End User

Introducing the Panasonic TA-1

Technology innovator Panasonic enters the Shoot-and-Share Video segment with their newest camcorder, the TA-1. Shoot-and-Share camcorders are compact, easy-to-use devices that allow for quick video capture and upload to online sharing sites like YouTube and Facebook. Panasonic enters this space with a slick new camcorder that offers new features and capabilities unseen in competitors.

The Panasonic TA-1 is the first shoot and share camcorder to utilize Apple's iFrame video format to allow for compact recording of high quality video. The TA-1 features an LED illuminator to help out in low light situations because often image quality suffers because your subjects are only partially visible.  Another image capture benefit is resolution, the TA-1 records in full 1080P HD video and can also snap 8 MP still images.

Along with great capture technology, the TA-1 also allows for enhanced capabilities for users. The TA-1 has the essential of other shoot-and-share camcorders, like easy connectivity and video upload, but it also has the additional functionality to work as a webcam and microphone. You can use the TA-1 directly with Skype for face to face communication with friends and family anywhere with a data connection.

Panasonic's TA-1 combines a legacy of imaging expertise in a compact device you can take with you easily.

--Brandon M. Baker

Shoot And Show

Flip Video is at it again.  Their new SlideHD delivers awesome new capabilities for shoot and share shoppers.

One of the most noticeable features is the 3-inch touchscreen back.  The traditional big red button and other control buttons of a Flip are still there when you record. But now, when you want to replay footage you need only slide up the screen, scroll through video thumbnails on the camcorder’s slide strip and touch the screen to play footage. Along with better viewing, the new SlideHD allows for better listening. The camcorder features stereo speakers and a headphone jack for private viewing in noisy settings.

Like the UltraHD and 2nd gen MinoHD Flip camcorders, the SlideHD allows for direct connectivity to your HDTV via a mini-HDMI port. With the SlideHD you are able to record more than ever before, it can capture up to four hours of HD footage.

All Flip camcorders come equipped with FlipShare software to install on your home computer for sharing to Facebook or other sites, capturing still images and more. Specifically with the SlideHD, FlipShare software can save footage to Flip’s Space Saver format, allowing you to store up to 12 hours of video. This means you can share more Flip video footage than ever before with family and friends in a sleek compact device.

The new SlideHD is a cool new addition to Flip’s family of products. Letting you shoot and show your favorite memories for all to see.

--Brandon M. Baker

Review: Nikon 24mm f/1.4

I have been on Nikon's case to release fast, wide primes since about 30 seconds after they discontinued the 28mm f/1.4, sending the price of existing copies into the stratosphere. It has been the biggest gaping hole in Nikon's lens line-up, and as zooms got better and better, and each new camera pushed the ISO boundaries -- 6400, then 25,600, now the D3s's 102,400 -- I worried Nikon might think professional fast primes were a thing of the past.

Thankfully not. With the new 24mm f/1.4, Nikon shooters have the option for extreme low-light shooting or depth-of-field separation at wide angles, but it comes at a steep price -- 2,199.95, almost enough to buy five Sigma 24mm f/1.8's. So the question is, is it good enough to be worth it?

Let's face it, for most people the answer is going to be no. Most people are never going to buy a two thousand dollar lens, and if they do, they might pick more of a general-use workhorse like a 70-200 VRII or the (bit cheaper) 24-70 f/2.8. The price and specialized nature puts it squarely in the market of rich amateurs, primes addicts, and that now-rare class of photojournalists who somehow make money. My documentary wedding style in dark, dark New York City venues puts me in the market, but most people may be better served with another lens due to price alone.

But if you like fancy toys, or can simply justify that it's still more than $4,000 cheaper than Leica's 24mm f/1.4, read on. Lots of pictures to follow, so I'm sticking it behind a cut. These are commissioned pictures, so I can't release full-size images, but you can see full-size snapshots and RAW samples from my quick impressions here.

Get more latitude out of iPhone 3Gs photos

 

I took these photos on a recent pre-season get-away in Jamaica. Admittedly the scenery did all the heavy-lifting for me, but they were pretty good for making my friends jealous. But the kicker is that they were taken on an iPhone, and ready to e-mail like this right from the phone. My travel partner, also standing there with her smartphone, gaped a bit: "How the heck?"

The answer is simple; a couple apps that quickly, simply, and effectively increase the tonal range your phone camera can capture: Pro HDR (iTunes link) and TrueHDR (iTunes link). HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, a technique that has been so overused in photography in recent years to create garish images that many of you likely rolled your eyes just seeing the acronym. But HDR is just a tool to fix the inherent problem most digital cameras have of being able to capture a much smaller range of lights and darks than the human eye, and few cameras need fixing as badly as a tiny cell phone camera. With all of those pixels crammed in to a space so small, each pixel isn't receiving very much light, and that tends to mean noisy images with blown out highlights. The noise problem is hard to fix, but tonal range is relatively simple: Just take a picture exposed for the shadows, another for the highlights, and slap them together. And that, simply and easily, is what both of these applications do.

Note: because these apps rely on selective metering, which the iPhone 2G and 3G cameras can't do, it has to be a 3Gs (or future phones)

Since they're both paid apps, you probably don't want to download them both (but I did). So which is better? On paper, that would definitely go to Pro HDR. TrueHDR only exports downsized images, and you're stuck with whatever you get. Pro HDR exports full-sized images, and has simple but effective controls to help you get the best final product:

 

But there's just one problem: It's nowhere near as good as TrueHDR at actually merging the photos. As you can even see from their own product screenshots, above, it tends to merge with horrible halos, one of the things that gives HDR photography such a bad name. TrueHDR is relatively seamless. I've merged two photos below with both products, ProHDR on the left and TrueHDR on the right. It's not even a question which one looks better to me.

So if you're just exporting to the Web, which is what I tend to do with iPhone shots anyway, TrueHDR may be the better choice. But if you're a control freak and can live with halos, give Pro a try.

Nikon finally fills some gaps with a 24mm f/1.4 prime and 16-35mm f/4 VR

There are certain thing every camera user likes to ding their system of choice over: Canon users can complain about the flash system or AF of some bodies, Sony uses complain about high-ISO, yadda yadda yadda. But the howls and yelps from Nikon users for years have been there: Where are the fast primes? Where are the lighter, cheaper f/4 zoom lenses?

Well, Nikon just took a major stab at making its users happy with the 24mm f/1.4 and the 16-35mm f/4 VR, both lenses made to fit full-frame cameras (but will of course work on DX models).

How big is this? These aren't merely updates with new technology: The last time Nikon made a 24mm f/1.4 was … never. There has never before been an autofocus Nikon lens faster than f/2.8 and wider then 28mm.

And the last consumer-aimed constant f/4 Nikon zoom (not counting the exotic 200-400)? I'm going to go with the 70-210mm, released in 1986.

Of course, the question that remains to be seen is "Are these any good?" and "Are these a sign of future Nikon lenses that more people have been asking for, like a 35mm f/1.4, 70-200mm f/4 or 300mm f/4 VR?" The short answer is "Who knows?" But we can take a good guess until I test both models. They both feature nano crystal coating, and while you could put that coating on a poorly designed lens, all such Nikon lenses released so far have been exceptionally sharp and contrasty. The 24mm prime focuses down to 25 centimeters, which isn't bad for such a fast lens. The real trick will be to see how accurately it autofocuses, particularly at distance -- this can sometimes be a trick for wide, fast lenses because you're mixing limited depth of field with big frames of view, getting lots of different junk in front of AF sensors.

Another question is how useful VR will be in a lens that goes as wide as 16mm, and thus doesn't need very fast shutter speeds to begin with. Of course you can turn it off, but that will keep the street price from being too low. Of course, this sample Nikon photo, taken without a tripod at a 1.5 second exposure, shows that there may be some value.

I will test both of these as soon as they are available. I have been using the Sigma 24mm f/1.8 — a very good lens as long as you have a camera with focus micro-adjust to fix Sigma's poor quality-control — and it will be interesting to see how they stack up.

Of course, you pay for all this, and it ain't cheap. The 24mm f/1.4 clocks in at $2199, and the 16-35mm f/4 VR is $1259.

Olympus E-PL1 brings micro-4/3s prices into fixed-lens territory

2010 has seen a staggering wave of point-and-shoot camera updates, with more than 100 new models released this month from the major manufacturers alone, including a swath of releases just yesterday from Nikon and Fuji. But one of the biggest stories in the consumer market is the squeeze these cameras are feeling, from essentially free camera phones on the low-end, to the new Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens cameras on the high end (yes, the acronym is EVIL.) These offer the advantages of larger sensors and interchangeable lenses without creating giant-sized cameras. Now Olympus has released the new E-PL1, and at $599 with a kit lens, it's right in the same price range with some upper-level fixed-lens cameras.

Price is a major factor here over the E-P2, but it also adds some new features, mainly an on-board pop-up flash. Where it saves the money is in a more plasticky body, including no manual dials. So if you hate diving into the menus, you may want to look at the pricier models.

Taking a cue from Pentax, perhaps, the E-PL will be available in a variety of colors, from standard black and silver to blue, white, and red, depending on the region.

Basic specs: Weight: 296g with battery (compared to 335g for the E-P2), 12.3-megapixel sensor, dust-reduction, 720p video capture at 30 fps, live view, 3-stop built-in image stabilization, ISO range 200-3200.

In addition, Olympus announced two new lenses for Micro 4/3s, the 9-18mm f/4-5.6 ultra-wide zoom and the 14-150mm f/4-5.6 wide-angle to telephoto superzoom. As with any 4/3s cameras, you'll want to multiply the focal length by 2x to get the same approximate field of view as on a 35mm camera.

Early highlights from CES for photographers

It's time once again for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which in terms of the world of photography means a glut of new point-and-shoot cameras. Olympus alone released nine today, and Sony released TWELVE.

Clearly, the point & shoot marketing teams don't really believe in the Paradox of Choice. The problem is compounded because, unlike the dSLR market, image quality hasn't improved all that much in the consumer range over the years. There is a universe of difference between, say, the Nikon D3s and Nikon D2x in low-light, but a lot of the new point&shoots can be WORSE in poor lighting conditions than older cameras. Honestly, guys, 14 megapixels in a tiny sensor?

But there have been some bright spots in this market in recent years, and it's good for we nitpicking photographers to remember that consumers have different needs -- a camera that takes mediocre photos but uploads them directly to Facebook is going to be handy for a lot of people. As another example, I recently field-tested the Canon SD780, and while its slim profile and recessed buttons makes it almost impossible to use in darkness, it also makes it look really sexy. So here we're going to focus on some items that may actually change the game a bit for consumers. For full write-ups of every model, you can see all the press releases at Amazon's own DPReview.

News of note:

Good-bye, alternate memory formats?: Sony and Olympus seem to finally be realizing that CF and SD cards are the industry standards, and that it can be deeply annoying to use alternates like Memory Sticks and xD cards. The new Olympus cameras support SDHC, and some models have large amounts of built-in memory so that owners of old Olympus cameras can trade up and not be upset that their xD cards are suddenly worthless. Sony is still providing legacy support to Memory Sticks, but also has launched a new line of their own SDHC cards. Good riddance.

And speaking of SD cards, if you ever wanted to have a memory card that was more valuable than your camera, or to be able to flip through the last 100,000 photos you've taken on the go, Panasonic has the cards for you! Introducing the new 48GB and 64GB SDXC cards, priced at $449.95 and $599.95, repectively. In the days when most cameras are inching toward 1080p video, these are looking more and more practical.

Samsung updates Dual-View models: Samsung has released the TL210 and TL205 cameras, an update to their dual-view line, which have a second LCD on front of the camera. This is exactly the sort of consumer-friendly feature I'm talking about. In the era of Facebook, a lot of people mostly use their cameras arms-length, pointed back at themselves. These cameras actually lets them see what they're doing. Let's call them "Paris Hilton-friendly." The TL210 is a bit more advanced, with a slightly larger LCD screen on the back and 720p HD video recording.

Sony releases the a450 DSLR: You don't often see DSLR releases at CES, but Sony did it, with a 14.2 megapixel camera that takes most of the ergonomics of the a550 without the articulating view screen. It seems like a perfectly good budget camera, but Sony seems to be treating its dSLR lineup like most companies treat point-and-shoots. They are now selling six current DSLR models aimed at advanced amateurs, which may cause more confusion than relief.

More to come.

Review: Nikon D3s

(All photos by Ryan Brenizer, click on any picture for a larger version)

I'd say I know the ins-and-outs of the Nikon D3 pretty well -- after all, I've taken more than 200,000 photos with one. And I knew that Nikon had a big problem: The camera is so darned good, how do you make it better, especially with an incremental upgrade? The D3 isn't perfection -- the AF sensors are too closely grouped, the default white balance is a little too cool, the … AF sensors are too closely grouped -- but, as you can see from my struggling, it's generally close enough. If you can't do most jobs really well with a D3, it's probably your fault, not the camera's. So how do you convince people to buy something more expensive?

The obvious way was to stick video in it, and so they did. And that would probably have been enough to keep people at bay until the D4 came out, but some intrepid designer decided that the D3, previously pretty much the best low-light camera around, needed to get better. And so they changed the microlens array and modified the sensor in all sorts of ways, most of them secret or impossibly geeky, but long story shot, the D3s IS better, by about 1 and a half stops (or allowing about three times greater shutter speeds): ISO 12,800 looks better on the D3s than the already-crazy IS0 6400 on the D3.

ISO 12800, 52mm, f/3.2, 1/50th

In most other ways, the cameras are exactly the same -- the finish on the D3s is slightly more matte than that on the D3, the thumb joystick is a little snappier, and there's a quiet mode for the shutter that still isn't all that quiet, and there's an info button for quick review of the settings on the back LCD, but that's about it. The real user-interface changes came with a much, much better way to trigger Live View mode (which is important for video operation). Instead of having to move a mode dial to a certain position, which virually required you to move your thumb and look at the camera to see what you were doing, there's a simple button. Press it, it's on! Press it, it's off! Even for those who don't use movie mode ever, live view has some great tricks, and it's nice to be able to access it easily. My favorite Live View trick is that it shows the effect of white balance. Since on the D3 you can dial in the exact K-value, all you have to do is turn on Live View and look at the LCD while you get the white balance exactly perfect. You can do this on any camera with Live View, but the interface improvements make it a lot easier and faster.

Let's discuss the big changes in detail, with more photos and video:

Quick video tests with the Nikon D3s

I have Nikon's new D3s in my hot little hands, and I have some shoots lined up to be able to do a full review next week. But I know there are a lot of questions about the video capabilities and uncanny night-vision power, so here are some quick tests until then.

First, movement effects. All CMOS sensors of this sort suffer from a "rolling shutter" effect, which can make quick movement turn things into Jell-O. Nikon said they have made it better than in early cameras, but the D3s is not immune. I also included a quick panning shot, since no one actually films by shaking the camera violently from side to side.

Second, people want to see what ISO 102,400 video can do. So here it is. Watch as I move the camera away from the light sources and the night sky (which was as black as NYC skies ever get) becomes like late afternoon.

Second, people wanted to see even LOWER light video. Well, here you go. Watch the night sky become day as it creeps up to ISO 102,400.

There are a lot more still photos to come next week, but here is a quick one taken at ISO 12,800, f/1.4, 1/60th of a second (which is approximately 1/50th candlelight)

If you have any specific questions about the camera you want the full review to address, let me know!

When You Wish Upon a List: Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Sweepstakes

The celebration of the 10th anniversary of Amazon Wish Lists marches on with another sweepstakes prize package that's focused this week on photography. The big catch of the week 6 sweepstakes is a photo expedition through Yellowstone--complete with roundtrip airfare and two nights at the Old Faithful Lodge. The photo expedition will be led by Adam Jones (author of The Step-By-Step Photography Workshop), who will help you sharpen your skills with your brand new Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera. You'll also get a number lenses to experiment with--a wide-angle zoom to capture the amazing vistas, two telephoto zooms to help you get close to the fauna, and a macro lens to zero in on the flora.

To be entered into the drawing for the Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon sweepstakes, you need to do your Wish Listing by 11:59:59 pm Pacific Time on November 15 (you can read up on all the rules here).

Entering the sweepstakes is easy peasy: just create a new Wish List or add something to an existing Wish List. After adding an item, be sure to click the Enter Sweepstakes button that appears, looking a bit like this:

If you miss out on this week's sweepstakes, there are still four more weeks of prizes coming up, including a heavenly high-def package that includes a 55-inch LG HDTV and a surprise during the final week.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz