In the 2nd installment of Blast from the Past we are looking at the Year 2001 through the prism of dpreview's timeline.
The camera year started with the introduction of the Canon Pro90 IS and ended with the introduction of the Ricoh Caplio RR1. In between? Well, we saw the Nikon D1x and D1h, the start of the Minolta prosumer series with the Dimage 5 and 7, the tail end of the Sony "Floppicas" FD-series, the Kodak DCS760 and 720x Professional dSLRs, the Nikon Coolpix 995, the Sony S85, Olympus C4040, Canon G2, Casio QV-4000 (with Canon lens), Sony F707, the trend setting at the time Olympus E20, the camera that started the Panasonic noise train (the LC5), the first Canon 1D camera using a Panasonic CCD, and the Nikon 5000 starting at 28mm at the cool cucumber price of $1100!
That was six years ago. Wow, in some ways we've come a long way, yet in other ways, not so much.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Blast from the Past: The Year 2001
VIDI: What are we going to do without noise?
With the Nikon D3 having impressive pictures noise-wise at ISO 1600, 3200 and even 6400, it looks like the people who are totally allergic to noise will have an actual DSLR that can deliver them class leading noise performance. After so many years, so much software, and so much pixel peeping and complaining about noise, what are we going to do without noise? Is noise the "barbarians at the gate"?
Granted, this only solves the problem for the Nikon D3 and the next Nikon DSLR(s) that will use this 35mmFF sensor and technology (D300X?). But this may be a sign of the shape of things to come. Because Canon is not going to sit idly and not try to make a noisy ...noiseless comeback. And Sony has that incentive as both a sensor maker and a DSLR manufacturer.
The Nikon D3 performance should also be encouraging Fuji to revitalize cameras using their 6mp "magic" sensor. Yes, there isn't any magic in that sensor, but it outperforms noise-wise all the other cameras with similarly sized sensors. Fuji could be capitalizing marketing wise on Nikon D3's impressive noise performance without lifting a finger. Most people can't afford a Nikon D3, but they could get an F32fd or E910fd or S9200fd or something like that if it can get them a noise advantage over the competition.
Introducting Newsletter 2.0 with Feedblitz!
You can now receive this blog as a newsletter using Feedblitz. This service is no longer active!
Week in Review, and a look at next week, and a calendar of sorts
In lieu of a newsletter and particularly if you missed some of our recent posts, here is a rewind of the last Week at 1001 Noisy, presented in reverse chronological order:
Weekly Features
Monthly Features
Coming up in this blog These are one-time features that are in various stages of development. I gave up giving them a time frame :-)
Calendar
Friday, September 28, 2007
Pre-order the Nikon D3 at Amazon via Beach Camera
The Nikon D3 is available for pre-ordering at Amazon.com from Beach Camera! This is not sold and shipped directly by Amazon, but sold on Amazon.com by Beach Camera. Amazon.com is a marketplace, items are sold and shipped by Amazon, but also by some other retailers such as Adorama, Beach Camera, One Call, Office Depot, etc. Beach Camera on Amazon is accepting pre-orders, the camera is projected to ship mid-November-ish. The price? Oh you had to ask didn't you? It's $5000 :)
Photography Soup (Sept 28)
Around the Internets
Overheard in the dpreview forums
Discover new websites and blogs
My blog is worth $10,161.72.
How much is your blog worth?
This Noisy Blog
Silly segment!
Thanks to ScottKelby.com!
A big thank you to Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider blog for including this 1001 noisy blog in their list of blogs to read daily! That is high praise and we hope we can live up to it! Some other great websites and blogs are featured in Kelby's list so be sure to check them out!
Read the rest of "Thanks to ScottKelby.com!"...Thursday, September 27, 2007
Photography Soup Express (Sept 27)
Around the Internets
Readers Questions
Reading is fun-da-mental!
Read the rest of "Photography Soup Express (Sept 27)"...
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New hybrid camera/camcorder, the Sanyo Xacti HD700
So I was browsing Amin's Photo blog, which you may remember for their excellent Ricoh GX100 vs Leica Digilux 2 shootout, and I noticed in their news pipeline the announcement of a new camera. More specifically it is a hybrid camera/camcorder from Sanyo. 
Details on the camera from digitalcamera.jp (computer-translated) and Let's Go but I'm sure more links will spring up any minute now. This is the computer-translated Sanyo press release
Meet the Sanyo Xacti DMX-HD700
Read the rest of "New hybrid camera/camcorder, the Sanyo Xacti HD700"...
The Charts around the world!
This Readers Choice feature is back with another installment. In today's episode we travel around the world in 80 blog days :) Please keep in mind these are snapshots of best seller lists as seen on the web! A number of factors can influence these, so please do not draw any long term conclusions based on this post alone :)
Amazon Great Britain
1. Canon IXUS 70
2. Sony W55
3. Canon IXUS 950
4. Canon IXUS 75 black
5. Casio Ex-Z1050 black
6. Casio Ex-Z75 silver
7. Canon Ixus 70 black
8. Fuji S5700 (aka S700)
9. Sony W200
10. Sony W35
11. Olympus FE-230
12. Canon A550
13. Fuji S9600 (aka S9100)
14. Canon Ixus 960
15. Sony S650
16. Canon A570 IS
17. Sony W80
18. Fuji F40fd
19. Fuji F31fd (attention US buyers, it is still in stock in the UK!)
20. Fuji S6500fd (S6000fd)
21. Canon Digital Rebel 400D XTi with kit lens
23. Panasonic TZ3 black
26. Samsung NV5
28. Canon G9
31. Sony S800 (not available in all regions)
36. Samsung NV3
37. Canon G7
41. Canon S5 IS
43. Samsung S800
45. Pentax K110D with kit lens
46. Fuji F20
47. Nikon D40 with kit lens
48. Nikon S200
72. Fuji F50fd
OneCall.com (DSLRs not included)
1. Panasonic TZ3, it puts the fun in fun-zoom
2. Canon A720-IS, as I mentioned the day it was announced, this is destined to be a hot seller because of the combination of price and features
3. Panasonic LX2 (unique form factor sells!)
4. Sony W200 (megapixels do sell!)
5. Canon SD850-IS
6. Olympus SP-550
7. Sony T200
8. Panasonic FZ50
9. Sony W7 (blast from the past model!)
10. Canon S5 IS
11. Panasonic FX100
Map Camera in Japan (computer translated via DigitalCamera.jp)
New cameras
1. Panasonic LX2
2. Panasonic FX100
3. Ricoh GX100 with VF
4. Nikon D80
5. Olympus E510
6. Pentax K10D
7. Ricoh GRD
8. Nikon D200
9. Canon 30D
10. Pentax K100D
Used cameras
1. Ricoh GRD
2. Canon EOS Kiss Digital Rebel X
3. Pentax K10D
4. Pentax K100D
5. Ricoh GX100 with VF
The Reader's Choice Buzz Camera has been decided!
The Readers have spoken, the readers poll is now closed, and the winner of the Readers Choice Buzz Camera is the .... *drum roll*, the Ricoh GX-100! The camera took an early lead and managed to maintain it despite a surge from the Canon A650-IS who finished 2nd. The camera has been added to the Noisy Buzz above!
Photography Soup Express (Sept 26)
Welcome to the Express version of the Photography Soup. The express version is shorter than the full version :)
Around the Internets
Overheard in the dpreview forums
This Noisy Blog
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Panasonic L10 officially announced in Japan
The Panasonic L10 has already been announced by Panasonic, but today they have officially announced it in the DSLR motherland, Japan. One of the reasons we look forward to these announcements is because some of the camera companies reveal their monthly production outputs. These can tell us how big the intended market for the camera is. For example, if a camera is produced at 5000/month it should not be seen the same way market/price-wise as a mass market camera at 100000 units/month.
As always, digitalcamera.jp is a great page to visit for that. There we learn that the L10 kit (with 14-150 14-50 Leicasonic lens) will go on sale in late October for 150000 Yen, while the L10 body only will go on sale in late November for 100000 yen. The initial monthly production output according to Panasonic Japan is 5000 units per month for the L10 kit and 2000 units per month for the body only L10.
As far as the two lenses announced in Japan, the Leica 14-150 f3.8-5.6 (product name L-RS014150) and the Leica 14-50 f3.8-5.6 (product name L-RS014050) will have an initial monthly production output of just 500 units per month for each lens. Yes, just 500 units. The 14-150 lens will MSRP for 170000 yen, while the 14-50 will MSRP for 100000 yen.
Analysis
Panasonic is sending the buyers a clear message. Want the 14-150 lens? Buy the L10 Kit! The combined monthly output of 7,000 L10 units shows that Panasonic has moved to the next stage from the production outputs of the LC-1 and L1 but they are still limited supply cameras. This was expected when we saw the price of the L10. This is not a camera designed to outsell any other camera out there. It is simply an alternative option for those who like it (or the Leica lenses). And because of this, Panasonic thinks they can charge a premium. This is in stark contrast to the Nikon D300 for example that is produced at 60,000 units per month. The L10 is produced at the monthly production rate of a flagship/pro DSLR, even though it obviously isn't the same as a Nikon D3 or Canon 1D/1Ds.
Numbers
In the first press release, Panasonic Japan prints estimates for the overall Japanese digital camera market. The DSLR market was 550,000 units in 2005, 800,000 units in 2006, and estimated at 1 million units in 2007. The overall digital camera market was 8.7 million in 2005, 9.9 million in 2006 and estimated at 11 million in 2007. As you can guess from these numbers, they are referring to the overall Japanese market only.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Breaking News: Five high ISO Nikon D3 sample images at DigitalReview.ca
We interrupt our scheduled programming to bring you this: Five high ISO Nikon D3 sample images at DigitalReview.ca spotted in this dpreview forum thread.
According to DigitalReview.ca, Nikon Canada offered professional sports photographers the Nikon D3 to test it out at an MLB baseball game. And the first image has another bonus: It was taken by the new not-cheap-for-sure 500 f/4 VR lens. Enjoy and thank DigitalCamera.ca for this special treat :)
Overheard in the dpreview forums (a Photography Soup spin-off)
*** You are watching a live blog update in progress. Once this blog update is completed, this message will disappear *** The Soup is currently taking a break! The next updates will be posted after 10pm New York City time (EST) ***
Sony A700
Canon 40D
Nikon D300
Nikon D3 Discussions
All other discussions
Photography Soup (Monday Sept 24)
And we are back with another edition of the Photography Soup!
Overheard in the dpreview forums
Around the Internets
This Noisy Blog
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Blast from the Past: Summer of 2004
In our new segment "Blast from the Past", we will be taking random trips down memory lane and looking at what cameras were hot at the particular point in time!
So for our first trip in the blog version of the TARDIS we jump back to the summer of 2004, where PC World touts the "Hot New Cameras for the Summer". Yes, it is just three years ago, but in terms of digital cameras it's almost long enough to call it a generation gap.
Their ten hot cameras spotlighted included the grandfathers of some of today's popular model lines, such as Panasonic FZ10, Sony T1, and Canon S1 IS. All three series have grown quite a bit since! The rest of the cameras featured were a bit less influential such as the Fuji A330, Nikon 3200, Minolta Dimage Z2, Olympus D580, HP R707, Canon S500 (not SD, this was a CF-based Elph/Ixus/Ixy/Pixie/Pick-a-name-Canon!), and the Kodak DX7630 which was touted as having the best battery life of the group with 355 shots using a LiIon.
Meanwhile in their Best of 2004 feature they selected the original Canon Digital Rebel (300D), the critically acclaimed Olympus C8080 and the Sony W1.
VIDI: To Zoom or not to Zoom
Yes, those pesky super zooms. They keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Not in camera size, but in zoom ratio. Once upon a time in the middle ages of super zooms the 38-380mm equivalent was the trend. Any sort of image stabilization was a luxury or a cult camera (Olympus C2100, E100RS).
Then came the 12x superzooms with MegaOIS from Panasonic, and soon everybody else followed suit. Fuji took a slightly different approach with their superzooms starting at 28mm and being "only" 10.7x
But just like the megapixel wars, someone was bound to jump ahead again, and this time it was Olympus with 18x and Sony with 15x. After that Panasonic and Fuji jumped on 18x as well, while for the moment Canon and Kodak remain at 12x. Casio added a new twist to the zoom wars by pre-announcing a 60fps/300fps 12x superzoom camera. This may perhaps reboot not only the megapixel wars, but also the Zoom Ratio Wars (and start the FPS wars).
Those familiar with camcorders are not particularly impressed with these zoom ratios as they have seen even wilder optical zoom ratios. Of course digital cameras and camcorders have different demands on their lenses, so you can't expect an apples to apples comparison. It's more like apples to chocolate cake.
These superzooms had their impact on the market, but not all was positive:
1) Smaller sensors were used. Once upon a time any camera worth its salt was either 1/1.8" or 2/3". The zoom wars have pushed this down to 1/2.5". Smaller sensor area, smaller pixels, smaller lenses, RAW not as helpful if available, ...
2) The traditional prosumers got seriously squeezed from underneath. With a number of traditional SLR manufacturers operating on SLR priority, the traditional prosumers already had a ceiling. But the advent of super zooms may have been what really took them out. While the camera enthusiast may like things like RAW, hot shoe, pc sync, add-on battery grip and converter lenses, the average consumer was faced with the choice of paying $400 for a 12x super zoom IS camera or $600 for a traditional prosumer with a smaller zoom ratio. So the average consumer/buyer went with the lower price and the bigger zoom ratio, thus causing traditional prosumers an existential crisis. A classic example is the critically acclaimed (see Phil's review at dpreview) Olympus C8080 with "only" a 5x zoom lens.
3) Even SLR lenses got wind of the zoom wars, and we already have 18-250 digital superzoom lenses, trying to out-do the 18-200 (28-300) digital lenses. ("digital lenses" is merely a shortcut referring to lenses with smaller image circles designed for use with APS-C DSLRs)
To find an explanation of VIDI and read previous editions, see here
Coming this week (September 23-29, 2007)
These are some of the things to expect for the upcoming week. It is not a project plan tasklist nor a complete ToDo list :-)
Carried forward from previous weeks
Calendar
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Nikon D3 hands-on preview at dpreview!
Dpreview's Phil Askey has posted a juicy 12-page hands-on preview of the Nikon D3. Get to know this $5000 dSLR through the hands and eyes of dpreview! A nice touch is that they include in the preview a brief history of Nikon's advanced DSLRs. Remember, this is a hands-on preview, not a review, so there are no sample pictures and no image quality discussions.
And for those wanting to pre-order the camera from dpreview's mothership (Amazon), the camera is yet to be listed there for pre-ordering.
If you love what you see with the D3, you can vote for it as the most exciting DSLR of the season in our most exciting DSLR poll, located somewhere in the left column of this blog. I change things so often, even I don't remember where they are :)
Meet the candidates for the next buzz camera
As you may have noticed, I added a list of cameras at the top of the blog that are generating buzz - in my opinion. Since the internets are interactive, I have also added a poll asking the readers nation to decide the next buzzworthy camera.
Meet the Candidates
The Canon A650 IS is basically a G9 Lite, except the A650IS has double the battery life when using AA NiMHs. Sadly it does not offer RAW, but it is really a nice bang for the buck camera for people looking for a mid range camera.
The next candidate is the Casio EX-V8. Its predecessor was held back by a number of issues raised by reviewers, but this should not take away from the creative design of this camera. In fact, Pentax has now released their own version.
The Fuji F480 is an interesting camera, it is probably the lowest priced camera that starts at 28mm, and that alone differentiates it from a lot of other cameras.
The Nikon P50 has been described by some as a Nikon P5000/P5100 Lite. This camera is one of the few that start at 28mm, which is unique in itself.
Panasonic muddies the waters again by slotting in the FX 100 between the 1/2.5"-based FX-series and the 1/1.8"-based LX series. Sadly they did not offer any manual/advanced features, but they do offer an interesting proposition with a 1/1.7"-based 12mp stylish but not ultracompact P&S alternative. Kodak did that too with their V1003/V803 and now the V1253/V1233. The FX100 has just been reviewed by dcresource.com
Next up is the camera that could have revitalized the prosumer segment, the Ricoh GX100. This camera can work wonders in the hands of a patient camera enthusiast, but it is not ready for the mass market just yet. However it offers a number of unique or rare features, such as a 24mm wide lens, RAW, add-on viewfinder, and more.
Next up is the continuation of the creative NV-series design from Samsung, the NV20. As expected the megapixels jumped to 12 with this version. The design and the idea behind it are nice, but how will it perform under the reviewer's microscope?
Last but certainly not least is the Sony T200, Sony's flagship T-series camera featuring 5x folded optics, a nice LCD screen, and a lot more!
So what about the rest of the cameras? Well, I had to keep the list relatively short, otherwise a poll with 50 options would have been unreadable. I also tried to include cameras from as many manufacturers as possible, providing they had a model that I considered as a buzzworthy candidate.
But if you think a specific camera should have been included, please feel free to make your case in the comments section right below. Be sure to check that the camera is not already included in the Buzz cameras section above. Also please note this poll is for non-DSLR cameras.
For Photography Book readers only! (updated)
There's a special promotion running at Amazon for textbooks offering free two-day delivery with orders over $200. Over 240,000 textbooks qualify for this promotion, including thousands of photography books. You don't have to be college student to receive this special. To receive this special, use coupon TBFALL07 or FACEBOOK. See the Promotion details
Update! There is another promotion that gets you 10% off the price of textbooks!. The promotional coupon code for this discount is TB7CHASE. Maximum discount per order is $20, and it only applies to brand new books sold and shipped by Amazon. I do not know if you combine this promotion with the free 2-day shipping.
News from Japan: Nikon D3, D300 and Sony A700 road shows
According to the latest computer-trnslated news from DigitalCamera.jp, both Sony and Nikon are starting magical mystery tours in Japan to promote the A700, D3 and D300. Nikon promotes the event as "Nikon Digital Live 2007". DigitalCamera.jp also posted a brief report with a handful of pictures from Nikon Digital Live 2007.
In other news, Cosina officially announces the Distagon T* 2/35 for the Nikon and Pentax K-mounts in Japan at the price of 112K yen. Production output was not specified but the Nikon version goes on sale in October while Pentax fans will have to wait for Santa Claus in December :)
Meanwhile Ricoh has a firmware update for the Ricoh Caplio R7 improving auto focus precision and a couple of other things.
In the printers world, (Seiko) Epson has announced a handful of printers, and Canon has announced one as well, perhaps to spoil the Epson party :)
For all your computer-translated news from Japan, visit and bookmark digitalcamera.jp! Unless you can read Japanese, in which case you can go there directly without the computer-translator :)
Friday, September 21, 2007
Reviewing the Review: Panasonic FX100 at dcresource (experimental blog feature)
This is an experimental feature I'm trying out. Basically it's a review of a digital camera review :) Let's see where this experiment takes us! This is a live posting of my review, so expect a few typos and "misformats" before its finalized! This message will not disappear once the post is finalized :)
The Review: Panasonic FX100 is the camera, reviewed by DCresource.com
Measurable Review Metrics
Now who wants to review my review of the review? :-) Read the rest of "Reviewing the Review: Panasonic FX100 at dcresource (experimental blog feature)"...
The Reader's Choice Feature has been voted, signed, sealed and delivered!
The readers have voted, the poll has closed and the results are in! The Readers' Feature of choice is ... The Charts, to be posted at least once a week in this blog. Thank you readers for not making me review the Yellow Pages :-) So without further ado, here is the first Reader's Choice edition of The Charts!
Please keep in mind this is a snapshot of the Amazon best sellers, and no long term conclusions should be made based on just this one post! The categories below are extracted from the Amazon Top 100 Camera and Photo Best Sellers.
Prosumers
1. Canon G9
2. Panasonic FZ8K
3. Canon A650 IS
4. Olympus SP-550uz
5. Fuji S6000fd
6. Panasonic FZ50K
7. Panasonic LX2K
*. For this purpose, I am using a very liberal definition of Prosumer, any camera with RAW or more advanced features than the rest of the field.
DSLRs
1. Canon EOS 40D body only
2. Canon Digital Rebel XTi 400D with kit lens, black
3. Nikon D40 with 18-55 kit lens
4. Canon Digital Rebel XTi 400D body only, black
5. Nikon D40x with 18-55 kit lens
6. Canon 40D with 28-135 EF IS USM
7. Canon Digital Rebel XT 350D with kit lens, black
8. Nikon D80 with 18-135 DX
9. Canon Digital Rebel XTi 400D with kit lens, silver
10. Nikon D80 body only
11. Nikon D300 body only (on the strength of pre-orders)
12. Pentax K10D with 18-55 kit lens
13. Canon Digital Rebel XT 350D body only, black
Long Zooms
1. Canon S5 IS
2. Canon S3 IS
3. Panasonic FZ8K
4. Fuji S700 (aka S5700)
5. Panasonic TZ3 blue
6. Kodak Z712 IS
7. Olympus SP-550UZ
8. Panasonic TZ3 black
9. Sony H7
10. Fuji S6000fd
11. Panasonic FZ50K
12. Sony H9
New releases appearing in the top 100
1. Canon Canon G9
2. Canon A720IS
3. Fuji F50fd
4. Canon A650IS
5. Canon SD870IS
6. Panasonic FX100k (just reviewed at dcresource)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sony A700 First Impressions by actual users (updated again!)
The Sony A700 has started getting into the hands of actual users, so the dpreview Sony SLR Talk forum is starting to buzz with A700 discussions and sample images from actual production cameras!
Update! (Sept 19)
Update II on September 20 - More Samples, including Imaging Resource! As you might expect, the wave of new pictures and new users with their hands on the camera is getting larger! Here is a sampling of the newer A700 pictures:
And now to a few Sony A700 disucssions in general:
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
News from Japan: Toshiba entrusted with Super CCD, Fuji Cameras moving to China
Digitalcamera.jp informs us that Fuji will be transferring production of digital cameras to their Chinese facilities around August 2008. Also the wafer process of the Super CCD honeycomb chip will be "entrusted" to Toshiba. More internal (in Japan) changes as well. It appears this will result in "cost competitiveness" and "functional strengthening".
Please keep in mind this is based on computer-translated text! The press release from Fuji Japan is here (computer-translated as well).
In other good Fuji news, they are increasing their sales estimates for 2007.
My Opinion Segment
Everything in this paragraph is only my opinion! The move to the dual SD/xD drive is paying off in terms of making the cameras more appealing to the general buying population! Now if only Fuji continues to release cameras with the 6mp "magic" SuperCCD sensor! If Sony is bringing out a new 6mp sensor because it has a "speed advantage", why should Fuji stop making the proven sensor with the "noise advantage"? And here, I'll give you some hints Fuji: Put the 6mp magic 1/1.7" sensor in the F50fd body, the E900 body, the S91000fd body. And a couple of re-issues: Re-issue the F31fd as F32fd by simply replacing the xD drive with the new xD/SD combo drive. Likewise turn the S6000fd into the S6100fd with the same changes (S6500fd to S6600fd for some other markets). Both are popular among photography enthusiasts and nearing cult status. There you have it! And Fuji, I haven't even asked you for a consulting fee for all these ideas :-)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Rumors: PhotographyBay.com talks Canon 5D Mark II
As you may recall from the earlier Canon announcements, Photography Bay has been on top of things throughout. So now their focus point is set on the possibility of a Canon 5D Mark II getting announced in a few weeks. The sensor is rumored to be 16mp and assisted by DIGIC III. Photography Bay has set up a special page to keep track of all the 5D Mk II rumors! Check it out!
Certainly the buzz generated by the Nikon D3 and D300 may have accelerated Canon's plans to introduce the 5D Mark II. As you may recall from years passed, Canon has not been shy about quickly responding to what it may have had perceived as a threat.
Photography Soup (Sept 18)
Around the Internets
Overheard in the dpreview forums
This Noisy Blog
Monday, September 17, 2007
Photography Soup (Sept 17): New Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 for Nikon and Pentax
Wild prediction of the day
Inspired by the recent dpreview forum post on two new Nikon FX DSLRs, I am starting a new segment, where I will be making random and/or obnoxious predictions. Today's prediction is worthy of a Rebel, a Digital Rebel: At Photokina 2010, Canon will announce a 12 megapixel 35mm full frame Digital Rebel.
Around the Internets
Overheard in the dpreview forums
