Canon Weighs in With the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi and New Lenses

A video of the new Canon 400D in action:




Life just got a little more complicated for new DSLR shoppers with Canon's announcement of the 400D DSLR.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D is slated to ship in mid-September 2006 in the U.S. at an estimated street price of US$799, or US$899 in a kit with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II. The body will be available in both silver and black.

Source

Like I've said before though, it's a good thing for consumers. It sure looks pretty. Now, what's Canon going to do about the 30D at 8.2MP? Check out a very well done spec comparison here of the 30D vs. the 400D. There's also a developing discussion of the 400D and other new entries over at ephotozine.com.

More dirt on the EOS 400D:

Mobile Whack primer

Cameratown.com rumor mill

Engadget post with plenty of commentary

Another Engadget post

Excellent DPReview comprehensive preview

A post from Cnet UK

And, in related news, Canon has also dropped the bomb about their new 70-200 f/4 L IS lens that Canon users have been begging Canon about for years!

Canon claims 4 stops through this lens' new image stabilizer. Pretty impressive. The entry price on 4 stops? $1250!

Maybe not as exciting as the fancy pants 70-200 f/4 L IS above, but noteworthy nonetheless, is the Canon EF 50 f/1.2 L lens. This bad boy fills a portrait lens gap for the cropped sensor DSLR users that were use to the 85 f/1.2 L on their full-frame cameras. Thanks Canon!

UPDATE: Link dump coming at you. Everybody's got something to say about Canon's new offerings. Check out the Tech Specs from Canon.au. Imaging Resource has articles on Canon's new lenses as well as the new Rebel XTi. Rob Galbraith was kind enough to provide the .pdf of Canon's White Paper on the Rebel XTi along with a detailed article. The Digital Camera Resource Page has an article on the new XTi, including some big pics of the camera in both colors and one shot of the XTi with the BG-E3 battery grip attached. Guess I should also point out Canon USA and Canon UK's sites. You can also digg it. Gizmodo's got the goods too. DC Review and Let's Go Digital have a little to say. Last but not least (actually, my favorite photo author on the net to read), Bob Atkins has an article on the 400D as well as a great spec comparison between the Canon 400D, Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha A100.

Oh, and now, you can pre-order the Rebel XTi from Amazon.com with a lens ($899) or without ($799) for the release of October 20.

Do Something Different

I just got back from Disneyworld. In 5 days, I took over a thousand shots (RAW format nonetheless) of mostly family in and around Disney scenery. Sometimes I get on my wife's (and kid's) nerves with all the pausing and posing for shots; however, I rarely hear any complaints once we get home and make some prints. I recall that when taking the shot above my wife was nudging me to head toward the buses. I have to give her some credit though, the heat was absurd (around 95F when this shot was taken).

I just happened to see the shot because I was looking at his shadow and thinking about how cool the mouse ears looked. As you can see, we were in the harsh sunlight and I couldn't get my kid to stand still so I could get the proper sillouhette of the mouse ears. Without the evening sun though, this shot wouldn't have been there. Patiently, I waited and encouraged a hot kid and wife to hold still and hold on, respectively. Both finally complied and I got my shot, which happens to be one of my wife's favorite shots of the 1000 or so that I took. Sure, there's some great scenic photos and cute snapshots with characters; but everybody gets those, right? Not everybody gets something different for the family album though. So, do something else. Look up, look down. Look places that others don't always look and you'll get something different. And maybe something special.

Official Dirt on the Nikon D80

DP Review has a hands-on preview.

Nikon has today put the end to the speculation and announced the new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR. This new camera is the natural successor to the D70/D70s with a refreshed design, user interface and a wide range of new features. Headline improvements are; 10.2 mp CCD, new image processing engine, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system, configurable Auto ISO, configurable high ISO NR, a larger and brighter viewfinder, in-camera retouching (including D-Lighting), built-in wireless flash commander, SD card storage (with SD-HC support) and the D200's higher capacity battery. The D80 will go on sale in September with a body only price of $999 in the US, £699 in the UK or $1299 in the US, £949 in the UK as a kit with the new 18-135 mm DX lens.

You can pre-order the D80 on Amazon.

New Canon DSLR Rumors and Speculations

Take a look at the rumors and specuations on North Light Images for several theories on Canon's new DSLR to be released in August '06. There's also several images (likely photoshopped like the "35D" was prior to release of the 30D) on the site. Also, Bob's got some dirt here. That's all for now.

UPDATE 8/3/06: Looks like the 1Ds II may the camera getting the upgrade. From the North Light Images link above:

Interesting comment received about Canon dealer previews next week. One person has actually made it on to a waiting list for the new 22MP 1Ds - no news of exactly what the camera will be called yet (Mk2 N, Mk3 or whatever). Expect some sizeable leaks by the end of next week :-)

And if you are looking for other improvements see this table, it highlights advantages of the 1Ds MkII N whilst being a comparison between 1D and 1D N

From a Canon site and date stamped 30 Jul 06

And yes, the real big feature is --- Picture Styles. Just what I've always wanted (NOT), but wait, there's more ... you can have user defined filenames too, and with a 2.5 inch display screen, the reasons to buy are just overwhelming. I'd like 22MP for some of my work, but I wanted better ISO, dynamic range, sensor design and all the other bits that may not appear now until next year

More when we have it. . . .