The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG OS lens is a consumer-oriented lens and is available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma DSLRs. This lens is one that is relatively compact for its abilities. It feels very light in your hands and should be very enjoyable for amateurs, enthusiasts, etc. Granted, the lens is not an EX (Sigma’s top of the line) and it surely shows it. I received some brief hands-on time with the lens and was able to judge the Canon version’s abilities vs. something like my much older Canon 80-200mm F2.8 L.
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The Sony A850 has no differences from the flagship Sony A900 besides a slower rate of fire, a slightly smaller viewfinder and $700. For the money, it is the best bang-for-your buck value out there right now for full frame photographers. Put some nice Minolta or Zeiss glass in front of that sensor and you’ll begin to see some very nice results. During my hands-on time, I noticed some other slight differences in handling.
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Lexar is now providing free trials and rebates on Adobe software with the purchase of Lexar memory cards, including the new Lexar Professional 600x CF cards. Notably, you can get $100 off Lightroom 2 when you buy one of the new Professional 600x cards.
Although, the free trial doesn’t really seem like it’s anything special because you can already get a free trial from Adobe on these products anyway. That sounds more like marketing fluff; however, the $100 off Lightroom 2 is not a bad deal at all, particularly if you’re in need of some fast memory cards.
I have requested clarification from Lexar on whether the rebates can be stacked with Adobe’s current standalone $20 rebates on Photoshop Elements products, and whether the “free trial” offered through Lexar provides any additional value to customers aside from what Adobe already offers. Unfortunately, I did not receive a response at the time this news was published. I will update this post if/when Lexar responds.
Additional details in the press release below. [click to continue…]
After getting some hands on time with the 7D before, my impressions going into Photo Plus with the 1D Mark IV were that it was basically a “grown up” version of that camera. In some ways I’m wrong, and in some ways I’m right. The 1D Mark IV is a camera that Canon users of all types and backgrounds will drool over. From the amazing high ISO photos to the lovely HD video modes, there is lots to love in this camera.
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The Nikon D300s is a 12.3-megapixel DSLR that can also capture video at 720p resolution and 24 frames per second. The D300s is a follow up to the D300 and serves as more of a refreshed version of the D300 as opposed to a totally new product. It has most of same components and features as the D300 with a few new bells and whistles thrown in for good measure.
Since the recent announcement of the D3s, Nikon appears content in offering video capture at 720p for this generation of cameras. All of the Nikon DSLRs that offer video only allow a maximum resolution capture of 720p at 24 fps. Canon has stepped out of the box from its initial video limitations in the 5D Mark II by offering serious firmware updates to it (and promising more to come) and additional video options to its other new DSLRs like the Canon 7D, which offers 1080p HD video capture at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps, as well as 720p HD video at 60fps and 50fps. While Nikon has received much criticism on the video limitations of its recent DSLRs, it has shown no signs of stepping up the game in this generation of cameras.
That said, the Nikon D300s (and every other DSLR for that matter) is first and foremost a still image capture device. Sure, video is relevant nowadays; however, performance for still image capture and quality is still our golden measuring stick. With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at the key features and jump into the rest of this review. [click to continue…]
During a quick visit to the Digital Transitions store in NYC, I got to spend some personal hands on time with some of Phase One’s newest products in a studio environment. Being medium format, the images are really quite spectacular. On top of this, using the equipment was very simple to do but is very much different from using traditional DSLR cameras. The experience is something that photographers would truly love.
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