What's New - September 2009

 

 

September 30

Review posted for Sony Cyber-shot HX1!
Sony took a different approach to maximizing the advantage of a CMOS sensor in a long zoom digital camera, while keeping the resolution low to keep expectations a bit more realistic. The result is the Sony HX1, a 20x zoom digital camera that can do what most consumers want -- get in close -- while delivering good 11x14-inch printed results. The Sony HX1's 20x zoom ranges from 28 to 560mm equivalent, and it maintains good image quality across that range. Other unique features in the Sony HX1 digital camera include Handheld Twilight mode, which combines images in-camera for better low light performance, and Sweep Panorama mode, which makes capturing panoramic images as easy as scanning the horizon with your eye. The Sony HX1 is a unique digital camera, one we enjoyed a lot. Click here to read our review of the Sony Cyber-shot HX1.

 

September 26

Olympus E-P1 Final Review posted!
This one has been a long time coming, as it's now been almost 3 months since our first preview of the Olympus E-P1. This was a camera that we immediately fell in love with, with its gorgeous retro design and excellent in-hand feel. We also delighted in the image quality it delivered from its 12.3 megapixel sensor; providing very much of an SLR experience in image quality, but in a much more compact package. It really hearkened back to the aesthetic experience of fine film cameras, beautifully updated for the digital era. The reason for the long delay in releasing our Olympus E-P1 review was that we encountered some anomalous blurring in a number of images we shot hand-held with it, and so wanted to take the time required to really nail down the cause of the issue. You can read an overview of our investigation in Shawn's shooter's report on the E-P1's overview page, and all the minute details on our E-P1 blur anomaly page. The good news is that an important part of the issue that we discovered appears to have been addressed with the recent firmware update, and what remains can be worked around. Read our Olympus E-P1 review for the bottom line on it, and all the other details about this nifty little camera!

Production-level test images posted for Panasonic DMC-GF1!
We've gotten our hands on a production sample of the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, and have posted a (nearly) complete set of test photos from it. The constant gray skies and near-Biblical rainfall in the Atlanta area over the last week have kept us from shooting our standard far-field test, and we have yet to do our indoor portrait and low light shots, but we have a full set of all our other test subjects (including plenty of RAW files) shot with a production sample of the new Panasonic GF1. We haven't spent much time yet analyzing the resulting images, but at first glance, they look pretty good: Very much in line with what we saw from the G1 and GH1 before it, but now in a considerably more compact body. Check out our Panasonic GF1 preview and the Panasonic GF1 thumbnails page in particular.

 

September 25

Accessory Review: Epson Perfection V600 Scanner!
Epson's $250 Perfection V600 scanner is designed for the photographer who finds the Epson V700 too rich for their blood but still wants a serious photo scanner. The Epson V600 uses an LED light source to scan film sizes up to 120/220 and can handle two 35mm negative strips at a time. We scanned both Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides, 120 black and white negatives and some 35mm color negatives. Read our review to see how the Epson Perfection V600 did with them.

 

September 22

First Test Shots posted for Nikon D300s!
We've just posted the first set of test shots taken with our production level Nikon D300s digital SLR camera. The Nikon D300s adds 720p HD movie capability, as well as dual Secure Digital/CompactFlash media support to Nikon's very popular D300. Other enhancements include a faster burst rate (7 fps vs 6 fps), improved AF performance, Active D-Lighting Auto and Extra High settings, dedicated Live View and Info buttons, Virtual Horizon, and a new Quiet Shutter release mode. See our Nikon D300s Preview for more details, and the Nikon D300s samples page for all the test shots taken so far, including links to select RAW files. Check back soon for more D300s test images we'll be posting over the next few days!

 

September 17

Brief Hands-On Preview posted for Pentax K-x!
The Pentax K-x replaces last year's K2000 model in the company's lineup, and continues the same hyphenated naming schema that debuted for the US market with the company's flagship DSLR, the Pentax K-7. The Pentax K-x takes some of the impressive features from the K-7, and places them in a more consumer-friendly body whose design is almost unchanged from that of the K2000. The main changes in the K-x are a new image sensor and processor, Pentax's 11-point SAFOX VIII AF module, the addition of both live view and 24fps high-definition video capability, and significant boosts to the camera's maximum shutter speed (1/6000), ISO sensitivity (up to a boosted ISO 12,800) and burst-shooting (4.7 fps) capabilities. The K-x also includes the unusual high dynamic range mode that debuted in the K7, and retains the company's wide range of filter effects and custom image modes, as well as in-camera Raw processing capability. For more details, read our Hands-On Pentax K-x Preview!

 

September 15

Express Review posted for Fuji F200EXR!
Fujifilm is always looking for ways to make digital cameras work more like film, working on both color and dynamic range to emulate and exceed the abilities of the once ubiquitous medium, so it's not a surprise to see them put their latest SuperCCD into their latest F-series pocket camera. The Fujifilm F200EXR has a high-tech sensor that can output a 12-megapixel image or a 6-megapixel image made with both high and low-sensitivity pixels in an effort to deliver quality low-light performance. A 5x lens covers 28-140mm equivalent, and a 3-inch LCD serves as the only viewfinder, and of course there's face detection and other interesting features. But the real question is how well the Fujifilm F200EXR does indoors, and how well it performs overall. Click here to read our review of the Fujifilm F200EXR and find out.

Panasonic GF1 Video Page updated - Motion artifacts begone!
Thanks to reader Andrea Menzo, for pointing out that the horrific motion artifacts we saw on the Panasonic GF1's AVCHD-format video output were caused by the popular AVC media player software that we used to play them back.(!) VLC is arguably the most popular cross-platform media player capable of understanding AVCHD-format files, but it apparently has a major bug in how it handles motion encoding in AVCHD files. Translating the files to a more conventional .mp4 format via the excellent Handbrake transcoder utility completely eliminated motion artifacts, at (very) small cost in image quality. We also found a codec pack for Windows that could play back the AVCHD files cleanly. Check out the updated Panasonic GF1 Video Page for the details, and links to the playback solutions we found!

 

September 2

Hands-On Preview posted for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1!
A clear competitor to the Olympus E-P1, the Panasonic GF1 is very similar to that camera in terms of both size and weight. The two cameras use slightly different image sensors, but both offer effective resolutions of approximately 12 megapixels. The DMC-GF1's 3.0-inch LCD, while the same size as that of the E-P1, bests it with double the resolution at 460K dots though. In addition, where Olympus offers a rather low-tech, optional hot shoe-mounted optical viewfinder, the Panasonic DMC-GF1's accessory list includes a nifty external electronic viewfinder that likewise mounts on the hot shoe. The Lumix GF1 also supplements its aforementioned hot shoe with a built-in popup flash, something that's absent from Olympus' camera. Thanks to in-body sensor shift stabilization, a higher maximum ISO sensitivity and a 324-zone metering system, the Olympus bests the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 for a few specs on-paper, though. Read our Hands-On Preview for more on the new Panasonic GF1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera!

 

September 1

Hands-On Preview posted for Canon EOS 7D!
The Canon EOS 7D marks the launch of a new model line for the company's EOS series of digital SLRs. In front of an APS-C sized CMOS image sensor with an effective resolution of 18 megapixels, the Canon 7D's lens mount accepts Canon EF or EF-S lenses. Thanks to eight channel readout and dual DIGIC 4 processors, burst shooting is possible at up to eight frames per second, with a burst depth of up to 15 Raw or 126 JPEG frames. ISO sensitivity ordinarily ranges from 100 to 6,400 equivalents, with an ISO 12,800 setting available via a custom function. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Canon 7D is packed with a lot of other new features and enhancements, so see our Canon EOS 7D Hands-on Preview for all the details.

 

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