Nikon and Canon lenses

During the 1970s-1980s, Nikon had a lead over Canonc in terms of better camera and lens. It was during the 1980's that Canon really started marketing towards professionals and have since switched to an extent. At other points in time other camera manufacturers were ahead of one or both. However Nikon has settled into seconf place. Which is why there are more Canon lenes out there as indicated by the number of white lenses in sports events. There is also definately the coolness factor with those lenses.

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Nikon versus Canon

All the rumours and reviews have indicated that Nikon lenses are superior to Canon lenses, however it seem that I see more Canon lenses on the sidelines of sporting events? Is it just that the white Canon lenses are more distinct? Traditionally, I believe that Nikon is the better manufacturer; but lately, I find that Canon wins on paper in most of the major specs. (For example, why does it seem Nikon is slower to develop higher megapixel cameras? The D2x is "only" 12 mp compared to Canon's 16 mp line-up; even the D70 series is "only" 6 mp compared to the Rebel XT's 8 mp.) Although the Nikon has lower specifications in areas where it is marketable, they do have very good products.

Anyhow, I guess Canon is a better marketer of their products.

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The Olympus C-315

The Olympus C-315 Zoom has a higher resolution at 5.1 megapixel, however it has a slightly shorter zoom (2.8x). It looks exactly like the C-310 and is practically the same (1.8-inch LCD and basic controls). It is great value and aimed at the beginners market.

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Canon 30D in August 2005?

There was a rumor posted on the forum at dpreview that the 8 megapixel Canon 20D will be replaced by the 10 megapixel Canon 30D. The information was given to a customer by the camera store manager and says it will be announce by August 2005. Please remember, the Canon 350D / Rebel XT was released in Australia and European markets before the US.

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Lens Hood

The Lens hood for Digital SLR camera is used to reduce glare, especially when your light source is near the front of the camera. This results in improved image contrast. It also serves as an added protection for the front element. Some people who use the lens hood, claim, they do not need a lens filter which can increase internal reflections when shooting with a backlit source or shooting towards the sun. The choice is yours, I personally use both.

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Generic Batteries for your Digital Camera?

Many people ask the question.. Should I purchase a generic battery for my digital camera?

Well the biggest factor in making the decision on purchasing the generic batteries is the low price. About a tenth of the costs.

The factor against purchasing it is the risk, is it worth taking a risk on your expensive camera just because it's cheaper.

My decision is go for it. Most generic battery may have a higher failure rate, however if its 90% cheaper and I can handle one bad battery.

As for the risk of damaging your camera, I beleive it's very unlikely. The same manufacturer most likey makes the same battery and justs rebage it differently. They also reduce the QC on them. I personally have used lots of generics batteries and never had any problems at all.

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PowerShot S2 IS

Canons new PowerShot S2 IS is a better model then the PowerShot S1 IS. It has a high-powered lens and enhanced movie taking functions.

The camera is equipped with an approximately 5.0 million camera effective pixel 1/2.5-inch Charge Coupled Device (CCD). Also, with "DIGIC II", higher resolution and high-speed processing were achieved and the startup time and response time were shortened. This was one area where the S1 fell behind. In addition, it has a 12x optical zoom lens, which covers a 35 mm film equivalent focal length ranging from 36 mm to 432 mm, and has an f/2.7 to f/3.5 aperture. The lens also incorporates a UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) lens into the lens element, thereby reducing chromatic aberration. It's also super-smooth with its super-fast ultra sonic motor (USM) which provides all the zooming speed you need.

Other features includes movies (640 x 480 pixels) with exceptional image quality at a full 30 frames per second with up to 1G recording capacity. Furthermore, it can shoot movies even in the still image shooting modes and vice versa.

Like most digital cameras, it has 13 shooting modes, the same as the PowerShot S1 IS. And, instead of "Fast Shutter" and "Slow Shutter" you can use the newly added "Special Scene Modes(*1)" to shoot an image with the most appropriate settings for the scene and with "My Colors" you can change image colors.

A stereo microphone and a function to record stereophonic sound were newly added, and the recording quality improved (16bit, 44.1k Hz) also.

This camera is equipped with a Print/Share button. This button lets you easily print your images and download images directly from the camera to a computer (Windows® /Mac OS X) by connecting the camera directly to a direct print compatible printer(*2) or connecting the camera to the computer.

This camera complies with the PictBridge(*3) industry standard and has an additional function for multiple image layout.

This camera is equipped with an upgraded 1.8 inch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). As a function to switch images back and forth while magnified and slow motion playback for movies is available, the operability in playback mode is advanced remarkably.

This camera operates with four AA batteries and an SD memory card for the recording media. The dimension of the main body is 113.0 x 78.0 x 75.5 mm and the weight is approx. 405g.

Software for transferring your pictures to a computer, organizing pictures, laying out pictures for printing and editing still pictures and movies is included with the camera. This software is available for both the Windows and Mac OS platforms(*4).

Also, as this camera is compatible with Hi-Speed USB 2.0, high-speed image transfer with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 compatible computer is possible.

Various accessories sold separately such as conversion lenses are available. In addition, the high-power flash that extends the range of flash shooting is available as an accessory sold separately.

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Canon Lenses with USM?

USM stands for Ultra Sonic Motor. Canon has the micro ultrasonic motor in some of its lenses and it is is a tiny little motor that they stick in the lens and then connect with gears to the focus mechanism. A micro USM does not allow simultaneous AF and MF. Thus, the largest user-interface advantage of the ring USM is gone. Much of the noise of a standard motor is back too. The micro USM is noticeably quieter than a regular motor, but not silent like a ring USM.

Canon puts the micro-USM mostly into its new cheap zoom lenses.

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