The Opteka padded camera grip wraps around the hand, and is designed to stabilize a camera or camcorder when shooting, and to alleviate fatigue during extended sessions of photography or videography. Compatible with all Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, and Samsung DSLR cameras that feature a standard 1/4″-20 tripod socket .

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From the Manufacturer

The new flagship of the EOS Rebel line, Canon EOS Rebel T2i brings professional EOS features into an easy to use, lightweight digital SLR that’s a joy to use. Featuring a class-leading 18.0-megapixel CMOS image sensor and increased light sensitivity for low light photography, the EOS Rebel T2i also has an advanced HD Movie mode for gorgeous Full HD movies. Able to capture up to 3.7 frames per second, it’s ready to go the minute it’s picked up. Advanced Live (more…)

Manufacturer Description

For stunning photography with point and shoot ease, look no further than Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi. The EOS Rebel XSi brings staggering technological innovation to the masses. It features Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System, Live View Function, a powerful DIGIC III Image Processor, plus a new 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and is available in a kit with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens with Optical Image Stabilizer. The EOS Rebel XSi’s refined, ergo (more…)

Amazon.com

Incorporating Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer technology, this Canon 55-250mm telephoto zoom lens captures long distance, low-light shots far better than many comparable lenses, helping you photograph the far-off action of athletes or zoom in for an intimate portrait with a blurred background. The high-zoom-ratio lens is equivalent to a focal length of 88-400mm in the 35mm format (when used on Canon EOS cameras compatible with EF-S lenses). More significantly, the i (more…)

Nikon D3000 Full Review

The Nikon D3000 is an entry-level DSLR, but don’t let the term fool you. When you place the label “Entry Level” on a camera, it might call to mind a camera with no frills, limited uses, and little more to offer than an automatic shooting experience. This has been disproved by the latest crop of cameras released in the past two years, and the D3000 continues to set the bar high for an entry-level camera. This new generation of point-and-shoots and entry-level DSLRs not only push the boundary of low-light performance and mega resolutions, they give that power to a whole new audience of beginning photographers.

Major manufacturers have also been pushing prices down, giving us powerful entry-level DSLRs for well under $1,000 – it was only up to a few years ago cameras like the Canon EOS Rebels were first to blast away this price point.

Not only do DSLRs offer you manual control over shooting, they give you the advantage of using different kinds of lenses. It’s important to remember when buying a DSLR that you’re also buying into a system of lenses, not just a camera. The power of having a DSLR is that you can place any of your old lenses onto a new camera body in the future.

Enter the Nikon D3000, a new entry-level DSLR with a 10.2 megapixel DX-format CCD APS-C image sensor, 11-point Autofocus system with 3D tracking (which comes on the higher-end D5000 and D90), Active D-Lighting and an AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens for $599.

The D3000 is focused on the consumer that is looking to move from an advanced point-and-shoot into the DSLR arena, and so is equipped with some very automatic features, including the Nikon Guide Mode that offers extensive shooting tips all the way to setting up the camera. The D3000 also features six automatic exposure modes ranging from panorama to portraits. This should make it easy for even the newest of photographers to gain entry to the DSLR game. Let’s see how well it tested…

BUILD AND DESIGN

The D3000 feels and looks exactly like the other DSLRs from Nikon, and is only different from the D90 and D5000, both higher-end models, by a few tenths of an inch. The D3000 measures 5.0×3.8×2.6 inches while the D90 is 5.2×4.1×3.0 inches, though the D3000 weighs a bit less at 1 lb 1 oz, making the Nikon entry-level to prosumer DSLR models almost identical in shape and size as well as overall appearance.

One of the main distinctions between it and the other models is that it has a smaller resolution of 10.2 megapixels, which could seem blasphemous in today’s market when most cameras are coming out well over 12 megapixels. This should not be a deterrent however, but a welcomed surprise that provides bigger photosites on the image sensor so that low-light shots should come out a little better than a packed chip with too many of them – the older D60 model also sports a 10.2 megapixel sensor.

Another major distinction between the D3000 and the D90 and D5000 is that the image sensor is a CCD and not a CMOS chip, which means they are separate, but somewhat similar technologies that are used to turn light into digital values, i.e., the analog-to-digital (A/D conversion), but differ in the method of doing so. The basic thing to know here is that CMOS chips are faster than CCD chips, and are used in most of the pro DSLRs.

Besides some of these major distinctions, the D3000 holds some cool new features like the aforementioned Nikon Guide Mode that works differently than just an auto exposure mode. It’s located on the mode dial on top of the D3000. Switching to the Guide mode prompts a menu that will allow you to use the multi selector to select a shooting scenario you want, click on it, and then it will take you to the exact auto exposure mode or settings that you will need to get the desired shot.

Other features include a nice 230,000 dot 3.0 inch LCD, 3 frames per second shooting to catch action sequences, D-Lighting to help get the best exposure in shadows and highlights, and ISO control from 100-1600 with a HI1 setting that expands the range to 3200.

Ergonomics and Controls

As I said above, there is very little distinction in the shape and design of Nikon DSLRs. The D3000 is no exception, giving off that classic Nikon look. It has your typical hotshoe, mode dial, a command dial and a multi selector to control it all. It also sports a built-in flash, an AF lock button, Fn (function button), shutter, and a few other buttons that carry out different tasks.

The D3000 is a hard-plastic construction that feels great in the hand. It is not too big and not too small, and is only slightly bigger than Panasonic’s GH1 micro four-thirds camera, making it very portable and less cumbersome than bigger DSLR models.

The shutter button is distinctly Nikon, with the On/Off switch surrounding the shutter, which is different than most DSLR models. It also has the distinctive orange/red hand bar under the shutter release that you’ll only find on a Nikon.

As far as layout and controls, none of the buttons should be daunting for experienced DSLR users, but those new to DSLR photography will find themselves somewhat confused by different symbols and various buttons. As there is a learning curve to this sort of camera, the Guide Mode should be a good place to start as well as the manual.

Menus and Modes

The menu system on the D3000 has a lot to it. To access the various menu subsets you need to press the ‘Menu’ button on the back of the camera and use the multi selector to guide yourself through.

It’s a straightforward menu system with five different tabs. They include:

* Playback menu: Controls the image display information like histogram all the way to deleting images

* Shooting Menu: For everything from Picture Control to Active D-Lighting. Gets you into the heart of the controls for the camera

* Setup Menu: Allows for customization of different functions like Mirror Lock Up and memory card formatting

* Retouch Menu: For in-camera editing

* Recent Settings Menu: Lists the 20 most recent settings you used that can be quickly accessed so you can use them again and again.

For quick access to shooting settings without going directly through the Menu button, you can press the Information Display button, which looks like a magnifying glass with a plus sign in the middle. By pressing the Information Display button you’ll be able to change the white balance, AF mode, metering, exposure compensation, flash mode and many other functions with the multi selector. This is an easy way to change things without too much hassle, and works quite well and intuitively.

The Guide Mode is also an easy menu system. You’ll use the multi selector to make selections here. Guide Mode initially offers three different command prompts including Shoot for picture-taking help, View/Delete for image review, and Setup for simplified access to shooting settings.

Here is a list of the different shooting modes that the D3000 offers:

* Programmed Auto: In this mode the camera automatically chooses the optimal shooting settings, both an aperture and shutter speed setting.

* Shutter-Priority Auto: This mode allows you to choose your shutter speed while the camera chooses the best aperture for your chosen speed.

* Aperture-Priority Auto: The opposite of S mode, in that you choose the aperture you want while the camera chooses the shutter speed.

* Manual: In this mode you have total control over shutter and aperture speed, and the most control over exposure.

* Portrait: This mode is for taking model shots, which softens skin tones and helps to blow out the background with a shallower depth of field to give emphasis to your foreground subject.

* Landscape: For vivid landscape shots where you want focus throughout the frame, while still providing lush greens and other tones when a beautiful landscape is captured.

* Child: For taking snapshots of kids, it soften the tones of skin while giving backgrounds a vivid look.

* Close Up: Flower macro captures or small objects you want to take a close picture of.

* Sports: Gives you a fast shutter speed and continuous shooting so that you can capture split seconds of action and sports.

* Night Portrait: Simply for taking portraits of people at night.

The overall menu system for the Nikon D3000 is a combination of easy commands, albeit one with a little bit of a learning curve. On the one hand you have the Guide Mode, which makes it extremely easy to comprehend and use, and then the Menu button that takes you through five different sub categories. Although it is easy to use, consult the manual before getting too far into it.

Display/Viewfinder

The D3000 uses a 3.0 inch TFT LCD screen with 230,000 dots and a viewfinder for composition. It is important to note that there is no live view mode at all, so you can only compose a shot via the viewfinder.

The LCD is bright and extremely accurate for exposure reproduction, allowing you to zoom in on the smallest of details to see if you captured the image you wanted or not. The viewfinder is also nice, providing a lot of shooting information that you can see without taking your eye off of it.

PERFORMANCE

The Nikon D3000 sits just below the D5000, which was released early this year. The D3000 was recently announced alongside the D300s, the replacement model for the older D300. While the D60 and D40 are still both in production, the D3000 is a more advanced model that includes an 11-point autofocus system in the body of the camera (D40 and D60 use AF-S lenses to achieve autofocus solely), giving you more for your money in an entry-level model.

Shooting Performance

There are currently five DX-format Nikon DSLRs on the market today, with the D3000 in the lower echelon. The D3000, an entry-level model, shares many characteristics as the higher-end D90, and still achieves amazing image quality at the various ISO settings. The Nikon EXPEED Image Processor has been one the most exceptional accompaniments of image sensor and processor in recent years, giving the photographer absolute durability and control in low-light conditions. The rich tones and different picture modes give off some of the best hues and image captures I’ve seen in this level of camera, making it one of the strongest performers available at the $600 level.

The D3000 shows off its price point in our timings tests. I think it’s absolutely essential to report that the time between the shutter press and being able to view your images on screen is very sluggish, sometimes even seeming to take more than four seconds for image review. This can be crippling for continuous shooting, which takes much longer than 5 seconds to review images you’ve shot in succession, making the D3000’s image memory buffer quite slow.

The D3000 came in mostly at the bottom of the pack in regards to shutter lag and AF acquisition. Studying the performance with the lab results show the shutter lag to be right smack dab in the middle at 0.03 seconds, which in all actuality is only the minutest of difference between all the studied camera timings. While the in the field, the shutter lag was not an issue, and the D3000 didn’t seem to suffer except continuous shooting and waiting for the image buffer to clear.

In terms of auto focus acquisition, it took just over half a second (0.60 seconds) before it was able to achieve focus. We exceeded Nikon’s claim of 3 fps continuous shooting in our own lab test, clocking five full-resolution JPEGS at 3.5 fps with VR switched off.

Flash performance was good. Some of the test images that I captured showed a nice prevention of shadow casts when a subject was up against the wall. It also offered a nice amount of different options like Slow Sync for a subtle fill, and overall it is a nice feature to have built into a DSLR.

All in all, you get what you pay for in performance. The D3000 isn’t exactly slow, but if you want a faster camera, you could certainly pay more for one.

Lens Mount/Kit Lens

Image stabilization is only gained through Nikon Vibration Reduction (VR) lenses, which happens to come with the 18-55mm kit lens that the D3000 is sold with. The VR lens is supposed to help you gain a few stops of light. I used the lens to check how it worked in low light, and it did indeed give me a faster shutter speed when turned on, gaining a few stops of light like it was supposed to.

Image Quality

Image quality from the Nikon D3000 is great, and maybe one of the best image producers straight out of the camera that I’ve tested this year. From Active D-Lighting to the different picture modes, the D3000 makes an excellent image and gives you the control to make it how you want it, or for that matter, how you see it. The Active D-Lighting has become a great feature in Nikon cameras, and as you can see from the results, shadow areas and midtones are reproduced much better with it than without it.

The default setting on the D3000 is called Standard, and is a faithful image reproduction. Looking at the rest of the settings compared to Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape, the image retains sharpness in all of these choices. There is very little difference between Standard and Neutral picture modes, however, but Vivid obviously adds a bit of saturation and more vibrant hues when used.

The D3000 provides complete control over exposure in metering and EV stops. There are three light metering modes – matrix metering, center-weighted and spot metering. Matrix metering worked well to find light values in the entire frame. My sample shot reflects the overall darkness of the indoor lighting conditions, and was very accurate. Center-Weighted reflected a nice frame, and gave the middle subject a nice exposure so that the camera gave it a bit more light. The Spot metering setting gave a huge precedence to center frame, slightly overexposing for the lighting conditions, but still producing a balanced exposure at the area of incidence in the center.

CONCLUSIONS

For a great price like $600, the Nikon D3000 is an excellent value, especially if you are ready to move into more advanced photographic waters. Once you start acquiring the lenses, a few years down the road you can replace the body and still have the glass.

Nikon is known for their DSLRs and the quality of optics in their NIKKOR lenses. The D3000 gives you a great camera body and a great lens with image stabilization along with many other features to help you along the way like exceptional light sensitivity and great image reproduction. Other benefits for the beginner include full automatic control for those uncomfortable with manual settings to help the transition into DSLR photography, a 10.2 megapixel image sensor, and the Nikon Guide Mode.

The Nikon Guide Mode alone will teach anyone photography through an easy menu system and selection. You get the automatic system along with full manual control all rolled up into one nice camera. While there are some downsides to the cameras like slower AF and a sluggish image buffer system, the price and overall output that the D3000 can achieve make it a great camera to consider if you have the dough during these tough times.

Pros:

* Accurate 11-point AF system (even in low-light conditions)

* Easy entry-level automatic modes for beginners

* Exceptional low-light sensitivity (all the way up to ISO 800)

* Excellent image quality

* Good exposure control

Cons:

* Sluggish image buffer

* No video

* No live view

MODEL- 4730 VENDOR- NIKON INCFEATURES- ML-L3 Remote Control Transmitter Trigger the shutter remotely when using slower shutter speeds to prevent camera movement. Offers immediate release mode and two second delay mode. Range aproximately 16 feet in front of camera. Compatible with N65 N75 D70 D70s and D50 Cameras.MANUFACTURER WARRANTY:  1 YEAR

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What’s a pocket camcorder?

Compact digital cameras may all be starting to sprout HD movie capability but they’re by no means the only devices able to capture your life in high definition. Driven by the popularity of video sharing on YouTube and FaceBook, a new class of devices has sprung up, offering an even more simple way to record and share the important, interesting or simply funny things going on around you – the pocket camcorder.

These devices have become one of the fastest growing areas of the imaging market in the past year or so and their key distinguishing features give clues to their appeal: they tend to be small, around the size of a cell phone, they usually feature a built-in full-sized USB-A connectors so you don’t need to find a cable to connect them to a computer and finally, they generally feature very simple external controls, dominated by a large red ‘record’ button. Many now offer full HD capture too. With this simplicity and easy connectivity, it’s no surprise that they’ve also become known as ’shoot and share’ cameras.

If shooting and sharing appeals to you, what are the features on offer and what should you be looking for?

More Facebook than Fellini

As well as the instant connectivity offered by built-in USB-A connectors (the same connector as the USB sockets on your computer), most pocket camcorders come pre-loaded with software that they offer to install each time you connect them to a computer. This means you can use them with the laptop of the friends you’re visiting, or drop into an internet cafe and know that you’ll be able to handle the video files you’ve just shot.

These pocket camcorders aren’t about capturing the whole of the school play or trapping friends in front of your TV to re-live your most recent holiday – they’re about harnessing the potential of ever-faster internet connections and the popularity of social networks and video sharing sites. As a result the included software tends to be very much targeted at those needs.

The software included on most devices will allow you to edit clips down and easily upload them to popular sites (which tends to means YouTube and often Facebook). Some models also include simple tools for connecting the edited clips together into your own movie. And, as with most creative media, some people will achieve amazing results despite the tools at hand, but most people harboring ambitions of movie mogul-dom will probably want to look beyond the provided software.

Mac owners will need to check whether there’s an Apple-flavored version of the software included, but will at least have the option to fall back on the probably greater capabilities of iMovie. Most manufacturers appear to be assuming that Linux users will enjoy the challenge of finding their own solutions.

What’s out there?

Just as happened with MP3 players, the big electronics players are arriving to challenge the first movers. As a result, there are an increasing number of models from well-respected brands to compete with the third-generation devices from companies like Cisco (Flip) and Creative. Full HD is the current trend, with most of the latest devices offering 1080p in addition to the near universal 720p standard. Panasonic’s latest model also offers 540p, a quarter-sized version of 1080p called iFrame designed to offer smaller files for faster editing and uploading.

Because of their ease-of-use/ease-of-sharing ethos, the other near-universal feature of pocket camcorders is the storage of their data in widely-used, easily handled file formats. All the devices from major makers use H.264 compression and AAC audio compression (both of which are part of the MPEG-4 standard) with everything bundled up in either an MP4 or MOV wrapper. The two wrappers are very closely related so they’re essentially equally easy to use. There’s fractionally more widespread support for the MP4 format in terms of editing software but not to the degree that it’s a reason to choose one over the the other (unless you’re set on using a specific piece of software).

In addition to true pocket camcorders a number of companies make small camcorders with optical zooms rather than the fixed lens units featured here (including Sony under the same Bloggie branding it uses for its pocket camcorder), however the increased size and complexity of these models is enough for them to really count as a separate class of devices.

What are the key specifications to look for?

Given that all the cameras use the same compression method, there are three major specifications that can affect video quality – bitrate (how heavily compressed the data is), aperture and sensor size. Just as with cameras, the bare specifications don’t tell the whole story, but you can get some idea of how the performance will compare by looking at these three figures. They’re not always quoted by manufacturers, which doesn’t help either.

Bitrate is the amount of data used to record each second of video and is usually specified in megabits per second (mbps) – the higher the bitrate, the more detailed your videos are likely to look. Note that this is thousands of bits, not bytes (one bit is one eighth of a byte), so don’t worry too much the rate you’ll fill the memory. Also, most of these camera employ variable bitrate encoding – the complexity and level of difference between frames will dictate the actual bitrate.

However, bitrate isn’t just dependent on the degree of compression – it’s also dependent on how much data is being compressed. As a result, you need a higher bitrate to give 1080 video at the same quality as a piece of 720p video and higher again for 60fps video rather than 30fps. Even so, knowing the nominal bitrate will give an indication of the quality of the end result. However, the flip side of retaining lots of detail is that the files are larger, which will start to increase upload times.

Aperture and sensor size in this context relate to low-light capability, rather than depth-of-field control. A large aperture will let in more light and, as with stills cameras, the values are represented as F numbers (the ratio of focal length /diameter of aperture). As such a smaller F number represents a larger aperture and more light gathering capability. But it’s important to remember that F numbers are non-linear: F2 lets in twice as much light as F2.8.

Sensor sizes are named in the same slightly obscure manner as they are in compact digital cameras but again the key thing to remember is that, in general terms, for low light performance, bigger is better. This picture is muddied by the fact that some of these cameras use native HD sensors (each output pixel comes from one pixel on the sensor), while others capture more pixels and either combine the results from adjacent pixels (binning) on the sensor.

Sensor size (type) Diagonal Approx. dimensions Area
1/4.5″ 3.9 mm 2.4 x 3.1 mm 0.07 cm²
1/4.1″ 4.4 mm 2.6 x 3.5 mm 0.09 cm²
1/3.2″ 5.7 mm 3.4 x 4.5 mm 0.15 cm²
1/2.5″ 7.2 mm 4.3 x 5.7 mm 0.25 cm²
Even the largest sensors here are a fraction smaller than the 1/2.3″ sensors used in most compact stills cameras (which have an area of around 0.28cm²) meaning they can’t really compete as stills cameras. They also tend to lack any real control over stills shooting parameters. However, just like camera phones they have the great advantage that they’re convenient enough that you’re likely to have them with you when interesting things happen. And, of course, the easy connectivity provided for the easy sharing of video is just as useful for still images – so you can easily illustrate your latest social network update even if the result doesn’t then make it onto your Smugmug, Flickr or Zenfolio account.

Another key thing to consider, when trying to choose a pocket camcorder is the inclusion of image stabilization (IS). The construction of all these devices is so simple in order to keep costs down that none of them is able to offer any physical image stabilization (lens or sensor shift). Instead some models offer digital image stabilization. The versions we’ve examined haven’t been terribly effective (the footage remains very shaky) but are still better than nothing. Even with digital IS, you can expect all your video to have a distinctly cinéma vérité quality to it – the only way you’re going to get really steady footage is with a tripod, and that rather spoils the point of having a pocketable, carry anywhere camera.

The final key specification to consider when considering a pocket camcorder is the angle of view it offers. This is another specification that isn’t always quoted by manufacturers, which can make it a little bit difficult to compare models. However, where the figures are available, most of them stick to around 48-50mm, which would be considered ‘normal’ on a stills camera. However, we’re not looking at stills here, and in movie shooting these focal lengths end up feeling moderately wide-angled, giving a useful degree of flexibility. Anything much longer than 50mm risks being a little limiting in terms of capturing scenery or groups of people.

Most models offer some degree of digital zoom but, as on stills cameras, the effect on image quality can easily outweigh the benefits of the apparent extra reach it offers. (We were pretty unimpressed with the results when trying to zoom the highest resolution videos). However, most of the full HD cameras can also shoot in 720p, which leaves them with enough pixels on their sensor to allow some digital zoom without dropping below the point at which each output pixel corresponds to one sensor pixel. Once you drop below this level the camera has to try to calculate data for more output pixels than it’s actually capturing data. This process, called interpolation, can produce some fairly low-definition results, so don’t assume that high digital zoom numbers are always a bonus.

What other features should I consider?

Connectivity is a key consideration – it’s all very well being able to connect the USB plug straight into any computer you encounter but the ability to play back your output can be equally valuable. If you own an HD TV or HDMI-compatible monitor, you’re likely to appreciate an HDMI output socket, which many of the devices feature. However, if you value the ability to re-show your videos in situations where you can’t depend on such modernity, a conventional standard definition AV connector may be of use. These are understandably less common on these HD camcorders, since the playback will either be cropped or shown in a letterbox format of an already low resolution screen (hardly a great use of an HD recorder)

Another consideration is battery type. Some of the camcorders on the market have built-in, non-changeable rechargeable batteries, others have removable lithium ion batteries while at least one comes with a rechargeable battery that can be swapped for standard AA cells. In theory having replaceable batteries means that you can have a fully-charged spare battery ready if the one in the camera runs out. However, because most of these devices act as chargers, you can’t use the camera while you’re trying to charge your spare battery. Genuine own-brand batteries can also be fairly expensive, again detracting from the appealingly low cost of the camcorder itself. Some people will appreciate the ability to just grab some AAs if they’ve forgotten or exhausted the supplied battery pack. There’s a size and weight penalty for that convenience, though.

Beyond this, there are some specialist features that only appear on one or two models. If you have specific requirements these might dictate your purchase, but overall they are unlikely to be crucial for most people. LED lighting for instance is can be useful for low-light work so is worth considering if that’s going to be the main focus of your shooting. However, just like the flash units on compact cameras, the range is severely limited so it’s more likely to be an occasionally useful feature than an indispensable one.

There are also at least two models offering lenses that can rotate back so that you can video yourself while still being able to operate the camera, which again is likely to be of niche appeal. Finally, there are waterproof models and ones with optional underwater cases. It’s unlikely that these little devices are suddenly going to come into their own below the waves but, if you are specifically after the ability to shoot under water (or even just at the beach) without the bulk of a conventional camcorder (plus housing), then this could be the decisive feature for you. And, even if you don’t fancy yourself as the next Jacques Cousteau, a waterproof or ruggedised model can be used in more challenging situations or simply without the same degree of care and attention (perfect if you have a child who’s decided to be your director of photography).

It won’t replace your camera but…

With their small sensors, fixed lenses and currently limited resolutions (5-8MP is the best you can hope for from the current crop) these pocket camcorders are unlikely to displace your favorite compact camera, particularly if you have any real enthusiasm for stills photography. However they are less expensive than most good compact cameras, making them particularly attractive to younger buyers and encouraging worry-free use in social situations.

Whether you’re a member of the core social networking market looking to shoot and share, or simply someone hoping to dabble in HD video, their combination of pocketability, low cost and, above all, ease of use makes them a fun, accessible way to start documenting the world around you.

The iPhone 4 is also a great compact camcorder, ready the post about that here

From the Manufacturer

Canon’s new EOS Rebel T1i is packed with features, both refined and new. In addition to its admirable performance with an all-new 15.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD with anti-reflective and scratch resistant coating, and compatibility with the EOS System of lenses and Speedlites, the EOS Rebel T1i adds remarkable Full HD video capture at resolutions up to 1920 x 1080. An HDMI port allows for quick connecti (more…)

From the Manufacturer

Breathtaking digital SLR image quality and easy operation highlight the 10.2-megapixel D3000–Nikon’s friendliest DSLR ever. Compact and capable, the D3000 is compatible with a broad range of world-famous Nikkor lenses and includes the versatile 3x, 18-55mm Zoom-Nikkor with Silent-Wave Motor autofocusing and Nikon VR image stabilization to combat picture blur caused by camera shake for sharper handheld pictures. Special moments are captured faithfully at up (more…)

Available as a body-only, the camera will also be offered in a kit with Canon’s EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens per a Canon U.S.A. press release. Canon includes an eyecup, neck strap, stereo AV and USB interface cables, a battery pack and charger, CD-ROM software and printed instruction manual with each camera.

That same press release calls the 7D “… the most functional and innovative DSLR Canon has released to-date.” Sounds good on paper – let’s see how it does in the field.

BUILD AND DESIGN

The 7D features a magnesium alloy body with dust and moisture resistance, as well as a shutter tested to 150,000 actuations. Build quality of even entry level DSLRs has always been good in the units from various manufacturers I’ve tested, and the 7D looks to be well constructed and robust. The materials, particularly the rubber-like patches applied to gripping surfaces seem to be a cut above the entry level units, as befits a body carrying a $1700 price tag.

While the camera will be largely familiar to Canon DSLR users, there are some differences in control placement from other current models in the Canon lineup. I suspect folks moving into a 7D from another Canon body will be coming mostly from the 50D/40D/entry level user’s group, rather than the 5D/5DII or 1D crowd, so we’ll discuss the differences relative to the 50D in the next section.

Ergonomics and Controls

The 7D has a deeply sculpted handgrip and prominent thumb rest on the right front and rear of the camera body, respectively. There is ample room for finger clearance from the lens mount/lens barrel in the front, and the shooting finger falls naturally across the shutter button. The thumb rest at the rear supports the thumb nicely as well. While I don’t shoot Canon DSLRs, I have held and played with most of the current lineup in camera stores – not the most intensive study to be sure – and I like the feel of the 7D in my hand the best. This a purely subjective judgment and might well be influenced by having the 7D to use for about a month, but the other Canon bodies just didn’t feel quite as good.

Camera back control layout differs from the 50D in both number of controls and location in some cases. The AF-ON, AE Lock and AF point selection/magnify buttons occupy similar locations on both cameras, as do the quick control dial and multi-controller. The 7D adds a live view shooting/movie shooting switch and start/stop button above the multi controller, and moves the erase, playback, info, and picture style selection buttons from the horizontal configuration below the monitor to a vertical alignment below the menu button to the left of the monitor.

The 7D also adds a quick control button (the first EOS to do so) above the menu button and morphs the live view shooting/print share button into a RAW-JPEG/direct print button. Pushing this button brings up a screen allowing access to a number of camera shooting settings without having to resort to internal menus.

The RAW/JPEG button provides a quick transition to the simultaneous RAW/ JPEG shooting mode from whatever image quality setting was previously selected: it will capture a RAW file in addition to a JPEG setting or a large JPEG file in addition to a RAW setting.

The function button of the 50D is gone from the 7D, and the power switch moves from adjacent to the quick control dial to beneath the mode dial on the top left of the body – making turning the camera on a two-handed proposition. The former power switch of the 50D becomes a quick control dial lock on the 7D.

The 7D also adds a multi-function button near the main dial on upper right of the camera body; the rest of the control buttons atop the body remain largely unchanged as to location.

Menus and Modes

Canon must be trying to cast a wide net in attracting potential customers to the 7D – in addition to the usual DSLR manual and semi-automatic shooting modes, the 7D tosses in a couple of fully automatic modes that offer few user inputs – the kind of modes typically found on point and shoots and entry level DSLRs.

* Full Auto: the camera handles pretty much everything, the user can select image quality and single shots or self-timer.
* Creative Auto: the camera handles pretty much everything, but the user has expanded input options including image quality, single or continuous low speed shooting, self timer, some color options, exposure compensation and blurred or sharper background.

* Program Auto: camera sets aperture and shutter speed and user has wide variety of inputs.

* Aperture Priority: user sets aperture, camera sets shutter and user has wide variety of inputs.

* Shutter Priority: user sets shutter speed, camera sets aperture and user has wide variety of inputs.

* Manual: user sets aperture and shutter speed, has wide variety of inputs.

* Bulb: shutter stays open while shutter button is held down, user has wide variety of inputs.

* Camera User Settings: three custom modes that allow the user to register preferred camera settings and functions for quick recall.

* Movie: can capture 1920×1080p at 30, 25 or 24 fps; 1280×720p at 60 or 50 fps and 640×480p at 60 or 50 fps.

Display/Viewfinder

The 3.0 inch LCD monitor is of approximately 920,000 dot composition and adjustable for seven levels of brightness. The monitor is usable for image composition and capture in all but the harshest conditions of bright outdoor light, though there are times when it becomes inadequate for the task; coverage is 100%.

The eye-level pentaprism viewfinder features a diopter adjustment to accommodate varying degrees of eyesight and offers 100% coverage.

The electronic level (pitch and roll) can be displayed on the LCD monitor or in the viewfinder. Here’s the level on the monitor – you can display it with the camera set for normal shooting (Level photo) and also with the camera set to shoot in Live View (Level 2 photo) – in the viewfinder focus points illuminated in red indicate the camera attitude.

PERFORMANCE

Aside from smoothing the pixel gap in the Canon sensor lineup, the 7D gives Canon a good performing camera at a price range that just happens to also fit into a gulf between the $1100 MSRP of the 50D and the $2700 ticket to ride with a 5DII. Price or pixels – take your pick and
Canon has you covered either way.

Shooting Performance

The 7D, like any higher performance DSLR, starts and shoots virtually instantly. Sensor cleaning when the 7D power switch is set to ON or OFF is the default, and on startup takes a little over 3 seconds. You can abort the sensor cleaning by going to a half push on the shutter button to begin shooting immediately, or the cleaning can be disabled via internal menu.

Shutter lag is basically non-existent and AF acquisition time is excellent as well, with the figures coming in at 0.02 and 0.17 seconds, respectively. Single shot-to shot times (shoot, write, reacquire focus and shoot) are practically as fast as you can get off the first shot, lift off the shutter and take the next shot – something in the order of 0.8 seconds.

Using a 600X SanDisk Extreme Pro UDMA 6 card, the camera also captured 16 to 20 files before stopping, but write times with the 600X card were significantly better – about 6.5 seconds to clear the buffer versus 11 seconds with the 300X.

Our studio tests got 160 JPEGS, only about 140 more than the longest sequence I’ve ever shot in the field. Here are four shots from a sequence at 8fps – the advantage of the higher speeds is you get the “in between” shots the 4 and 5 fps cameras miss. If you compare the first and third shots and particularly the second and fourth, you can get an idea of how much can be missed shooting at the lower rates.

The EOS 7D carries a new Canon AF system consisting of 19 cross-point sensors (cross-point sensors can establish focus in both horizontal and vertical planes). There are 5 AF area selection modes: single point (manually selected); zone AF (the 19 points can divided into 5 separate zones covering various portions of the field of view); auto select 19 point AF (used in the fully auto and creative auto shooting modes); spot AF (same as point AF but the AF point covers a smaller area than in point AF) and AF point expansion (manual selection of the active point and adjacent points are then also used to aid with focus).

Any of the modes worked well with static subjects, although users should keep in mind when using the auto select or zone methods that all AF points in the selected zone are used to acquire focus and will tend to focus on the nearest subject. For moving subjects I found that AF point expansion worked best – but only after some trial and error. In addition to simply selecting the AF point expansion mode, I ultimately ended up adjusting the AI Servo tracking sensitivity to slow in order to get the best results.

The higher performance DSLRs have a myriad of settings in various menus that impact their performance, and fine tuning these combinations is the key to realizing the full potential of any camera. I shot over 2500 captures in preparing this review, many of them sequences testing the ability of the 7D to acquire and/or keep focus on moving subjects.

The 7D built-in flash has a guide number of 39 at ISO 100, which translates into a range of about 10 feet with the lens set at f/4. Recycle times in moderately lit conditions with a fully charged battery ran only a second or so – and Canon lists three seconds as the nominal recycle rate. When shooting in aperture priority, the flash can be set to fire and illuminate a subject in the foreground while the camera holds the shutter open an extended period to use natural light to expose the background. In this example, the owl in the foreground is lit by the flash while the castle is exposed for the ambient light.

The 7D flash can also act as the master unit with Canon Speedlite flashes with wireless slave capability and remotely trigger these other flashes to fire.

Canon rates the 7D battery for about 800 shots with no live view shooting and 50% flash usage; that figure drops to about 220 shots using live view and 50% flash. Continuous live view shooting lasts about 90 minutes.

Lens Performance

Canon provided an EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens for this review, and also an EF 200mm f2 L IS USM to help us better explore the 7D’s potential for sports and action shots with that 8 fps motor. Here’s what the wide and telephoto ends of the zoom look like, as well as the 200mm.

Because the 17-85 is not being offered as a kit lens with the 7D I’ll just briefly comment that it proved to be a nice walking around lens, not overly fast and exhibiting some barrel and pincushion distortion with straight lines in images. One advantage of the DSLR is that there are usually a large number of lenses available to mate with the body depending on your particular shooting need(s). The 7D accepts both EF and EF-S lenses, which total over sixty at last count.

Video Quality

Video quality out of the 7D at the 1920×1080p HD resolution is good – our demo videos were shot at the “cinema” speed of 24fps, but 30 and 25fps speeds are available as well. The 7D uses a CMOS sensor for video and still image capture, and that type sensor can be subject to “rolling shutter effect” which causes vertical stationary objects to appear to be bending as the camera pans across the scene. The 7D does exhibit this effect, which is slight at normal panning speeds but can be greatly exaggerated by panning quickly back and forth at, frankly, speeds that no reasonable person would ordinarily employ. Panning to follow a fast jet at an air show would be one example where the effect might be more objectionable without purposely trying to initiate the phenomenon.

Reduced resolutions of 1280×720p and 640×480p are also available at 50 and 60 fps rates. Regardless of resolution, video length is limited to 4GB or 29 minutes 59 seconds. AF is available at the start of recording, but continuous AF is not provided. Manual focus and zoom are available, and the 7D also allows for manual exposure in addition to automatic.

Video recording is a simple matter of setting the live view shooting/movie shooting switch to the red “movie” icon, acquiring focus automatically by means of a half push of the shutter or full push of the AF ON button (or focus manually) and pushing the start/stop button to initiate capture. A second push stops recording. As heavy as the 7D is with even the lightest of lenses, a tripod or some other form of camera support is a good idea for extended video shoots. Holding the 7D and lens with even partially extended arms in order to see the monitor will get tiring pretty quickly.

Image Quality
Shortly after the 7D reached market Canon issued a firmware update to correct a problem with ghost-like images in some 7D captures: “In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image.”

CONCLUSIONS

With the introduction of the 7D, Canon has fit a camera neatly into both the resolution and cost gaps that had formerly existed in their DSLR lineup. Now there’s a smooth progression of resolution from 10 megapixels to 21 at roughly 2 or 3 megapixel increments, and a $1700 camera to fill the gap between the $1100 50D and $2700 5DII.

The Canon EOS 7D is an interesting mix of features – on the one hand it brings a new level of performance to the Canon line with a new AF system, new viewfinder, new metering system, new sensor with dual Digic 4 processors and an 8 fps motor that screams “professional” (or at least loudly proclaims “advanced amateur”).

The autofocus is pretty good, image quality is very good, and ISO noise is good considering the resolution. The camera zings along at 8 fps when it needs to and will do that all day before the buffer fills if you’re shooting JPEGS. There’s true 1080p HD video if you’re into that sort of thing and the whole package is well built and designed to resist the elements.

Pros:

* Good image quality
* Great continuous shooting rate with JPEG files
* 8 fps high speed shooting rate
* HD video

Cons:

* Cost
* 72 dpi output of images

Buy it Here.