Nikon UK Press Release 13/10/03

D100 and Coolpix 5400 reduced in price

Nikon have just announced some good news for consumers - the D100 digital SLR and the Coolpix 5400 prosumer digital compact have both been reduced in price.

Recommended retail price for the D100 is now ?1499.99 down from ?1699.99 and the Coolpix 5400 price has been lowered by ?50 to ?599.99.

Website: Nikon.co.uk

The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have published the third part of their review of the Canon EOS 300D. e-FotoPortal is currently putting the 300D through its paces in a number of testing environments; this time they have tested the camera in a sudio environment.

Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D Studio Report

DPReview have published an interesting snippet of Olympus E-1 news in the form of a timeline for the release of new lenses for the E-1. According to Olympus Japan, there will be 5 new lenses in 2004 and 7 in 2005. DPReview has all the details…

Website: DPReview - Olympus E-1 Lens Timeline

ePhotoZine have just published what I think is the World’s first ever full review of a production version of the Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera (someone correct me if I’m wrong…).

“Bold claims have been made by Olympus about the capabilities of the E-1, so many people may be expecting something groundbreaking in terms of results. Instead the E-1 offers good all-round performance which may disappoint those people with high expectations. More rational people will no doubt be pleased by the good resolution, low-image noise, good dynamic range, RAW flexibility, comprehensive quality settings, excellent colour accuracy and the high quality of the Zuiko lenses. There are drawbacks though, the noise levels at the higher end of the range aren’t very competitive compared to other professional Digital SLRs, though they are generally more expensive.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Olympus E-1 Review

The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have published the second part of their extensive review of the Canon EOS 300D. e-FotoPortal is currently putting the 300D through its paces in a number of testing environments; this time they have tested the camera indoors in a nightclub!

Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D Nightclub Report

The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have tested the Canon EOS 300D in a number of different situations; studio, night, club scene, landscape etc. The first part of the review, focusing on landscape photography, has just been published. There’s a great shot of a boulder in a stream using a long exposure that shows just what the 300D is capable of.

Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D Review

Meanwhile Imaging Resource have added the second part of their “Oly E-1 in action at the US Grand Prix” article, with another 20 sample images for you to look at. The third and final part should be following “soon”...

“We’ve finally managed to finish the second part of the article now though, and present another 20 photos taken at the F1 race in Indianapolis with an Olympus E-1 digital SLR. If you’ve not read the first part of the report, we’d suggest clicking here for some background and the first batch of photos before you continue any further.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Oly E-1 in action at the US Grand Prix

DPReview have added a new section to their Olympus E-1 preview, courtesy of Les Freed, the photographer who used the E-1 at the USA Formula One Grand Prix in Indianapolis last week. Called “A Day (or three) at the Races”, this is a professional photographer’s personal observations of the E-1:

“Although I had previously used an E1 for a week, the F1 race was the first extended, all-day shoot I’ve done with the camera. Unlike the paid pros working the race, my career wasn’t on the line. But I was there to put the E-1 to the test, so I treated the race weekend as I would any other assignment - which meant that I had to get some decent pictures.

I can’t think of a more demanding event to test a camera. During the three day event, our cameras were subjected to rain, dozens of lens changes, the occasional hard knock, and very heavy use. The weather ranged from clear and sunny to heavy rain - sometimes within minutes of each other. An Olympus technical representative was present to help with questions and offer suggestions, but we were otherwise free to shoot at our leisure. “

Website: DPReview - Olympus E-1 Update

Digital Outback Photo have added another new section to their Canon EOS 300D Experience Report. This time they look at selecting lenses to use with the 300D and some of the things that you should consider.

“What about fixed primes?
 
Fixed primes always get you the best quality for your money. But of course they are not as flexible as zooms. Also the old saying that you should move your body and not the range on your zoom is not always valid as there are situations where you have few choices to move your vantage point. Last not least switching lenses can introduce more dust to your sensor.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Selecting Lenses with the Digital Rebel

DCResource have completed their review of the Canon EOS 300D, adding test photos and a conclusion to their earlier first look at the camera. Like everyone else, they only have positive things to say about the 300D:

“Based on the pages of text above, you probably don’t need to hear my conclusion. But I’ll repeat it anyway: the Canon Digital Rebel is a breakthrough product, bringing the digital SLR to the masses. I must confess that my level interest in the Minolta A1 and Sony DSC-F828 dropped immediately after the announcement of the Rebel. Many will ask, “why spend $1199 on a fixed lens camera when I get get a D-SLR and choose from scores of lenses and accessories for $899?” That will be a tough decision for many people over the holiday shopping season!”

Website: DCResource - Canon EOS 300D Review

digitalkamera.de have posted a new article looking at the Olympus E-1 and the concept of the Four Thirds system. It’s a useful refresher if you haven’t already read this somewhere before (and you probably have…).

Website: digitalkamera.de - Olympus E-1 Article

Luminous Landscape owner Michael Reichmann has just published his review of the Canon EOS 300D digital SLR. Find out how the EOS 300D fared in the hands of an experienced professional landscape and wildlife photographer.

“Rather than provide a bells and whistles review, which sites like DPReview do with mind-numbing detail, it’s my intention here to see how well the Rebel accomplishes its goals, both from the consumer’s as well as Canon’s perspectives. Of course I will be comparing the Rebel to Canon’s 10D, which from an image quality perspective is almost identical, yet which costs nearly twice as much.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Canon EOS 300D Review

On Sunday DPReview posted a new gallery of sample images from the Olympus E-1, taken at the USA Formula One Grand Prix in Indianapolis. Now Imaging Resource have joined in by posting their own gallery of photos taken at the same event with the same camera.

“All of the following photos were taken with the E-1 camera body and either the 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens or the 300mm f2.8 Zuiko Digital Telephoto Lens last Friday. We also had access to the 50mm f2.0 Zuiko Digital Macro Lens and 1.4x Zuiko Digital TeleConverter Lens, and will be sharing photos taken using these items shortly.

We captured around 2000 images with the camera throughout the course of the weekend. Tomorrow, we will bring you a selection of the images taken during Saturday, and shortly thereafter we’ll have the photos from Sunday - the day of the race itself.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Olympus E-1 Samples

photoworkshop.com has launched the Canon Digital Learning Centre, which is “specially designed to help you maximise the potential of Canon’s new EOS Digital Rebel” Each month a new set of Lessons will be posted which aim to give you a better understanding of the camera and photography in general (found via A-Digital-Eye.com).

Here’s a typical excerpt from Lesson 5, Picturing People:

“Having a choice of many different shooting modes (the Digital Rebel offers 12) gives you maximum flexibility and lots of creativity when it comes to taking people pictures. The modes let you control many camera functions ? including the auto focus mode, frame advance, exposure, metering pattern and flash ? to create the kind of picture you see in your mind?s eye.”

Website: photoworkshop.com - Canon Digital Rebel Lessons

DPReview have posted a new gallery of sample images from the Olympus E-1, taken at this weekend’s USA Formula One Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

“We have just posted a gallery of Olympus E-1 images from the second qualifying session of this weekend’s USA Formula One Grand Prix in Indianapolis. These were taken by our good friend and dpreview.com contributor Les Freed. The camera Les used is the latest pre-production Olympus E-1 which appears to be delivering noticeably improved image quality, especially image sharpness.”

Website: DP Review - Olympus E-1 Formula One samples

DP-Now have started an interactive review of the Pentax *ist D digital SLR, which is now on sale in the UK.

“Today, to get the Pentax dp-now *ist D show on the road, here are is a collection of sample images and a brief comparison with Canon’s EOS-10D. Scroll down to see pictures of the *ist D and 10D side by side, high ISO comparisons between the two cameras and some general sample shots taken earlier today.”

Website: DPNow - Pentax *ist D Interactive Review

It seems that the Pentax *ist D has finally made it from the Pentax factory to the local high street, at least here in the United Kingdom anyway. CameraWorld and Park Cameras are both advertising body only and kit deals, and they even have the camera in stock!

Park Cameras - ?1199.99 body only or ?1329.99 with the 18-35mm lens
CameraWorld - ?1299.99 with the 18-35mm lens

Those prices make the Pentax *ist D slightly cheaper than the Canon EOS 10D, which retails for around ?1299.99 body only. It’s a much better price than the body-only RRP of ?1,400 that Pentax announced at the end of August.

DPReview have posted 25 sample images taken with the long-delayed Pentax *ist D digital SLR camera. Here’s what DPReview Editor Phil Askey has to say about the image quality from the *ist D:

“So far the *ist D is looking quite good, there are two sides to the *ist D’s image quality story. Firstly tonal balance and color response are both good, a natural color response and lifted shadow detail with highlight clipping at about the same point as most other digital SLR’s. Noise is also quite low, about the same as the Nikon D100 (which is what we’d expect as they both share the same sensor). The other side is that Pentax has clearly chosen a low sharpening approach, at 100% view most images have a soft look but do sharpen well and can be delivered sharper out of the camera by pushing up in-camera sharpening. Additionally available lenses do mean you’re more likely to be shooting ‘wide open’ and thus have less sharp images as a consequence. Overall the *ist D is looking ‘so far so good’.”

Website: DPReview - Pentax *ist D Samples

Digital Outback Photo have just added 2 new sections to their Canon EOS 300D Experience Report. “EOS 300D and B&W” and “Using the built-in Flash” are brief but useful additions.

“All regular readers know that we are not very experienced in using flash. But we like the little built-in flash of the 300D as it can help in many situations where we do not want to carry our full equipment.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Canon EOS 300D Experience Report

PhotographyBLOG reader Sean McCormick is one of the first people in the world to own a shiny new Canon EOS 300D, and to mark the occasion he has allowed me to publish his initial impressions…

“My 300D just arrived and I let the battery charge halfway before starting to play with it. Here are my first impressions in no particular order:

1. It feels “good” to hold. The grip is just the right size and I love that they thought out a place to put your thumb on the back. The camera itself feels very rugged, despite the carping I’ve read about the plastic body.

2. The controls are all very easy for me to access. I think I could get used to manipulating them without having to look at them, as I do with my DiMAGE 7. I was able to figure out 90% of them without having to refer to the manual, including the menu system.

3. The LCD display on this thing is top notch, and fairly visible in bright light.

4. The metering at default settings in this camera is *very good*. I played around with some high contrast situations and the camera’s chosen setting were practically identical to what I came up with taking an incident reading on my Sekonic L-508 exposure meter. The camera does tend to overexpose slightly and I’ll dial it down to compensate when using the built-in meter.

5. Picture quality at 800 ISO and 1600 ISO is bloody amazing, at least for those of us who have spent the last two years using a Minolta DiMAGE 7. The idea of a digital camera that turns out high quality images above 200 ISO just boggles my mind.

6. The autofocus on this thing is *fast*. Keep in mind that I’m used to a Minolta Maxxum 7000 and a Minolta DiMAGE 7. Those of you with Nikon F4s may hate it.

7. The diopter is useless for near sighted people. Guess I’m going to have to get contacts.

8. The basic kit includes the camera body, 18-55 mm lens, battery and charger, cheapie camera strap, manuals, video/USB cables, and software. The camera doesn’t come with a case, which is disappointing. The strap has already been thrown into my “cheap crap that I’ll never look at again” drawer.

That’s it so far. I’ll have some sample images up next week. So far I’m pretty blown away by the quality of camera and lens I’ve gotten for the money I paid.”