Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

The Powershot SD600 is a sleek, compact camera that packs a big-time punch. Reviewers praise its usability and latest advances, like the DIGIC II Imaging processor which enhances picture definition, vibrancy, and quality. It also helps to increase the camera’s start-up speed, autofocus and shutter response. You can buy the SD600 here..

Some other specifics:

• Six megapixels
• ISO equivalent speed settings from 80 to 800
• A bright 2.5-inch LCD screen
• An unlimited movie mode with sound.

Also for the first time in the Powershot line’s history, the SD600 “My Colors” feature allows users to retouch captured photos directly from the camera without the need for software like Photoshop or Nikon’s Capture NX. Earlier models only allowed color adjustments while shooting.

The SD600 is also truly a “go-anywhere” camera. Check out Canon’s waterproof housing systems made specifically for the Powershot Digital ELPH cameras.

It’s the smarter and faster sister to the Nikon D40 (and she weighs less too!) The Nikon D40x, releasing today, builds upon one of Nikon’s most popular SLR cameras.

At just 1 lb. 1 oz., the D40x is now the most compact Nikon digital SLR camera.

Designers maintained the ergonomic comfort and build of the D40, but packed the D40x with extra features including more megapixels (10.2 compared to the D40’s 6.1), an improved Image Processing Engine, enhanced auto white balance, extra battery juice (up to 520 shots compared to the D40’s 480), and a nearly instantaneous start-up time (.18 seconds).

But is it worth the extra money? At $750, the Nikon D40x is 33% more expensive than its sister model.

Sure there are improvements, but could it be that consumers are paying for the extra megapixels–something that’s not really needed? Megapixels are kind of an antiquated way of measuring a camera’s quality.

The D40x is no doubt an excellent camera, following in the D40’s footsteps, but I would suggest taking the other sister instead. It’ll save you money that you can use to buy an amazing new lens, like the Nikon 55-200mm VR.

Taken with a Nikon D200, this photo has amazing color and perspective. Is that Donald Duck peeking in at the top of the dome?

The photographer used Capture NX, a digital imaging software from Nikon, to enhance the photo’s color.

Released in Summer 2006 as the successor to Capture 4.4, Nikon designed Capture NX so that both novices and advanced users can utilize it. This software allows users to enhance images without the use of masks, selections or layers (terms Photoshop users are quite familiar with). 

Capture NX is priced at $129.

Adobe announced today that it will deliver two new editions of its industry-leading digital imaging software Photoshop. The new releases, Photoshop CS3, and Photoshop CS3 Extended, will begin to ship next month (April 2007) and are priced at $649, and $999 respectively.

The new Photoshop releases are part of Adobe’s Creative Suite 3 launch, the largest product release in the company’s 25-year history. The Photoshop editions can be bought as stand-alone applications or as key components of the Creative Suite 3 family.

The new editions build upon the excellence of past Photoshop versions which have become standard tools for everyone from digital camera hobbyists to serious photographers and designers. Users will note increased speed and improved conversion qualities. The Extended version has added capabilities for 3-D, motion graphics, image measurement and analysis.

“This is the year in which Photoshop reinvents itself,” said Deborah Whitman, an Adobe company official. “We took the professional industry standard and greatly expanded the possibilities for designers and photographers, while challenging it to shine across a whole new set of tasks.”

Originally uploaded by razorbern.

A brilliant photograph that displays geometric beauty. Sometimes through the camera lens everyday objects are transformed into art. This photo is striking because of the lines and spirals that pull your eye to the center. The contrast of light and dark is also appealing.

Two years ago Sony paired with struggling camera manufacturer Minolta to create a new product. The Sony A100 digital camera is the fruit of their efforts, and although Minolta has since bowed out of the camera business, its influence reverbiates through Sony’s digital SLR camera products.

The design of the A100 is patterned after Minolta’s Maxxum 5D camera, with stylized updates and battery improvements by Sony. The A100 was good enough to be namd Popphoto Magazine’s 2006 camera of the year despite many who claim it is only an average camera.

“It doesn’t make my cut as something I’d use personally,” photographer Ken Rockwell said, when explaining on his website why he WON’T be reviewing the Sony A100.

Rockwell dislikes the Sony camera’s interface and believes Sony’s forray into the DSLR field will be a short one. He suggests buying the Nikon D50 or a cheaper Canon Digital Rebel instead, two DSLR companies that will definitely be around for years to come.
But supporters of the A100, like Popphoto, say the A100 has put Nikon and Canon on notice. A Popphoto reviewer said the Sony A100 successfully combines many elements to create sharp pictures. In a Popphoto lab test, only the Nikon D80 beat out the A100 for image quality (for DSLRs $1000 or less).

Priced at $850, Popphoto believes that the Sony A100 set a new standard for how much camera you can get for under $1000.

Every wonder what would happen if the Nikon’s D50 and D200 had a love child? This is the camera you’d get. The Nikon D80, released in mid-2006, builds upon the framework of the D50 while borrowing some of the upgraded features from the D200.

The D80 is the perfect camera for the advancing photographer who wants more than the entry-level D50 or D70 but is not ready for the semi-professional D200.

At 10.2 megapixels, the Nikon D80 has the same number of MPs as the D200, but weighs less than any of its predecessors. It retails for around $900.

Originally uploaded by dæxus.

Patience is a virtue, and for no one else is that more true than the photographer (or maybe a feline stalking its prey).

“I just felt like a war correspondent waiting on my knees and elbows in the sand (as bemused people walked by) for the opportune moment when true emotion could be captured,” the photographer said of this shot taken in Thailand.

The shot is brilliant in that both the chick and the cat appear to convey obvious expression–a rarity for animals. The cat’s look is one of intent purpose, nature taking its course. The chick, beak agape and legs in motion, appears to be scurrying for its life.

Of course, we don’t know the outcome of this saga with certainty, but the photographer reported that the chick didn’t hold the pregnant cat’s attention for very long. Apparently the chick lived to tweet another day.

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Some Nikon camera lens reviews are already calling ithe Nikon 55-200mm VR the “lens bargain of the year.”

Considered an entry level lens, Nikon 55-200mm VR (vibration reduction) retails for about $250. It was released in April 2007. The product is made to work with Nikon’s D-80 and D40/D40x cameras. It features a Silent Wave Motor for fast, quiet auto-focusing. The Vibration Reduction will ease handheld use by stabilizing and reducing camera shake.

Nikon claims the VR technology will produce more crisp and clear photographs. Some reviewers have said that non-VR camera lenses will become obsolete.

Another amazing macro photo with an enhancing title to go along with it. The photographer who captured this extreme close-up of a tulip bud reported that the subject was on a window sill with direct, but weak, sunlight shining straight into the bloom.

“It looked stunning and irresistible,” the photographer said.

Macro photography can be tricky depending on the subject due to their slower shutter speed. A good macro camera lens is a must in any photographer’s equipment cache. A short macro telephoto lens (90-105mm) is great for portrait works and other close-ups. Try the longer macro telephoto lenses (180-200mm) for great close-up action shooting.