DSLR

When qualifying a photograph as being good, amazing, strong, or merely so-so, one of the main criteria for giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to a photo has to do with the composition of the picture and how well the subject fills the frame.

If you ask a photographer if they can recommend an easy to use, entry-level DSLR that can shoot stills, HD video and offers an impressive list of pro-level features, there’s an excellent chance that they'll name Canon’s EOS Rebel.

Camcorders and a growing number of DSLRs feature LCDs that swivel and/or tilt to better enable image composition from less-than-ideal camera angles. Swivel-based LCDs, especially larger LCDs, can prove to be especially handy when you have to compose photos from a distance.

Canon has announced a pair of Rebel updates: the Canon EOS Rebel T3 and EOS Rebel T3i. The more basic of the two new cameras is the EOS Rebel T3, which is available as a kit only and includes a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II zoom lens. The Rebel T3 features a 12.2MP APS-C format (1.6x) CMOS sensor, a DIGIC 4 image processor, and in addition to 3 frame-per-second still capture (up to 830 large JPEGs or 5 RAW) can also record HD video.

The benefits of using a battery grip are twofold. The first has to do with ergonomics. Specifically, battery grips enable you to shoot vertical images far more comfortably using a product primarily designed to be used horizontally.

Since their debut back in 2002, Hasselblad H-series cameras have set a standard in SLR technology that remains a benchmark to this very day. Unlike many products in which form follows function, when describing Hasselblad H cameras it’s not a stretch to say “form equals function.”

The new Canon EOS 60D body only or Canon 60D with a kit lens features an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor that, thanks in part to its DIGIC 4 image processor, can bang out up to 58 large JPEGs (or 16 RAW files) at burst rates of up to 5.3 frames per second. In the motion-picture department, the EOS 60D is equally adept and can capture 1080p HD video at 30 fps with sound-leveling adjustments, manual focus control and more.

In August 2008, Nikon changed the landscape of DSLR technology with the introduction of the Nikon D90, the world's first DSLR to offer HD video capture. Fast-forward two years and Nikon is once again churning the soil with the Nikon D7000, a new DSLR that ups the ante as per what serious shooters will be expecting from camera manufacturers from here on out.

Olympus has cranked up the performance levels of its professional camera lineup in the form of the Olympus E-5, a solid, magnesium-alloy FourThirds-format DSLR that can capture high-res stills (JPEG, RAW or JPEG+RAW) at up to 5 fps of continuous shooting as well as HD 720p video with PCM linear audio (mono on camera or stereo via 3.5mm output jack and optional stereo mic). 

The Nikon D300s is an update of the company's popular D300 digital SLR camera, and like its predecessor, the D300s contains a self-cleaning 12.3MP DX-format CMOS sensor, a dynamic 51-point Multi-CAM3500 autofocus system and an EXPEED image processor.

After two-plus years of claiming they're not going to incorporate video capture into their DSLR product line until they can overcome the limitations of DSLR capture—i.e, no autofocus and viewfinder blackout during video capture—Sony has introduced two compact DSLRs that address both issues.

Nikon has announced the arrival of the D3100, a new entry-level DSLR that sports, among other cool features, a 14.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and Full 1080p (1920 x 1080) HD video capture @ 24 fps with—now hang on to your hats, kids—full-time autofocus with monaural sound. Now we're talking (and autofocusing)!

Leica's surprise announcement of the Leica S2 pretty much blows the bubbles off every other press release coming out of Photokina, or anywhere else in the photo world as of late. Sure, reasonably priced, full-frame DSLRs are cool; but a 37.5-megapixel medium-format sensor that's 56% larger (30 x 45 mm) than the so-called competition, and in a smaller body no less, is downright awesome.

It's estimated - and I emphasize the word 'estimated' - the 'ISO' of the human eye, depending on the age and health of its current owner along with a short list of other factors, varies from about ISO 1 in bright sunlight to about ISO 800 in the dimmest of lighting conditions. And in the dimmest of circumstances the eye sees in monochrome only.

A few years back, Nikon introduced the D40—its first compact DSLR. It was received with critical acclaim as an excellent entry-level camera for consumers seeking a trauma-free transition from the limitations of point-and-shoot digital cameras. 

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