Digital Camera World » SLRs

Sony A58 review

jmeyer — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:31 +0000

Sony A58 review: Sony’s new 20-megapixel entry-level SLT camera promises a lot of specs for its price. But is it capable? Find out in our hands-on Sony Alpha 58 review video.

The Sony A58 joins the SLT Alpha range as the Sony A57 replacement and sits just above the entry level 37. New to the Sony A58 are a host of features that should appeal to photographers who are starting to get more serious about their photography and want to take more control over their pictures.

Along with the Sony A58′s newly designed 201-megapixel Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor and Sony’s translucent mirror technology, the A58 adds an increased ISO range from 100 to 16,000, full HD video recording, an improved EVF and an enhanced Bionz image processing engine.

It’s an impressive spec list indeed. Here Amy Davies takes a look at what this new Sony Alpha camera has to offer in her Sony A58 review video.

Sony A58 Review Video Transcript

Sony has introduced a new camera at the bottom of its SLT line-up, the a58. It replaces not one,but two cameras – the a37 and a57, in an attempt to simplify the beginner range of Alpha cameras.

The a58 is a DSLT – the T standing for Translucent and referring to the fixed mirror inside the camera. Unlike normal DSLRs, light travels directly through the mirror, rather than it flipping out of the way. This means that the camera can offer faster frame rates and quicker autofocus speeds in live view – which the camera is effectively always shooting in – and video mode.

The a58 has a fairly hefty body, with this large grip and rubberised coating helping when shooting one handed.

On the top of the camera is a mode dial for switching between the various shooting modes on offer, including fully automatic, fully manual and semi-automatic options, such as aperture and shutter priority. There are quite a few other options also found here, including scene mode, sweep panorama and picture effects.

The buttons on the back of the camera are well laid out, with easy access to almost everything with your right thumb. Only the main menu button is more inaccessible, but with the quick function menu accessed with this button, you should find that you don’t need to delve into the full menu very often.

You can access all the most commonly used settings, including white balance, Drive Mode and Picture Effects, via this function button. It’s also here that you’ll find Auto Object Framing, a new feature for the Alpha series which automatically crops your images for what the camera considers to be a better composition.

We’d previously seen Auto Portrait Framing, but with the addition of Auto Object Framing, any kind of photo can be cropped, rather than just people shots.

At the top of the camera is a zoom button, this is used to activate Sony’s Clear Zoom function, which uses By Pixel Resolution Technology and doubles the effective focal length of whichever lens is attached. We’ve been impressed by how well this performs compared with other forms of digital zoom before, and a similar performance is put in by the a58.

Unfortunately, a lot of the most interesting features of the a58 can’t be used when shooting in raw format. These include Picture Styles, Clear Zoom and Auto Object/Portrait framing.

Annoyingly, this means that you need to delve into the full menu, switch off raw format shooting, then go back to whatever you’re trying to use. This can be a bit of a tedious process and we had hoped Sony would have come up with a better solution for this by now.

As there’s not a traditional mirror in the camera, the a58 uses an electronic, rather than optical, viewfinder. Sony has used an OLED in the a58, compared with the LCD in the a57. It’s a noticeable improvement, offering a clearer and brighter view. Some don’t like electronic viewfinders, but there are a couple of distinct advantages.

The ability to see any changes you make in live time via the viewfinder is useful, as is the captured image popping up to help you know whether you’ve nailed the shot or not. This sensor here automatically switches to the viewfinder, and switches off the LCD screen, when the camera is lifted to the eye.

The 460,000 dot screen isn’t fully articulated, but it does tilt up and down to make it easier when shooting from some awkward positions in landscape format. It’s not as much help when shooting in portrait format though.

It’s quite a low resolution screen, but it doesn’t suffer too badly from glare or reflection, with the ability to tilt the screen helping if the sun is very strong. Once again, Sony has chosen not to incorporate a touchscreen on its entry-level model.

One of the problems with a translucent mirror is that less light is able to get to the sensor, sometimes meaning that the lens hunts around to attain focus, especially in lower light conditions. The A58 kit lens has quite a noisy focus mechanism, so this can be a little distracting in certain situations.

Sony Alpha cameras have impressed us before with their excellent image quality, and the a58 is no different. Generally, it produces very detailed shots with good colour rendition and exposure.

It’s worth experimenting with different Picture Effects and Styles, as well as the Sweep Panorama when you want to get more creative, too.

Canon EOS 100D review: does the Rebel SL1 / EOS 100D offer more than its size?

jmeyer — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:06:08 +0000

The Canon Rebel SL1 / EOS 100D is the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR. But is its image quality up to scratch? Find out in our Canon EOS 100D review.

Canon finally introduced its own CSC last year with the Canon EOS M, but now it has also released the Canon EOS 100D – also known as the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 in the United States – which is the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR.

The Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 is an all new DSLR that joins the EOS camera line-up, sitting between the EOS 1100D and EOS 600D. But what else does it offer apart from its size?

Here Amy Davies of our testing team takes a look at what this camera has to offer in her Canon EOS 100D review video.

Canon SL1 / Canon EOS 100D Review Video Transcript

This is the Canon EOS 100D, which at the time of launch is the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR.

Canon has managed to shrink down all of the major components of this camera, but still retain an APS-C sized, 18 million pixel sensor at its heart.

This grip, although not as pronounced as on other DSLRs, still allows for good purchase, even when shooting with the camera one-handed. This dial here just next to the grip is used for altering aperture or shutter speed, depending on the mode you’re in.

Despite the camera’s small size, Canon has managed to keep a good button layout, with the majority being easily reached by the thumb on the right hand side. There’s also a mode dial, which is used to access fully automatic modes, semi-automatic modes, and full manual modes.

You’ll also notice here that the on/off switch can be pushed one step further to activate the movie mode on the camera. This makes it quicker to reach than having to spin the mode dial all the way around, and should make capturing those spur of the moment movies much easier.

We’ve seen “Creative Auto” mode before, and it helps new photographers get the shots they want, without using complicated photographic terms. So for instance, using this setting to make the background more or less blurred is actually altering the aperture.

Creative Auto Mode also makes accessing the digital filters, such as Toy Camera effect easy. Although you can’t shoot in raw format with digital filters, you can access a Extra Effect Shot mode which shoots one standard JPEG, and one with the effect added – useful if you decide you don’t like the filter further down the line.

Bizarrely, although digital filters can be accessed when shooting in other modes, such as aperture priority, you can only reach them when shooting in Live View mode, and the option to use Extra Effect Shot is not available.

For better control, you could choose to use Picture Styles. A number of presets are already included, such as Landscape and Portrait, while there’s also space for up to three of your own, useful if you want to create a custom setting, such as high contrast monochrome. You can also shoot in raw format too, for added flexibility.

On the back of the camera is a 3-inch touch sensitive LCD panel. This can be used for a range of things, including quickly accessing the Quick Menu. Simply tap this Q button here, then touch the setting you want to change. You can then use the scroll dial at the front of the camera to quickly move through the different options.

One of the good things about the touchscreen is that if you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to. Exactly the same operation can be achieved by using this button in the centre of the four-way control pad and the arrow keys here.

There are a lot of similarities between the button layout on this camera and other Canon DSLRs. So for instance, here we have a button to control exposure compensation, and another here to play back images.

The autofocus point can be changed in one of two ways, depending on whether you’re shooting in Live View or not. Press this button here to choose from one of the nine AF points available. You can use the touchscreen, which is especially useful in Live View mode – in fact you can also touch the screen to fire the shutter. Tap the screen at the point you want to use and the camera will focus and take the picture. This is useful in a few different scenarios, such as when using a tripod.

Unlike the majority of compact system cameras on the market, the 100D has a traditional optical viewfinder. This sensor here automatically switches off the screen when the camera is lifted to the eye. It’s worth bearing in mind however that the viewfinder doesn’t offer a 100% field of view, something to consider when composing your images.

We had high hopes for the Canon EOS 100D at its launch, with its promise of similar image quality to other cameras we’ve been impressed by in the past. In reality, the 100D delivers excellent images which are bright, punchy and detailed from a range of different shooting conditions.

However, we can’t help but feel that having the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR doesn’t mean too much when the rest of the system remains comparatively large and heavy. It’ll be interesting to see how the sales figures of this camera compare with its CSC rivals.

PAGE 1: Canon Rebel SL1 / Canon EOS 100D Review
PAGE 2: Our original Canon Rebel SL1 / Canon EOS 100D announcement story

Canon T5i review: is the EOS 700D / Rebel T5i a worthy upgrade?

jmeyer — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:12 +0000

The Canon T5i / EOS 700D promises to be Canon’s most advanced EOS camera to date, but is the 18-megapixel newcomer enough of an upgrade over the Canon T4i / EOS 650D? Find out in our Canon T5i review video.

The Canon EOS 700D (Canon Rebel T5i) is the replacement for the Canon EOS 650D. It will sit alongside the Canon EOS 600D at the very top of Canon’s “consumer” lineup, just below the Canon EOS 60D that starts its “enthusiast” range.

Along with its 18-megapixel APS-C Hybrid CMOS sensor and DIGIC 5 image processor, the Canon T5i / EOS 700D also boasts 5fps shooting and a native ISO range from ISO 100 to 12,800.

Find out in our testing team’s Canon T5i review video whether this new Canon camera is a worthy addition to your camera bag.

Canon T5i Review Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Angela Nicholson head of testing for Future Publishing’s photography portfolio and in this video I’m going to take a look at the Canon EOS Rebel T5i / EOS 700D

Anyone who owns a T4i/650D will spot that this camera looks very similar, in fact it’s almost identical and has the same 18-million-pixel APS-C format sensor, Digic 5 processor and 9-point autofocusing system.

As before, this camera has a touchscreen which is backed up by the usual array of button and dials so it’s up to you how you adjust the camera settings.

The screen is very responsive and once you start using it you start to rely on it more and more. It provides a really quick way of changing settings, scrolling through images and zooming in to check details.

The downside to this is that the screen quickly gets covered in fingerprints and these obscure the image in bright light, so it’s essential that you carry a cloth to wipe the screen regularly.

On the top of the camera we can see that the mode dial has been changed a little with the introduction of raised icons and a finer textured edge. It also rotates through 360 degrees making a little quicker to find the option that you want.

As in the camera it replaces the T5i, or 700D, has pixels on its imaging sensor that are used for the phase detection part of the hybrid focusing system that is available when using live view mode or shooting videos.

However, Canon has improved the live view focusing performance of the new camera and it focuses quicker with one of the STM lenses mounted.

I still wouldn’t use live view when shooting a moving subject though, you’re much better off composing the image in the viewfinder and using the faster phase detection AF system.

The STM lenses have stepper motor autofocus drive and this is designed to move subjects more smoothly into focus when shooting video.

It works well and is almost silent so you get very high-quality footage with the subject moving slowly, but smoothly into focus.

One of the biggest changes brought with this camera is that the impact of the JPEG-only Creative Filters can be previewed on the screen when shooting in live view mode.

Alternatively, you can apply these filters using the camera’s image processing controls.

The menu system will be familiar to Canon SLR users and as usual it’s divided into tabbed screens that allow quick navigation.

The My menu option is especially useful as you can register up to 6 features that you want to access from it. I find it useful to use it to reach features like mirror lock-up and the flash control options.

There’s also a Quick menu that can be reached by pressing this button or touching this icon on the screen. It gives a quick route to the most commonly used features and adjustments can be made using the physical buttons or the on-screen controls.

The T5i/700D produces high quality images with bags of detail, rich, pleasant colours and a good range of tones.

However, as we have found before with Canon’s iFCL Evaluative metering system, the exposure can vary significantly in high contrast situations depending upon the brightness of the subject under the active AF point. It responds more like a centreweighted metering system than you might want.

PAGE 1: Canon T5i review / Canon EOS 700D review
PAGE 2: Our original Canon T5i / Canon EOS 700D announcement story
PAGE 3: Our original Hands-on Canon Rebel T5i / Canon EOS 700D review

Nikon D7100 review

jmeyer — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:25:30 +0000

Nikon D7100 review: along with a 24.1MP sensor and a new 1.3x crop mode, Nikon has removed the camera’s optical low pass filter. Our head of testing, Angela Nicholson, put these features and more to the test in her NIkon D7100 review.

The big news about the Nikon D7100 isn’t that it has a 24.1 million pixel sensor – that was fairly predictable.

Instead, the big news about this new Nikon camera is that Nikon has decided to omit the anti-aliasing element from the camera’s filter above the chip.

In her Nikon D7100 review video, our head of testing Angela Nicholson discusses the camera’s performance, image quality and whether this is the right DSLR for you.

Nikon D7100 Review Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Angela Nicholson head of testing for Future’s photography portfolio and I’m going to take a look at the Nikon D7100 in this video.

Like the Nikon D3200 and D5200, the D7100 has a 24MP sensor, but Nikon has left off the low-pass filter.

Low-pass or anti-aliasing filters are usually put over a camera’s sensor to reduce the risk of moiré interference occurring when photographing subjects with fine patterning that is close to the camera’s resolution limit. The downside of using them is that the image is softened and needs sharpening post capture.

So does omitting the filter from the sensor make any difference to the images? Our tests indicate that it does. At the lower sensitivity settings the D7100 can’t resolve any more detail than the D3200 or D5200, but the images look a little sharper straight from the camera.

And when the sensitivity is pushed up a little, the D7100 can resolve more detail than either of these two Nikon cameras – although the images are also a bit noisier.

Another interesting feature of the D7100 is that the central point of it’s 51-point AF system is sensitive down to f/8. This mean if I mount this 70-200mm f/4 lens via this 2x teleconverter, the camera will still focus the lens automatically despite the fact that the maximum aperture is reduced to f/8.

The focus takes place while the aperture is wide open – in this case at f/8 – and the aperture closes down to the selected aperture for the exposure just before the shot is taken.

The focus mode is set using these controls on the side and this dial.As we’ve seen before with Nikon SLRs, in continuous AF mode the camera can be set to track the subject using 51, 21 or 9 AF points once you’ve selected the starting AF point.

There’s also the 3D-tracking mode, which works well provided the subject colour contrasts well with the surroundings – it’s not a good choice for shooting team sports where the payers have matching shirts.

With a decent lens the focusing is fast and accurate in most situations – even in very low light.

Inside the D7100 is the same EXPEED 3 processing engine as Nikon’s other recent SLRs, including the D4 and D800. This allows a sensitivity range of ISO 100-6400 which can be expanded to ISO 25,600 if necessary – although I wouldn’t recommend it.

This engine also enables a maximum continues shooting rate of 6 frames per second. However, this can be pushed to 7 frames per second if the 1.3x crop mode is employed.

When this mode is activated the crop area is indicated in the viewfinder and the crop is applied to both raw and JPEG files. It’s useful if you want to frame a distant subject tightly and reduce files sizes, but many users are likely to prefer to crop post-capture.

Like the D7000 the D7100 has a collection of JPEG-only special effects that can be accessed via this option on the mode dial. These effects can be previewed on the main LCD screen and are selected by rotating the thumbwheel. As you can see the screen image lags a little, but it’s not too bad.
Helpfully, the word EFFECTs is visible in the viewfinder so you can’t forget which mode you have selected.

The D7100 feels nice and solid in the hand and this silky-textured grip gives good purchase. All of the most important controls are within easy reach and you can check setting by pressing this Info button.

This button here allows you to change some key features such as the image area and noise reduction settings. It seems off that this also give a quick route to customising the use of the preview and function buttons though.

The D7000 is capable of producing superb images with lots of detail and natural colour. It’s worth keeping an eye on the image histogram view though as the Matrix Metering doesn’t always do what you expect.

PAGE 1: Nikon D7100 Review Video
PAGE 2: Our original hands-on Nikon D7100 review
PAGE 3: Our original Nikon D7100 launch story

Hands-on Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i review

jmeyer — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:30:57 +0000

Hands-on Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i review: this new Canon camera is an EOS 650D replacement, but is there enough difference to warrant an upgrade? Find out in our hands-on Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i review video.

The Canon EOS 700D price tag will be £629.99 / €799.99 body only.

Canon says the EOS 700D is its most advanced EOS camera to date, and inside this new body is a Canon-designed, Canon-manufactured 18-megapixel APS-C Hybrid CMOS sensor, Canon’s DIGIC 5 image processor and an AF System with 9 cross-type points.

Ali Jennings of our testing team got an exclusive preview of a pre-production model of this new Canon camera. In this Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i review video he runs through the camera’s key features and build quality.

Don’t also miss Ali’s hands-on Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 review video

Hands-on Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 review

jmeyer — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 11:10:38 +0000

Hands-on Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 review: do great things come in small packages? We preview some of the key features and build quality of the new Canon DSLR, which Canon says is the world’s smallest.

The Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 is an all new DSLR that joins the EOS camera line-up, sitting between the EOS 1100D and EOS 600D. But what else does it offer apart from its size?

In his hands-on Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 Ali Jennings takes an exclusive look at a pre-production model of the Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 to see what the world’s smallest and lightest ever DSLR has to offer photographers.

READ MORE

Hands-on Sony A58 review

jmeyer — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:30:01 +0000

Hands-on Sony A58 review: Sony’s new 20-megapixel entry-level SLT camera promises a lot of specs for its price. But is it capable? Find out in our hands-on Sony Alpha 58 review video.

It’s an impressive spec list indeed. In our hands-on Sony A58 review video, Ali Jennings of our testing team runs through all of the Alpha 58′s key features and explains what in particular they’ll be looking closely at in our review.

Hands-on Sony A58 Review Transcript

It joins the SLT Alpha range as the replacement to the 57 just above the entry level 37 and see a host of updated features that should appeal to those just starting out with an SLR style camera.

As an SLT (Single-Lens Translucent Camera) the 58 doesn’t have an optical viewfinder but instead uses translucent mirror technology and an electronic viewfinder, which has it’s benefits but historically also flaws.

However with the 58 the EVF has been updated and in the early sample that I’ve seen the new OLED technology that replaces the LCD version in the 57 is a massive improvement, with no noticeable lag and excellent clarity. This clarity may help to convert some of the EVF critic but obviously not all.

One of the key benefits of this EVF system is that what you see through the viewfinder is what you get, so exposure preview, effects will be captured as you see through the viewfinder, and you also get 100% frame coverage a feature that really only appears on high end and Pro SLRs with optical viewfinders.

The 58 takes a jump to 20.1 million pixels from 16.1 in the 57 and combines this with the updated Bionz processor which promises to deliver better low light noise performance, but sticks to the already impressive sensitivity range of ISO 100-16000. We’ll bring you the results of the image quality tests once we have a full production model.

Other features that are new and of note are Auto Object Tracking which comes as the evolution of the Auto Portrait Framing feature seen on the Sony NEX and Cybershot cameras. This crops to correct composition in camera and in use the Portrait version that we’ve tested in the past has worked well. This feature is joined by two further Auto modes Macro and Tracking, again once we have a full sample we’ll test these out.

Lock on AF is another feature new to the 58, and we’re told it provides a wide focus area that’s able to identify the focus subject and lock on. The illustration of this looked interesting and if it’s as good as it looks it could be a real winning feature especially for families wanting to capture their kids or for people just getting into wildlife and sports photography.

The Sony Alpha 58 will go on sale with the new 18-55mm Kit lens for £450 or with the dual lens kit which also includes the 55-200mm for £600 in mid-April. We’ll bring you the full review soon, for now for more information check out Techradar.com.

Hands-on Nikon D7100 review

jmeyer — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:43:01 +0000

The Nikon D7100 was only just announced today, but our head of testing Angela Nicholson got a hands-on trial of a pre-production with this new Nikon DSLR at the company’s London launch event. Find out her first impressions in her hands-on Nikon D7100 review.

The Nikon D7100 is a 24.1-million-pixel DSLR aimed at enthusiasts. Unusually Nikon has left out the antialiasing filter over the sensor as this should enable it to record sharper details.

The Nikon D7100 price tag is set to be £1,099.99 (around US$1,682/AU$1,635) body only, or £1,299.99 (around US$1,988/AU$1,932) as part of the standard kit with an 18-105mm lens. Nikon expects sales to start at the end of March.

Find out more about the camera’s key features in our hands-on Nikon D7100 review video below.

Sony Alpha SLT-A99 review

jmeyer — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:30:01 +0000

After a four-year wait, Sony has brought out a replacement to the full-frame Alpha a900 camera, the 24.3MP Sony Alpha a99.

In her Sony A99 review video, our head of testing, Angela Nicholson, takes a look at Sony’s latest full frame offering, the Sony Alpha SLT-A99.

To see her full lab tests and sample images, check out Angela’s Sony Alpha 99 review on our sister site TechRadar.

Sony Alpha SLT-A99 Review Video Transcript

This is the Alpha 99, Sony’s first full-frame Alpha camera since the Alpha 900 was launched four years ago.

Unlike the Alpha 900, this camera has a fixed translucent mirror which means that it can have a high continuous shooting rate of 6fps at full resolution or 10fps at reduced resolution. It can also use phase detection autofocusing when shooting video or composing images on the rear LCD screen.

Inside the Alpha 99′s body is a full-frame sensor, in other words a sensor that’s the same size as a 35mm frame. This means that the 24.3 million pixels are larger than they are in the Alpha 77 which has an APS-C sized sensor – larger pixels means better image quality.

Sony has mounted the 3-inch LCD screen on a strange tilting-articulating bracket. It’s easy enough to arrange when you’re shooting horizontal format images, but its a bit more fiddly to find the right angle for it when shooting vertical format pictures. The good news is that the screen provides a nice clear view even in direct sunlight when its brightness is turned up

Because it’s an SLT the Alpha 99 has an electronic viewfinder rather than an optical one. With over 2-million dots this shows lots of detail, but scenes tend to look a bit warmer and more contrasty in it when compared with the captured image – even when its reviewed in the EVF.

The EVF is particularly useful when shooting in low light conditions because it shows the scene at the selected exposure settings, making the subject easier to see than it is in reality. Unfortunately though, the autofocus system doesn’t fair so well in low light. In fact it only needs a small drop in light levels before it starts to become quite hesitant. Even in good light it isn’t as fast as the systems in competing cameras like the Canon 5D Mark 3 and Nikon D800.

It also annoying that the 19 selectable AF points are so closely clustered around the centre of the frame.

There are plenty of direct controls available for making settings adjustments. This one on the front is quite unusual and its designed to allow near silent settings changes during video shooting.

This button here is intended to activate the Smart Teleconverter – a type of digital zoom. But I wonder how many full-frame photographers would want to use it for that? I’ve set it to magnify the screen image when focusing manually.

Thanks to its full-frame sensor and 24.3 million photosites the A99 can record a lot of detail – especially in raw files – and noise is controlled well. Even images captured at ISO 12,800 look good at sensible printing sizes like A3. Noise, or the impact of its removal, is more of an issue in images taken at ISO 25,600 – but the results are still usable.

The A99 has lots of useful features and customisation options. It’s also capable of shooting high quality stills and Full HD movies, but it’s let down by a disappointing AF system and its menus could be better organised.

Canon 6D Wi-Fi: the complete set-up process explained… without all the jargon

jmeyer — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:00:37 +0000

Wi-Fi connectivity is one of the big new features of the Canon EOS 6D. And the Canon 6D Wi-Fi feature enables you to connect your camera to an iOS (iPhone) or Android (Samsung Galaxy) device quickly once you’ve been through the set-up process explained in this video.

Unlike some other wireless solutions offered by other manufacturers, Canon’s EOS remote app enables you to not only view the scene, but take to control of your cameras settings.

In this video Ali Jennings of our testing team shows you step-by-step how to complete the Canon 6D Wi-Fi set-up process.