The new Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 PRO FX is the first in a new generation of lenses designed for professional digital SLR cameras with full-frame (FX) image sensors.

Ideal for landscape or architectural photography, the PRO FX offers a super-wide-angle view and features a newly-developed silent DC motor that allows the lens to focus faster and more quietly. Fitted with a new GMR magnetic AF sensor, the lens offers an increased AF speed and has three SD super-low dispersion glass elements throughout its optical design.

It also features Tokina’s exclusive one-touch focus clutch mechanism which allows the photographer to switch between AF and MF simply by snapping the focus ring forward for auto focus and back toward the camera for manual focus.

The Tokina 16-28mm PRO FX is available with either Canon or Nikon fit and is on sale now with a price of $849.00.

Most DSLRs today sport live view features, as we all know, but being able to remotely watch a scene and control your DSLR is another story, isn’t it?

The Aputure Gigtube is a plug-in, external LCD display and camera controller for digital SLR cameras. It works with all the major digital SLRs (except Sony) and provides a live feed via the camera’s LiveView function. If LiveView isn’t available on the camera, the Gigtube will still display the photo that has just been taken so you can review it. The Gigtube’s screen is a 2.5″, 230 kpixel 16 million colour unit and it connects to the camera via it’s video out port and USB control port.

It comes with a 2m extension cable or you can attach it to the camera via the flash hot-shoe. The display rotates 270° and it has a built-in rechargeable battery that will last about 3 hours on a full charge.

Compatible with any camera with a video output, the Aputure Gigtube screen can automatically display an image immediately after shooting it, or can stream the video feed from live view. Moreover, the LCD screen is rotatable for different angle view and this gadget offers the remote shutter release function.

How can you use it? How is the Aputure Gigtube going to come in handy to the pro-am photographer?
Check some examples.

Self-portraits viewfinder
Aputure Gigtube can automatically transfer the live view mode of the camera (if the camera supports) on the LCD screen so you make a shooting toward your side to freely take photos of you and with your friend or family, just like you shoot other object, easily.

High-angle (position) viewfinder
When shooting an object in high position that not easily accessible or overlooking to shoot and more such situations, the Aputure Gigtube can make its powerful effect by its live view and instant photo display function and off-camera remote shutter release function.

Off-camera remote shutter release
When shooting an object in high position that not easily accessible or overlooking to shoot and more such situations, the Aputure Gigtube can make its powerful effect by its live view and instant photo display function and off-camera remote shutter release function.

Low-angle (position) viewfinder
Aputure Gigtube is usefully in the situations where the camera is positioned in a way that makes viewing the camera’s screen difficult or impossible. There is a hot shoe mount for making above-the-head and low-angle shooting easier.

There are different models of the Aputure Gigtube for each camera manufacturer
specifically for Nikon (D700 /D300 /D300s/D3/D3x/D200/D2Xs/D2Hs/D2x/D2H Cameras) or Canon (EOS 5D/50D/40D/30D/20D/1D Mark III/1Ds Mark III Cameras) among others.

The good news is that now they are available with some interesting discount (up to 37%) at around US 189.95!

The Pentax K-7 is the new jewel in the company’s crown, with a long list of specs well beyond any previous Pentax DSLR. Existing Pentax users will be pleased to finally see a much-wanted pro-level upgrade, whereas those familiar with other manufacturers’ systems may also be drawn in thanks to an all-encompassing features list.

The Pentax K-7 has been built from the ground up by Pentax and, unlike the K20D and K10D which had Samsung GX20 and GX10 equivalents, is a standalone venture. The build quality is a key sell; ruggedly made, but following Pentax’s ultimately ‘classic’ design, the body is made from a magnesium alloy that’s both dust and weather-sealed at 77 points. Shooting in sand, getting splashed with rain or other treacherous conditions need not be a bother and, despite this upgrade, the whole camera is even marginally smaller and lighter than the previous K20D. The featured 18-55mm kit lens follows suit, as does the optional D-BG4 battery grip (which offers both AA and li-ion battery options) to complete a fully weather-and-dust-sealed unit in its entirety.

A high-resolution 14.6MP CMOS sensor is at the heart of the K-7’s body, which whilst not a step up over the K20D in terms of resolution, does double the number of output channels. The result? More information can speed through the K-7’s buffer for faster continuous shooting than ever before – a firm 5.2 frames per second sees the K20D’s 3fps barrier officially trounced; ideal for those looking to shoot sports or action photography.

Unlike its key competitors – namely the Nikon D300 and Canon 50D – the Pentax K-7, like many Pentax DSLRs before it, incorporates Shake Reduction (SR) into the camera body itself. Crucially this means even old K-mount bayonet-fit lenses can benefit from this function, and new lenses will not cost as much as their (hypothetical) stabilised counterparts.

A notable – and very much ‘flavour of 2009’ – feature is the inclusion of a 720p HD movie mode, plus the inclusion of a superior 1536×1024 capture that can be output at 1080i, though this is not ‘Full HD’ capture. Mono sound is recorded from the camera’s body, or there is the option to use the 3.5mm jack socket to plug in a microphone and record in stereo. Aperture can be set as fixed via the camera body for recording or there’s an automatic variable aperture mode, which adjusts the aperture according to the amount of light available throughout recording. Whilst in-camera shake reduction can also be used to full effect, it is not possible to autofocus whilst recording – though it is entirely plausible this will be possible in the future, if the clever bods at Pentax fix up the necessary firmware.

In keeping up with the competition, the Pentax K-7 adorns a 920,000 dot high resolution 3in LCD screen. Whilst it’s not a tilt and swivel screen as seem to be creeping into a number of camera bodies of late, it does auto-rotate images on the screen itself and, in keeping with orientation, has a virtual horizon level too – a really nice touch when in live view mode.

With customisable white balance settings, a shutter speed up to 1/8000th second, 77 segment metering system, the new SAFOX VIII+ 11-point AF system with AF illuminator lamp, in-camera HDR, and D-Range shadow and highlight adjustment options, the features list is certainly bulging. The K-7’s viewfinder has the much-sought after 100% field of view too, ensuring what you see is exactly what you’ll capture.

Now it’s your choice: which bargain are you going to take?
It’s either a Pentax K-7 with DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Weather Resistant Lens bundle priced at US $1,104.99 (saving up to 47% over regular price, that’s $979.11!) or the body-only Pentax K-7 priced at $979.00 that’s $320.95 (-25%)!

Canon updated the mid-range section of the DSLR cameras with the new Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D.
Building on the popularity of the EOS 500D, the EOS 550D is designed to give you more access to video as well as Eye-Fi compatibility. Priced at US $ 899.99 with the standard 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, the EOS 550D will be available from the 24th February onwards.

There are a few basic upgrades on the Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D. Notably is the ISO sensitivity top limit being raised to ISO6400 although you can still expand that to ISO12800 if you wish. An interesting point on this is that you can now cap the highest ISO point while in AutoISO, so it won’t use ultra high settings to get a decent shutter speed.

The new screen resolution should help with the new video functions of the Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D. It has a Full HD recording facility of 1080p with manual control as well as selectable frame rates. You can choose from 30, 25 and 24fps at full HD quality while pushing it up to 60 or 50fps will reduce the quality to 720p. Alternatively, putting the camera in program mode means you don’t have to worry about it. There’s also a Movie Crop function that reduces the resolution to a 640×480 area but means you get a magnification of 7x the focal length of the lens.

The metering system now matches the one found on the popular Canon EOS 7D using the new iFCL metering with 63-zone dual-layer sensor. IFCL stands for intelligent Focus, Colour and Luminance metering and it’s this information that the new system uses to meter with. It works in conjunction with the focus points to determine the distance from relative subjects and weights the exposure according to the algorithm results.

Order now, the Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D is priced at $799.99.

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 is a long-zoom digital camera featuring a backside illuminated CMOS image sensor.

I must admit I’m a long time Fuji Finepix fan: I’m still in love with my S9600 bridge camera, which is two generation behind this Fujifilm FinePix HS10!

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 is based around a 10.3 effective megapixel,1/2.3-inch back-side illuminated CMOS image sensor coupled to a Fujinon-branded 30x optical zoom lens. Maximum image resolution is 3,648 x 2,736 pixels in the camera’s native 4:3 aspect ratio, and both 3:2 and 16:9 aspect ratio modes are also available. The HS10’s lens offers actual focal lengths ranging from 4.2 to 126.0mm, equivalent to 24 to 720mm on a 35mm camera - a generous wide angle to a powerful telephoto. The Fuji HS10 has a two-step aperture, offering either F2.8 or F11.0 at wide angle, and either F5.6 or F11 at telephoto. Minimum focusing distance is ordinarily 1.6 feet at wide angle or 16.4 feet at telephoto, but drops to just 0.3 feet in Macro mode at wide angle, or 6.5 feet at telephoto. A Super Macro mode locks the lens at an unspecified focal length, but allows focusing as close as 0.4 inches

There’s no true optical viewfinder on this model, but as you’ expect on a long-zoom digicam like this, there’s a 0.2-inch, 200,000 dot FLCD electronic viewfinder which takes its place. There’s also a 3.0-inch tilting LCD display with 230,000 dot resolution. Both EVF and LCD provides 97% frame coverage. The HS10 also includes a sensor that detects when the user brings their eye towards or away from the viewfinder, then automatically switches between the EVF and LCD as appropriate!

The sensor in the Fujifilm FinePix HS10 yields an effective resolution of 10.3 megapixels, and sits behind a Fujinon-branded 30x optical zoom lens with a generous 24mm wide angle. The Fujifilm HS10 includes both an electronic viewfinder and a 3.0-inch LCD panel. Images are stored on SD or SDHC cards, or in 45MB of built in memory.

Again, as the old S9600, power for the Fuji HS10comes courtesy of four AA batteries, with alkaline disposables included in the product bundle!
This means that you’ll never run out of power thanks to wide availability of AA batteries worldwide!

The Fujifilm FinePix HS10 offers USB 2.0 High Speed data connectivity, as well as both high-definition Mini HDMI and standard-definition NTSC / PAL composite video outputs.

Pre-order the Fujifilm FinePix HS10now for US $499.95 and get free shipping too!

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is the lastest member of the Micro Four Thirds family. But before Micro Four Thirds, there was Four Thirds. With Olympus having produced relatively small film SLRs since at least the early 1970s, it was probably no surprise that they would partner with Kodak to introduce the Four Thirds System standard (with its sub APS-C sized sensor) as they prepared to move into the digital age. The smaller sensor helped the company produce diminutive DSLRs that carried on the Olympus tradition.

Sensor resolution is 12.1 megapixels and there are full manual and auto controls, plus a palette of user-established settings that rival DSLRs in number and scope. You can shoot in RAW if you choose, or RAW/JPEG combinations, and there’s 1280×720 HD video in AVCHD Lite (which is more memory efficient than Motion JPEG) or Motion JPEG formats.

The GF1 is undoubtedly smaller than its big brothers, the G1 and GH1, but it’s not quite as tiny as Panasonic might lead you to believe. Measuring 119 x 71 x 36.3mm and weighing 285g without a lens attached, it’s just a little smaller and 50g lighter than the very similar Olympus E-P1 camera. Instead of a traditional DSLR hand-grip, the DMC-GF1 has a slightly raised vertical area on the front-right which isn’t big or pronounced enough to be of much assistance. The rubberized thumb-rest on the rear is a lot more useful.

Because of space considerations inherent in the Micro Four Thirds System, a 3.0 inch LCD monitor operating in Live View is the only means of image composition and framing for capture.

If you don’t want to use the LCD screen for composition, an optional electronic external viewfinder is also available, the Panasonic DMW-LVF1 (priced at $199.95), which slots into the external flash hotshoe on top of the camera. The GF1 can record 1280 x 720 high-definition video in the AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG formats, and it can focus in just 0.3 seconds via its contrast auto-focusing system.

The camera uses SD/SDHC memory media, and Panasonic includes a battery charger/AC adapter, battery pack, body cap, AV cable, USB connection cable, AC cable, DC cable, shoulder strap and CD-ROM software with each camera.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is available in four colours, black, red, silver and white, either body only (£570) or in two different kits, one with the new LUMIX G 20mm/F1.7 ASPH pancake lens, and the other with the existing 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. zoom lens: starting from US $ 866,95!

The Nikon D3000 is an entry-level DSLR, but don’t let the term fool you. When you place the label “Entry Level” on a camera, it might call to mind a camera with no frills, limited uses, and little more to offer than an automatic shooting experience.

This has been disproved by the latest crop of cameras released in the past two years, and the D3000 continues to set the bar high for an entry-level camera.

This new generation of point-and-shoots and entry-level DSLRs not only push the boundary of low-light performance and mega resolutions, they give that power to a whole new audience of beginning photographers.

Not only do DSLRs offer you manual control over shooting, they give you the advantage of using different kinds of lenses. It’s important to remember when buying a DSLR that you’re also buying into a system of lenses, not just a camera. The power of having a DSLR is that you can place any of your old lenses onto a new camera body in the future.

Enter the Nikon D3000, a new entry-level DSLR with a 10.2 megapixel DX-format CCD APS-C image sensor, 11-point Autofocus system with 3D tracking (which comes on the higher-end D5000 and D90), Active D-Lighting and an AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens for $599.

The Nikon D3000 feels and looks exactly like the other DSLRs from Nikon, and is only different from the D90 and D5000, both higher-end models, by a few tenths of an inch. The D3000 measures 5.0×3.8×2.6 inches while the D90 is 5.2×4.1×3.0 inches, though the D3000 weighs a bit less at 1 lb 1 oz, making the Nikon entry-level to prosumer DSLR models almost identical in shape and size as well as overall appearance.

First time DSLR users will enjoy the Guide Mode. It literally walked us through different shoot scenarios via the fixed 3″ LCD screen. An excellent tool, its step by step instructions allowed my niece to move from the operating booklet in no time.

The Nikon D3000 is paired with a Nikkor 18-55mm AF-S DX lens. It will operate with any Nikkor DX and AF-S lens.

Nikon makes it really simple with a thumb dial for tweaking aperture and shutter speed. Metering, focus modes, and exposure compensation are easily controlled via the menu. The D3000 does not shoot in video mode. This model easily shoots over three frames per second in continuous mode. The 3D tracking sensor operates quite well in low lighting.

Get the full Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens bundle for US $458.86 (You Save: $91.09 and that’s 17%!) now and enjoy a limited-time free-shipping!

Even though the Nikon D3000 is really simple to use, do you really want some great advice on using it?
Get the Nikon D3000 For Dummies!

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