The Sony Alpha 900 according to DP Review is a “serious DSLR” in contrast to how Sony has approached the compact digital camera market, creating cameras constructed with elements of cell phones and PSP’s. The Alpha 900 scored a “Highly Recommended” rating from DP Review. The review though positive overall did find fault in the camera. DP Review states that the camera’s image quality drops significantly at higher ISO’s, “stunning results at up to ISO 400 (and is fine at ISO 800-1600 as long as you’re not printing posters)”. The Camera’s two major features are a full frame image sensor and a powerful image stabilization system.
The camera is now available.

It took just 18 months for Canon to release a replacement for its EOS 30D with the 40D. DP Review just posted a review of the camera, giving a “Highly Recommended” review.

The review states:

“From an image quality point of view the combination of the Canon CMOS sensor and DIGIC III processor means equally detailed images at all sensitivities (except maybe ISO 3200), low noise and a complete lack of unnatural artifacts. The new high ISO speed noise reduction option has no effect on luminance detail but removes any lingering chroma noise , giving high ISO images a more film-like grain; something Nikon has been doing for some time. We would be interested to see Canon using a less strong anti-alias filter which would mean that JPEG images would require less sharpening and would be naturally ‘crisper’ straight off the sensor, but it’s a minor point and would really only be seen by ‘pixel peepers’.

One surprise came from our testing of the cameras dynamic range, it delivered a consistently higher range than both the competition and its predecessor. The majority of this improvement, however, was in the shadow range, a function we presume of the new 14-bit processing pipeline.”

As DP Review pointed out in there review the Canon Power Shot series began as an entry-level camera, however the series has advanced over the years. The Canon PowerShot A570 IS received the highly valued “Highly Recommended” review from DP Review. The review states:

“The Canon A570 IS you get a nicely designed, responsive camera with more than enough features to keep most users – especially those wanting a little more manual control than is normal at this price point – happy. If you don’t mind it not being the fastest ‘social’ snapshot camera in the world (the flash recycling puts paid to that), this is a perfect camera for anyone wanting real photographic control without paying through the nose. Its well balanced combination of image quality, functionality and handling (and not to forget value for money) means the A570 IS just about deserves our highest award.”

The Canon SD870 IS known in Europe as the IXUS 860 IS and the IXY Digital 910IS in Japan, is the latest camera in the line by Canon.

DP Review recently had a chance to review the camera and concluded:

“Like other cameras in this range what makes the SD870 IS so appealing – aside from the high quality design and construction – is the ‘point and shoot’ reliability, which produces good, sharp, well exposed results in a wide range of shooting conditions, something you simply can’t say about a lot of competitors. We were also very impressed with the lens; a wide lens usually results in a compromise between the really useful ability to ‘zoom out’ and a degree of chromatic aberration and corner softness that can dent image quality. Our tests and experiences of real-world shooting show very little evidence of these expected shortcomings, helping the 870 IS stand out from competing wideangle ultra compact cameras.”

Via DPReview

The iconic Leica M series has gone digital with the introduction of the M8. A review of the rangefinder camera was just posted on DP Review. The review was for the most part positive with the reviewer pointing out the differences of shooting with a Rangefinder camera of this quality. With such a camera you have to think differently about composition, depth of field and other manual features. The camera is costly with a $4,795 price tag for just the body. However for Leica enthusiasts this will be money well spent.

DP Review stated, “So what’s the bottom line? I have to admit that I’ve been turned, from a skeptic to a believer, certainly the M8 isn’t a camera everyone is going to afford, but a rangefinder is certainly something any ‘serious’ photographer should try at some point in their life. It’s changed the way I shoot, I’ve found myself going back to manual focus more even when I use DSLR’s and being more selective about lenses and depth of field, and more creative in my framing. My advice on the M8 would be, if you can afford to then get one, be aware of its limitations, shoot RAW and rediscover ‘capturing moments’.”

DP Review just posted a review of the Canon PowerShot S5 IS. Overall the review is positive with the reviewer stating, “the PowerShot S5 IS is probably, just, the pick of the super zoom bunch at this moment in time, because it offers reliable output, responsive performance and an impressive feature set in an attractive, easy to use package that makes photography fun; not because it offers better IQ.” However the site goes on to states, “it is crying out for a better sensor, wider lens and for Canon to move the SD card slot back out from the battery compartment, but I’d still rather take it out shooting than the Sony, Olympus or Fuji alternatives. The output (with fringing and noise issues) simply isn’t good enough to earn the S5 IS an unqualified ‘Highly Recommended’ rating, but it’s an easy ‘Recommended’.”

So if you are in the market for a digital camera, which incorporates elements from both compact cameras and digital SLR’s, consider this camera which DP Review considers the best among Mega Zoom Cameras.

DP Review recently took a look at the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7. The review was less than stellar. The H7 is the economy model of the series and does not offer the bells and whistles featured on the H9, which can be had for $75 difference. Also the review points out that the camera does not perform well in the creation of large prints!

“So, whilst the H7 does come in at a surprisingly low price for a camera with this level of specification, it’s hard to see why anyone wouldn’t pay the extra for the H9 unless they were on a seriously tight budget.

Putting aside the ‘is it worth saving $75′ issue the H7 has all the faults – and most of the good stuff – that we covered in length in the H9 review. The extra wideangle capability is still welcome, and the sheer versatility and creative potential of the 31-465mm range cannot be overstated. It offers an incredibly powerful feature set at a bargain price, and is, for the most part, capable of producing decent results for the average user (producing small prints) with point and shoot simplicity.

To put it another way, if you want a genuinely affordable big zoom camera for snapping the family that you can leave on ‘full auto’ all the time – and you rarely print your pictures bigger than 6×4 inches – the H7 is (at as little as $350 online) certainly worth a closer look.

But if you’ve got more exacting image quality standards, want to enlarge more or want to actually use all those advanced features I suspect that, like us, you’re going to find the H7 disappointing. At least the H9 has a great screen to take your mind off the fiddly controls and less-than-stellar results; the H7 is what it is – a budget model that, unfortunately, performs like one.”

Here is another Pentax compact digital camera, which was also just recently announced, the Pentax Optio M40. The camera is ultra compact which measures 18mm in size is stocked full of the typical features found on compact digital point-and-shoots, such as video capture capabilities, 3X optical zoom, and shake reduction. The most interesting feature on the camera is the ability to detect human faces no matter where they are in the frame, focus and illuminate them. The camera also comes in a variety of colors pictured above.

Via DPR

A wide-angle lens is an indispensable piece of equipment for a wide range of photographers. Those using the Nikon system should consider picking up the Nikkor AF-s 12-24 (18-36 35mm equivalent). Photozone recently reviewed the lens stating,

“The Nikkor AF-S 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED DX proved to be a very good performer. Its center resolution figures are exceptionally high and apart from 12mm @ f/4 the border quality is also impressive though a little less field curvature may be desirable at 12mm. CAs as well as the distortion characteristic are very good for an ultra-wide zoom lens whereas vignetting is about average due to the reduced APS-C image circle. The build quality is, in principal, very fine but you would usually expect a little more from a lens in this price class. The primary competitor is probably the Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro – a lens which is just as sharp but with a higher degree of CAs and worse flare in contra light – all at less than half the costs and combined with a better build quality. Costs aside it’s a close race between the two with a slight edge for the Nikkor regarding optical quality. When taking the very different price tags in account the decision may be a little more complicated.”

Imaging Resources posted a positive review of the recently released Nikon D40x. Among the improvements on the model is the 10-megapixel sensor which according to the review handles well during low light situations, providing limited noise at 1600 ISO, while expectedly high levels of noise do appear at 3200 ISO. Another thing of note in considering the D40 or the D40x, they can take any Nikon lens however you will not be able to use auto focus with non AF-S lenses. The kit lens also had some issues, Imaging Resources states, “Though the Nikon D40x’s kit lens is pretty good, and also fast and quiet, we were a still disappointed that the significant flare we saw in the D40 persist out toward the corners, even in the middle of its zoom range. Chromatic aberration was also fairly high at wide angle, but none of these minor problems were differed significantly from other comparably priced kit lenses. The lens performed very well in most circumstances, so it’s worth the price. But the beauty of the SLR is that you can change the lens, or in this case you can even buy a more versatile lens kit for just a little more, with the 18-135mm kit.”

The overall review is positive with the reviewer adding the camera to the site’s list of recommended cameras.