Canon UK are running a new promotion from 1st November 2004 and Monday 31st January 2005 which offers £100 cashback off the purchase of a Canon EOS 300D DSLR.

To qualify for your £100 Canon EOS 300D cashback don’t forget to:
- Purchase your EOS 300D between Monday 1st November 2004 and Monday 31st January 2005.
- Make sure you keep your receipt when you buy your EOS 300D.
- Download and print off the PDF form at the URL below, complete and return it to Canon.

Website: Canon UK - Canon EOS 300D Cashback Promotion

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon EOS 300D

DPReview are reporting that Konica Minolta will introduce the Konica Minolta 7D DSLR for sale on November 19th. Price is still uncomfirmed. On the same day 2 new lenses (17-35mm F2.8-F4 (D) and 28-75mm F2.8 (D)) and the DiMAGE A200 will also go on sale.

Website: DPReview - Konica Minolta 7D on sale Nov 19

Check the Latest Prices for the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D

The German website Digitalkamera.de have published their review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR.

Website: Digitalkamera.de - Canon EOS 20D Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon EOS 20D

digitalreview.ca have published a first look at the new Nikon D2X digital SLR.

“The auto image-rotation function made popular with the Nikon D70 automatically rotates images captured in portrait (tall) orientation so that they are displayed in the same portrait orientation in the rear LCD monitor during playback. Especially useful when the D2X is set to Slide Show mode and images are displayed on a monitor or conventional TV screen. Images captured in portrait (tall) orientation are also automatically rotated for correct display in PictureProject and Nikon Capture 4 software.”

Website: digitalreview.ca - Nikon D2X First Look

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon D2X

The Norwegian website Digit.no have published an extensive review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR.

Website: Digit.no - Canon EOS 20D Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon EOS 20D

Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann has published a preliminary hands-on review of the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR.

“I found that AS worked very well. After shooting many hundreds of frames, at least half of which were with the Minolta AF Apo Tele Zoom 100-400 f/4.5-6.7, I found that AS provided at least a couple of stops of additional hand-holdability. I have no rigorous comparisons to offer, only the judgment of my own eyes. But it seemed to me that Canon’s IS, with which I have greater familiarity, provides possibly a bit more stabilization, and also the versatility of being able to select unidirectional as well as multidirectional stabilization settings. Konica Minolta’s offset to this is that the Anti-Shake technology is in the body, and therefore works with almost all lenses (except those with focus limiters, if set), while Canon and Nikon’s solutions require that it be built into special lenses.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Hands-on Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Konica Minolta Dynax 7D

The Spansih website DeCamaras have published a review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR.

Website: DeCamaras - Canon EOS 20D Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon EOS 20D

The latest Sunday Morning Photographer column from Mike Johnston discusses the future of full-frame DSLRs:

“Nikon, meanwhile, with the introduction of its professional uber-kamera the D2x, has shown its firm allegiance to the APS-size sensor that gives a 1.5X effective crop. Its digital “format” is uniform, from the entry-level D70 to the D2’s (yes, there’s the choice of a further crop with the D2x, but that doesn’t count because the whole sensor is still 1.5X). Nikon has also quietly begun building up a collection of its DX lenses, made expressly for its digital format.

Not to beat around the bush: I firmly believe that what Nikon is doing will prove to be smarter in the long run.”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: Thoughts About “Full Frame”

Interestingly this week, Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann has issued a rebuttal to Mike’s column and given his own view!

“I’m no prophet. My crystal ball is fuzzy, and I rarely pick the right stocks. But it doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see that chip sizes and chip prices are headed in opposite directions ? the first one up, and the second one down. At some point the marginal cost differential between putting a full-frame chip in a 35mm format camera vs. putting in an APS-sized sensor will have diminished to the point that it won’t represent a significant manufacturing cost factor.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Some Further Thoughts on the Full Frame Issue

Which viewpoint do you agree with?

Popular Photography have published the first review that i have read of the long-delayed DSLR from Fuji, the FinePix S3 Pro.

“As we handled the camera, we noticed several ergonomic improvements, and found the S3 Pro to be a more compact, well-balanced body. In addition, rubberized surfaces surround the less obtrusive camera grip on the right side and in the back, making it much easier to hold safely with one hand. Fuji claims that the camera’s single-form (monocoque) polycarbonate body is more rugged than the S2 Pro body-and it appears to be a solid casing.”

Website: Popular Photography - Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro Review

Photo District News Online have posted a joint review of the 14 megapixel Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c and SLR/n digital SLR cameras.

“The interface isn’t perfect. I once found the camera to be in the process of deleting images during the middle of a shoot and had to pull the CompactFlash card to stop the destruction. Turns out that since I’m left-eye dominant, my nose had pressed the rear control dial in such a way as to perform a card-erase. Kodak showed me how to disable this feature, but it was a bit scary to watch as images disappeared because of something my nostrils had done.”

Website: Photo District News Online - Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c and SLR/n Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n

Check the Latest Prices for the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c

FujiFilm US have just announced the price of their long-delayed DSLR, the FinePix S3 Pro. The body-only minimum advertised price is $2,499, significantly more than either the Canon EOS 20D or Nikon D70, but significantly less than the higher-end DSLRs.

The Sensor Brush family of products from Canadian company Visible Dust seem to be getting a lot of media attention at the moment. Now it’s the turn of Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann to review this new product which cleans the sensor inside a digital SLR camera.

“But, what you do is spray compressed air (CO2) on one of the appropriately sized brushes called a Sensor Brush, for 10 seconds or so, and then wipe across the sensor with the brush. That’s it. If the crud is stubborn, then a second swipe can be done, after charging the brush again with compressed air (which makes it statically attractive). Blowing the brush bristles again after cleaning removes anything that’s been picked up.

The first time that I tried this was on my Canon 1Ds, which was pretty dirty at the time. Two passes, and it was clean. Not just somewhat clean. Not almost clean. But, totally clean! The first time that it has been so since the day that I took delivery of the camera over two years ago. I have subsequently cleaned other DSLRs sensors with equally impressive results.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Out - Damn Spot!

Website: Visible Dust

Nikon Press Release 19/10/04

Nikon introduces the Digiscoping System - Fieldscope Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L1, Fieldscope Digital Camera Bracket FSB-1, and Wide DS Fieldscope Eyepieces

Nikon Vision Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Nikon Corporation, is proud to announce the release of several new Nikon Fieldscope accessories - Fieldscope Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L1, Fieldscope Digital Camera Bracket FSB-1, and Wide DS Fieldscope Eyepieces.
With the spread of digital cameras in recent years, super-telephoto shooting using a combination of Nikon Fieldscope with digital camera has become increasingly popular among birdwatchers.

So popular, in fact, that it has led to many requests to Nikon for a Fieldscope accessory that enables shooting with digital SLR cameras. The newly released Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L1 is our response. By using it to attach a Nikon D70 or D100 digital SLR camera to your Fieldscope, you can perform super-telephoto shooting with a focal length of 1,500mm (35mm-format equivalent, with Fieldscope ED82 series).

Pentax have released a new firmware version for the *ist D DSLR, which includes the following changes:

Version 1.11 of the *istD firmware will fully prepare your camera for use with the Pentax Remote Assistant software (available as a separate download). The Remote Assistant software will allow you to control various *istD functions from your computer.

Website: Pentax *istD Firmware Update v1.11

DPNow have posted a great preview of the new Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR, using it at this weekend’s Rugby Super League Play Off Grand Final between the Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls.

“One thing I was definitely impressed by was the 7D’s continuous shooting capability. It can shoot three frames per second, which is not spectacular, but more importantly you can keep this up for nine frames in Extra Fine JPEG mode, 15 frames in Fine JPEG high resolution mode and up to 43 frames in low resolution. Overall shutter responsiveness was pretty good.”

Website: DPNow - Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Hands-on First Look

There have already been numerous articles about cleaning the sensor inside a digial SLR. Now Thom Hogan has chipped in with his own personal guide for cleaning Nikon cameras with two relatively new commercial products:

“While Nikon Capture now has the ability to use a “dust reference” shot to remove dust from NEFs, this doesn’t help you much with JPEG images. The Capture Dust Off correction is done similar to cloning (i.e. copying neighboring data) but automatically. One problem is that this can sometimes obscure fine detail (cloud threads). Nor does the Capture dust reference photo idea work well in the kinds of environments I shoot in, where the dust accumulation on my CCD changes daily (I’d have to take several reference photos a day and then carefully track them, adding yet more complexity to my already complex workflow). Finally, Nikon Capture has an upper limit to the number of dust bunnies it can “erase,” and I’ve encountered plenty of situations where I could exceed those limits.”

Website: Thom Hogan - Cleaning your Sensor

Steves Digicams have enthusiastically reviewed the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR.

“Canon’s engineers had a tall order when designing the replacement for the venerable 10D - improve on a camera about which we said in our April 2003 review, “If you’ve been waiting for a reasonably priced, high performance dSLR camera your wait is over, the Canon EOS 10D is here!” A year and a half later, those engineers can be satisfied with a job well-done, having developed the 20D with improvements on nearly every facet of its predecessor while retaining the same $1499 street price the 10D carried at the time of its introduction.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon EOS 20D Review

O’Reilley Digital Media have published an article by Randal L. Schwartz which gives his first impressions of the Canon EOS 20D DSLR.

“One of the most frequent things I find myself doing with a camera is capturing candid shots indoors. For these shots, having the ability to drop into ISO 1600 (or even ISO 3200) is definitely an advantage because I don’t have to flip on the flash to interrupt the experience. The 20D is amazing in this respect. I was constantly blown away at the cleanliness of the shots at high ISO figures, and also that the little noise that I saw almost never manifested itself as variations in brightness, just in color. For example, Figure 8 shows a dark interior of a pub lit only by a streetlight outside. I could not even see the wood grain of the floor with my eyes, and yet it’s plainly visible in the image.”

Website: O’Reilley Digital Media - The Canon 20D DSLR: First Impressions in the Field

Following yesterday’s preview preview of the new Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR, there’s even more new information about this exciting DSLR today in the form of the official Owners Manual, which has been made available for download by Konica Minolta.

Website: Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Owners Manual

And if that isn’t enough for you, Imaging Resource have published some sample images from a full production version of the camera!

Website: Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Production Photos

A member of the Photohobby.net forums has posted an extensive preview of a pre-production version of the new Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR:

“In conclusion, D7D give me a very positive feeling despite some bug in this pre-production unit. The handling is great, viewfinder is bright, AF is good, metering is accurate, LCD is big and very informative. I’m now looking forward to the newer pre-production at best the production unit itself for further testing. For now, be patient folks. All those who are waiting, including me, by November you all will be happy shooting with one of the best DSLR in the world.”

Thanks to Marko Praprotnik for letting me know!

Website: Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Preview