Canon EOS 50D

On 26 August 2008, Canon New Zealand has announced the brand new Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera locally. No surprises to hear, but still very exciting news. The EOS 50D is the replacement for EOS 40D that was announced August last year. EOS 50D is the model sitting between 450D and 5D. It’s not as expensive as 5D, but definitely has better performance than 450D. Why am I excited? Because this is the model that I’m going to upgrade to.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of the Canon EOS 50D and my comments:

• 15.1 Megapixel CMOS (APS-C sensor) – It’s the highest resolution APS-C size sensor DSLR on the market. Although I don’t really care about pixels now, still the higher the better
• DiG!C 4 Image Processor – Wow, it’s already 4th generation of the Canon’s DiG!C processor and 50D is the first model to use it. Why DiG!C4 is good? Because they always say the new version is faster processing, producing finer detail and natural colour reproduction. But who knows? It should be better though
• ISO speed 100 – 3200, expandable to 12800 – Do you hear it? Up to 12800! But don’t know how good the image quality is at this rate
• 6.3 frames per second with continuous shooting up to 60 shots in a single burst – I’m not a sports shooter, so don’t really care about shooting speed, but of course, the faster the better
• 3.0” Clear View VGA LCD with Live View Mode and Live Face Detection AF Mode – Most DSLRs now carry Live View and many compact digital cameras have Face Detection function, so no surprises here
• 9-point wide area AF
• HDMI output in full High-Definition for high quality viewing and playback on a High Definition TV
• Tough magnesium alloy body, with environmental protection
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System including the improved Self Cleaning Sensor Unit with a new fluorine coating
• New Creative Auto mode and Quick Control screen – What’s this? Well, it’s not something groundbreaking. Just for users don’t know technical terms such as aperture and exposure to adjust settings and shoot images as they visualise them. For example, you can adjust images to be a little brighter or make the background more blurry in Creative Auto mode, rather than by understanding how to change the exposure or aperture
• Automatic image correction technologies including:
• Auto Lighting Optimizer – analyzes brightness and contract automatically before making adjustments to achieve optimal images
• Auto correction of lens peripheral illumination – lens peripheral illumination fall-off is automatically corrected to suite each lens when shooting in JPEG mode
• Full compatibility with Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites
• Software – the EOS 50D should come with the following software package:
• Digital Photo Professional Software – provides processing of lossless RAW images
• EOS Utility – provides essential support for Live View remote shooting, camera configuration and image transfers
• Picture Style Editor – allows users to create individual Picture Styles that fit with their personal requirements

OK, are you ready to get one? I’m pretty much ready to sell my current camera and go to grab one when it hits retail stores late September in New Zealand. The price is still TBC at the time of writing, but I think it will be close to 40D’s price tag. It will be available in Body only, as an Enthusiast Kit with EF-S17-85mm lens, and as a Premium Kit with EF-S18-200mm Lens (this is the kit I’m going to grab!).

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Compact Camera

Canon PowerShot S3 IS was one of the most popular digital cameras. Now it has a new brother PowerShot S5 IS. Here are some top features:

• 8.0 Megapixels
  
• Canon 12x optical zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilizer (36 - 432 mm equiv)
  
• High speed, silent zooming operation with ultrasonic motor (USM) drive
  
• Super fast DiG!C III Imaging Processor with ISO 1600
  
• Canon Face Detect Technology with Auto Focus (AF), Auto Exposure (AE) and Flash Exposure (FE)
  
• 2.5" wide view vari-angle LCD screen
• Accessory shoe for Canon Speedlite EX series flashes

Powershot S5 IS vs. Powershot S3 IS - Key changes

• Higher resolution sensor (8MP vs 6MP)
  
• Digic III processor (S3 IS was Digic II)
  
• Larger, higher resolution LCD screen (2.5 inches vs 2.0 inches)
  
• Hot shoe flash connector
  
• Higher top ISO sensitivity (1600 vs 800)
  
• Increased movie clip limit (was 1.0 GB, now 4.0 GB)
  
• Couple of new features (including red-eye removal, face detection AF)
  
• Reduced continuous shooting (burst) speed
  
• Slightly heavier

The PowerShot S5 IS will definitely be another big seller in the market. Who'll buy it? People who want a more than point-and-shot camera, but don't want to spend that much on a dSLR.

Click the link to check out the latest price - Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Compact Camera.

Top Budget Digital Camera - Canon PowerShot A460

Looking for a budget digital camera? I'd recommend the Canon PowerShot A460 which was announced January this year. Let's have a quite look of its features:

• Max. megapixels: 5 megapixels
  
• Optical Zoom: 4X (38mm-152mm)
• Media slot: SD Card
• Price: US$130 (NZ$175)

It offers controls such as exposure compensation, and has a super macro mode, though it's limited to ISO 400. Basically, you can get everything you want for that price. Unfortunately, we don't have it yet in New Zealand. We currently only have the A450 here which uses 3.2x optical zoom instead of 5x. The price for A450 is NZ$245 (yes, we don't have a good price here).

Top Inkjet Multifunction Printers – Canon PIXMA MP960

Last time, we have introduced the Canon PIXMA MP600 All-in-One printer. Today, let’s have a look of the Canon PIXMA MP960. The MP960 is quite similar to the MP600, the main difference is the addition of film scanning capabilities. You can scan images up to 4800 x 4800 dpi.

The MP960 has all the functions of MP600 (refer to my last post about MP600). The other differences are the 7 individual ink system and the bigger 3.5-inch colour TFT screen.

Overall, if you’re a photographer who work with both film and digital cameras, the MP960 will be perfect for you. Otherwise, we may want to stay with MP600. But, the MP960 does look cooler than the MP600, doesn't it? Click the link for more information and pricing – Canon PIXMA MP960 All-in-One

Top Inkjet Multifunction Printer - Canon PIXMA MP600

The Canon PIXMA MP600 is a solid multifunction machine, which combines a printer, scanner and media card reader at a reasonable price. Although it doesn’t have a built-in fax and cannot scan film, it’s very easy-to-use and delivers high-quality prints and copies at fast speeds.

The MP600 has two paper trays. The cassette in the base is suited for plain paper, while the feeder at the rear is convenient for different sizes of photo paper. Each of them can hold up to 150 sheets. The built-in duplexer lets you print two-sided pages. The maximum resolution of printing is 9600 x 2400 dpi.

You can use the MP600 to scan images up to letter size at up to 2400 x 4800 dpi. But the scanner lacks an automatic document feeder for scanning several pages at once.

The new easy-scroll wheel works well with the 2.5-inch colour TFT screen for viewing images stored on your memory card and navigating the menus. Before printing an image, you can also edit your photos, such as red-eye removal and cropping.

The two media slots accept most memory cards. The IrDA port lets you beam photos from your camera photos and PDAs that have infrared transmitters. You can also use the optional BU-20 adaptor to print via Bluetooth. However, it doesn’t support printing from USB flash drives.

The MP600 uses 5 individual ink system which produces sharp text and precise image details. The print speed is also outstanding with 30 ppm black and 24 ppm colour. You can print a borderless 6” x 4” photo in around 28 seconds. In addition, it can print on CDs and DVDs (you’ll need the printable discs).

Overall, if you don’t need a fax, an automatic document feeder and film scanning, the Canon PIXMA MP600 will be a perfect machine for all your printing needs. Click the link for more information and pricing – Canon PIXMA MP600 Multifunction Printer

Top Advanced Digital Camera – Canon PowerShot S3 IS

If you’re looking for an advanced digital camera with big zoom and lots of manual controls, the Canon PowerShot S3 IS will be a very good option. It offers lots of features, including 12x optical zoom (36-432mm) with Optical Image Stabilizer, 6.0 megapixel CCD, a swivelling 2” LCD screen and fast maximum shutter speed (1/3200 sec). It also has plenty of control buttons for quick access to manual settings such as ISO, macro mode and manual focus.

The image stabilization is quite effective at countering minor camera shaking. The overall image quality is very impressive. The battery life is average. You can get approximately 331 shots on a single charge.

For more information and pricing, click the link – Canon PowerShot S3 IS Digital Camera