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Posts Tagged ‘Throwback’

Throwback Thursday: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1

30 Sep

With a few exceptions, 2005 was a fairly typical year for new digital cameras. There were millions of point-and-shoots, some ultrazooms (which, back then, were closer to 12X than 60X), and a handful of DSLRs.

In September of that year something big arrived (literally and figuratively): the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1. The R1 was the first non-SLR camera to sport an APS-C image sensor – a giant leap from what most compacts were using at the time (2/3″ was about as big as you got.) It was the first cameras (or one of the first) with an APS-C sensor that could provide continuous live view – which was a challenge back then due to heat dissipation. (It’s worth noting that the R1 doesn’t capture video because of heat build-up.)

The difference was between the 2/3″ sensor on the DSC-F828 and the APS-C model on the DSC-R1 is substantial. It’s more than 5X larger, to be exact.

This 10.3MP sensor offered an impressive ISO range of 160-3200 and could shoot three shots in a row at a whopping 0.3 frames per second. And did I mention that it could shoot Raw?

The R1 had a lot more going for it than it’s big sensor, though. Its design was, and continues to be, one-of-a-kind. Oh, where to begin.

What jumps out the most for me in the above photo is the LCD. Two inches in size, it flipped up and rotated 270 degrees. It could be laid down flat, flush with the top of the body, which was good for street shooting or tripod work. Its placement did have a drawback (for some, at least), which you’ll see in a moment.

Perhaps my favorite feature on the camera was its manual zoom ring. This popped up on a few ultrazoom cameras back then, but then went the way of the Dodo bird. Note to camera manufacturers: bring it back on your long-zoom cameras! The ‘Carl Zeiss’ lens had a range of 24-120mm (equiv.)  a max aperture range of F2.8-4.8, and incredible sharpness. As Phil Askey said in the conclusion of his review, ‘the lens is worth the price of the DSC-R1 alone.’

As you can see, the DSC-R1 had a large electronic viewfinder that protruded way back from the rear of the camera. While the 232k-dot resolution was nothing to write home about, it was a large finder and offered an eye sensor. The R1 also offered twin control dials AND a joystick for selecting an AF point.

Something nice about the cameras of that era were all the direct controls. Want a button for spot metering? You got it. A flicker reduction switch? Sure (it’s the framing/preview switch – something I had to look up in the manual.) The menu system is classic, with a 1980s-style font and Nintendo-like beeps when you operate it.

Keeping with the ‘premium’ theme, the R1 offered two memory card slots; one for CompactFlash, the other for Memory Stick. You had to use a physical switch to choose between the two, and who knows what would happen to the universe if you were using a Memory Stick Select card.

Remember my mention of the trade-off of having a top-mounted LCD?  You’re looking at it. The DSC-R1 had an offset hot shoe, which some people like, and some people don’t. While the above photo is an extreme example, having a large flash up there did make the camera a bit awkward to hold. (Apologies for the Canon flash – we’re fresh out of Sonys in the office.)

The Cyber-shot DSC-R1 was a one-of-a-kind camera that had no successor. As Phil Askey points out in his exhaustive review of the R1, it was a product that had a considerable amount of both pros and cons, though it still earned a ‘Highly Recommended’ score, due mainly to its spectacular lens and relatively low price of $ 999. While it’s unlikely that you’ll ever see an R1 ‘in the wild,’ it’s totally worth playing with this beast if given the chance.

DPReview is grateful to Mark Weir of Sony Electronics for lending us the DSC-R1.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: Photokina’s greatest hits

23 Sep

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

Every two years, all eyes in the photography world are focused on Cologne, Germany for the biennial Photokina tradeshow. The first Photokina was in 1950, and it moved into the giant Koelnmesse convention hall 16 years later. DPReview has been going to the show since 2000 and in this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’ll take a look back at some of the most interesting things Phil Askey and the growing DPR team saw in Cologne.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

Way back in the year 2000 we saw the debut of the Canon PowerShot G1, which was truly one of the first enthusiast cameras on the market. It featured a 3.3MP CCD, 34-102mm equivalent lens, fully articulating 1.8″ LCD and, of course, an optical viewfinder. It had full manual controls, Raw support, and could capture QVGA (that’s 320 x 240) video. Heck, it even supported the IBM Microdrive.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

One ‘lengendary’ camera shown at Photokina 2000 was the full-frame Pentax DSLR. Featuring a 6MP Philips-designed CCD, 6-point AF system, 2″ LCD and dual memory card slots, this un-named camera was a serious beast for that time period. But as Pentaxians know, this camera was not to be, and it would be another 16 years before the company finally shipped a full-frame DSLR.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

There were a couple of interesting cameras at Photokina 2002, including the Canon EOS-1Ds as well as this beauty: the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1. What made the FZ1 so impressive was not just its ‘Leica’ 35-420mm equivalent lens, but the fact that it had a constant F2.8 aperture. This 2MP camera had an electronic viewfinder and a fully articulating 1.5″ LCD. It captured QVGA video until you filled up your memory card, which took just 35 seconds with the included 8MB SD card.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

One of the biggest draws at Photokina 2004 was the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D. Most of its features were similar to what you’d find on other DSLRs of that era; the 6.1MP CCD, 9-pt AF system, and small (2.5″) LCD without live view. But it did have one big trick up its sleeve. The 7D was the first DSLR to have in-body image stabilization, a feature that continues to this day on Sony’s Alpha-mount cameras. While not quite as robust as modern IBIS systems, the sensor-shift IS system could still give you 2-3 stops of shake reduction.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

Photokina 2006 was the largest show yet, with estimates of 160,000 visitors. Despite some tough competition from Nikon with its D80, the 10 Megapixel Pentax K10D turned a lot of heads. The K10D illustrates something about Pentax cameras  that continues to this day: they offer a lot of bang for the buck. The K10D’s body was fully weather-sealed (unlike its similarly priced peers) and it offered sensor-shift image stabilization, unique sensitivity and aperture+shutter priority modes and even in-camera Raw conversion. Not a bad deal for $ 899 body only.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

2008 was a massive year for camera announcements in Cologne. It saw the debut of the video-capable Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Nikon D90, but the real game-changer was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 and the Micro Four Thirds mirrorless system. As with Phil (and, by this stage, his team), I — as editor of DCResource.com — too was able to see the G1 before the show and was blown away. The G1 was compact, extremely responsive and its live view was way beyond what DSLRs offered at the time. The G1 used a 12MP Four Thirds sensor and had a fully articulating LCD and high-res electronic viewfinder. The one thing it couldn’t do: record video. That was for the G2.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

The 2010 edition of Photokina was hyped as the ‘the year of 3D,’ and we all know how well that worked out. The show had some huge launches from Canon (EOS 60D), Nikon (D7000) and Olympus (E-5), but the most talked-about camera was the Fujifilm X100 concept. With its classic rangefinder styling, one-of-a-kind hybrid viewfinder, 12MP APS-C-size sensor and 35mm-equivalent lens, the X100 was hard to ignore. The X100 didn’t ship at the show, instead hitting store shelves until the following March.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

There were a ton of new products at the 2012 show, so it’s hard to pick just one standout. Something we did see from both Canon and Nikon were budget-friendly full-frame DSLRs (and I use the term ‘budget-friendly’ loosely). Canon offered up the EOS 6D (which is still for sale), a smaller, lighter, cheaper version of the 5D Mark III. The Nikon D600, pictured above, was a more robust camera, with weather-sealing, dual card slots, and 100% viewfinder coverage.

Photokina’s Greatest Hits

That brings us to 2014 — our final stop on memory lane. Photokina 2014 delivered numerous exciting cameras, from mirrorless to DSLR to enthusiast compact. The three products that got the most buzz were the Samsung NX1 (gone, but not forgotten), Nikon D750 and Canon EOS 7D Mark II. Let’s not forget Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX100, which combined a Four Thirds sensor and fast lens, and the PowerShot G7 X, which marked Canon’s entry into the enthusiast compact.

We hope you’ve enjoyed a look at Photokinas past. For everything about this year’s show, head over to our Photokina 2016 hub.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: Canon PowerShot Pro70

16 Sep

You have to scroll a long way down the list of DPReview’s camera reviews to find the Canon PowerShot Pro70 – all the way to the very bottom, in fact. The Pro70 was the first review ever published to the site, authored by site founder Phil Askey.

The Pro70 made its debut in early 1999, at a time when digital cameras were just beginning to enter the consumer mainstream. In fact, the Pro70’s SLR-like shape prompted some onlookers to ask where the film went. Of course, there was no film – but here’s what the Pro70 did offer:

  • 1.68MP 1/2″ CCD (CYGM!) sensor
  • 28-70mm equivalent lens
  • F2-2.4 lens
  • Flip out / swivel 2″ LCD
  • 3fps burst at 768 x 512
  • Hotshoe
  • ISO 100, 200 (400 in low resolution)
  • Not one, but TWO CF card slots

All for the very reasonable price of $ 1200. Naturally, an 18-year-old piece of technology is going to look wildly underpowered by modern standards, but in its time the Pro70 offered a lot to the amateur photographer looking to embrace digital. Here’s a closer look at some of its notable features.

A crazy little thing called Raw

Part of the review was dedicated to describing a radical and innovative feature called ‘CCD RAW mode’, which was actually just a Raw file as we know it now. At the time this was a much-welcome alternative to saving bulky TIFF files to your CF card, but added the complication of needing your PC to interpret the recorded file. This was done using Canon’s included TWAIN driver (in the days before Adobe Camera Raw, you accessed Raw files through the same system often used for communicating with scanners), which Phil noted was ‘a little slow’ and prone to color shifts.

Aperture control and not much else

It’s amazing what you find packed into a modern enthusiast camera. Full manual exposure controls are a given, and though you may be changing multiple settings with a single rear dial, even the smallest compact targeted at enthusiast shooters will allow you to change your shutter speed.

Not so with the Pro70. It offered manual aperture control, including an option to enable a built-in ND filter to darken things below F8 without inducing additional diffraction. But what an aperture: before compact cameras got caught in a race to be cheapest, manufacturers offered cameras with bright lenses. F2-2.4 might only by F9.3-11 in full-frame terms, but the Pro70 existed a whole seven years before full frame digital became anything like accessible and would have helped get the most out of that 1/2″ sensor.

It was enough to prompt Imaging Resource to say: ‘…the combination of unusually wide-angle lens, exceptional low-light capability, and wonderful external-flash integration make for a superlative “indoor” camera!

Everything else is handled by the camera, though if you switched to the its lower-res 2fps mode you unlocked ISO 400 and shutter speeds up to 1/8000s. Remember that the next time you change the shutter speed on your smartphone camera.

Top notch image quality

Phil rated the image quality from the Pro70 as ‘superb’ in the review’s conclusion. Someone deleted the sample gallery a while ago so we can’t show you the proof, but it certainly impressed the reviewer We just rescued the sample gallery from the depths of some forgotten hard drive, so you can see for yourself what the Pro70 was capable of. Given that you couldn’t change white balance, metering mode or most of the exposure parameters, it’s a good thing that OOC JPEGS ended up looking nice. 

Tilting LCD for selfies (or something like that)

The Pro70 offered a flip-out, fully articulated LCD, a feature that persists today in many enthusiast cameras with more or less the same implementation. Sure, the 2″ display is only slightly bigger than your typical smart watch these days, but in the Pro70 it was an innovative and welcome feature.

Another welcome design choice was the use of Compact Flash cards. Our Throwback Thursday features have often seen us running into problems finding the right connectors, recording media and floppy drives required to get images from the camera, even with models as little as ten years old. Not a problem for the Pro70: the camera is happy to work with whatever size and speed of CF card you slot into it, even if modern, multi GB cards to promise the ability to store near-infinite numbers of 1.68MP JPEGs.

Technology has obviously marched quite far forward since the Pro70, but the camera will still hold a special distinction around here for a long time to come.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F707

08 Sep

Sony’s camera designers have never been shy about trying something different, which explains a lot about the DSC-F707. Introduced in 2001, it was a follow-up to the DSC-F505V, running with that camera’s ‘swiveling lens attached to a body’ design. The F707 appears to be more lens than camera, resulting in what we called ‘a surprisingly usable and ergonomic design’ when we reviewed it. Here’s what the F707 had going for it:

  • 5MP 2/3″ CCD sensor
  • 38-190mm equiv. F2-2.4 lens
  • 1.8″, 123k-dot LCD
  • Built-in EVF
  • 2.8 fps burst (capped at 3 frames)
  • ISO 100-400
  • Memory Stick slot

The F707 had more than a few tricks up its sleeves, something you might guess from its Swiss Army Knife-like appearance. So just what set it apart?

Frickin’ laser beams

The camera was capable of focusing in total darkness thanks to a Hologram AF feature, which throws a Class 1 laser pattern onto its subject and uses that to acquire focus. We found it required some workarounds when trying to focus on certain subjects. And sure, AF assist lamps get the job done now reasonably well, but they’re not nearly as cool as lasers (though nearly as blinding.)

The F707 projected a cross-type pattern with its onboard laser, which it used to focus. The top two “holes” on the list are IR blasters, while the laser can be found toward the right side.

Sadly, NightShot disappeared after the DSC-F717 that followed the F707. Why that happened is unclear, though one wonders if people just didn’t feel comfortable having a laser shined in their eyes.

Night vision… sure, that’s not creepy

The F707 offered Night Framing and Night Shot modes, flipping the Infrared filter out of the way and engaging two IR lamps on the front of the lens. The image on the LCD would turn green, just like night-vision goggles. NightShot mode actually took ‘green’ photos which, while cool, was of limited use. Night Framing, on the other hand, could capture regular color (flash) photos in total darkness. You composed your shot in ‘green’ and when you pressed the shutter release, up came the flash and a color photo was taken.

Here’s the NightShot version of a sunflower, taken in total darkness. Photos by Jeff Keller. And here’s the results you get using Night Framing.

NightShot is probably most famous – or infamous – for different reasons. Sony camcorders (and the F707/F717) equipped with NightShot could be modified to ‘see through’ clothing and other objects. So, if you happen to see an F707 with a dark IR filter on it, run the other way.

Is it a lens? Is it a camera?

Is it a lens? Is it a camera?

The F707 offered an unusual camera-to-lens ratio, which at first seemed unwieldy. But when you stopped fighting the F707’s unconventional design, you found a camera that was surprisingly comfortable to use. Like we said in our review, ‘You find yourself carrying the camera by the lens and using the rear ‘body’ more as a viewing / control platform, which was after all the design aim.’ We chalked it up as a ‘love it or hate it’ feature in our conclusion, ultimately coming down on the side of ‘love it.’

We may have taken a shine to it, but the design eventually trended toward the DSLR-shaped ultrazoom we know today – the DSC-F828 took another stab at the swiveling lens, but 2005’s DSC-R1 embraced a traditional, non-swiveling design. You’ve got to hand it to Sony, though. They haven’t all enjoyed longevity in the market, but some of their ideas have certainly looked well outside of the box.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: the Samsung NV10

01 Sep
Pretty? Yes. Well-built? Yes. Image quality? Ehhh…

In 2007, I was chiefly concerned with three things: fixing whatever had recently broken on my 1980 Datsun 210, scouring the electronics section of the local Goodwill in an endless quest for a louder stereo, and finding older computer games that my home-built PC would play acceptably well. Despite where I’ve ended up, it turns out that photography wasn’t really near the top of my priorities list.

Regardless, I was dead-set on spending every penny of savings from my job at Dairy Queen to take a trip to Europe with three friends after our high school graduation, and my grandmother had offered to help me buy a new camera for the trip. That’s where this Samsung NV10 comes in.

It may look a little odd today, but Samsung’s ‘Smart Touch’ technology actually made for a responsive and engaging way to manipulate the camera’s controls and settings before the advent of affordable touch screens.

The Samsung NV10, which we reviewed back in 2006, is a compact camera with a 35-105mm equiv. F2.8-5.1 zoom lens, a 10.3MP 1/1.8″ CCD sensor, and Samsung’s ‘Smart Touch’ user interface. Most importantly to the mini-me at Omega Photo in Bellevue, WA, it was small – it could just about fit in a jeans pocket. It was smaller than the hand-me-down Canon PowerShot A70 I had used during high school when my Samsung VGA flip-phone wouldn’t cut it. I liked the NV10’s all-metal, all-black design, and though I really had no idea why I needed the option, it offered at least some control over exposure parameters.

So despite the best efforts of my dad, who wanted me to get that absolute behemoth that was the Canon PowerShot S3 IS for a similar price (my 18-year-old self couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to carry a camera around his or her neck), I opted for the svelte little Samsung. After some time with the NV10, I decided – in typical American teenage fashion – to ignore nagging suspicions that my dad had been right all along.

The NV10 produced fairly clean, punchy files so long as there was enough light. I don’t know why I was making that face, nor why I felt I needed to stage a photograph of my car on this lawn. Samsung NV10 @ 35mm equiv. ISO 100, 1/250 sec, F2.8.

Photo by Erin Bynum

So, what did I find to be positive about the NV10 besides its design, pocketability and control scheme? Unfortunately, not much.

As Simon stated in our full review, the NV10 produced files that were excessively saturated and overly contrasty. This often led to clipped shadows and highlights, and though you wouldn’t have expected a Raw option on this camera, there were no options to adjust the JPEG output at all. The battery life was rated at an unimpressive 180 shots and the lens’ wide-angle equivalent left me wanting something a bit wider at the time (today, I find that 35mm equivalent is wide enough). One interesting tid-bit? It did at least support USB charging.

You want punchy colors? You got ’em. Samsung NV10 @ 35mm equiv. ISO 100, 1/200 sec, F7.1.

Photo by Carey Rose

Of course, this is a point-and-shoot compact camera from 2006, and as such, has a very limited ISO range. You could push it up to ISO 1000, but things really started to fall apart around ISO 400. The problem there was that in anything but reasonably bright light, the camera would drag the shutter, likely resulting in a photo that was blurred and noisy, and the slow aperture at the telephoto end of the zoom range meant you were sticking to the wide end if you wanted to avoid using the flash.

Can’t skip the cat photo. Check out that noise at ISO 400, and the handheld blur from an over-caffeinated teenager. I’m probably hitting the minimum focus distance without macro mode as well. Samsung NV10 @ 35mm equiv. ISO 400, 1/20 sec, F2.8.

Photo by Carey Rose

Despite all of this, I managed to convince myself that the Samsung NV10 was fine at the time. In hindsight, I was wrong. Full disclosure, though: my limited knowledge of photographic basics hurt my experience with the camera at least as much as the camera’s limited capabilities. Someone doing a “Pro Tog, Cheap Camera” challenge with the NV10 would likely turn out some good results, but they’d better keep an eye on the ISO value.

To round things up, then, this was a camera for my graduation trip to Europe, and therefore you may be wondering where all those European photos might be. Well, I ended up losing the camera on a train in Germany, and therefore losing around 600 thoroughly mediocre photos. Turns out, my dad was right – I needed a camera that would stay comfortably slung around my neck.

I got back home from my trip, saved up some money and bought that PowerShot S3 IS, and never looked back.

Naches, WA. Samsung NV10 @ 93mm equiv. ISO 200, 1/200 sec, F12.3.

Everyone makes mistakes. Do you have a camera that you realized you bought too hastily, or have even regretted purchasing? Did you keep it, or trade it out for something else? Let us know in the comments!

Samsung NV10 real-world sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: Canon EOS 5D

26 Aug

It’s been over ten years since DPReview published the review of the Canon EOS 5D. With the Mark IV version launching today, we decided to take a look at the 5D ‘Classic’ (as it is now known) as part of our Throwback Thursday series.

It’s easy to forget, now, what an important camera the original 5D was. It was the first ‘affordable’ full-frame DSLR, costing a mere $ 3500 at a time when just about the only other full frame model on the market was the $ 8000 1Ds Mark II.

By modern standard, its specs look antiquated. A 12.8MP CMOS sensor and 9-point AF system sound disappointing next to the Mark IV’s 61 AF points and 30.4MP. However, the ability to use EF lenses with their full field-of-view was revelatory, as was that CMOS chip: at a time when most of the rivals were using APS-C sized CCDs, the low light capability of the 5D was amazing, despite its upper limit of ISO 1600 (expandable to 3200).

That chip was the camera’s main appeal, though. Although the sticker price was the same as the Mark IV’s, that $ 3500 would now be the equivalent of $ 4300 in today’s money. Despite this, the original 5D had no weather sealing, a viewfinder with 96% coverage and a relatively modest 2.5″ LCD with 230k dots (that’s 320 x 240 pixels, compared with the 900 x 600 you’ll get from the Mark IV’s). Should you want to capture the moment, the 5D would let you shoot at a whole 3 frames per second. And, of course, there was no live view or video, no Wi-Fi, no GPS…

From these comparatively modest beginnings, the 5D series has evolved to be one of the most refined and versatile cameras.

Over more than a decade, a lot of 5Ds have seen hard service. The shutter may have been rated to 100,000 cycles but heavy use and wear-and-tear mean there are ever fewer ‘classics’ still in use.

A lot has changed since the original, and for the better. The 5D Mark II brought the new 21.2MP CMOS sensor that revolutionized the industry by bringing 1080p Full HD video capability to a DSLR (the D90 was the first DSLR to offer video, but with only 720p and a simpler feature set, it didn’t revolutionize much). Before that, there wasn’t even Live View, which we were desperately missing while fine-tuning the 5D’s focus on our test chart.

The first two 5Ds didn’t exactly push the boundaries of autofocus, with the Mark II still  sporting a now laughable 9-point autofocus system with a sole cross-type point. It wasn’t until the Mark III that the AF system got much more serious. The 5D III was also the first in the series to get a 100% coverage viewfinder!

Unlike the later models, the 5D isn’t complicated… at all. The basic feature set means the menu is just one long page and takes only a couple minutes to run through and check.

To find out how the sensor performance has changed over time, we found an old 5D that still had a mirror left in it (one of the most common failures), and ran it through our much younger studio test scene.

So with the knowledge of today’s technology and the possibility that Canon may no longer repair them, are 5D Classics worth the bargain prices they are not selling for? Let’s find out!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: The Olympus Stylus Epic and my love for clamshell cameras

19 Aug

Bring back the clamshell!

From left to right: The Olympus Stylus Epic, The Olympus [mju :] II, The Olympus XA. The first two are the same camera (different names for different markets), the latter started my love for clamshell cameras.

My love affair with the clamshell camera design started with the Olympus XA and ultimately lead me to the Olympus Stylus Epic, also know as the Olympus [mju:] II in the Japanese market (pronounced mew two, like the Pokémon). It’s a funky plastic 90’s style camera that to the untrained eye, looks a little like a piece of junk.

Both the Olympus XA, released in 1979, and the Stylus Epic, released in 1997, feature excellent fixed 35mm F2.8 lenses and Olympus’ brilliant clamshell design. The XA is an aperture priority-only rangefinder, while the Stylus Epic is a fully automatic camera with a three spot autofocus system and built-in flash.

Open/On Closed/Off

Due to its ease-of-use, small size and sharp lens, the Stylus Epic is my go anywhere camera (the XA I use mainly for street photography and travel). I’ve long searched for the perfect camera to slide in my back pocket every time I leave the house and this soap-shaped oddball is the one for me. It’s not as cool looking as a Ricoh R1 (which I also shoot with occasionally), but I’ve found it to be much more reliable.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a huge camera nerd and a big supporter of shooting analog. Film photography offers a nice balance to my daily concentration on digital photography for DPReview (my analog site is PopularAmerican.club). It also helps me to slow down and practice decisiveness. Of course the Stylus Epic, being a fully automatic camera, isn’t exactly encouraging me to work on fundamentals, but it does free me up to be more in the moment and act on instinct.

While these cameras are mostly fully automatic, they feature good metering.

The major selling points of the Olympus Stylus Epic are as follows: it is a full-frame, 35mm camera with an excellent (and reasonably fast) lens in my favorite focal length, it weighs a mere 5.1 oz and is no larger than a Sony RX100 series camera (which weighs nearly double). It’s also weather-sealed and built extremely tough, despite its plastic appearance. Lastly, its strange curved design makes it easy to slide in and out of a pocket.

The Olympus Stylus Epic is about the same size as a Sony RX100-series camera and about half the weight.

But hands down my favorite feature of the Epic is its clamshell. There’s no on/off switch – simply slide it open and it’s ready to shoot. It’s essentially a lens cap that doubles as a power switch, and it’s brilliant.

“It’s essentially a lens cap that doubles as a power switch, and it’s brilliant.”

Of course, Olympus didn’t abandon the clamshell design when it moved to digital around the turn of the century. There were plenty of tiny sensor compacts that featured clamshells. But at some point, they were no more. I haven’t pinpointed when the last one was released (if you know, shout it out in the comments,) but it seems by around 2007, the clamshell had been phased out entirely.

But why? Perhaps aesthetically, the design was too dated-looking. Or perhaps due to the decline in sales of compacts, Olympus moved in a different direction. Whatever the reason, I implore you, Olympus, bring back the clamshell!

There are, of course, several excellent large sensor fixed lens digital compacts on the market, though only the Ricoh GR and Nikon A can really be considered pocketable (the Fujifilm X70 is just slightly too big IMHO.)

These cameras are cool, but they suffer from one flaw. Most of them extend their lens when turned on, a design execution made to keep the overall package compact. But what happens when the camera is accidentally turned on in your bag or pocket and the lens attempts to extend with nowhere to go? The point is, I like a lot of the digital fixed lens compacts on the market, but ultimately I find them to be somewhat fragile, an undesirable quality for a take-anywhere camera. Furthermore, none of the pocketable ones are weather-sealed and only the Leica Q and Sony RX1R offer a full-frame sensor to match that of my Stylus Epic. Both are also large (un-pocketable) and expensive.

The Stylus Epic extends its lens only to focus when the shutter is pressed.

So is it possible to make a modern camera as small as the Stylus Epic, without an extending lens, while retaining a relatively large sensor? We’ve been following along with Sony’s development of a curved sensor for a while now, and reading back through our coverage got me thinking: perhaps this technology is the key a digital reincarnation of my beloved Stylus Epic.

Available settings include: flash on, flash off, red eye reduction, slow synchro (night scene flash), slow synchro plus red eye and spot mode (which requires pressing both back buttons simultaneously to engage). I mostly keep it on the default setting. Unfortunately the only mode the camera retains after being turned off and back on is red eye reduction. I’ve read a lot of complaints that the Epic doesn’t recall the “flash off” setting once turned off, which I tend to agree is very annoying.

As far as designing a 90’s throwback, manufacturers are obviously very comfortable tapping into classic design styles; take the Olympus PEN-F and pretty much every recent Fujifilm X-camera, for instance. But up until now, these throwback designs have all come from cameras released in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I think its about time we had some throwback designs from the 80’s and 90’s and a reincarnation of the Epic seems like the perfect place to start!

To be fair, the Olympus Stylus Epic does extend the lens barrel, but not until the shutter has been fully pressed. This leads to a very slight shutter delay, but it is hardly noticeable.

I’m not even asking for a full-framer, but even a 1″-type sensor, fixed lens compact with a fast 35mm-equivalent lens would do it for me. Just make sure it’s pocketable, has a good flash, is weather sealed and is built like a tank. So Olympus, if you’re reading this, please consider a reboot of my dear Stylus Epic. Just don’t forget the clamshell!

Curvy beauty.

Is there a classic film camera you’d like to see a a digital reincarnation of? Let us know in the comments!

*A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Epic uses a curved film plane.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: The Olympus Stylus Epic and my love for clamshell cameras

18 Aug

Bring back the clamshell!

From left to right: The Olympus Stylus Epic, The Olympus [mju :] II, The Olympus XA. The first two are the same camera (different names for different markets), the latter started my love for clamshell cameras.

My love affair with the clamshell camera design started with the Olympus XA and ultimately lead me to the Olympus Stylus Epic, also know as the Olympus [mju:] II in the Japanese market (pronounced mew two, like the Pokémon). It’s a funky plastic 90’s style camera that to the untrained eye, looks a little like a piece of junk.

Both the Olympus XA, released in 1979, and the Stylus Epic, released in 1997, feature excellent fixed 35mm F2.8 lenses and Olympus’ brilliant clamshell design. The XA is an aperture priority-only rangefinder, while the Stylus Epic is a fully automatic camera with a three spot autofocus system and built-in flash.

Open/On Closed/Off

Due to its ease-of-use, small size and sharp lens, the Stylus Epic is my go anywhere camera (the XA I use mainly for street photography and travel). I’ve long searched for the perfect camera to slide in my back pocket every time I leave the house and this soap-shaped oddball is the one for me. It’s not as cool looking as a Ricoh R1 (which I also shoot with occasionally), but I’ve found it to be much more reliable.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a huge camera nerd and a big supporter of shooting analog. Film photography offers a nice balance to my daily concentration on digital photography for DPReview (my analog site is PopularAmerican.club). It also helps me to slow down and practice decisiveness. Of course the Stylus Epic, being a fully automatic camera, isn’t exactly encouraging me to work on fundamentals, but it does free me up to be more in the moment and act on instinct.

While these cameras are mostly fully automatic, they feature outstanding metering.

The major selling points of the Olympus Stylus Epic are as follows: it is a full-frame, 35mm camera with an excellent (and reasonably fast) lens in my favorite focal length, it weighs a mere 5.1 oz and is no larger than a Sony RX100 series camera (which weighs nearly double). It’s also weather-sealed and built extremely tough, despite its plastic appearance. Lastly, it’s strange curved design makes it easy to slide in and out of a pocket.

The Olympus Stylus Epic is about the same size as a Sony RX100-series camera and about half the weight.

But hands down my favorite feature of the Epic is its clamshell. There’s no on/off switch – simply slide it open and it’s ready to shoot. It’s essentially a lens cap that doubles as a power switch, and it’s brilliant.

“It’s essentially a lens cap that doubles as a power switch, and it’s brilliant.”

Of course, Olympus didn’t abandon the clamshell design when its moved to digital around the turn of the century. There were plenty of tiny sensor compacts that featured clamshells. But at some point, they were no more. I haven’t pinpointed when the last one was released (if you know, shout it out in the comments,) but it seems by around 2007, the clamshell had been phased out entirely.

But why? Perhaps aesthetically, the design was too dated-looking. Or perhaps due to the decline in sales of compacts, Olympus moved in a different direction. Whatever the reason, I implore you, Olympus, bring back the clamshell!

There are, of course, several excellent large sensor fixed lens digital compacts on the market, though only the Ricoh GR and Nikon A can really be considered pocketable (the Fujifilm X70 is just slightly too big IMHO.)

These cameras are cool, but my biggest beef with them is their design, or rather the weak point of their design. Most of them extend their lens when turned on, a design execution made to keep the overall package compact. But what happens when the camera is accidentally turned on in your bag or pocket and the lens attempts to extend with nowhere to go? The point is, these cameras are great, but ultimately I find them to be a bit fragile, an undesirable quality for a take-anywhere camera. Furthermore, none of the pocketable ones are weather-sealed and only the Leica Q and Sony RX1R offer a full-frame sensor to match that of my Stylus Epic. Both are also large (un-pocketable) and expensive.

So how then does the Stylus Epic retain its incredibly small size, despite its full-frame ‘sensor?’  By utilizing a curved film plane, of course! This not only helps keep things shrunken, but the curvature of the film plane matches that of the lens. This is also a major reason that the Epic is so darn sharp.

Available settings include: flash on, flash off, red eye reduction, slow synchro (night scene flash), slow synchro plus red eye and spot mode (which requires pressing both back buttons simultaneously to engage). I mostly keep it on the default setting. Unfortunately the only mode the camera retains after being turned off and back on is red eye reduction. I’ve read a lot of complaints that the Epic doesn’t recall the “flash off” setting once turned off, which I tend to agree is very annoying.

We’ve been following along with Sony’s development of a curved sensor for a while now, and reading back through our coverage got me thinking: could this new sensor technology make it possible to create a digital reincarnation of my beloved Stylus Epic? Totally. Do I think Olympus should make it happen? Oh, hell yes.

Camera companies are obviously very comfortable tapping into classic design styles; take the Olympus PEN-F and pretty much every recent Fujifilm X-camera, for instance. But up until now, these throwback designs have all come from cameras released in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I think its about time we had some throwback designs from the 80’s and 90’s and a reincarnation of the Epic seems like the perfect place to start!

To be fair, the Olympus Stylus Epic does extend the lens barrel, but not until the shutter has been fully pressed. This leads to a very slight shutter delay, but it is hardly noticeable.

I’m not asking for a full-framer, but even a 1″-type sensor, fixed lens compact with a fast 35mm-equivalent lens would do it for me. Just don’t forget to make sure it’s pocketable, has a good flash, is weather sealed and built like a tank (no extending the lens when turned on). So Olympus, if you’re reading this, please consider a reboot of my dear Stylus Epic. Just don’t forget the clamshell!

Curvy beauty.

Is there a classic film camera you’d like to see a a digital reincarnation of? Let us know in the comments!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: when studio lenses retire

11 Aug

The Nikkor 50mm F1.4D has been around for, well, a while. Its age was something we noted even when we reviewed it back in 2008, though it’s still one of five 50mm lenses that Nikon still makes today (counting the 50mm F1.8G not-so-special edition that comes with the Nikon Df). Most significantly for us, it was one of our standard studio lenses for Nikon-mount cameras for quite some time.

Notice how I said ‘Nikon-mount’ and not just Nikon – because, fun fact, a number of digital cameras used the Nikon F mount back in the day. Just check out the leading images for our reviews on the Finepix S5 Pro and Kodak DCS 14n. The last Nikon camera we slapped it on for such a purpose was the Nikon D3S, even though the newer G version had been out for some time. And why not? Stopped down, the Nikkor 50mm F1.4D is plenty sharp, as with most standard 50mm primes.

So, you just dropped $ 6500 on a D5 and didn’t budget for lenses – good thing the Nikkor 50mm F1.4D can be had on the cheap these days.

So when Sam discovered this lens lurking in the back of our special cabinet of studio lenses, collecting dust ever since it had been replaced with the newer G version, we got kind of excited. This is a lens I own personally and have been using on older camera bodies for years, but we were eager take it for a spin on some newer sensors to see just how well it holds up.

It should go without saying that the Nikon 50mm F1.4D holds up just fine on the old 12MP full-frame sensors of yore, but at this aperture, it should be fine even on newer setups. Nikon D700. ISO 1600, 1/200 sec, F2.8.

Photo by Carey Rose

As far as the technical details go, this iteration of the lens was introduced in 1995, though the basic optical design goes all the way back to 1977 – 7 elements in 6 groups. (For comparison, the newer 50mm F1.4G is 8 elements in 7 groups). It’s made of decent quality plastic, feels fairly dense given its compact dimensions, and you’ll constantly have to tell people who borrow it to keep their fingers off the focus ring while focusing, lest they blow out the motor on the camera. This lens further shows its age by focusing externally, and is very obviously not weather-sealed. On the plus side, it focuses very fast on a higher-end camera body with a good focus motor, but it doesn’t focus silently like its G-series replacement.

Detail in the corners on 24MP is pretty good (as it should be at F5.6). Hopefully you’re a fan of hexagonal bokeh, because the aperture blades on the 50mm F1.4D aren’t rounded. Nikon D750. ISO 1600, 1/100 sec, F5.6.

Photo by Carey Rose

So while it makes a little noise while doing so, this older 50mm F1.4D focuses a fair bit faster on a pro-level body than the newer F1.G version. It was actually great on the D5, though unfortunately, you lose all the outer cross-type points when using a D-series lens. So we just stuck to the center points for low-contrast subjects when using it.

The simple design is so delightfully transparent and obviously imperfect at wider apertures that I find it a lot of fun to shoot with.

On a personal note, I still love this lens. Newer designs handle flare better and are generally sharper wide-open (especially in the corners). But there’s something about the character of this lens that keeps it in my bag. The simple design is so delightfully transparent and obviously imperfect at wider apertures that I find it a lot of fun to shoot with. Just watch out for fringing on backlit subjects.

So, sharpness isn’t all that great wide-open. But that bokeh still looks mighty nice. Nikon D5. ISO 1000, 1/125 sec, F1.4. Processed to taste from Raw with no noise reduction applied.

Photo by Carey Rose

So what’s in the future for our former-studio lens? Well, seeing as DPReview owns it and it’s in almost brand-new condition, it seems fitting to give it a second life out in the real world. It’s a lens that I’m looking forward to continuing to use on newer bodies when I want something a little less clinical, and it’s small enough to basically disappear once it’s mounted.

When you’re out and about, the Nikon 50mm F1.4D will make the Nikon D5 look a little less obtrusive than with a big F2.8 zoom, and with snappy autofocus to boot. ISO 1400, 1/250 sec, F2.

Photo by Carey Rose

Do you have an older, out-of-date lens that you still hold on to? What keeps you coming back to it? Let us know in the comments!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Throwback Thursday: a fresh look at the Sony Mavica FD-91

04 Aug

The year was 1999. Y2K loomed large, people actually used America Online via 56K modems, and I had just been taken out of school early by my parents to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at the Cinerama. As a fifth-grader, I remember thinking it was mostly alright.

People in 1999 probably thought the Sony Mavica FD-91 was mostly alright, too. Phil Askey certainly thought so. It has an optically stabilized zoom lens with plenty of reach, abundant external controls, a viewfinder, and… XGA resolution. As such, the image quality was pretty poor, even by contemporary standards. Now that’s saying something.

So, with the benefit of seventeen years of hindsight and experience (yes, I know now that the Phantom Menace was pretty terrible), what stands out about this quirky camera today?

High on the list of things I will never be nostalgic about – garish stickers adorning my high-end electronics. The 20-cent stamp on the ‘e-mail’ portion is a nice touch, though.

One thing’s for sure: there’s only so much detail you can get when you’re talking XGA resolution. My favorite part of having this camera in the office so far (apart from the amazing Gameboy-esque beeps it makes – listen to them in the video at the end of the page) was Sam opening up some images in Adobe Bridge, going full-screen to see the image at 100% – and it actually shrank compared to the filmstrip view.

But that resolution did allow you to use floppy disks as storage, and depending on your settings, you can fit anywhere from 6-13 images on one. If you work in corporate America, I can all but guarantee you that there’s boxes of unused floppies sitting at the back of some copy room drawers. And guess what? You can still read them.

1.44MB, in all its floppy glory. The sound of the camera spinning these up and writing images to them – now that’s something I can get nostalgic about.

So the image quality generally stinks, and when light levels approach dusk, you may as well be shooting with the lens cap on. But despite that and the wonky (but comfy-to-hold) form factor, the FD-91 is remarkably well-specced.

You get a 14x optically stabilized zoom (the big block at the front of the camera is the stabilizer unit), auto and manual focus, white balance control, full manual controls (the slowest shutter speed is 1/60 sec), a selfie-friendly flip screen and a built-in flash. It even records movies to floppy disk at a maximum resolution of 320×240 pixels. Amusingly, the clips max out at five seconds long. And we thought the original three minute limit on 4K for the D5 was questionable. 

How did Sony know to make a top-hinged selfie screen way back in 1999? With foresight like that, we should all have been using Betamax.

In the end, the Mavica FD-91 is a fun toy, or a great conversation piece. Or you can use it to teach your kids about the upsides and downfalls of technologically ancient storage solutions (what, am I the only one who thinks about that sort of thing?). The batteries are still easy to find, even. But as a fun, classic digital camera to actually use for photography – there are better options out there.

Did you ever have a camera that used floppy disks? How about the follow-up models that used CDs or DVDs? Let us know in the comments!

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Hear the sounds of the past

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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