Rangefinder Magazine
March 2006

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Digital Photography John Rettie
Unexciting PMA Masks End of Pixel Race

EVERY YEAR IN FEBRUARY there is growing anticipation for news on new digital cameras that are likely to be announced at the annual Photo Marketing Association (PMA) exhibition. The pace of change in film cameras was relatively glacial compared to changes we’ve come to expect in digital cameras.

This year, much of the news prior to the show concerned Konica Minolta’s withdrawal from the camera business and Nikon’s almost complete abandonment of film cameras. Sony and Samsung each announced that they intend to grow their digital SLR businesses substantially. In fact, if you listened to these two companies along with Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and others, you would quickly realize that if they all succeeded in their optimistic sales forecasts the total market share would far exceed 100%. Obviously, some companies are not going to fare as well as they plan. The good news for photographers though, is that competition will speed up the pace of innovation while lowering the cost of cameras.

By the time you read this column, PMA will be over and you will know what was unveiled. From a professional user’s point of view, there is nothing significantly new in the SLR market, according to information given to me ahead of time. Despite six new Coolpix point-and-shoot cameras, Nikon has no new SLRs, which is not surprising since the D200 only went on sale last December. Canon has unveiled the 30D with hints that the next “1-” series camera might arrive in the fall. At the time of writing this column, most information concerning any new cameras was still under embargo.

As always it is fascinating to see how accurate rumors are as they fly around photography forums on the Internet. Conjecture about Canon’s EOS-30D replacement for the 20D was rife. However, unlike the generally accurate rumors concerning the 5D prior to its announcement last summer, the rumors on the 30D were few and far between, and those that were posted were incorrect.

Olympus introduced its new E-330 DSLR at PMA, which features Live View for previewing images in real time.

Conspiracy theorists have often suggested that rumors are leaked by companies themselves in order to create excitement or even to forestall people buying an alternative camera. I have to admit that the lack of rumors on the 30D did surprise me. Perhaps it was because the correct news about the 30D was lackluster to say the least. By now you probably know it is only a mildly-upgraded 20D, with the same 8.2-megapixel sensor, a larger LCD monitor and some under-the-hood improvements. The D30 is nowhere near the specs of the Nikon D200, which is Nikon’s closest competitor. However Canon has lowered the price to $1399, which is $400 less than the D200.

Canon fans on the forums were speculating that the 30D would blow past the D200 on specs. Based on past history this would certainly have been my expectation. Nevertheless, it’s good to see Nikon competing strongly against Canon and maintaining its consistent DX-size sensor on all its models.

In many ways the biggest news was in the consumer space. Olympus introduced its E-330 prosumer camera with a truly innovative new feature— the first-ever live preview image capability in an interchangeable lens SLR that also features an optical viewer.

Users of consumer point-and-shoot digital cameras have grown accustomed to being able to preview images on the LCD screen on the back of their cameras and many of them have been disappointed to lose this facility when they graduate to a DSLR. The problem has always been that the mirror prevents light from falling on the sensor to create an image until the moment of exposure. One way to overcome this is to do away with the mirror and use an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Several manufacturers have introduced cameras with EVFs, but they have not been acceptable to pros or keen amateurs because they are slow in operation and difficult to view.

Olympus’ solution in the E-330 is to use two image sensors. When the optical viewfinder is in use, a second mirror diverts light to a small 8MP CCD sensor that produces an image for the rear screen. While this sensor gives an accurate real-time preview of the image, it is not exactly identical to the image that will be captured by the actual 7.7MP CMOS sensor for the final image.

To overcome this issue, there is a second preview mode where the mirror flips up, closing the optical viewfinder and using the “real” sensor to produce the preview. In this mode the autofocusing mechanism is disabled, but for close-up still work it’s possible to zoom in up to 10X on the screen to check focusing.

At first blush the design might seem like overkill, but there is no denying that a rotating preview screen on the camera is a real bonus when it’s difficult or even impossible to compose though the optical viewfinder. Olympus is introducing an underwater housing for this camera, which would be ideal for use when diving. The big screen on the back of the camera will make composition much easier.

Although Olympus has not announced whether this “Live View” feature will appear on the next generation of the pro-level E-1 camera, the company did distribute a chart that clearly indicates the feature will be incorporated in their next pro camera.

By using two image sensors, Olympus engineers were able to design the E-330 camera so a regular optical viewfinder can be used to compose images as well as the LCD screen on the rear of the camera.

I applaud Olympus for being innovative and introducing a worthwhile feature that was not possible to provide on a film camera. Hopefully Nikon and Canon will use the same idea on some of their future cameras. Oh, and Olympus is still the only company to include an effective dust-reduction system that automatically keeps dust off the image sensor.

Apart from this, the new features on literally dozens of new pointand- shoot digital cameras seemed to center around improving the quality of images at higher ISOs. Some companies, such as Fujifilm, are even calling the ability to produce images at up to 3200 ISO “picture stabilization.” This label is somewhat confusing as the feature has nothing to do with optically stabilizing the image. All it does is allow a higher shutter speed to be used, which lowers the likelihood of camera shake.

Sony and Canon are incorporating actual image stabilization systems in some of their new cameras, as well as offering improved noise reduction that allows sensitivity up to 1000 ISO. When you consider that noise has been the bugbear of the small sensors used in these cameras, the fact that manufacturers are overcoming this shortcoming bodes well for future pro cameras with large sensors.

Manufacturers seem to have conceded that the megapixel race in consumer cameras is almost over as cameras settle into the 6–10MP range. This is good news—hopefully manufacturers will now spend R&D money developing new features and improving quality, which will undoubtedly lead to more innovation on pro cameras.

Adobe Lightroom

Isn’t competition among manufacturers great? Within months of Apple’s introduction of Aperture, Adobe has come out swinging with a similar product called Lightroom. Although Lightroom won’t hit shelves until later this year, Adobe has cleverly released a public beta version. At this time, the public beta is for Mac OS X users only.

I’ve had a chance to download and install Lightroom on my PowerBook, and it is somewhat similar to Aperture in look and feel. It’s going to take some time to learn the program and find out if it is faster or more robust than Aperture.

Adobe has introduced a beta version of Lightroom, which is a direct competitor to Apple’s recently-introduced digital workflow program, Aperture. (picture of Hawaii model Song)

Since this version of Lightroom is a beta test, Adobe should benefit tremendously from all the feedback users will provide in the coming months. Hopefully the final release will be a much better product than it might have been had it only been developed internally by software engineers.

Apple has adopted a similar approach and is actively seeking feedback from Aperture users. Apple has asked users to send in photographs that have been processed in Aperture so that software engineers can tweak the program. Won’t it be great when cameras can be continually tweaked and improved as rapidly through feedback from users?

Canon Binocular

Strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with digital photography. However, I am fairly certain that many readers are also interested in binoculars. Like me, you probably have an old pair lying around that you occasionally get out. Regular users of binoculars are probably well aware that many new models include image stabilization. I’ll admit that I was not. Recently, while attending a football game courtesy of Canon (one of the NFL’s sponsors), my son and I got to use a pair of Canon binoculars with image stabilization.

I have been using lenses with image stabilization for several years and am a believer in their value. However, I have never visibly sensed them in action while shooting. All I’ve heard is the clunking sound of the stabilization system at work, and all I know is that images are sharper than they would have been without an IS system.

Canon’s newest binoculars feature an effective image-stabilization system that produces clear steady images.

With these binoculars, however, you can visually see how well they stabilize the image. I found the Canon 12x36 IS binoculars a treat to use. They were easy to adjust and delivered a crystal clear image. The revelation comes when one pushes the small button on top to operate the IS system. The image then stabilizes, making it much more enjoyable to view distant scenes. I tried them in a car while traveling (as a passenger) at 80 mph, and it was amazing how the image remained steady. Do yourself a favor if you have not used a pair of binoculars in some time—check out a pair of IS binoculars from Canon.

On several occasions I wished I’d been able to take a picture of the image I was seeing. There are some binoculars on the market that do include a digital sensor to capture lowresolution images. I see no reason why Canon could not include an 8MP sensor from one of its cameras in these binoculars, and you’d have a great telephoto point-and-shoot camera as well as a great pair of binoculars.

Quick Software Review iCorrect EditLab Pro

Proficient users of Photoshop probably don’t need a plug-in that makes it easier to do color corrections. The rest of us though probably appreciate a little help. That’s what Pictocolor’s newest version of iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 sets out to do. It allows one to easily click through four tabs that adjust colors, hue and saturation, either automatically or manually. The new version also includes the ability to convert color images to black and white or sepia. In addition, sharpening and noise-reduction tools have been added.

In a brief tryout, I found that just using the SmartColor button automatically did a good job of enhancing an image. In some cases it was all I needed to do. Once you get the hang of understanding the different features, it’s easy to enhance images. The Hue and Saturation tab is probably the most confusing one to understand, but the user guide shows how one can create a sepia or black-and-white print and then dial some color back in for effect.

iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 is available for download at www.pictocolor. com for $99.95 as a plug-in for Photoshop and other programs. It is also available as a stand-alone program, which might appeal to those who need to do a lot of image correction and don’t need the power of Photoshop.