RAWsumer category feed at 1001 Noisy Cameras

Two more Canon S90 reviews are out!

1001noisycameras — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:24:02 -0800

The Canon S90 review parade continues with two more! We start at Digital Camera Review, where they put the camera through the paces. The pixel-peepiential stuff is on page #2, including brick walls (be sure to listen to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" every time you pixel-peep a brick wall), and full-range intra-camera ISO comparisons.

Next we enter the Matrix and discover that Neo has a review site, NeoCamera.com, and he has just reviewed the S90 as well. NeoCamera has a different layout than most review sites, so be sure to take a deep breath before you try to speed-read through :) Of comparison-interest, the "Cropped Images" pages include comparisons to the Fuji F200 EXR [reviews].

You can check all the S90 reviews so far at its review cluster. If we missed any review that deserves to be included, please let us know!

And we close this segment with a custom-grip featured at Eolake and available from the designers at Kleptography, which has created custom accessories for other cameras as well (LX3, G9, DP-series, etc).

In terms of availability, we have just refreshed the S90 stock status page and the camera continues to be in-stock without problems at its opening price of $430 at many reputable retailers including OneCall and Abt Electronics.

And in perhaps a testament of its popularity, popular tech retailer Nuevo Huevo has a limit of five units per person. What? Are people stock-piling them thinking there will be another LX3-like shortage-phenomenon so they can sell them at a profit?

The S90 is showing signs of becoming a Powershot Cannibal - it could eat sales from both the G-series (G10, G11) and the high-end Elphs!

Review Disasters: Panasonic FZ35 (FZ38) at Digital Photography School

1001noisycameras — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:50:13 -0800

We usually try to avoid a full-time vacation in Negative Town, but sometimes things beg for exposure. One popular website for photography beginners, Digital Photography School, has started ~~churning~~ publishing mediocre (to put it very politely) mini-reviews (again being very polite) of digital cameras. Today they have posted a review of the Panasonic FZ38 (FZ35) which is an epic disaster. Direct quote from the review:

"Panasonic has not indulged in a longish zoom camera before, unlike Canon, Nikon and Olympus, and its first such camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35..."

It looks like they need to take some classes at the Camera Review School :)

New Canon S90 review and RAW development comparison

1001noisycameras — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:02:49 -0800

The Canon S90 action continues with a brand new review at Trusted Reviews and a RAW-development comparison between the Canon DPP and the just-released new Adobe ACR 5.6/LR 2.6 at the Digital Story.

For more on the S90, be sure to check its list of reviews and also its mini-blog which you can find right below in the category-line.

Canon S90 vs Panasonic GF1 green-eating contest

1001noisycameras — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:54:28 -0800

Eating green is healthy, although not as pleasing perhaps as salt-and-cheese-and-sugar :) DP Interface has staged a green-eating competition between the Canon S90 and the Panasonic GF1! They have posted comparison pictures between the two using foliage and other greenery as the main subjects. They are also working on reviews of these two cameras, so stay tuned to DPI for more in the next few days/weeks.

In terms of availability, the GF1 continues to drive people crazy, but the good news is that the Amazon shipping estimate for new orders for the GF1+14-42mm kit has moved closer by three days, it is now November 21st. The GF1+pancake remains with the unglued "4 to 7 weeks" estimate. For more be sure to check the stock status matrix.

On the other hand, the Canon S90 is in steady supply at $430 at many retailers including J&R World. This is partially because Canon priced it very competitively to the ghost of the Panasonic LX3, the Nikon P6000 and their own G10 and G11. It is even price-competitive with the high-end Elphs - it even has Elph-like looks! The S90 may become the Powershot-Cannibal!

New Casio EX-FC150 and EX-FH25 digital cameras with back-lit CMOS sensors

1001noisycameras — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:53:42 -0800

Casio couldn't wait for CES 2010, and they have launched two new digital cameras today that serve as sequential updates to their predecessors! Meet the superzoom EX-FH25 and the speed-demon compact, the EX-FC150 (computer-translated links)

Meet the Casio EX-FC150
The EX-FC150 follows up on the popular EX-FC100 and offers a 10mp 1/2.3" backlit CMOS sensor, 5X lens (37-185mm) with sensor-shift stabilization, 3cm macro, and available in trendy-looking red, gold and black. See it at the computer-translated Casio website. It has among other things, high-speed night shooting and goes as fast as 1000fps (not a typo) at the video size of 224x64. Other features include a 2.7-inch LCD, SD/SDHC, LiIon battery (NP-40, 300 CIPA)

Meet the Casio EX-FH25
Meanwhile, the EX-FH25 is a superzoom with a 20X zoom ratio lens (26-520mm eq), 10mp 1/2.3" backlit CMOS sensor, high-speed mode, PSAM, RAW (DNG), AA batteries (490 CIPA with four AA NiMHs), 1cm super-macro, and such. It can burst at 40fps at nine-megapixels. Not bad! It records 30fps 720p HD video, along with the spec-shock-and-awe 1000fps video at 226x64 size. As you can expect it has an EVF and a 3-inch LCD display on the back of the camera.

See it at Casio Japan. It comes 14 months after the introduction of the EX-FH20, which came as the "deputy" of the big-daddy EX-F1 which was announced at CES 2008. As you may recall, the EX-F1 was the camera that Casio refused to let be sold online initially, but after a year or so, they "gave in" to internet sales.

We do not know if they have the new golf feature of the EX-FS10S.

New Canon G11 review at Camera Labs

1001noisycameras — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:36:48 -0800

The Powershot flagship, the Canon G11, just received a brand new review at Camera Labs. Of interest, the "Results" sub-tabs where the camera is ISO-crop-compared to the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus E-P1 in multiple scenes. We won't spoil the conclusions here, but you can find them at the "Verdict" tab.

The G11 did not get a direct competitor this year, so its competition (in terms of price and size) is both from above (Micro Four Thirds) and below (S90, LX3, P6000), and from the past (G10, GX200) and the future (GXR).

For more G11 reviews, be sure to check the Compact Cameras Review Organizer.

We have just refreshed the stock status page and one retailer (Amazon itself) sells the camera for $450, while the rest are at $500 - but some are offering bonus items (eg memory cards, etc).

More Canon S90 action including noise and street photography

1001noisycameras — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:34:02 -0800

We had a big bang of S90 udpates on Friday, but the world did not stop there. There is more action!

We start at Digicam Help with a nine-part series on the camera. Check the links on the top of the right sidebar on their website for the different parts, including ISO talk, pros/cons, and more.

Next we visit The Digital Story where five lesser known features of the camera are spotlighted. Story also has a quick comment on noise, compared to the G9 at ISO 1600. Full-size samples are available via flickr.

Eolake talks about creating a custom mode for the very purpose of street photography.

Next some samples shots from the NYC, via the dpreview forums at ceehere.com.

For more on the camera, be sure to check its list of reviews, along with past, present and future updates on the camera at its mini-blog.

On the availability front, we have just refreshed the S90 stock-status matrix, and we have the first nano-discount on the camera, Amazon herself is selling it for $427.36.

Luminous Leica X1 update on AF and MF

1001noisycameras — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:16:02 -0800

El Illuminati Landscapati has posted an update to their Leica X1 field-report, addressing auto-focus and manual-focus related issues. The original review is above the update for those who may have missed it earlier on.

And this brings up an interesting point that goes to show the "SLR Traditionalism" in play. Photographers had been clamoring loudly and clearly for years that they wanted compact-cameras with larger sensors. Their requests were mostly falling on deaf ears as the companies better-equipped to make such cameras ignored such requests because of the "SLR Traditionalist" mentality.

There are three companies that are now offering compact (fixed-lens-sensor) cameras with larger-than-small sensors, and all three are not exactly in the list of top camera sellers: Sigma with its Foveonesque DP-series, Ricoh with its new GXR macro-block, and Leica with the X1.

Can any of the SLR manufacturer apologists justify this? :) Sigma, Leica and Ricoh are better equipped than Canon, Nikon, Sony, et al to make these type of cameras? Leica is still fighting the auto-focus wars of the last century, and Sigma is making cameras with the operational performance of a 1999 digital camera (exaggeration for emphasis). These companies were better equipped than the SLR makers?

Everybody is reviewing the Canon S90 today

1001noisycameras — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:49:21 -0800

And we conclude the Canon trilogy with the adorable little S90. As it is often the case with Canon, they try to get away with as little as possible, until the competition forces them to add features to their products. Sensor-shift stabilization in DSLRs made them offer IS with most of their EF-S lenses, the Ricoh GX-series and Panasonic LX-series forced them to bring back the G-series, the success of the LX3 forced them to come up with the S90. Heck, they even put a spot-meter in their DSLRs ;-)

And the S90 could quite possibly be "too successful" as it seems to be generating more interest than the Powershot flagship, the G11. But enough mumbo-jumbo, time for some new updates!

We don't know if it's in the air or in the water, but just like we had a blast of 7D reviews the last few hours, we also had a blast of S90 reviews!

Real-world reviews
We start with an experiential real-world review of the camera at J. Stuart Studios where the photographer writes his impressions after using the camera as a travel-camera for a trip to Asia and back. Also be sure to check his galleries for more S90 action.

Part #2 of the on-going S90 review at Enticing the Light is now live. But be sure to start at part #1 first!

Next up, Eolake has published a mini review of the S90 and if anyone is interested in full-size samples he has generously volunteered to send them the 50MB zipfile via YouSendIt.

Pogue on S90/GF1
David Pogue of the NY Times has posted his combo-review/requirements-list for serious compact cameras with larger-than-small sensors. His combo-review/requirements-list features the S90 and the GF1.

Review Factories
Next we move to the review-sites, starting with Digital Camera Info. For those who like to avoid spoilers, be sure to note that the first page includes summaries of every review page, so if you want a spoiler-free reading, jump to the second page!

Next we fly to the land of "Everybody Loves CNet" where Joshua Goldman has posted his take on the camera. Benchmarks and ISO-crop comparison on page #2.

Forum Duel
A quick look at the dpreview Canon forums finds two opposing-positions discussion-threads. In the first one, the author makes the case for the S90 as the new benchmark in pocket cameras, while in this thread, another photographer has ten different reasons to sing the S90 blues.

Further Reading
You can check more S90 reviews at its just launched review-cluster, which includes these new ones. For past, present and future updates on the camera, be sure to check its mini-blog. And if you are interested in the camera, it is shipping from various retailers for $430 as you can see at the stock-status matrix.