Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 digital camera announced
Bottom of the range H3 camera touts a big zoom and image stabilisation.
(by Mike Slocombe for Digital Lifestyles, 22nd August 2007)

Mad for it photographers will be looking to put their grannies on eBay come October when Canon's high end EOS-1DS Mark III full-frame digital SLR hits UK stores.

With a sensor capable of producing files that convert to uncompressed 16-bit TIFFs over 100MB in size, this camera doesn't just raise the bar for photo professionals - it gives it an almighty boot skywards.

Driven by two Digic III processors and utilising a newly-developed 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor, the new Canon is a drool-worthy monster of a camera, capable of capturing 12 RAW photos (or 56 Large JPEGs) in continuous mode at 5fps.

The chunky bruiser of a snapper sports 63-zone exposure metering, the EOS Integrated Cleaning System and a large 230k 3in LCD with Live View mode (we like that).

The Live View mode displays a real-time image on the LCD - just like a regular digital compact - with studio photographers able to plug the camera into their laptops and use the Live View software to adjust settings and grab the shot from the comfort of their PCs.

In line with its professional billing, the auto focus system packs 19 cross-type sensors with sensitivity up to f/2.8, backed by an additional 26 AF assist points to help with AF tracking accuracy.

A handy new dedicated ISO button comes with a permanent status display on the camera's LCD, and there's also 57 custom functions - including preset and user-definable picture styles - to ensure the camera is set up just so for photographers.

The EOS-1DS Mark III supports GPS tagging, enabling location information to be embedded with each picture when the camera is used with a suitable GPS device. There's also built in wireless too, so photos can be beamed to an external storage device or FTP server.

Naturally, all this high end quality comes with a suitably eye watering price tag, with the EOS 1DS Mark III being available in the UK from October for (gulp!) €7,999.




Specifications

Recording Medium
CF Card Type I and II, SD/SDHC Memory Card (1 slot each), and/or External media (USB v.2.0 hard drive, via optional Canon WFT-E2A transmitter), compatible with UDMA-compliant CF cards, and SDHC SD cards
Image Format
1.42 x 0.94 in./36.0 x 24.0mm (full-frame sensor)
Compatible Lenses
Canon EF, TS-E, and MP-E lenses (except EF-S lenses)
Lens Mount
Canon EF mount
Lens Focal Length Conversion Factor*
1.0x

Image Sensor
Full-frame, high-sensitivity, high-resolution, single-plate, CMOS sensor
Pixels
Approx. 21.10 megapixels
Total Pixels
Approx. 21.90 megapixels
Aspect Ratio
3:2 (Horizontal : Vertical)
Color Filter System
RGB primary color filters
Low-pass Filter
Fixed position in front of the CMOS sensor


Recording Format
DCF 2.0 (Exif 2.21): JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG simultaneous recording possible. Multiple options for recording images on two memory cards, and onto compatible external USB hard drives (via optional Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2A)
Image Format
JPEG, JPEG+RAW, RAW (Canon CR2)
File Size
JPEG/Large: Approx. (TBA) MB (5,616 x 3,744)
JPEG/Medium 1: Approx. (TBA) MB (4,992 x 3,328)
JPEG/Medium 2: Approx. (TBA) MB (4,080 x 2,720)
JPEG/Small: Approx. (TBA) MB (2,784 x 1,856)
RAW: Approx. (TBA) MB (5,616 x 3,744)
sRAW: Approx. (TBA) MB (2,784 x 1,856)

Color Space
Selectable between sRGB and Adobe RGB
Interface
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, mini-B port. NTSC/PAL for video output

White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, five Custom WB settings (1-5), user-set Color Temperature (2,500~10,000K), five Personal White Balance PC-1 to PC-5
Auto White Balance
Auto white balance, taken from imaging sensor
Personal White Balance
White balance bracketing: Three consecutive images, Up to +/- 3 levels in 1-step increments
White balance shift: blue/amber bias and/or magenta/green bias +/- 9 levels; manually set by user

Viewfinder
Eye-level SLR with fixed pentaprism
Coverage
Approx. 100% horizontally and vertically
Magnification
0.76x (-1 dpt with 50mm lens at infinity)
Eyepoint
Approx. 20mm
Dioptric Adjustment Correction
-3.0 to +1.0 diopter
Mirror
Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 37:63)
Viewfinder Information
AF (AF points, focus confirmation light, point selection mode, registration), Exposure (metering mode, spot metering area, shutter speed, aperture, manual exposure, AE lock, ISO speed, exposure level, exposure warning), Flash (flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure level), Image (JPEG recording, RAW recording, shots remaining, maximum burst, white balance correction, memory card information), Battery check
Depth-of-Field Preview
Enabled with depth-of-field preview button; possible in Live View Function
Eyepiece Shutter
Built-in



Autofocus
TTL-AREA-SIR AF-dedicated CMOS sensor
AF Points
45-point (19 high-precision cross-type AF points plus 26 Assist AF points)
AF Working Range
EV -1 ~18 (ISO 100 at 73°F/23°C)
Focusing Modes
Autofocus (One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF), Manual Focus (MF)
AF Point Selection
Automatic selection; Manual selection: 19 AF points, or only inner 9 AF points (C.Fn III-9-1), or outer 9 AF points (C.Fn III-9-2)
Selected AF Point Display
Superimposed in viewfinder and on LCD panel
AF-assist Beam
None. Emitted by EX-series Speedlite or optional ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter

Exposure Control
Metering Modes
63-zone TTL full aperture metering
Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points)
Partial metering (approx. 8.5% of viewfinder)
Spot metering (approx. 2.4% of viewfinder)
Center spot metering
AF point-linked spot metering (C.Fn. I-7-1)
Multi-spot metering (max. 8 spot metering entries)
Center-weighted average metering



Metering Range
EV 0-20 (ISO 100 at 73°F/23°C with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)
Exposure Control Systems
Program AE (shiftable), Shutter speed-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, E-TTL II program AE (Evaluative flash metering, Averaged flash metering), Manual, Bulb
ISO Speed Range
Equivalent to ISO 100-1600* (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments), ISO speed can be expanded to ISO 50 and 3200 (via C.Fn I-3)

* Standard output sensitivity. Recommended exposure index.
Exposure Compensation
Exposure Compensation (user-set): up to +/-3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-half increments
Auto Bracketing (AEB): 3 shots, up to +/- 3 stops, in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments, in all exposure modes. Sequence can be changed via C.Fn I-5
AE Lock
Auto: Applied in One-Shot AF mode with evaluative metering when focus is achieved
Manual (user-set): By AE lock button in all metering modes

Shutter
Vertical-travel, mechanical, focal-plane shutter with all speeds electronically controlled
Shutter Speeds
1/8000 to 30 sec. (1/3-, 1/2- or 1-stop increments), X-sync at 1/250 sec. (with EOS dedicated external Speedlites; 1/250 maximum with other shoe-mount flashes, and 1/60th-1/250th with studio strobes*)

* maximum sync speed with studio strobes will depend upon flash characteristics and connection method; testing is encouraged to verify fastest possible sync speed with specific studio flash equipment
Shutter Release
Soft-touch electromagnetic release
Self-timer
10 sec. delay, 2 sec. delay
Remote Control
Canon N3 type terminal

External Speedlite
EOS External Flash or Dedicated Speedlites
E-TTL II autoflash with all EX Series Speedlites
PC Terminal
Provided; accepts third-party flash units with sync line voltages up to 250V maximum



Drive System
Drive Modes
Single, silent, high-speed continuous (approx. 5 fps), low-speed continuous (approx. 3 fps), 10- or 2-sec. self-timer
Continuous Shooting Speed
Approx. 5 fps (at a shutter speed of 1/(TBA) sec. or faster in all recording modes)
Max. Burst During Continuous Shooting
JPEG: approx. 45 frames
RAW: approx. 15 frames
RAW+JPEG: approx. (TBA) frames (Large/Fine)

LCD Monitor
Type
TFT color, liquid-crystal monitor
Screen Monitor size
3.0 in., diagonal
Pixels
Approx. 230,000 pixels
Coverage
Approx. 100%
Brightness Control
7 levels provided

Playback
Image Display Format
Single image, 4-image index, 9-image index, Jump, AF point, Magnified zoom (approx. 1.5x to 10x), Brightness or RGB Histogram, Auto rotate, Rotate
Live View Function: view image before shooting on LCD monitor; live histogram and live simulation of exposure level possible with C.Fn IV-16-1
Highlight Alert
In the single image display and (INFO) display, over-exposed highlight areas will blink

Image Protection and Erase
Protection
Single image, all images in a folder, or all images in the memory card can be protected or cancel the image protection
Erase
Single image, all images in a folder, all images in the memory card or check-marked images can be erased or unprotected.
Direct Printing from the Camera
Possible with compatible PictBridge-enabled printers
Compatible Printers
CP and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers, PIXMA Photo Printers and PictBridge compatible printers (via USB Interface Cable IFC-200U, included with camera kit)
Settings
Print quantity, style (image, paper size, paper type, printing effects, layout), trimming, tilt correction



New Features
Dust Delete Feature
Via built-in microphone at rear of camera body; activated by pressing recording button on camera. Sound file attached to image file on memory card
Picture Style
WAV
Recording Time
Max. 30 sec. per recording

Menus
Menu Categories
Shooting
Playback
Setup
Custom function/My Menu

LCD Monitor Language
18 (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

Power Source
Battery
One dedicated lithium-ion battery pack LP-E4 AC power can be supplied via the AC Adapter Kit ACK-E4 (included)
Number of Shots
At 73°F/23°C: Approx. (TBA)
At 32°F/0°C: Approx. (TBA)
The above figures apply when a fully-charged Battery Pack LP-E4 is used
Battery Check
Automatic, displayed in six levels. Precise readout of percentage remaining, shots taken since last charge, calibration recommended, and approx. remaining battery life are displayed with Battery Info menu setting.
Power Saving
Provided. Power turns off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 min.
Back-up Battery
One CR2025 lithium battery

Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions (W x H x D)
6.1 x 6.3 x 3.1 in./156 x 159.6 x 79.9mm
Weight
42.5 oz./1,205g

Operating Environment
Operating Temperature Range
32-113°F/0-45°C
Operating Humidity Range
85% or less

Canon