This is a real machine gun! 10fps – Dual Digic processors enable this insane frame rate.

You can see a quite demo of the liveview feature too.

Not that I think anyone would need 10fps for any kind of sport unless they are a really bad photographer.

Basic Features

• 10.0-megapixel (effective) CCD, delivering image resolutions as high as 3,648 x 2,736 pixels
• 6x optical zoom lens, 35mm equivalent of 35-210mm
• 4x maximum digital zoom
• Real-image optical viewfinder
• 2.5-inch color LCD monitor
• Full Manual through Automatic exposure available, including Aperture and Shutter priority and 17 preset Scene modes
• Built-in flash with five modes and an intensity adjustment
• Topside external flash hot shoe
• SD/SDHC/MMC memory storage (32MB card included)

It seems like Canon made a bit of a goof with the G7 and didn’t hit the spot quite right, the build quality is there but the features, the hardware (widest aperture of f/2.8) and the picture quality are definitely not there.

I’ve seen quite a few people buying it with the underwater casing for dive photos, it’s quite a reasonably priced package at around RM2300 (less than US$1000) for the camera and casing, and as it has pretty good high ISO and decent bright lens it should be ok.

I’m leaning towards the more versatile (And cheaper) Canon Powershot A710 IS though, with the underwater casing it comes in at around RM1900.

I also agree with the reviewers who say there is a gap in the market that could have been filled by the G7, by people who don’t need or want to carry an SLR but need more than a PnS can offer, people like myself, and most of you reading this site I imagine.

Personally I was looking forwards to the G7, but I am a bit disappointed, I’m still holding off my purchase of an underwater kit, to see what else comes out.

I’m tempted by the Fuji F31 too, but no stabiliser and only 3x zoom feels limiting.

G7 Reviews:

Canon PowerShot G7 – CNET

Though the reasons for buying the PowerShot G7 have dwindled, they haven’t disappeared entirely. It’s an optimal choice as a second camera, when you can’t or won’t schlep a dSLR with you, if you’re not quite ready to take the leap from a point-and-shoot to a full-fledged interchangeable lens system, or if you need the flexibility of a movie-capture mode.

Canon Powershot G7 – Steve’s Digicams

Bottom line – I was very pleased with this latest addition to Canon’s legendary “G” series line. While we miss the Vari-Angle LCD, the new 6x IS lens is a definite plus. The only negative issues we found were the problem with the optical viewfinder and the higher image noise at ISO 800 and 1600. That said, the G7 is a good choice for the beginner, novice, or enthusiast that wants a less bulky alternative to carrying around a dSLR and a bag of lenses

Canon PowerShot G7 Review – imaging resource

Those SLR owners looking for a second or third shooter should give both the Canon G7 and the A640 a close look. In addition to IS, the G7 has the advantage of a long-lasting Lithium-ion battery, like you’re used to with your SLR. But I have to warn you that you might be disappointed with the speed of the Canon G7 relative to your digital SLR. Once you’re tuned to one type of shutter, it’s very difficult to return to a slower mechanism, but not bad if you’re already accustomed.

DCRP Review: Canon PowerShot G7

While a disappointing G-series camera, the PowerShot G7 stands on its own, and it earns my recommendation. If you don’t mind parting with almost $600 for it, it’s worth a look. Don’t forget to check out the just as capable — and less expensive — competition closely, though.

Canon PowerShot G7 Review – DPReview

Specification aside, the G7 is a camera I’d find a lot easier to wholeheartedly recommend if the cons list at the top of this page were a bit shorter, but as I discovered, once you tame it, most of them can be overcome. It’s not for everyone (and it’s not the best ‘social camera’ as the focus can struggle in low light unless you stick to the short end of the zoom), but after a month or so of testing I find myself liking it more and more.

G7 Review – Luminous Landscape

As it is, the G7 will still have a lot of appeal due to its really good noise characteristics and a sharp lens with a decent focal range. A solid metal body and appealing assortment of additional features such as IS and audio recording contribute to its attractiveness. I don’t know of any current digicam that offers as much quality for the money. That same money will now by you a DSLR with kit lens, but then this won’t fit in your pocket, doesn’t have the same reach, and can’t shoot silently. There is a place for both, regardless of Canon’s apparent fears of cannibalization.

This is one of the fundemental parts of photography when you advance past a point and shoot, the biggest controls you have how your picture appears is Aperture and Shutter speed. Shutter speed is more obvious in that a slower shutter gives a longer exposure and more movement or motion blur, where as a faster shutter speed freezes action.

We will discuss creative ways to use shutter speed later.

For now we want to discuss Aperture, many people have a vague idea what it means, but don’t know which aperture or f-stop to select for different situations, or why you would chose that aperture.

To start an Aperture is basically a hole in which light is admitted, in terms of cameras the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.

You can read more about Aperture in depth here.

F-number or F-stop

The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter. A lens typically has a set of marked “f-stops” that the f-number can be set to.

(f-number is also sometimes called focal ratio, f-ratio, or relative aperture)

The very basics you need to remember is a big number is a small hole, so f/22 is a very small aperture, small hole, less light so longer exposure. Something like f/1.8 is a very large aperture, more light and faster shutter speed (shorter exposure).

Here you can see a very common 50mm lens with it’s Aperture set at the smallest number f/1.8, remember that’s the largest opening in figure one.

Figure two shows the smallest aperture, or highest number which is f/22 for most lenses including this one.

Most cameras with some manual controls at least have something called Aperture Priority mode, which refers to a shooting mode used in semi-automatic cameras. It allows the photographer to choose an aperture setting and allow the camera to decide the correct shutter speed. This is sometimes referred to as Aperture Priority Auto Exposure, A mode, Av mode, or semi-auto mode.

This is the mode I most frequently shoot in as Aperture has the greatest effect on the picture you are taking.

The common f stops are as follows:

When you are buying lenses generally the bigger the maximum aperture the better, most professional zoom lenses have a constant f/2.8 aperture which makes them very expensive and heavy!

You can read more on F-number and the science behind it here.

Lenses

Cheaper lenses usually have a variable aperture between f/3.5 and f/5.6. When a lens has 2 numbers for f-stops it means it varies as you zoom it, so if a lens is Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S for example, it means at 18mm it’s f/3.5 and at 70mm it’s f/4.5.

Aperture greatly effects light gathering capabilties, so for low light or night work the lowest aperture possible is preferred, some lenses go as low as f/1.2 or f/1.4!

Prime lenses tend to have bigger maximum apertures as it’s cheaper to build with a fixed optic, prime lenses don’t zoom, the most common and cheapest is the 50mm f/1.8 which we’ll discuss more later.

Depth of Field

The most important thing to understand about Aperture is how it controls depth of field, this will directly effect your pictures and the artistic capability in which you can create the images you want.

Here is an example I took yesterday, Macro photography has a very small Depth of Field as the subject is very large in relation to the sensor in the camera.

Depth of Field is the amount of the picture that is in focus, the basic rule is the smaller the aperture, the more is in focus, so at f/1.8 the Depth of Field would be very very small and at f/22 everything would be in focus.

For this picture the Aperture was f/4.2, the largest the lens can manage during this macro focusing range.

Watch at f/4.2

As you can see not a lot is in focus, the focus point for all 3 is the bottom of the question mark, you can see here only just that is in focus the rest is not. The Depth of Field is small.

The shutter speed was 0.7 of a second.

The next was taken at a medium Aperture f/11 which is normally used for landscapes or large scenes.

Watch at f/11

As you can see more is in focus here, the picture is more aesthetically pleasing. The top of the watch is still out of focus and the background is nicely blurred but the subject is fully in focus and part of the watch.

The shutter speed was 4.2 seconds.

The next is at f/22 which is used for long shutter speeds and macro photography.

Watch at f/22

As you can see now virtually everything is in focus and the shutter speed was very long at 18 seconds.

So you can see as you increase the f-number the aperture hole gets smaller, more of the pictures is in focus and the shutter speed gets longer.

You can use this to control how the picture looks and small apertures are especially good for seperating the subject from the background.

Another example are flowers, these are two shots taken at f/5 and f/22, you should be able to work out which is which now.

We’ll discuss more about DoF as it’s called later and more advanced ways to use it, plus the terms such as Bokeh which are commonly used now.

You can read more about Depth of Field here.

Summary

Aperture is the most powerful tool in taking the pictures you want, in creating artistic effects and interesting eye popping captures of animals, people and flowers.

Just don’t get carried away and use an aperture that is too large (small number), especially on portraits as you can have one eye in focus and one out, or can create confusing pictures that look completely out of focus.

Choose the correct aperture to give the background a nice blur and make the subject stand out.

It will take some practise and you will have to learn each lens, also note most lenses are not super sharp wide open, wide open means the maximum aperture (the smallest number) so stop it down 1-2 f-stops.

So for a f/1.8 lens it should be sharp around f/2.2 and above.

As a rule of thumb for portraits you can use the maximum aperture stopped down 1-2 stops, for group shots try around f/5.6 and for landscapes try f/11-16.

If you need and clarifications please leave a comment below, next to come is What is ISO or ASA – Camera/Film Sensitivity AKA Filmspeed!

Image from Camera Labs

It looks like a decent upgrade from the 350D although surprisingly the 350D seems to perform better in some areas, I don’t think it’s worth an upgrade from the 350D but if you are still using a 300D (The first Digital Rebel) I think it’s definatley worth it!

I haven’t gotten my hands on one of these yet but I do plan to and snap some pics.

Ultimately the Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi is a great entry-level digital SLR which improves on its predecessor in many respects. It has higher resolution without compromising noise levels, a wide variety of anti-dust features, a bigger screen which doubles-up for detailed shooting information, the AF system of its bigger brother and fast overall handling.

The only thing that’s missing is a cheap lens bundle with Image Stabilisation. This will undoubtedly have potential buyers carefully weighing it up against the Sony Alpha A100 which costs much the same, while those looking for a tougher product may be tempted by the Nikon D80.

But this aside, it’s hard to fault the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi. Canon already had a great product with the 350D / XT, but rather than resting on its laurels has upped the ante and delivered a worthy successor. The new 400D / Rebel XTi is a great camera to use, produces excellent image quality and is one of the best budget digital SLRs to date. It may have very tough rivals, but still comes Highly Recommended.

Read the full review here.

It’s a valid point about dust reduction and I did mention I’d love to see Nikon come out with that in their future versions!

Not sure about in body image stabilisation though, I don’t think Nikon or Canon will go down that route with all the money they’ve invested in ‘IS’ and ‘VR’ lenses.

I’m still all for the D80! But next time I buy I’ll be hoping to buy something around D200 level rather than the (slightly above) entry level SLR I’m using now.

Apologies for the posts about products at the moment, but I’m in Dubai now and Flickr is totally banned here so I can’t really upload/post pics till I get back home.

Image from dpreview.com

Ah the new Nikon D80 kit lens looks like a peach too, yet to see any good hardcore reviews of it yet though, it’s a nice new release though to go along with my much sought after Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED as I currently don’t have any telephoto past 70mm!

I’m actually using the Nikon D70s kit lens most of the time which is the superb Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED I shall do a proper review of it one day.

It’s a very sharp lens though at least at f/5.6 and above, I find it a nice focal range too, but it does distort a bit at 18mm, but is fine again by 20mm.

The 18-135mm gives a nice boost in focal length without the weight of going up to 200mm.

From the Nikon press release:

Nikon is pleased to announce the introduction of the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED, a compact, lightweight 7.5x zoom lens. Boasting a range of state-of-the-art optical technologies, this new lens offers outstanding performance at a remarkably affordable price.

The AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED features Nikon ED glass, aspherical lens elements and SWM (Silent Wave Motor) for enhanced performance. With a focal length range of 18-135mm, the lens is suitable for a wide variety of shooting situations; from sports, action and portraits to wide-angle landscapes. The picture angle is equivalent to a 27-202.5mm lens in the 35mm format.

RRP: £299.99
Sales release: September 2006.

That makes it around RM2000 in a direct conversion, so perhaps we’ll get it for about RM1800, not bad!

From the top of the Malvern Hills, you can see the rest of the series at my blog.

It’s not a great jump from the D70s but there are some nice minor refinements, I don’t regret getting my D70s though as I doubt there will be any stock for this cam until 2007.

We posted our first thoughts after the leak here: D80 leaked shots and thoughts

The major changes are:

• New 10.2 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD image sensor with the power to capture exceptional sharpness and faithful colour at 3,872 x 2,592 pixels size.
• Inherits the industry-leading advanced imaging processing engine of Nikon professional D-SLR cameras. Colour-independent pre-conditioning prior to A/D conversion works in harmony with high-precision digital image processing algorithms to produce natural-looking images that benefit from faithful colour and tone reproduction.
• 3D Colour Matrix Metering II automatic exposure control ensures ideal exposures in most lighting conditions. It evaluates brightness, colour, contrast, selected focus area and camera-to-subject distance. The system references the data against an expanded onboard database created using data from more than 30,000 actual photographic scenes to instantly and accurately calculate the final exposure value for the shot. Variable centre-weighted metering and spot metering centered on the active focus area are also available.
• Refined 11-area AF system packs the same number of focus areas available for the professional D2 series into a space-efficient system that features fast, precise operation. Each of the 11 focus areas can be used individually, the centre sensor can be switched to wide-frame operation for broader coverage and new Auto-area AF mode measures all 11 focus areas. The system automatically determines which are on the primary subject and activates only those areas.
• ISO AUTO mode automatically adjusts sensitivity between ISO 100 -1600 to maximize available light and achieve optimal exposure. Sensitivity can also be set manually between ISO 100 – 1600 in steps of 1/3 EV, plus HI-0.3, HI-0.7 and HI-1. Three levels of High ISO Noise Reduction are available when shooting at high ISO settings. Long Exposure Noise Reduction is also available when shooting at shutter speeds of 8 seconds or slower.

The full specs and press release/pics can be found here.

The preview looks good so far, I’d like to see some sample shots though.

Two and a half years ago Nikon announced the six megapixel D70, their first affordable enthusiasts digital SLR, it proved to be a very popular camera and strong competitor to the Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). Just fifteen months later Nikon revealed the D70s which was essentially the same camera with a some subtle tweaks (improved AF, wider flash coverage, higher capacity battery, larger LCD monitor). And so just over fifteen months on from the D70s Nikon present the latest incarnation of their ‘enthusiasts’ digital SLR line, the ten megapixel D80.

The D80 slots nicely between the entry-level D50 and the semi-professional / professional D200, clearly based on the D70 design but also different enough to be seen as a completely new model. It features a ten megapixel DX format CCD (the same we presume as used by Sony in the DSLR-A100), the metering sensor from the D50 and numerous other items taken or modified from the D200.

The full hands on preview is here.

They also announced another couple of AF-S lenses to go with the launch of this cam an 18-135mm as the new optional kit lens with more focal range (AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED) and another which I might add to my shopping list after I see some reviews as it’s the exact range I’ve been looking for and it has VR!

The AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED, it’s not f/2.8 but with VR it gives you that couple of extra stops anyway and it’s much more affordable. It’s equivalent to 450mm on a 35mm camera. It should be about RM1500 where as the f/2.8 version is RM6100, a huge difference, but is it really 4 times better? I shall test it out.. but if it’s anything like the 18-200mm VR it’ll be impossible to get hold of.

I’ll talk more about the lenses later.

Venue: Nasi Kandar Sedap@Aman Suria (next to Dataran Prima), Petaling Jaya

There could be representatives from Canon, Nikon and Sony to join us for the DCM 3rd TT Gathering; hopefully they can demo to us their EOS 30D, D80 and Alpha A100 DSLR cameras.

Directions:

If you come from Motorola, use the LDP highway and turn left after the St Ignatius Church into Jln SS25/23.
Drive straight turning left at the mini round-about.
Drive straight on coming to a sharp right turn on what will be named “Jln Bt Mayang Emas” now.
Continue driving straight on up the hill, taking a sharp right corner.
Turn right at Jln SS1/45.
Nasi Kandar Sedap will be on your left hand side.

Latest info here.

Last week, Nikon had posted a teaser on its websites worldwide about a new, upcoming 10.2-megapixel DSLR (Click here for the DPreview article).

These leaked shots (if they prove to be real) reveal the camera to be the Nikon D80 – the successor of sorts to the highly popular Nikon D70. I believe that these shots are real. Even if they aren’t, the D70 is due for an update anyway – although it’s still a great camera by today’s standards, it is over two years old.

But what does this mean to existing D70 owners? Should you upgrade? Is this camera as good as a D200 (which has the same megapixel count)? How is it different from the D70?

I’ll try to answer these questions, but bear in mind that they’re completely based on assumptions made from these pictures, which I also assume to be true. With these disclaimers out of the way, let’s have a closer look.

FRONT

From the front, the camera looks a lot like a souped-up D50, with more rounded lines and a smaller appearance than the D70. However, it does have the D70′s front command dial on the hand grip – something which was sorely missing from the D50.

Unlike the D70 (and like the D200), the pop-up flash release and flash mode/exposure selector have been separated into two separate buttons. No big difference in operation here.

However, there seems to be a custom button located below the AF-assist lamp, which is good. Custom buttons are always good – maybe it’ll let you select your ISO settings or to an AF lock or more. I dunno, but it’s a good sign.

BACK

The back of the camera reveals quite a number of changes. Firstly, there’s a new 2.5in LCD (bigger than the 2in one on the D70s and 1.8in one on the D70). The button layout is largely the same as the one on the D70, although the ISO and white-balance buttons (with their corresponding playback functions) have been swapped. The trash button has also moved to the top left (where the bracketting and drive-mode buttons used to be)while a new ‘OK’ button has appeared where the trash button itself used to be.

However, the fact that the ISO, white-balance and quality settings are still shared with playback buttons isn’t good news – especially if you normally enable instant review. The problem is: if you want to change you ISO settings right after a shot, you may still be in image playback mode and end up switching to thumbnail view. Not a serious problem, but it’s annoying (and is one very good reason to buy a D200 instead).

More shocking, though, is that the CF card door has now moved to the side of the camera (it used to be at the back, which was perfect ). In fact, the shape and dimensions of the door seem to suggest an SD card slot instead (just like the D50). I can’t tell for sure, as it may just be a notch that leads to a much bigger CF card door. Only time will tell, unfortunately. In the mean time, hold off those CF card purchases if you’re planning to upgrade to a D80!

TOP

Now this is interesting… The drive-mode button is now located to the right of the monochrome LCD panel, along with a new AF button. My guess is that this AF button lets you select either between single- and continuous-autofocus, or between different autofocus dynamic/spot modes. Or all of the above! This may also see the introduction of a new AF module, although there’s nothing wrong with the one on the D70 to begin with. AF mode selection was one of the weaknesses of the D70 (you could do it, but it required going through the menus, which is very *yucks!*) – nice to see Nikon doing something about it.

The more observant may also notice the disappearence of the bracketing mode button. Well, I never used the one on the D70 much anyway, so Nikon probably listened to customer suggestions here as well.

VERDICT

Well, the D80 looks to be an incremental update over the D70/D70s. The only reason I’d ever buy one is if the D80′s viewfinder offers much higher magnification (maybe closer to that of the D200′s) – so I can actually keep an eye on the depths of field while I’m framing a shot. It’s a problem for me, personally – even after jamming a DK-21m magnifying eyepiece to my D70.

I doubt the D80 will have the D200′s 5fps continuous drive or weather sealing either. Only time will tell, of course. Until then, wait for the official announcement from Nikon.

I like the black and white effect with the grainyness, gives it a old vs new kind of feel. I tend to like B&W for youngsters.

I used lanatirs method of effective black and white conversion rather than just desaturating

Exposure: 1/1600 Aperture: f/4.5 Focal Length: 70 mm Exposure Bias: 2/3 EV ISO: 1250

Also recropped with space at the right to give the little fella somewhere to roam in. Cropping kids very tightly makes them seem rather too stationary.