Noise Ninja Review – 005

If you are in the market for a 6 to 8-megapixel digicam and have read any of the reviews published on the internet (or contained within the pages of magazines such as D-Photo), you will undoubtedly have come across the reviewer’s assessment of the camera’s ‘noise’.

Noise is electronic ‘static’ in a digital camera and appears as darker spots (similar to film grain) in a photograph. This static is amplified at higher ISO settings and is especially obvious in flat areas of colour (like the sky).

In many cases, noise can become ‘excessive’ and even make a picture un-useable.

To The Rescue

Fortunately, help is at hand for those of us who like to shoot at high ISO ratings (400 to 3200) in the form of some pretty nifty software. Now when you have to photograph at high ISOs because of fading light, and image noise becomes inevitable, simply reach for Noise Ninja (cool name, eh!).

Available as a download off the internet (go to www.picturecode.com), Noise Ninja is being used by professionals and serious amateurs the world over to control noise in their images.

After it’s downloaded (it’s only 5 to 6 megabytes), you receive a trial version that overlays a grid pattern on your photographs. However, you can use your credit card to purchase a ‘key’ (serial number) that will ‘unlock’ the program ready for use.

What A Difference!

The software is very reasonably priced for such a powerful and incredibly useful program – it starts at US$35 (approx NZ$48) for the Home version and up to US$80 (approx NZ$111) for the Pro version.

Once you use it and see the difference it makes to your prints, you’ll wonder how you managed without it.

Noise Ninja can be used as a stand-alone product, or as a plug-in from within Photoshop. Both ways work exceptionally well and are intuitive.

To ‘fix’ an image, sliders are moved and the changes are previewed in ‘real time’ (you see it happening as you do it). Enlarge the image in the window to at least 100 per cent, so you can gauge more precisely the amount of correction you are applying, and ‘hey presto’!

Then it’s a simple matter of clicking the Apply button and those noisy specks just melt away.

A nifty little ‘before and after’ button also lets you marvel at the improvements made to your digital image.

The Right Profile

Noise ‘profiles’ specific to your camera are the key to superior results with Noise Ninja and these can also be downloaded (for free) at the Picturecode website. Don’t worry if your camera isn’t listed (although a good many of the popular models are) as you can create your own profiles, which is as painless as a couple of mouse clicks.

Five-Minute Fix

The ‘Five-minute Guide To Noise Ninja’ contained under ‘Help’ will have you producing noise-free images in… well, five minutes! It really is that easy and the results are superb.

Whereas before I was too apprehensive to ‘push’ a digicam anywhere past ISO 100 because of noise quality issues, now I know I can ‘fix’ anything in Noise Ninja later on. No matter whether I’m shooting with an 8MP digicam, or a dSLR set to ISO 1600, Noise Ninja is at the top of the list in my post-production workflow.

My recommendation is: what are you waiting for? Go download it – now!

Noise Ninja

Pros: Easy to follow yet powerful software, use as a stand alone or plug-in for Photoshop, transforms images quickly, makes noisy digicams useable, choose either PC or Mac versions

Cons: Only available over the internet in New Zealand

Epson RX630 Review – 005

The Epson RX630 is an efficient photo printer with a few added extras that make it a very desirable unit. Epson calls it a ‘copy centre’ and that is not far from the mark. It is a rather substantial machine that is a breeze to set up and operate thanks to easy-to-follow instructions. Within five minutes I was printing from my PC!

Quality Adjustment

The RX630 offers many printing modes. I prefer the Professional setting, as the Auto mode delivered quickly an average quality print, but did not pull everything out of the image.

Five inks are used: black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta and yellow, giving realistic colour reproduction.

Many adjustments are possible from the properties menu. These, along with the supplied software, can produce stunning results. And with a little tweaking, photographers will find the menu more than adequate to produce quality prints.

Print Direct

You can print directly from a memory card; a slot in the front of the RX630 provides for easy access and can be closed when not in use, ensuring it stays dust-free to protect the electronic contacts – a nifty solution!

Alternatively, if you want to print directly from camera instead of memory card, hook up your USB camera cable to the printer, or use PictBridge or your Bluetooth connection.

Simple Steps

When printing from your memory card, the large two-inch LCD screen goes through all the necessary steps. You do not need your PC/Mac, as you can easily download from memory card to your computer for more editing later. Included software also lets you email your shots to family and friends.

Scanning Options

You can scan in three modes: Auto, Home and Professional. I would definitely recommend the last mode for best results. Fully Auto does not recognise transparency film, only colour negative. Home mode gives many options and Professional is indeed that – very professional.

The RX630 has a built-in transparency unit to scan a six-exposure filmstrip or scan four mounted 35mm transparencies. Placing the filmstrip inside the holder is straightforward and holds firm, but mounted transparencies don’t sit firmly. I also found the heat of the backlight causes film to curve a little.

Epson told me that this demo model had been shipped all over New Zealand, so I have a feeling that this has caused a misalignment in the focus lock for film, because I was unable to get the trannies in full focus.

Copy That!

Copies from thick books are no problem with the RX630. The lid lifts off and you can place your book on the copier without restraint. No fiddling is required to keep the lid on top of the book either. Adjust your settings to make your copy the way you want it: the Auto Instant preview shows the changes as you make them.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m impressed with the versatility, quality and features of Epson’s ‘copy centre’.

Epson RX630

Pros: Excellent flatbed copier, almost professional quality  colour images, extensive and user-friendly software

Cons: Average holder for mounted trannies

Design: 4.5/5

Features: 4.5/5

Performance: 4/5

Print Quality: 5/5

Value for Money: 4/5

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Epson PictureMate Review – 003

 

I was going on vacation when the EPSON PictureMate arrived at the door. Its convenient carry handle made it easy to transport from the car to each of our destinations, so it was always available to print our digital snaps.

The PictureMate resembles a ghetto blaster radio with its carry handle and toaster shape, but hidden under the covers is one of the best personal printers you’ll find.

Designed to print 4×6 (postcard) prints, it is ideal for the hobby photographer or the digital scrapbooker (see Issue 2 of D-Photo).

Lift the rear cover to load EPSON’s fabulous Premium Glossy Photo Paper (Cat # SO41729), then open the ink cartridge packet and shake it several times before locking it into place in the rear of the printer. The cartridge contains five colours and black for an incredible tonal range, providing users with near photo-quality images.

On The Cards

The main front cover is a receptacle for your completed prints while the right side cover houses three card slots. It accepts nearly every card, including xD, Smart Media, Compact Flash, Microdrive, SD, MMC and the plethora of Sony Memory Sticks, including Memory Stick Pro. Cards like miniSD cards can only be used in the PictureMate with an SD card adapter.

Once you have inserted your memory card, you can print out a proof sheet using the menu on the PictureMate’s large LCD screen. It’s then a simple matter of choosing the pictures you’d like to print from the proof.

This printer also provides plenty of control, including the ability to zoom.

Make The Connection

Setting up the printer with my computer was a breeze. I just slipped the CD into the computer and followed the instructions. Everything went smoothly and I was printing without problems. The only hiccup I experienced was trying to print an image with the wrong orientation – the image was vertical and I had told the printer it was horizontal!

Perhaps best of all, the PictureMate acts as a card reader when connected to your computer (those using Windows XP or Mac OS X won’t even need to load the drivers), allowing you to access the images on your card without having to use up valuable camera batteries.

Pictbridge support

If you own a Bluetooth camera phone you can get a Bluetooth module, so you can transfer images from the phone to the printer. I tried plugging my D-Link Bluetooth module into the USB socket in the back of the printer, but the unit wouldn’t recognise it. Buy the genuine EPSON one and you’re away laughing.

This little printer also has ‘PictBridge’ support, which means you can plug your camera directly to the PictureMate without having to remove the card.

The major advantage to using the PictBridge facility is that you can use your camera’s LCD screen to review the prints rather than making a proof sheet.

Holiday Heaven

This printer was great fun on holiday, allowing me to share my images without having to run to a photo lab for postcard prints. Even better we could use cards from different cameras to make proof sheets and decide what images we wanted to share without having to power up a PC. Images were frighteningly photo-realistic and the B&W images I printed had a lovely tonal range.

I’m sure just showing my friends these results has helped sell at least one of these personal printers!

Epson PictureMate

Pros: Very portable, easy to use, loads of options, ink dries immediately.

Cons: Doesn’t print from Tiff files.

Design: 4/5

Features: 4/5

Performance: 5/5

Print Quality: 5/5

Value for Money: 4/5

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Epson 4800 Extended Test Pt2 – 152

In our last issue TPM’s managing editor Tim Steele described his experience with the Epson 4800 inkjet printer using Photo Black ink and Epson’s glossy, semi-gloss and semi-matt papers.

This article is part two of his exploration of the printer’s capabilities, this time with the use of Matt Black ink and Epson’s matt, textured canvas and fine art papers.

With the change over to Matt Black (MK) ink complete it was time to re-acquaint myself with some familiar Epson matt paper stocks and discover some new paper types previously known only from catalogue browsing or viewing prints made by friends and colleagues.

The 4800 senses the change of black ink and sets up its printer dialogue menus to offer only compatible papers. This reduces potential paper wastage by preventing the forgetful user from pressing ‘Print’ on incompatible combinations. Very clever indeed as we all suffer moments of total incompetence, in my case usually the result of trying to multi-task after long days and late nights.

Not so clever is the blue tape Epson uses to seal paper rolls, preventing these from unwinding in their boxes. On some of the textured matt stocks the first forty centimeters of paper can be compromised without the user being aware of it. The tape appears to remove cleanly but in my experience some adhesive is left behind, ruining the first print off the roll. Most unfortunate if, like me, your first print is a 100cm long panorama. No such problems were evident with the same tape on the glossy stocks.

I tried the familiar stocks first, Epson Heavyweight Matt paper and Archival Matt paper. These provided the quality results I had become accustomed to with the 2400 printer, here on a larger scale. These smooth and dense papers are excellent for images requiring critical sharpness at close viewing distances or blocks of strong colour. These were used in sheet form and transported perfectly from the printer’s internal tray, surprising me somewhat as I expected these would need to be hand-fed through the sheet feeder.

Epson’s Textured Fine Art paper is fantastic for larger images such as panoramas where high sharpness is achieved at longer viewing distances but the texture also holds detail and is a real point of interest when the viewer moves in for a closer look. I can only describe the effect as ‘painterly’ and this encourages the user to experiment with techniques in Photoshop such as sponge and watercolor. I used this product in roll form and it worked well, presenting no difficulty for the 4800’s internal cutter even after multiple cuts through the strong texture. I would have forgiven the odd snag but nothing eventuated, an impressive performance.

Epson Canvas is a product that I’ve long been keen to try and I was surprised at how easy this was to use. It was necessary to feed this via the sheet feeder but this was a smooth process. The canvas holds ink well and is impressive for colour and monochrome printing. I was impressed by the quick dry down and the way the ink permeated the canvas without any show-through evident from the ‘B’ side. I purchased some canvas blocks from my local stationers and found it surprisingly easy to mount my canvases on top of these. It’s a real ‘measure twice – cut once’ exercise but with careful planning of where you intend to fold and trim and gentle stretching, a really professional result is possible from print number one. Or maybe I simply had beginner’s luck? The canvases were secured around the framing with my trusty staple gun.

Epson Smooth Fine Art paper and Velvet Fine Art paper are other products which were new to me and I sampled these in roll and Super A3 format sheets. These are cracker papers lending themselves well to highly detailed photographic images and both are as smooth as the proverbial.

While my experience with the Photo Black (PK) ink was superb and I particularly enjoyed the semi-matt and semi-gloss papers, I found that I developed a distinct preference for the combination of the matt papers in conjunction with the Matt Black (MK) ink. This would be my standard setup if I owned a 4800 and I’d either purchase an R1800 for gloss work or have these done by my favourite professional lab.

I spoke with Marshall Lefferts, a former commercial photographer turned fine art photographer and hotelier. In his professional career, Marshall was well known for his large format photography of cars with both the mundane and the sublime falling under the critical eye of his 8×10 camera and those expensive sheets of film.

Today Marshall shoots digital with a FinePix S2 Pro and the 4800 is his print partner in crime. An Epson 4800 owner since mid 2005, he runs Matt Black (MK) ink and his papers of choice are Epson’s Enhanced Matt for proofing and Smooth Fine Art for his limited edition Hockney-esque montages. Images are prepared in Photoshop, laid out in Corel Draw and printed from within that program.

The resulting files are large, around 500 – 600 megabytes and typically output at 1440 dpi on the Epson. Like me, Marshall speaks highly of the printer.

Before concluding I need to acknowledge a couple of people from Aarque who made this test totally painless and who were an absolute pleasure to deal with. David Woolford, the company’s dealer manager, and Craig Moore, from technical support, were knowledgeable and attentive and gave generously of their time and knowledge. Quality product aside, this level of service is a great value add and an ongoing one as support just kept on coming, including new printer profiles for materials as the test continued.

For a printer ‘power user’, the Epson 4800 would recoup the initial investment quickly and justify its running costs many times over. While paper costs are similar between the 4800 and its baby siblings this cannot be said for ink costs, where the purchase of ink in bulk in the far larger cartridges has a marked effect on economy of use.

The most surprising thing for me was to discover just how little ink is consumed by a great deal of printing. I’m assured that both the front panel LCD and the on-screen Print Status Monitor are accurate indicators of ink remaining but for my usage, these would not budge. Akin to driving a modern ‘super mini’ class of car, it’s amazing just how far you can go without the needle falling below the Full indicator line.

Obviously the speed bump would arrive in time and the replacement of so many ink cartridges of these large capacities is hardly inexpensive. Like income tax, I think a user would learn to live with this as a high class problem as to exhaust this much ink you would have produced, and hopefully sold, an absolute heap of superb prints.

Suffice to say that the friendly Aarque guys had to remove the 4800 with some degree of quiet assertiveness at the end of the test period. There is now a hole in my heart and an empty area the size of the 4800’s footprint on my desktop that will remain deliberately unfilled in anticipation of its return, sooner or later, by hook or by crook.

Now, about that 9800 model, you know – the one that prints up to 1.2 metres wide … How do I get my hands on that?

TS

Printers – Choosing a printer and getting the most from it – 003

For many, the easiest choice when buying a computer is to listen to the salesperson and take the inkjet printer he/she offers as a package deal. But will it do all the things you want it to?

The best idea is to consult your friends and find out what they like about their printers and also read magazines (like D-Photo) to obtain an unbiased view.

Once you’ve done some research, sit down and make a list of what you’d like from your printer. To do this, it’s important that you consider the features different printers provide. For example:

• Print text using black ink.
• Print photos with or without borders.
• Print various sizes – usually from postcard size through to A4, or even to A3.
• Put a camera’s memory card directly into the printer via card slots or connect the camera directly to the printer via PictBridge.
• Provide software to allow you to print multiple images on one page.
• Print CDs.
• All-in-one printer i.e. printing, scanning and faxing.
• Wireless (Wi-Fi) printer.

Once you know what your ideal printer is, the next step is find out if it’s available!

Dye Sublimation 

Although we covered dye-sublimation printers (pictured above) in issue one of D-Photo, I’ll quickly recap on how they work.

The paper acts as a receptor for the dye, which comes in a solid state on a roll of tape. As the tape passes over the heated print head the dye changes from a solid into a gas and then reverts into a solid again when it makes contact with the paper. The paper passes backwards and forwards through the machine until all three colours (red, green and blue) have been dispersed to create the image.

The major advantage with the dye-sub process is the phenomenal tonal range and the fact that the paper is the same weight as photographic paper. Plus the final pass is usually a waterproof plastic layer that ensures durability.

These little printers, like the Canon CP330 (RRP $449) are also very handy because they are easy to transport – perfect for the photographer on holiday!

The down side is that you’re limited to postcard-size images.

Although there are A4 dye-sub printers, the price of the printer and material is prohibitive for most hobbyists.

Inkjet

Inkjet or bubble jet printers squirt ink onto the paper in very fine droplets (measured in picolitres). These fine quantities of ink, less than a hair’s width in size, can make impressive gradients of colour.

The number of ink cartridges a printer has will directly affect how photo-realistic the final images will look. A printer with three separate colour cartridges and black will definitely produce photo-quality images, provided you use photo paper.

The latest inkjet printers like the HP Photosmart 8450  ($699), Canon PIXMA iP8500 ($799, pictured above) and the EPSON Stylus Photo R800 ($799)  have eight colours to work with, producing images indistinguishable from a photograph. However, you do have to print on photo-quality paper and use papers that are recommended by the manufacturer to produce those optimum results.

Hewlett Packard’s 8450 is a very good example of how the design of printers is being influenced by digital technology. This model has many direct-printing options: you can print directly from any PictBridge-compatible digital camera or use one of  the printer’s digital media slots.

Lasers

Laser printers are probably the cheapest to run, but the most expensive to buy due to the complexity of the device. These printers apply similar principles as a photocopier: a revolving drum called a photoreceptor is given a positive charge, while the laser draws the image onto the drum as a series of negative charges. Once the pattern is set, the toner is applied to the drum and it clings to the negatively discharged parts of the drum.

Before the paper rolls across the drum it is given a negative charge – this charge is stronger than the charge on the drum and draws the pattern of the toner to the paper. As the paper and drum are travelling at the same speed, the image is transferred perfectly. The paper is then discharged to prevent it sticking to the drum.

The final step is for the paper to pass through two heated rollers called the fuser, which ‘fuses’ the toner powder to the paper (this is why pages are hot when they come out of a laser copier).

While being cheap to run may be a major consideration, no one I spoke to gave laser printers much credibility when it came to producing photo-quality prints.

There also appears to be no specialty papers available for them.

However, laser printers are brilliant in an office environment where multiple computers may be accessing the same printer and they can be set to use postscript software as used in the printing industry.

Thermal Autochrome

Fujifilm has come out with the latest technology for photographic prints with its Finepix CX-550 (pictured above) personal digital printer. This uses a technology called Thermal Autochrome, where the paper has three colours imbedded in it (red, green and blue). The paper travels over a heated print head that releases the colour that is sensitive to that temperature. Once the paper has travelled through three times, exposing each colour, the image is created. In the final pass the image is fixed with a fluorescent light.

The CX-550 is PictBridge compatible, so it will connect to most of the latest digital cameras, and it produces up to 4R-sized prints (postcard 6×4). The downside for this printer is the price – while the most expensive dye-sublimation printer costs just over $400, the Fuji costs a whopping $1299.

Paper weight is also light compared to what you’d normally associate with photo paper, but picture quality is superb.

It does take approximately 90 seconds to print each image, so look at it as your own little one-hour lab, as it will take the best part of an hour to print 36 pictures.

Multi-tasking

The hottest sellers at the moment are multi-function units that will copy, scan and print. Both Canon and EPSON have some scoldingly good examples of these home office favourites. They are a great way of saving desk space, as you have one unit instead of three.

EPSON’s new Stylus Photo RX630 ($649, pictured above) is a fine example. It has PictBridge, a built-in multi-card reader and HZ3 dye-ink that is water, ozone and light resistant.

Canon’s PIXMA MP750 ($649) is also well worth a look, using 2-picolitre FINE technology to produce top quality prints and providing superior colour reproduction for both copying and scanning.

Image Is Everything

For the high-end photographer an A3 printer, like EPSON’s Photo Stylus 2100 ($1699) or Canon’s i9950 ($1199), will produce dazzling results, as well as printing directly to CD. The Canon uses eight ink cartridges – the EPSON has seven – and each has the ability to change blacks from a standard black cartridge to a ‘matt’ black suitable for printing on matt papers. Both units produce great results.

And thankfully you don’t have to spend a fortune on a photo printer. Even the keen amateur is catered for with models like the reasonably priced CX 3500 ($279) and CX 6500 ($449) from EPSON, Hewlett Packard’s Photosmart 325 ($349) and Photosmart 375 ($449, pictured bottom left), or Canon’s PIXMA iP3000 ($279) and PIXMA iP4000 ($349).

Time To Choose

Although consumers often opt for the versatility of an inkjet printer, with its many paper and ink options, ultimately it is up to you to weigh up the features and decide what printer best suits your needs. To do this you must consider the size of the print you want to produce and how often you will use the printer.

Thankfully, just like digital cameras, the price of personal printers is dropping. So, your next printer purchase will be even cheaper than the last, will produce superior images and will have more exciting features.

(All prices mentioned in this article are recommended retail prices.)

Retail Therapy

If you want to print digital images, you can also drop into your local photographic supplier for ‘while-you-wait’ prints.

Kodak Express and many other Kodak outlets have machines called Picture Makers (pictured top right). These photo kiosks allow you to insert a CD or the memory card from your camera directly into the machine and select the images you’d like. You can choose as many or as few images as you want to print and then either have the machine print the pictures instantly using their in-built dye-sub printers or wait an hour and have them printed on proper photographic paper.

The main advantage of having genuine photos printed is they’re usually cheaper to print than the other options and they are on more durable photographic paper.

Most retail stores have a sliding scale for pricing, so the more you print the cheaper it becomes. Not only is it cheaper to print through a photo store, you also save time. Can you imagine sitting at your computer and printing out a hundred 6×4 prints?

Dedicated To Digital

Fujifilm New Zealand has a similar system called a Digital Photo Centre (DPC) found in minilabs, photo stores and some pharmacies. These centres are connected to Frontier digital minilabs capable of making cost-effective prints up to 10×15-inches.

In addition to Frontier and DPC, Fujifilm offers a smaller print system called Printpix (pictured above). Using Thermo Autochrome technology this system is totally dedicated to digital. All you need to do is pop in your card and select your prints.

Canon EOS 20D Review – 003

 

We are living in a truly golden age of camera technology and development. It’s a very exciting time to be involved in the industry, 
not to mention being a camera reviewer’s dream!

Digital cameras are being produced and released at an incredible rate. And the company that sets the pace is Canon.

Breakthrough digital SLRs (such as the EOS 30D and Rebel 300D) have guaranteed Canon a lion’s share of the market, while its professional offering – the EOS 1Ds with a full-frame 11-megapixel sensor – sits at the top of the digital SLR food chain. (Although this is about to change with the recent announcement of a 16.7-megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II.)

So it came as no surprise when Canon unveiled its latest digital SLR, the EOS 20D, at the recent Photokina Trade Show.

A New Benchmark

A replacement for the incredibly popular EOS 10D, the 20D offers a huge range of serious improvements over its older sibling, thanks to advances in chip technology and image quality introduced with the professional EOS 1D Mark II. One year is a whole heap of time in this young industry of digital capture, where the sky is still the limit. We, the consumers of all of this new technology, reap the rewards – but the poor engineers in Canon’s R&D department must never sleep!

While the 10D set the benchmark for image quality in the 6-megapixel range, the 20D – despite being smaller and lighter – boasts an 8.2-megapixel sensor, faster image capture, more focus points for superb auto-focusing, superior white-balance controls and better image quality. And all for the same price as the 10D!

EF-S Compatible

Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that the 20D follows in the footsteps of the consumer-marketed 300D by offering full compatibility with Canon’s new digital lens format, the EF-S (where the S stands for ‘short back focus’) system. The 10D did not support this and I’ll have more to say about EF-S lenses later on in the review.

All in all, the 20D is a slicker, more attractive package than the 10D and a worthy upgrade. It’s incredibly good value as a first camera for anyone wanting to make the jump from conventional film photography to digital.

Intuitive Control

First impressions out of the box are of a solidly built, well-designed camera that has a similar look and feel to previous Canon EOS models. If you are upgrading from an earlier Canon digital SLR, then you will feel instantly at home, apart from a few minor button changes. One of these extra buttons is a welcome addition – a small joystick that allows you to quickly toggle through the camera’s nine focus points while composing a shot.

You can choose any of the nine points individually, or let the camera choose for you. I opted to let the camera choose for me and never regretted the decision. The 20D had an uncanny ability to choose exactly what I wanted to focus on – even if the subject was off centre. And it was never fooled into switching focus if something happened to move in front of my subject.

Very impressive indeed!

Technology To The Rescue

Encased in a magnesium alloy frame with soft rubberised material for surer handling around the grip area, the EOS 20D has a solid, dependable feel. There’s none of the creaking of joints you get in the Canon 300D, while the weight and heft feels just right for my medium-sized hands.

The camera without lens and battery is slightly smaller and lighter than the 10D. It’s about as small and light as I would like to see for a mid to pro-level camera. Any smaller or lighter and the stability you get from holding an SLR camera would start to be compromised. When you attach a hefty telephoto lens to a camera body (and add Canon’s 1.6x magnification factor), bigger and heavier is definitely better to allow for a firmer grip and less camera shake.

Technology is coming to the rescue though, combating motion blur by building image stabilisation systems into certain Canon lenses. However, there is still no substitute for a camera with good weight and balance.

Having said that, the 20D comes across as ‘about right’ for its intended market and I had no problem carrying the camera around all day with a 28-105mm lens attached.

Performance

While it may look very similar to the EOS 10D, the performance of the 20D places it in a different league entirely, and includes improvements in its feature set that make upgrading a very attractive option for the consumer.

First and foremost are the extra 1.7 million pixels it boasts over the 10D. At 8.2 megapixels, yet with a similar sensor size, each pixel on the 20D’s sensor is actually smaller.

Normally this would mean an inferior image. Yet Canon’s engineers have managed to design a CMOS sensor with lower noise and higher resolution, resulting in a brighter viewfinder image than found on its predecessor, the 10D. This is no mean feat and Canon has achieved it by incorporating advances in chip technology taken from their state-of-the-art EOS 1D Mark II.

The new Digic II chip onboard the 20D also allows for an increase in image processing speed, autofocus speed and data transfer with the new USB 2 connection (backwards compatible with USB 1.1).

All right already… enough with the techno-babble!

What all this means in real terms when you are shooting out in the field is that this camera is very quick, very responsive and allows you to shoot as fast as you can compose. There is no annoying shutter lag, no lengthy wait for the camera to write data to the card and immediate review on the LCD screen after the shot has been taken. All of this and a bigger image as a result. Who could ask for more?

Image Quality

Eight megapixel consumer cameras have been around for a year or so, but the image quality and noise above ISO 100 has been somewhat suspect. Not so the 20D, which produces crisp, clean and noiseless images up to ISO 400, with ISO 3200 still surprisingly useable. With its increased ISO sensitivity and very quick processing times, the 20D will be perfect for sports or event photographers who need to shoot with available light and still capture good, useable images.

This large number of megapixels also allows more options when it comes to working with a print. More resolution means clearer enlargements, even from a small portion of the frame. If you regularly produce 16×20 prints, then the 20D is the camera for you.

But what if you have no intention of producing prints this large? Wouldn’t 8 megapixels be wasted on you? The answer to this is a resounding ‘No’ for one very simple reason – cropping.

The more resolution you have, the bigger you can enlarge even a small portion of the frame to get a high-quality result.

When testing the 20D’s autofocus system (which is excellent by the way), I took shots of my kids running around a field. They appear quite small in the original file, but cropping in for a tighter image on the computer produced clear, crisp 6×4s that in no way suffered from the enlargement. This freedom alone is worth the upgrade to 8 Mp if you tend to crop your images a lot.

File Size

However, there is one ‘gotcha’ with this extra image size and that is an increase in the file size. Canon supplied a 128MB Compact Flash card with the 20D and I gotta tell ya folks … that just ain’t big enough. In fact the only frustration I found in using the 20D was the regularly flashing ‘card full’ warning light.

I like to shoot RAW files, but at 8.7 megabytes each, I only got 14 images on a 128MB card. Yikes! In the end I resorted to shooting medium-sized JPEGs, and even then I could only get around 56 on the card. To really make use of the 20D’s full 8.7 megapixel RAW file output (and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you), you’ll want at least a 1 Gig Compact Flash card.

There are eight Gig cards on the market for this very reason, and I expect this will only increase as megapixel counts continue to climb.

Superior Lenses

Introduced with the EOS 300D, the new EF-S lens mount was met with a certain amount of scepticism by the Canon faithful.

Many were adamant that Canon wouldn’t produce another EF-S lens other than the 18-55mm that came bundled with the 300D kit. Well, whose got egg-on-face now? (Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?)

With the introduction of the 20D came the announcement of two new EF-S lenses – the 17-85mm f4-5.6 Image Stabilised lens (equivalent to 28-135 on a 35mm camera) and the EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM (16-35mm in 35mm terms) designed for ultra-wide coverage. To date, the 300D and now the 20D are the only cameras in the EOS line that can make use of EF-S lenses, but you can guarantee more will follow.

Designed specifically for digital cameras (and again, I must stress, only useable on the 300D and 20D at present), the EF-S lenses incorporate new technology that allows them to be smaller and lighter than previous autofocus lenses, while still maintaining excellent image quality.

Unfortunately, neither of the two new lenses were available with the 20D I had, but all comments so far from those who have used them overseas has been exceptionally positive.

The 20D with a 17-85mm f4-5.6 Image Stabilised lens would make an impressive ‘go anywhere, shoot anything’ travel kit and will be high on my Christmas wish list.

Special Features

Every new design nowadays also needs a few extra features to make it stand out from the crowd (and entice the consumer). And so, the 20D introduces a couple of extras worth mentioning.

Canon has reached a new level of user-control with its White Balance Shift feature. Not only can you bracket three shots using different white balance settings, you can also choose to bracket on the blue/amber or green/magenta axis. With White Balance Shift you get to ‘dial-in’ (with the new joystick control) the exact colour shift you require.

The shift screen looks like something taken from a nuclear submarine and in the end it may be a bit too much control for the average user, who will get fantastic results with white balance set on Auto. But for the techno-enthusiast or dedicated studio photographer, who will take the time to get to grips with this new feature, the absolute control this feature affords them will be almost priceless.

Filter System

One of the other new features that a lot of traditional Black and White photographers will find useful is the tone and filter effects menu.

When shooting with the Black and White parameter set, you can gain entry into a sub-menu that opens up a whole new world.

Now you can add yellow, orange, red or green filter effects to your Black and White file without screwing a filter onto the lens. Not only that, you also get the opportunity to ‘tone’ your images with your choice of sepia, blue, purple or green.

While these were certainly fun to play with, in reality it isn’t anything that can’t be done very quickly in post-processing. I also found the filter effects to be a little too subtle. The red filter didn’t give the kind of ‘punch’ I would have expected a deep red filter to give.

If Canon develops these filters for future models, I would like to see a certain level of user control over the filter effect.

A Bright Future

Canon has done it again by producing an incredibly useable, highly sophisticated image-making machine jam-packed with the latest technology and all at a fantastic price. If you own a 10D, you will definitely want to consider upgrading to this 8-megapixel SLR, even though it’s only been a little over a year between the two models.

However, Canon’s engineers have used that year wisely and in all respects the 20D is quite simply better, stronger, faster.

It certainly won’t end here though, and this remains the quandary for many first-time buyers. But with the 20D’s implementation of the latest technology from the pro series EOS 1D and the inclusion of EF-S lens compatibility, its future looks to be a long and distinguished one.

Canon 20D

Pros: New generation chip increases performance over 10D, 8.2 megapixels for excellent image and cropping possibilities, compatible with new digital EF-S lenses, unmatched white 
balance control.

Cons: Filter settings too subtle, may be too small and light for some large lenses.

Design: 4.5/5

Features: 5/5

Image Quality: 5/5

Performance: 5/5

Value for Money: 5/5

OVERALL RATING: 5/5

KEY FEATURES

Max resolution: 3504 x 2336

Effective sensor resolution: 8.2 million

Optical sensor: CMOS 15.0 x 22.5mm

ISO rating: ISO 100-3200

Focus: 9 selectable points, manual

White balance: Custom, preset, automatic

Format: RAW, JPEG, RAW + JPEG

Flash: Pop-up and hot shoe

X sync: 1/200th sec

Min shutter speed: 30 sec

Max shutter speed: 1/8000th sec

Continuous shooting: 5 frames per sec

Pro X Halogen Lamps – Review – 003

Although it has been a long time since I’ve worked with tungsten lights, it didn’t take me long to get used to the quality of light produced by these high-end Pro X lamps.

Strong, lightweight, portable and versatile, they are ideal for illuminating still, video or digital images in the studio.

Use With Care

One of the advantages of these lights is that they are simple to set up and move.

However, although the strong filament inside the light bulb allows for easy movement, you must avoid bumps. The filament is white hot and very brittle when it is switched on, so moving these around is a bit like walking with a cup of coffee filled to the edge!

To prolong the life of your bulb, you need to take extra care.

Special Effects

Working with these Pro X lamps is simple; a bayonet fitting exchanges a host of accessories to obtain different lighting effects.

Without adjustment the light is directional, high contrast and provides strong shadows. This can be modified with different reflectors, barn doors, soft boxes and umbrellas.

The standard reflector provides a hard directional light that is similar to the headlight on your car, or you can use a diffuser to make the light soft and suitable for portraits.

Barn doors are an option that allow you to play with the light, to direct it where you want and in the shape you need. However, I forgot that these get very hot when the lights are on for a while, leading me to voice a very strong opinion when I tried to rotate them with unprotected hands!

Getting The Right Light

An elongated elliptical cone can be used on these lamps and is a great background shaper in the studio, providing effective lighting for portraits and product shots.

It’s also possible to place filters, colour or diffusion material in front of both the barn doors and elliptical cones. But just remember to use nonflammable materials!

And if you want to create a soft, but slightly directional light, try a soft box with a honeycomb filter – this is my preferred attachment for portraits.

Package Deal

The Pro X lights stand at a minimum height of 85cm and a maximum of 180cm. The long-life halogen tubes are either 650, 1000 or 1250W, with a colour temperature of 3200K. Each lamp is fan cooled and has a separate on/off switch that is lit from the inside by a green light – very handy if you work in the dark! They also have a generous long lead for easy movement around your workspace.

For obvious safety reasons, there is a (removable) glass shield in front of the bulb to prevent accidents. The standard Pro X kit comes with two quality Manfrotto stands, two heads and two sets of four-flap barn doors.

I also recommend that you invest in an umbrella or soft box, so you can create different qualities of light in the studio.

Quick Tips

You should never touch a professional lamp (bulb) with your fingers. If natural oils from your fingers are left on the surface of the glass this will cause the lamp to burst (in the future, not at the moment you touch it). Always use a cloth to hold the lamp.

Do not use halogen (tungsten) bulbs for too long as the colour temperature will decline and affect the colour quality in your image.

Tungsten light needs relatively long shutter speeds compared to flash, so use a tripod for best results.

Pro X Lamps

Pros: Well built, lightweight, high powered, versatile, adaptable.

Cons: No dimmer.

Design: 5/5

Features: 5/5

Performance: 4/5

Value for Money4/5

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Lumix DMC L1 Review – 015

The digital SLR category is a fast growing one that also offers manufacturers a welcome shelter from the constant price pressures they face at the lower end of the digital camera food chain. Where once it took over 100 years to truly commoditise the film camera, the point-and-shoot digital has reached this stage within 10 short years.

Unlike their lower-priced siblings, dSLRs are often acquired by consumers for whom the product’s price point tends to be less important than a host of other issues within the decision-making process. The combination of these two factors has seen an explosion of new models from the traditional SLR manufacturers, with Sony and Panasonic being notable new entrants to this area.

Bold Move

Panasonic’s first digital SLR is the Lumix DMC L1. It’s a brave step away from conforming to the norm and will appeal to the serious photographer. But, before we talk about styling and features, let’s first take a look at the background.

Panasonic has been investing heavily in relationships (most notably with Leica and Olympus), and research and development to develop the core technologies and competencies necessary to leapfrog its digital camera business ahead. Some of the milestones along this path include MEGA O.I.S. (optical image stabilisation) and the Venus Engine image processor – the latest versions of both appear in this camera.

The L1 shares a great deal with, yet differs strongly from the Olympus E330, as these cameras were developed in tandem. Both cameras are designed for the Four-Thirds open digital camera system.

As this is not a comparison test, I won’t go to great lengths to explain the differences. Let’s just say that if you’re considering one of these cameras, take a good look at the others before making your decision. They have as many similarities as differences and
a detailed comparison will spin your head off its axis!

A Kit Above The Rest

Leica’s influence is immediately visible from two visual prompts. The camera’s silhouette strongly resembles its M-series rangefinder cameras, yet this is a SLR. The flat top Leica-esque design has necessitated mounting the reflex mirror horizontally in a Porro Prism design. The result? A digital SLR without a prominent pentaprism in the top centre of its body.

Furthermore, the 14–50mm f2.8/3.5 aspherical zoom lens supplied with the camera also bears the Leica name. And don’t ever refer to this as a ‘kit’ lens, as it has none of the hallmarks of one of these optics. It’s not light, slow, inexpensive or compromised. It’s also the world’s first auto focus lens from Leica.

If that’s not enough, it incorporates Panasonic’s optical image stabilisation system to prevent blurred images that result from camera shake. This scans at a rate of 4000 times per second and compensates precisely to extend the user’s ability to hand-hold the camera at slow shutter speeds. As I said, this is no kit lens. L1 buyers will initially be able to supplement this excellent zoom lens from a range of 22 different Four-Thirds standard lenses available from Olympus and Sigma. Panasonic tells us that four other lenses are planned and will follow in time.

What A View!

The build quality is quite superb. The L1 is pleasantly hefty at just over 1000g with the Leica lens fitted and the camera feels like it has been hewn from a block of steel. There is nothing remotely plastic about it and I have to say this is a welcome change from some new cameras that have passed through my hands recently.

Another unusual, but most worthwhile, feature is the Live MOS sensor. This provides a Live View function, permitting the alternate use of the LCD as a large and clear viewfinder in the style of a compact digital. Few dSLRs can perform this trick, which is useful for low-angle, high-angle or surreptitious shooting, where the photographer does not wish to attract attention by bringing the camera up to eye level. Not that anyone could complain about the L1’s optical viewfinder. Once you acclimatise to the fact that it is small and offset to the left-hand side of the camera, the view of the world through it, together with the information it provides, is excellent.

No Fringing

At 7.5 megapixels, the L1 beats a host of competitors offering only six, but it certainly won’t win the pixel count against the new 10-megapixel cameras from Sony, Canon and Nikon. Like all numbers, these only tell part of the story and the files produced by the
L1 are impressive.

The combination of an extremely low-noise CCD and an excellent standard zoom lens results in clear, sharp images devoid of colour fringing or chromatic aberration – despite my attempts to provoke these while testing!

The Venus engine III provides fast start-up at 0.8 seconds, a lag-free shutter release and low power consumption that allows a claimed 450 shots on a single battery charge.

Kodak CX7530 Review – 002

One thing Kodak does well is make photography easy and the CX7530 follows that philosophy right down to its software.

You can use this 5-megapixel camera with one hand tied behind your back (or while eating a chocolate biscuit – whichever takes your fancy!) It has a good ergonomic design with controls positioned conveniently at your fingertips.

There are plenty of cameras on the market with more bells and whistles than you’ll ever need, but for me this camera was about not having to navigate menus to get good shots. It was about picking it up and taking sharp, well-exposed images – end of story.

Power Up

The Kodak Retinar lens is a standard 3x optical zoom (the 35mm equivalent of 34mm-102mm). A 5x digital zoom is incorporated, but picture quality diminishes dramatically if you use it. There’s also 32mb of on-board memory and an SD card slot, so you can increase image storage by adding a memory card.

The power source is two double AA alkaline batteries, but it will work best with either a single-use CRV3 Lithium battery or a set of NiMh rechargeable batteries.

Kodak’s optional EasyShare Camera Dock 6000 comes with a single 1850mAh NiMh rechargeable battery and is the ideal companion to this camera. The dock is mains’ powered and will charge the camera’s battery. There’s an LED on the dock, so you can tell when it is fully recharged. However, there’s just one thing to remember, a set of NiMh batteries will last about 300 charges, so if you place the camera on the dock every day you will probably need to replace the battery every year.

Programmed To Please

The 1.8-inch LCD is a decent size for reviewing images and has loads of options when playing back pictures. For example, you can use the Multi-up function to see up to nine frames at a time; organise your favourite images into a folder, including the three pre-loaded folders for Birthdays, Holidays and Weddings; and even produce a slide show on the display or plug into the TV – your friends will be impressed!

If you have images on the internal memory, you can copy them to a card at a later date. Using a memory card makes it easier to slip into a Kodak store to have your images printed from a picture kiosk. You also can copy from a memory card back to the camera. The CX7530 will store up to 200 low-resolution images on the internal memory.

On the top of the camera is the command dial for selecting various picture modes: Portrait, Sports, Night Scene, Landscape and Macro. Just choose the mode that best describes what you are shooting and the camera will do the rest.

The Kodak CX7530 also has a self-timer so you can be a part of the shot; continuous shooting to help assist with action images or get a series of shots quickly; and a flash button that helps the photographer select from Auto Flash, Red Eye, Fill Flash and Flash Off.

Setting The Scene

The Night Scene setting yielded a dramatic image of my subject (Kelly), which was taken at dusk on a chilly, wet Palmerston North evening.

After taking a test shot, I easily set the exposure compensation to one stop underexposed, so the flash didn’t wash out Kelly’s complexion. The end result is a lovely image (above, far left). I used a tripod and strongly recommend you do the same when taking this type of image. If you want to take it a step further, dip into the menu and use the LT (Long Time) setting and choose exposure times of up to four seconds.

You’re not restricted to colour images, either. Under Colour in the menu you will find both Sepia and B&W for a more creative approach.

I forced Kelly out into the rain with an umbrella and I took black and white and sepia images to determine how well the CX7530 handled monochrome images. As you can see from the photos (above left) the camera does a fine job.

To shoot images of the kids and birthday cake I used the standard Auto setting, which automatically sets the exposure and determines if the flash is necessary. This makes shooting simple, but you do have to take shutter lag into consideration when taking shots like my son blowing out the candles.

On Auto

The best way to capture that ‘decisive’ moment is to lock the focus by pressing the shutter release half down, then take the shot the instant junior looks like he’s going to blow.  As you can see (right), I was a little quick on the shutter as the candles are hardly flickering.

I also used Auto to photograph the wind turbine (pictured far right). It was a great day, apart from the arctic breeze, so I leapt out of the car, framed the turbine and took the shot. The camera selected the aperture and shutter speed, so I was back in the warmth of the car within a few seconds.

Macro shooting isn’t that spectacular with the CX7530, only focusing down to 130mm in the wide setting or 220mm using the telephoto lens, so don’t expect to get riveting images of insects.

Sharing Is Easy

Kodak’s EasyShare software is a breeze to set up and use (pictured right).

It is available as a free download from the Kodak website should you want to take advantage of it. It will even recognise cameras other than Kodak!

EasyShare is both PC and Mac compatible, so it loaded easily on my little Mac iBook. It fires into life when you connect your camera to the computer by USB. It then enquires if you’d like to download the images and dutifully does so when you give the word.

From here you can organise and edit your images, prepare emails with images attached, or use the Print At Home command to print your pictures. You can also burn selected images at the press of a button if you have a CD or DVD burner installed on your computer. It’s all so simple.

Quality Deal

The Kodak CX7530 is a joy to use and, most of all, extremely simple to operate. It will be right at home in any office or home.

And while not offering the most features, it certainly has enough to whet the appetite.

The picture quality is superb, even the long exposure taken with the Night Scene setting shows no sign of noise. It’s PictBridge-compatible, so you can immediately connect to almost any modern printer without having to connect to a computer first.

The CX7530 is a digital camera for those people who aren’t interested in knowing too much photography mumbo-jumbo, but who want to produce gorgeous pictures.

Contact: www.kodak.com

Kodak CX7530

For: Super easy to use; a decent 32MB of on-board memory; PictBridge-compatible.

Against: No card or rechargeable batteries supplied.

Design: 4/5

Features: 3/5

Performance: 3/5

Image Quality: 4/5

Value for Money: 4/5

Overall rating: 4/5

Specifications

CCD resolution: 5.36 MP, 5.0 effective

Image quality: 5.0; 4.4; 3.1; 1.7MP

ISO rating: Auto (80-160) Manual (80, 100, 200, 400; 800

in 1.7MP: image quality mode)

Focus: Manual, automatic

Lens aperture: Wide: f/2.7-f/5.2. Telephoto: f/4.6-f/8.7

Optical zoom: 3x (34-102mm equivalent in 35mm format)

Flash: Auto, fill, red-eye, off

Shutter speed: Auto: 1/2 to 1/1400 sec. Selectable manual exposure: 0.7 to 4 secs

Continuous shooting: 2.4 fps, up to five pictures in sequence

Exposure metering; TTL-AE (multi-pattern AE, center-weighted AE, center-spot AE)

Exposure compensation: ±2.0 EV in 0.5 EV step increments

Tripod mount: Yes

Self-timer: 10 seconds

White balance: Auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent

Colour mode: Colour, sepia, black and white

Scene modes: Auto, Portrait, Sport, Night, Landscape, Close-up, Movie

Movie capture: Continuous MPEG 4 compressed video with audio QVGA (320 x 240) at 20fps, VGA (640 x 480) at 13fps

Viewfinder: Real-image optical viewfinder

LCD: 1.8-inch (134,000 pixels)

Interface: USB, A/V, PictBridge-enabled

Storage types: Internal: 32 MB internal memory. External: SD/MMC card expansion slot

Battery: Optional Kodak Easyshare docks with Ni-MH rechargeable battery pack; 2 AA Kodak Max batteries; 2 AA Ni-MH batteries or 1 Crv3 lithium battery; DC in jack on side of camera for 3v adapter

Weight: 192g (without batteries and memory)

Dimensions: 102.5 x 65 x 38mm

Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 Lens Review – 015

Ask any professional photographer what goes into the making of a great image and you may be surprised by their reply. Things like composition, framing, good technique, great light, bold colour and strong subject matter are all important. But, all of these factors come to nothing if you don’t have the single most important ingredient – good, fast, glass.

Let The Light In

A pro-quality lens with an aperture of f2.8 (or even lower) opens up to let through a lot of light – making them ideal for using in dark environments or to create beautifully soft backgrounds for portraiture. Most consumer-grade lenses for digital SLRs are at least two stops slower, making them less than ideal in low light and susceptible to the dreaded ‘camera shake’, which ruins many a good image. Image stabilising comes to the rescue to some degree with these slower lenses, but it’s not ideal and they still can’t compete with the faster glass when it comes to blurring out the background for a classic portrait.

A Bit Rich

So, if good fast glass is so desirable, how come everyone isn’t using it? Well, the kicker comes with the price. They are usually bigger, brutally heavy and much, much more expensive to make than their consumer-grade cousins. How does two grand for a lens strike you? No, I thought not. Me neither. That being the case, the search for a fast zoom lens at a great price has always been one of compromise.

A New Contender

However, the days of compromise may well be over. The digital age has ushered in a new breed of ‘digitally designed’ lenses, using space-age materials and manufacturing that offer superb quality at an affordable price. Don’t believe me? Well, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble. Introducing, in the red corner, the Tamron SP AF28–75mm f2.8 XR Di lens. Weighing in at an incredibly light 510 grams and measuring only 125mm when fully extended (without the supplied lens hood attached), this amazing little lens is a true contender. It’s a constant f2.8 at all focal lengths, making it fast, light and compact – truly unbelievable in the world of fast glass. But wait – just like a Ginsu steak-knife ad – there’s more! All this can be had for less that $700. Now that, my friends, is truly unbelievable. Hey, it’s such a good deal, I’d buy two.

Portrait Precision

Optically, this lens easily impresses. It’s sharp, especially on a digital SLR (although it can be used on a film camera) with only slight edge softening wide open. On my Nikon D70 the 28–75mm focal length becomes a 42–112mm (approx) f2.8 zoom lens – ideal portrait range in anyone’s language.

A large rubber ring allows for smooth zooming through the full range in about a quarter of a turn and the auto-focus is precise and pretty quick. Use of a standard screw-driven focus system means there is a little noise while the lens focuses, but it’s nothing objectionable. The front focusing ring does rotate during use, so keep your fingers away. Unless, of course, you switch to manual focus – in which case you’ll be rewarded with a silky smooth focusing action.

Conclusion

Really, I can’t speak highly enough about this gem of a lens. Although it’s not quite built to professional standards, it is a lens that will easily give professional results at a third of the price! If you’re looking for a fast portrait zoom lens at a price that won’t break the bank, then run – don’t walk – to your nearest camera retailer and order one today!

Quickview

• Manufacturer: Tamron
• Model: SP AF28-75mm f2.8 XR Di
• RRP: Canon and Nikon: $799 Minolta, Sony and Pentax: $899
• Focal length: 28-75mm (42-112mm on Nikon digital)
• Maximum Aperture: f2.8
• Lens Construction: 14/16
• Minimum Focusing: 33cm
• Filter Size: 67mm
• Length: 92mm
• Diameter: 73mm
• Weight: 510g

Profile

Other Options

• Sigma AF17-70mm f2.8-4.5 DC 

Contact

• www.heperry.co.nz

Rating

• Pros: Light, compact and very sharp mid-range zoom with a constant f2.8 aperture at an incredible price

• Cons; Not as solid as the top pro models, screw driven auto-focus with rotating front focus ring