Canon has just announced the 15.1 megapixel EOS 500D, known as the Rebel T1i in the US market. The new DSLR is a response to Nikon’s D90 — it’s a high-end consumer model which shoots HD video. It’s also Canon’s second DSLR to best Nikon’s HD efforts.

The 500D shoots at up to full 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) but only does so at 20 frames per second. Drop to 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) and you get a better 30fps. This compares to the Nikon D90’s maximum 720p at 24fps (the same speed as film based movie cameras). The Nikon, though, records in the crappy motion JPEG format. The 500D pops out .mov files in the H.264 codec. Another nice touch is the ability to use the autofocus whilst shooting, although you only get to use the slower contrast-detection system available in the live-view mode.

Yes, the 500D has live-view, like almost every camera appearing these days. The stills mode (this is a DSLR, after all) also has some neat touches. The one we like most is called Creative Auto by Canon, and is essentially an easy way to tweak settings while letting the camera take care of the heavy lifting. The camera remains in auto mode, but the user can choose from English-language options, like “Darker/Brighter” or “Blur Background” to customize the image. For beginners not coming from a manual camera background, this is a great way to learn without actually messing things up.

Otherwise, there isn’t much that stands out, other than a good top “film speed”. The 500D goes up to ISO 3200 in regular mode with two extra emergency settings of 6400 and 12800. The rest of the specs are unsurprising but good — a 3″, 920,000 pixels LCD, 95% viewfinder coverage, HDMI-out, self-cleaning sensor, face-detection. The APS-C sized sensor measures 30mm diagonally, making it smaller than a full-frame sensor but still a huge improvement over tiny pocket cameras’ sensors.

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BlackBerry Curve ‘outsells iPhone’

Reuters

The BlackBerry Curve moved past Apple Inc’s iPhone in the first quarter to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S., research group NPD said yesterday.

Research In Motion (RIM), which already dominates the corporate smartphone market in the United States, also had three of the top five best-selling consumer smartphones in the period, with the Storm at No. 3 and the Pearl at No. 4, NPD said.

T-Mobile’s G1 ranked No. 5.

The iPhone was the top-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S. in both the third and fourth quarters of 2008. The Curve was second and the Palm Inc’s Centro was third.

NPD credited a “buy-one-get-one” promotion by Verizon Wireless — a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc — for helping push the Curve past the iPhone.

“The more familiar, and less expensive, Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major U.S. national carriers,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, in a news release.

The iPhone is only available through AT&T Inc. Apple launched its second-generation 3G iPhone last July.

RIM’s consumer smartphone market share climbed 15 percent from the previous period to nearly 50 percent in the first quarter, as Apple’s and Palm’s share both fell 10 percent.

More than half of RIM’s 25 million subscribers now fall into the non-corporate category, according to the company.

But the smartphone battle is just starting to heat up. Apple is widely expected to unveil a new iPhone in the next few months, while Palm’s highly-anticipated Pre smartphone is set to launch during the second quarter.

The smartphone market as a whole continues to grow, even as the larger handset market stagnates. The devices made up 23 percent of U.S. handset sales in the first quarter, NPD said, up from 17 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM rose 3 percent in late afternoon trading on the Nasdaq to $74.43. Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple were up 3.4 percent to $131.63 on the Nasdaq.

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If there’s one thing I hate about my DSLR (a Nikon D40x), it’s the size. And the weight. With a wide-angle zoom on there, it feels like it weighs about a bazillion pounds, especially after lugging it around a trade show all day. Panasonic’s Lumix G1 is a new DSLR that has adopted the micro four-thirds standard for digital camera bodies and lenses, which is supposed to give you all of the advantages of a cumbersome DSLR but in a much smaller package. The four-thirds system does this removing the mirror box that most SLRs use to bounce light up to the viewfinder:

The feature list on the G1 is about a mile long, and puts it on par with most other full size (that’s full size, not full frame) DSLRs. It has a 12mp sensor, a swiveling 3? LCD with Live View, low shutter lag, fast autofocus, intelligent shooting modes, image stabilization, interchangeable lenses, and no movie mode. But the big deal is that the body weighs a mere 0.85 pound, whereas the body of an entry-level Nikon DSLR, the D60, is over 1 pound, or about 25% heavier. Also, the G1 is noticeably smaller at 124 x 83.6 x 45.2mm versis the D60’s 126 x 94 x 64mm. These numbers don’t take into account the lenses, which are also substantially smaller and lighter on the G1. (more…)

Canon has finally heralded the EOS 1000D, making digital SLR photography lighter and more affordable.

The Canon EOS 1000D is designed to compete with the lowest specification DSLRs, packaged with the 18-55mm IS lens, comes in only at P31,000

Canon EOS 1000D: Modes and Features
The Canon EOS 1000D is the lowest specification DSLR in the range so, technically, it won’t be as good as the EOS 450D. The main differences are the lower 10Mp resolution of the EOS 1000D and only a 7-point AF system. There’s also a lack of spot metering, smaller 2.5in LCD screen, slower 3fps and only 12bit RAW compression compared the EOS 450D’s 14bit compression.

However, the camera still has a DIGIC III processor, sensor cleaning and live view. Not to mention that it’s smaller and lighter than the EOS 450D and EOS 400D but I think in essence the EOS 1000D is more an updated EOS 400D.

Looking around the camera and the included lens is the same 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 image stabilised model that was introduced with the EOS 450D. The plastic mount lens fits onto the dual mount lens plate. The reason for the dual mount dates back to when Canon first started making DSLRs. They didn’t want people having a nice 18mm wide angle lens for their back up film SLR so made the new lenses with a different mount to normal EF lenses. (more…)

The Olympus EVOLT E-510 is a full-featured, 10-megapixel digital SLR camera that was designed to accommodate photographers of any skill level. The E-510 features a “Live View” LCD that allows you to compose your shots using either the LCD or the optical viewfinder. The E-510’s bright 2.5-inch display, with approximately 230,000 pixels, uses “HyperCrystal” LCD technology offering many times the contrast of conventional LCD monitors. Images are displayed in vivid color - both in preview and playback. The HyperCrystal LCD also provides a wide viewing angle, which ensures images can be composed from even the most obscure angles.

The E-510 employs Mechanical Image Stabilization, which compensates for camera movement. This new technology complements Digital Image Stabilization, which compensates for a moving subject. Combined, Mechanical Image Stabilization and Digital Image Stabilization provide a powerful solution, ensuring blur-free photos even in active shooting situations where photographers may encounter camera shake or a moving subject. This powerful combination resides within the camera’s body, translating to blur-free images taken with any of the more than 30 digital-specific lenses. (more…)

The Canon Powershot G9 looks to all intents and purposes exactly like its predecessor, the G7, but underneath the serious matt black exterior are a veritable wealth of changes.

The G9 is an incremental upgrade in the truest sense; externally the body is almost identical, and there are only three really key changes; the raw mode, the screen and the sensor.

This is a 12.1 megapixel digital camera (up from the G7’s 10 megapixels) with a 3” LCD screen (increased from 2.5 inches) which sees the very welcome return of RAW mode. Canon caused uproar among G-series users when they decided to omit RAW mode from the G7, presumably to try and differentiate it from the budget EOS 400D DSLR camera, so it’s refreshing that they’ve listened to their customers by bringing it back. The swivelling, flip-out LCD screen of the older G6 model unfortunately hasn’t also made a come-back, but the larger 3 inch PureColor screen partly makes up for that. The 6x optical zoom lens offers an effective focal length of 35-210mm, there’s an optical image stabilizer to help combat camera-shake, plus an optical viewfinder and flash hotshoe. Under the surface the Canon G9 uses the same advanced DIGIC III processor as the company’s digital SLR cameras for faster performance and image processing. (more…)

The 12 megapixel EOS 450D seems like a very similar camera to the EOS 400D, however there are a range of significant improvements:
a higher megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.0″ LCD monitor, Live View with both AF modes (contrast-detect and passive), 14-bit processing and RAW, spot metering, improved AF, 3.5 fps continuous shooting, a larger viewfinder, SD/SDHC storage and a new higher capacity battery.

The EOS 450D is designed to make photography a fluid experience for photographers of all levels and experience. Housed in a compact body that weighs less than 475 grams, the camera features an improved grip design that provides a natural, ergonomic fit with the user’s hands. A large, bright viewfinder makes image composition clearer and more comfortable. The menu system inherited from professional EOS cameras uses a simplified tab structure that does away with scrolling. It includes a user-defined My Menu tab for instant access to frequently used settings.

Available for the first time on a Canon consumer D-SLR, Live View mode makes it easier to shoot from awkward angles, such as ground-level macro shots or when shooting from a tripod. The image from the Live View mode is displayed as a smooth, 30fps video feed on the 3.0” LCD, which is 50% brighter than the screen of the EOS 400D.

All in all, this model has a fairly impressive range of usage-oriented improvements and refinements.

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