Professional wildlife photographer Moose Peterson has posted his review of the Nikon D2H DSLR (found via digicamera.net)

“To save many of the web readers about to delve into my brief review of the D2H, let me save you a little time. I’ve only got positive things to say about it. You don’t have to read any further, you can go to some forum and say you read that Moose Peterson couldn’t find fault with the D2H. Now for all the others, photographers who know photography and understand what tools are all about and are into making images, read on.”

Website: Moose Peterson - Nikon D2H Review

Rob Galbraith has published a First Look report at the image quality from a production version of the Nikon D2H digital SLR. There are a number of full resolution images for you to look at, as well as Rob’s professional opinion to read.

“A lot of noise has been made about the noise from the D2H. Much of the hand-wringing has been prompted by the posting of camera store and trade show happy snaps, which have really demonstrated only that the D2H will faithfully record certain scenes in all their poorly-shot glory. Add that to what’s discussed in the point a few paragraphs ahead, and what we’ve seen in photos captured in venues with which we’re familiar, and we’re left thinking that D2H noise is a wash. While ISO 200 photos look pretty clean, thanks to Nikon’s ballyhooed new noise suppression technologies, higher ISO photos shot in available darkness can get noisy. Which makes it not unlike the D1H, the camera it replaces, and the Canon EOS-1D, its most direct competitor.”

Website: Rob Galbraith - Nikon D2H Image Quality

digitalkamera.de have published their review of the ever-popular Canon EOS 300D digital SLR camera.

Here’s my favourite quote from the very hit and miss Google translation:

“And also in the few shops, which have the EOS 300D available, the camera leaves like warm rolls. Whether such a tumult is justified, we want to go in this digitalkamera.de empiric report on the reason.”

I can just imagine a happy new 300d owner, carrying his camera out of the shop like a warm roll! :-)

Website: digitalkamera.de - Canon EOS 300D Review

Michael Reichmann from from the popular digital photography website Luminous Landscape has published his review of the Olympus E-1 DSLR.

“The camera can be set so that a post-exposure image review is available. But, as with the Pentax *ist D that I reviewed last week, there is no post exposure histogram available. What is it with camera makers? Don’t they get it? The in-camera histogram is the most important exposure tool since the TTL meter was introduced in the 1960’s. Setting exposure properly for digital makes a huge difference in image quality, yet by leaving it out Olympus (and others) are denying photographers a critical tool.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Olympus E-1 Review

The Slovenian website e-fotografija have published an article about the new Olympus E-1 DSLR. They seem to have tested the E-1 to the full, judging by all of the photographs of the camera sprayed with water! There are also some sample images taken with the FL-50 flash unit to look at.

Website: e-fotografija - Olympus E-1 Article

The weekly UK magazine Amateur Photographer have given the Olympus E-1 DSLR a glowing review in this week’s issue (8 November 2003), awarding it 95%. Specification was awarded 28/30, Build 20/20, Handling 19/20 and Performance 28/30. Considering that the same magazine rated the Canon EOS 300D at 85% last week, that is very good news for Olympus and the E-1. Here’s a short extract from the conclusion:

“Considering that Olympus has not had a new SLR for nearly a decade, and the E-1 is its first digital SLR, the company has hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head first time. This is a fantastic camera in terms of performance and we are seeing digital imaging yet another step closer to offering us the Holy Grail of “film quality”. Indeed, in some respects the E-1 already surpasses it.”

High praise indeed! Amateur Photographer is available from your local newsagents for ?1.95.

Website: Amateur Photographer

Luminous Landscape owner and editor Michael Reichmann has just published his review of the Pentax *ist D digital SLR, which is now on sale in the UK. What does this professional photographer think of the *ist D? Not a lot I’m afraid…

“Let’s do the conclusion first this time. The Pentax *ist D, Pentax’s new 6MP digital SLR, is an adequate offering ? producing image quality competitive with similarly priced and featured cameras from Nikon, Fuji and Canon.

Is it better in any way? No.

Is it more expensive than the others? Yes. It costs more than the Canon 10D or the Nikon D100, but “no” it’s priced less than the Fuji S2 or Olympus E-1. In other words, it runs in the middle of the pack.

If that was all there was to the story it would be simple to tell. But regrettably the *ist D disappoints in a number of areas, and though I have been a fan of Pentax cameras for at least 40 years this model fails to live up to expectations.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Pentax *ist D Review

DPReview have tested the resolution of the Sigma SD10 after rumours that this new DSLR didn’t have the same resolving power as it’s older brother, the SD9.

“We’ve just received our review Sigma SD10 (after a little mix-up with the courier) and I’m happy to report that resolution is identical to the SD9. I decided to test this immediately after we read reports elsewhere that resolution was significantly lower because of the use of microlenses. In our own shots of a standard ISO resolution chart we can measure absolutely no difference in resolution between the SD9 and SD10 using the same lens at (almost) the same aperture.”

Website: DPReview - Sigma SD10 Resolution Test

DCViews have posted their review of the Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel, with a lot of sample photos to look at.

“Canon have done it again. After releasing the first of many IXUS/ELPH models a few years ago and improving them with each succeeding model, they then produced the EOS D30. A groundbreaking digital SLR, which was followed shortly after by the D60 and 10D, two digital SLRs that really showed the world what Canon was capable of. Now they have again astonished everyone, including the competition, by releasing a truly affordable consumer digital SLR camera. First impressions may deceive but if the camera’s good looks and advanced specifications are anything to go by, we are sure the 300D will be a winner from the start.”

Website: DCViews - Canon EOS 300D Review

Imaging Resource has added a Gallery of photos to their review of the very recently announced Sigma SD10 Digital SLR. Both the original RAW file and the adjusted version are included, along with the settings for each one.

“We’ve now updated our review of the SD10 with some of my better gallery photos (apologies if the subjects I chose aren’t the most interesting, but I was pressed for time and am not very familiar with the Atlanta area…) All in all, I felt the SD10 performed rather nicely, with the exception of a somewhat erratic auto white balance and an occasionally quirky autofocus - the software in particular is very nicely refined!”

Website: Imaging Resource - Sigma SD10 Gallery

CNET have just published their review of the Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel.

“It’s tempting to think of Canon’s EOS Digital Rebel (known outside the United States as the 300D) as a light version of the EOS 10D. But luckily for consumers, the Rebel is more of a middleweight champion, delivering slightly scaled-back performance but similar high-quality, 6.3-megapixel images and most of the 10D’s capabilities. And like its pricier brother, the Rebel combines automatic functions—which enable almost anyone to use it right out of the box—with most of the shooting features serious amateurs want. But the Rebel does it all at the lowest price we’ve yet seen for an interchangeable-lens dSLR.”

Website: CNET - Canon EOS 300D Review

Literally 10 minutes ago DPReview published their extensive review of the Pentax *ist D, which is on sale in you local shop now. Can the new *ist D compete with the more well-established DSLRs like the Canon EOS 10D, Fuji S2 and Nikon D100? Is it worth paying more or should you buy the Canon EOS 300D? Find out in DPReview’s review…

“Overall I was very pleased with the *ist D’s image quality. The *ist D’s images have a very film-like appearance with both a neutral color and tonal balance. Colors are excellent, very faithful to the original scene and never look over-saturated, tonal balance is also good, images straight out of the camera are generally punchy enough to be published immediately.”

Website: DPReview - Pentax *ist D Review

A thread from Barrie Harwood over on the ePhotoZine forums is indicating that Canon have dropped the price of the Canon EOS 1D DSLR by a massive ?1,300, which is approximately a third off the previous list price. Furthermore, if you buy an “L” series lens at the same time as buying the body, Canon will give you ?300 cashback. I’m guessing that such a generous offer must mean that the 1D’s successor is in the pipeline…

Website: ePhotoZine Forums

Popular Photography have published their 5-page review of the Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera.

“As for image quality, there?s very good news and a tiny bit of bad news. The good news is that the camera captures images with extremely high color accuracy and resolution. And, as promised, images shot at wide angle, using the 14?54mm Zuiko lens at a wide-open aperture, f/2.8, showed no measurable resolution falloff in the corners. Impressive! Contrast was also normal and adjustable, and JPEG artifacts were minimal at the highest-quality settings.”

Website: Popular Photography - Olympus E-1 Review

Well-known UK UK wildlife photographer Andy Rouse has has just published his review and 10-day field test of the Canon EOS 300D. Andy subjected the 300D to tests that are usually handled by the likes of the much more expensive 1D and 1DS, so this will be one of the more unusual reviews of the 300D that you’ll ever read.

“Speaking as a photographer I actually like these enhancements and they make shooting a whole lot easier with the 300D than the 10D. Having the settings information just below the viewfinder means I can quickly glance at it without having to shift the camera away from my eye. It?s a shame that the compass point buttons are only used for controlling the menu functions and setting the ISO / White Balance, as they would have been superb for controlling the autofocus points.”

Website: Andy Rouse - Canon EOS 300D Review

Canon have released a new version of firmware for the Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel DSLR.

Firmware Version 1.1.1 resolves the following issues:

- It increases the reliability of RemoteCapture application when the camera is used. The reliability of RemoteCapture, with which you can control the camera from your computer and take single-frame shots, timer shots and interval timer shots and save the images on your computer automatically, is increased.
- It increases the reliability of operations when used on Windows XP and Mac OS X with [PTP]* selected in [Communication]. It increases the operations with the camera when connected and disconnected with your computer in saving and deleting the images. You may now make a continuous printing of up to 100 images at one time.

This firmware Version 1.1.1 can only be installed on cameras with Version 1.0.2 firmware. If the camera already has the firmware Version 1.1.1 installed, you do not need to update it.

Website: Canon Firmware

The release of the new professional D2H DSLR from Nikon has been delayed until late November, accroding to a statement on the Japanese version of the Nikon Imaging website. No official reason has been given for the 1-month delay, although Rob Galbraith’s website is reporting that it is because of the high volume of pre-orders for the camera.

Website: Nikon Imaging Japan

Website: Rob Galbraith - Nikon D2H Delay

As part of their interactive preview of the new Olympus E-1 DSLR, DP-Now have posted a comparison of the E-1 with an older Olympus digital camera, the E-10.

“Here is a set of pictures showing, in this case an Olympus E-10, side by side with an E-1 fitted with the ‘standard’ Zuiko Digital 14-54 lens. An E-20 is externally identical apart from gold lettering instead of white.

You don’t get any prizes for noticing that the older E-10/20 body design has been used as the base for the E-1.”

Website: DP-Now - Olympus E-1 vs Olympus E-10 Comparison

Steve’s Digicams posted no less than 5 new reviews on Friday and Saturday of last week, so rather than post separate entries, here’s a round-up of the reviews.

Pentax *ist D

“The PENTAX *ist D digital SLR camera combines a high-performance, APS-sized 6.1 effective megapixel CCD image sensor, Pentax K lens mount, pentaprism viewfinder, and a 1.8 inch LCD monitor in one of the world’s smallest and lightest camera bodies in the digital SLR category. The *ist D measures a very compact 5 x 3.7 x 2.3 inches and weighs just 18 ounces without batteries.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Pentax *ist D Review

Pentax Optio S4

“The Pentax Optio S4 is the same height and width of a credit card yet is packed with features that you wouldn’t expect to find in such a small camera like a 4-megapixel imager, 3x optical zoom lens, 11MB of built-in memory, 3D Imaging, Panorama Assist and Digital Filtering for color and image effects.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Pentax Optio S4 Review

Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH SD10

“Stretching the limits of style, size, and resolution, Canon have produced (at least for the moment) the worlds smallest 4-megapixel digicam, the PowerShot SD10 Digital ELPH. This tiny, unintimidating (dare I say cute?) point-n-shoot will please beginners with its ease of use in automatic exposure mode, yet it offers a limited range of adjustments in Manual mode that will help the intermediate user deal with less common shooting conditions.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH SD10 Review

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92

“The DSC-P92’s images are excellent. The P92 is accurate even in low light conditions. The overall image quality, sharpness and color balance is on the same level as much more expensive cameras with the same image resolution capabilities.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92 Review

Canon i860 Photo Printer

“The Canon i860 is an incredibly fast printer and is the perfect replacement for both an all-purpose text and graphic printer and a photo printer. Most people don’t print enough photos to justify a dedicated photo printer and with today’s inkjets like the Canon i860, i960 and i9100 you no longer need a dedicated photo printer. These printers are up for both of these tasks and do them extremely well.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Canon i860 Photo Printer Review

Olympus UK Press Release 13/10/03

The first Olympus E-1 digital SLR in Europe goes to David Bailey

The Olympus E-1 digital SLR system hits the UK market this month and first on the list of expectant customers was none other than David Bailey. The world-famous photographer was presented with an Olympus E-1 by Graeme Chapman, President of Imaging Systems, Olympus Europa.

David Bailey, who has been an Olympus user for more than 20 years, was delighted with the new camera; “I am thrilled to be the first to get my hands on the camera. As a professional photographer the technology meets my needs for the highest quality and flexibility; this new system demonstrates huge advances in photography”.

Graeme Chapman comments, “We are delighted to present David with an E-1 and very much look forward to seeing the results. Our relationship with David extends back many years; his enthusiasm towards the camera is a fantastic endorsement as we enter the Digital SLR arena”.

Olympus has stuck to its promise to deliver the first Four Thirds product by the Autumn of this year, following its launch only 12 months ago at Photokina in September 2002. However, this is just the start; many more products are already in development, to be expected in 2004.

Website: Olympus UK