The Digital Photography Weblog

PCMag names Pentax *ist DS2 one the worst products in Q1 2006

Jay Savage — 2006-04-28T14:17:00+00:00

This seems a little harsh to me, given they gave it a "fair" review. I'd think that to be eligible for for a "wost of" you'd need a 1-star or less rating, but their point is good. Pentax's DSLRs have so far been disappointing, and the 6.1MP *ist DS2 isn't even in the same league as it's supposed competition like the Nikon D50 and D70s, with a noisy sensor and digicamish recycle time. This is sad for a company with Pentax's history; hopefulyy the joint venture with Samsung will quickly bring them into the digital age with style, even if the DS2--their first joint product--isn't quite up to snuff.

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D200 Review at Shutterbug

Jay Savage — 2006-04-26T12:48:00+00:00

Filed under: Nikon, Reviews

George Schaub has a Nice review of the Nikon D200 up over at Shutterbug, the kind of review that makes me wonder why I don't remember to read them more often. (Actually, that's easy, no RSS feed. Which is a shame, really). What I like about George's reviews is that he's a photographer first, a writer second, and a technician only at need. He doesn't test a camera against three kinds of ideal lighting, or shoot endless pictures of USAF charts. He takes a camera out, shoots with it, and tells you how it went. Don't get me wrong: I'm a geek at heart and I get caught up in the minutae, too. I love it. But I also like the way Shutterbug brings a writerly approach to the overwhelmingly techie world of web reviews. But I digress. The long and short of of it, where the D200 is concerned, is this:

Pros
o. Superb lens, with manual focus ring and mechanical zoom feature
o. Ultrahigh 10-megapixel resolution, gorgeous colors, snappy contrast, superlative image quality at ISO 160-400 with or without flash
o. Better than average digital noise control at ISO 800 and 1600 for a prosumer digicam
o. Includes the most important features for serious photography

Cons
o. Some exposure and White Balance problems in low light, but can be solved with overrides
o. Long shutter speed NR system is too aggressive; avoid using this feature when possible
o. In camera sharpening algorithm does not produce ideal results in large prints
o. Can shoot only three JPEGs in a sequence; in raw capture, no Continuous advance and slow data recording due to (uncompressed) 20MB file size

Don't let that list of cons scare you, though: the WB issues are minor, and you'll probably be using a custom WB most of the time. Ditto on the NR and sharpening; he actually raves about the NR in most circumstances, and when it comes to sharpening, you'll probably be using RAW for large prints anyway.

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Weekend review roundup: HP R927

Jay Savage — 2006-04-22T18:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

The HP R927 seems to have been the talk of the town this week, with reviews from Digital Camera Review Page, Digital Camera Tracker, and Engadget:

DCRP: Photo quality turned out to be the R927's weak point. While the camera took well exposed photos with vibrant colors, I was disappointed with the amount of noise and purple fringing on my photos. While these issues won't make a difference if you're making 4 x 6 inch prints, you will notice them in 8 x 10 prints or when viewing them onscreen.

DCT: Companies can fill a camera with impressive features however, the bottom line is image quality and performance. While the R927 is fun to use it's not without a few quirks. One of the most irritating to me was purple fringes that appear in photographs. While this won't present a problem on smaller prints perhaps up to 5 x 7 it will be a problem on larger prints.

Engadget: It's still seems a bit silly to be shooting 8 megapixel shots out of such a compact camera, but we're not going to stand in your way, and neither will HP with their flagship compact offering, the Photosmart R927.

I'm not going to buck the trend here. Squeezing 8.2 MP onto a 1/1.8 chip makes about as much sense as as ricing your Civic. Especially when you can get the DMC-FZ7 for less.

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Weekend review roundup: DMC-FZ7

Jay Savage — 2006-04-22T17:31:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, Panasonic

We reported earlier in the week that PCMag gave the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 and editor's choice ward. Other people have been giving it high marks, too. Here's the rundown:

LetsGoDigital: a powerful combination; guarantees high quality images and suits a large group of users. Despite its user-friendliness and low entry-level, the camera will certainly not limit or confine those who wish to expand their basic knowledge of photography, and are keen to experiment a little more.

Imaging Resource: Like other recent members of the line, the FZ7 combines good image quality, responsive handling, and very effective optical image stabilization in a very attractively-priced digital camera. Its range of exposure control and image adjustments will be appealing to experienced users, while its ease of use in Program and its various Scene modes make it approachable for even rank beginners.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 gets PCMag Editor's Choice

Jay Savage — 2006-04-20T10:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, Panasonic

In their review yesterday, PC Magazine gave the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 a solid four stars and named it their Editor's Choice for budget superzooms, making it the third Lumix FZ to hold that title. I tend to agree with their assessment, especially given the sub-$400 price, but it's important to remember that the category is budget superzooms. With noticeably--although apparently not crippling--shutter lag; slight purple fringing around highlights and a somewhat finicky LCD, this is a solidly consumer camera, form factor and 12x f/2.8 zoom notwithstanding. With that in mind, the 3.3 sec. start-up time is acceptable and the 1.6 sec. recycle time and 1500 line resolution are well above average for a moderately priced 6MP camera. Color and clarity are both good, barrel distortion at 6mm is very slight, controls are well designed (curing a personal peeve I've had with Panasonic in the past), the built-in flash seems well-designed, and image stabilization is excellent.

Sounds like a winner to me.

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2006 TIPA Awards

Jay Savage — 2006-04-19T11:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Canon, Nikon, Reviews, News, Lenses, Sigma, Nikkor

The 2006 Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) 2006 European Photo and Imaging Awards have been announced. There are 36 categories, but some of the highlights:

D-SLR Entry Level: Nikon D50
D-SLR Expert: Nikon D200
D-SLR Professional: Canon EOS 5D
D-SLR D-System: Hasselblad H2D-39
High-End Professional System: Sinar M System
Digital Back: Leaf Aptus 75
Consumer Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC
Professional Lens: AF-S VR Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Looks like solid choices all around, although I was a little surprised by the glowing review of the Nikkor lens; I'm a little suspicious of the built-in vibration reduction. But then I'm suspicious of most new technologies until they prove themselves. Looks like VR may be ready for prime time.

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