Sony releases its first DSLR
Sony has officially released specs on it's new Digital SLR. Having purchased the rights to the Konica-Minolta system last year, Sony's entry into the market has been highly anticipated.
http://lnk.nu/sonystyle.com/9sh
As suspected, Sony is not going after the professional market, at least not right off the bat. Their first camera, the Alpha ( α ) A100, is directed right at the consumer market. The same space currently occupied by the Canon 350D and 30D, the Nikon D50 and D70s, the Pentax K100 and K110, and the Olympus E-330 and E-500. At $1000 for the body plus a kit lens, it is more expensive than the low-end from other manufacturers, but then again, when have you ever seen a Sony product at or below market prices?
While this may seem like a crowded market already, I'm pretty sure that Sony will make decent money with their camera. First, because Konica-Minolta lens owners will have an upgrade path from either their film SLRs or their KM DSLRs. Second, because Sony went with a 10MP sensor they are playing the MegaPixel game for digital point and shoot owners wanting to move into the world of the SLR. Nikon and Pentax offer 6MP models where Olympus and Canon offer 8MP models. By offering a camera with a 10MP sensor the "bigger number must be better" crowd will certainly be satisfied.
But really, the neat stuff is this:
1) Sony is using the "anti-shake" or image stabilization technology it purchased from KM. This involves moving the sensor inside the body to compensate for camera movements. It also means that every lens you own or buy, from the oldest to the newest, "becomes" an image stabilized lens. And while not as effective as floating lens elements within the lens itself, it's certainly a wonderful option.
2) Prior to this Sony DSLR, no other camera company offered what Olympus has offered for keeping the sensor clean. Dust is a problem with the DSLR. Dust sitting on top of the sensor (or really, on top of the glass layer that's bonded to the top of the sensor) can cause dark spots on your images. Image sensors need to be cleaned and only Olympus was able to patent a solution: vibrate the sensor at very high frequency and shake the dust off. A very neat idea and one that seems to work very well. Now, I don't know if Sony licensed this technology from Olympus (I don't see Olympus doing this for fear of losing market share) or if they've developed something that skirts the existing patents on sensor cleaning. Regardless, this is something that /every/ camera manufacturer should offer. Manually cleaning the sensor, as I've found out, is a pain and is fraught with potential disaster.
So, Sony's now in the market and hopefully with long-term goals in mind. While I'm certainly not going to be switching away from Canon, I'm glad to see more competition which will hopefully mean more innovation on the part of other manufacturers.
edit/update: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/sonydslra100/ dpreview.com has a hands-on preview of the camera.
learning to see, all over again
Two years ago, it was difficult to find a point and shoot digital camera that had an equivalent focal length wider than 35mm. Most were between 35 and 40mm at the wide end. This is not very wide, especially for things like landscapes. But it was (and still is, to some extent) difficult to make wide-angle lenses for these cameras due to the extreme focal lengths already needed for the very small sensors inside. A few manufactures offered 28mm wide (equivalent) options, but the cameras were expensive and the image-edge results were of questionable quality.
Today, there are a number of digital point and shoot cameras that offer 24-28mm equivalent focal lengths at lower prices with better edge performance. But still, the majority of the cameras being released are within that 35-40mm range.
When I first started using our Canon A80, I was annoyed by its 38mm limit. I had been working on using my 24mm and 28mm wide lenses effectively and felt like I was making progress. The 38mm limit on the digital point and shoot felt like I was constantly bumping up against a wall. However, over time, I became more proficient at using the A80, and subsequently, began to use this camera effectively. I can, in a way, pre-visualize what in the scene the camera will capture at 38mm and move to that position. It's not exact, of course, but it gets me into the ballpark.
With over 20,000 exposures on the A80, my brain has been re-wired. I now find it very difficult to compose photos wider than what I normally "see" at 38mm. Any time I use a camera with a wide-angle field of view (like what is visible at 28mm or 24mm) I feel lost, or out of my element. To me, the world is defined, photographically, by the A80.
And so, I need to retrain my brain to see a scene with a wider field of view, and to effectively use lenses that provide that field of view. It's the second part that's the most difficult.
Sony + Konica/Minolta to bear fruit?
Sony's purchase of Konica/Minolta's photography division at the beginning of this year is set to bear fruit this summer.
Since the shift to digital, the photography industry has been in a bit of turmoil. A lot of good, traditional, photography companies have been lost to very tight markets and rapid development cycles. Thankfully, the megapixel race seems to be at an end, and companies can concentrate on better feature sets, better value, and (hopefully) better design.
KM's departure from the photography market (both film and digital) was a bit of a shocker, but it's absorption into the Sony family has been seen as a positive move. The market needs more competition, not less. Sony's goal has been to produce a Digital SLR capable of competing with the likes of Canon, Nikon, Pentax/Samsung, and Olympus/Panasonic/Leica. Rather than re-inventing the wheel (something Sony seems to enjoy doing on a fairly regular basis), KM gave them 1) a existing standard mount for millions of lenses 2) an anti-shake sensor design unique in the market and 3) access to lots of Konica Minolta customers.
So, this summer there should be at least one, probably two new DSLR's on the market. They'll have a Sony name, but have a KM mount. It will be interesting to see if they offer a camera for both the advanced amateur market (competing with the Nikon D50, Canon 350D, and Pentax *istDL) as well as the semi-professional or possibly high-end professional market. The line of Sony DLSR's will be known as "alpha"
clowning around
helloheather doesn't always care for my additional limb that is a camera, but here she was just being silly.
Waiting no more
Canon has, at last, released the replacement for the 20D. It's the Canon 30D. A rather odd name choice, given that 6 years ago they released a D30.
The 30D is geared almost directly to new customers and not to existing 20D owners. It will be $1400 with the kit lens when released. The strangest part of this new camera is that it does not include a sensor upgrade. It was expected that, because the 10D was 6MP, the 20D 8MP, the 30D would be 10MP. Instead it's still 8MP using the exact same sensor as the 20D. In that respect, the 30D is really just a 20D Mark II.
But the 30D offers some intriguing updates: 1) Faster auto focus (using the same AF system found in the $3000 Canon 5D), 2) larger buffer: 5 frames per second for a total of 30JPG files or 11 RAW files, 3) 3.5% spot meter, 4) ISO value /in/ the viewfinder, (a big gripe from Canon owners now fixed!) 5) ISO value options in 1/3 EV step increments and 6) taller on-board flash.
Current 20D price is $1,190 with kit lens. So, are the changes worth $210? That's a very tough call, one that my bank account is anxious to resolve 
Some links:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022114canoneos30d.asp
http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/30D/
Also to note, Canon released 2 new lenses, the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS and the EF 85 f/1.2L Mark II. Both are priced for the professional market and are only pipe-dreams for me.
Lastly, a number of new digital point and shoots were released, including Canon's first small point and shoot with Image Stabilization, the SD700 (aka IXUS 800 for the European market).
As a further sign that the MP race may be slowing, the point and shoot cameras released by Canon are either 6MP or 4MP. New features are taking priority over simple sensor packing. Excellent news.
More features, less megapixel-envy
This years PMA looks to be more about features and less about megapixels, a very welcome change to the rather absurd direction digital cameras have been taking.
For example, take a look at Panasonics new 10x optical zoom, optical image-stabilized camera:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06021405panasonictz1.asp
Or, take Fuji's new F30, (the replacement for the F10). They're now offering ISO 3200 on a digital point and shoot at full (native) image size. This is a first anywhere, and quite amazing. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06021403fujif30.asp
Further Demise
In July 2005, I was shocked and saddened to find out that Lab One, the film developing and printing lab where I was getting all my b&w and slide film processed had closed. (previous posts: one two).
On Thursday, I went out for a 3 mile walk during lunch. My route happened to take me near the former Lab One building. I noticed some construction materials near the building and a few formerly covered windows were now broken open. Poking my head through one of the holes, I was greeted with quite a site.
(click image for a larger view)
When it was a lab, customers only saw about 1/10th the total space. To see this open, vacant space was a twist on my brain. I was so used to being just in the customer space, that I never thought about the rest of the building. It never even occurred to me that it could, well, go beyond what I could see from my side of the counter.
The digital revolution has brought a lot of change to photography. Less and less is being printed, more and more is being saved to fragile hard drives with no backups. Images are shared around the world in seconds instead of languishing in boxes in a closet for years. Photography labs are closing and skill sets are disappearing. But more cameras are being sold each year than ever were sold during the high-point of 35mm film. Photography has been going through a great change. I hope, in the end, it is all for the better.
Interestingly enough, todays cetan.org photoblog post is a similar view but of a different building taken 2 weeks ago: http://www.cetan.org/index.php?showimage=16
Gapers Block
Guess who's photo was selected for todays "Rearview" section of Gapers Block?
http://www.gapersblock.com/rearview/archives/2006/01/20/
A sign of things to come
http://www.nikon.co.uk/press_room/releases/show.aspx?rid=201
Nikon has announced today that they are ending production of all film cameras except for the F6 and the FM10.
This is a big move, a really big move. I don't think any other manufacturer has gone this far before.
If you're a Nikon film shooter, look for support to dwindle as digital consumes the market place. I expect Canon to follow suit rather quickly with a similar announcement.
Film will always have a place in photography, just a much less prominent one. There are still applications where film is the right tool for the job, but digital has come quite a long way and continues to make tremendous advances.
Interesting times ahead.
edit: oh, I see this got on /. as well. I feel like this blog is turning into the /. relay hour...
CES – New digital cameras
CES, in Las Vegas, has become an important event for some camera companies. It's here that they release many (but usually not all) of their new cameras for the year.
In an increasingly fragmented market space, the digital camera offerings have been numerous. A few trends from this years show have emerged that should be noted:
- Shutter Lag: One of the biggest complaints about point and shoot digital cameras has been the time it takes to actually take the picture. The camera has to focus, check the exposure, possibly power up the flash, and then clear the CCD from the live-preview, before it can take the shot. Consumers migrating from the point and shoot film world (especially those that only used disposable cameras) have found this delay confusing and frustrating. While some very basic education on camera technique can usually alleviate these problems, the fact remains that the cameras are slow. Now, it seems that only the lowest end models are slow, and even that is relative. Shutter lag is set to be nearly a thing of the past. Cameras focus very quickly, and (after focusing) have shutter lag times on the order of 0.01 seconds.
- Image Stabilization: More and more mid-range consumer point and shoots are being offered with some for of physical (not electronic) stabilized image control. I'm sure that within a year, possibly sooner, we will see even low-end models offering this feature.
- High ISO: One of the biggest problems with digital capture is that increasing the gain on the sensor also increases the noise. This is why most consumer point and shoot digital cameras don't go above an ISO rating of 400. However, Fuji has developed a small sensor that can be pushed up to ISO 1600 with equal to (or in some cases) less noise than traditional sensors at ISO 400! The first consumer camera to have this technology was Fuji F10 (followed by the F11 which only adds manual controls). However, Fuji has added this sensor to a new camera for CES and will likely add it to a couple more models.
- LCD Screen Size: As an example of what has happened over the past year to screen sizes on point and shoots, one needs to look no further than the newly announced Fuji V10. This camera is 3.3" wide by 2.5" tall and has a 3" LCD on the back. It's almost all screen! Staring at the 1.5" screen on my Canon A80 is like looking at a postage stamp compared to this. But big screens are nothing without the last item:
- Battery Life: One of the reasons helloheather and I chose the Canon A80 when we did was because of battery life. With a set of 2200 mAH NiMH's, we could easily get 500 shots per charge with 100% LCD usage. Cameras with proprietary Li-ion batteries couldn't come close to that. But now, as battery technology improves, and companies find ways to reduce the impact the LCD and internal electronics have on battery consumption, Li-ion batteries are catching up. A few cameras actually boast 500 shots per charge with their batteries.
A few cameras have jumped out at me as interesting (but who's quality remains to be investigated):
I already mentioned the 3" screen on the Fuji V10, but this camera also has an ISO range of 64-1600. The Pentax Optio A10, instead of stabilizing the lens, actually moves the entire CCD in response to camera shake. This technology was first developed by Konica Minolta for their DSLR and prosumer line. Panasonic continues its trend to offer lens-based image stabilization in its cameras by making it available in all three of the cameras announced this week. This includes the new budget model, the Panasonic LS2 The Samsung i6 is a camera with the processing power to play MP3s and some video files. Lastly, one of the oddest looking digital cameras to come out in a while is the Kodak EasyShare V570. In a testament to how low CCD sensor prices have fallen, the camera features 2 lenses each with their own 5MP sensor. The top lens is a fixed focus, fixed focal length 23mm wide-angle lens. The bottom lens is a variably focal length 39-117mm zoom lens.
All in all, pretty exciting stuff. Of course, it's all probably less so for people that are not as obsessed as I am
dirty little secrets
The rash of 40+ deg days we've been having has left me with mixed feelings. Snow covers up the death that defines fall. I don't have to see the brown grasses, the mud, or the rotting leaves. Even when the snow isn't "fresh" it presents a uniform texture that, to my eye, is pleasurable. But when the snows melt (and spring is months away) nature reveils her equivalent of "morning face."
In the city, melting snow piles don't just leave the sidewalks dirty with soils, salt, grime, and oil, but another joy: dog poop. I noticed this today while taking advantage of the warmer temps to do some walking during my lunch hour. I was in the River North part of downtown which is one of a few recent residential growth areas (lots of conversions). Apparently, when it snows out, dog owners let their pets crap in and around the large snow piles that build up from shoveling and plowing. As long as there is fresh snow and fresh shoveling, they are hidden from view. But now that the snow has melted, the sidewalks are saturated with dog poop. Urban dog owners in this part of Chicago are either idiots, lazy, or both.
That bit of unpleasentness aside, being able to get out and walk during lunch was nice. I took the cheap point and shoot digital camera I picked up via craigslist back in October and had some fun. Tomorrow I hope to do more of the same.
Detail of a sculpture called "The Athlete" outside the East Bank Club, an athletic club in the city
Freedom Fri-days
Because my company doesn't allow vacation time to carry over, I have to use everything up by the end of the month. So I elected to take 3-day weekends for December. It's been very nice. Today the only thing I really accomplished was to snowblow the driveway and post photos from the wedding this past weekend. We've also picked up the new tire for helloheather'a car and had a great pizza lunch at Nick's Pizza in Crystal Lake.
Right now helloheather is upstairs getting cookie batter ready for Christmas cookies which is a great feeling.
In other news, it looks like the blog spammers have found this blog: I've been deleting about 20 comments a day. Fortunatly 99% of the comments are being captured by the anti-spam tools, but I still have to manually delete each one. It's time to look into the latest Wordpress Anti-Spam techniques.
9 days ago, our Canon A80 passed 2 years of ownership. Because I'm a geek, I've been keeping some stats on how we've been using it:
First Photo: Dec 1, 2003
# of photos as of Dec 1, 2004: 9,545
# of photos as of Dec 1, 2005: 17,918
# photos per day (avg) over two years: 24.5
Current photo count: 18,238
estimated photo count for Dec 1, 2006: 26,925
A couple weeks ago, I found our first hot pixel. This is a pixel (or group of pixels really) that exhibits the same color regardless the information around it. Ours is blue. This is different than just sensor noise. It's not a stuck pixel (i.e. it does not show up in every photo) but it is probably on its way to becoming one. There are four solutions to this problem:
1) Ignore it and do nothing
2) Use the Clone tool in Photoshop to eliminate it from the images (easy process for one photo/time consuming for many photos)
3) Send the camera to Canon where they will map-out the pixel (esentually making the camera blind to the pixels in question and interpolating the image area from the surrounding pixels)
4) Buy a new camera.
3 and 4 are, of course, the most expensive solutions and now that I know it's there, I can't ignore the problem. So option two it is. Thankfully it's not yet in every photo which keeps the post-production work down. But if you do notice a blue dot in the right third of the photo, I missed one
White Sox Rally
Today there was a big rally downtown for the White Sox. Part of the parade was on La Salle St. which is just 3 blocks from work. So I went down there with two coworkers to see if we could catch a glimpse at anyone. It was really crowded and we ended up being pretty far back.
On Wednesday (thanks to craigslist) I picked up a used Fuji A205. An old 2MP digital point and shoot for $35 (a good price IMHO). It's going to replace my film point and shoot that I keep in my bag 24-7. But I only have a 16MB xD card which is good for about 24 shots. So, take a camera that I have little experience with and no manual controls, add one small memory card, a big crowd, and high-contrast light and you get a bunch of "eh" photos:
http://www.bernhard.us/photos/white-sox-rally
Still it was fun to be there and to see the team. It's been a while since Chicago sports fans have had a lot to cheer about.
(Note, yes, I know the Chicago Fire has done really well in the past couple years)
keyword: wifi!
The third and most recent manufacturer to release a compact digital point and shoot camera is Canon:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05102501canonsd430wifi.asp
Following closely on the heels of Nikon's announcement of the P1 and P2 compact digital cameras that feature 802.11b/g access, and Kodaks EasyShare One, Canon has released the SD430 with built-in 802.11b.
While this is sort of neat in a "ooh shiny!!" sort of way, I'm in agreement with dpreview.com that I'm really not sure what problems Wifi modules will solve with these types of cameras. It might be neat to see photos at an event nearly instantly displayed across the room on a big screen (trade show, company party, open house, weekend BBQ, whatever) and if you're at home with your kids birthday party, no longer worrying about storage on-camera would be nice as you send your photos to your PC, but really, what else is there? Even if you get a wifi hotspot on the road, there (at first glance) doesn't appear to be a way to connect your camera to your server halfway across the country. Do you really want to be sending your photos to some stranger's pc?
Maybe if someone came up with a cheap kiosk that could accept images over wifi and burn a CD on the spot, but that sort of infrastructure would take a ton of time to build.