Sad day for Jessops
Posted on June 21, 2007 by Mark
Tags: warehouse express, jessops, park cameras, news, sad | 4 Comments
Jessops, one of the UK’s most prominent photographic retailers, as today announced the closure of 81 stores, with the loss of 550 jobs.
My initial reaction is one of sadness. Although Jessops seem to employ a lot of people less than qualified to sell camera equipment, it’s always been a handy shop to pop into to view gear before you order it off the internet, or to pick up small items where the price differential with internet shops is less. (Sorry if that sounds heartless, but that’s just the way it is with Jessops. Of course, I feel very sorry for the poor individuals that will loose their jobs.)
This, I think, has been Jessops main problem over recent years: the vastly over-priced stock when compared to internet deals. Yes, I know running costs of shops are higher, but in this internet age you have to learn to be extremely competitive. Quite how Jessops could have avoided this I don’t know, but then that’s not my problem.
Reading today’s press release it appears that they have some ideas about how to progress the business, though it’s not going to be easy. In my opinion they need to really look at their pricing, and make it competitive with sites like Warehouse Express (even though they’re generally not in my good books) and Park Cameras. I’m still not sure how the stores can be viable in this market, but then again there are a lot of people still who like to go to a store to buy something than order it online (even if it does cost them more….).
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens with Jessops in the future. I thought I read somewhere that they were going to be purchased by some other retail chain, but can’t remember the details on that one…
EOS 5D Out of Stock! Replacement around the corner?
Posted on June 15, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, photography, dslr, eos, eos 5d mk ii, eos 5d | 6 Comments
After yesterday’s post about the EOS 5D Mark II, it’s interesting to find that nearly every camera shop near me is out of stock of the original EOS 5D. The only places I’ve found it in are two branches of Jessops, and they are horrendously over priced — about £200 more than I hope to get one for on Saturday.
In fact, when I spoke to someone at Jessops, they told me that the camera was coming up as ‘discontinued’. Could it really be that the Mark II is here?!
Canon EOS 5D Mk II - some speculation
Posted on June 14, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, photography, dslr, sensor, eos, eos 5d mk ii | 28 Comments
So here’s there deal: I’m thinking about getting an EOS 5D, but am worried the moment I get it, it’s going to be replaced by a ‘Mark 2′ version - the EOD 5D Mk II.
In the past there has been a lot of speculation about an EOS 3D being released. I’m not so convinced about this now: Canon take their time between introducing new models, and if you think back to film days, the EOS 3 was introduced in 1998, six years after the fantastic EOS 5 (called the EOS A2E in the US).
I know in the digital world things move a lot faster, but I don’t think there is any need for Canon to introduce a 3D just yet; they’ve got pretty much every portion of the market covered well (although the entry level market is perhaps a bit thin when you compare it to Nikon…).
With that in mind, I think the most likely thing for Canon to do is to introduce a Mark II version of the EOS 5D - the EOS 5D Mk II. I’ve been thinking about getting an EOS 5D since last Autumn. Back then, I was pretty sure that Canon were going to replace the 5D — probably in the Spring of 2007. After all, the camera was released in October 2005 and Nikon had stepped up the competition quite significantly with the introduction of some very respectable bodies. The EOS 5D replacement didn’t come, and the longer I left off the purchase, the more worried I was about the replacement coming and outdating my new kit.
But then I got thinking a bit more: what you have with the 5D is a fantastic camera. I have a 20D at the moment, and have long been after a full frame sensor. The 5D gives me this (including the fantastically large viewfinder), plus more resolution, plus lots of other nice-to-haves. It is also available now for about £1550 (GBP) - about £1000 cheaper than it’s launch price. If a 5D Mk II comes along, what are going to be the differences? Perhaps the most significant one to me is cost! The replacement camera will probably cost about £2500 again (slightly less than the original EOS 5D list price), so what can we expect for that extra money?
I think we can can look at the latest DSLR to come from Canon - the EOS 1D Mk III - to get some ideas about what we may get in the EOS 5D Mk II. Perhaps the most likely is an increase in sensor sensitivity - going up to ISO 6400. The noise levels in the 1D Mk III are incredibly low too, so perhaps the 5D Mk II will see this too. Others have mentioned weather proofing might appear on the camera, but I don’t believe this. We didn’t see this in the film EOS 3, so I don’t see why we would see this here. It would also really damage the 1D market too — something that would be crazy to do in my opinion.
Anything else? I’m sure we’ll see a larger LCD on the back, and perhaps a live preview, but I could easily live without those features. It’s interesting that Canon haven’t introduced a DSLR with eye-controlled focusing yet. The film EOS 5 was the first camera with this feature, and it would be rather fitting for the EOS 5D Mk II to get this too. I tried it on my old film EOS 5, but it never really worked well enough for me to rely on it. I’m sure the technology has improved since then, so this might be a nice gimmick to bring back!
To conclude, I think the EOS 5D Mk II is going to see an improved sensor, and not a lot else. After all, there isn’t a great deal they can do to improve on the 5D - it’s already a fantastic bit of kit! With all this in mind, I’ve decided to get one myself now — and I’ll be getting it this weekend if I can find anywhere with one in stock!
Sensor size and noise in compact digital cameras
Posted on May 24, 2007 by Mark
Tags: photography, sigma, DP1, compact camera, sensor, noise, iso | 1 Comment
I was rather pleased to see an article on DPReview last Sunday about how sensor size plays a massive part in determining the noise of an image produced by a compact digital camera, especially when increasing the sensitivity of sensor to give you a high ISO rating (full article).
This is something I’ve been moaning about for a long time: when are the camera companies going to stop this megapixel race and start worrying about noise in images?
It’s this poor performance that has put me off buying a compact digital camera for a long time. I have a digital SLR (and love it), but I don’t like taking it out with me in the evening. What I’ve been after for ages is almost exactly what the new Sigma DP1 promises to be: a compact camera with a wide angle lens (so I can get group photos of friends without standing half a mile away), and decent (read low noise) performance in low light conditions (read in the pub). The large APS-C size sensor in the Sigma DP1 is exactly the same size as the sensor in my EOS 20D, and this works beautifully in low light…
If course I’ve still not managed to get my hands on a DP1, and this waiting is killing me! For me, the crucial thing is how good the sensor is at ISO 800 or 1600. The lens is only f/4.0, so if I’m using it indoors in the evening I’m going to need a fairly high ISO setting to keep camera shake down to a minimum. (I guess I’ll be needing an exposure of about 1/30 or 1/60th second.)
As I said, this waiting really is killing me so hurry up Sigma and start shipping the thing!!
Ricoh GX100 v Sigma DP1
Posted on May 14, 2007 by Mark
Tags: review, ricoh, caplio, gx100, digicam, DP1 | 19 Comments
After my disapointment yesterday with the price of the Sigma DP1, I decided to look more closely at the Ricoh GX100.
The GX100 from Ricoh (on paper) looks like a fantastic bit of kit. For me, the most notable feature is the super-wide angle lens, stretching out to 24mm (in 35mm film terms). This is quite an achievement, and on its own sets the camera in a unique class of its own.
Other highlights include the f/2.5 lens (at the wide end), RAW capabaility, the ability to use normal AAA batteries, and the vibration correction system (which shifts the sensor to counteract camera shake).
So I’ve been hunting around for reviews, and other than lots of copies of the press release, it’s been hard to track down any real hands-on reviews. I’m going to see if I can get my hands on one myself, but in the meantime I’ll leave you with a comparison with the Sigma DP1. Although these are two fairly different compact digital cameras, they should both appeal to serious amateur photographers. The Ricoh has a great sounding lens, and the Sigma has the huge (in physical terms) sensor, which should lead to supper-smooth noise-free images.
Here is a quick comparison of the two camera’s main features:
| Feature | Ricoh GX100 | Sigma DP1 |
|---|---|---|
| Lens |
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| Sensor |
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| ISO Speeds |
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| File formats |
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| Weight | 220g (7.8oz) exc. batteries | 270 g (9.5 oz) inc. batteries |
| Dimensions | 112 x 58 x 25 mm (4.4 x 2.3 x1.0 in) | 109 x 60 x 31 mm (4.3 x 2.4 x 1.2 in) |
| Price | £399.99 | £600.00?? |
So which is best? Well, that’s a very good question, and really depends on your needs. I suspect the price differential will be the biggest factor controlling which camera most people opt for, but then we don’t actually know what the Sigma DP1 will sell for yet, so perhaps this remark is a bit premature….
To really decide you need to have a play with both cameras, and I’m very much looking forward to getting my hands on the DP1!
Sigma DP1 - £600?
Posted on May 8, 2007 by Mark
Tags: sigma, DP1, compact camera | Leave a Comment
From what I can tell, the highy anticipated Sigma DP1 is still not available in the shops here in the UK. Prices haven’t been confirmed either, but Park Cameras are listing it as £600 on their website. I’m not sure if this is a mistake as the product description says “Showing as £0.00 due to price TBC“, but if you look in the title bar of the screen shot below (the blue bar across the top of the window), you can see that they list it as “Sigma DP1 - £600.00“.
If this really is the expected price then I think it’s a bit of a shame. Yes, it’s a ground-breaking compact camera, but Sigma have the potential to sell so many of these if the price was a bit lower. I know I’d like one myself, but 600 quid seems a bit much to me at the moment.
Still, it’s a bit early to get worried about this seeing as it hasn’t even hit the shops yet. And even if it’s RRP is £600, you’re bound to be able to get it for a lot less in a few months time…
8-Core Apple Mac Pro Announced
Posted on April 11, 2007 by Mark
Tags: apple, mac, workstation, xeon, intel | Leave a Comment
Leaked several weeks ago, the 8-core Apple Mac Pro workstations are now officially available from the Apple shop. According to their website:
Every Mac Pro packs the power of two multi-core Intel Xeon processors. Choose two 3.0GHz quad-core “Clovertown” processors — the fastest Quad-Core Intel Xeon available — for groundbreaking, 8-core power.
Now I don’t know about you, but I imagine they pack a pretty good punch! For various reasons I’ve been forced down the Windows route for years now, but for the last six months or so I’ve been thinking about moving to Mac when I get a new workstation. There are lots of reasons for this, but as I only really use my computer for photo processing and web surfing it seems like it could be a good option. I’ve been using Linux for a long time too, so the idea of having a decent command line is appealing too.
Still they don’t come cheap: upgrading to these chips alone will add almost a thousand pounds to the price!
Sigma DP1 Compact Digital Camera
Posted on April 1, 2007 by Mark
Tags: photography, digicam, sigma, DP1 | 2 Comments
Having recently written about the Ricoh Caplio GX100, I thought I should also mention the Sigma DP1. The DP1 was announced back in September 2006 at Photokina 2006, and it was re-announced at PMA 2007, having received quite a significant design update. The most significant thing about this compact camera is the physical size of the sensor in it: it uses an APS sized sensor — the same one used in Sigma’s SD14 digital SLR.
This big sensor is quite significant to me. While most companies seem to battle on the megapixel race, Sigma seem to be tackling what is (in my opinion) the single biggest floor in all compact cameras: noise! Physically larger sensors allow for physically larger photosites, which means each pixel can gather more light. This means less amplification of the signal is needed to create an image, which means you’re less likely to introduce noise to the resulting image. In fact sigma don’t fail on the megapixel fight either, this sensor packing a massive 14 megapixels.
Fixed to this camera is a 28mm (in 35mm terms) f/4 prime lens (i.e. non-zoom). For me, the fact that it is a prime doesn’t bother me really. I’m looking for a camera I can carry around at times when I don’t want to lug my DSLR around, and the wide-angle of this lens is a good thing. I’m surprised that the lens only has an aperture of f/4 though - I would like to have seen f/2.8 or thereabouts. Still, with a maximum ISO rating of 1600 (I’m guessing), this shouldn’t be such a problem - especially when you remember that this sensor should be incredibly low noise anyway.
It’ll be interesting taking a closer look at this camera. I don’t know when it will be available, but on paper it looks very promising. Am I finally going to find myself a compact camera that I can be happy with?
Ricoh announces the Caplio GX100
Posted on March 30, 2007 by Mark
Tags: photography, ricoh, caplio, gx100, digicam | 1 Comment
Is this the answer to all my prayers? Richoh have just announced their latest compact camera: the Caplio GX100. This is a compact camera with a very wideangle lens (24mm in 35mm terms), that records RAW images and has a hotshoe. It sounds almost perfect!
Sadly the cynic in me has some reservations. When Ricoh released an earlier camera that I thought would be the bees knees, it had a less than satisfactory sensor. I know you have to accept noise in the smaller sensors found in most compacts, but why fight the megapixel war when there noise war still needs to be won?
When the GR Digital was announced I had a similar feeling to now. That had a very well recieved lens (fixed at 28mm in 35mm terms, tack sharp), but suffered from noise at all sensitivities. This wouldn’t really be a problem if you were producing B&W images and like the ‘grain’ effect, but coupled with very slow write times and a high price tag I decided against getting one.
I’m hopeful that this new camera will improve on some of these issues.
From the press release:
The Caplio GX100 is a high-performance camera cram packed with advanced functions including (1) a 24 to 72 mm equivalent high-performance wide zoom lens (Caplio GX8: 28 to 85 mm equivalent) that can be expanded to even ultra-wide-angle shooting equivalent to 19 mm using the optional wide conversion lens, (2) being the first digital camera to support a removable electronic viewfinder (LCD viewfinder), and (3) high image quality thanks to the 10.01megapixel effective CCD (Caplio GX8: 8.24-megapixel) and popular Smooth Imaging Engine II image processing.
The GX100 (with electronic viewfinder included) will be available at the end of April 2007 at £399.99 inc VAT, so I for one am looking forward to getting my hands on one for a trial!
Canon PowerShot TX1
Posted on February 23, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, pma, photography, hdtv | Leave a Comment
More pre-PMA goodness, this time the Canon PowerShot TX1. This is no ordinary camera — it’s an ixus-sized hybrid, offering HDTV (1280×720 pixel, 30fps) movie capture and a 7.1MP still camera.
Most notable about this camera is the unsual styling - reminiscent of the an old fashioned cine camera. Interesting bit of kit - I hope to get my hands on one for a play!
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