eK-gadgets info

Pentax announced a new entry-level digital SLR, known as the K2000 (and the K-m outside of the USA) — plus two lenses and a ring flash. In an unusual move, Pentax is including an external flash with the K2000 kit — even though it has a built-in flash. Anyhow, here are the details on the camera and the new toys that go with it. Hopefully I’ll have more photos of these later in the day.

Pentax K2000

• 10.2 effective Megapixel CCD
• Support for all Pentax K-mount lenses
• Compact, yet easy to hold body (which has a stainless steel chassis)
• Sensor-shift image stabilization system, also used for dust reduction
• 2.7″ LCD display with 230,000 pixels; camera does not support live view
• Optical viewfinder with 0.85x magnification and 96% coverage
• Full manual controls + auto scene selection mode
• 5-point autofocus system
• Can shoot continuously at 3.5 frames/second
• Adjustment dynamic range and shadow adjustment features
• RAW image format supported; in-camera RAW development feature
• Hot shoe foe external flash; 1/180 sec x-sync speed
• SD/SDHC memory card slot
• Uses four AA batteries; no battery life numbers yet
• Includes the new F3.5-5.6, 18 - 55 mm kit lens, plus the AF200FG external flash; a double lens kit (adding the new F4.0-5.6, 50 - 200 mm lens) will be available next year
• Shipping in November for $699

Now onto the new accessories. The 18-55 and 50 - 200 mm lenses that I mentioned above are the first Pentax lenses with the “DA L” designation. While I believe the optics are the same, these new lenses are smaller and lighter than their predecessors.

Two lenses that are definitely new are in Pentax’s DA* line. First we have a new F1.4, 55 mm SDM lens. It’ll ship in December for under $800. For telephoto fans, there’s a new F4, 60 - 250 mm ED SDM lens. This one will be priced at $1499 when it ships in November. Pentax will also be previewing an F4, 15 mm Limited lens and a 1.4x teleconverter at Photokina, and they’ll be shipping sometime next year.

The last new Pentax item for today is the AF160FC Auto Macro Ring Flash, which is well suited for close-up and medical/dental photography. It will ship next month for $499.

Olympus is showing off two prototype cameras at the big Photokina show in Germany, and they’ve let out a few details today. If I can find some more details on these two, I’ll update the news item.

The first camera (which has no name yet) will bridge the gap between the E-520 and E-3. Olympus uses the phrase “Creative Photo Expression Function” a lot in the press materials, though I’m not exactly sure what that means. Here’s some more concrete information:

• World’s fastest autofocus system (11-point)
• Image stabilization with 5 steps of compensation
• Splash and dustproof
• 1/8000 sec max shutter speed
• Rotating LCD display
• High speed contrast detect AF with face detection
• Ships in the first quarter of 2009

A little over a month ago, Panasonic made big waves in the digital camera world with their announcement (along with Olympus) of the Micro FourThirds standard. Today, the first camera to use the m4/3 standard has arrived: the Lumix DMC-G1. Since it doesn’t have a mirror, it can’t be called a digital SLR. Instead, Panasonic is calling it a digital interchangeable lens camera.

I had a chance to use the G1 a few weeks ago, and I’ll share my impressions with you, right after I go over the specs:

Lumix DMC-G1

• 12.1 effective Megapixel Live MOS sensor; same size as on a regular FourThirds camera
• Micro FourThirds lens mount, with 2X focal length conversion ratio
  • First two lenses to be announced are the F3.5-5.6, 14 - 45 mm and F4.0-5.6, 45 - 200 mm lenses; both have image stabilization
  • Lenses coming in 2009 include: F4.0, 7 - 14 mm, F1.7, 20 mm, and F4.0-5.6, 14 - 140 mm OIS
  • Supports regular FourThirds lenses via the optional DMW-MA1 adapter
• World’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera (according to Panasonic)
  • Body is 4.9 x 3.3 x 1.8 inches in size, weighs 385 g; compare that to the Olympus E-420, which is 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.1 inches and 380 g
  • Will come in three colors: black, blue, and red
• Venus Engine HD image processor
• Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system
• Since there’s no mirror inside the camera, it’s live view only on the DMC-G1
  • You get 100% field-of-view, customizable displays, and preview of shutter speed and aperture adjustments
  • Flip-out, rotating 3-inch LCD display has 460,000 pixels
  • Super high resolution electronic viewfinder has an unbelievable 1.44 million pixels and 1.4x magnification
  • Shooting info is displayed on the main LCD when you’re using the EVF; when you put your eye to the viewfinder, the LCD shuts automatically
• Full manual controls, plus Intelligent Auto Mode (complete with face detection and auto scene selection)
• 23-point contrast detect autofocus system with speeds that rival traditional phase difference AF
• Camera can take 7 RAW and an unlimited number of JPEGs at 3 frames/second
• Hot shoe for external flash
• SD/SDHC memory card slot
• Ports include USB 2.0 High Speed, HDMI, and remote control
• Uses DMW-BLB13 lithium-ion battery; 350 shots per charge with the EVF, and 330 with the LCD
• Will ship with the 14 - 45 mm lens this November; pricing to be announced next month

Sony today rolled out their long-awaited full-frame digital SLR: the Alpha DSLR-A900. The A900 is set to go toe-to-toe with whatever replaces the Canon EOS-5D, as well as the Nikon D700. Here are the quick details on the A900, and don’t forget to hit up that preview for a lot more (plus sample photos).

Alpha DSLR-A900

• 24.6 effective Megapixel, full-frame CMOS sensor; produces images at a whopping 6048 x 4032
• Alpha lens mount supports all Sony and Minolta lenses with no focal length conversion to deal with
  • The one exception is with DT lens, which are designed for APS-C sensors; the resolution must be lowered to 11MP when using these lenses; 1.5x focal length conversion ratio applies; there may be vignetting in the viewfinder
• Sensor-shift image stabilization (the first full-frame camera to have this feature) offers 2.5 - 4 stops of usable shutter speed
• Ultra-rugged magnesium alloy body is sealed against moisture; shutter rated to 100,000 cycles
• Dual Bionz image processors
• Super high resolution 3-inch LCD display (921,600 pixel)
• Large pentaprism optical viewfinder with 0.74x magnification and 100% field-of-view
• Dust reduction system
• Camera does not support live view; there is an intelligent preview mode that takes a sample photo and lets you see the effect of changing the exposure, white balance, and dynamic range on the LCD
• No built-in flash; one can be attached via the hot shoe or flash sync port
• Full manual controls, as you’d expect; supports both compressed and uncompressed RAW files
• Can take about 14 RAW images (and a lot more JPEGs) at 5 frames/second
• 9-point autofocus system with 10 assist points, plus a dual center cross sensor for fast lenses
• Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) feature lets you brighten dark areas of your photos automatically
• HDMI port
• Optional battery grip
• Uses NP-FM500H lithium-ion battery; 880 shots per charge
• Ships in November for $3000
  
  

Along with the new body come two new lenses to take advantage of it. The first is a Carl Zeiss F2.8, 16 - 35 mm Vario Sonnar T* lens, which Sony calls “the only large aperture, full-frame capable, wide-angle zoom lens with the benefit of stabilization in the industry.” It also features Sony’s Super Sonic Wave Motor for fast, quiet focusing. The lens will be shipping in January 2009 for $1800.

The other lens is for super telephoto lovers: it’s an F4.0-5.6, 70 - 400 mm model. Like the 16-35, this lens uses the SSM focusing motor, and it has a total of 18 elements! Priced at $1500, this lens will also ship in January.

* 21.1 MP 1.0x* DIGIC IV* ISO 100-6400 L:50 & H:12800* 5 FPS* 3.2″ High Resolution Screen (LCD)* 19 point AF* HDMI Out* Liveview* HD Movie Mode* Viewfinder: 100% Coverage* Full weather sealing* EF Lenses onlyFrom Northlight“The 50D sensor and image processing are a major step forward in what has been a multi-year strategy for Canon to take sensor technology to the limits of physics, simultaneously achieving higher ISOs, lower noise and higher dynamic range. Note Chuck Westall’s announcement that the 50D sensor has 1 to 1 and a half stops better noise than the 40D sensor despite the smaller pixels. Several core strategies have been pursued simultaneously for this:* Reducing the micro lens gap to capture all the light hitting the sensor. This has been highlighted in the 40D, 1D III and 1Ds III sensors and the new 50D sensor now achieves effective 100% coverage. Only very minor improvements are expected from this point on (e.g. shaping the lenses towards the corners of the frame to capture angled light.* Reducing the noise level of each pixel. Canon have made changes over several generations of sensors to achieve this, bringing the amplifiers closer to each pixel, changing micro-circuit configuration and lowering voltages so the sensor runs colder. Again the design of the 50D is a big step forward here from the 40D and 1D III etc. Canon have one more big jump lined up, with low voltage cold running CMOS designs to gain at least an additional stop in lower noise at higher ISOs or long exposures.* Better digital noise reduction. These are the changes in DIGIC noise processing. First with the Chroma Noise reduction in DIGIC III and now with more advanced multi-level noise reduction options in DIGIC IV. Canon believe they have made most of the gains possible via processing algorithms but do still have some areas to develop. The next focus will be faster noise reduction processing so that it does not come at an impact on frame burst rates (look to the 1D3 replacement for example)* Pixel binning for high ISOs. A new technology enabled by the complexity and processing power of DIGIC IV where they can bin 2, 4 or 8 pixels together at the raw level and average out the noise between them. This is seen by Canon as a key technology in balancing very high resolution sensors (in the 50mp range) with low noise at very high ISOs. Right now they are not pushing this too much with the 50D so as to not create confusion in the market (they see more potential for the technology as sensors get larger and in the pro-market).* Increased image resolution – This is a newer strategy (most evident on the 450D where they have changed the anti-aliasing filter (thinner and closer etc) so as to achieve a crisper image per pixel without loosing the benefits of anti-aliasing filter on diagonal edges etc.. The 50D has the same technology. One further option for the future is for Canon to drop the anti aliasing physical filter and do it in a future DIGIC generation where there can be smarter allocation of colour values than the blurring achieved by a light based filter.* Increased raw bit depth for improved dynamic range. Here Canon have made the jump to 14 bit and will move to 16 bit in their future sensor technology generations. Canon see the main usage of extra bit depth as providing the dynamic range to translate the sensor image into a printable or viewable image with a higher dynamic range. In other words mapping the 14 or 16 bits into an 8 bit viewable or printable image that mimics the dynamic range in the scene.* Dynamic range preservation options – Canon are putting a lot of focus into how to provide the photographer with the best options for preserving the dynamic range of the original image in both a RAW file and the 8 bit JPEG. The highlight tone preservation option on the 40D, 1D III etc was the first step. The new ‘automatic brightness’ options in the 50D are another, where they try and optimise the brightness of various parts of the image to reduce the dullness from shadows. Canon are planning much more in this area, down to the equivalent of varying the ISO level across the different parts of the sensor when the image is taken (easier in live view mode of course).