Digital Images of Mars - NASA

NASA has just released the first images of Mars from its new camera system. This will provide a platform of what type of images the Mars Reconnaissance Orbitor will provide when its main mission begins in fall.

Three cameras were used in this mission, these are 1. High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, 2. Context Camera and 3. Mars Color Imager. Together they gathered up to 40 minutes of data which was used to merge and form the image.

According to Steve Saunders, Mission's program scientist at NASA Headquarters. He says...

"These images provide the first opportunity to test camera settings and the spacecraft's ability to point the camera with Mars filling the instruments' field of view,".. "The information learned will be used to prepare for the primary mission next fall." The main purpose of these images is to enable the camera team to develop calibration and image-processing procedures such as the precise corrections needed for color imaging and for high-resolution surface measurements from stereo pairs of images."

In essence this is very interesting stuff from NASA.

Source

Canon 30D review by Dsresource

Jeff Keller from Dcresource has an excellent review on the much anticipated Canon 30D. Although the Canon 30D is an upgraded 20D, the improvements are not as large as the Nikon D200 is to the Nikon D100. Beside the softer images and a less bright LCD, the Canon 30D still gets a top rating from Jeff. Here's a conclusion of his review.

"The Canon EOS-30D is an excellent midrange digital SLR. While it’s new features aren't exciting enough to get this 20D owner to run out and upgrade, those who are moving up from point-and-shoot or entry-level D-SLRs should definitely give the 30D a look.

From most angles the 30D looks just like its predecessor, the EOS-20D. But take a look at the back of the camera and you'll see the most noticeable difference: a large 2.5" LCD display. While the screen isn't as bright or sharp as the one on the Nikon D200, it's still much nicer than the one found on the 20D or Rebel XT. The 30D is very well put together, with a metal core and solid plastic and rubber outer shell. The controls are well-placed, and Canon hasn't gone overboard with buttons. Some of the controls, like the four-way controller and playback zoom buttons, are downright useful. Like the 20D before it, the 30D supports both EF and EF-S lenses, and the 1.6X focal length conversion ratio is unchanged.

The 30D is a power user's dream camera, with tons of manual controls and custom settings. You've got all the usual manual exposure controls plus class-leading white balance controls. The camera now has the same Picture Styles menu as the EOS-5D, which lets you quickly change things like sharpness, color, and contrast. If you're not an enthusiast, don't fret: the 30D has an auto mode and several scene modes as well. The camera is fairly easy-to-use, too.

People buy digital SLRs for their great performance, and the 30D delivers in this area. From its near-instant startup speed to the "shoot as fast as you can compose" shot-to-shot speeds, the 30D is a screamer. The continuous shooting mode is excellent, and now you have two speeds to choose from, in case 5 frames/second is too fast. Low light focusing was both accurate and responsive, thanks to the camera's flash-based AF-assist system. Battery life is also very good and about 10% better than on the 20D.

Photo quality was excellent on this 8.2 Mega pixel camera. Photos were well-exposed, with accurate colors, very low noise levels (even at high ISO sensitivities), and minimal purple fringing. As is the case with most D-SLRs, photos are on the soft side straight out of the camera, and you can compensate for this by increasing the in-camera sharpening a bit. One thing that really got nailed home during my time with the 30D is how important lens quality is. I bought the Canon 17 - 85 EF-S lens a few months back, and have been less than thrilled with its sharpness -- and you'll see the results in the photo gallery. Slap on some better glass and you'll get much sharper photos, as the photos taken with my 50 mm lens attest.

There really aren't any major negatives to talk about here. The only thing that pops into my head is that the 30D isn't a very exciting upgrade over the 20D. Then again, that camera didn't need a lot of improving in the first place.

The EOS-30D earns my highest recommendation, and its right up there with the Nikon D200 as a best-in-class midrange D-SLR.

What I liked:

* Excellent photo quality (with the right lenses)
* Very low noise, even at high ISOs
* Solid, well designed body; useful playback zoom buttons
* Large 2.5" LCD display
* Full manual controls, including nice white balance controls
* Robust performance, especially in terms of continuous shooting
* Great low light focusing
* All the expandability you'd expect from a D-SLR; two ways to attach an external flash
* USB 2.0 High Speed support
* Impressive software bundle; camera can be controlled from Mac or PC

What I didn't care for:

* Images on the soft side straight out of the camera; some lenses just exacerbate the problem
* LCD not as bright/sharp as the one on the Nikon D200

Some other digital SLRs worth looking at include the Canon EOS-20D (still available for $1299), Fuji FinePix S3 Pro, Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D, Nikon D200, Olympus EVOLT E-500, and the Pentax *ist DS2.

As always, I strongly recommend trying the EOS-30D and its competitors before you drop the big bucks on a digital SLR! "

Click here for the full review.

Will kodak re-enter the DSLR market again?

Kodak pulled out of the lucrative DSLR market last year with the last camera being the full frame 14 mega pixels Kodak DCS Pro. Although not a big player in this market, they are a major player in the compact market. In addition, they are also a major supplier of CCD sensors and are also moving into CMOS imaging sensors via technological tie-up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. Owning your own imaging sensor technology is a big issue to camera manufacturers as so clearly demonstrated by Canon's success and also starkly shown with Konica-Minolta recent withdrawal from the photographic market.

Although Kodak's consumer digital stills camera division is dong well in the home market, they are gradually reducing dependency on film products for survival. Their CEO even recently announced that 'Kodak is now a thriving digital company'...

Having said all the above, Kodak currently lacks the ability to produce their own camera body platform for a DSLR revival, nor the lenses and other peripherals that is required to go with building a DSLR system.

Their previous DSLR business model of building DSLRs using camera platforms were supplied by two major camera manufacturers, Canon and Nikon. This is no longer valid as both manufacturers now have their own thriving and profitable DSLR businesses which makes it illogical for them to supply camera bodies to other manufacturers.

Although I'll concede that building alternative DSLRs for popular lens-mounts such as Canon and Nikon still have some business validity, if one is not aiming high for sales volumes!

It was noted that photographic products writer Thom Hogan speculates that Kodak can still return to the DSLR market by a business venture with Sigma... I'll agree that that is one possible scenario (perhaps the only possible scenario!), but Sigma would need to re-design their current and aging and slow DSLR cameras to compete with the latest Canon, Nikon and Olympus cameras. Sigma would also need to be prepared to flush their investment with Foveon down the toilet to partner Kodak... A very big if!

Fujifilm S4 Pro ?

The Canon 30D was one DSLR camera predicted to be announced at this year PMA and it did. The other was the successor to the Fujifilm S3 Pro, the S4 Pro.

Currently, Fujifilm fans are disappointed that the camera has not been announced yet. Prior to the PMA, there was even talk about Fujifilm senior management flying over to the convention in Florida to take part in the launch of the "new Fuji S4 Pro Digital SLR camera". So far we're still waiting.

Something must be happening soon as the Fujifilm S3 Pro has just dropped in price (03.01.06). The new price is $1699 and includes additional value such as the AC adapter and the HS-V2 Hyper Utility software. Both of which were optional accessories.

How much do photographer gets paid

Here is an interesting list of the top 401 paid occupations in the US. According to a Bizjournals.com (analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), photographers are ranked 217 out of 401 paid occupations and this does not include free lance wedding photographers. The average annual salary is $34,028 with an hourly rate of $16.60. This may sound low, especially with the all equipment needed to get started; however there is one thing that is really critical here. That is, photographers enjoy what they do. Period!

Interestingly, the top three occupations are physicians (doctors), pilots and lawyers.

Source

Epson R-D1s Rangefinder is out

Epson has released an update to the Epson R-D1, the R-D1s. Yes, it's very expensive; however they seem to have created a niche market where they can charge a premium price. That is low volume, high price and no competitor. They have taken the best of digital technology and seamlessly integrated it into the rangefinder tradition. The all-metal Epson Rangefinder R-D1s body incorporates a bright 1.0x viewfinder, so you can compose your image free of distortion or dimming, even in low light. ISO settings range from 200 to 1600, with shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/2000 second.

The camera incorporates full manual and aperture priority auto exposure modes, analogue dials and a hot shoe with X-Sync for external flash. Images can be viewed on a bright 2 inch LCD screen. You can switch between colour and monochrome exposures, change ISO settings shot-by-shot, apply tints, and change saturation instantly to match your photographic style and needs. This camera gives a feeling of creative power and control.

Why is the rangefinder so different, well as there is no swinging mirror (unlike a DSLR), rangefinder lenses can approach very close to the film (or sensor). Some almost touch the shutter, coming within 4-5mm of the sensor. This means that wide angle lenses like a 35, 28, 24, or 19mm can be symmetrical, which makes correcting many kinds of aberrations easy, and makes the lenses relatively cheap and low cost.

A DSLR on the other hand has a mirror and the rear element of an SLR lens can't approach any closer than 38mm from the sensor. So those wide angles lenses are asymmetrical, using what are called "retro focus" designs, like telephoto lenses, in reverse so the negative elements are to the front, the positive elements face the sensor.

Retro focus lenses for SLRs have exit pupils at least 50mm from the sensor. The exit pupil is the "image" of the aperture, and is the place where light "comes from" before it hits the sensor. With a 50mm exit pupil, a lens won't have light that's more than arc tan (43.3mm/2/50mm) = 23.4 degrees from perpendicular to the sensor. This is a bit much for many sensor designs to cope with (look at the corner problems with Canon 5D) and is just on the edge of being acceptable.

Rangefinder lenses have exit pupils at the same distance as their focal length from the sensor. So a 35mm rangefinder lens has a 35mm exit pupil, and the angle on full frame is arc tan(43.3mm/2/35mm) = 31.7 degrees from perpendicular. That lens would work worse than the worst of the "problem lenses" on the Canon 5D. It's even worse for wider lenses, a 28mm (very popular for rangefinders) is 37.7 deg from perpendicular; it's pretty much not going to work. A 19mm is 48.7 degrees, forget about it, and forget the 12mm Helier.

The main point is that the rangefinder is a different camera and gives the most film-like output from any professional digital camera on the market.