full-frame

Between Canon and Nikon's inexpensive full-frame bodies and Sony's full-frame press of a compact, pro body and camcorder, there are going to be a lot of photographers and videographers lining up to sit on Santa's lap this holiday season.

But if you prefer something smaller, there's plenty of that for you, too, in the form of new enthusiast compact cameras from almost every manufacturer and updates to interchangeable-lens models. Plus Panasonic gave its video-friendly GH2 a complete overhaul for the GH3.

Here's a guide to our complete Photokina coverage. Just because.… Read more

Leica's known for putting out limited editions of its cameras drafted by high-profile designers or for luxury retailers -- Hermes, Audi, and Neiman Marcus versions come to mind -- but the company's entering new fanboy territory by enlisting the creator of Apple's current signature looks, Sir Jony Ive, to create a single limited edition of the new Leica M.

The camera will go up for charity auction in collaboration with U2's Bono.… Read more

Photokina hasn't even started yet and I'm ready to declare it Full-Frame Fest based on what Sony's unveiled today and what I know is coming. Sony alone is rolling out three full-frame devices aimed at a variety of different types of photographers, albeit all of them professionals.

Sony may be first to market with a compact full-frame camera, but at a price of almost $2,800, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 is cruelly out of reach for a lot of the enthusiasts who will stare longingly at it online only to settle for an RX100. Is it even fair … Read more

Our chums over at CNET Australia have an early in-depth review of the $5,995 Nikon D4, a powerhouse full-frame dSLR with a 16.2-megapixel sensor and boisterous ISO speed of 204,800.

"The Nikon D4 offers many significant improvements from previous professional-grade SLRs, such as the D3S, as well as excellent shooting performance, autofocusing speed and video recording," writes CNET Australia reviewer Lexy Savvides. "This is a serious pro tool designed for the likes of sports and editorial photographers, and its many usability tweaks will ensure that every shooting situation is catered for."

The review goes into the important changes in the Nikon D4's design, connectivity, performance, image quality, and video implementation. Also, be sure to check out CNET Australia's Nikon D4 review video, unboxing, image samples, and video samples.

Read more of CNET Australia's Nikon D4 review here.… Read more

German camera manufacturer Leica today announced a limited-edition white M9-P digital camera -- quite limited, actually; only 50 will be available. The special release coincides with the recent launch of the Leica Daimaru camera store in Tokyo.

The 18.5-megapixel Leica M9-P full-frame digital camera features an astounding feature set that normally commands a retail price around $7,995. However, this limited-edition run carries a much heftier price of 2,620,000 Japanese yen, which translates to an astounding $31,792. … Read more

A notice from Nikon Japan today indicates troubling times for those aiming to purchase the upcoming D800 dSLR.

Due for release Thursday, the highly anticipated 36.3-megapixel full-frame D800 features a dizzying array of features, and up to 1080/30p video recording.

With reservations and demand "far above expectations," the company said in a statement that it is facing D800 supply shortages until further notice.… Read more

Because of its lack of video capabilities and its relatively low resolution, the Nikon D700 never attained the level of buzz the Canon EOS 5D Mark II did, despite being an excellent camera. With the D800, Nikon looks poised to catch up to, if not overtake, Canon in the hearts and minds of full-frame devotees.

With all the information about the D800 having leaked in advance, it's easy to tell what's been most attention-grabbing: the high-resolution sensor and the D800E sibling model, which incorporates a modified low-pass filter system that results in little to no antialiasing. There's no doubt that the combination should appeal to professionals like studio and wedding photographers.

However it's notable that the sensor's pixel size is 4.88 x 4.88 microns (compared to 6.4 x 6.4 for the 5DM2) and hits a comparatively low maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600. That said, cameras for this target market don't need the really high, gain-pushing ISO sensitivities of more action-oriented models; they need the highest clean setting. And Nikon has a history of clean high ISO images for its pro models. But even if the D800 manages impressive video, I suspect that the D800E will be less video friendly--aliasing can be a real problem in video and it's much harder to correct in post-production, so you need that low-pass filter. Medium-format cameras and AA-filter-free models like the Fujifilm X100 usually don't support video or don't produce professional-quality results.

Here's how the current full-frame landscape looks for Nikon's product line and the competitive Canon:… Read more

It looks like Nikon's highly anticipated D800, a large-sensor SLR that supplants the three-year-old D700, will cater to photographers who want to leave behind that mixed blessing of digital photography, the antialiasing filter.

The job of that filter is to remove moire artifacts--wavy lines and other visual distractions that can occur when an image sensor's grid of pixels captures an image with repeating elements such as fabric patterns. The antialiasing filter works by slightly blurring the image, which is convenient when moire is a problem but which degrades sharpness in the many situations where it's not. … Read more

With all the hullabaloo lately over medium-sensor compact cameras and ILCs, some photographers would have been justified despairing over the dearth of news about full-frame (35mm-sized sensor) cameras. Well, despair no more. The rumors have started to flow surrounding a new 36-megapixel full-frame sensor from Sony that's slated to appear in a new Sony SLT-series camera in 2012 and a Nikon D800 before year's end.

As far as I can tell, few details are available about the sensor, but Nikon Rumors has some not-so-crazy speculative specs, including 4fps burst shooting, 1080/30p video, larger LCD, and triple card slots. SonyAlpha Rumors says that the long-rumored A99 will incorporate the sensor, replacing the dSLR A900 with a fixed mirror model. That means waving good bye to the stunning optical viewfinder of the A900, albeit replacing it with a more video-friendly model.

While I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sony and Nikon do with the new sensor, I'm not looking forward to the inevitable posts about how this spells the death of the medium format, just because the resolutions overlap. That said, the bigger format may take a hit from people who buy it just to produce the big pictures.… Read more