Canon has announced two new DSLRS in the EOS lineup. The new EOS-1DS Mark III features a 5616 x 3744 (21.1MP) full frame CMOS imaging sensor, 5fp continuous shooting speed. The EOS-1Ds Mark III is said to be identical to the EOS-1D Mark III in terms of function and usability except the full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor. The new EOS 40D features a 10.1MP APS-C sized sensor (1.6x crop factor), 6.5 fps burst shooting speed, a 9 point cross-type AF system and 3.0” LCD with Live View mode. Read More…
Posted in
Digital SLR Cameras on August 20th, 2007.
No Comments.
Macro photography opens up a whole new world of amazing nature with details the naked eyes cannot see. It is often beyond imagination and stunning. To capture more details, you need high magnifications. Most dedicated macro lenses can achieve 1:1 life size magnification (subject and image on the sensor has the same size) without any accessories. If you cannot afford them, reverse-mounting a lens with short focal length (<~50mm) is a good alternative. Check out these great examples and how it is done.
With dedicated macro lens, you have fully functional auto-focus and metering. With a reverse-mounted lens, you may not have either. It can become difficult and frustrating at beginning. Practice will make it easier and reward you with great photos without spending a fortune.
For in-depth information on alternative macro photography methods, please visit this Nikonlinks page.
Are you getting blurry shots with long lens at shutter speed ~ 1/40s to 1s even with a tripod? The odds are good that they are caused by the vibrations. One of the good ways of avoiding vibrations is to use mirror lock-up (MLU). Here is an interesting discussion on DPReview. Mirror lock-up made a significant difference in the sharpness of the images. If you are not familiar with the the terminology, there is a very good article on Luminous Landscape you can read.
Not all DSLRs have MLU that can be used for shooting. Many DSLR models can lock up the mirror for sensor cleaning purpose only. Often they offer an alternative called “exposure delay”, which delays the shutter release after mirror going up by a short period of time to avoid the mirror vibration caused blurs. However this may not be as effective as true MLU because the separation of the mirror up and shutter open are too close for the vibrations to complete dissipate.
In addition, I found the following articles about proper long lens techniques:
Added on 8/6/2007: Also check out this test. It convincingly showed the effectiveness of MLU at slow shutter speed.
Posted in
Digital SLR Cameras on August 5th, 2007.
No Comments.
DigitalCameraInfo.Com has published the review of Olympus EVOLT E-510 DSLR. For the impatient, you may want to go straight to the “Overall impressions” page for comparisons with other competing models, or the “Conclusion” page for pros and cons lists. Here is the specification, and Olympus product page.
Infrared and UV photography open a world that typical cameras and our eyes were never meant to see. If you have never seen an infrared or ultraviolet photo, you may want to check out these Flickr groups: Digital Infrared, Infrared, UltraViolet.
According to Fujifilm, this is a DSLR for advanced forensic and scientific imaging. The camera can also be used for conventional daylight photography by adding an optional UVIR cut filter to the lens. Nikon DSLR users will recognize the body is the same as the Nikon D200, just with Fujifilm branding. The camera is Nikon F-mount compatible and can use all Nikkor AF-D/G and AF-S lenses. The detailed specifications and features can be found at Fujifilm website.
For people who truly enjoy infrared or ultraviolet photography, it may be the dream come true. However the firmware End User License Agreement (EULA) will definitely turn some of you off:
“By breaking the packaging seal you acknowledge your understanding and acceptance of Fujifilm’s Ultraviolet (UV) and/or Infrared (IR) sensitive digital camera firmware End User License Agreement. The camera firmware contained in each system package is fully activated to engage the camera’s UV and/or IR capabilities and ready for use. No other firmware modifications are necessary in order to activate the camera’s UV and/or IR wavelength sensitive CCD. THIS LICENSE IS NON-TRANSFERABLE.
You hereby acknowledge and agree that your use of the camera’s UV and/or IR light energy sensitive capabilities, as enabled by Fujifilm’s camera firmware, will be purely to accomplish a legitimate business purpose in the medical, forensic, fire investigative, law enforcement, scientific, systems integrators, local and federal government.
In addition, you further agree not to use the camera’s firmware enabled capabilities to engage in unethical photographic conduct involving the violation of personal privacy, child endangerment, lewd photography, and or paparazzi like activities.”
Posted in
Digital SLR Cameras on July 24th, 2007.
No Comments.
CNet blog reported the leaked details of a high end DSLR from Olympus that may be announced in October and released for sale in November this year. This news was later picked up by Engadget as well. The specifications are not repeated here to avoid excessive drooling. Just head over to the linked sites…
Moose Peterson explains in an easy to understand manner on the TTL Flash system for wildlife photography. Even if you are not a wildlife photographer, this excellent article can certainly help you to understand TTL flash system better.
Posted in
Digital SLR Cameras on June 20th, 2007.
No Comments.
