Olympus releases the pro-level OM-D micro four thirds EM-5 camera

Olympus has released their first true high-end Micro Four Thirds camera: the E-M5. With a new 16 Megapixel Live MOS sensor, super-fast AF system, 5-axis image stabilization, an OLED display, and much more.  The weather sealed body resembles the classic OM series from four decades ago.  

Not to give my age, but my first SLR was the OM-1 in 1974 and it was a beauty.  When my daughter took her first photography class in High School,  I had to go out and find a nice used OM-1 four years ago.  I may have to buy this sucker even though I’m heavily invested in Canon gear.  Nothing sells like nostalgia.

Ships in April for $999 body only, $1099 with a 14 - 42 mm lens (black only), and $1299 with the new 12-50 mm lens.

Hit this link for a preview on dpdreview.com

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Top 10 photo apps for iPhone 4S

Everyone loves taking photos, especially with their iPhones. And since the new iPhone 4S comes with an impressive 8 megapixel camera, taking photos can be even more entertaining. Here are ten great apps that can help you make your photos look creative and professional.

1. ShakeItPhoto - $1.99

This app turns your iPhone into a Polaroid camera. Snap a photo and shake your phone to reveal the image, just as if you were taking a real Polaroid picture. It even includes sound effects. You can also change existing picture on your phone to look like Polaroids. 

 

2. Color Splash - $0.99

This app lets you choose which colors show up in your photos. It changes them into black and white and lets you select certain parts of the photo to add color to. The results look rather professional.

 

3. Photosynth – Free

This is one of the best apps on the market for taking panoramic shots with your iPhone. It’s very user-friendly and has options to take long shots both horizontally and vertically. The app also has a great cropping tool.

4. RetroCamera - $1.99

This app is perfect for those who love vintage styles. It has 168 film simulations, 18 noises and 146 textures, so there are lots of retro filters to choose from. It also has features that make it easy to share photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

5. PhotoArtista - $2.99

This app can make your pictures look like they belong in an art museum. It includes numerous options to make your photos look like an oil portrait or landscape, or from a specific style such as Impressionim or Expressionism.

6. Burst Mode - $1.99

This app takes hundreds of snapshots at a quick speed, which makes it perfect for shooting photos of sports, animals, or energetic kids. Whether you use it to review your sports technique or simply to take creative photos, this app is the best for frame-by-frame action shots.

7. FX Photo Studio - $0.99

This photo app may have more filters than any other, with a current collection of 194 filters and effects. It also has a clean, user-friendly design and easily interfaces with various social media apps.

8. Snapseed - $4.99

This is a great app for playing with photos in a variety of ways. You can adjust image contrast and brightness or add various filters easily. It also works well  with basic touch commands, which makes it a popular photo app on the market.

 

9. Camera+ - $0.99

This app is a great replacement for the Camera app that comes with the iPhone. It has four shooting modes with various locks for focus and exposure. It also includes a variety of editing options and effects.

10. Instagram – Free

This is one of the most popular photo apps on the market because it’s free and easy to use. It’s a great way to share everyday events with friends and family on social media sites. This is a must for any photo enthusiast.

This article was written by Madeline Barbour. She is an experienced photographer who owns the site How to Become a Photographer.

Canon launches three new lenses

EF 24-70mm F2.8L II USM: Sealed against dust and moisture; ships in April for $2299

EF 24mm F2.8 IS USM:  ships in June for $849

EF 28mm F2.8 IS USM:  ships in June for $799

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Nikon introduced D800 full-frame digital SLR. Is 36MP enough now?

Nikon has announced their new D800 full-frame digital SLR and what a camera it is.  This size sensor, has probably exceeded what film was ever capbable of showing, or at least matched it finally in the 35mm size.

•  36.3 Megapixel (!), full-frame FX-format CMOS sensor
• Expeed 3 processor
• Nikon F-mount; no crop factor with FX-format lenses, 1.5X with DX-format (resolution drops to 15.4 MP, as well)
• Very solid magnesium alloy construction, sealed against dust and moisture; shutter rated to 200,000 cycles
• 3.2-inch LCD display with 921,000 pixels, with live view
• Large optical viewfinder has magnification of 0.7X, coverage of 100/97 percent (FX/DX format)
• 51-point AF system, with fifteen cross-type sensors
• 91,000 pixel 3D Color Matrix Metering system
• Full manual controls (in case you were wondering)
  • ISO range of 100 - 6400, expandable to 50 - 25600
  • Shutter speed range of 30 - 1/8000 sec
• Continuous shooting at 4 fps (FX mode), 5 fps (DX mode), or 6 fps (DX mode with optional battery grip)
• Electronic level
• In-camera HDR feature (two shot)
• Built-in flash can double as a wireless master; hot shoe and flash sync port for attaching something more powerful
• Records video at 1080p @ 24 or 30 fps, or 720p at 60 fps
  • Uses H.264 and B-Frame compression for super high quality, 24 MBps video (20 min limit); standard compression can be used for longer videos (30 min)
  • Full manual controls available while recording
  • A lens’ power aperture can be adjusted for changes in depth-of-field while recording
  • Dedicated movie recording button on top of camera
• Stereo mic input, headphone output
• Can output uncompressed video through its HDMI port (like the D4)
• USB 3.0 port (backward compatible)
• Dual memory card slots support SD and CompactFlash
• Uses EN-EL15 lithium-ion battery, 900 shots per charge
• Optional battery grip (which can use another EN-EL15, the D4’s EN-EL18, or AA batteries), wireless file transmitter, and GPS receiver
• Ships in late March for $2999, body only

 

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Nikon D4 FX camera to be announced this Friday, January 6, 2012

The Nikon D4, which is slated for February availability at a $6,000 suggested retail, will offer a full-frame 16.2-megapixel full-format CMOS image sensor that will shoot full-resolution images at up to a 10 fps rate.

The camera is also one of the first to support the new XQD Compact Flash memory card format, and will also offer a second card for more conventional CF cards.

The Nikon D4 has improved low-light performance, with an ISO range from 100 to 102,400 which can be expanded to 50 to 204,800 for both movies and stills.

The D4 also improves on the D3’s color matrix metering system with a third-generation 91,000-pixel RGB metering sensor.

The unit takes the AF mode select switch from the D7000 and uses improved 51-point AF points with 9 cross-type sensor and a beefed up AF module allowing focus with an f/8 lens and faster (up from f/5.6). The AF detection range is now down to EV-2.0

The viewfinder features a full pentaprism with a 100 percent field of view.

The video section will record pixel-for-pixel Full-HD 1080p resolution with selections for 30p and 24p frame rates in this iteration, and 720p at up to 60p for slow-motion work. The camera now includes support for the H.264 B frame compression scheme.

The camera uses contrast detect AF in movie recording and features a low-pass filter optimized to maximize sharpness of HD video, meaning greater noise reduction when shooting full-frame movies.

Function buttons are illuminated this year, and a dedicated video button (user re-assignable) is added near the shutter button.

The D4 supports WTSA wireless control using the optional Nikon WT-5 wireless transmitter, and features an integrated Ethernet port and HDMI output enabling output of uncompressed video.

The D4 also introduces face detection/recognition into the flagship series

Another new feature is smooth aperture control for use while shooting video.

At the same time, the company introduced the Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8G FX format lens ($500 suggested retail).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 $269 today on Amazon

Click on image and it takes you to Amazon.com and supports this site.  This is a deal for today only… Great Camera with a $200 discount.  Black only.  

PhotoRadar has hands on reviews of Canon 600D/T3i & 1100D/T3

One of my favorite online photo sites, has just published a hands on review of the new Canon 600D and 1100D models just announced by Canon.  I learned about PhotoRadar by reading the great UK magazine “Digital Camera”, or “Digital Camera World” as it’s known here across the pond.

I’ve picked up some great Photoshop skills using tutorials on the PhotoRadar site, and in the included discs when I purchase the magazine.

Here are the links to these new articles:

Canon EOS 600D hands on

Canon EOS 1100D hands on

Nikon Intros the new D7000 Digital SLR

Nikon today introduced the D7000, which is the follow-up to the very popular D90 digital SLR. The D7000 carries a lot of new features into an easy-to-use camera that’s priced from $1199.

The main bullets are:

• 16.2 effective Megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
• EXPEED 2 image processor
• Supports all Nikon F-mount lenses with a 1.5X focal length conversion ratio
• Magnesium-alloy body is sealed against dust and moisture; shutter rated to 150,000 cycles
• 3-inch LCD display with 921,000 pixels
• Optical viewfinder features 100% coverage and a magnification of 0.94X
• Full manual controls
• ISO range of 100 - 6400, expandable to 25,600
• Shutter speed range of 30 - 1/8000 sec
• RAW (NEF) format supported, with in-camera editing
• Live view with contrast detect AF and subject tracking
• 39-point AF system, with 9 cross-type sensors in the center
• New 2,016 pixel RGB metering sensor uses scene data to ensure accurate metering and flash output
• Continuous shooting at 6 frames/second
• Can record Full HD video (1920 x 1080 at 24 fps) for up to 20 minutes using H.264 codec
• Full-time autofocus and manual exposure control
• Can also record 720p at 24 and 30 frames/sec
• Stereo mic input
• In-camera video editing
• Built-in wireless flash support
• HDMI output
• Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots; second slot can be used for backup, overflow, and splitting up stills and movies
• Uses EN-EL15 lithium-ion battery, 1050 shots per charge
• Optional battery grip holds an additional EN-EL15 or six AA batteries
• Ships next month for $1199 body only, or $1499 with an 18 - 105 mm VR lens

I’ve posted a large number of shots of the D7000, so make sure you check them out below:

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Canon reveals EOS-60D and some new "L" Glass

Canon today announced the new EOS-60D, the long-expected replacement for the 50D. Here are the specs:

• 18 Megapixel CMOS sensor (a scaled down version of the one on the EOS-7D)
• Supports EF and EF-S lenses with a 1.6X crop factor
• Flip-out, rotating 3-inch LCD display with 1.04 million pixels; live view supported, naturally
• Optical viewfinder has 0.95X magnification and 96% coverage
• Full manual controls, with ISO range of 100 - 6400, expandable to 12,800; three RAW sizes to choose from
• 9-point, all cross-type AF system, plus 63-zone metering system
• Continuous shooting at 5.3 frames/sec
• Electronic level available on LCD and viewfinder
• Refined controls (the Multi-controller is now inside the large Quick Control dial), with customizable buttons
• Full HD movie mode (1920 x 1080 at 24/25/30 fps) with manual controls, wind filter, and sound level adjustment
• Built-in wireless flash support
• In-camera RAW editing allows you to adjust Picture Style, white balance, color space, noise reduction, Peripheral Illumination Correction, linear distortion correction and chromatic aberration correction right in playback mode
• Creative Filters let you apply special effects to photos you’ve taken
• SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot (versus CompactFlash on the 50D)
• HDMI output
• Uses LP-E6 lithium-ion battery; battery life not available
• Optional battery grip
• Ships at the end of September for $1099 body only, or $1399 with an 18 - 135 mm IS lens

Four new L-series lenses and two new extenders:

• F4L, 8 - 15 mm USM fisheye lens - provides 180 degree coverage on full-frame cameras - anti-smear coating (all of these lenses have it) - ships in January for $1400
• F4.0-5.6L, 70 - 300 mm IS USM lens - better glass, image stabilization, and weather-sealing than previous versions - ships in October for $1500
• F2.8L, 300 mm IS II USM lens - 8% lighter than predecessor, with improved IS system , superior image quality, and better build quality - ships in December for $7000
• F2.8L, 400 mm IS II USM lens - 20% lighter than predecessor, same improvements as the 300mm - ships in December for $11,000 (I’ll take two!)
• 1.4X and 2X EF Extender III - faster autofocus, compatibility with newest super telephotos, and anti-smear coating - both ship in December for $500

source:dcresource

Dpreview tests the Canon Rebel T2i/EOS 550D

PROS

• Excellent detail and resolution (especially in raw mode)
• Lovely new LCD screen - the 3:2 format really makes a difference.
• Capable, flexible AF system in both phase-detection and live view modes
• High-spec video mode, including external microphone jack
• Highly intuitive operation, refined ergonomics
• Fast and responsive operation (although shooting in raw mode slows things down)
• Very reliable metering and white balance in most shooting situations
• Decent build quality for the price - no creaks
• Highlight Tone Priority works well, in both raw and JPEG mode.
• Excellent battery life for its class
• Acceptable - although not outstanding - image quality at highest ISO settings.
• Excellent supplied software suite - DPP is one of the best bundled raw converters around

CONS

• Auto Lighting Optimizer’s effect is subtle to the point of being unnoticeable
• No rear control dial (as found on higher-end Canon bodies)
• Entry-level ergonomics won’t suit everyone (the EOS 50D and 7D just feel nicer)
• No in-camera raw conversion option
• Slightly soft JPEG output at default settings (but this is far from unusual)
• Chroma noise takes a fairly big chunk out of resolution at ISO 12800 (but better than the 500D)
• AF assist strobe can be annoying

source:dpreview