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Although Canon’s powerful EOS-1D Mark III has priced itself right out of consideration for a large sect, the niche that has been waiting in tense anticipation to see a solid review of the unit need wait no more. The folks over at Digital Camera Info were able to put the beastly DSLR through a gauntlet of tests, and while it did end up shining gloriously in the bulk of them, one persistent problem seemed to mar the otherwise flawless camera. As expected, the design, speed, live LCD, color accuracy, noise / low light performance and controls were all highly praised, but the white balance and a nagging autofocus problem did prove troublesome. Granted, the reviewers did state that a firmware fix seemed to solve the issue, but it was apparently so aggravating that patient folks (who?) may want to consider holding off until things get ironed out. Nevertheless, the unit was still regarded as a fantastic DSLR, and if you’ve got five grand just burning a hole in your pocket, why not take some time out and read the full review before taking the plunge?

[Via DigitalPhotographyBlog]
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Those upset with Canon over its exclusion of RAW in the PowerShot G7 will find their biggest gripe squashed in the G9, and just in case you’re interested in seeing how this uniquely designed amateur cam held up to critiques, here’s the skinny. Reviewers were understandably elated to be able to capture shots in RAW and tweak till their hearts were content, but also noteworthy were the excellent results found by simply switching to Auto mode and taking a load off. It was suggested that this camera “not only makes you feel like a better photographer, but helps you become one too,” referring to the wealth of functions that catered to both beginners and seasoned veterans alike. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a noticeable amount of noise when the ISO exceeded 400, and while it was built for abuse, you should know that it was deemed “one of weightiest, most brick-like compacts out there.” Overall, the G9 was dubbed hard to beat, and if you’re scouting a solid DSLR backup, you should certainly give the read link a bit of your attention.

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Pentax sure does seem to like trotting its digital cameras out in pairs, and it’s done just that again today, with the company now introducing its new Optio A40 and Optio V10 models. On the higher-end of the lot, the Optio A40 (pictured above) boasts a mighty 12 megapixels, along with a 3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, a range of shake-reducing measures, and face-recognition, among other features. The V10, on the other hand, scales things back to just 8 megapixels, with a slightly larger 3-inch LCD, and that same 3x optical zoom in an even slimmer 19 mm thick body (check it out after the break). Look for the A40 to roll out first sometime this month for $300, with the V10 set to follow in November for $250. If that’s all a little too low end for you, you can also look forward to Pentax’s just-announced DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3ED AL [IF] high-performance zoom lens, which is designed specifically for its DSLR cameras, and boasts an approximate zoom ratio of 14x, among other top end specs. Look for it to land later this month for just under $500.

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You’ve had a moment to ponder over that SD870 purchase, so how’s about yet another option, cool? On the docket today is Canon’s SD950 IS (IXUS 960 IS elsewhere in the world), which packs an awful lot of megapixels into a pocket-friendly shell. As expected from Canon’s SD lineup, this one fared pretty well throughout, garnering praise for its sleek design, superb image quality, effective optical image stabilization / face detection and sturdy feel. The only real knocks came from the less-than-perfect noise performance, slower than expected startup / image capture and the admittedly lofty pricetag. Granted, this one should be close to ideal for poster printers needing a camera minuscule enough to reside in a rear pocket, but for the rest of us, one of Canon’s “lower” models should fit the bill (and our budgets) a bit better.

Read – CNET (7.8 out of 10)
Read – PhotographyBLOG (4 out of 5; Recommended)
Read – Good Gear Guide (4.25 out of 5)

from engadget

Sanyo’s back with another Xacti solid state camcorder with this, their DMX-HD700. That’s “HD” as in high-def, “7″ as in 720p instead of the 1080i recording action found in their DMX-HD1000. On sale starting October 19th, the “world’s smallest and lightest 720p” camcorder records MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video and 7.1 megapixel stills to SD/SDHC cards. It’s also loaded with the ability to track up to 12-faces, a 2.7-inch LCD, and ISO 3200 sensitivity. Expect to drop an estimated Â¥70,000 (about $609) or so for the privilege.

Gallery: Sanyo’s Xacti DMX-HD700 is world’s smallest and lightest 720p camcorder

  

[Via Impress]
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Toshiba just announced their gigashot A and K series of video recorders in Japan. The A100F brings a shock-mounted, 1.8-inch 100GB disk with 1/3-inch CMOS sensor 2 megapixel stills or 1,920 x 1,080 recordings at 60fps with 16bit/48kHz Dolby digital stereo audio at a 384kbps bit rate. That equates to about 12 hours of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 formatted video at the highest quality setting or about 23 hours in standard mode. It also features SDHC expansion, a big 3-inch LCD, 10x optical zoom, HDMI and component out, and USB linkup with your PC. According to Toshiba, its 78.1 x 135.4 x 79.0-mm measurements also give it claim to the title as the world’s smallest “Full HD” camcorder with built-in hard disk drive. The gigashot K series rolls things back to 720p video and 0.92 megapixel stills stored in a maximum 80GB disk. The top of the line gigashot A100F starts shipping in mid November for Â¥188,000 (about $1,628) while the lowest of the low 40GB K-series model starts shipping in late October for Â¥108,000 or right around $935 — you know, if the dollar holds steady which it won’t.

Gallery: Toshiba’s 100GB gigashot A100F: world’s smallest “Full HD” camcorder

  

[Via Impress]
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