Tag: dSLR

Nikon gets EVIL

That’s “**E**lectronic **V**iewfinder, **I**nterchangeable **L**ens,” or a SLR without the “R”eflex mirror. And here is how Nikon got EVIL:

The Nikon 1 system. Press image, relayed via NikonRumors.

[Nikon 1]: http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/acil/index.htm “Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lens—Nikon Imaging”

This is the [Nikon 1][Nikon 1]. For obvious reasons, Nikon is not calling it EVIL, but instead A-CIL (Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lenses). Call it what you like, I’m a big fan of the EVIL camera, and this is the first of this type introduced from the “big two” (Canon or Nikon).

The new camera will debut in October with two body types (J1 and V1), with four lenses and three accessories..

Continue reading about the Nikon 1 and other compact system cameras after the jump

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dSLR video recommendations

Recently, some friends asked me what dSLR to purchase if they want to make movies with it. They aren’t experts at doing SLR photography.

Currently, if you are a beginner photographer and want a dSLR with video capability, the one I suggest is the Nikon D3100, ($700, Amazon, DPReview) which I have already written about earlier.

Nikon calls movie taking “D-movie.” It is currently the cheapest dSLR that can do video mode. It’s only one of three dSLRs that can do autofocus while taking video mode. This strikes me as the best balance between learning and using an entry level dSLR and being to take film-like movies. I’ll recommend some others below, but first I’d like to talk about the why and what of SLR movie-making (with the caveat that I’m a photographer, not a filmographer).Continue reading about dSLR movie-making after the jump

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Canon and Nikon are still the same

Camera Labs compares the Canon 550D (Rebel T2i) to the Nikon D90 at high ISO.

I’ll give you the summary: at high ISO in JPEG comparison, the Canon delivers similar performance but with higher resolution.

This may sound like a surprise, but let’s look at was buried in my article where I mention the Rebel T2i.

Not only that, but the newly minted Canon 550D has nearly the same ISO performance as the Nikon [D5000] and 20% greater resolution—the cost of that resolution is a one stop worse dynamic range

(The Nikon D5000 and D90 have the same sensor design.)

This is the problem with reviews snippets taken in isolation: the Canon 550D and the Nikon D90 are nearly the same (street) price so it may seem that the Nikon D90 is a bad value but this isn’t the case at all. The Nikon D5000 is much cheaper than the Canon 550D and delivers the same ISO performance as the D90, are we to say the 550D is a bad value then? The Canon 550D has the same sensor as the Canon 7D are we to say that the Canon 7D is a rip off?

No. Because the Nikon D90 has a much, much brighter viewfinder and better dynamic range than the Canon 550D—in turn the Canon 550D has a better video mode and higher resolution than the D90. And the Canon 7D tops the D90 with even all-metal construction and a 100% viewfinder (both notoriously expensive to manufacture). Here is a small table:

Cheaper More expensive Pros (upgrade) Cons (upgrade)
Nikon D5000 Nikon D90 higher res LCD, pentaprism,backward compatible AF motor,flash commander mode $250 more, lose articulation
Nikon D5000 Canon 550D 20% higher resolution, higher res LCD, better video $350 more, loose dynamic range, lose articulation
Nikon D90 Canon 550D 20% higher resolution, better video $150 more, lose dynamic range, lose pentaprism
Nikon D90 Nikon D300s 7fps, metal body, 100%viewfinder, two card slots, advanced AF, meters old lenses, pro setup $700 more, lose scene modes
Canon 550D Nikon D300s 7fps, pentaprism, 100% viewfinder, metal body, two card slots, advanced AF, dynamic range,pro setup $550 more, worse video, lose resolution
Canon 550D Canon 7D 8fps, pentaprism, 100% viewfinder, all metal construction $650 more
Nikon D300S Canon 7D 1fps faster, 20% higher resolution, better video $100 more, lose dynamic range, lose 2nd card slot

(My street prices were rounded to the nearest $50.) Plus there is a $100 – $200 rebate if you purchase Nikon bodies with a lens: as I noted earlier, the street price of Canon tends to drop faster and Nikon tries to maintain the price longer but offer rebates instead.

(As for JPEG, that’s a post-processing design decision. Did you know that Nikon’s tend to be undersharpened and have more faithful red channel color? So what.)

The table shows you that basically these cameras have a price interleave that is nearly exactly right. The D90 is the 550D with different tradeoffs; the D300S is the the 7D with tradeoffs. The D90/550D give up similar things to the D300S/7D. I mentioned this before. When it comes to sensors, Nikons tend to have better ISO and dynamic range but at the cost of resolution. I also mentioned this before.

This sort of pixel peeping is going to give you the exact same result that a Nikon D3000S/Canon 7D comparison gave you last year. I bet if I tested resolution at low ISO the Canon would win; if I tested dynamic range, the Nikon would win. Yawn!

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When (to learn more about) dSLR (photography) [The entry kit dSLR Part 7]

(Article continued from part 6)

Recall the story of the enthusiast and the entry-level dSLR photographers trading cameras. While I admonished against the danger of buying too much of a dSLR, I glossed the obvious problem: the entry-level photographers had a problem shooting the professional dSLR. How do you get there from here?

The answer is simple: learning.

Inside every dSLR is a complex computer and that computer makes decisions for you. This is true in both the entry and pro dSLRs: the difference is the entry-level cameras are configured to make more decisions for you. The trick is to realize that the entry-level cameras give you access to the pro-level settings, but you have to be willing to leave the safety of automation in guides, scenes, and McDonald’s-style graphical menus.

I’m not a snob. There is nothing wrong with those features and the computer makes some pretty smart decisions. It’s just unless you are bumping your head against the decisions it makes, you’re limiting yourself in the sort of photography you can do.

Marie at The Corner

Marie at The Corner
The Corner, Mission, San Francisco, California

Nikon D3, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, SB-800
1/20sec @ f/3.5 iso3200, 50mm

This series had an inside joke. While it is a discussion of dSLR cameras, every photo was supposed to be taken with a non dSLR camera. Unfortunately, this photo is simply too difficult to be taken by anything other than a SLR.

In this case, you can’t take this photo with the scene modes in your dSLR. Yes, the “night portrait” mode might get you close, but you’d need to pump the ISO even further, drag the shutter even more, change the white balance to incandescent, and set the flash curtain to front.

If you mouseover the image, you’ll see the original. My camera broke and decided to only record in TIFF that day, so I couldn’t have even depended on the RAW mode safety net for dynamic range and white balance recovery.

Even if we restrict ourselves to discussion of the same composition in the same camera, we are still left with setting shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. These three have a complementary relationship and are associated with different tradeoffs. Scene modes in your camera make the decision for you, but unless you know what that decision is and when it is wrong, you can’t really grow as a photographer.

P3010840

A plethora of learning materials exist out there. Here are a few of the ones I’ll be mentioning in this article.

Continue reading about books, videos, and classes after the jump

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What (entry) dSLR (to buy)? [The entry kit dSLR Part 4]

(Article continued from part 3)

Unlike in the article four years ago, I’ll be covering specific models. I’ll cover them in the reverse order to my original article, because I felt I gave the less popular brands a short shrift last time.

Pentax

The Pentax K-x ($550 from Adorama, B&H, Amazon)

The Pentax K-x is available in 100 color combinations in Japan.

Four years ago, I stated that Pentax makes shooter-centric cameras at a great value. In fact, I mentioned that Pentax was the first entry in this dSLR price category, and this was in line with Pentax’s history: to bring those people on a budget a quality camera.

Continue reading about Pentax, Sony and Olympus entry dSLRs after the jump

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Why dSLRs (and not pocket cameras)? [The entry kit dSLR Part 2]

(Article continued from part 1)

Bigger in photography means, faster, better, stronger (and more expensive).

Many people will say the only advantage of a digital SLR is that it gives you the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.

I think that’s bullshit.

If it was true, then the days of the dSLR are surely numbered—EVIL has arrived. EVIL, for those of you who don’t know, is an acronym so new, it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet. EVIL stands for “electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lens” and they are a new class of camera I’ll talk about another time. Suffice it to say, EVIL will not replace SLR photography—in the same manner that APS-C has not yet dethroned 35mm (much to my surprise). Besides, a lesser-performing EVIL camera costs nearly twice as much as the kits in this article.

I believe the biggest advantage can be found in its name: Single-Lens Reflex.

In order to have a single-lens design, in order to house a reflex mirror, the dSLR has to be big—and bigger, in this case, means faster, better, stronger (and more expensive).

Marie the shooter

Marie the shooter
Elite Cafe, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California

Leica M8, Carl-Zeiss Biogon 2,8/25 ZM T*
1/45sec @ ƒ2.8, ISO160, 25mm (34mm)

This portrait of Marie and her new Nikon D5000 entry dSLR kit was taken by an APS-H camera, which sits between APS-C and “full frame” in size. Even though this is taken with a wide-angle lens (25mm), you can easily see she really pops from the background.

From your art classes, you may have learned that perspective helps a 2D image show the 3D dimensionality. In photography, another tool, in addition to perspective, is focus via depth-of-field. Focus helps draw the eye, through the visual clutter, to the subject. This tool is nearly non-existent in a pocket digital.

By the way, the lens used in this photo is the highest resolution lens in its class ever produced—the parts that are in focus are really quite sharp. Computed depth-of-field is about half a foot (20cm).

Continue reading about Sometimes bigger is better after the jump

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All hail the entry kit! [The entry kit dSLR Part 1]

Yesterday, a friend was interested in purchasing a dSLR at Costco and asked me which he should buy: a Nikon or a Canon. I get asked that a lot.

Costco dSLRs
Costco, South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, Lumix G Vario HD 1:4.0-5.8/14-140 ASPH. Mega O.I.S.
1/60sec @ ƒ4, ISO250, 14mm (28mm)

From left to right: The Nikon D3000, the Nikon D5000, and the Canon 500D (called the Rebel T1i in the U.S.).

The higher pricing is because Costco usually sells supersets in order to be above the manufacturer minimum advertised price but still yield a decent value to the consumer. For instance, the Nikon D5000 kit contains not only the 18-55mm VR lens, but also the 55-200mm VR lens, a camera bag, two Nikon school DVDs, a book, and an SD card.

The Canon 500D is the most expensive of the trio because Canon and Nikon avoid competing head-to-head by interleaving price and features in models. The 500D sits between the Nikon D5000 and the enthusiast Nikon D90. The 1000D (a.k.a. Rebel XS) was introduced to compete between the Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5000 price points and wasn’t for sale the day I took this photo. (Update: Last time I was at Costco, the Canon 1000D, Nikon D5000, and Canon 500D were for sale. During the writing of this series, Canon introduced the 550D)

“Uhh, the Nikon D3000.”

…

“Well that’s because they stopped selling the other dSLRs there.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Why was that?”

“Partly because the Canon 1000D is old. Everyone expects it to be updated.”

“It’ll be updated?”

“Most likely if Canon wants to sell any cameras. It’s been a year and a half, which is a long time to have a camera in that category. The D3000 just came out.”

…

“You know what camera I really like? The Nikon D5000. In fact, I ordered one the other day. It’s arriving this evening.”

Nikon D5000 kit
South of Market, San Francisco, California

Olympus E-P2, M.ZUIKO Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6
1/60sec @ ƒ3.5, iso 12500, 14mm (28mm)

Actually, this was purchased for Marie, not myself.

It sounds strange that someone who owns a Nikon D70IR, Nikon D200, and a Nikon D3 would purchase an entry level Nikon dSLR. Over the next week, I’ll explain why by going over the Why, What, How, Where and When of a good first dSLR purchase.

And don’t worry. While my experience is with Nikon, I won’t give the short shrift to the other brands.

Table of contents

  • Why dSLR?: Why a dSLR produces better images than a pocket digital
  • What dSLR?: Don’t buy a dSLR that is too much dSLR for you
  • What dSLR? (2): The Pentax, Sony, and Olympus dSLRs and about entry dSLRs compact size
  • How DSLR?: The Canon and Nikon dSLRs, a big spreadsheet, return policies, and what I bought
  • Where dSLR?: About first lenses and things to buy with your first dSLR purchase
  • When dSLR?: About books, videos, and classes

(Article continued in part 2)

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Posted on by tychay 11