Nikon Rumors has put out a good comparison chart showing the differences between Canon and Nikon’s new flagship D-SLRs, the Canon EOS 1D X and the Nikon D4. Specs-wise, the cameras look quite similar, but there are some notable differences.
I’m wearing a big shimmering wrap on my head with a jewel in the middle. There’s incense going, and I’m now ready to make these CES 2012 camera predictions: new pro DSLRs from Nikon and (possibly) Canon will reign supreme; it will be another good year for small mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, like the new Nikon 1; and in-point-and-shoots, I see more of the same blah.
I also see this year’s PMA show (Photo Marketing Association) being combined into CES, bringing with it imaging accessories galore — but that’s not a prediction — it’s on PMA’s website.
One thing you can be sure that Apple will improve with every iteration of its iPhone is the device’s camera. The original iPhone packed a 2-megapixel camera that wasn’t all that great at taking photos; things got significantly better two generations later with the iPhone 3GS. The 5-megapixel camera in the iPhone 4 received a ton of praise, but its 8-megapixel successor in the iPhone 4S is even more terrific.
So terrific, in fact, that the developer behind the hugely successful Camera+ application for the iPhone, Lisa Bettany, says the device “outshines” many of the high-end compact cameras currently on the market.
Want to see just how good the iPhone 4S is as a video camera? Yeah, so did this guy. So he made a side-by-side comparison – and the results show the 4S is a pretty impressive piece of video recording kit.
Canon has just updated their excellent PowerShot G-Series of pro-level point and shoots, and while the new G12 doesn’t offer too much that is new over its predecessor, it’s still an easy camera to recommend to the amateur photographer looking for a bridge camera to an eventual SLR.
The G12 is now Canon’s top-of-the-line point and shoot, boasting a 10MP CCD (a wise choice given that sensor’s size: anything more than 10MP is just inviting graininess), lots of manual dials for exposure and ISO control, a swiveling 2.8-inch LCD display, image stabilization and a bright f2.8-4.5 lens capable of 5x zoom.
In these respects, the G12 is identical to the G11, but new to the feature set is the ability to record high-definition 720p video, as well as stitch together three different exposures for HDR photos, just like the iPhone 4 under iOS 4.1 can do.
Like the G11 before it, expect the G12 to cost $499 when it launches in October. If you’re a casual photographer looking to get more serious about the hobby, I can heartily recommend the G12: two generations ago, the PowerShot G10 was the camera that first awakened my own interest in more seriously pursuing photography, and I’ve loved this entire product line ever since.
Through a glass viewed darkly, if not even muculently: the iPhone camera stinks.
To be fair, that’s not entirely Apple’s fault. While there are certainly better camera sensors out there than the one Apple chose to install as the retina in their little iBall, there’s a clear correlation between sensor size and image quality when it comes to digital cameras, and you can only make a cell phone’s sensor so big.
Nothing to be done about the sensor then. But like a fly hovering over hamburger, gadget tinkerer Bhautik Joshi had a seemingly stupid question buzzing around in his brain meats: can you improve the quality of the images the iPhone takes by attaching an old Canon SLR lens?
