One Lucky Canon Rebel XT Survived a 3000 Feet Plunge

I thought this Nikon D300 was tough but the entry level Canon Rebel XT might be tougher. It plunged 3000ft during a skydiving after it got accidentally detached from a parachuting instructor’s helmet mount. When the owner eventually found it on the ground, the camera only suffered some minor damages and it could still work! The camera’s companion, a Sony camcorder, didn’t fare so well and was pronounced dead on the spot.

The story, originally posted here,  seems to be amazing enough to get picked up by many places like CNet, Engadget, Photo District News, and Canon Rumors. I’d call this one lucky camera and the story seems believable but if you smell something fishy you are probably not alone.

Posted in Miscellaneous on December 17th, 2009. No Comments.

Canon Publishes EOS-1D Mark IV White Paper

Canon has published a white paper of its recently announced new professional flagship DSLR EOS-1D Mark IV (Check price). The white paper contains detailed descriptions of the camera design and features that you don’t typically see in product manuals. If you are interested in knowing how things work and how things are made in a DSLR, this is a great resource. It has many charts showing the construction of its components, such as AF system, viewfinder, sensor, etc. In addition, you can find an overview of software and accessories at the end as well as comparison to previous model the EOS-1D Mark III throughout the white paper.

Posted in Digital photography, Technology on November 16th, 2009. No Comments.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) vs. Nikon D5000 High ISO Noise Comparison

People pay great attention to image quality when making DSLR camera purchasing decisions. High ISO noise is one aspect of the image quality matrix. It is uncommon to see high ISO noise performance comparisons by shooting a scene with different cameras and compare the resulting images side-by-side at actual pixel resolution. Sounds simply enough, right? In reality, there are many complications.

Each camera has its own default settings. One may choose to perform more in-camera noise reduction (NR) than others by default. Some cameras have user controllable NR settings but others may only allow user control to certain degree. With NR, there is always a trade-off between noise level and image details.

Not only NR settings, sharpening, contrast, dynamic light optimizer or D-lighting settings can also affect noise levels.

The cameras may meter the scene quite differently and have exposure biases. Even if you choose the same ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, the images from one camera may appear darker or lighter compared to others. Exposure affects noise levels.

Cameras have different sensor sizes, sensor aspect ratios, and different pixel counts. Should the tester try to match the field of view or the magnification at 100% view (each image pixel is displayed as one pixel on a display)? Viewing an image at 100% magnification on a display is rarely useful for practical purposes. Typically the images are output to devices such as a display or a printer with a specific size. IMO, the comparison should be done with test shots matching the field of view in either horizontal or vertical direction. To make the comparison easy and fair, image from camera with higher resolution should be re-sized to match the magnification with lower resolution camera when viewed at actual pixels.

Bearing these complications in mind, here are some comparisons of Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) and Nikon D5000 high ISO noise performances by PhotographyBay.

Just recently, I also talked about the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) vs. Nikon D5000 high ISO noise comparison done by Camera Labs. What is your conclusion after reading the above high ISO performance comparisons?

Posted in Digital SLR Cameras on June 10th, 2009. No Comments.

Remote Control iPhone App Coming to Canon DSLR Users

The Internet is abuzz about an interesting iPhone (works on iPod Touch too) application developed by onOne Software, called (Canon) DSLR Remote. You can not only trigger the shutter on supported Canon DSLR cameras, but also change the camera settings, review images taken, and even take LiveView shots. It almost sounds like a magic.

Besides your Canon DSLR and either an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you will also need a laptop or desktop computer running the free companion DSLR Remote Server software, and a USB cable to connect your supported Canon EOS DSLR camera to the computer. The App communicates with the remote server software via Wi-Fi either through an access point or ad-hoc network. On the blog site of onOne Software, there is a video explaining how it works.

It might sound very clunky to lug all the hardware in the field, and the actual usefulness remains to be seen. The support of bulb mode does make long exposures especially light painting in the night easier, as pointed out by one of their potential users. For many, making their iPhone do one more cool thing is a great joy.

Based on the comments left by Mike Wong of onOne software, the shutter delay seems to be minimal. They also have heard from the Nikon camp loud and clear so if you are a fan of both Apple and Nikon, just stay tuned. Non-Apple fans are, however, out of luck.

Further reading:

Posted in News on May 22nd, 2009. 1 Comment.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) vs. Nikon D5000 High ISO Noise

Previously, we compared the spec sheets of two hot new entry level DSLR cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) and Nikon D5000.  If that is enough for you to make a decision between the two, it would be too simple. The spec sheet should be considered a starting point for potential buyers to evaluate their needs against the specs. What follows next should be the verification of real world performances against your expectations.

For some people, the image quality, especially the high ISO noise performance is very important. So how well do they match up against each other? Camera Labs did the tests as part of their full review of the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D). They also included the Olympus E-620 in the comparison.

The Nikon D5000 has a top ISO of 6400 while the Canon has top ISO of 12800. You would have thought the Canon have a better high ISO performance, wouldn’t you? Well, it turns out Canon’s marketing department may be a little too much into gimmicks. The Nikon D5000 appears to have won the noise competition  handily  above ISO800. The ISO6400 image from Nikon D5000 appears to have less noise and more details than the Canon’s. Perhaps Nikon should have made the ISO 128000 possible on the D5000. It wouldn’t be worse than the Canon’s.

Read: Canon EOS 500D / T1i vs Nikon D5000 vs Olympus E-620 High ISO Noise

Posted in Digital SLR Cameras on May 19th, 2009. No Comments.

Ben Long Reviews Canon PowerShot A1100 IS

Ben Long, the author of many well known digital photography books such as Complete Digital Photography and Real World Nikon Capture NX 2, is also a senior contributor to MacWorld. Just recently, he reviewed the new Canon PowerShot A1100 IS.

As a testament on how far digital imaging technology has advanced over the years, Ben was surprised by the noise performance of the $200 12 megapixel compact digital camera.

One of the most surprising things about the A1100 is its low noise. Shooting up to ISO 400 is surprisingly clean, and even higher speeds, such as 800 and 1600, are very usable, even in low light. Certainly there are cameras that perform better at these speeds, but they’re also much more expensive.

To be certain, different people may have different standards on what are acceptable or usable. One of the users reviews on Amazon for the camera complained about grainy pictures even in bright sunny situations. The Canon PowerShot A1100IS only received two user reviews so far that are not all that glorious. However, its older sibling Canon Powershot A1000IS (10MP, released last year) have received overall very positive acceptance from users.

When it comes to buying digital camera, or anything, people are paying attention to reviews. There are reviews by professionals, which tend to be more objective, accurate and trust worthy. However these are typically not the people who are going to use them as often as the typical consumers will do. They may not have covered all aspects of the product or every possible ways people will be using it. So it is equally important to seek consumer reviews or experiences. Consumer reviews tends to be a little less accurate, incomplete, more subjective, and more noisy. Use good judgment and examine what is said against fact and common sense.

Posted in Miscellaneous on May 14th, 2009. 1 Comment.

Canon Introduces EOS 500D / Rebel T1i DSLR / Kiss Digital X3

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For body only price of $799 and kit (with 18-55 mm IS lens) price of $899, this Full HD capable entry level DSLR is destined to be very popular. It also puts some pressure on Nikon D90, which has less pixels (12.3 vs. 15.1 megapixels) and less capable video recording capability (720P vs. 1080P).

However, it seems the 1080P HD is a stretch for its underpowered hardware. At the full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 (1080P, 16:9), the EOS 500D / Rebel T1i can only shoot 20 frames per second (fps), which is kinda awkward. 720P video (1280 x 720) is capable of a good 30 fps (compared to Nikon D90’s 24fps at the same resolution). The new Canon DLSR can also shoot up to 30 minutes (or max file size of 4GB). Nikon D90 can only shoot 5 min at 720P resolution and 20minutes at other resolutions.

Please don’t get it wrong though. Video shooting is fun and maybe important for some people, still photo taking should still be the number one consideration for a DSLR camera. In that regard, I doubt Nikon D90 is any significantly inferior than the Canon 500D. The side-by-side comparison of spec sheets can provide you with some quick ideas. Read More…

Posted in Digital SLR Cameras, News on March 25th, 2009. 1 Comment.

Canon PowerShot SD780IS Comes with Four Sensational Colors

Canon’s new 2009 digital camera lineups are coming out later this month (March) and my inbox was hit with their usual PowerShot eNewsLetter promoting the “sleek, slender, and super smart” PowerShot SD780IS Digital ELPH. Offered in bright red, black, silver, and gold colors, the beautiful little compacts convey the meanings of passion, confident, classic, and luxury. If you are disgusted by the heavy DSLR cameras with the same old looks, I am sure you will find the new Canon cameras refreshing. And the beauty isn’t just skin-deep, it comes packed with Canon’s digital camera innovations. For someone who wants more power, there are higher end Canon PowerShot SD960IS and Canon PowerShot SD970IS coming as well. Read More…

Posted in Photography gadgets, Point & shoot on March 17th, 2009. No Comments.
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