Get a free 2 GB memory card

Until August 2, Calumet is offering a 2 for 1 deal on Sandisk 2 GB Ultra II cards (Compact Flash and SD versions). Buy one for $35, get one free. That’s the same price everyone else is charging for just one. It’s a great deal. Get a set before they run out.

Thanks to Photodoto.com

Canon Utilities

Canon has made available version 2.0.2 of its EOS Utility downloading and camera-control software. The changes include support for Windows Vista and the new EOS-1D Mark III. Download instructions and link after the jump.

Click here to download Canon EOS Utility 2.0.2

Changes for Mac OS

Changes from the previous version of EOS Utility (2.0)

• Support added for Auto Power OFF (camera) during Remote Live View shooting
  The Auto Power Off function can now be used during Remote Live View shooting with EOS-1D Mark III.
• Corrected “From PC” in Time Setting on the Camera
  It’s corrected that the “From PC” in “Date/Time” of the camera setting does not function properly when a computer is working in daylight saving time.
• The setting value of Picture Style files will be applied to camera.
  When a picture style file is set to the camera, the parameters included in the file (contrast/color tone/color depth/sharpness) will be applied to the camera.

Changes for Windows

Changes from the previous version of EOS Utility (2.0a)

• Support added for Auto Power Off (camera) during Remote Live View shooting.
  The Auto Power Off function can now be used during Remote Live View shooting with EOS-1D Mark III.
• Corrected the Click White Balance during Remote Live View shooting.
  It’s corrected that the unintended WB is set when the Click White Balance is performed during the Remote Live View shooting with EOS-1D Mark III.
• The setting value of Picture Style files will be applied to camera.
  When a picture style file is set to the camera, the parameters included in the file (contrast/colortone/color depth/sharpness) will be applied to the camera.
• Shortening the initial communication in wireless connections with WFT-E2.
  The time required for initial communication in wireless connections with Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 has been shortened.

Canon also has an update for users of its Digital Photo Professional Raw-conversion software. As well as enhancing on-screen rendering and allowing Picture Style settings to be applied, version 3.0.2 also improves compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista. Download link after the jump.

Click here to download Canon Digital Photo Professional 3.0.2

Changes for Mac OS

Changes from Digital Photo Professional 3.0.1 for Mac OS X

• Improvement of image display quality.
  Corrected the issue in which jaggies are noticeable in images displayed on the monitor.
• The setting value of Picture Style files will be applied to images.
  When a picture style is applied to images, the setting value of picture style (contrast/color tone/color depth/sharpness) will be applied.

Changes for Windows

Changes from Digital Photo Professional 3.0.1 for Windows Vista/XP/2000

• The following functions can now be used in Windows Vista;
  – Trimming Tool
  – Quick Check Tool
  – Detailed settings printing
  – Contact sheet printing
• Improvement of image display quality.
  Corrected the issue in which jaggies are noticeable in images displayed on the monitor.
• The setting value of Picture Style files will be applied to images.
  When a picture style is applied to images, the setting value of picture style (contrast/color tone/color depth/sharpness) will be applied.

 

 

Pentax K10D firmware 1.20

From DPReview:
Pentax has today released firmware version 1.20, as far as we can tell this new version simply provides compatibility with the new Pentax Remote Assistant 3 software, providing tethered remote shooting by computer control. For those of you who haven’t updated your cameras recently this update includes all of the additional features in 1.11 and 1.10. You can update your cameras by simply downloading the firmware file, copying the extracted BIN file onto an SD card, placing that into the camera and holding the MENU button while powering on (make sure you have a fully charged battery).

Click here for the Pentax K10D firmware update page

Nikon issue new firmware for D40 and D80

Nikon has today issued firmware updates for the D40 and D80 digital SLRs. The D40 update contains a range of new features and fixes including issues with flash exposure and Auto ISO, the D80 update includes fixes for a retouching mode crash and improvements to long exposure NR. These updates can be downloaded and installed by owners.

 D40 Firmware
mac  |  pc

D80 Firmware
mac  |  pc

Best Buy Black Friday Ad

Thought people might be interested.

Digital Cameras

Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP SLR Camera – $899.99
Canon PowerShot 6MP ELPH Digital Camera – $219.99
Canon PowerShot SD600 6.0-Megapixel Digital ELPH Camera – $219.99
Disney 3.0 MegaPixel Digital Camera – $49.99
Kodak 5 Megapixel Digital Camera (Doorbuster Item: 5am – 12pm Only) – $79.99
Kodak EasyShare 7.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera With 10x Optical Zoom – $189.99
Nikon Coolpix 5.1MP Digital Camera – $119.99

Digital Media Cards

PNY 1GB Secure Digital Memory Card – $14.99
Sandisk 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo Memory Card – $19.99
Sandisk 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo Memory Card – $39.99
SanDisk 2GB SD Memory Card – $29.99
Sony 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $19.99
Sony 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $39.99

Nikon d40?

From allengeorge.com 

Looks like it’s real. Here’s the page for a German retailer that has the D40 with 18-55. The price was likely wrong, so I won’t list it here.

Relevant Specs:

• 6.1 Megapixels
• Compressed 12-bit NEF, JPEG
• 3 AF points [Cross-type AF sensors?!]
• 2.5″ 230K pixel LCD
• Up to 19x magnification? (Thanks Erik37!)
• TTL (ISO 200 – 1600, HI1)
• 3 metering modes (420px meter):
  • 3D Color Matrix Metering II
  • Center-weighted metering (75% of center field)
  • 8mm spot
• Program modes including flash… (Portrait, Landscape, Night, Spot, Child, Night Portrait)
• i-TTL compatible
• 1/500 Flash Sync
• USB 2.0
• SD, SD-HC
• Lithium-Ion EN-EL9
• 94×126×64 mm
• 475 grams without battery, memory card, LCD cover or body cap (Thanks Rogier Janssen!)

If comments are right then the D40 is only compatible with AF-S lenses. From a manufacturing and marketing standpoint this makes perfect sense, allowing Nikon to skip the in-body focus-motor with its associated weight and cost. The question that the eternally curious ask is “Does this mean that Nikon is transitioning their entire lineup – including primes – to AF-S?” One can hope :)

Point and Shoot or an SLR? Part 2

The SLR.The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens onto a matte focusing screen. Most SLRs use a roof pentaprism or penta mirror to observe the image via an eyepiece, but there are also other finder arrangements, such as the waist-level finder or porro prisms.

The shutter in almost all contemporary SLRs sits just in front of the focal plane. If it does not, some other mechanism is required to ensure that no light reaches the film between exposures. For example, the Hasselblad 500C camera uses an auxiliary shutter blind in addition to its in-lens leaf shutter.

This feature separates SLRs from other cameras, as the user sees the image as it would be captured. This aids in accurately knowing the image beforehand.
Since the technology became widespread in the 1970s, SLRs have become the main type of camera used by dedicated amateur photographers and professionals.

So what makes the SLR the main type of camera used by professionals? Ease of use, the ability to change lenses, being able to see what your photo will look like through the lens, the ability to control what happens….the list goes on and on, so I’ll stick with the main points.

Ease Of Use

SLR’s might look confusing, but they are actually very simple. You choose what lens you need – a lens that has been designed to do what you need it to do – you set up or find your lighting, you set your aperture for the effect you want, set your shutter to compensate for your aperture, and press the shutter button.

Does that still sound complicated? Its really not. Today’s SLRs and dSLRs (Digital SLRs) now include an Auto Mode that works just like a point and shoot, yet still gives you the ability to decide what kind of special lens is needed to get that photo that you want.

For myself, I primarily keep it on Aperture Priority Mode. I like choosing what will be in focus and will not, and primarily stick with a large aperture (large aperture = low number, 1.8, 2.8, etc.) so I can separate the main subject from the background. We’ll cover that in a future article.
Lenses

From wide angle, to “normal”, to extreme telephoto, the ability to switch lenses is enough to warrant the purchase of an SLR, which can now be purchased for the price of a medium / high quality point and shoot. But there is an investment to be made. One problem with SLR’s is that lenses arn’t compatible among the major brands. You won’t be able to fit a Canon lens onto your Nikon or Sony body, nor will you be able to put your Nikkor lens on your Canon or Pentax body. Nikon (Nikkor lenses), Canon, Sony, Pentax, and all the other brands have their own standard for their lens mounts making switching from one to another a near impossible task unless your made of money. Once you’ve invested in a particular brand, that’s the brand you’re going to stay with unless you REALLY want to switch. And within the brands, there are often different kinds of lenses made for different types of cameras. Nikon has been good with this, and any lens made in the last 60 years will at least mount to the Nikon body, though you might just loose your exposure and auto-focusing ability. Canon on the other hand has changed their mounts quite often and in a few cases, a lens you bought for your canon film body might not mount onto your digital body.

WYSIWYG

(The ability to see what your photo will look like before you shoot.)

The older point and shoot cameras had a little window on the front, and when you looked through the viewfinder you were looking through that little window. You didn’t see exactly what the camera was going to see, and this was a major problem for pro photographers. Nowadays when you look through the viewfinder of an SLR camera, you are looking through the lens seeing the exact same image that your film is going to see.

Control

A lot of the modern point and shoot digital cameras nowadays give you the option of changing the shutter speed and/or aperture, but that’s about as far as it goes. The higher end point and shoot models will give you even more options to take control of your photography, but are still limited. SLR cameras are exactly the opposite. Instead of making everything automatic and then adding in manual features, they give you complete manual control right from the start. In addition, as the prices of SLRs have dropped the manufacturers have started adding consumer friendly automatic features.

Realistically, there are only three basic settings that you need to watch – shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual priority. Of course you also need your aperture ring or dial, and your shutter dial or knob. That’s it. Everything else is just fluff and any kind of effect can be achieved using these three settings, along with the focus ring.

These days the higher end point and shoots are becoming more and more like their SLR brethren, while the lower end SLR’s are dumbing down more and more to become their point and shoot cousins. Either kind of camera will function for you, just know what your needs are so you can make a wise decision before you buy.

There are many many other kinds of cameras that I’ll write about later, including Polaroids, large format, medium format, rangefinders, video cameras, cell phone cameras, toy cameras, 3-D cameras, etc. As long as light is hitting a form of film or a light sensor, it is a camera.

I really hope that these two articles have helped you with your camera decision or helped you understand more about your camera choices. These articles are not perfect and I will be editing them along the way as my knowledge about cameras continues to grow.

Use the comments section of the blog — If you have noticed any mistakes, please let me know, if you want to debate, let me know as well, we’ll make it public, and a good debate is always good. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask, that’s what I’m here for.

~Chad