Monday, February 23, 2004
Photo of the day, February 23, 2004. Photo (c) Duncan Lang, Stirling, Scotland.
A Day in the Life
One photo is posted every day. A photographer is selected to submit one photograph per day for a week. Each posted photo must be taken in the last 24 hours. Well worth a look. Be sure and browse through the archives. Forbes named this the best photo blog on the internet. Go here.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Firefox 0.8
Good news from Mozilla!
Mozilla.org released Firefox 0.8 on February 9. It is a renamed upgrade to the popular Mozilla Firebird web browser. Firefox is faster, safer, and better than Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). The speed difference is very obvious with a cable connection. With a dial-up connection, Internet Exporer crawls in comparison to Firefox.
Mozilla's web browsers have not been plagued by the security problems that have been such a problem with IE.
I really like tabbed browsing. You can CTRL click or right click on links and open them in new tabs. It is quick and fast to go back and forth between pages by clicking the tabs at the top of the page. While you are reading one page, another can be opening in the background. You still have the option of opening links in a new window.
Firefox is free. More info is at the Mozilla website. Download it and try it out. If you prefer it to IE, you can make it your default browser.
Friday, February 13, 2004
 "Lifehouse". Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr. MORE NEW CAMERASMore new cameras have been introduced at the big PMA show in Las Vegas, in fact, too many to mention them all here. I will point out the new Konica-Minolta Maxxum 7 Digital, a digital version of the Maxxum 7 film body. This is a 6 megapixel camera in the same category, more or less, as the Nikon D70, Canon 10D, and Canon D-Rebel. This new camera should make Minolta users very happy. More info is at DPReview. A lot of manufacturer's are introducing new and hopefully better point and shoot digital cameras. You can read more at DPReview, DCResource, and Imaging Resource.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Canon PowerShot Pro1
Canon announced the latest camera in their PowerShot series at the PMA convention in Las Vegas. In the same category as the recent Fuji F828, this is an 8 megapixel all-in-one digital camera with built in 7x zoom lens (28-200mm in 35mm terms), with the traditional PowerShot rotating LCD screen on the back.
This is the first all in one digital camera Canon has released in over three years with a 7x or longer zoom range, and this is the first "L" series lens Canon has announced on a PowerShot camera. L series lenses are Canon's top of the line with flourite and ultra-low dispersion optical elements.
You can read the usual manufacturer's hyperbole at Canon's website.
Watch for previews (early information) and reviews (detailed testing) at Digital Photography Review and other sites linked from the DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY INFORMATION section of my LINKS page.
Canon's last two releases, the G5 and S50, were just a bit disappointing, receiving RECOMMENDED ratings from DPReview, instead of the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ratings of the G3 and S45, the cameras they replaced.
If the image quality is up to par on this camera, it will be quite an exciting addition to the new group of 8 megapixel point-and-shoot cameras.
Friday, February 06, 2004
NEW NIKON D70
A quick comparison of the D70 and Nikon D100, and a few thoughts for Canon shooters.
Photographers with Nikon lenses that are thinking about going digital will be happy to learn about the new Nikon D70 digital SLR.
It will be in the same price range as the Canon Digital Rebel. At around $1000, about $500 less than the current Nikon D100, it is not a significantly dumbed-down version. In some ways it has less features than the D100 (like less ISO settings), and some costs have been saved in the design (like using a pentamirror, which is lower in price and quality than a pentaprism). However, in several ways it is better than its higher priced sibling. It has more image parameter settings, a faster top shutter speed (1/8000), faster flash sync speed (up to 1/500), and a reportedly more advanced metering system.
In continuous shooting mode (with a jpeg setting) it shoots at the same 3 frames per second as the D100, but the buffer will hold 12 shots rather than the 6 of the D100. The D70 has more LCD pixels than the D100 (130,000 versus 118,000), and the computer connection is USB 2.0 insead of 1.1.
In many ways, the D70 is equal to or better than the D100 and at 2/3 the price.
The D70 is smaller and a bit more rounded than the D100. It is solidly well built.
Initial reviews indicate that it is a better made camera than the Canon Digital Rebel, and it certainly is well ahead of the Digital Rebel in features.
The unaswered question has to do with image quality.
The Canon EOS-10D has superb image quality that is a notch higher than the Nikon D100, with better color rendition, higher resolution, and less noice. But just a small notch. The Canon Digital Rebel maintains the same image quality as the 10D. It will be interesting to see, once reliable reviews come in, if the Nikon D70 is a jump up in image quality.
In any case, the Canon 10D and Digital Rebel, and the Nikon D100, are all excellent cameras capable of taking excellent pictures. The same should be true for the D70.
For most photographers, the choice has more to do with which lenses they already own, and the money they have to spend. It is foolish to chase the latest and greatest digital camera at the cost of orphaning an expensive collection of lenses.
Despite virtually equal image quality, the Canon 10D is clearly a better built, easier to use, and more feature rich camera than the Digital Rebel. The choice here is a matter of money. In my opinion, if you can afford the Canon 10D, you should choose it over the D-Rebel. It is worth the difference in price. If the savings in cost is really important, the D-Rebel is a very fine camera.
With the new Nikon D70, the choice is not so easy. If money were no object, the D70 might still be the better choice, since the D70 is in several ways better than the D100. Even though the D100 is more expensive, it may not prove to be a better, all around camera. The jury is still out of course. Detailed reviews in the near future will tell the tale.
The new Nikon D70 is certainly wonderful news for present and future Nikon digital photographers, but it is also good news for Canon photographers. It looks like the D70 has upped the ante and put Canon on notice for future camera models. The quality and price competition has benefited us all.
DP Review has a comprehensive preview of the D70.
If you are a Nikon shooter and deciding between the D70 and D100 - WAIT! When DP Review comes out with a full review, read it and then decide.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Picnic Dunk Tank, Photo (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
THREE WEEKS IN THE HIMALAYAS
WITH A CANON 10D AND
NO SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY
One of the major challenges of digital travel photography is keeping your batteries charged, and douwloading or savding images from your memory card so you can erase it and take more pictures.
Jean-François Maïon from Finland spent three weeks in the Himalayas with a Canon 10D and came up with one solution to the problem that worked for him.
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