flimsy because its connecting wires are outside the cards. Memory stick is proprietary to Sony devices only, so it's not considered industry standards. Compact Flash card is by far the best bet because it is thick and hardy. Many output devices eg. printers and projectors use the card as storage device, so images stored can be output straight away in these devices.

Is pixel count all that important?

Traditional camera uses film to record images. But for digital camera, the film is replaced by a small sensor chip - either CCD (charged Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) - which stores the image into a digital format.

The CCD or CMOS sensor's surface is divided into tiny squares called pixels and each pixel records one segment of an image. The more pixels a sensor has, the more details it can record. While it's true that the number of pixels a CCD contains is an excellent measure of the details the digital camera can contain, this is not enough.

Picture quality doesn't necessarily improve with another million pixels. Other features such as lens, colour filter used on the sensor and digital image processor also play an important role in determining picture quality. (See picture below to understand the intricacies of a digital camera in the analogy of a human eye).

To capture an image, lights first have to go through the lens (equivalent to human's eye) which are later gathered as electrical charges by the sensor (equivalent to human's retina). The sensor, by itself, is incapable of perceiving colours, so it obtains colour data via a colour filter arranged above individual pixels. Image data gathered by the sensor is converted into digital signals to be analysed and processed by the image processor (equivalent to human's brain) before recording the image onto a memory card. Each process is crucial in determining image quality.

So don't just be deceived by pixel count. Check for manufacturer's lens and CCD.

What is Digital Photography

Introduction

Digital photography is a form of photography that uses digital technology to make images of subjects. Until the advent of such technology, photography used photographic film to create images which could be made visible by photographic processing. By contrast, digital photographs can be displayed, printed, stored, manipulated, transmitted, and archived using digital and computer techniques, without chemical processing.
Digital photography is one of several forms of digital imaging. Digital images are also created by non-photographic equipment such as computer tomography scanners and radio telescopes. Digital images can also be made by scanning conventional photographic images.

Sensors and Storage

Sensors read the intensity of light as filtered through different color filters, and digital memory devices store the digital image information, either as RGB color space or as raw data.
There are two main types of sensors:
charge-coupled device (CCD) – photocharge is shifted to a central charge-to-voltage converter CMOS sensors ("Active pixel sensor") Nearly all digital cameras now use built in and/or removable solid state flash memory. Digital camcorders that double as a digital still camera use flash memory, discs and internal hard disks. For a time floppy disks and mini-CDs were used in early digital cameras such as the Sony Mavica range.

Multifunctionality and connectivity

Except for some linear array type of cameras at the highest-end and simple web cams at the lowest-end, a digital memory device (usually flash memory; floppy disks and CD-RWs are less common) is usually used for storing images, which may then be transferred to a computer later.
Digital cameras can take pictures, and may also record sound and video. Some can be used as webcams, some can use the PictBridge standard to connect to a printer without using a computer, and some can display pictures directly on a television set. Similarly, many camcorders can take still photographs, and store them on videotape or on flash memorycards with the same functionality as Digital Cameras.

Performance metrics

The quality of a digital image is the sum of various factors, many of which are similar to film cameras. Pixel count (typically listed in megapixels, millions of pixels) is only one of the major factors, though it is the most heavily marketed. Pixel count metrics were created by the marketing organizations of digital camera manufacturers because consumers can use it to easily compare camera capabilities. It is not, however, the major factor in evaluating a digital camera. The processing system inside the camera that turns the raw data into a color-balanced and pleasing photograph is the most critical, which is why some 4+ megapixel cameras perform better than higher-end cameras.

• Lens quality: resolution, distortion, dispersion
• Capture medium: CMOS, CCD, negative film, reversal film etc.
• Capture format: pixel count, digital file type (RAW, TIFF, JPEG), film format (135 film, 120 film, 5x4, 10x8).
• Processing: digital and / or chemical processing of 'negative' and 'print'.

Pixel Counts

The number of pixels n for a given maximum resolution (w horizontal pixels by h vertical pixels) is the product n = w × h. This yields e. g. 1.92 megapixels (1,920,000 pixels) for an image of 1600 × 1200. The majority of compact (not DSLR) digital cameras have a 4:3 aspect ratio, i.e. w/h = 4/3. According to Digital Photography Review, the 4:3 ratio is because "computer monitors are 4:3 ratio, old CCD's always had a 4:3 ratio, and thus digital cameras inherited this aspect ratio."[1]
The pixel count quoted by manufacturers can be misleading as it may not be the number of full-colour pixels. For cameras using single-chip image sensors the number claimed is the total number of single-colour-sensitive photosensors, whether they have different locations in the plane, as with the Bayer sensor, or in stacks of three co-located photosensors as in the Foveon X3 sensor. However, the images will have different numbers of RGB pixels: the Bayer-sensor cameras produce as many RGB pixels as photosensors via demosaicing (interpolation), while the cameras with Foveon sensors produce uninterpolated image files with one-third as many RGB pixels as photosensors. It is difficult to compare the resolutions based on the megapixel ratings of these two types of sensors, and therefore sometimes subject of dispute.

Resolution

Resolution provides an indication of the amount of detail that is captured, but, like the other metrics, resolution is just another factor out of many in determining the quality of an image. Furthermore, different methods of creating an image make it impossible to compare the resolutions of cameras simply based on the number of pixels produced by the image sensor. For example, the Sigma SD14 camera uses Foveon technology, which is quite different from most other digital cameras. It claims to be a 14 megapixel camera, but is generally considered to have detail-capturing capabilities roughly equivalent to 9 megapixels in terms of Bayer sensors.
The relative increase in detail resulting from an increase in resolution is better compared by looking at the number of pixels across (or down) the picture, rather than the total number of pixels in the picture area. For example, a sensor of 2560 × 1600 sensor elements is described as "4 megapixels" (2560 × 1600 = 4,096,000). Increasing to 3200 × 2048 increases the pixels in the picture to 6,553,600 (6.5 megapixels), a factor of 1.6, but the pixels per cm in the picture (at the same image size) increases by only 1.25 times. A measure of the comparative increase in linear resolution is the square root of the increase in area resolution, i.e., megapixels in the entire image.
Resolution in pixels is not the only measure of image quality; a larger sensor with the same number of pixels will generally produce a better image than a smaller one. One of the most important differences is an improvement in image noise. This is one of the advantages of digital SLR cameras, which have larger sensors than simpler cameras of the same resolution.


Sensor Size and Angle of View

Cameras with digital sensors that are smaller than the typical 35mm film size will have a smaller field or angle of view when used with a lens of the same focal length. This is because angle of view is a function of both focal length and the sensor or film size used. If a sensor smaller than the full-frame 35mm film format is used, such as the use of APS-C-sized digital sensors in DSLRs, then the field of view is cropped by the sensor to smaller than the 35mm full-frame format's field of view. This narrowing of the field of view is often described in terms of a focal length multiplier or crop factor, a factor by which a longer focal length lens would be needed to get the same field of view on a full-frame camera.

If the digital sensor has approximately the same resolution (effective pixels per unit area) as the 35mm film surface (24 x 36 mm), then the result is similar to taking the image from the film camera and cutting it down (cropping) to the size of the sensor. For an APS-C size sensor, this would be a reduction to approximately the center 50% of the image. The cheaper, non-SLR models of digital cameras typically use much smaller sensor sizes and the reduction would be greater.

If the digital sensor has a higher or lower density of pixels per unit area than the film equivalent, then the amount of information captured will differ correspondingly. While resolution can be estimated in pixels per unit area, the comparison is complex since most types of digital sensor record only a single colour at each pixel location, and different types of film will have different effective resolutions. There are various trade-offs involved, since larger sensors are more expensive to manufacture and require larger lenses, while sensors with higher numbers of pixels per unit area are likely to suffer higher noise levels.

For these reasons, it is possible to obtain cheap digital cameras with sensor sizes much smaller than 35mm film, but with high pixel counts, that can still produce high-resolution images. Such cameras are usually supplied with lenses that would be classed as extremely wide angle on a 35mm camera, and which can also be smaller size and less expensive, since there is a smaller sensor to illuminate. For example, a camera with a 1/1.8" sensor has a 5.0x field of view crop, and so a hypothetical 5-50mm zoom lens will produce images that look similar (again the differences mentioned above are important) to those produced by a 35mm film camera with a 25–250mm lens, while being much more compact than such a lens for a 35mm camera since the imaging circle is much smaller.

This can be useful if extra telephoto reach is desired, as a certain lens on an APS sensor will produce an equivalent image to a significantly longer lens on a 35mm film camera shot at the same distance from the subject, the equivalent length of which depends on the camera's field of view crop. This is sometimes referred to as the focal length multiplier, but the focal length is a physical attribute of the lens and not the camera system itself. The downside to this is that wide angle photography is made somewhat more difficult, as the smaller sensor effectively and undesirably reduces the captured field of view. Some methods of compensating for this or otherwise producing much wider digital photographs involve using a fisheye lens and "defishing" the image in post processing to simulate a rectilinear wide angle lens.

Full-frame digital SLRs, that is, those with sensor size matching a frame of 35mm film, include Canon 1DS, 1DS II, and 5D, Kodak Pro DCS-14n, and Contax N Digital. There are very few digital cameras with sensors that can approach the resolution of larger-format film cameras, with the possible exception of the Mamiya ZD (22MP) and the Hasselblad H3D series of DSLRs (22 to 39 MP).

Common values for field of view crop in DSLRs include 1.3x for some Canon sensors, 1.5x for Sony APS-C sensors used by Nikon, Pentax and Konica Minolta and for Fujifilm sensors, 1.6 (APS-C) for most Canon sensors, ~1.7x for Sigma's Foveon sensors and 2x for Kodak and Panasonic 4/3" sensors currently used by Olympus and Panasonic. Crop factors for non-SLR consumer compact and bridge cameras are larger, frequently 4x or more.