What Photo Gear

Hot on the heels of DPReview’s sample images from last week, Imaging Resource have also published their own set of sample shots from Canon’s latest entry level DSLR - the Canon 450D aka the Digital Rebel XSi.

So far all they’ve got are their studio and chart shots, but they promise they’ll have more in the next couple of days, so stay tuned for that. But if that still leaves you wanting more, then you might want to re-visit DPReview’s Canon 450D sample picture’s gallery as they’ve just added a few High ISO shots with the camera’s Noise Reduction feature on.

And if you still can’t decide after all that, you could also visit the awesome Comparometer at Imaging Resource. At the Com-pa-ro-meter, you can select 2 different camera’s and you can compare the different test and sample images. So you be the judge! Perhaps you might want to do a little Canon 450D vs Nikon D60 comparison, but if not, you can pick pretty much any camera you are interested in.

The Canon 450D is currently available for pre-order from Amazon, with an expected release date of April 27th. You can pre-order the body only for $799.99 by clicking here ; or with the Canon 18-55mm Image Stabilized lens for just $899.99.

Searching for a camcorder? Or just looking to upgrade? You just might be surprised at the quality of camcorders now. With the popularity of High Definition television’s, more and more camcorder manufacturers are bringing out camcorders capable of recording High Definition video.

And it’s almost unanimous that the Canon HV20 was the ultimate consumer High Definition camcorder from last year ; and the Canon Vixia HV30 released this year, while a minor upgrade, still retains the amazing image quality of its predecessor, and is still one of the best bang for the buck camcorders currently available.

And just how good is the video quality? Here are 3 video’s to give you an idea:

*Note that the video’s embedded here are not HD quality ; unfortunately the host does not allow embedding of HD quality videos - but you can hit the links below the videos to jump to Vimeo and view the higher quality videos. (Warning - fast internet connection and fast PC required!)


Italy - Brisighella e Modigliana HD - Dec. 2007 from myksto on Vimeo

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Well, we had the sexy Olympus E3 Print Ad from South Korea last time, so why not a few TV commercials this time. Some of these are pretty funny, while some are a bit more serious, like the Nikon one. I don’t watch TV at all, (yes, really) so if you know of any other awesome camera commercials, let me know in the comments.

First up, here’s one from Agfa:

There’s more after the jump - just hit the Read More link.

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The Canon S5 IS is currently available at $150 off the regular price at Amazon - $299.99 gets you a full featured pro-sumer digital camera with a whopping 12x lens with Canon’s Image Stabilization system, a flip-out LCD, one of the best movie recording modes in a digital camera and complete manual control’s for those looking to learn photography.

Here are some high-quality reviews of the Canon S5 to help you decide if it’s the right camera for you:

DCResource

DPReview 

Imaging Resource

This is definitely one of the better camera’s on the market right now ; with a generous zoom range and a pretty light and compact body it’s a perfect fit for those looking for a camera they can grow into, and even as a back-up travel camera for when you don’t want to carry around your DSLR, and still want a versatile lens and manual controls.

DPReview has a special Easter treat for all of us today - they’ve released just over a dozen sample images from a production model Canon EOS 450D DSLR.

And they’ve even taken the time to shoot with a few lenses, namely the 70-200 f/4 L, the 18-55 IS and the 100mm macro in various lighting conditions, and different ISO settings. Full size images are also available for download, so anyone seriously considering the EOS 450D aka the Digital Rebel XSi, can print and scrutinize the images to their hearts content.

Overall, the latest model in Canon’s entry-level DSLR series certainly looks to be one hell of a performer. If you haven’t yet, click here to jump straight to DPReview.com’s Canon Digital Rebel XSi samples gallery.

The Canon 450D / Rebel XSi is currently available for pre-order from Amazon - $899 with the 18-55 Image Stabilized Lens ; and $799 for the body only. With an availability of around April 27th - just a month away!

From: DPReview via WhatPhotoGear

The great folks over at Camcorder Info have just published their in-depth review of the Canon Vixia HF10 ; Canon’s current top of the line hybrid HDD (Hard Disk) and Flash High Definition consumer level camcorder - and they’ve come up with some pleasantly surprising conclusions - even calling it “the first great AVCHD Camcorder.”

Almost everyone was pretty much unanimous in saying that Canon’s HV20 Camcorder was the best consumer level high definition camcorder last year - due in large part to the poor performance of AVCHD camcorders, especially with motion. But the HV20, if it had one flaw, was that it still recorded to old-fashioned tape. Which for some people, me included, felt we should have abandoned in favor of less cumbersome media like a Hard Disk Drive or flash cards.

But in terms of image quality, the HV20 was still king. It could make that video of your pet dog look like it should be on Discovery Channel’s HD Theater. But now, even with the minor update to the HV20 - the Canon HV30 ; it looks like Hard-Drive High Definition camcorders using the AVCHD codec have finally improved and are right up there in terms of image quality. Of course, editing the video is still not as easy, and it requires a lot of processing power - but it’s getting there.

The Canon HF10 gives up some controls, and is a bit more dumbed down compared to the HV20 and HV30 - but the big news here is the image quality. Personally, I can’t wait to see what Canon will have in store for the follow-up to their current top of the line HDD High Def camcorder - the Canon HG10 (which uses an ‘older’ AVCHD compression method which just doesn’t compare to the HF10’s)

The Canon Vixia HF10 can be purchased via Amazon by clicking here.

From: CamcorderInfo via WhatPhotoGear