The new Canon Rebel T2i

Can’t wait? –> Order your Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP from Amazon NOW!

It seems like less than a year since the release of the last Canon Rebel – the Rebel T1i … Wait, it has been less than a year! And yet, here comes the newest Canon Rebel. Ready to take the entry level DSLR market by storm. Canon will not replace the its most recent Rebel, the T1i, rather it will allow the two to be sold side by side, giving the consumer an option for a less expensive model (now it’s the T1i instead of the XSi).
The new Rebel will lists for about $799 (that’s body only). And while this is not a genuine entry level price, neither is this a genuine entry level DSLR. It has many of the features of its much more expensive “big brothers”. So now the Canon Rebel T1i will become the “economy” DSLR, replacing the very popular XSi, at least that is an assumption worth making since Canon has not announced the price drop for its T1i yet.

Here are just a few of the high points of the Canon Digital Rebel T2i vs the T1i:

Will this newest in the Rebel line push the very popular Rebel XSi off the production line? This decision has yet to be announced, but it seems like it may happen. The Rebel T2i will likely grab all the new buyers, while the Rebel T1i will remain in the background as an economical camera of choice for Canon photographers. The price may even beat the Nikon D3000 (one can only hope), giving that camera (the D3000) a strong competitor because the Nikon D3000 does not have a feature package that can stand up to the Rebel T1i, especially since the Rebel T1i has HD video, while the Nikon D3000 has no video at all.

Panasonic continues to push the boundaries and provide consumers with additional features, such as GPS and manual control, users will be finding more reasons to go on vacation to enjoy this new model! The Panasonic ZS7 (TZ10) will be available from mid March in a choice of silver, black, red or blue.

Here is the press release -

January 26, 2010: Panasonic’s multiple award winning TZ series is pleased to welcome a new addition to the family. Sporting key features fundamental to the TZ success story – including AVCHD Lite HD movie recording capability, a 25mm ultra wide angle and powerful 12x optical zoom in a compact body – the TZ10 goes one step further to offer users built-in GPS and full manual control.

Panasonic ZS7 (TZ10)

The new model has a 14.5-megapixel CCD and shoots with up to 12.1-megapixel resolution. This enables multi-aspect shooting that can reproduce images taken with the lens set from 25mm to 300mm in any of three aspect ratios – 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 – so you can always capture dynamic, richly expressive shots with a wide perspective. The Multi Aspect mode lets you to take an image in all three aspect ratios simultaneously then choose the one that best suits your scene after shooting -perfect for when you want to take a picture for widescreen TV use but also to make conventional prints.

Intelligent Resolution Technology Enhances the Possibility of Digital Imaging – The high-speed, high-performance Venus Engine HD has been re-engineered to compile new image processing technology – “Intelligent Resolution”. It enables the recording of beautiful photos and high-definition movies with higher quality signal processing.

With Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas – outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas are automatically detected. The outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clarity while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas to make it look more finely detailed. To the soft gradation part, the superior noise reduction system of the Venus Engine HD II is applied to make it smoother. Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, the innovative Intelligent Resolution technology precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel in the most effective way. As a result, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and movie recording.

Intelligent Resolution technology also makes possible Intelligent Zoom, which virtually extends the optical zoom ratio to 1.3x equivalent maintaining the picture quality even whilst using the digital zoom. The details of an Image taken in high sensitivity recording tends to be lost in the noise reduction process, however the Intelligent Resolution works to keep the detail, improving the picture.

At the same time, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine HD II supports a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as approx. 0.006 seconds and the camera’s quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities together with the Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus) that lets you lock on the subject minimum in approx. 0.35(wide-end) / 0.41(tele-end) second*2 and the short startup time of approx. 1.1 seconds. The high performance Venus Engine HD II is also energy efficient and extends the battery life up to 300 shots (CIPA) per a single charge.

Never Forget your Location with Built-in GPS Function – Panasonic’s TZ series has received world wide acclaim as an excellent travel companion because of a wide shooting range and hybrid recording capability of high quality photo and movie. The new TZ10 further enhances its value by adding a built-in GPS unit*3 into the camera.

The location data where the photo was taken is automatically embedded with its latitude and longitude in the EXIF data. These geo-tagged images can be pinpointed on the maps of social media internet maps to be shared with your friends and families. Plus, the TZ10 also shows the name of the town, area and landmarks using an internal database to give users real-time information of the place when taking photos to add fun of photo shooting during travel. The information of landmark exceeds 500,000, covering 73 countries – pretty impressive! The photos and movies with their location data are automatically sorted in the virtual folder alphabetically in the camera allowing quick access. You can also refer to the location names via the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO HD Edition Ver.5.1. It is also easy to sort or search images by the location names. If this wasn’t enough, the internal clock of the camera is automatically adjusted to the local time of the place where the camera is, so you do not have to set the clock manually whether you go abroad or come back home.

Manual Exposure for More Control 
The TZ10’s iA mode is the perfect camera for every user to be able to take beautiful shots effortlessly. Going one step further, the TZ10 also features manual control for advanced expressive photo shooting. It has A(Aperture Priority) / S(Shutter Speed Priority) / M(Manual Exposure) modes for advanced users to enjoy the creative shots depending on the subject or the scene by controlling the shutter speed and aperture. Each of these modes and iA mode can be quickly set by the mode dial on the top of the camera unit.

HD Movie Recording - In addition to Motion JPEG images*4, the DMC-TZ10 can record high-definition motion picture in AVCHD Lite. It allows almost doubling of the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format. The picture quality is greatly enhanced thanks to the newly added Intelligent Resolution technology. The TZ10 also features Dolby Digital Stereo Creator to record high quality audio, so you can match the beautiful motion images with outstanding stereo sound, and further offers a one-touch movie button for instant recording of videos.
The hugely popular and powerful iA (Intelligent Auto) is also now available in motion image recording mode. Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) helps prevent handshake when using high-powered zoom. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion on it so it always turns out beautifully. Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. And Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality.

Users can fully utilize the powerful 12x optical zoom in movie recording. The GPS and corresponding location information can also be embedded in the video clips. With the newly added Video Divide function, users can divide the video into two sections to shorten or delete the unwanted part on the spot in the camera. You can cutout a still image from a movie in the camera and Intelligent Resolution Technology makes it possible to produce 1920×1080 still images from a 1280×720 HD movie even recorded in AVCHD Lite.　A Wind Cut function is also available to block out most of the noise from background wind.
Still or motion images recorded in AVCHD Lite*5 on SD Memory Cards are easy to view on a Panasonic VIERA TV. Simply insert the card into the VIERA Image Viewer (SD Memory Card slot) on VIERA TV or DIGA Blu-ray Disc Player to playback your contents. Alternatively, you can use an optional mini HDMI cable to output the still and motion images you took from the TZ10 directly to the TV for VIERA Link. You can take maximum advantage of Lumix camera’s playback functions including the slideshow in which both still and motion images integrated in the timeline, category playback according to the scene mode you used or calendar display and so on. All control is possible using only the TV’s remote control.

In addition, with the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.1 HD Edition, it is easy to view and edit your recorded contents. You may also choose to upload your videos to YouTube or burn them to a DVD disc for archiving.

Introducing new POWER O.I.S – Panasonic has incorporated Intelligent Auto mode in pursuit of the ultimate ease of operation and the reduction of misshots. In iA mode the camera does all the work, leaving you free to compose shots and capture moments. Just press, aim and shoot. This mode is now further advanced with the inclusion of r advanced image stabilization system POWER O.I.S. and Intelligent Resolution technology for the DMC-TZ10.
Taking advantage of Panasonic’s accumulated optical technologies, MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) has been incorporated into LUMIX cameras from the earliest stages of development. MEGA O.I.S. has evolved into POWER O.I.S. on the DMC-TZ10, with a great performance improvement – twice the shake suppression capability of the predecessor TZ7.

The hand-shake component, which is physically generated when pressing the shutter button or when shooting at night with a slow shutter speed, is recognized as a low-frequency vibration, for which the new POWER O.I.S. is particularly effective. This greatly improves the quality of shots taken at night or indoors where a flash cannot be used, or where the photographer doesn’t want to use a flash because it would spoil the mood. It captures beautiful photos in situations that previously resulted in blurring. 
  
The DMC-TZ10 features Face Recognition – a function that found popularity in the previous TZ7, and now with several upgrades. Three face images can be registered for each person, to raise the detection accuracy. And when the angle of view is changed horizontally, the name display also rotates for easier reading. The Intelligent Scene Selector, which automatically selects whichever of 6 Scene Modes – Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly added Sunset – that best suits the shooting situation.

In addition, newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in iA mode which results in the clearer and higher picture quality in every photo and movie with extended zoom range with the Intelligent Zoom equivalent to 16x optical zoom.
Once you enter iA mode, these functions happen automatically together with other powerful shooting-assist functions – AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure – so you can shoot without the bother of adjusting settings every time conditions change. You can enjoy easy, trouble-free shooting in any situation and get the satisfaction that comes with capturing clear, beautiful images.
The new Happy Mode, a colour mode option in iA mode, optimizes colour, saturation and brightness to make both photo and movie more vivid and true to the colour of the scene you memorized.

A 3.0-inch, Super High Resolution 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD for Easy Viewing – The TZ10 is equipped with a 3.0-inch, super high resolution 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD with a wide viewing angle and AR (Anti-Reflection) coating. The screen brightness automatically adjusts in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times. The big screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting. It also serves as a small photo and video viewer, allowing the user and friends to enjoy viewing the still and motion images together.
Other Versatile Functions Adding to the Photographic Enjoyment
Challenging convention, Lumix functions continue to evolve. Scene modes, which are optimized for a variety of still-image shooting situations, are now available for motion images as well. Thanks to a rich variety of 28 scene modes for still image and 18 for motion image (Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self portrait, Scenery, Low light, Food, Party, Candle light, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Aerial, High Sensitivity, Pin hole, Film grain, High Dynamic and Underwater), capturing beautiful videos is effortless with the TZ10.
The High Dynamic mode is newly added to the existing Scene modes. This mode helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure, even though the scene contains both bright and dark areas together. The user can select either of three options, Standard, Art, or B/W, depending on the desired effect and personal taste to make the photo look natural to artistic.

The optional marine case (DMW-MCTZ10) is available for underwater photography taking advantage of an outstanding shooting range from 25mm to 300mm for both photo and movie.
In addition to the conventional SD/SDHC Memory Card, the DMC-TZ10 accepts next-generation SD format SDXC (SD eXtended Capacity), that features high potential in both capacity and data transfer speed. The DMC-TZ10 is compatible with Windows 7.

Included Software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.1 HD Edition The latest version of exciting software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.1 HD Edition comes bundled with DMC-TZ10. With quick start-up and fast read-in of images, the PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.1 HD Edition makes it possible to sort and organize photos not only of those newly taken but also of those stored in your PC. The Face Recognition function recognizes the faces in the picture and allows sorting of the photos by the registered faces without having to pick out each photo one by one when you only want pictures of a specific person. The geo-tagged photos and movies taken with the TZ10 can be sorted by place names automatically. You can also enjoy slideshows with a variety of effects and use your iTunes music library as background music and burn it onto a DVD disc in MPEG2. Motion pictures can be uploaded directly to YouTube using the built-in YouTube uploader even in HD (High Definition) quality. It also lets you create a 360-degree rotation panorama file in MOV, which is especially easy if Panorama Assist mode in the camera is used. The software is of course compatible with the Windows 7.

Originally posted on www.dpreview.com

Most of these were taken with my trusty Canon 70-200mm L lens, mine happens to be the f/4.0 lens. It is one of the most useful lenses Canon has ever manufactured. More recently, I have been using my new Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Lens
to compare the image quality with the Canon lens. It does pretty well.

Don't waste your money, check out the online backup comparison

Unfortunately I have learned this way too late. But you can learn from my mistakes. Backup your files now!.

File backup is much simpler now than it was back in the day. You needed to burn your photos and important files to CD, then later it was DVD. Or, if you had enough stuff, you could purchase an external hard drive to do the job.

Now all that is still possible. You can never be too safe. But there is another option. You can keep your files at an online storage facility. These things are totally secure. Most have your files backed up on more than one server in the event of server problems. And considering that it costs only a few bucks a month, it is the easiest and cheapest way to fly. Take a look at this online backup comparison to see if one of these suits your needs.

As I mentioned, I have had experience with this. Even now I sit here looking at an external hard drive that has some of my best photos on it… literally thousands of digital photos from about 2 years of my life… unavailable

What happened is that I was in the process of replacing a computer. I had this hard drive attached to my old computer and on it (as well as on the old computer) are ALL my photos from the first two years of owning a DSLR. Of course, no online backup was available then, or, if it was, it was not common knowledge.

I disconnected the hard drive in order to connect it to the new computer, which I did. What I did not do was make sure the photos were transferred to the new computer. And because I was giving the old computer away, I deleted the information on the hard drive… poof… gone.

A couple of weeks later, I heard this clicking sound from the external hard drive. It was the “click of death,” as I have now found out. I could not access the hard drive.

I called around only to find out that I could pay someone to retrieve my photos – for a price – and the price was not cheap. It seems that you need a totally sterile lab environment to do this, and the companies that do it would not give me a hard estimate. Each one said the same thing: “It could cost anywhere from $500 to $2500 to get your files off the hard drive.” The estimators said that it would more likely be toward the upper end of the estimates. Waah!

So, my advice to you is to get a backup strategy. Whether you continue to keep your files on personal disc or an external hard drive, or online… just do it.
Check out this online backup comparison. It could save you much heartache.

Green Screen Wizard uses Reality Integration! Windows-based Green Screen Wizard raises the bar in chroma key software — rather than simply overlaying pictures, Green Screen Wizard’s Reality Integration fuses the images, making much more realistic photographs.

NEW! Green Screen Wizard™ Software Professional Results yet Simple to Use! Green screen software is commonly used by filmmakers for video special effects. Now, for the first time, Green Screen Wizard puts this highly-specialized chroma key software into the hands of photographers — easily and affordably! Powerful enough for the Professional Photographer! Wedding Photographers love Green Screen Wizard — especially with the use of blue screen backgrounds. This eliminates the issue with green flowers held by the bride. 600 dpi image support for the sharpest chroma key photos Powerful color correction capabilities for the most difficult green screen photos Foreground and background image scaling for composing the perfect shot Fast and Flexible for Event Photographers! Time is money and Green Screen Wizard lets you quickly compose your event photos Supports any background JPEG you compose for the event Now with multiple image printing in Full Version 3.2 Easy to Learn and Fun for the Photo Hobbyist! Green Screen Wizard opens up new possibilities for photo enthusiasts Simple user interface can be use by computer novices Click Here to Try a Free Demo of Green Screen Wizard!

	UPDATED! Green Screen Wizard Full Version 4.0 offers the latest in green and BLUE screen software power and control behind an amazingly simple and accessible user interface. It provides professional photographers, as well as photography enthusiasts, a simple way to do green screen removal and substitutes their choice of digital background. Green Screen Wizard is a self-contained chroma key removal program that does not require Photoshop or other photo editing application to produce beautiful green screen photos.
	NEW!! Green Screen Wizard Professional offers the all the features and benefits available in the Full Version 4.0 with additional capabilities intended for those who demand the greatest flexibility in green screen photography. With the new Batch Capability and Gallery Mode, Green Screen Wizard Pro provides professional photographers a platform for doing business. The Pro Version offers five layers to create amazing images and supports the new sandwich overlays. It has a full annotation capability that will let you put as much text as you like on your images. With this feature you can create advertisements or your own magazine covers. Green Screen Wizard adds some new special effects that makes creating artistic images a breeze.
	Green Screen Wizard Photoshop Plug-in offers the same green screen software power but it is encased in a Photoshop plug-in. It provides professional photographers a green and BLUE screen solution inside of Photoshop. The unique “Three Layer System” makes it easy to edit your Green Screen Image. And as a plug-in, you can take advantage of all of the Photoshop editing capabilities. In addition Photoshop can read and save many more file formats than Green Screen Wizard standalone. NOW FOR MAC USERS!! New Green Screen Wizard Photoshop Plug-in for MAC Users! Put all the power of our Photoshop Plug-in to work on your MAC!
	JUST RELEASED for VIDEO! Ever wanted to play with “Green Screen Video Special Effects” but thought it was too hard to do or too expensive? Then the Green Screen Zipper is for you! With a simple to use interface and a price point under $100 now anyone can have fun creating amazing videos of their family and friends. Green Screen Zipper for Video takes any video you shoot against a green screen and replaces the green in the movie with scenes from another movie or a background image. The Green Screen Zipper is a self-contained chroma key video removal program. Try a free demo version now — it’s fun to use!

Green Screen Wizard also offers
exclusive photo backgrounds, portable green screens and money-saving bundles for
all your chroma key photography and video needs!

Copyright © 2009 Elegant Digital *Photoshop is not associated with Elegant
Digital and is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. ]]> http://digital-photographic-resources.com/blog/293/feed/ 0 http://digital-photographic-resources.com/blog/canon-70-200-l-lens-review/ http://digital-photographic-resources.com/blog/canon-70-200-l-lens-review/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:46:44 +0000 gearnut http://digital-photographic-resources.com/blog/?p=285 By Wayne Rasku

You bought that DSLR for the versatility and ability to change equipment to handle any and all situations. There is one piece of equipment you don’t want to leave on the shelf. It is the Canon 70-200mm L lens.

Canon 70-200mm F/4.0

There are actually four of these critters, and there is plenty of discussion about which is the best. But the truth is that any one of the four is an excellent choice. There are two differences which make up the four variations. First, there is an f/4 version and an f/2.8 version. Add to that the IS version of each, and the total is four.

First, it is important to know that each 70-200mm L lens version has excellent build quality and superior glass. The “L” in the name actually means Luxury. It is the highest quality of glass and building materials, making it much more expensive than non-L glass. There is low-dispersion and ultra-low dispersion glass in each of the four types. This basically means that the glass used (dispersion glass) is not subject to the same deterioration of quality as non-dispersion glass. It will not distort the images, therefore, making the image quality much better.

Another plus for the Canon 70-200mm lenses is the non-rotating front elements. This feature is important for maintaining focal quality, but it is also important if you are using certain filters, such as circular polarizers.

With the high range of focal length, having either f/4 or f/2.8 allows you, the photographer, to have relatively low light photos without the danger of poor quality that comes with higher apertures. Obviously, the f/2.8 will allow faster shutter speeds than the f/4, making it a better choice if you are doing indoor sports where you will need the fastest possible setup.

Each of these models is also equipped with an ultrasonic motor, making the focus time almost instant. There is no searching as with other lesser quality products. The non-rotating barrel is also an asset when it is focusing. Auto focus is also present in conjunction with the ultrasonic motor.

The differences among the four Canon 70-200mm lenses are in the aperture (f/4 or f/2.8) and the inclusion or exclusion of IS (image stabilization).

Starting with a non-IS f/4, you get two advantages. First you will pay the least $$$ of the four, in fact, you will pay quite a bit less – about one-third the price of the most expensive one. The second advantage is the weight. Because there is less glass, the f/4 is much smaller and lighter than the f/2.8. This factor alone has been the deciding one for many photographers. The extra weight of an f/2.8 lens can cause fatigue much quicker.

As you add IS and wider aperture range, you increase the price and the weight with each addition. But as mentioned earlier, any one of these Canon 70-200mm Lenses will make a welcome addition to your camera bag. Due to the zoom range, there is so much versatility. You can shoot portraits, modified landscapes (not enough wide angle to use for dedicated landscape photography), sports, nature, and almost anything you can think to shoot.

You may want to see some additional information along with graphic representations of all four Canon 70-200mm lenses. To do that, Click Here. Happy Shooting.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Rasku
http://EzineArticles.com/?Canon-70-200-L-Lens-Review&id=3454474

The very first thing that may come to mind about Amazon is that you can buy stuff there, right? I mean there is almost nothing on the planet that is not available for purchase. They even have perishable groceries for your dining pleasure, like milk… and not just any milk, this is milk by the gallon from the Tuscan area in Italy. Save yourself a trip to Italy and buy your milk online!

JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank

Need an item of wearing apparel? They have it. Toys? Got ‘em. Coffee and coffee makers to get a jump start on your day? You guessed it, they have ‘em. Toilet paper (ok, bathroom tissue)? No problemo. Doggie meds? Got it covered. What about a tank? There is a personal land cruiser for sale! Why, there is even a wedding chapel. We are talkin’ a to z, soup to nuts folks. You do not have to leave the comfort of your computer niche. Just stay huddled up there where ever you are. Neither fresh air nor the light of day need to touch you.

Another plus is convenience. This has already been alluded to, but it must be mentioned. If you have searched all your local stores without success, try Amazon. They probably have it. Now, that is not always the case. For instance, on Black Friday, I did look for a craft item for my wife at the local stores (I waited until afternoon rather than waiting in the 4 AM lines at my local department store), and it was also already sold out online. However, in most instances, you will find it online when it is unavailable locally.

Still another plus is the product reviews. Find out what others who bought the product you are interested in think about it before you purchase. I use their customer reviews for all my camera gear. This is actually one of the most powerful features of Amazon. There are plenty of reviews. There is at least one down side to the reviews. Some of them are not totally legitimate. There are a few “cranks” who leave reviews because they love to rant. You can usually tell who they are, so if you find really bad reviews in the midst of great ones, be aware that it may not be worth considering.

Entertainment is not usually considered as a benefit, but reading the product descriptions and reviews can easily be entertainment for an evening. Just recently, I was reading some reviews and ended up laughing so hard that tears were running down my cheeks.

Finally, there is the reliability factor. You can count on being able to talk to someone live if you have a problem with your order. It happened to me not too long ago. As usual, I waited until the eleventh hour to order a video camera to take on vacation. The tracking said that the camera was in our area, but it did not get delivered. Finally, with only a day left before we were to leave, I panicked and called customer service. They sent me a second camera via express delivery. It arrived in less than 24 hours at no extra charge. Just one experience like that can make you a lifetime supporter.

I have read some pretty horrid stories on general review sites about my favorite buying web site, as well as some excellent ones like the one I just related. And, perhaps I, too, will have a bad experience at some point. But for now, I have had literally dozens of wonderful transactions. They have always delivered the goods. And, of course, there is the entertainment factor. It’s a cheap date.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that you can sell stuff from this nifty all-in-one Internet portal? Well, you can. It’s easy to become a part-time or full time affiliate using them as a source for your merchandise. I have a camera review site where i promote some of the finest cameras and equipment on the market.

You can Shop Amazon for Cameras Now. It’s so much easier than going to a local cheap-buy store hoping to get a good deal on a camera that they don’t even carry. Anyway, hope you find what you want, whether it’s a camera, a tank, a gallon of milk, or just a little fun.

Canon EOS 7D

All the stops have been pulled out in creating the new Canon DSLR. It is the replacement for its popular X0D line of cameras. The last of that line was the 50D. And while it was an excellent camera, it was not as well received as previous models, basically because there was not enough improvement to warrant a big WOW from the photography audience.

The newest and best camera in the line has a different name, and it is already building a new reputation. The Canon EOS 7D has upped the ante in the battle with Nikon for the top spot among APS-C cameras. (APS-C is a category just below the top professional cameras – the sensor is not full-frame, meaning there is some cropping going on inside the camera).

Here are some of the key features:

• 18 megapixel APS-C CMOS image sensor
• 3.0″ LCD with 920,000 pixel resolution (this high resolution makes for excellent viewing even in high light situations)
• Dual DIGIC 4 processors for faster performance (similar to computers with dual processors)
• Excellent noise control in low light photos
• Full frame viewing with 100% coverage of the image about to be captured in the viewfinder
• 1080p HD video recording with an external microphone port
• 19 point Auto Focus system (you can set the focus to any one of the 19 points or use all points for a perfectly focussed image)
• 8 fps (frames per second) continuous burst speed
• Improved ergonomics for comfortable handling

When you have a camera of this quality, there are so many positives that can be mentioned. But let’s face it, if the image quality does not match up to the expected level, the camera will not be successful. As with all the other cameras that came before it, the Canon 7D has image quality that is “best in class”. That said, there is no match for the full-frame sensor cameras, but the difference in price is also a consideration. You will pay a quite a bit more for full frame. Many professional photographers are totally satisfied with this model.

It all boils down to one really nice camera.

You should continue to read about the Canon EOS 7D because there is so much good to find out. Do check the full feature breakdown at www.digital-photographic-resources.com. You will be glad you did.

Happy Shooting!

Nikon D3000

There is no doubt that the D3000 is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary update, but the few features that have been added to the D3000 compared to the D60 are of real value, and the 11-point AF system alone makes the D3000 a bargain at its current asking price. It’s a shame that the bundled 18-55mm kit lens doesn’t show off the AF capabilities of the camera to a better extent, but the same is true of most kit lenses. A greater frustration – at least to anyone with a collection of older Nikon lenses – is that AF is unavailable with non AF-S optics. Fortunately, the D3000 does offer an effective (and very accurate) manual focusing rangefinder indicator in the viewfinder, but it’s of little help when you’re faced with a moving subject.

Conclusion – Pros

• Excellent detail and resolution at low ISO settings (especially in raw mode)
• Very capable AF system, including 3D AF tracking, on a par with much more expensive DSLRs
• Versatile and fun retouch options including in-camera raw processing
• Effectively unlimited shooting in JPEG mode (with ADL turned off)
• User-friendly ergonomics, without sacrificing control
• Good build quality for the price – no creaks
• Active D-Lighting helps recover the maximum tonal detail from tricky scenes
• Reliable exposures, with and without flash (albeit a little bright)
• Excellent exposure compensation range of -+5EV
• Good battery life for its class
• Refreshingly conservative approach to high ISO noise reduction (at default settings)
• View NX software hugely improved over Picture Project (Not as good as Capture NX2 though)
• Built-in AF assist lamp
• Competitive pricing

Conclusion – Cons

• Unreliable white balance under artificial lighting
• Slight tendency to overexpose in contrasty conditions
• No Live View
• Screen resolution slightly too low for checking accurate focus
• Very little control over high ISO noise reduction
• No front control dial
• No depth-of-field preview button
• No exposure bracketing
• No in-body stabilization (although VR is included in many of Nikon’s current entry-level lenses)
• Luminance noise becomes a problem above ISO 800
• Slightly soft JPEG output at default settings (but this is far from unusual)
• Screen-centric interface won’t appeal to everyone
• No AF support for non AF-S (or third-party equivalent) lenses
• No GPS (via Nikon’s GP-1 accessory) support

You can see the full review at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond3000/
What about you? Are you convinced that the Nikon D3000 is the right entry level DSLR for you? You can see a comparison between the Canon XSi and D3000 here. This is really a great time to be buying a camera in this category. They have never been more affordable.
Happy Shooting!

100-400\L Examples. Help me convince my wife!
I really want a 100-400 L lens. Please post some of your photos taken with this lens so I can use them to convince my wife that I need one! (I have a 70-200 f/4 that she thinks is “good enough.”)
Cheers!
Jim

This just brings me back to Tim Allen in the old role on “Tool Time”. We always want (ok, we NEED) the newest and best tools. But let’s face it, sometime our wives don’t know the difference between a zoom lens and a socket wrench.

I can tell you this. Most women will not be impressed with pictures of the feather pattern of a heron in flight, at least not enough to say, “Oh, Jim, now I see that you really DO need this new Canon 100-400L lens.” But, did you notice the photos of the kids playing baseball and water skiing? Now those will help sell her on the deal.

My wife is awesome, and she is my main cheerleader when it comes to photography, but she is not always on board with the new purchases that over-extend our budget. And, quite honestly, I’m not even sure the family photo thing will work every time, but it sure is worth a try.

I must go on record here and say that aside from that new Canon EOS 7D that you really need prior to the acquisition of an additional DSLR lens, the Canon 100-400L lens is a worthy target for your next purchase. If you LOOK HERE, pay attention to the user reviews. Notice the 5 stars ? The ratings for this lens are the highest I have come across for any lens on Amazon.

Oh, I almost forgot. If you are still trying to decide which camera you absolutely need, make sure to visit www.digital-photographic-resources.com :=)

That’s it. Happy Shooting!