Tag: DSLR
SHINY VIDEO PREVIEW: Nikon D5000 DSLR camera
I’ve just shinned it up and down London’s Centre Point Tower to get my hands on the Nikon D5000 family DSLR camera. My first impression after this morning’s thoughts are that it’s pretty small – not small like MP3 players or sub-atomic particles or anything but compared to the Nikon D90, below which the D5000 sits in the Nikon consumer range, it’s dinky. It’s rather like a D60. Just 550g in weight including the battery.
Once you get over the size of the thing, my next question for this family camera was: “Would I really let my kids run around with a £720 piece of kit?” I’m sure it’s as hardy as a DSLR can be but these things are all about the glass and it’s just too easy to scratch and destroy.
If Nikon does succeed with its mission to convince families to buy their camera then I do wonder how much it will eat into the sales of the D90.
Full spec sheet over the jump.
Megapixels – 12.9
Sensor type – CMOS
Autofocus points – 11-point AF
Crop factor – 1.5
Lens mount – Nikon F mount
Metering system – Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
Frames per second – 4fps
ISO min – 200 (+ Lo-1 ISO 100 equivalent)
ISO max – 3200 (+ Hi-1 ISO 6400 equivalent)
Screen size – unique 2.7″ LCD vari-angle / free-rotation
Card format – SD card
Battery model – EN-EL9 & EN-EL9a (new, 1800mAh)
Weight (g) – 550g inc. battery
Size -127mmx104mmx69mm
Included accessories – Battery EN-EL9A, MH-23 battery charger, USB cable, AV cable, Body cap, eye-piece cap DK-5, Accessory shoe cover BS-1, Camera Strap AN-DC3, software CD Rom, Quick start guide, Manual, Warranty
Resolution – 12.3 million effective pixels
Aspect ratio – 3:2; 4:3; 5:4; 16:9; 1:1
Sensor size – 23.6 mm × 15.8 mm CMOS sensor
Autofocus system – Single-point AF; Dynamic-area AF;Auto-area AF; 3-D tracking AF
Exposure modes – Auto; P; S; A; M; 19 scene modes
Screen resolution – 230,000
File formats – JPEG; RAW; AVI
Connectivity – Type C HDMI; Hi-speed USB; Video output; Accessory terminal (remote cord / GPS)
Flash type – “Auto flash with auto pop-up P, S, A, M: Manual pop-up flash with button release”
Flash guide number – “• At ISO 200: Approx. 17m/56f, 18m/59f with manual flash
• At ISO 100: Approx. 12m/39f, 13m/43f with manual flash”
Flash metering “i-TTL
Auto aperture
Non-TTL auto
Range-priority manual”
Flash sync speed 1/200 sec.
Image stabilisation Yes (in VR the lens)
Integrated cleaning yes
Live view yes
Buffer depth (RAW) 10.6 MB, 268 images, 11 exposures
Buffer depth (JPEG) 100 exposures, 7700 images @ JPEG Basic small 0.4 MB
Shutter speed max 1/4000 sec.
Shutter speed min 30 sec.
VF coverage 95%
Vertical grip yes
Manufacturers link www.nikon.co.uk
Starting RRP £799.99 with 18-55mm VR lens; £749.99 body only.
Nikon D5000: HD video recording with swivel screen
Nikon’s thrown us all a little curve ball this morning with what is essentially an upgrade and re-shape of the excellent D90 we saw released last year. The carefully named Nikon D5000 is a slightly softer, more consumer friendly approach to high end amateur photography.
It has the same 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor and EXPEED processor combination as the D90, the same 200-3200 ISO range (100-6400 with boost) and indeed the same 11-point auto-focus system too.
The difference is that the LCD has slimmed a touch to 2.7″ but in return you can swivel it about in the most interesting of angles to ensure that you can shoot high, low, left, right and just about any which way you can think of with our having to squash your body into all sorts of awkward positions. They’ve even added a subject-tracking mode to the AF to make video capture even easier.
The second difference, and perhaps the more telling one, is the 19 scene modes Nikon has added to one of their top end consumer DSLRs. What it looks like they’re trying to create with the D5000 is a camera that all the family will be able to use – from the compact shooting casual to the very keen enthusiast.
It’ll be out from 1st May for £799.99 with the 18-55mm VR lens kit or £719 for the body on its own.
More to come on D5000 this afternoon.
Nikon
Olympus E450 – good value four-thirds camera
Meet the 380g Olympus E-450 four-thirds DSLR camera. Light, isn’t is? It’s an upgrade of the E420 and features a 10-megapixel MOS sensor, a new – and hopefully improved – TruePic III+ image processor and a nice, bright 2.7″ LCD with 176 degree viewing angle.
It has 28 shooting modes including the kind of fluff you’d expect from a compact camera but gives you one-touch white balance, bracketing functions and a modest ISO range of 100-1600 to play with. It will now also capture RAW footage in burst of eight.
It’s all pretty good value at £450 including the Zuiko 14-42mm kit lens but bear in mind that it’s not a hell of a lot different than the Olympus E420 and probably soon quite a lot more expensive than it too.
Available in May.
Panasonic Lumix G1 Review
£969.99 Canon EOS 500D – 1080p video recording & 15.1-megapixel sensor
Canon has snuck out a DSLR in the States today that combines the processing power of the EOS 50D with the HD video recording of the 5D Mark II.
The slightly differently named Canon Rebel EOS T1i will shoot 1080p footage…
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
If there’s a new camera on the block, then I definitely want to a have a play with it. So, when a new photographic system hit the headlines, a review model was just about all I could think about. A few months later, a couple of weeks getting familiar and this is what I thought about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 micro four thirds DSLR…
…
Olympus shows off the E-620
Olympus does a fine line in mid-range DSLRs, and this is the latest addition to the family. It’s the E-620, a 12.3-megapixel jobby with a 2.7″ LCD, that doesn’t appear to be a touchscreen. Akihabaranews suggests that it’s a cheaper alternative to the E-30 and E3 cameras.
You have the choice of aspect ratios – 16:9, 3:3 and 6:6 are all offered – and ISO goes up to 3200. Size-wise, it measures 30 x 60 x 94mm, and it weighs 475g. We’ve got not pricing or release date info, but I’d expect it to be cheaper than the aforementioned E30 and E3, which pegs it in the sub-£1,000 region.
(via Akihabaranews)
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Nikon D300 DSLR – ageing but still beautiful
I like to be testing out one camera or another just about all the time but the one I’ve probably been most reluctant to let go of is the Nikon D300 prosumer DSLR. It’s got the kind of great ISO range you’d expect and I barely had to ruin my shots at all by having to resort to the flash. I’m not much good with the flash. Here’s what else I thought…
RUMOUR: Canon planning new Ixus compact camera with CMOS chip
In fact, at the moment there’s only one compact on the market that has a CMOS sensor – Canon’s own PowerShot SX1 IS, which retails for a whopping £530. Our tipster reckons that a whole rash of CMOS compacts will be unveiled at the forthcoming PMA ’09 in March. He also proposes this as a possible CMOS Ixus spec.
- 10-megapixel CMOS sensor (most likely 1/2.33 or 1/2.5 inch in size)
- HD Movie Mode
- 5x Zoom (28mm wide)
- 3″ LCD
- Li-Ion battery
- ISO 50-3200
- RRP of £250-£280, on the shop floor at £220 or so
It’s that massive ISO range which is the most promising. If this new Ixus exists, can cope with low light as promised, and doesn’t cost the earth, then this could bring the tools for some fantastic photography into the hands of amateurs. Or, at very least, your photos of ‘Debbie an the gals dahn at the club’ will look sublime.
Related posts: REVIEW: Canon IXUS 870 IS | Canon engineers held back by marketing department’s “megapixel race”
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: The 720p HD video shooting Nikon D90
I had a lot of fun with this camera. The Nikon D90 is about as good as it gets for consumer DSLRs- certainly for now, anyway. I had this one for quite a while I got very comfortable with it.
Limited edition white Pentax K2000 – ask a friend in the States for one
This rather ravishing looking creature is the limited edition white Pentax K2000 which’ll be released in all sorts of hard to reach places in February…
