“We’ve got to consider the pros and cons, make a list, get advice…” —Jim Backus in Rebel Without a Cause
I don’t blame you for being confused. I just tested the EOS Rebel T3i, which I really, really liked, and along comes this review of the EOS Rebel T3. What’s the difference? In practical terms the Rebel T3 is somewhat smaller in size, lower in resolution (12.2 vs. 18 megapixel), and lacks the T3i’s swiveling LCD screen. Oh yeah, and it’s cheaper, too. But is it any good?
Rebels have always delivered good value wrapped up in a compact package and it’s why I personally own two—a Rebel XT and a Rebel XTi—both of them converted to infrared-only capture. The 18-megapixel EOS Rebel T3i is clearly an evolutionary model in the line, but owners of older Rebels should take a hard look at this new model because it clearly represents Canon’s new face as reflected in the previously released EOS 60D—the flip-out screen, in-camera filters, and all that jazz.
Pentax has a long history of innovation as well as a rabid fan base that loves the company’s tradition of optical excellence and originality. In fact, this fan base is the reason I’m writing this review. If you’re not already a Pentaxian you probably didn’t know that Pentax (derived from PENTAprism refleX) built the first camera to incorporate a penta-prism viewfinder and reflex mirror system in 1957 and went on to introduce the first TTL metering system in 1964. While late to the digital SLR game, when they finally arrived it was with a series of entry-level cameras that delivered impressive image quality at affordable prices. Over time they’ve dipped their toes into the semipro market and the K-5 is the latest model with professional aspirations yet it retains all the quirky uniqueness that all Pentax cameras have and that endears them to so many photographers.
The generation of Canon EOS digital SLRs beginning with the 10D have been evolutionary, with each camera adding resolution and new features. The 60D continues in that vein but also takes a slightly different tack, adding some features from Canon’s own PowerShot series, bringing in functionality like a 3” flip-out LCD screen, and adding some creative effects that show how software is becoming an increasingly important part of any hardware offering. Each of these creative filters, including Soft Focus, Grainy Black and White, Toy Camera, and Miniature Effect, can be applied to a captured image creating a second “filtered” version, leaving the original file unaffected.
Feeling very much in hand like a pro camera, with magnesium alloy top and rear body construction, the Nikon D7000 (list: $1199, body only) has all the bells and whistles of a modern D-SLR, including a high megapixel count CMOS sensor, a new image processor to handle all the data it can capture, including 14-bit NEF, a high ISO 6400 “normal” (expandable two stops), and the currently requisite 1080p HD movie capability. This DX (APS-C) format camera also features dual SD card slots, with spillover or format sort capability, a nice and speedy 6 frames-per-second (fps) shooting capability for up to a 100 frame burst (JPEG), and full-time AF with video and Live View. The monitor is bright and highly readable in just about every lighting condition. Unfortunately, it is fixed and does not articulate, but the penta-prism finder makes one pray that Nikon will never go EVF (electronic viewfinder), yielding 100 percent coverage and being a pleasure to view through, especially after suffering some recent EVF obscuring experiences.
When it was launched in October 2007, the E-3 broke new ground. It wasn’t a me-too SLR; it carried the Four Thirds format into new directions that were uniquely Olympus.
The weirdest camera at the show, the GFAE, wasn’t even recognizable as a camera, not least because it was a view camera with the bellows left out in order to show its construction more clearly. We’ll come back to it later, but first, let’s look at some more conventional offerings.
If you look at Canon’s website you’ll notice that the 18-megapixel EOS Rebel T2i sits between the EOS 50D and the price-point EOS Rebel XS, the latter being a camera I tried and disliked intensely.
If you want to test the mettle of a camera intended to satisfy a craven need for speed, take that camera to a hockey game, one of the world’s fastest sports. That’s one of the tests to which I put the Nikon D3S, a brute of a camera that seems to adapt to any shooting or lighting conditions with ease. The D3S is the latest in Nikon’s pro line of D-SLRs, priced for pros (list:...
The first digital Leica M with a full-frame, 24x36mm sensor (active area 23.9x35.8mm), the M9 offers 18-megapixel capture and unrestricted coverage with nearly the entire range of Leica lenses past and present, including extreme wide angles.
Perhaps even more important, the M9’s exclusive 18-megapixel CCD, developed by Kodak with input from Leica, has addressed the foibles that...
The new 1D Mark IV is a step up the evolutionary ladder from EOS Erectus, going where all SLRs are heading these days—High-Definition (HD) video capture.
Video aside, in today’s D-SLR world a $5000 16-megapixel camera might not seem like such a big deal, especially when the 18-megapixel EOS 7D, also with video capture, sells for $1699. The 1D...
The new EOS 7D fills a gap in Canon’s D-SLR line-up that never existed before, fitting somewhere between the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D; it also goes head-to-head with the Nikon 300S I tested for the January 2010 issue of Shutterbug.
When Nikon launched the all-new entry-level D3000, they took the time to freshen the D300 with—what else—video capability, adding the “s” suffix, as is their naming habit.
The best imaging products of 2009 were voted on at the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) General Assembly held from April 2-4, 2009 in Budapest.
Pro-Quality Digital SLRs
Site Map / Direct Links
Equipment Reviews
Techniques
Forums
Picture This
Galleries
Vote
Image Tech
Columns
Blogs
News
Contact
