DxOMark’s Sensor Scores State Canon 7D Mk II Looks Antiquated

06. Nov. 2014
/
News
/
No Comments

Today is a sad, sad day for many Canon users. Photo Rumors is reporting that the 7D Mk II’s sensor seems very subpar in comparison to many of the latest DSLRs and APS-C sensors. According to DxOMark the 7D Mk II, which received a modest megapixel bump from the earlier version should have performed amazingly given Canon’s history of innovation. Unfortunately, the sensor here is on par with that of much older cameras. In fact, the sensor from the Nikon D300s outperforms it in some ways.

To put this in perspective, the D300s was one of the first cameras that we reviewed on the site. That was almost five years ago.

More after the jump.

DxOMark: Sony A77 Mk II Sensor Almost On Par Nikon D7100

27. May. 2014
/
News
/
No Comments

When Sony’s A77 was released, ti was very highly regarded by many photographers. So when Sony announced their A77 Mk II, the world knew that they had to find a way to outdo not only that camera but lots of the other flagship APS-C competition. DxOMark announced the results of their sensor lab tests today, and apparently it’s slightly worse than the Nikon D7100 and above the Pentax K3. From the results, it has the worst ISO performance of the three–which makes us believe that it is a very similar if not the same sensor in the new A6000 mirrorless camera (review here).

Nikon seems to be leading the pack though with only slightly worse color depth than the other two.

All three cameras have 1.5x crop APS-C sensors and of course this test only shows the sensor performance. The K3 and D7100 are both very hefty tanks of cameras. In fact, we ran the K3 under water and it survived.

For more, you can check out our Pentax K3 and Nikon D7100 reviews. We have only had first impressions with the A77 Mk II so far though, and when we’ve completed the review a four way comparison will be done.

The Phoblographer’s Top Ten Stories of 2013

04. Dec. 2013
/
Features
/
No Comments

Wow, is it December already? Another year went by so quickly, it’s almost unreal. In retrospective, 2013 was a great year for The Phoblographer. We saw a couple of great new additions to our staff, while unfortunately we had to let go of others. But first and foremost, we saw our visitor numbers on the site as well as our facebook following grow exponentially, and for that we’re super thankful to you, our readers. Because without you, this site wouldn’t be what it is. And without you, what we do here at The Phoblographer wouldn’t have any meaning. So let’s take a look back at our ten most popular posts of 2013, which were in part responsible for our great visitor numbers this year. And if you haven’t already read them all, then we recommend you grab a cup of coffe, lean back, and enjoy!

Nikon Patents an Electronically Controlled Lowpass (‘AA’) Filter

28. Aug. 2013
/
News
/
No Comments

Now this is interesting! According to a report by Nikon Rumors, Nikon has filed a patent for an electronically controlled lowpass (‘AA’, ‘anti-aliasing’) filter. The lowpass filter’s job is to slightly soften the image that the sensor records, in order to prevent the so-called ‘aliasing’ (or ‘moiré’) artifacts that occur when the optical resolution of the incoming image is higher than the physical resolution of the sensor. While moiré is reduced thanks to a lowpass filter, resolution is as well, which is why camera companies have recently begun to introduce alternative versions of their high-end cameras without a lowpass filter. Cameras that come without such a filter are, for example, the Nikon D800E and D7100, the Pentax K-5 IIs, and the Sony RX1R. This new technology would allow the user to switch the lowpass filter on or off, depending on the situation.

Unfortunately, since the details of the new technology are all in Japanese, we are unable to figure out how exactly it works. Nonetheless, the idea is neat, and we’re curious whether it will be implemented in future Nikon camera models. You can find the full patent description over at Egami.

New Nikon D7100 Firmware Update Adds Performance Improvements for Video

25. Jun. 2013
/
News
/
No Comments

The Nikon D7100 won our Editor’s Choice Award for Mid Level APS-C DSLR. And today, the company is announcing a brand new firmware update for the camera. One of the most notable changes is an improvement to how the virtual horizon works in the viewfinder. Another one is that you’ll finally get a proper exposure preview in video mode when recording 1080 24p video. Unfortunately, that isn’t the fix that most of you want. Nikon’s D7100 still can’t change the aperture of autofocus lenses when in video mode. But if you’re going to do professional work, then you’re probably going for a lens with T-stops, like the cinema primes from Rokinon.

If you’re still looking to make the plunge, you can spring from the Nikon D7100 from Amazon after checking out our review. More details on the firmware update and download links are after the jump.

With These Underwater Cases for the Nikon D7100 and D600, You Can Be James Cameron, Too

21. Jun. 2013
/
News
/
No Comments

Wouldn’t that be awesome if you could bring your D7100 to your next scuba diving trip, to take some high-definition footage of that ship wreck you discovered last summer? Well, you can! Aquatica of Canada has released underwater cases for the D7100 and D600, which complement their already extensive series of cases for Nikon cameras. The Aquatica underwater cases are made of solid aluminum and stainless steel, and offer access to all the dials and buttons that you need under water. Heck, you can even use a flash with these! Aquatica’s cases are rated for depths of up to 300 ft (90 m), and have an integrated moisture detector on the inside for added safety. All that comes at a price, though, and so these cases sell for almost $ 3k. But hey, if you’re going to produce the next deep-sea exploration blockbuster, that case will be the least of your expenses …

Via ePhotoZine

Review: Nikon D7100

16. Apr. 2013
/
Cameras
/
1 Comment

The Nikon D7100 is the company’s newest flagship DSLR for their APS-C line of interchangeable lens digital cameras. We’ve tested it out quite a bit so far often posting night photos, golden hour samples, and our own first impressions. This is a very powerful camera that we’re straight off the bat not recommending for the beginner, and the camera is almost a perfect APS-C DSRL. However, there is one big nagging problem that we can’t get over–but if you can, then you’ll fall madly in love with the Nikon D7100.

The Nikon D7100 Won’t Let You Change Your Aperture in Video Mode

01. Apr. 2013
/
News
/
No Comments

Editor’s Note: This is NOT an April Fool’s Joke!!!

We’ve been playing with the Nikon D7100 for a couple of weeks now and we’ve been loving it ever since. But today, we encountered quite an annoying problem. When you switch the camera into video mode and then set it to Live View, you cannot change the aperture. As you’ll see in the video below, we set the camera to manual and we were able to change the shutter speed and ISO with no issues at all. But when it came to the f-stop–we were fresh out of luck.

Granted, if you’re going to shoot seriously, we’d recommend something else like Zeiss cinema primes or Rokinon cinema glass with T-stops instead. But many people will probably also try to use their Nikon G glass. And in a case like that, you can’t change the aperture at all. Hopefully the company will offer a firmware update of some sort to fix the issue.

Take a look at the video after the jump. But if you want to catch up on our Nikon D7100 coverage, check out our first impressions, high iso test, and images we shot during the golden hour.

Even More Nikon D7100 Image Samples: Golden Hour Special

20. Mar. 2013
/
Cameras
/
No Comments

I went out tonight into Greenpoint (you know, where that show Girls is shot) and photographed near the new park at the Golden Hour with the Nikon D7100 and the 50mm f1.8 G. I’m really starting to like it more–the focus is snappy (but sometimes not accurate) and the color rendering is really great. But a part of me is still yearning for a full frame sensor and all that it can do.

But be sure to check out our High ISO samples and first impressions. Once again, these are JPEGs resized for the web because the raw files aren’t supported in Lightroom yet.

This post is sponsored by Adorama as they have loaned us the unit for this review. You can purchase the Nikon D7100 body only or with kit lens directly from them.

Want More Nikon D7100 Night Photos? Here You Go!

19. Mar. 2013
/
Cameras
/
No Comments

The other night, we gave you all our first impressions of the Nikon D7100. Tonight, I went out with the new 50mm f1.8 G attached to the camera and shot around my neighborhood. Here are the images. These are JPEG out of the camera and then resized for the web to be just under 2MB–which is not anything larger than what you might upload to Facebook. And if you are, then you’re probably the reason why their servers need complicated cooling systems 😉

Take a look after the jump. All of the EXIF data is in tact and the settings are in the filenames–and yes there are high ISO samples. Noise reduction is set to normal and once again, Lightroom does not support the RAW files for this camera at the time of publishing this post.

This post is sponsored by Adorama as they have loaned us the unit for this review. You can purchase the Nikon D7100 body only or with kit lens directly from them. Also be sure to see our photos shot during the Golden Hour.

First Impressions: Nikon D7100

18. Mar. 2013
/
Cameras
/
No Comments

Nikon recently announced their D7100 DSLR–and they have also clearly stated that this camera is now the flagship APS-C DSLR in their lineup. It’s predecessor, the D7000 and in some ways the D300s, were met very well by photographers of all likes. They were extremely powerful cameras–especially the former as no one could keep it on their shelves for a while. But the D7100 enjoys some major upgrades such as an APS-C sized sensor with 24.1MP and weather sealing.

I’ve been playing with this camera for less an than hour as it just got in the door. But the good news is that I took it out into NYC’s snow already and have JPG samples.

Editor’s Note: more image samples here plus images shot during the Golden Hour.

UPDATED!!! Nikon D7100 Available for Pre-Order

21. Feb. 2013
/
Cheap Photo
/
No Comments

We dugg through Google and a couple of websites and here’s what we’ve found:

Adorama

Nikon D7100 (Body only): $1,196.95

Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm lens: $1,596.95

WR-1: $549.95

Amazon

WR-1: $642.95

Nikon D7100 with 18-105mm: $1,596.95

D7100 body only: $1,196.95

B&H Photo

D7100 Body only: $1,199

D7100 with 18-105mm: $1,599

Nikon Names the D7100 As the New DX Format Flagship Camera

20. Feb. 2013
/
News
/
No Comments

When Nikon announced the D7000, people were floored by what it could achieve and what they got for the price point. Indeed, it became an extremely hot seller. Today, the company is finally giving it an upgrade in the form of the D7100. They’re calling it the new flagship of Nikon’s DX-format HD-SLR lineup. Amongst the features: a 24.1MP APS-C CMOS sensor, 6 fps shooting, compatibility with the WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter, full HD 1080p videos, slow motion video and timelapse mode.

More specs after the jump.