The last big Canon announcement was the low end Entry Level dSLR – EOS 500D / Rebel T1i – 15 Megapixels, now they have changed things up a bit and come out with a direct competitor to the Nikon D300/D300s.

Features

• 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• 8 frames per second continuous shooting
• 1080p HD video recording with manual controls
• 3.0 inch Clear View II LCD screen with 920,000 dots
• 19-point AF system (all cross-type)
• 1.0x magnification and 100% coverage viewfinder
• Wireless flash control
• Environmental sealing

It’s quite a beast, especially with 18megapixels, I think Canon finally released their 40/50D couldn’t compete with the Nikon D300 and now the D300s, so they had to step up their game.

Now they have with a high end APS-C (crop sensor) model in their line-up with dual Digic IV processors.

The full hands on preview is here:

Canon EOS 7D Preview

You can find sample images here:

Canon EOS 7D Preview Samples

So Canon has already come out with a successor to the succesful Canon EOS 450D – it seems to be a firm competitor to the Nikon D90 and in some ways is better than the Canon EOS 50D.

Features

• 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• Full HD movie recording with HDMI connection for viewing and playback on an HDTV
• ISO 100-3200 (expandable to 12800)
• 3.4 frames per second continuous shooting
• Max. 170 large JPEG images in a single burst
• 3.0” ClearView LCD with Live View mode
• 9-point wide area AF with cross type centre point
• High speed DIGIC 4 performance and superb image quality
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System

I’ve seen some sample images and it looks incredibly clean up to ISO3200, plus the full HD capability (even if it’s only 20fps) – 720p will be fine for most people at 30fps.

I think this is going to be a popular model and Nikon needs to do something about the D60/D40x segment to strengthen their hold if they are really serious about the lower end models.

You can find a hands on preview here:

Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i / Kiss X3 Digital) Preview

With the Nikon D300 being announced in August 2008, perhaps the new Nikon D400 will be coming in August 2009?

It seems unlikely though as the normal Nikon lifecycle is 2 years for each product, I’d be guessing a D300s (with video) or D300x (more megapixels) would be more likely.

The specs look pretty feasible with 1080p 24fps video recording, aiming at the Canon 5D Mark II market where the video capability has been a great success.

The rest is pretty normal like the 14.8MP DX sensor and the standard features, not a far reach from the D300.

• New 14.8 megapixel DX format CMOS sensor effective 14.3 megapixel
• Self-cleaning sensor unit (low-pass filter vibration)
• ISO 100 – 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25600 and down to ISO 50)
• 14-bit A/D conversion
• Movie capture at up to 1080p 24 fps with stereo sound
• Nikon EXPEED Plus image processor 30% faster than previous EXPEED image processor
• Super fast operation (power-up 13 ms, shutter lag 40 ms, black-out 90 ms)
• Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 200,000 exposure durability
• Multi-CAM3500DX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
• Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)
• Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning) now available (fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings)
• Vignetting control in-camera
• Automatic chromatic aberration correction
• Custom image parameters now support brightness as well as contrast
• Seven frames per second continuous shooting (nine frames per second with battery pack)
• 3.0? 922,000 pixel LCD monitor
• Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or contrast-detect AF, face detection
• ‘Active D-Lighting’ (adjusts metering as well as applying D-Lighting curve)
• HDMI HD video output
• Magnesium alloy body with connections and buttons sealed against moisture

If it turns out to be true, it might be quite a beast. I was wondering about upgrading my trusty D200 for a D300 but it just wasn’t attractive enough.

This D400 might be enough to tip the balance, there’s just something about HD video that’s really cool (think fast primes, shallow DoF in low light – sweet!).

I’m guessing the next release from Nikon will be a low end model, perhaps something like the Canon 1000D.

It’s about time Nikon came out with a high megapixel offering, Canon have had the edge on that market for quite some time with the Canon EOS 1Ds series – the latest being Canon EOS 1Ds MKIII. As the Nikon D700 and Nikon D3 only have 12.1 megapixels it’s lagging a bit in that camp with the new Canon 5D MKII having 21 megapixels!

It seems to be about a 90% certainty that Nikon will be coming out with their latest camera on December 1st 2008 – just a few days from now. The body should look about the same as the Nikon D3.

It’s a good time to come out with it after the very competitively priced Sony Alpha A900 was announced with 24.6 megapixels.

The first slip started in April when a D3 firmware update revealed a new 6048×4032 24.4 MP option, this points soundly at the Nikon D3x.

What I am wondering is will it be an inhouse sensor or something from Kodak or Fuji? The initial rumours were that it was from Sony but with them having their own 24.6 megapixel full frame offering that seems unlikely.

There is a lot of hope on the Nikon D3x, if it can produce such stunning dynamic range and high ISO sensitivity without noise like the D3 and D700 with the additional detail of 24 megapixels it will be a stunning piece of equipment and will definitely rule the high end of the market.

The price of the D3 has been dropping too which indicates something on the horizon.

You can see a whole bunch of clues here:

Nikon D3x – what do we have so far

You might remember we posted about the Sony A900 specifications just a few days before it was released, it had been rumoured for a while but when it came out with such competitive pricing everyone was shocked!

As a first competitor to the Nikon D700, the Canon 5DMKII and the highest resolution FF cam before this the Canon 1Ds MKIII

The full frame market is certainly heating up!

Features

• 24.6 MP 35mm format full-frame CMOS sensor (highest res in class)
• SteadyShot INSIDE full frame image sensor shift stabilization (world first)
• High Speed Dual Bionz processors
• Eye-level glass Penta-prism OVF, 100% coverage, 0.74x magnification
• 9 point AF with 10 assist points, center dual-cross AF w/2.8 sensor
• 5 frames per second burst, newly developed mirror box
• Intelligent Preview Function
• 3 User programmable custom memory modes on mode dial
• Advanced Dynamic Range Optimizer (5 step selectable)
• 40 segment honeycomb metering
• 3.0″ 921K pixel Photo Quality (270 dpi) LCD display, 100% coverage
• Direct HDMI output
• ISO 200-3200 (ISO 100-6400 expanded range)
• Magnesium Alloy body and rubber seals for dust and moisture resistance
• AF micro adjustment
• $2999.99 body price; available late October 2008

The interesting things to note are 100% viewfinder coverage – impressive, lack of live view, AF micro adjustment (everyone is jumping on this now with it available on the 5DMKII and started by Nikon), a decent performance with 5FPS shooting and a good high res LCD.

The image quality is pretty good too, you can see a comparison side by side of the A900 vs the Canon 1Ds MKIII here.

It shows excellent resolution but falls down at higher ISO (quite bad above ISO400) but at the same RRP as the Nikon D700!

You can read the full review here:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 Review