Weekly Photo News

Wow, apparently it’s March already!? Where the hell did that come from? It certainly doesn’t feel very Springy over here in the UK, but we’ll remain hopeful that the end of the month brings more promising weather! Anyway this weeks Photo News actually has a few stories that are a little older than a week, but hey, I’m sure nobody’s too fussed!

Canon Announce Rebel T100/EOS 4000d – The Cheapest DSLR Ever!

I realise entry level camera’s aren’t everyone’s idea of exciting news, personally I love seeing the new entry level offerings and Canons recent T100 announcement is the perfect example of an exciting entry level announcement. The EOS 4000d (Or Rebel T100 for the Americans) is exactly what I want to see from entry level cameras. Rather than packing camera’s with more and more bits and bobs Canon have decided to push their barrier for entry price down. Coming in at just over £300 here in the UK it gives consumers a viable option instead of going down the used route.

It’s easy to see where Canon have kept the price down, immediately so in fact with an all plastic lens mount (I *think* this is a first for Canon). Sure, it’s not as hard wearing as a metal one, but when you stop to think about the target market the chances are we’re not talking about people who have an abundance of lenses to change. Furthermore when I think about any plastic mount lenses I own they all hold up pretty well! Certainly well enough to last a fair few years!

I’ve always loved the Rebel series of Canon cameras, sure they are plasticy and don’t quite make the same statement as a full frame body, but they perform exceptionally well and take a lot of abuse for such a low price range. With an 18megapixel sensor I wouldn’t be surprised if Canon is actually using the same one that it used years ago in the 550d (and a few others thereafter), most likely with some more advanced processing power in there. A great call if you ask me, keeps costs down and it’s a damn good sensor! I’ve said it time and time again, sensors now are incredible! Entry level should mean just that, the lowest price possible!

Sigma 105mm f/1.4 and 70mm f/2.8 Macro

The Sigma Art line has been doing incredibly well of late. It makes sense really, they aren’t ‘cheap’ lenses, but they fall significantly cheaper than most of their Nikon/Canon Pro lens equivalents and offer the kind of look that the same target market is looking for!

The 70mm Macro is somewhat unique in that Sigma have openly admitted to focussing on Optical quality at the expense of Autofocus speed. It seems counter intuitive to almost every new camera/lens release for the past decade, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Most Macro photography relies fairly heavily on manual focus, even if AF is being used it’s rarely on a fast moving subject! What Macro photographers DO crave is image quality, and if this one truly delivers then AF speed is hardly too much of a trade off! That said I do wish they had pushed the preproduction ratio over 1:1, especially if the image quality is as good as they are touting it to be!

This one’s right up my street. The 105 is what Sigma is dubbing a ‘Bokeh Master’, with a crazy 17 elements making up the lens! Even just looking at the humongous lens, with it’s 105mm lens filter [!!] gets me excited. I’m not one for big and heavy lenses but 105mm at 1.4 with 17 elements to create perfectly creamy bokeh? Count me in! I will say however that considering Sigma are marketing this as the Bokeh Master they really could have done a better job with the sample images! Come on dudes, we want minimum focal distance @ 1.4 to really see that bokeh shine!

Samsung S9+ - Best DxO Smartphone Sensor Score Ever

The new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus has officially taken the crown of ‘best smartphone camera’ from the Google Pixel 2 when it was awarded a score of 99 by DxOMark this week. Edging out the Pixel 2 (98) and iPhone X (97) the Samsung was reported to have the best image quality ever tested. Video Performance was also high, although not the absolute best, but combined gave the Samsung the edge over Apple and Google.

Going through the DxO article it looks like what Samsung have done so well is actually processing the image. Whenever we view smartphone photos at 100% we really see the difference between the tiny sensors used in phones and the larger sensors we’re used to as photographers. Samsung have toed the line between noise reduction and sharpness incredibly well here and, even close up, the images do look pretty fantastic. For a phone!

I know, I know, smartphone image quality is exceptional. It’s really incredible to think how far it’s come, but for me I’ll still take a dedicated camera every day of the week! In fact I barely use my phone camera! Especially when I can fit my walkabout camera in most jacket pockets even with the lens attached!

Sony Announce a7 III

I’m a huge fan of Sony’s image sensor work over the last 5 years. I’m NOT a huge fan of their camera design. Personally I feel that they are creating cameras that look as though they should really be smaller than they are. Their square bodies more suited to a walkabout style mirrorless camera – their lower tier mirrorless camera’s are perfect for this! When we look at their full frame line we see the same design, a design that throws away the last 20 years of ergonomic R&D seen in traditional DSLR bodies. As far as I’m concerned if these things are as heavy, and often as big, as a full frame DSLR they better handle as well as one too!

Anyway, my own Sony beefs aside this one is a pretty [REALLY] impressive camera. Utilising the tech found in the larger A7R III and A9 models. Seriously, these guys are churning through cameras at the moment! The 24megapixel back illuminated sensor is capable of a whopping 15 stops of dynamic range and has truly incredible low light performance. All packed into a smaller body and at a much more affordable $1999 price tag. Sure, it’s not ‘entry level’ by any means, but it puts it more in line with the Canon 6D II with a sensor that absolutely wipes the floor with Canon’s offering.

This to me is where photography in 2018 is about so much more than pure sensor performance. If it’s a camera for a professional we’re talking about then it needs to be comfortable! Hell, just take a look at every videographer on the planet using a Sony inside a rig!

Thanks for reading!

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Haha tell me about it dude! I know I don't NEED it, I'm not sure ANYONE 'NEEDS' it, but yeah, I want it reaaaaalll bad. Even if it is humongous. Oh, and the fact that the sample images they released were all shot at 2.8 isn't at all a worrying reflection of their confidence in the 1.4 sharpness.....nope....not at all! Excited to see some 1.4 @ minimum focal distance!

Ah man, I know the feeling, I so wanted the MK2 to kick ass, but it was such a disappointment. It just made the 6d even BETTER value. Part of me would love that new camera feeling, but I just can't justify anything Canon and the idea of switching to another brand is a headache I can't be doing with! Even though I would love the DR/ISO performance of the Sony's the Canon's are still plenty good enough really. Plus I do absolutely HATE the ergonomics of the Sony's, and they are a brand I love for all other electronics. But they definitely aren't comfortable camera's for extended use! No idea why they wouldn't just sort that out! Literally just put one of the a7 series guts in the old X series bodies and they are sorted!