Canon EOS Digital Rebel Xsi (450D)

It's almost here. A 12MP Digital SLR camera I can afford. Canon will release in mid-April '08 the latest in the Canon EOS Digital Rebel line, the 450D, also known as the Xsi. It replaces the XTi and its predessor the XT. Here is a comparison of the three models and their significant differences.

 

Model	XT 350D	XTi 400D	Xsi 450D
Effective Pixels	8.0 million	10.1 million	12.2 million
Max Resolution	3456x2304	3888x2592	4272x2848
Continuous Drive	2.8 fps	3.0 fps	3.5 fps
Storage Type	Compact Flash	Compact Flash	SD/SDHC/MMC
LCD Size	1.8”	2.5”	3.0”
Body Dimensions	5 x 3.7 x 2.5 in	5 x 3.7 x 2.6 in	5.1 x 3.9 x 2.4 in
Exposure Comp.	-2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV or 1/2 EV steps	-2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV or 1/2 EV steps	-3 to +3 EV in 1/3 EV or 1/2 EV steps
3/15/08 price	$575 with lens	$650 with lens	$899 with lens 4/15/08

 

The Xsi's introductory price is the same as the previous models when they were first released.

What the Xsi's larger sensor gets you is the ability to shoot a 9.5x14" print at 300ppi without having to upsample. That's a very good thing.
All three cameras have these features in common:

• CMOS Sensor
• RAW and JPEG formats
• ISO settings 100-1600
• 6 White Balance settings and manual
• 30 sec maximum shutter
• 1/4000 of a sec minimum shutter
• Pop up built-in flash
• E-TTL II external flash compatible
• 10 second self-timer

What is especially special about the Xsi is the "live view" feature, common to most pocket-size compact cameras, but new to the DSLR realm. This means the LCD display (50% brighter than the XTi) will show you what the lens sees while you are setting up and taking a photo, not common to professional photography equipment. This is especially helpful when using a copystand or other occasionally awkward setup when it may be physically difficult for the user to get their eye to the occular viewfinder to line up the shot. The occular viewfinder should still be used to check focus whenever possible. Keep in mind, however, that using this feature will require more power and that will affect battery life. The camera does come with a higher capacity battery than the previous models, no doubt to compensate for this added potential for battery drain.

More Improvements

The EOS 450D features an improved grip design that provides a natural, ergonomic fit with the user’s hands. There is also a user-defined My Menu tab for instant access to frequently used settings.

There are some new custom functions to optimise the quality of photos captured in a range of situations. Highlight Tone Priority boosts the dynamic range at the highlight end, providing better tonal detail from white shirts, cloudy skies and other bright objects. The new Auto Lighting Optimiser corrects brightness and contrast during image processing, while improving skin tones in portraits by ensuring correct exposure for faces. Photographers can also enable additional noise reduction for shots captured at high ISO speeds.

Two types of auto focus are available: Quick AF flips the camera mirror momentarily to engage the AF sensor; Live AF uses the image contrast data to focus - a method familiar to anyone upgrading from a compact digital camera.

The standard 450D kit will include a redesigned, image stabilized version of Canon's 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens which will help it compete with the increasing number of competitors offering in-body anti-shake systems.

The storage media has also changed. The smaller SD and SDHC (HC=high capacity and that means 4 to 32GB) cards replace the Compact Flash cards. My blog on SDHC has more information about this new SDHC storage card.

The Xti uses the same auto-cleaning sensor system introduced in in the XT to reduce, repel, and remove dust everytime you turn the camera on and off.

If you or your office is looking for a camera that will stop the madness of looking for a replacement camera every couple of years, this is probably the one. You can shoot cover photo with it and have the size, improved color, and reduced noise that may reduce the processing you are supposed to be doing with every digital photo you take now.

For more information, go to http://dpreview.com or ask me, mine will be ordered the first day they are available.

Mike

How do you choose the right camcorder for your office? It depends on what you plan to do with it and your budget.

Some UCCE folks are looking for prosumer cameras in the $1500-$3000 range and others have fallen out of their chairs and didn't finish reading this sentence. In other words, some want something much less expensive. If you plan to compete with professionals, a prosumer camera and a lot of time to develop your skills in videography, audio, directing, and editing is all you need.

If you are hoping to put some clips on your county website, a consumer model less than $500 will do.

I start shopping here: http://reviews.cnet.com/camcorders/ where I can see the best reviewed and the most popular purchases. http://wize.com/best/digital-camcorders provides a top 5 list in ratings and popularity as well.

For clips you plan to put on the web, keep in mind these parameters:

• You don't need the ability to shoot widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio. 4:3 has been the TV standard since TV sets changed from round to rectangular.
• Video on the web is not full screen in the US so if you shoot full screen (720x480), your editing software will give you the option to output for the web. Usually that means it will be at 320 x 240 pixels. If you don't have the best quality camera, it will look better when the image size is reduced for the web. Your editing software will allow you to burn DVDs with full screen video from the same material as the web stuff you've produced. It is just a different output choice.
• HD means High Definition. That doesn't exist on the web. So if you use your camera to produce HD, it will be changed to SD (Standard Definition) for your web clip. Do your clientèle watch a lot of HD? Probably not yet.

So, for $300-$500 you can buy a camcorder that shoots 4:3 aspect ratio, Standard Definition, and records onto Mini-DV. You'll use the firewire port to connect to your computer to transfer the footage you plan to use for the edit. I recommend Adobe Premiere Elements for editing ($65) for Windows or iMovie (free) for the Mac. That's the easiest set up and will get you very good results. Add-ons would be a tripod ($80) and a wireless microphone ($150) from Azden.

There are other camcorder choices and features, that you may want to explore:

• HDD means Hard Disk Drive. Some camcorders use an HDD instead of Mini-DV tape. Their prices start at around $700. I've used one for a year now and I have yet to get any decent handheld video from it because it does not have an ocular viewfinder, only the flip out LCD screen. Without having the camera up against my eye socket I find it impossible to hold it steady in spite of my 35 years a a professional cameraman. I do get great shots with a tripod. I do like that when I hook up the camcorder to the computer, the camcorder's HDD is accessible just like any other hard disk and I just pick the files (clips) to transfer to the computer. I do have to rename the files (.MOD) to .MPG in order for my editing software to use them.

About the computer you plan to edit video with....

• Make sure your computer is up to the system requirements of the editing software you are planning to use. Here they are for Adobe Premiere Elements, v.4 http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/systemreqs/ I recommend doubling the minimum RAM requirement. That's where performance can be best improved.
• When it comes to working with video, it is best if your computer's hard drive, the one the digitized footage is stored on, runs at 7200 RPM. Most laptops and many desktops have drives running at 5400 RPM and may either be painfully slow, jerky, or just plain not work when playing video.

I do not recommend using a camcorder that records straight onto DVD. It complicates the editing process and you end up with a lot of one-use DVDs. I have two friends who thought they'd be "high-tech" without checking with me. Now they regret it.

Here's what my experience has taught me about various camera specs:

• Zoom--10x, 20x, 30x. Marketing often touts the power of the zoom lens as a good thing. Keep in mind that image quality is better when you are actually closer to your object with the lens zoomed out. Think about it. Hollywood motion picture cameras don't even have zoom lenses for that reason. A "long lens" (one that is zoomed in) shows vibrations more easily and it is impossible to get a steady shot. Also, never use a digital zoom feature. You can use the camera settings to turn it off. It will only degrade the image by enlarging pixels. If you've taken my digital photo class you know that big pixels are bad pixels.
• Auto iris, macro full range AF. More about the lens.
  • Auto Iris means it will adjust to the lighting, automatically handling exposure. Standard.
  • Macro refers to having some sort of close-up setting. They are never very good on consumer models and you'd have to carefully peruse user reviews to know if a particular model really gives you macro, not just some form of close-up.
  • AF means auto focus, also standard.
• Viewfinder--If it has one, good. That's the eyepiece I wrote about earlier. It is the best way to tell if you are in focus.
• LCD--1.8", 2.0", 2.5". In digital still and video cameras, bigger is better. You'll be better able to see what you are doing or have recorded. Aim for 2.5" or larger.  They are not great for seeing if you are in focus, but someday they'll be higher resolution.
• Stereo mic. Standard built-in on all camcorders. It may look like one microphone on the camera but it actually is two and records what is heard to the left and right of the camera's view and puts it on the left and right tracks.
• PCM digital recording, 16 bit. This is the audio quality specification and is standard for any decent camcorder.
• Still picture recording--JPEG. Most camcorders will also record still shots. Some camcorders have a separate media card (SD, XD, Memory Stick, etc.) and will store still images. Your camcorder will need to be in "still" mode to take a photo that will be saved as a JPEG file on the media card. But, the average camcorder resolution is around 2 megapixel, about a third of the average digital still camera. So if you want a still picture, use a still camera.

There's so much more I could tell you about camcorders, but for now, your head is probably full.

Until next time....

Mike

 

 

Compact Flash is the media of choice for digital SLRs.  However, if you are shopping for a late model compact digital camera, you'll find that the SD card is more common because the card takes up less space on the smaller form factor camera body. 

Certainly you know how the capacities keep increasing on all media cards in your digital camera and mobile phones, but did you know a huge leap has been made in the smaller ones out there?

The SD card has become High Capacity (SDHC).  Cards 4-32 GB are considered high-capacity.  That's the good news.  The bad news is you can't use them in your SD devices unless your devices are SDHC.  The good news is if you have a new device that uses SDHC cards, your old SD card will work in it.

Image Source: SD Association (http://www.sdcard.org/sdhc/index.html

 

The SD Association provides the technical specs if you really need them:
http://www.sdcard.org/about/sdhc#1

 

 

 

It's a daunting task to wander through the maze of data/video projectors and pick one you think will make everyone in your office happy about using it.

Dell 5100MP

Our office uses InFocus, Hitatchi, and Dell projectors. They range from $1,000-$5,000 in price. The most expensive are the brightest and are not considered portable since they are designed for large rooms and not many people would want to carry them around. The InFocus models are our most portable and they have served us well for over 6 years.  

Dell replacement lamp

With portability comes trade-offs, usually in brightness (lumens) and image size.  Nearly all portable projectors only have the same 2,000 hour lamp life so no matter what you buy, you'll need to replace the lamp in a few years (depending on usage, of course). And they are not cheap! They typically cost between $300 and $500 to replace and it is not likely that will change in the foreseeable future.  Most last 2-3,000 hours and some for the latest models are made to last closer to 5,000 hours, but those are neither portable, nor cheap.  

The typical portable projector burns at 2000 ANSI lumens with a max resolution of 1024x768 and the lamp has a 2,000 hour life expectancy. Those specs are still typical of most portable (under 7 lbs) projectors.   

If you are shopping for a portable projector, here are some models to consider:

Dell 2400MP is very popular. $1100. I see them at conferences and UCD all the time.  The resolution and lamp life is the same as most but it has 3,000 lumens (is 50% bthan most).  If it is within 16' of the screen, it will be bright enough to leave the lights on in the room. http://projectorcentral.com/Dell-2400MP.htm  5.5 lbs. (Lamp replacement $329)

 The InFocus IN36 is very similar to the Dell and costs around $1400.  5.2 lbs  (Lamp replacement $500)
http://projectorcentral.com/InFocus-Work_Big_IN36.htm   I

 

InFocus IN10 is brand new (Summer 07). $1250.  It only weighs 2.4 lbs.  The brightness is actually less than most at 1800 lumens, but the lamp lasts 4,000 hours. That's the trade-off, longer lamp life=not as bright. It is small and would work best in small group settings.
http://projectorcentral.com/InFocus-IN10.htm (too new for replacement lamp info.)

 InFocus IN42 model.  $4,000. Not so portable, but if you really want a bright one, there are projectors with 3500 and 4000 lumens.  They weigh 13 lbs and 16 lbs respectively.  I wouldn't want to travel much with those since it would require another rolling suitcase to get them around. It's not so bad for a car trip, but I wouldn't want to bother with it at the airport. Also, the lamp life is the same 2,000 hours and because of the brightness, will cost at the high end to replace ($500 ).   

 

 

At ProjectorCentral.com there is a Buyer's Guide to help you understand the specs: http://projectorcentral.com/buyers_guide.cfm  Once you know what you are technically looking for, you can search by feature http://projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm 

I have one caution for those making the selection without expert advice. Sometimes you'll find what seems like the perfect projector but in reality the lens may require the projector to be 20 feet from the screen because it is designed for very large rooms or even projection booths in auditoriums.  Keep an eye on "throw distance". You want the minimum to be within 7 feet (projector to screen).  For each projector listed at the ProjectorCentral.com website, there is a distance calculator which I find very helpful.

 There are many other considerations when picking a projector for your office's use.  I'll cover those next time.

Mike Poe, Media Services Manager, ANR Communication Services