Digital Photography Guide

Sony today have announced their newest DSLR camera - the Sony A850 DSLR - a full frame DSLR that is set to put the pressure on Sony’s competitors when it comes to price.

The Sony A850 has a recommended retail price of around $2000 USD - around $500 cheaper than Nikon’s D700, Canon’s 5D Mark II and Sony’s own A900.

The A850’s features include a 24.6 megapixel sensor, 3.0 inch LCD, 9 point Auto focusing (with 10 supplemental assist auto focus points), shutter speed of up to 1/8000 second, 3 frames per second shooting in continuous shooting mode and ISO up to 6400.

To go with the Sony A850 Sony today also released a new lens - the 28-75mm f/2.8 at around $800 (model number SAL2875).

The Sony A850 will be available in September and the new 28-75mm lens will be available from November 2009. The A850 is already available for pre-order on Amazon for $1999.99 USD.

Sony A850 DSLR News Release

Sony Brings Full-Frame Quality To A New Class Of DSLR Photo Enthusiasts

Aimed at experienced shooters looking for value and sophisticated SLR performance, Sony today introduced the full-frame ?850 camera and a new 28-75mm F2.8 lens.

The A850 model shares the same 24.6 megapixel sensor and most features of the flagship A900 camera, introduced last year, but will be available for just under $2000 (body only).

“Sony is bringing the benefits of a full-frame digital SLR camera to a broader group of consumers,” said Kristen Elder, director of AMC business unit in the Digital Imaging Division at Sony Electronics. “The ?850 strengthens Sony’s alpha DSLR line, which now offers models in each step from high-end professional down to the amateur enthusiast.”

The A850 camera is designed to deliver ultra-fine picture quality with a high resolution, 24.6-megapixel, 35-mm full-frame Exmor™ CMOS sensor and fast image processing with dual BIONZ™ processing engines. It also offers high-speed continuous shooting of 24.6 megapixel images at up to three frames per second.

Ultra-Fine Images
The camera’s Exmor CMOS sensor delivers the photographic expressive power of wide angles and perspective that only a 35 mm full-frame sensor can offer, and is designed to take advantage of the resolving power of high-precision alpha lenses. Its high pixel count and large size provide enhanced image detail and a wider dynamic range for natural color reproduction and subtle tonal gradations.

Image processing gets a boost in speed and power from two BIONZ processing engines. Large amounts of data captured by the 24.6-megapixel sensor can be quickly processed to achieve a fast shooting response. Additionally, this dual BIONZ system applies advanced noise reduction algorithms producing images of exceptional quality and detail, especially at high ISO sensitivities.

Capture the Right Shot the First Time
The camera’s innovative intelligent preview function takes the guesswork out of setting up a shot and the hassle of taking multiple shots to achieve a desired effect.

After pressing the depth of field preview button, the camera “grabs” a RAW preview image which is processed and displayed on the LCD screen. You can then fine tune white balance, determine the best level and effect of dynamic range optimization, adjust exposure compensation and check histogram data, all before you actually take the picture. Preview images are not recorded on the camera’s memory card, thus saving capacity.

The camera’s autofocus system features nine sensors with 10 assist points for improved tracking of moving subjects. A center dual cross sensor comprised of two horizontal and two vertical line sensors as well as a dedicated f/2.8 sensor are included to achieve greater precision, especially when using fast-aperture lenses.

Ultra-Bright Viewfinder with 98 Percent Coverage
The ultra-bright viewfinder with 98 percent field of view coverage and 0.74x magnification enables accurate framing and preview. It features a high-power condenser lens, an eyepiece with high reflective-index glass, and a multi-layer, anti-reflective coating on optical surfaces to deliver its extraordinarily bright view.

A mirror box features a parallel-link mirror mechanism that moves on two horizontal axes to accommodate both the large full frame mirror and the body-integrated image stabilization system without increasing the camera’s size.

Anti-Shake System for a Full-Frame Sensor
With its body-integrated SteadyShot INSIDE™ image stabilization, the camera achieves an anti-shake effect equivalent to shutter speeds faster by 2.5 to 4 stops. The anti-shake system stabilizes all Sony, Minolta and Konica-Minolta compatible lenses even wide angle or large aperture lenses.

Versatility to Unleash Creative Possibilities
Other key features aimed to expand creative options include the Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) with five levels of user-selectable correction as well as DRO bracketing for enhanced scene analysis and graduation optimization. EV bracketing with ±2EV range makes it easy to create high dynamic range composite images.

With the camera’s HDMI™ output and Photo TV HD mode, your creative output can be enjoyed on a compatible HD television. This mode brings the look of actual printed photography to the television, by fine-tuning such image parameters as sharpness, gradation, and color reproduction.

The A850 model features a 3-inch (diagonally), Xtra Fine LCD™ screen (921K) making it possible to check focus and image quality with accuracy. It incorporates an easy-to-see display with a quick navigation menu to easily access common functions without interrupting your creative flow. A backlit LCD panel sits on top of the camera and displays key settings.

The camera includes dedicated slots for high-capacity Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™, HX series and CompactFlash® media.

Bright Lens
The choice of full-frame lenses to complement the ?850 model is enhanced with the new SAL2875 28-75mm F2.8 SAM lens. This compact, easy-to-carry lens is ideal for photo enthusiasts looking to add a bright, general purpose zoom to their collection of full-frame optics.

Delivering excellent imaging quality at an accessible price, it offers a wide F2.8 aperture over its entire zoom range. Ideal for day-to-day shooting tasks, its bright constant aperture makes the 28-75mm F2.8 SAM particularly valuable for depth-of-field control and available-light portraits.

Pricing and Availability
The A850 (model DSLR-A850) will be available in September for about $2,000 (body only) along with related accessories. All A900 accessories are compatible with the A850 camera, including the dedicated vertical grip (model VG-C90AM). The SAL2875 lens will be available in November for about $800.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Sony A850 Full Frame DSLR

Digital Photography Quicksteps scores because of its layout: landscape rather than the usual portrait format — and it sure suits the instructional layout.

Some may feel there is no room for another book for digital camera newbies. Admittedly, there is a flood of how to books on the subject but as the number of ‘digi-devotees’ increases and the technology moves (appropriately) at the speed of light I figure there’s a need for tutorials that can keep people wise to the changes.

The author Doug Sahlin accepts this and in the second edition of this book moves to cover the lifts in camera resolution, larger file sizes and necessary memory card capacity as well as the “almost nonexistent” shutter lag in current cameras.

Overall, the essentials remain the same: you still need to understand the role of the various metering modes; lens apertures and shutter speeds; the traps in ISO selection; using flash successfully; the benefits of RAW format and much more. The book will win also many friends by its down to earth approach, lavish use of large full colour illustrations.

In recognition of the role software plays in the whole business the book is to be commended in its use of 90 plus pages on imaging software basing its instruction on the widely used Photoshop Elements and not fully-blown Photoshop.

There are some useful pages on creating images for Web use and how to make your own slide shows. Some may be disappointed to find there are only 2-3 pages allocated to printing images.

In spite of this, the book can be recommended for use by beginners — and the price is attractive.

• Author: D Sahlin.
• Publisher/Distributor: McGraw Hill.
• ISBN 978 0 07 148298 1.
• Price: Digital Photography Quicksteps is currently available new on Amazon for $11.55 (32% off).

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Digital Photography Quicksteps 2nd Edition [BOOK REVIEW]

Last updated (30 August’09):

A Chinese photography forum has some images and specifications of the Canon EOS 7D, the latest Canon DSLR camera to feel the gap between the EOS 50D and EOS 5D .

Key Features:

(more…)

To sit happily with the company’s flagship and much higher-priced DSLR the Olympus E-30 had to forgo a few bells and whistles — but then it added a few that should delight photographers with high ambitions but little skill.

The Olympus E-30 has 12.3 million pixels on its Live MOS sensor — two megapixels and a bit more than the E-3!

The E-30 is smaller and lighter than many maker’s top end models… that’s how Olympus does things. With relatively few external controls, the LCD menu options will take you pretty well anywhere you want to go.

Using the Four Thirds system you can attach lenses from companies such as Leica, Panasonic and Sigma… oh and Olympus of course!

Olympus E-30 Features

Live View is available on the 6.9 cm LCD screen, backed up by a bright optical finder that gives you a rundown on the camera’s status: aperture, shutter speed, ISO setting, meter setting and shot count.

The camera can shoot at a rate of five full res frames for as long as you hold down the button and your memory card keeps writing.

You can also preset the rate of shooting anywhere from one to four frames per second.

Art Filter Selection: I’ve often looked with suspicion at DSLRs that have scene modes that have little more appeal than sheer novelty but in the Art Filter selection, the camera sure pressed my buttons.

Choose from Grainy B&W (pictured above), Pop Art (pictured above), Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone and Pinhole. Two that took I particularly liked were Grainy Film and Pinhole… having messed around with colour to B&W conversion in Photoshop I fell upon the E-30’s approach with some excitement. The results are stunning.

There are other scene modes: Children, High and Low Key, Candle Light etc… ideal for the less courageous and with limited experience.

A feature not seen often is multiple exposure: the E-30 can shoot a final, layered collection of two, three or four shots. The brightness of each can be set to half, a third or fourth of the final single exposure. You can also begin with a RAW image and layer extra shots over it. Then, if you’re really adept, you can compress your layer of four and lay another four over it!

The E-30’s maximum image size of 4032×3024 gives a sharp 34×26 cm print at 300 dpi. The camera also offers other aspect ratios: like 4:3, 3:2, 6:6, 5:4, 16:9 and more. The images are written to memory as uncropped RAW images, complete with a suggested border indicating the chosen aspect ratio. A nice touch.

Image stability has four settings: on and off plus one each for panning a moving subject with the camera panning horizontally or panning vertically (some call this tilting). This allows you to capture a moving subject minus the shake but with a desirable blurring of the background.

Auto focus is well treated and uses an eleven point detection system plus the option of single frame AF detection (S-AF), continuous subject tracking (C-AF) plus manual focus. Each of these can be manually fine tuned.

The shutter speed range runs from 60 seconds to 1/8000 second — plus Bulb for time exposures. Flash sync is at 1/250 second.
Image capture can be in RAW or JPEG or RAW+JPEG, with the latter in variable qualities; Live View’s brightness level and frame rate can be adjusted; face detection is available.

And one final novelty: a Level Gauge can be called up in the viewfinder and LCD screen. You would be surprised at how often you shoot pictures off level. I was!

Comment

An easy camera to use. The exposure metering is right on the button and the auto focus system very responsive.
Art Filters are a winning feature and the options in flash are worth investigating… first and second shutter curtains plus the ability to control output manually.

Image quality: very, very good. But you will be a little surprised at the noticeable barrel distortion in the 14-42mm kit lens.

Olympus E-30 Specifications

• Image Sensor: 12.3 million effective pixels.
• Metering: ESP multi-pattern; centre-weighted; spot.
• Effective Sensor Size: 17.3×13.00mm.
• Memory: xD-Picture Card and CompactFlash cards.
• Image Sizes (pixels): 4032×3024, 3200×2400, 2560×1920, 1600×1200, 1280×960, 1024×768, 640×480.
• File Formats: JPEG, RAW.
• ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 3200.
• Flash: Auto, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction slow sync, first and second curtain sync, forced on and off, manual.
• Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, AC.
• Dimensions: 141.5×107.5×75 WHDmm.
• Weight: Approx. 655 g (minus battery).
• Current Prices: The Olympus E-30 is currently priced at Amazon at $949.95 (body only) and $1,049.95 (body plus f3.5-5.6/14-42mm kit lens.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Olympus E-30 Review

Yesterday we posted an article about Backyard photography - today I’d like to issue a challenge - get into your backyard and see what shots you can come up with - and then share your best shot or two with us in comments below.

I know some of you don’t technically have ‘backyards’ - but feel free to photograph whatever is the closest thing to a yard for you (a balcony for instance) - be creative. You don’t just have to take a picture of your yard - focus in on something (or someone) in it. I’m expecting to see macro work, wildlife, pets, portraits and much much more!

Once you’ve gotten out there and taken some shots - pick your favorite one or two, upload them to our favorite photosharing site (like Flickr) and share a link to your shots in the comments section below.

Please only link to pictures you’ve taken for this challenge and not previous ones - that way we’re seeing your most recent work.

Also - we’d love it if you’d link to this post from your photosharing page to let your friends know what you’re doing - that’ll spread news of our little challenge and make it all the more fun!

I can’t see what everyone comes up with!

Image by ohmann alianne

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Backyard Photography Challenge