Archive for August, 2007

After rumour time, here is reality for the Canon EOS 40D. There are more and more tests (starting with previews) of this nice digital camera.

• Imaging resource (English)
• DC resource (English)
• Steve’s Digicam (English)
• DPreview, review, Phil Askey, October 2007 (English)
• DPreview, preview (English)
• Chasseur d’Image (présentation) (Français)
• The Digital Picture (English)
• Outback Handbook: Canon EOS 40D Review Diary
• PhotographyBlog (English)
• CNET review (English)
• QuestionsPhoto (Français)

As more than 5% of all males have some sort of colorblindness (see also my previous post about colorblindness and software specification), it is important to ensure that software is usable by that large group of users.

Here comes Color Oracle, a freeware application that will let you test your software design against various sub-types of colorblindness.

Via Daring Fireball, via Download Squad.

After the socks with fingers, here comes the sleeping bag with arms and legs: Selk-bag.

After months of intense speculation and many rumours, Canon is finally ready to disclose all the details about its long-expected Canon EOS 40D (the sequel to the successful 20D/30D Digital Single Lens Reflex - SLR).

But it’s Amazon which has shown all the details by starting a page to take pre-orders: Canon EOS 40D on Amazon. It will be a great camera to cover all needs of the most enthusiastic consumers.

Note: The delivery will only happen after 20th of Spetember 2007.

Most of the admirers of Canon will say that it was worth waiting. The others will notice that -once again- Canon did not create a revolution in this technical segment, but ensures that the pace of evolution is very steady: This is a nearly pro camera with its impressive connectivity, and its consumer-like price.

Nikon and their D200 (soon a D300?), Pentax and their K10D (much cheaper and possibly more interesting) or Sony (and their future high-end camera) should take notice and prepare to fight for the customers that the EOS 40D may quickly attract.

After the recent information (or rumour) that Sony is actually preparing a 14-million-pixel digital SLR camera under the name of either Alpha 200 or Alpha 300, and taking into acount that Nikon is in tight partnership with Sony since the Nikon D200, it is time to ask what resolution will come out of the next replacement of the D200.

I would bet on Nikon using the same 14MP+ for the Nikon D300 (as the D200 used a speedier version of the Alpha 100 10MP sensor). If this happens and the Canon 40D still has a 10MP or even a 12MP CMOS sensor, it could mean that the both Nikon and sony will have a nice time beating the Canon 40D just out of launch. Even if you repeat that resolution is not the solution to all problems, Canon would have to fight for image quality (and we know they are at the highest level of the competition) without having any resolution advantage, while users are still driven by mega-pixel figures.

This is quite surprising. After about a month of DRAM memory prices going up (this was quite surprising), the market analyst DRAMexchange tells us that this is now the end and the prices will fall again. Apparently, despite the vows of manufacturers like Nanya whose CEO is confirming that he would not try to limit any price increases, the weak market demand (Microsoft Windows Vista is obviously still very far from creating a bear market) combined with the large manufacturing capacity is going to keep pushing prices down at a pace that will probably become painful for those with small margins.

At least, the end of life of the ageing Canon EOS 30D should be announced on Monday 21st in Canada (along with a similar fate for the G7). There is a very high expectation that this will also mean launch of the Canon EOS 40D.

Complementary note: In the UK, LCE would have started taking pre-orders for the EOS 40D and some of their sales managers would have a launch meeting with Canon on Tuesday the 22nd.

After a few years of good faithful service, my Sony Clié PDA suicided by jumping from the corner of a table flat on the carpeted floor. It survived but is seriously maimed (the screen is partly blackened and operates only very partly). Disappointed by the lack of faithfulness from my grey little friend, I went to the store and bought a new dark blue companion in the form of a nice black little Palm T|X, TX or Tungsten-X. So, now is the time to transfer from one to the next.

I simply moved from one to the next as indicated in the user’s manual:

• Synchronize the old Clié
• Install the new Palm software
• Synchronize the Clié
• Connect the new Palm TX
• Synchronize the Palm TX

It’s as simple as that. It is refreshingly pleasant to see that sometimes things work just as they should.

Major works of classical music are written on musical scores that can be superb (not only musically, but also graphically). Unfortunately, it is often impossible -for those who had not the proper education- to keep reading a score while music plays.

What is offered by KeepingScore.org with Flash animations is simply gorgeous and allows to follow the music of masterpieces of the classical répertoire:

• Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Beethoven
• The Rite of Spring, Stravinsky
• Copland and the American Sound

It is absolutely superb to listen to and to see.

A rather interesting post on the Dyxum forums tells us more about the future of the digital single lens reflex cameras at Sony (provided that we believe what is still only a talk between Internet users who say they know). The first item is about the name of the future cameras: There’s no more Alpha 200 but Alpha 300 (this year) and Alpha 500 (next year). I may have to rename the category where I post thos messages

Let’s look deeper: the most advanced model (Alpha 500, as we should understand) will be the first Full-Frame in the product line (with a sensor of the same size as the old 24×36/35mm film image). So, it would not be usable with lenses specially optimized for the small APS-C sesors. This is quite well in line with the observation already done that Sony developped no lens of this type and stayed ready to switch to Full-Frame cameras. It would give them a very significant advantage if you compare with Nikon and Canon, in a competitive environment where the small compact cameras are starting to put some pressure on the lower end of the D-SLR market.

So, the Alpha 500 would have a FF 20MP sensor and through the use of an intelligent organization of the sensitive zones of the sensor, Sony would claim to be providing a stunning 40MP. Striking!

But this is only about a 2008 camera that is still far from being ready. For 2007, the Alpha 300 (or can I still call it Alpha 200?) would bring no less than 14-15 mega-pixels with a crop factor fo 1.25 that would near the FF target. Think about it: As the Alpha 100 shocked the public with the first ultra-low-cost 10MP when only Nikon could fight on the field of image size (with a Sony sensor, by the way), the Alpha 200/300 could be able to shake down the best oppponents, even without the marketoid-like doubling of resolution through the sensitive site organization of the sensor.

But to stay compatible with the already existing market of compatible low-cost lenses, the Alpha 200-300 would include a menu option allowing the user to switch to a lower resolution (11MP?) and giving compatibility to the cheapest lenses.

Most of the rest of the post is rants and raves about the Sony marketing babble: “We are the world leader in photo sensors; We succeeded in prying 6% market share out of Canon and Nikon hands in a year only, we are ready to overtake anon and leave them the 3rd rank“. All is quite in line with the information recently appeared in the news: Canon has recently left the pole position to Nikon on the Japanese market (many analysts believe that the Japanese are showing the way for the rest of the world with a year of advance).

Such cameras would be able to transform the dreamof Sony into a hard reality and move the market around. Howevern we still do not have a precise launch date for such an Alpha 200 or 300. and even less about the Alpha 500…

Panoramic photos that will naturally attract pathological train lovers.

• Photo 1
• Photo 2
• Photo 3

By Branislav Kropilak.

This time, we are nearing the full confirmation that the Canon EOS 40D will be present in the photo stores on September 2nd. Some US Internet users tried to collect direct data and learned that the camera is expected in stock at Best Buy (pre-orders would be accepted from some brick-and-mortar stores) at this date and with a $1599 price sticker (seeing the buzz around it while there is still no official announcement and no camera has been seen out of very closed circles, I have to understand the position of Canon willing to take advantage of the public rush and keeping relatively high prices compared to the $1500 normally requested for a Canon 30D).

Meanwhile some Canon web sites (including China) started experimenting with the removal of the 30D from very visible lists (for example, removal of the 30D from a graphical list of products). All is well in accordance with the preparation of an imminent launch for the EOS 30D.

The AF (auto-focus) system of the 40D would come from the Canon 1D Mk III but in a slightly simplified version. Since we already knew that it would only have 9 AF zones (instead of 19 crosses). “1D Mk III-lite” merely seems to mean that they will use a common algorithm and a simplified AF-sensor set. Hard to say if this will have a performance as impressive as the 1D Mk III.

Nobody is expecting weather-sealing anymore (the 40D will have about the same build as a 30D) and everybody seems to be convinced that the sensor will be a 10MP CMOS sensor with a crop factor of 1,6 (but I keep wondering whether they would bring an even more attractive 12MP in a market already full of 10MP sensors) along with 14-bit Digic-III for the best possible RAW image quality. The ISO-sensitivity should be a major pro of this camera with ISO 100-3200 + 6400h (image quality would be significantly improved from the 30D, leading to one of the best images of the market). All this is protected by active dust cleaning of the sensor (but we are still hoping that they did not copy the relatively poor 400D and went for the excellent DC technology of the 1D Mk III).

The Canon EOS 40D would be able to go as fast as 6,5 frames/second to beat the direct competition of the Nikon D200 (let’s wait for the Nikon D300) with a big buffer (60 JPEG images, 12-15 RAW images). But this enormous speed could be limited by the user from the menus (normal photographers would certainly be in a hot spot trying to avoid double photos with this feather-light-trigger machine; So, Canon decided to offer a confortable saddle to the cow boy who would be afraid to ride bareback this hot-blooded stallion).

If you add the superb 3″ LCD screen, you get a magnificent photo machine that should excite most expert amateur photographers, even more if she has a set of good Canon lenses already available.