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Usacomp2k3
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Re: Canon 50D

Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:41 pm

mattsteg wrote:
Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I'm excited that the 50d has the digic4 processor.

What does that even mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIGIC
The processor that is used in the camera advances with the times. My first Canon had the digic 1, my XTi has the digic2, my wife's a710 has the digic2 as well.
The 1D line has dual processors, for more data processing throughput. For example, the 1ds Mark III shoots 5fps at 21MP/shot, which works to a processing speed of over 100MB/sec. Pretty impressive.

Presumably the digic4 will increase that even further, and as that trickles down to the lower line, it increases the processing power of the Rebel line and the elph and a-series.
 
SPOOFE
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Re: Canon 50D

Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:49 pm

danny e. wrote:
SPOOFE wrote:
I'm thinking of Canon, which, yes, includes their Rebel line which, amazingly, isn't in that cute little list you saw fit to provide.

the list didnt include the rebel line because that is not the line that I was referring to in the original statement about Canon being conservative. The thread title is 50D.. not XSi.

Um, fine, you win. Canon doesn't regularly increase the pixel count in their sensors. How could I be so foolish as to assert otherwise?
 
mattsteg
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Re: Canon 50D

Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:59 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
mattsteg wrote:
Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I'm excited that the 50d has the digic4 processor.

What does that even mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIGIC
The processor that is used in the camera advances with the times. My first Canon had the digic 1, my XTi has the digic2, my wife's a710 has the digic2 as well.
The 1D line has dual processors, for more data processing throughput. For example, the 1ds Mark III shoots 5fps at 21MP/shot, which works to a processing speed of over 100MB/sec. Pretty impressive.

Presumably the digic4 will increase that even further, and as that trickles down to the lower line, it increases the processing power of the Rebel line and the elph and a-series.
I know that Digic is Canon's branding for their camera processing chips, but what's the real gain from it? You're excited over the presence of something that "presumably" improves the camera, but you can't attribute anything to it. That seems kinda silly to me.

Every camera maker revises their processing over time. Some make a bigger branding deal of it than others. I wouldn't doubt that the same branded processor is often available in different speeds/grades. Absent specific deficiencies in the processing capability of the current processing chip, I just don't see reason to be excited over something without having any idea what it enables. Get excited over functionality, not marketing.
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danny e.
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Re: Canon 50D

Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:16 pm

Nikon D90 announced today.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikond90/

comparable price range, so basically rivals.. I believe Canon wins this round.
The D300 has dropped enough in price that it's almost in the same fight.

i had actually considered switching to Nikon when the D300 was released.. but one trip to the store changed my mind.
cant stand the way it felt. 40D felt so much better / more natural to me. I know alot of people feel differently..

EDIT: i guess the pricing is still the way it was before.. with the 50D right between the D90 & D300
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:24 pm

in the "misc new lenses" category.. I'm looking forward to the potential for a new 100mm IS macro from canon.
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mattsteg
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Re: Canon 50D

Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:38 pm

danny e. wrote:
Nikon D90 announced today.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikond90/

comparable price range, so basically rivals.. I believe Canon wins this round.
The D300 has dropped enough in price that it's almost in the same fight.

i had actually considered switching to Nikon when the D300 was released.. but one trip to the store changed my mind.
cant stand the way it felt. 40D felt so much better / more natural to me. I know alot of people feel differently..

EDIT: i guess the pricing is still the way it was before.. with the 50D right between the D90 & D300

Yeah, Nikon's still going with a strategy that mostly puts their products between canon's. The video option is interesting, and it's at least being marketed as done the "right way" - leveraging the advantages of DOF and noise control and the availability of good/unique glass to create a new and interesting tool. Still look to be a few details of implementation that aren't optimal, on top of the SLR body shape. Going in I thought that the movie mode would either suck or rock. It seems to have hit the middle area between those, assuming quality is as it should be. Closer to rock than suck, though, I think. Suddenly lenses like the 18-200 VR gain a bit of potential appeal that they previously lacked.

Pricing (b&h except for D90 which uss announced price):
D60 $620 with lens, no body-only at bh
450D $630 body
40D $970 body
D90 $999 body
50D $1399 (dpreview says 1299, imaging-resource says 1399 and b&h has it listed at 1399 so I think dpreview is wrong)
D300 $1625 body
5D $2400 body
D700 $3000 body

D90 is closer to rebel pricing than 50D pricing, but closer to 50D in featureset in most ways. The 225 price difference between the 50D and the D300 is way less significant than the 400 from D90 to 50D. The 40D will stick around for a while, and that's the real competition, price-wise. It's an interesting matchup with each side having strengths and weaknesses.
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SPOOFE
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:29 am

Yeah, Nikon's still going with a strategy that mostly puts their products between canon's.

I dunno, who's to say who's positioning what where? I don't think Nikon's pigeon-holing their products around Canon's lineup; rather, both seem to have a very consistent history of avoiding direct head-to-head confrontation, and regularly set different models a few hundred dollars apart. Both companies design lens and imaging elements that can run millions of dollars for a single component... either can put out a camera that can "cream" anything the other currently offers. Really, let's call it what it is: Nikon and Canon, while technically competing, do so with a wink and a nod.
 
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:51 pm

SPOOFE wrote:
Yeah, Nikon's still going with a strategy that mostly puts their products between canon's.

I dunno, who's to say who's positioning what where? I don't think Nikon's pigeon-holing their products around Canon's lineup; rather, both seem to have a very consistent history of avoiding direct head-to-head confrontation, and regularly set different models a few hundred dollars apart. Both companies design lens and imaging elements that can run millions of dollars for a single component... either can put out a camera that can "cream" anything the other currently offers. Really, let's call it what it is: Nikon and Canon, while technically competing, do so with a wink and a nod.
Yeah, I agree with that, for the most part. They've both developed their model lines in ways that there are few direct competitors.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the D90 could be a very big deal. Big-sensor HD video with a huge, affordable, in many cases already-owned selection of glass is a pretty phenomenal feature that alone was worth thousands up to this point. Add that onto a nicely-featured, good-handling DSLR body that does a good job capturing stills, and you've really got a product with potential to be absolutely phenomenal. That's an absolute ton to fit in under a grand.

This is some really neat stuff, especially coming along as a "secondary" feature in a DSLR that's already a reasonable value. For a ton of creative uses this looks to blow away dedicated camcorders that cost multiples of what the D90 will retail for. That's just incredibly impressive, and could really open up (wannabe?) "filmmaking" to a whole new audience. As much as I've been lusting over some of the advantages that the Dxxx series holds over the Dxx cameras, this whole video thing has got me seriously evaluating whether the video functionality of the D90 is worth trading against what I'd like out of a D300 (or used D200). Just some seriously cool capability.

More coolness
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:32 am

I always wondered why Canon didn't bring out a product line in their video camera department that had an EF mount. I guess just because it would look weird.
 
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:00 am

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I always wondered why Canon didn't bring out a product line in their video camera department that had an EF mount. I guess just because it would look weird.
Also, without additional intermediate optics the focal lengths would be all wrong. You can get adapters but they have their drawbacks.

Up until now, video from a 35mm-sized sensor has been rather exclusive.
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:38 am

i was wondering how long it'd be before someone would do video on an SLR, now that its been done i wonder if it works well
 
mattsteg
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:49 am

blitzy wrote:
i was wondering how long it'd be before someone would do video on an SLR, now that its been done i wonder if it works well

http://www.vimeo.com/1612204 if you sign up you can download what looks to be an avi straight from the camera. Unfortunately they didn't lock exposure for that clip, but supposedly you can do so. You can give completely bogus info if you wish, they grant access before verifying anything.
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danny e.
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:10 pm

mattsteg wrote:
blitzy wrote:
i was wondering how long it'd be before someone would do video on an SLR, now that its been done i wonder if it works well

http://www.vimeo.com/1612204 if you sign up you can download what looks to be an avi straight from the camera. Unfortunately they didn't lock exposure for that clip, but supposedly you can do so. You can give completely bogus info if you wish, they grant access before verifying anything.

meh. i guess the video capabilities still dont do anything for me. it all just seems too gimmicky. i suppose part of the problem is i just dont care about video.. perhaps if i did i'd be more impressed.
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:22 am

If that's the case, then I advise you ignore the video stuff and take a look at the excellent pictures one can take with a D90. :D
 
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:27 am

I havent been able to get that link to work the times I tried it so I presume the files are actually taken down

Also apparently there is no AF in movie mode, only manual... might be a bit of a nuisance. Still, id rather have the capability than not.
 
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Re: Canon 50D / Nikon D90 / Misc new lenses

Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:06 am

blitzy wrote:
I havent been able to get that link to work the times I tried it so I presume the files are actually taken down

Also apparently there is no AF in movie mode, only manual... might be a bit of a nuisance. Still, id rather have the capability than not.

You can AF, just not while actually taking video. AF during videos looks like crap anyway.
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Re: Canon 50D

Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:43 am

mattsteg wrote:
I know that Digic is Canon's branding for their camera processing chips, but what's the real gain from it? You're excited over the presence of something that "presumably" improves the camera, but you can't attribute anything to it. That seems kinda silly to me.

Every camera maker revises their processing over time. Some make a bigger branding deal of it than others. I wouldn't doubt that the same branded processor is often available in different speeds/grades. Absent specific deficiencies in the processing capability of the current processing chip, I just don't see reason to be excited over something without having any idea what it enables. Get excited over functionality, not marketing.

This is why I was excited:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/17/cano ... ll-hd-too/

When the processor tickles down to the P&S camera's, you get some great performance. h.264 1080p (1080/30p?) video for $400. With a 20x zoom, and assuming it is as good as Canon's usual super-zooms, good quality glass too. It even lets you take photo's mid-video.

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