Many French-speaking lovers of the Sony (ex-Minolta) photo cameras know about the excellent web site of Alpha Numérique which is providing a wealth of varied informations (often appearing in the link lists I publish monthly in relation with photo software programs).

Eiffel Tower, by night – Copyright (C) Yves Roumazeilles

Now, I would like to underline the quality of a full series of posts, published by Patrick Moll on Alpha Numérique, and dedicated to comparing as precisely as possible the various offers now on the market to develop and improve as much as possible the pictures that -sometimes- we must shoot using very high levels of ISO sensitivity (with the troubling levels of digital noise that come with big ISO levels).

The list of the software programs taken into account is quite respectable:

• Image Data Converter 3
• Lightroom 3 / Camera Raw 6
• DxO Optics Pro 6
• Aperture 3
• Bibble Pro 5
• Capture One Pro 5
• ACDSee Pro 3
• Silkypix 4
• Lightzone 3
• Raw Developer 1 (dcraw)

Not bad, eh!

Even if the comparisons done here are not only for Sony photo cameras, Patrick Moll applied its tests to a quite appreciable list of cameras too:

• A100
• A550
• A700
• A900
• A330 (not ready yet when I published this post)

Even if you are not reading French, I highly recommend checking these (most of the posts are made of image comparisons using the yellow buttons to select the software program results you want to see). Even if you are equipped with Pentax, Canon or Nikon gear, the lessons you will draw from this are applicable on all the photo camera brands, concerning strengths and weaknesses of each of these software tools.

To understand the review process and the methodology, I would recommend the reading of (here, all in French):

• Introduction
• Réduction du bruit et accentuation

With the tests, body by body, you will immediately recognize the excellent results of Lightroom 3/Camera Raw 6 (these two Adobe software programs share a single common RAW file management core). Just behind, comes DxO Optics Pro 6 which is a bit more violent (or more accentuation prone) and the (not famous enough) Bibble Pro 5.

From this point, you will always be able to get the best from the photos you were forced into shooting in poor lighting conditions which required big ISO figures.

It is often a little difficult to compare two cameras feature by feature. I’ve come to a web site which does that (and only that), but does it nicely: SnapSort.com.

Nice.

I found a very good and very detailed field test of the Canon EOS 7D.

Since it is not often that you will find such an in-depth analysis by a pro-photographer (Nature Photographer Ole Jørgen Liodden from Norway) ready to disclose so much information, I wanted to share it with you.

• Weather sealing
• In the Cold of Winter
• Autofocus
• Image Quality

Long, but recommended reading for anybody willing to check the Canon EOS 7D.

Note: After switching from Canon to Nikon, Ole had some hesitations about keeping all the information of this field test available on his wbe site, but this is solved now and we can expect that to stay for a long time, for all Canon lovers to find.

I just updated the tests/reviews in the database of the SLR photo cameras, mostly for the Pentax and Samsung cameras (and some Nikon, Sony, Canon, too).

AlphaMountWorld just produced a very interesting comparative review of three of the most attractive digital SLR photo cameras now on the market:

• Sony Alpha A500
• Nikon D5000
• Canon EOS 500D ou Rebel T1i

Of course, this test is listed in the list of comparisons/reviews attached to the feature page of each of these cameras (follow the links above).

Source: AlphaMountWorld.com Sony Alpha A500, Nikon D5000, and Canon EOS Rebel T1i- Compared

If you are looking for the best SLR camera that your money can buy, you have certainly seen the announcement of the latest pro cameras from Nikon and Canon as very interesting. Both the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and the Nikon D3S pretend to be very fast cameras and to have actual record sensitivity (up to ISO 102400).

But, even if you are ready to switch from your current brand of photo camera, which one should you choose? There are a few comparisons that are starting to pop around the Internet and I want to list them to you:

• The Mansurovs: in Nikon D3s vs Canon EOS-1D Mark IV highlights the 9 key differences between them and says “this camera [the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV] beats the Nikon D3s in almost every feature category.”
• PhotographyReview.com says “the choice comes down to image quality vs. speed.”
• Digital Rev says “Canon EOS-1D Mark IV vs Nikon D3S – Rivalling in Speed and Sensitivity” but they simply compare feature lists and draw no conclusion.

So, which one is yours now?

I just got a Sony Carl Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM zoom (Mfr# SAL1635Z) and I wanted to share with you my first impressions.

Sony Carl Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM

Obviously, this is a pro-level mechanical design. You immediately notice the weight of this zoom lens (at no less than 1.9 lbs (860g), this is not a cheap plastic lens). Some photographers may even find it too heavy for ease, but if you tend to use your wide-angle zoom on a tripod, you won’t notice it and it will bring some additional stability to the SLR Alpha-series camera body.

The bulk of the objective is in relation, but it offers several noticeable advantages:

1. The lens length does not change when you zoom
2. The front lens does not rotate when zooming or focusing (since you need very fine polarizers on such a wide-angle, it’s better that way)
3. the focus and zoom rings are wide, well located and easy to reach
4. The AF-lock button on the side is well located
5. The depth-of-field window is large and quite readable

Now, if you start playing with the lens, as I did on a Sony Alpha 700, the operation is very smooth. Obviously, the presence of the SSM motor is helping a lot and AF operation is nearly totally silent, while very fast.

Now, I could not yet evaluate the image quality (the lens is announced as having a high IQ), and I will provide some more info when I will be able to play with it (probably during my trip to Nepal next week).

Major update to the photo SLR camera database: More than 30 new tests and reviews, in English, in French, for nearly all the photo cameras listed here.

All in all, you will find several hundred SLR camera tests, feature lists, prices and the special offers from our preferred partners.

Kudos to OK1000 Pentax Blog for their actual review of the new Pentax K-7. Short, but apparently not only a rewriting of the Pentax Press Release.

Canon lenses, which one is best?

It is often difficult but manageable to group lens reviews in order to compare/evaluate a little more than their mere physical characteristics (focal length, aperture/diaphragm, or even number of individual lenses). But how would you evaluate/review optical quality? When I see the difference really impressive between two lenses, I would be prepared to judge from their price, but a cheap wide-angle lens is not always worse than a slightly more expensive one (well… if the price difference is really large, it’s not only an accident and quality explains a lot).

So, where to?

I collected a few web sites appearing quite able to provide this kind of quality reviews/comparisons/evaluations/tests.

From here, I invite you to an orgy of lens reviews, lens tests, lens comparisons, lens evaluations. And remember to shoot some photos, too. It’s not only the lens which does the photo. Some are shot by telephones, if the photographer is an artist.