for both professionals and consumers

When someone asks me where I’m from, I usually volunteer a two part answer: “I grew up in New York but I live in Michigan”. Still after almost 40 years, it’s a treat for me to return to New York to see friends and family.

My most recent visit was in late October to attend the Photoplus Expo that’s held each year at the Javits Convention Center. I’ve traveled there for the past several years to report on the newest photo products, speak to the equipment vendors and watch several of the live “how-to” seminars. This year thousands of professionals and enthusiastic consumers also traveled to New York City to get a hands on experience with the latest photographic equipment and accessories.

For this report, I’ll concentrate on several of the new digital cameras as these are the among the most popular.

Nikon D600

I first saw the Nikon 600 a few weeks ago at the huge Photokina Expo in Cologne, Germany. Nikon’s newest DSLR is positioned as a “prosumer” model. Its full-frame sensor, the same size as a 35mm film frame, offers an impressive 24MP resolution with superior light gathering power and less noise than the more common APS-C size sensors found in many consumer targeted DLSRs.

 

The D600 is smaller than the full-frame Nikon D800 which was introduced only a few months ago. Its $2100 price is $900 less expensive than the D800 which has a 36MP sensor. The autofocus system is switchable between 9, 21 or 39 autofocus points depending on the type of subject. Its high speed image processor can capture up to 5-1/2 frames per second. The large 3.2″ LCD automatically adjusts the brightness to suit the surrounding lighting conditions. The D600 automatically recognizes when a DX lens is mounted and adjusts the camera resolution to about 10mp. So owners of DX lenses can continue to benefit from their earlier investment.

Other notable features are:

• built-in flash with versatile wireless control of external units
• dual SD card slots – you can configure the D600 to record duplicate of images on both SD cards or to record jpg images on one card and RAW images on the other
• in-camera HDR capability – multiple exposures are combined automatically to capture a wider range of tones
• Active-D lighting – reduces very contrasty scenes to retain detail in highlights and shadows
• time-lapse – captures multiple frames at specified intervals
• full 1080p HD video at multiple frame rates
• uncompressed video output via HDMI cable
• external stereo input with visual auto level monitor

Users who want to transmit images directly to a smart device can purchase the inexpensive WU-1b wireless adapter. With this they can backup images and/or share images as text messages or online social media sites.

The D600 will prove to be a very capable model for those looking to upgrade from one of Nikon’s DX format cameras to a full-frame body. It’s available now for $2100. The price of the WU-1B wireless transmitter is $60.

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Canon 6D

Pick up the Canon 6D, and you’ll immediately notice how much smaller (less wide) and lighter it is compared to Canon’s previous full frame 5DMkII and 5DMkIII models. The target market for the 6D is the prosumer who wants to upgrade from an APS-C frame size body, similar to what Nikon is doing with its D600 model.

Other features of the 6D are:

• 20MB full-frame sensor
• 11-point autofocus system
• high speed capture at 4.5 frames per second
• single SD card slot
• in-camera HDR – combines bracketed exposures to yield images which encompass wide exposure levels
• multiple exposure – superimposes up to nine separate images onto single frame
• full 1080p HD video at multiple frame rates
• built-in WiFi – sends images wirelessly to smart devices (computer,mobile phones) for backup or preview
• built-in GPS – adds location information to images

 

One feature missing from the 6D is a built-in flash. Normally, this classifies the camera as a professional model. Originally slated for release December 15th, the Canon 6D was already shipping in late November. The price is $2100, same as the Nikon D600.

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Sony NEX-6

I have to admit that I’m a big fan of Sony’s line of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC). The newest member of the NEX series is the NEX-6. The MILCs are all much smaller and lighter than any of the DLSRs, making them very convenient to carry.

This model uses a hybrid autofocus system that addresses a shortcoming of the earlier models. Autofocus is now performed by combining fast phase-detection for coarse focusing with contrast-detection for precise focusing.

Many of the controls on the NEX-6 have been reworked from earlier models to change the settings faster and more conveniently. The high resolution electronic viewfinder lets the user preview the effect of the settings before the shutter is released.

 

Sony has also introduced a new 16-50mm zoom lens for the NEX series. This lens is the first E-mount lens with a power zooming feature. The lens ring is used for zooming and manual focusing. When it’s not being used, the lens retracts to less than 30mm thereby making the camera and lens combination even more compact.

The 3″ LCD display has a 920K dot resolution and tilts 90 degrees upward and 45 degrees downward for easy viewing in a variety of shooting situations.

Among the innovative shooting features are:

• in-camera HDR – combines three separate images into a single image with wide tonal range
• adjustable DRO – dynamic range optimizer helps prevent overly contrast images
• multiframe NR – captures multiple frames and combines parts to produce single framewith least amount of moise
• sweep panorama – sweep your camera horizontally to take multiple frames which are stitched together in camera
• built-in flash
• built-in WiFi – sends images to mobile device or computer for backup or display
• full 1080p HD video

The Sony NEX-6 is available now with 16-50mm lens for $1000.

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Thanks to the vendors from Nikon, Canon and Sony who provided me with much of the technical information that I’ve presented here.

The show management told me that more than 24,000 visitors attended this year’s Photoplus Expo. Based on my conversations, I recently added a new Canon 6D to my large inventory of photo equipment. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one to have made a purchasing decision after the show.

 

Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

Photokina Part 2 – the new stuff

Photokina is the largest photographic trade show and takes place every two years in Cologne, Germany. Photokina is a major venue where photographic manufacturers showcase their upcoming products. Here’s a short report about some of the new products that caught my attention during my short visit in late September.

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Walking the aisles, I observed two opposing trends taking place among the photographic equipment makers.

On one side, there’s a movement towards larger sensors. Advanced and professional photographers have typically chosen equipment that produces the highest quality images regardless of size and weight. Equipment with larger, full-frame sensors have dominated this category. In Part 1 of this article, I described several of the new full-frame cameras that I demo’d at Photokina.

On the other side, there’s is a flood of activity devoted to making smaller, higher quality cameras.
(more…)

Photokina Part 1 – the new stuff

Every two years the photographic industry gathers at Photokina to introduce its new products.

The event takes place over a week period in early September at the huge Koelnmesse Exhibition Center in Cologne, Germany.

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This year I again attended Photokina along with some 150,000 other visitors and walked the aisles of the messe’s ten huge halls to see the new photographic and imaging products from more than 1500 vendors.

What follows is a condensed report of those products that were of particular interest to me.

Prior to the start of Photokina, many of the photo manufacturers announced new products that would be on display at the expo. Like many others, I was curious to touch and feel some of these products and these were the ones that I gravitated to when I reached Cologne.

Sensor Size Two seemingly “opposite” trends seem to be taking place in among the camera equipment makers. On the one hand there is a strong movement towards smaller, yet higher quality cameras. More about this shortly. On the other hand, there is also a recent movement towards larger sensors. Why larger sensors? Advanced and professional photographers have historically chosen equipment that produces the highest quality images regardless of size and weight. This has been the realm of equipment with larger sensors.
Left: full-frame sensor; Center: APS-C sensor; Right: typical point-and-shoot sensor	View showing a full-frame sensor in an upcoming mirrorless camera
The advantage of a full frame sensor is its superior light gathering ability and the reduction of image noise compared to a smaller sensor. At this show, I saw no fewer than five new models with full-frame sensors.

Camera Size If there’s one thing that electronics has taught us is that next year’s devices will be smaller than this year’s. For the higher level cameras, this has been happening quietly for several years. With Canon and Nikon – the “big guns” of the camera industry – now having compact interchangeable lens cameras, this movement gains momentum.
These are also known as mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC). With new models made by Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung and Sony, the MILC is the fastest growing part of the market for advanced equipment. Removing the moving mirror from a DSLR enables the camera makers to save a lot of camera body real estate. Instead of looking through an optical viewfinder, the photographer composes using the LCD or electronic viewfinder. Early MILCs used smaller sensors which allowed the manufacturers to design smaller, lighter weight lenses. Canon, Samsung and Sony MILCs use APS-C size sensors but the corresponding lenses are remarkably small as well. The result is a high quality, interchangeable lens camera that is extremely compact and convenient.	This looks like a typical point-and-shoot camera, but is actually a new model MILC from Canon.
Keeping these two trends in mind, I made my way through the aisles of the Koelnmesse.

Nikon D600 First on my list was this new DSLR from Nikon. This model is a lower-cost model than their D800 which was introduced just a few months ago and features a large full-frame sensor (same size as 35mm film frame).
For those interested, I’ve summarized the main differences between these two models:   Model D600 D800 resolution 24.3 mp 36.3 mp media 2 SD card slots 1 CF card slot 1 SD card slot continuous shooting 5.5 frames/second 4 frames/second auto-focus 39 points 51 points size 5.6″ (width) 4.4″ (height) 3.2″ (depth) 5.7″ (width) 4.8″ (height) 3.2″ (depth) weight 26.8 ounces 31.7 ounces price $2100 (body) $3000 (body)   The D600 felt noticeably smaller than the D800. The demonstration model was equipped with Nikon’s new 24-85mm lens for full-frame cameras. Both the D600 and 24-85mm lens are currently available. If you’re the owner of any of Nikon’s DX (APS-C) series lenses, the D600 automatically recognizes when this lens is mounted and adjusts the resolution to about 10mp. This allows you to continue to use your investment in DX lenses. Nikon also announced a wi-fi adapter for the D600 that lets you automatically transmit images to a smart device. In addition to providing synchronized backup, you can share these images as text messages or with online social media sites. The low cost adapter (about $60) is not yet available.

Canon 6D Next up was the Canon booth where I saw the newly announced 6D.
The 6D has a footprint and feel similar to Canon’s 7D, only this model has a full-frame sensor.	Here you can see that both GPS and Wi-Fi are built into the 6D
Although the prices of tge 5DMkIII and the new 6D are quite disparate, here are the major feature differences between these two models:   Model 6D 5D Mark III resolution 20.2 mp 22.3 mp media 1 SD card slots 1 CF card slot 1 SD card slot continuous shooting 4.5 frames/second 6 frames/second auto-focus 11 points 61 points Wi-fi built-in external with $850 transmitter GPS built-in external with $400 receiver size 5.7″ (width) 4.4″ (height) 2.8″ (depth) 6.0″ (width) 4.6″ (height) 3.0″ (depth) weight 24.0 ounces 30.3 ounces price $2100 (body) $3500 (body)   Perhaps the most significant features of the 6D besides the full-frame sensor are the addition of both GPS and Wi-Fi. GPS automatically adds location information to the images. This is especially useful to landscape photographers who can now precisely identify the location at which a photograph was captured. Adding Wi-Fi capability to the camera again provides automatic backup and rapid sharing of images through online smart devices. Two other features which are new in this model: 1) in-camera HDR which combines bracketed exposures to yield images which encompass wide exposure levels. 2) multiple exposure capability to superimpose up to nine separate images onto single frame. Similar to the 5D Mk III, neither have a built-in flash but reply on external flash units. The staff at the Canon booth indicated that the 6D will go on sale in December of this year.

Sony Alpha 99 Although Sony is a distant third to Canon and Nikon in terms of high end market share, this company has been delivering products with innovative features.
Sony’s new Alpha 99 is their first full-frame camera using its unique translucent mirror. Instead of a conventional mirror which flips out of the light path when the shutter is depressed, the translucent mirror remains stationary allowing light to pass through to the sensor. This design provides continuous autofocus and exposure and high speed capture. Below I’ve compared the new Alpha 99 with the Alpha 77, which is Sony’s top if the line APS-C size cameras in the translucent mirror series.   Model Alpha 99 Alpha 77 resolution 24.7 mp full-frame sensor 22.3 mp APS-C sensor media 2 SD card slots 1 SD card slot continuous shooting 10 frames/second 12 frames/second auto-focus dual phase detect 19 points, 102 additional points single phase detect 19 points GPS built-in built-in video 1080p @ 60fps 1080p @ 60fps Viewfinder 2.4 mp OLED electronic 2.4 mp OLED electronic size 5.83″ (width) 4.5″ (height) 3.13″ (depth) 5.75″ (width) 4.2″ (height) 3.25″ (depth) weight 26.0 ounces 23.0 ounces price $2800 (body) $1300 (body)   The Alpha 99 uses a unique dual phase detect system is designed to provide continuous and precise autofocus. Other features carried over from earlier Sony’s translucent mirror cameras are sweep panorama, automatic HDR and multi-frame noise reduction. The Alpha 99 is due to begin shipments in early November.

Sony RX-1 I didn’t expect to see a camera such as this from Sony. The RX-1 is compact camera with a full-frame sensor and a non-removable lens. It looks as if Sony has identified a market of well-to-do photo enthusiasts that can afford $2800 for a camera with a 24mp full-size sensor and fast but fixed focal length Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens. You’ll have to compose your subjects with the 3″ screen unless you purchase either the optical or electronic viewfinder.
with optional electronic viewfinder	convenient settings with multiple dials
All of the RX-1 samples were firmly locked behind glass at Photokina so I wasn’t able to have a hands-on demonstration. Of course Zeiss is noted for its superior lenses so coupled with the same full-frame sensor used in the Alpha 99, we can expect this camera to produce remarkable photographs. The expected availability date of the RX-1 is late December.

 

This concludes the coverage of the new full-frame sensor equipment from Photokina.

Coming up in Part 2 of our Photokina coverage are the compact MILC cameras. We hope to see you back here soon.

 

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

 

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