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Sigma 18-35 F/1.8 only $799!!!

Ivan Ivancic — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:30:20 +0000

No, this is not a typo, nor mine nor did Sigma drop a digit… The extraordinary 18-35 APS-C zoom with constant F/1.8 aperture is going to sale for only $799! Some first previews reported stellar performance, and since this is the world’s first F/1.8 zoom lens we all expected it to cost upward from $1500, but Sigma has its own ideas. I still wouldn’t call this a game changer… full frame is still full frame and no crop sensor can actually match its performance, but this lens might be a very strong reason for many photographers to stay on APS-C cameras. Considering the quality and features of the Nikon D7100 (my review of D7100 is coming within days), and the fact Canon will probably soon announce 70D and 7D MkII, this lens will give you a really good image quality for a small price.

I wrote about this lens when it was announced – click here to read more about it.

Nikon Coolpix L820 review

Ivan Ivancic — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:50:29 +0000

Nikon Coolpix L820 is the latest affordable ultrazoom from Nikon. With its features and price it competes directly to Canon SX500IS, Sony H200 and Olympus SP820UZ. It has 16 megapixel sensor, 30x optical zoom with image stabilization and Full HD video. Nothing spectacular at a first glance, but Coolpix L820 has few tricks up its sleeve which I think may in fact make it the best affordable ultrazoom on the market.

NIKON COOLPIX L820 GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Announced: 2013.
Type: Ultrazoom
Dimensions: 111 x 76 x 85 mm
Weight: 470 g
Sensor: CMOS 16MP (4608 x 3456 pixels)
Lens: 4.3 – 129mm (24-720 in 35mm), F/3.4-5.8, optical image stabilization
ISO range: 125 – 3,200
Dust and moisture protection: No
Flash: Pop-up flash
LCD screen: 3″, 920,000 dots, fixed
Memory card: SDHC
Battery: 4 x AA
Video: 1920×1080 (30, 15fps), 1280×720 (60fps), 640 x 480 (120 fps), 320×240 (240fps)
Connectors: USB 2.0, mini HDMI

CONSTRUCTION AND HANDLING

Build quality is quite good for this price range. L820 is entirely of plastic but is built very well, without any creaks. My review sample came in beautiful red color and got attention anywhere I used it. It is also available in black and in some countries dark violet color. Controls are scarce, but this is camera aimed at amateurs and for use in Auto mode. Zoom can be controlled via rocker dial around the shutter button or a special button at the left side of the lens barrel. Due to large grip (covered with non-slippery rubber) and large lens, L820 is very easy to hold and fits quite nice even in large hands.

LCD

LCD unit has a large 3 inch diagonal and 920,000 dots. It is not tilt-able nor has touch capability. Viewing angle is quite good as is visibility in daylight, but its clear this LCD cannot compete with those used on (much more expensive) mirrorless or DSLR models.

Also, this camera doesn’t have an electronic viewfinder – it’s reserved for higher prices P510 ultrazoom.

MENU AND DISPLAYS

Menu system is very easy to navigate due to the fact there are very few options. Nikon L820 is aimed at amateurs and there are no manual exposure modes – only automatic and scene modes, and therefore very limited amount of options for user to adjust. You can select image size, white balance, ISO value, exposure compensation and that’s it. This is basically a good thing since it won’t intimidate user, but it poses a certain limitation for experimentation.

SENSOR

The back illuminated CMOS sensor has 16 megapixels and 4:3 shooting ratio (4608 x 3456 pixels). It’s a good step forward compared to the CCD in Canon SX500IS which has problems with noise.

L820 gives rather pleasing images at base ISO values. There is still visible blurring of details because of noise reduction, but overall look is better than Canon SX500IS. Higher ISO values are not that good; noise reduction becomes very aggressive and I could spot a visible loss of saturation in images.

Here’s ISO sample series so you can see for yourself L820 performance:

ISO 125 200 400 800 1600 3200

NIKON L820 LENS

The lens has a huge 30x optical zoom, covering the range from 24 to 675mm in 35mm equivalent. Aperture is F/3 on wide angle and falls down to F/5.8 at maximum zoom.

The lens has optical image stabilization (VR) which works good but not excellent. For example, with Canon SX500IS I got sharp images at maximum zoom even at 1/20 exposure, but Nikon L820 seems to require more; at least 1/80 at most cases.

Overall lens quality is quite good. Sharpness looks fine by me even at maximum zoom, light fall-off in corners is not a problem whatsoever, and chromatic aberrations are controlled better than is the case with Canon SX500IS. It shows some ugly flare patterns though; but at this price point learn how to live with it, or be ready to buy much more expensive camera.

Here’s an example what a 30x optical zoom can do: image left full wide, middle at ~100mm (in 35mm eq), and far right at maximum zoom:

BATTERY

Nikon Coolpix L820 uses four AA batteries. Today’s standard is rechargeable Li-Ion batteries, but those usually don’t last more than 200 shots in cameras of this price range. L820 delivered easy 300 shots out of Sanyo 1700 mAh during my review, and I believe you could squeeze up to 400 or 450 shots from a set of 2500 mAh AA batteries.

Nikon L820 AUTOFOCUS

Auto focus speed is reasonable at wide angle (below a second in good light) but still takes up to 2 or 3 seconds fully zoomed. Macro goes down to 1cm, but at this distance you’ll have trouble lighting you subject.

CONCLUSION

Compared to closest competitors, Nikon L820 might even be the best affordable ultra zoom on the market today. Build quality is quite good and that big rubberized grip felt just right in my hand. The 30x optical zoom delivers nice optical quality, so the L820 gives quite pleasing images at daylight conditions. Full HD video with slow motion rounds up the camera as an versatile camera. Only downsides are image quality at higher ISO settings, and somewhat average image stabilization, but I guess most users will use L820 either for holiday travel or use flash indoors.

PRO

Handling and design
Huge 24-675mm optical zoom
Easy to operate
Battery life with good Ni-MH AA set

CONS

Limited manual controls

PHOTO EXAMPLES

If you found this review helpful, please support my work buying anything from Amazon by following links from my blog, as I will receive a small percentage from every item sold although you don’t pay any more than you would otherwise:

Amazon deals on Sony SLT cameras (up to $600 discount)

Ivan Ivancic — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 19:27:06 +0000

Amazon has several excellent deals on Sony SLT cameras A58, A65 and A77 I’d like to bring your attention to.

For a limited time, save $600 on select Sony A77 digital SLR camera and VG-C77AM vertical grip bundles from Amazon.com. Simply add one of the qualifying Sony Alpha Digital SLR cameras and the VG-C77AM vertical grip from the list below to your Shopping Cart with the promotional code provided. The vertical grip discount will be applied at checkout after the promotional code is added. Click here to see all the deals. Promotional code you need to enter is: TGDVIF3N Or click here to see all the deals (A58 and A65 also)

Samsung releases source code for NX300 and NX2000

Ivan Ivancic — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:18:58 +0000

Samsung has published the source code for two of its latest mirrorless cameras: NX2000 and NX300. This is first time any major camera manufacturer offered camera firmware to public and opens a whole range of possibilities for users to enhance the camera’s capabilities.

Having in mind how successful Magic Lantern was with theirs firmware upgrade for Canon EOS bodies, this latest move from Samsung is a potential game changer. Possibilities are almost endless: advanced file processing, RAW video, HDR (yuck), time-lapse, focus peaking… programmers imagination becomes the limit.

Source code can be found at this link.

A bit of fun: Hitler’s reaction to new Adobe Creative Cloud model

Ivan Ivancic — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:31:59 +0000

And now something different for relaxation: you have probably heard about new lease policy Adobe has in mind for its future products…. It’s making the headlines all over the web. There will be no more perpetual licensing, but instead you’ll have to lease the software and subscribe to the Creative Cloud. Youtube user EvilEdison made a funny video over famous Hitler bunker scene pointing out to negatives of such approach… take a look at the video yourself, I bet it will make you smile.

Canon Powershot N review

Ivan Ivancic — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:22:08 +0000

Canon Powershot N is a somewhat unusual camera at the first glance. It consists of lens in the front, a touch-screen at the back and that’s it. There is no grip and very few buttons. Compact camera market is disappearing a bit by bit every day and manufacturers are trying everything they can to keep customers. This can seen by ultra-zoom flood in the last two or three years and many advanced models like Sony RX100, Nikon Coolpix A and many others. With Powershot N, Canon tried a bit different approach, making it different than almost any other camera on the market.

CANON POWERSHOT N SPECIFICATIONS:

Announced: 2013.
Type: Compact
Dimensions: 79 x 60 x 29 mm
Weight: 195 g
Sensor: CMOS 12MP (4000 x 3000 pixels)
Lens: 5 – 40mm (28-224 in 35mm), F/3-5.9, optical image stabilization
ISO range: 80 – 6,400
Dust and moisture protection: No
Flash: No
LCD screen: 2.8″, 461,000 dots, tilt up to 90°
Memory card: Micro SD
Battery: Li-Ion NB-9L
Video: 1920 x 1080 (24fps), 1280 x 720 (30fps), 640 x 480 (30, 120fps), 320 x 240 (240fps)
Connectors: USB 2.0

CONSTRUCTION AND HANDLING

Canon has decided to try something new with this model and I think it succeeded. Minimalistic design makes this camera very attractive and stands out in the crowd among other traditionally designed compact cameras. Sales figures will show if it is a good concept, but I think it is very good Canon tried unorthodox approach to design. After all, compact cameras lose a bit of market share every day due to smart phones becoming quite advanced image takers.

Powershot N is built from nice and quality plastic. LCD has a firm tilt mechanism. Only basic functions buttons are available. Zoom is controlled via rotating ring around the lens. I didn’t like this solution since it is hard to obtain a grip at the ring anywhere but top and bottom side where it has detents. Shutter is also operated with a ring around the lens, but I found it easier to use touch-LCD interface.

I am used to any large(ish) camera with proper grip and buttons, so holding and operating Powershot N posed a bit of a challenge for me. Probably the best way to use it is holding the camera in front with both hands and take shots via touch LCD. With LCD open, I couldn’t find a natural way to hold it firmly, operate zoom at the front and LCD above… but maybe I just have a mindset fixed at ergonomically shaped DSLR cameras. Amateur users who are the target audience for this model will probably like it as is.

LCD

Canon Powershot N has a 2.8 inch LCD with tilt option. Sadly, it goes only 90° upward and I believe it would be much more useful if it could rotate to 180° for self-portrait shots. Viewing angles are very good as is the resolution and colors.

MENU AND DISPLAYS

All the options on this camera are adjusted using touch-screen interface. Major settings like WB, drive mode, ISO etc are set using quick menu. Main menu is similar to that of any other Powershot model. Touch screen is very sensitive and allows easy usage.

There is no option to turn digital zoom off, so I often accidentally went beyond optical and into “bad” digital magnification range, but I don’t think this will bother most buyers.

FLASH

Canon Powershot N does not have a traditional flash unit. This is somehow expected due to small camera size, but my opinion is there should have been one built-in. This way, Powershot N has limitations for low light use. There is a little LED light at the upper left corner, but its range is 90cm which is way too short for anything than close person shot.

Sigma USB dock demo video released

Ivan Ivancic — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:20:34 +0000

Sigma recently released a demo video showing software of the late USB lens docking station in action. This dock is a very special product as it will allow users to adjust focus if there is a need for it (usually there is). Almost all modern DSLR cameras have the option to adjust AF accuracy, but often only as a single setting for every lens. This is a problem with zoom lenses since most tend to missfocus by different degree depending where in the zoom or focus range they are. Sigma USB dock will allow to set AF compensation at up to 4 focal lengths and at 4 different focus positions independently. There is also an option to adjust optical stabilization , focus limiter and AF speed. Click “continue reading” to view video:

The USB dock will be in sale early May for around $ 60.

The Sigma USB dock is compatible with the following lenses:

35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art
30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art
17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM | Contemporary
17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MARO HSM | Contemporary
120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports
18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM

Canon Powershot SX270HS & SX280HS review

Ivan Ivancic — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:30:31 +0000

It seems Canon found a perfect formula for best selling compact ultra zoom camera. Powershot SX260HS is currently best selling digital camera on Amazon and has 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from 670 customer reviews. But it’s one year old and that’s a usual product life for a compact digicam, so Canon recently announced two new models: Powershot SX270HS and SX280HS and I used them for the last week.

These cameras have actually completely identical specifications: 20x optical zoom, 12MP sensor and Full HD video, making the addition of GPS and Wi-Fi the only detail to differentiate SX280 from its cheaper sibling, the SX270. Canon already did something similar with its full-frame EOS 6D and i think it’s a smart move. GPS and Wi-Fi are functions that can be regarded as essential for some users but completely irrelevant to others. In this way, you can save a penny buying a cheaper model without it.

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Announced: 2013.
Type: Compact ultrazoom
Dimensions: 106 x 63 x 33 mm
Weight: 233 g
Sensor: BSI-CMOS 12MP (4000 x 3000 pixels)
Lens: 4.5 – 90mm (25-500 in 35mm), F/3.5-6.8, optical image stabilization
ISO range: 80 – 6,400
Dust and moisture protection: No
Flash: Pop-up flash
LCD screen: 3″, 461,000 dots, fixed
Memory card: SDHC
Battery: Li-Ion NB-6L
Video: 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720, 640 x 480 (all @30fps)
Connectors: USB 2.0, mini HDMI

CONSTRUCTION AND HANDLING

The design is modern, but I wouldn’t call these cameras especially pretty. Both cameras are available in several colors. Build quality is excellent. There are no creaks and body materials look nice. All the buttons feel solid. Mode dial has a firm feel when rotated which will prevent unwanted accidental mode change.

LCD

LCD unit has a 3 inch diagonal and 461,000 dots. It is sharp with vibrant and pleasing colors. Viewing angles are excellent; amongst the best I’ve seen in a compact camera and allow framing at almost 180 degrees. LCD doesn’t have tilt option nor is touch-capable.

MENU AND DISPLAYS

Menu system is similar to other Powershot cameras; relatively easy to navigate, but not as nice or logical like the one on EOS models. Basically, once you set up the camera after buying it, there will be no reason to enter main menu because all of the major settings are adjusted via quick menu followed by “Func.Set.” button press.

There is no live histogram in recording mode, but it’s available in playback.

LIGHT METERING

Canon SX270 and SX280 have rather pleasing evaluative light metering mode (the one most used). Under direct sunlight bright parts of the image can appear overexposed but that can be avoided simply by using EV compensation at -2/3 or -1 at extreme cases or by switching to center or spot metering for very bright subjects (like the swan pic in samples at the end of the review).

CANON SX 270 & SX280 FLASH

A small pop-up flash with range of only 3.5m is present – good enough for family use.

CANON SX 270 & SX280 LENS

The lens has a big 20x optical zoom (25-500 in 35mm equivalent). The camera is only 3cm thick (barely above an inch) so this is pretty impressive result. Optically, it’s surprisingly good – sharp at all zoom settings and with a strong resistance to chromatic abberations (something that’s often a problem on similar ultra zoom lenses).

The lens has a two-speed zoom, but the zoom lever has no distinctive feel which speed is used so it requires a little practice to master gradual zoom tehnique.

Below are the examples of viewing angles at minimum and maximum optical zoom.

SENSOR AND IMAGE QUALITY

The BSI-CMOS (Back Side Illuminated CMOS) sensor has 12 megapixels and native 4:3 shooting ratio (4000 x 3000 pixels). Other shooting ratios are also available in quick menu – 16:9: 3:2 and 1:1. I am especially happy Canon kept the MP count at conservative 12 megapixels what helps to keep noise at normal level. Other manafacturers (Sony lol) still try to keep megapixel race alive and offer 18-20 megapixel models in compact camera niche what results in lower image quality.

Images are really excellent al low ISO settings. Colors can be very vibrant and nice when using some of the “My colors” options. I especially like “Positive film” which made shooting flowers around the town quite a pleasing experience. But most of everything, I was surprised of the level of details at base ISO 80. You can almost count all the spears in the grass in some images – this is not something i expected from a consumer compact ultra zoom camera.

Sadly, as the ISO goes up, so does the noise (reduction). Already at ISO 400, you can see the NR blurring effect, so I recommend to keep ISO below that for ultimate image quality. The good thing is that SX270 and SX280 still have rather usable higher ISO’s. Yes, there is NR blur and artifacts, but it’s better than most similar competitors. I took a few shots even at ISO 3200 which could be quite usable for Facebook or small prints. They are still far from any basic DSLR or mirrorless, but are quite good for such a small sensor.

ISO SAMPLES: 80 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400

Also, the irritating bug (feature?) found on some other Powershot models like S110 or G15 is present on these two models. Any time you choose exposure longer than a second, ISO is fixed at ISO 80 what might be a limit for night photography.

A surprise out of clear blue sky: Sigma announces 18-35mm F/1.8 lens!

Ivan Ivancic — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:55:52 +0000

While the big two (Canon & Nikon) successfully pursue the image of boring traditional companies, others like Sigma try to be inventive and gain a piece of market for themselves. Today, Sigma announced a new extraordinary lens: the 18-35mm F/1.8 DC HSM for APS-C sized sensors. Yes, this is not a typo; this zoom lens has constant F/1.8 aperture. As far as I know, no other photography lens has such aperture, the closest being Olympus with the two of their F/2 zoom lenses. Update: price is announced and it is only $799!

Main specifications:

Format size: APS-C
Focal length: 18-35mm (27-52mm in 35mm eq.)
Image stabilization: No
Aperture: F/1.8 – F/16
Number of blades: 9
Elements/groups: 17/12
Full time manual focus: Yes
Motor type: ultrasonic
Weight: 810g
Dimensions: 79 x 122 mm
Filter thread: 72mm

Since full frame cameras got quite more affordable lately (6D and D600) I was almost sure this is the first nail in “pro-level” APS-C camera coffin, but Sigma proved me wrong. The new 18-35 has an equivalent of 27-52mm FOV and F/2.7 depth of field, making it a bit better than full-frame constant F/2.8 zooms. This will most certainly breathe a new life into APS-C cameras and probably stop some users from switching to full-frame. Sigma has realized there are a lot of Nikon D300/D7000 and Canon EOS 7D users who want to buy top quality native APS-C glass for their cameras. Canon and Nikon won’t produce such lenses on purpose in order differentiate pro-level products from consumer ones, and make you pay premium for full frame bodies. Others like Sigma, Olympus or Fuji do not have such issues and are willing to offer top quality glass for cropped sensors.

You might tend to think there’s no point with this lens: it’s big and heavy, so you might as well buy FF body and corresponding 24-70 lens. Well, not exactly. Top level APS-C bodies (D300, D7100, 7D) have vastly superior AF systems than cheap full frame bodies like Nikon D600 and Canon EOS 6D and are therefore not appropriate for sport, wildlife or any action shooters. To get really good AF with wide frame coverage you’ll need to buy 5D mark III or D800 which are way more expensive than APS-C body + Sigma F/1.8 combination.

The lens is compatible with the Sigma’s USB Dock, which will be available soon and will enable photographers to update lens firmware and adjust focus using their PC’s.

In 35mm equivalent, this lens gives you the 27-52mm field of view, and my guess is if it proves to be successful, Sigma might make a complimentary F/1.8 telephoto lens, probably in the 35-80 or 35-100mm range (what would be 50-150 in full frame terms).

The recommended price is not yet announced, as is the case of available mounts (probably standard Canon, Nikon, Sony and Pentax).

UPDATE: A Korean photo site has published first preview with samples… it looks splendid to me. Good job Sigma!

UPDATE NO.2: Price announced, it is only $799! Wow! Read more here.

Canon EOS 6D review

Ivan Ivancic — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:50:42 +0000

Canon EOS 6D is a model in a relatively new market segment: affordable full-frame DSLR. It is by no way what one might call cheap camera, but compared to previous full-frame models it is significantly more affordable. There is only one direct competitor, the Nikon D600. They have quite a few differences between themselves, but more on that later. Overall, Canon 6D has the looks and feel similar to 60D model. In other words, it is smaller and lighter than 5D models (finally!) but shares many features like the menu system or the lack of pop-up flash.

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Announced: 2012.
Type: DSLR
Dimensions: 145 x 111 x 71 mm
Weight: 770g (with battery)
Sensor: CMOS, 20 MP (5472 x 3648 pixels)
ISO range: Native 100 – 25,600, Extended 50 – 102,400
Image stabilization: No
Dust and moisture protection: Yes
Flashlight: hot-shoe
Continuous shooting: 4.5 fps
LCD screen: 3″, 1,040,000 dots, fixed
Memory card: SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-I support)
Battery: Li-Ion LP-E6
Video: 1920 x 1080 @ 30, 25, 24 fps, 1280 x 720 @ 60, 50, fps, 640×480 @ 30,25 fps
Connectors: USB 2.0, mini HDMI, 3,5mm mic input, N3 wired remote

CONSTRUCTION AND HANDLING

Canon EOS 6D is very well built. The frame is made from magnesium, and plastic used is excellent. The grip is extensively covered with rubber. From the first moment I held the camera, it just felt natural in my hand. Handgrip is well shaped and deep enough to allow confident and relaxed grip on the 6D, unlike Nikon D600 (which is way to shallow in my opinion). All the controls are easily reachable. Some might dislike the lack of joystick like the one on 5D and 1D series, but I guess it one of the things that lack in order to distinguish the camera from more expensive models.

The whole camera can be controlled with one hand: ISO, drive, playback and playback magnification are all on the right side of the camera. Even the main menu can be assigned to “SET” button and controlled single handedly. This way, you can control every aspect of the camera with only one hand while holding the umbrella in the other, drive a car, bicycle or simply stick your hand casually in the jeans pocket. None of the Nikon models can be controlled this way, so this is a big plus in my book.

Playback mode has several usual display options, but histogram cannot be shown when the image is magnified, therefore you can’t check for blown highlight on a specific zoomed part of an image like it’s possible on Nikon cameras.

One thing irritated me quite much: there is no exposure compensation in manual mode so using manual exposure with Auto ISO might result with underexposed images. There is a way around it using EV bracketing, but you will end up with twice more images and shorter battery life. Not all is lost though: I see no reason why Canon wouldn’t be able to implement it via firmware upgrade.

LCD, VIEWFINDER

LCD unit has 3 inch diagonal nad 1,040,000 dots. It is very detailed and bright enough for daylight use. Sadly, there’s no tilt option. It also gets smudged by nose and face very easy. There is no option to attach LCD cover like on Nikon D600.

Optical viewfinder is big and clear as expected. It is possible to change focus screens and Nikon doesn’t have this option.