If you’re wondering how images from the new Ricoh GR Digital III appear, here’s a bunch of photos from their product site that highlight the new camera’s strength. Click on them to download the full–size versions.
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Category: Photo Samples
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Nikon D5000 sample photos
Are you wondering how the new Nikon D5000 performs with a top–notch lens like the Nikkor AF-S 24-70 mm f/2.8G ED? This set of photos should answer your curiosity. Short answer: great!
DPReview just came out with a gallery of sample photos from the recently announced Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G. Based on what I saw, there’s no reason this lens won’t be a bestseller. Aside from looking like a good performer, there isn’t much alternative, even more if you consider the price.
Sample photos from the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
(Photo above courtesy of DPReview.com)
Okay, these are not the first photos from the LX3 that you’ll see, but these are the ones that will make you consider buying it.
The photos are linked to their photographers, all credits to them. Wow, these makes me really want to get an LX3.
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Canon EOS-50D photo samples
Are you interested how the Canon EOS-50D’s 15 megapixel DIGIC 4–powered imaging capability performs? You’d want to see these just released samples from a pre–production unit, tested at various ISO sensitivities. I’ve posted above a crop of a photo taken at ISO 12800, two stops above the maximum sensitivity of the 40D it replaces. The results are promising indeed and it looks like the 50D will be another must–upgrade for most Canon photographers.
Not too long ago, we mentioned Sigma’s update to their popular 18-50 f/2.8, the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC Macro. Still with the very useful constant f/2.8 aperture, this new lens sports the “macro” designation which I suspect is inherited from the just as good Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro, a lens I’ve been shooting with for several months now.
We were able to find a good gallery of photos taken with the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC Macro over at PBase and I must say I’m very impressed. The constant f/2.8 is something I’d love though swapping the 17-70 for this would also mean a significant loss in zoom reach. If only Sigma had better QA and build their lenses consistently, this lens should be another popular model. We should see as it reaches more early buyers.
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Nikon D80 Stunning Gallery
Just how good is the Nikon D80? Nikon handed 16 different passionate shooters the new Nikon D80, and in return they gave back stunning photos. This is the premise on Nikon’s new site called “Nikon Stunning Gallery,” a very effective marketing move that highlights the strengths of their products.
The Nikon D80 has been an excellent camera especially when compared to other digital SLRs in its price range. Robust performance paired with good photo quality has made it a viable option, to the point where several local shooters have now switched from Canon to Nikon mostly because of the Nikon D80 and the even more capable Nikon D200.
I wouldn’t mind switching to the Nikon D80 if they’d give me the Nikon equivalent of all my lenses, body, and other equipment. Why? Because I believe that right after Canon came out with the Canon EOS 20D, Nikon has dominated the market from almost all levels. The Canon EOS 5D is the only thing that puts Canon in a position of technical advantage.
Now back to the Nikon Stunning Gallery site, have a visit and be amazed at the talent of the crop of photographers that made the Nikon D80 truly their own.
We recently wrote about the new Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM and we were fortunate enough to come across a fellow Filipino photographer who managed to shoot with the lens just recently. Since our readers have requested for full size crops or samples of the images, Randy Tamayo sent us original files of two of the photos we featured in our earlier post. Click on the thumbnails for the full size image:
![Sample #1 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/samples/_MG_6848.JPG "Sample #1 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
![Sample #3 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/samples/_MG_6883.JPG "Sample #3 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
Once you’ve viewed the images, please save them to your computer to inspect further. Help me conserve my bandwidth! :)
Like my previous comments, I think the Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM is a very good lens and would perfectly fit the needs of professionals looking for a good 50mm for the EOS mount. Price would be a factor, though there aren’t really other alternatives for this focal length. Besides, pro shooters can easily justify acquiring this lens since their jobs will be paying for it anyway. Hopefully, we can now buy cheap pre–owned 50mm f/1.4 from other users. ;)
Peter Franzén is a regular reader of this weblog who discovered it by chance as he was searching for details regarding Canon’s EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM. He is in Sweden with his website at qps.se. After shooting with the crappy 18-55mm kit lens, he upgraded to the new EF-S favorite and uses it regularly for his automative shoots.
He wrote us an email to strongly recommend the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM and help potential buyers make a solid decision. The photo shown below is a good demonstration of the lens’s image stabilization advantage, with the photo taken handheld at a shutter speed around 1/20 at ISO 200.
Posted below is another one of the cars he shoots regularly and I can’t help but drool at the wealth of photo oppotunities he gets with these wonderful machines.
Lastly, here’s a comparison of the Canon 18-55mm kit lens against the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM:
Same as before, I think this lens is an excellent performer though priced steeply. At the same price, you can get the workhorse 24-70 f/2.8L though without IS. If you have the money, I have no reservations recommending this lens if you’re an EF-S shooter intending to stay in the 1.6x APS-C format. If you’re going full–frame soon, you might want to pass on this one for now.
![Sample [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2006/50mmf1.2l-1.jpg "Sample [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
Just how good is the recently announced Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM? Filipino photographer Randy Tamayo was lucky enough to play with the Canon EOS 400D with the new Canon 50mm wonder lens attached during the consumer body’s Philippine launch two days ago. He comments how the new lens manages to take a backlit photo in low light and produce a good image without flare, as shown above. Looking at how hot those lights are behind the subject, I guess the lens was designed very well, reducing lens flare to a minimum. Contrast is still very good, something I don’t think the nifty–fifty (50mm f/1.8) can produce in the same lighting situation. We were able to get permission to share resized versions of his shots, and we have them below, linked to 500 X 700 pixels images.
![Sample #1 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2006/blue1_m.jpg "Sample #1 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
![Sample #2 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2006/blue2_m.jpg "Sample #2 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
![Sample #3 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2006/sikat1_m.jpg "Sample #3 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
![Sample #4 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]](http://photo.blogger.ph/wp-content/uploads/2006/sikat2_m.jpg "Sample #4 [Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM]")
He describes how he was able to play with the new lens and body in this pipho thread:
I was at the EOS400D launch earlier tonight and somehow I managed to wrangle an EOS 400D off someones hand. It so happens that the lens attached to it was an EF 50mm F1.2L.
So I took off the guys 580EX flash from the camera, as well as his CF card and replaced it with mine. I then ran off to the models ( him running after me, realizing I just took off with his baby :))
I managed to fire some shots. All available light. 50mm F1.2 full open. ISO200 (the ISO100 images were on his CF now I realize :(
From these samples, I think the Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM is one nice piece of glass. Expectedly so, because it is designated as an L, Canon’s label for its pro lenses with excellent build and quality. Unfortunately though, we cannot comment on the expected popularity based on a few sample images, but I personally believe this will be a good seller especially if it sells for a street price lower than 1000 USD.
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Canon EOS 400D Hands On
As Canon’s update to its entry level digital SLR slowly makes its way to the worldwide market, we now see a surge of opinions and reviews on the new camera. The Canon EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi is still very much like the previous models, though packs a few surprises and still keeps photography enthusiasts very excited.
Just as we have posted links to sample photos from this camera, the camera is now officially here in the Philippines and sent for review to media people as well as prominent Canon users. One lucky guy is pinoyphotography.org’s Regie Fernando who has just posted sample photos and his initial insights on the camera in this thread and on his weblog.
The sample photos appear to be very inspiring, though it is worth noting that he used the Canon 17-40 f/4L USM and not the included kit lens. We (yes, including me!) are eagerly waiting for his in–depth review to know if the 400D is really worth the money, as I might just get one as soon as prices stabilize.
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Canon EOS 400D/XTi Samples
If you’ve been following the news on the Canon EOS 400D/XTi and other new Canon products, I’m sure you’ve been eagerly awaiting the first stream of sample photos online. Being a regular reader (lurker?) of the Canon boards on the fredmiranda.com forums, we were able to snag a link to a member gallery trying his brand new XTi. Another photo sample on the forum was shot at ISO 1600 and was just as good as the 350D/XT and 20D/30D. Rumors of a noisier sensor may not be exactly true, and if indeed there is added senor noise, I’m sure it is negligible to most users.
The Canon Digital Rebel XTi has reportedly been seen in Best Buy branches across the US, and us Canon enthusiasts here in the Philippines are restlessly waiting for our stocks.
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Weddings with a Sigma 17-70
I’ve been talking a lot about the Sigma 17-70 since day one on this blog, praising its abilities especially for such a relatively cheap walkaround lens. But can this thing be used for specialized situations? Below are some sample photos from a wedding I covered entirely with this lens, from start to finish! Certainly, the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro is one capable piece of glass.
Photo courtesy of DPReview.com
I’m sure you’ve heard about the latest newcomer in the digital SLR market: Sony. Yes, the Japanese consumer electronics giant is entering the digital SLR market via its partnership with Konica–Minolta. We reported on this news before and now it’s finally here, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A100.
The camera was previewed by popular photography site DP Review almost a month ago and they even have sample photos from the promising newcomer.
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My Sigma 17-70
I really couldn’t help it, I was too intrigued with the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro that I just to get one for myself. The samples were quite good for this new lens I had to test it for myself.
These are just a few samples. I’ve had this lens for around a week now, and in the next few days I’ll be sharing more of my shots with this lens, as well as a brief review. :)
Our search for more sample photos taken with the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro has led us to a great gallery of the Minter Gardens by PBase user Alex Tsung. He notes that this lens has much faster and quieter AF than the Tamron 28-75 f2.8, suggesting that Sigma has somehow improved on their typically noisy AF system. Another observation he noticed was the lens closer macro performance compared to the Tamron, just as we have expected.
Photozone also has a review of the Sigma 17-70, predicting that this lens will be a hot seller. I’m a few samples away from buying this one for my D60 as well. ;)
Photozone has finally released their review of the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM. Their one of the very first to provide a technical review of Canon’s latest gem, in fact the first true review of the lens I’ve seen on the web.
It seems that most negative speculations about the lens were false, as Photozone has found the lens excellent in image quality, especially among APS-C lenses. Vignetting is one of this lens weaknesses, and the expected 1100 USD selling price raises questions about its build and other monetary considerations. Still, if I had that amount of money to spend on a lens, I’d definitely get this.
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More Sigma 17-70 samples
The Sigma 17-70 is now slowly making its way from the retail stores to the very first happy owners of the lens. PBase already has a few users shooting with the said lens, and most of the samples have shown the its capabilities and more importantly, value for money.
We have two galleries from another user, and these two are worth looking at: San Juan, Puerto Rico and Paradise Revisited. Head on to see what this new lens from Sigma could do.
In the battle of the normal zooms, it looks like the expected leader is already here, as the first few samples from the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM are already here. This lens is expected to set the standards for this range and lead against the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 EX DC, the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro, the upcoming Tamron SP AF17-50MM F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF, and the still in the works Tokina 16-50 f2.8.
Note that as of writing, Google Pages is reporting a “bandwidth message” for the said site and images, probably a result of the sudden surge of photography enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the first real world samples from this lens.
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Sigma 17-70mm samples
I mentioned the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro not too long ago, eagerly awaiting the first batch of real–world samples from early buyers of the lens. Now they’re here!
PBase user smallufo took photos of his brand new Canon EOS 30D, using his 300D and a Sigma 17-70. This clearly shows the lens’s excellent macro performance, with focus and exposure spot–on in good lighting. He has some portraits using the lens, and based on them I think this lens is a capable performer considering its value.
Also from PBase is Bela Pecsek’s Sydney gallery, with several photos taken with the Sigma 17-70. By far, this is the best outdoor samples I’ve seen for this lens.
Nicky Thurgar is another shooter with this lens, and he she has some photos that shows the lens’s fine qualities.
From these early consumer samples, the lens should be a good seller considering its quality–value balance. There is no doubt that its macro capabilities is superb. Resolution is okay, along with color, saturation, and contrast. Let’s hope that it doesn’t have focusing issues like those reported concerning recent Sigma lenses. In a few more weeks we should get decisive feedback from others on the overall performance and values, along with its weaknesses. Until then, keep shooting!