After being ‘accidentally’ leaked last night on Amazon.com, the Canon 40D has now been officially released. If this was the proper date, or if they pushed it forwards due to the leak no one knows.

But here it is, the successor to the popular Canon 30D.

Canon today introduces its latest digital SLR for advanced amateurs and semi-professionals: the EOS 40D. With a 10.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 6.5 frames per second burst performance, a newly developed AF system and 3.0” LCD with Live View mode, the EOS 40D makes significant advances in both performance and versatility.

The camera benefits from the new EOS technology platform introduced earlier this year with the professional EOS?1D Mark III. Canon’s DIGIC III processor delivers responsive operation, improved colour rendering and near-instant start-up time. The EOS Integrated Cleaning System combats sensor dust, while a strong magnesium alloy body with weather resistance ensures lasting durability.

“The EOS 40D represents an important step in the development of EOS for the advanced amateur market. It incorporates many of the technologies pioneered in our latest EOS-1 series cameras,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “For digital photographers, the benefits of upgrading to the EOS 40D are real and significant. For analogue SLR users, there’s never been a more compelling reason to make the switch.”

Key features

• 10.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• 6.5 fps continuous shooting, max. burst 75 JPEGs
• New AF system with 9 cross-type sensors
• DIGIC III processor
• 3.0” LCD with Live View mode
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• Clear and bright viewfinder
• Customisable Picture Style processing parameters

It looks like it can compete a bit better with the legendary D200 now, but still the D200s or D300 should be coming out shortly.

They also announced the 1Ds MKIII and some news lenses (18-55mm IS and 55-250mm IS).

Finally a real replacement for the F31d, one of my favourite compact cameras! And at last Fuji is starting to put real CCD shift image stabilizers in their cameras.

I’ve just recently bought a F31d as it’s a bargain now at around RM800.

As for the F50fd it does indeed have a lot to live up to.

The F50fd takes quite a jump from the F31fd’s six megapixels, it now has twelve megapixels…this worries me somewhat and it makes me wonder if it will be able to match the F31fd’s high ISO performance. The F50fd also features a mechanical CCD-shift image stabilization system, improved face detection, ISO 1600 at full image size and a 2.7″ LCD monitor. The F50fd should be available in September at around $300USD.

Digital photographers looking for a top-of-the line compact digital camera can now take advantage of the latest in Fujifilm’s F-Series digital cameras with the 12-Megapixel FinePix F50fd. Following a long line of award winning F-Series models, the FinePix F50fd, like the FinePix F31fd and F40fd before it, offers consumers a super-compact digital camera that takes beautiful shots with the most advanced features and technology available, so that missing great shots is not an option.

Combining a 12-MegaPixel, 7th Generation Super CCD with a 3.0x optical zoom and a 2.7″; high-resolution 230,000 pixel wide angle view LCD, the FinePix F50fd is a compact powerhouse that incorporates all the features users have come to expect from Fujifilm’s more advanced digital cameras. With the addition of Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 2.0 Technology with Automatic Red Eye Removal function, and ISO settings of up to ISO 6400, the F50fd takes compact digital cameras to the next level, arming users with a host of new features and enabling them to take pictures never before possible.

From advertising to editorial, Michael Grecco’s work is continually raising the photographic bar. He is known for dynamic portraiture and capturing the essence of his subjects. Grecco works with an unrivaled technical ability and a rare sensitivity. The image he has created for himself is authentic, composed and always striking.

You can read a fascinating article by Michael Grecco here:

Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait by Michael Grecco

I’ve bought his book, but I haven’t had chance to read it yet.

This guy breaks all the rules, he does crazy things you aren’t supposed to do with light, he doesn’t produce well exposed sharp images. He produces edgy art, images that show the essence of the person.

He also teaches you how to deal with people, great portraits are not taken – they are GIVEN.

You can find his site here:

Michael Grecco

What is Curve Surgery?

Most Nikon DSLR’s allow, through the use of Nikon Camera Control, to upload a custom curve into the camera. Unfortunately once the curve IS or ISNT embedded into your NEF file there is no way a changing that curve in Nikon Capture.

Curve Surgery allows you to extract/create/edit/embed curves to and from the NEF files.

So what?

The image that is displayed in Nikon Capture is AFTER the default curve or your in-camera curve has been applied. If your curve clips highlights badly, or you under/overexpose there is little way of reversing this effect. All other curves and levels edits in Nikon Capture are applied over the top of the default/user-defined curve.

And?

With Curve Surgery you can adjust these curves to your liking and then embed them back into a file. This means you are able to do some impressive post-editing at the most basic level of the RAW data.

Check it out here:

http://www.rawmagick.com/

This is amazing, I remember this guy on blue peter years ago drawing a perfect version of the houses of parliament in a few minutes. Every window was perfect, all the ratios were correct it was immaculate.

He was about 10 years old then I guess, now check this out from more recently:

This is one camera money can’t buy.

In just 45 minutes he absorbs enough information to draw a 10 feet long panoramic view of Rome.

Simply amazing.