What's New - January 2009
January 30
Initial Test to Review update for 
Canon G10!
Canon keeps refining their enthusiast flagship PowerShot digital camera, and the latest result is the very high quality Canon G10. With a rangefinder-like build and noticeable heft, the Canon G10 isn't just any point-and-shoot digital camera. Its 14.7-megapixel sensor is matched to a relatively large 28-140mm 5x zoom with an f/2.8 maximum aperture, giving the Canon G10 greater ability indoors and in low light. A vibrant 3-inch LCD serves up crisper images thanks to its 461,000 pixel resolution, and a regulation hot shoe is ready to accept any of the latest Canon flashes for well-exposed indoor shots. The onboard flash, for its part, is pretty powerful too. Click here to read more on the Canon PowerShot G10.
Accessory Review: 
LensAlign Lite
The $139.95 LensAlign Pro (reviewed last December) is a focusing target with three planes that you can mount to a tripod. The $79.95 LensAlign Lite model -- which started shipping today -- uses just two planes and requires assembly (which also means it can be taken apart and stored flat). Both models are designed to make it very easy to align your camera's sensor plane parallel to the upright focusing targets and to indicate, on a ruler, the amount of back or front focusing your camera/lens combination suffers. But after using the LensAlign Lite for a few days, we had to wonder if it wasn't really Version 2 of the device. Read our LensAlign Lite review to find out why!
January 28
Full Review posted for 
Olympus E-520!
Significantly refined over its predecessors, the Olympus E-520 offers an excellent set of features in a small package. It's not as small as the E-420, but it has what it takes to get you sharper pictures: namely, a bigger grip and built-in image stabilization. The E-520's Live View mode is improved, with several autofocus options to choose from, a 10x zoom to confirm focus, and a Face Detect mode to help the camera confirm focus for you. Overall, Live View AF is faster than before, at least in good light, better tuned to deliver sharp pictures with less shutter lag. Paired with the 14-42mm kit lens, the Olympus E-520 covers most common shooting situations with ease with good image quality and light weight, not to mention a small overall size. Click here to read more about the Olympus E-520, a great choice for the photography hobbyist.
January 21
Full Review update for 
Nikon D3!
We've finally updated our Nikon D3 Initial Test to Full Review status. As the the company's first full-frame digital SLR, the 12.1-megapixel Nikon D3 really turned a lot of heads, and brought quite a wave of former Nikon fans back into the fold. Though the full-frame story was big news and the 51-point AF system made folks take notice, it was the Nikon D3's incredible high ISO performance that drew the largest crowd of serious photography fans. Set the right ISO, and you can get usable handheld shots of scenes you could never capture with any other camera. Live View mode also figures big in the Nikon D3, allowing not just phase-detect autofocus, but contrast-detect as well. And though it's become more common, the Nikon D3's 640x480 LCD screen is a great place to view your images, and zoom in to check focus both before and after capture. The Nikon D3 is an incredible professional digital SLR camera. Click here to read more about the ground-breaking Nikon D3, one of the finest digital SLRs you can buy.
January 20
Review posted for 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28!
Long a favorite in the super zoom digital camera category, Panasonic's Lumix FZ28 continues the tradition of offering a high quality optic for a low price. With a zoom range of 27 to 486mm, and built-in optical image stabilization, the little Panasonic FZ28 makes you feel like a pro with a bag of high quality lenses. You can get as sophisticated as you want, with a full suite of manual exposure modes, or let the Panasonic FZ28 do the thinking for you by setting the mode dial to Intelligent Auto. The Panasonic FZ28's image quality is quite good, allowing you to output quality 11x14-inch prints from ISO 100 to 400, an impressive feat. Click here to read our review of the Panasonic Lumix FZ28.
Full Review posted for 
Canon EOS 5D Mark II!
Canon has been adding something special to each of their new digital SLRs, something that sets the camera apart from the pack. This time, the something special is the HD movie mode in the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Capable of capturing 1080p movies, the new camera opens up a whole world of video opportunities for those with a selection of Canon full-frame lenses -- from capturing extreme wide angles to isolating subjects with long telephoto, the 5D Mark II is truly a video artist's tool. Of course, the 5D Mark II also has the goods for the more traditional still photographer, offering a 21.1-megapixel sensor, a tuned version of the sensor in the Canon 1Ds Mark III. Now the 5D Mark II's sensor has significantly better high ISO performance, able to produce nearly noise-free images up to ISO 6,400. If you can handle a little noise, you can even reach out to 25,600. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II's new high resolution LCD delivers a fine 640x480 image for better focus checking and a great image in Live View mode. The whole package comes in below the price of competing full-frame digital SLRs, at $2,699. Click here to read our full review of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
January 8
First Shots posted for 
Pentax K2000!
We've posted First Shots for the Pentax K2000 digital SLR camera, a new, entry-level model that is quite compact. The Pentax K2000 features a 10.2-megapixel sensor, in-body image stabilization, ISO range from 100-3200, 5-point AF system, and a 2.7-inch LCD. The Pentax K2000 (also known as the Pentax K-m in other markets) comes bundled with an smc Pentax DA-L 18-55mm lens and an AF200FG flash unit, for under US$700. The Pentax K2000's lens mount is compatible with a wide range of Pentax K-, KA-, KAF-, KAF2- and KAF3- lenses, and is also compatible with lenses featuring SDM autofocusing. Click here for our Pentax K2000 preview page, and then click on the Samples tab for all the images we've shot so far, as well as links to select RAW files. Stay tuned for more Pentax K2000 test images in the days to come!
January 2
All-in-One Printer Review: 
Canon MP980
The MP980 is Canon's top-of-the-line multifunction device, adding duplex printing and film scanning to everything we liked about the entry-level MP620. We've lived with several multifunction devices over the last year whose main attraction has been convenience. And more than one of them merely promised convenience, failing to deliver anything but frustration. But Canon's well-engineered MP line has impressed us even at the low end with the MP620 and the top of the line PIXMA MP980 simply fills out our wish list with film scanning and duplex printing. It may still only have four color inks but they do the job of six. And the film scanning is impressive, outperforming inexpensive desktop scanners. Read our Canon MP980 review for the whole story.
