dslr.ws

So, some of the rumors were close on this, but mostly they were off. Canon officially announced the Canon 450D (the Digital Rebel XSi) in a pre-PMA 2008 announcement. Some of the features of the new camera:

• 12.2 megapixel sensor with live view
• 3.0″ LCD display
• 14-bit RAW capability
• Spot metering (about freaking time)
• Larger viewfinder that’s approximately the same size as what was available on the Canon 30D.
• SD and SDHC storage, kind of annoying for anyone looking to upgrade from an older Digital Rebel or wanting to use the XSi as a backup to a higher-end Canon DSLR.
• Higher capacity battery (called the LP-E5, a new battery model from Canon)
• Highlight Tone Priority mode — brought in from the Canon 40D — which allows it to capture more information in the highlight areas (although you risk more noise in the shadows.)
• Improved 9-point autofocus system

And something that’s not quite a big enough addition to make a feature list, but is a huge addition in my book, is that they’ve found room to display the ISO setting in the viewfinder. I’ve lost count of how many pictures I’ve taken on my Digital Rebel XT at a too-high ISO setting because I forgot that I had bumped it up the last time I used the camera.

There’s also a newly designed battery grip that will work with either two of the new LP-E5 batteries or 6 AA batteries. And a new kit lens also, an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

Interestingly, it sounds like this isn’t completely replacing the Canon 400D; Canon says they will continue producing that camera. That might open the door for some great DSLR bargains when the XSi hits the market.

So, how did the most recent 450D rumors fare? Not that well. They said that the name would be the XTs, the same sensor as the XTi, and UDMA CompactFlash card support. All wrong, and the XSi doesn’t even have a CF slot. On the other hand, the rumors were right about live view and the 3″ LCD. And possibly about improved dynamic range, depending on how the 14-bit capability plays out. Still, not a great bunch of random guesses to spread as rumors. I’m putting you on notice, Internet. You better come up with better stuff next time. And if you say the Canon 500D will have a built-in ice cream dispenser, it better really have one, or I’m never speaking to you again.

The latest rumors about Canon’s successor to the Digital Rebel XTi, assumed to be the Canon 450D, is now rumored to also be called the Canon Digital Rebel XTs (presumably that’s the name in the United States, just like the Digital Rebel XTi was the American name for the Canon 400D.)

The rumors are saying that the sensor will be unchanged from the XTi, but it’ll have live view, a 3″ LCD screen, improved noise performance, improved dynamic range, support for UDMA CF cards, and wireless capabilities built-in wireless master capabilities for flash control. It’s also rumored to have improved autofocus, with four new cross-type sensors clustered around the center AF point.

The price is supposedly around $599, but it’s not clear if that’s an MSRP or expected street price.

And, as always with random Internet rumors, these could be completely unfounded and turn out to have no truth to them whatsoever.

Shutterbug has posted a review of the Sony A700 DSLR camera.

There’s a brief discussion over the lack of live view on the A700 which seems to imply that it’s not a useful feature for professional and semi-pro photographers, despite all of the pro photographers who say it can come in handy:

A Sony rep indicated that they won’t implement Live View until a highly effective and convenient system is developed. Since the A700 is intended for enthusiasts with SLR experience, they doubt that many buyers will miss a feature that’s most appealing to those who are first trading up from a point-and-shoot digicam.

They report good image quality up to ISO 400, although the reviewer seems to have friends who prefer film grain to grainless digital images for some reason:

Particularly in Extra Fine JPEG or raw capture, image quality is outstanding at ISO 100-400, suitable for making gallery-quality 13×19” inkjet prints. Photos made without overrides exhibit rich colors, snappy contrast, high sharpness, and remarkable smoothness. Most of my friends considered the results to be “perfect” while a couple would have preferred just a hint of a “grain” for a more film-like effect.

Honestly, that’s one of strangest things I’ve ever read in a camera review: not enough noise! Get these noise-free images out of here, they’re disturbing me! Where’s my grain??

They report very good results with the anti-shake system, getting sharp photos shooting at 1/8 second with a 105mm (35mm equivalent) focal length, which is very good. They even report “some photos” shot at 1/4 sec were sharp enough for 5×7 prints, which seems like stretching things a little if you ask me. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with turning on burst mode, fire off a bunch of frames at a slow shutter speed, and hope one or two turn out. I just wouldn’t publish the shutter speed I used for that as a “usable” one.

Performance sounds very good as well, although half a second to turn on doesn’t quite sound DSLR-fast to me:

It started up in a 1/2 sec, activated AF instantly, responded without any apparent shutter lag, and was almost always ready to shoot another long burst. Autofocus was fast, accurate, and reliable even in dark locations. Tracking focus performance in action photography was very good with an affordable Sony AF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom. The camera’s new AF system also provides a bonus when used with an f/2.8 or wider aperture lens: superior focusing accuracy with the dual cross-hatched central AF sensor point.

High ISO noise performance sounds about average for a DSLR, although the reviewer doesn’t compare it to other cameras:

In images made at higher ISO levels, digital noise is very well controlled. Color saturation and edge sharpness remain high even at ISO 3200; the images were suitable for decent 8×10″ glossies. (ISO 6400 is mostly for emergency use and for 4×6″ prints.) A stronger or weaker level of NR can be set in camera at ISO 1600 and above. That allows for an even smoother effect (but with more smudging of fine details) or for a more “grainy” look (with better definition).

The reviewer’s conclusion? The A700 is a “very fine” camera:

The original A100 remains a very fine 10-megapixel entry-level D-SLR but the new enthusiast-level 12-megapixel model is even more desirable because of more effective technology, much greater speed, more rugged construction, and a richer feature set. It should be a strong contender in the mid-range category in spite of fierce competition from other recent 10- and 12-megapixel models.

Check out the full review for all the details and some small sample photos (nothing approaching full resolution samples in this review.)

I didn’t even know that you could get firmware updates for digital SLR lenses, but apparently at least Olympus has them.

They just released firmware version 1.1 for the Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 SWD lens. It improves “focusing precision on distant subjects when using the C-AF (continuous AF) mode.”

They have a bunch of older firmware updates for other lenses as well, offering a number of interesting improvement:

• For the 14mm-54mm and 50mm-200mm, a firmware that improves exposure precision comparable to a full-open aperture setting.
• The 90-250mm f2.8 got a firmware update that fixed an issue with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1, where it was apparently reporting the wrong focal distance information in captured files (presumably both JPEG EXIF and RAW data were wrong for focal distance?)

Ok, maybe it’s just interesting to me, but chances are there’s at least one other person out there who didn’t know you could get firmware updates for lenses, and is now more enlightened after reading this post. For you, dear previously clueless reader, you’re welcome.