Digital Camera World » compact system cameras

Lee Filters Seven5 Micro Filter System review: is it the best filter for CSC users?

jmeyer — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:00:10 +0000

We test the Lee Filters Seven5 Micro Filter System, the new filter kit designed specifically for compact system cameras. Is this the perfect filter kit for CSC users?

Compact system cameras (CSCs) now boast such high image quality that they’re fast becoming a tempting alternative to bulkier DSLRs.

However, unfortunately one area where CSCs still lag behind the good old SLR is the availability of compatible accessories such as filter kits. Seeing this gap in the market, Lee Filters has developed the Seven5 filter system, which has been designed specifically for CSCs.

To get you started, Lee offers a starter kit including a filter holder and a 0.6 Neutral Density hard-graduated filter that’s ideal  for balancing the contrast of landscape shots with bright skies.

The relatively large 75x90mm filter size means they should cover most CSC lenses with ease, while the holder can contain an additional filter should you fancy getting more creative and combining a pair of filters.

You will, however, still need to purchase a separate adaptor ring of the specific size required to attach the holder to your lens.

Lee has a reputation for producing superb quality filters, and these baby Seven5s are no exception. Light transfer through the tinted section is exceptionally neutral, with no colour casting visible to the naked eye (or detectable in Photoshop).

Our only gripe with this kit is the price. To be fair, Lee Filters’ filters are meticulously crafted by hand in England to the highest quality, but £112 is still hard to stomach for just a single filter and a holder.

The situation isn’t helped by the fact that arch filter rival Cokin is now offering an equivalent CSC-compatible filter kit for less than half the price.

Price: £112
Buy it: www.leefilters.com

Score: 3/5

CSC production increases

samanthacliffe — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:51:36 +0000

Analysis by Photography Week.

The total number of interchangeable lens cameras (SLRs and CSCs) being produced has jumped by around 34 percent according to Japanese trade figures, amidst a market which has shrunk by around 15 percent overall.

According to Japan’s Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), which measures production and shipments of digital cameras, total shipments were down, but this also includes compact cameras. The association expects total shipments to fall a further 11 percent in 2013, but system camera shipments to rise.

Figures reveal that production of interchangeable lens cameras jumped from 15.7 million to 21 million units in 2013, when compared with 2011 figures. This represents a 43.5 percent increase in terms of value. Total shipments, to include compact cameras, dropped to 98.1 million units – down from the all-time high in 2010.

Unsurprisingly, the compact camera market is showing a steady decline as the increase in popularity and quality of smartphone cameras improves. In 2012, shipments of these dropped by around 21.9 percent year-on-year to 78 million units.

This isn’t necessarily bad news for the consumer. Camera manufacturers now have to work harder to compete for our business, and as a result we’re seeing very interesting developments in the areas in which mobile phones can’t compete (yet), especially in the high-zoom, premium-model and rugged sectors.

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Nikon V2 review

jmeyer — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:33:23 +0000

Nikon V2 review: has enough changed in the V2 to warrant an upgrade over the Nikon 1 V1? Our testing team put Nikon’s new CSC to the test.

Nikon has replaced the Nikon 1 V1 with the Nikon 1 V2, an update that promises to be an evolution of the existing camera and is what Nikon hopes will attract more serious photographers – the ones who are more likely to buy additional lenses and other accessories down the line.

Here Amy Davies of our testing team takes a look at what it has to offer in our Nikon V2 review video.

Nikon V2 Review Video Transcript

The Nikon V2 is a replacement for the V1, and sees some interesting changes to the body shape, when compared to the previous model.

Perhaps not considered serious enough for advanced photographers, the V1 was never as popular as its smaller brother, the J1. Now, Nikon has done plenty to try and appeal to more enthusiast users.

It now has a larger hand grip, which gives the camera a much more DSLR style feel. There’s also been a mode dial added at the top here – this makes it much easier to quickly switch between modes such as aperture priority and shutter priority – previously these were hidden away in a menu.

The new hand grip makes it much easier to hold and it feels very secure in the hand, especially when shooting one-handed.

To switch on the V2, you actually have two options. You can flick this switch here – but for speed, and grabbing those quick shots, you can also activate the camera via the lens. Simply press this button here and twist the lens round and the camera switches itself on.

Just to the right of the mode dial is another dial which can be used to alter aperture or shutter speed, depending on the shooting mode. It’s a handy dial and very easily reached by the thumb, which is again useful when shooting one-handed.

To make changes to exposure compensation, first you need to hit this button on the four-way pad, and then use this dial to scroll to the setting you want. It’s a little bit of a shame there isn’t a standalone dial for exposure compensation.

Near the aperture and shutter speed dial is a small function button, which can be pressed to access some of the key settings, such as white balance and autofocus. It would have been good if some more functions could have been accessed from here, or extras added on via a customisable menu.

On the back of the camera is a 921,000 dot screen. Although it’s viewable from a good range of angles, and doesn’t suffer too badly from glare or reflection, it is a shame that it doesn’t tilt and articulate, and it’s not a touchscreen.

To change the autofocus point, you need to tap the OK button and use the arrow keys to scroll around the scene to the point you want. Although this isn’t too tricky, it would have been sped up by the addition of a touchscreen.

Down the left of the camera is a row of four buttons, including a Menu and Playback button. These can’t be reached when using the camera one-handed, but that’s not too much of a problem thanks to the Function button for the mostly common settings.

If you do need to delve into the menu, you’ll find it’s reasonably sensibly laid out. If you’ve ever used a Nikon camera before, you’ll more than likely be at home here.

Like the V1 before it, the V2 includes an electronic viewfinder. This 1.4 million dot device is very good and is a great option in brighter sunlight, or for those that prefer a traditional way of shooting.

The V1 didn’t have an inbuilt flash, only an accessory port for attaching an external flashgun. The V2 has both, with a pop-up flash which is activated via this button here, and an accessory port on top of the EVF here.

The Nikon V2 uses a new 14.2 million pixel CX format sensor and a new processing engine, so we were pretty hopeful that image quality would be good. Luckily, we’ve found that images are punchy and vibrant, with excellent colour reproduction and plenty of detail.

Nikon J3: price, release date, specs confirmed

jmeyer — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:54:55 +0000

Nikon confirms official Nikon J3 price, release date and specs at CES 2013 and launches its smallest Nikon 1 camera to date

Nikon has launched its smallest Nikon 1 camera body to date, confirming speculation by revealing the official Nikon J3 price and and specifications at CES 2013.

The Nikon announcement comes just months after last September’s launch of the Nikon J2. Measuring just 101×60.5×28.8mm, the Nikon J3 has the world’s smallest body for a CSC with a CX-format sensor, Nikon says.

Like the J2, the Nikon J3 can shoot 15fps and offers a Slow View mode, which lets photographers record slow-motion movies, and Live Image Control, allowing users to preview effects before taking the picture.

The 14.2-megapixel Nikon J3 also promises an improved Snapshot function, as well as an Advanced Movie mode that lets photographers make changes to exposure settings while recording movies.

The Nikon J3 boasts an ISO range of ISO 160 to 6400 and comes in silver, red, white, black and beige. Like the entry-level Nikon S1 announced at the same time, the Nikon J3 boasts the world’s shortest release time lag and world’s fastest continuous shooting, according to Nikon.

The Nikon J3 price tag will be £579.99 / €719.00 for the 10-30mm kit, or £719.99 / €899.00 (Black & White only) for the 10-30mm & 30-110mm kit.

A Nikon J3 release date is slated fro 7 February 2013.

All the gear and no idea: Sony back up their ad campaign

samanthacliffe — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:00:26 +0000

In an effort to boost sales of Sony’s compact system cameras, Sony Australia has come up with an online – and slightly off-the-wall – marketing campaign. It has produced a series of videos poking gentle (but acutely-observed) fun at stereotypical DSLR users, with the tag line ‘All the gear and no idea’.

Where can I see the videos?
The video below is a compilation of all of the 30-second videos called DSLR Gear No Idea. There are eight videos in total, each lampooning a particular photographic personality.

Such as…?
‘Status updaters’ features a couple of female friends on a beach endlessly turning a camera on themselves using a ridiculously long lens; the brilliant F-Stop Fusspot features a hapless portrait photographer constantly fiddling with settings; the Lens Spotter is determined to tell everyone who’ll listen about the benefits of his (even longer) lens; and the Foreign Correspondent – our particular favourite – wanders around sporting a khaki vest and a clutch of spare bodies to photograph a friend’s barbecue. And it only gets worse when he starts filming a home movie…

Will it work?
Who knows? At the time of writing, the channel has had more than half a million video views, so it’s definitely catching on, but whether it will help Sony sell more cameras is another question. CSCs are selling like saki in Japan, accounting for around 50% of sales of interchangeable lens cameras.

In the UK, which also boasts high adoption rates, the figure is thought to be more like 30%, but in the rest of the world CSCs have yet to have quite the same impact.

UPDATE:

Last week Sony Australia backed up their light-hearted ribbing with some cold, hard facts.

In a survey of over 1,000 non-professional digital SLR owners, almost two thirds admitted to using their camera on full auto mode most or all of the time, a third said that they didn’t know how to use their camera, and one in five said they used their camera to capture images purely for blogging and social media sites.

Sony would say that wouldn’t they… But even allowing for the fact that the results are doubtless somewhat skewed in Sony’s favour (so as to bolster sales of its smaller and arguably more intuitive compact system camera), they nonetheless suggest that SLR owners aren’t getting as much out of their cameras as they could be.

What’s interesting is that it suggests – quite reasonably – that many of us might be better of with CSCs. Since Canon joined the CSC party earlier this year, industry experts have been wondering if 2012 will mark the tipping point for CSCs, which still play second fiddle to SLRs in most countries.

As part of their ongoing campaign, Sony sent celebrity portrait Pro Gary Heery onto streets to speak to SLR users in person. For comic effect, Heery made the game participants hold up embarrassing placards highlighting their deficiencies. Quite how he got away without being punched is anyone’s guess.

Source: Analysis by Photography Week

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Canon EOS M review

jmeyer — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:21:26 +0000

Even before the Canon EOS M was announced in July it was the subject of intense speculation and interest. And as samples have become available we’ve been just as keen as all of you to test this new Canon compact system camera to see how it compares to others in its class. Our head of testing, Angela Nicholson, puts the M through its paces in her Canon EOS M review. Watch the video review below to hear her verdict!

The Canon EOS M features exactly the same sensor as the Canon EOS 650D, the new entry level DSLR it launched just prior to the M.

Therefore, the Canon EOS M boasts an 18 million pixel effective APS-C CMOS sensor with hybrid autofocusing.

Also on board is a Digic 5 processor, the company’s latest engine which is also found on the likes of the Canon EOS 1DX.

Other key Canon EOS M specs include a 7.7cm (3 inch) Clear View LCD II touch screen, which can be used to set various controls as well as selecting autofocus points.

A new lens mount has been created, the EF-M. At the moment, two lenses have been launched, an 18-55mm zoom lens and a 22mm fixed length pancake lens. Owners of any existing Canon lenses can attach them to the camera via the EF-EOS M adapter.

Full HD video recording is available with the EOS M, with high speed AF in movie mode and stereo sound.

There’s no flash on the Canon EOS M body, but an external Speedlite 90EX flash unit will come packaged in the box as standard. It comes with a Guide Number of 9, and supports wide-angle lenses. A hotshoe on top of the camera is compatible with Canon’s range of EX Speedlite flash units.

To see how it fared in our extensive lab and field testing, watch our Canon EOS M review below.

PAGE 1: Canon EOS M review video
PAGE 2: Canon EOS M review – the verdict
PAGE 3: Canon EF-M mount explained
PAGE 4: Canon EOS M sample images

The best tripod for your compact system camera?

jmeyer — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 02:00:17 +0000

With today’s digital cameras now better than ever at producing clean images at high ISO settings, few photographers want to be burdened with a substandard tripod. The Traverse attempts to secure a place in your kit bag with its compact folded size allied to high-quality components and efficient design.

A side effect of the quest for outright portability can be lighter, but less durable, parts. Thankfully, with the Traverse, Davis & Sanford have avoided this pitfall.

Plastic is almost entirely banished in favour of precisely machined aluminium for the five-piece legs, crown and hinges. Chunky rubberised quick-twist leg locks are easy to grip and hold securely, with foam leg pads further enhancing the ergonomics.

Innovative leg hinges keep things as compact as possible and these are capable of folding through 180° to rest alongside the head, bringing the tripod’s total folded length down to just 40cm.

Fully extended, the maximum operating height reaches 145cm, making this a comfortable tripod even for users over 6ft, although some rival designs extend significantly higher than this.

The included BHQ11 ball head doesn’t let the side down either. It will hold 5kg comfortably, and thanks to precision engineering and fluid-damping, motion is kept silky-smooth in every direction.

There’s little to find fault with in this tripod. It may not quite be the smallest or lightest option, and it’s not really cut out for heavyweight full-frame set-ups.

However, quality components, good design and slick operation make it a great compromise for most users.

Price: £192, from www.tiffen.com

SCORE: 5/5

Canon unveils its first CSC: the Canon EOS M

jmeyer — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 04:05:51 +0000

After what feels like years of hype, Canon has finally joined the compact system market with its Canon EOS M camera.

Coming just a few weeks before Photokina in September, the EOS M features exactly the same sensor as the recently launched EOS 650D, one of the company’s entry level DSLRs.

Therefore, that means it has an 18 million pixel effective APS-C CMOS sensor with hybrid autofocusing. Also on board is a Digic 5 processor, the company’s latest engine which is also found on the likes of the Canon EOS 1DX.

Our head of testing, Angela Nicholson, got an early trial with the Canon M before it was a announced. Below you can see a short video of her experience using the EOS M – or you can read her hands-on Canon EOS M review over on our sister site, TechRadar.

Other Canon EOS M specs 7.7cm (3 inch) Clear View LCD II touch screen can be found on the back, which can be used to set various controls as well as selecting autofocus points.

A new lens mount has been created, the EF-M. At the moment, two lenses have been launched, an 18-55mm zoom lens and a 22mm fixed length pancake lens. Owners of any existing Canon lens can attach them to the camera via the EF-EOS M adapter.

Full HD video recording is available, with high speed AF in movie mode and stereo sound.

There’s no flash on the body of the camera, but an external Speedlite 90EX flash unit will come packaged in the box as standard. It comes with a Guide Number of 9, and supports wide-angle lenses.

A hotshoe on top of the camera is compatible with Canon’s range of EX Speedlite flash units.

The Canon EOS M price will be: Canon EOS M + 18-55: £769.99; EOS M + 22mm and EF-M converter: £879.99; EOS M + 18-55mm & 22mm: £949.99.

A release date of around September is expected.

Free digital camera in-depth buyer’s guide

jmeyer — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:01 +0000

Are you in the market for a new digital camera? If you’re trying to decide what camera to buy – and, frankly, quite a few fantastic models have been released in the past year – look no further than our in-depth digital camera buyer’s guide.

The latest infographic in our popular photography cheat sheet series, our digital camera buyer’s guide not only lists the current models, their price and key specs such as sensor type, but also includes the verdicts from our own lab tests of these cameras, as well as manufacturer contact information and more.

We’ve posted a low-res version below, but click here to download our free digital camera buyer’s guide and you’ll get all the help you need (apart from wads of cash; we can’t help you there!) when deciding what camera to buy.

CSC vs DSLR: their differences defined

jmeyer — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:51:33 +0000

The rise of compact system cameras and the image quality they are now capable of producing has led many of us to weigh up the pros and cons of a CSC vs DSLR when making our next camera purchase.

But what exactly is the difference between a CSC vs DSLR apart from the size? In the latest of our photography cheat sheet series we’ve looked beyond body size at what you need to know when making a CSC vs DSLR comparison.

Below we’ve profiled the Panasonic Lumix GH2 (see our Panasonic Lumix G: tips for using your digital camera) to illustrate some of the key differences in features in compact system cameras and DSLR.

Simply drag and drop this handy infographic on to your desktop and keep it for a reference when you make your next camera purchase.