Review: Canon Rebel T2i/ 550D Digital SLR

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Compact, quick and able to shoot 18 Megapixel stills or HD video, Canon's top level Rebel has made some early impressions. We've had the camera for about a week and have enjoyed putting it through its paces. Is it really a mini 7D? Not quite, but its an extremely versatile performer that makes taking pictures and video fun.

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Nikon Coolpix S210 - Review

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla At a friend's recent birthday party, which took place in a darkly lit dance club/bar, we decided to take photos of the event and of all the guests as a gift for the celebrant. We thought long and hard about bringing a digital SLR and decided that even Nikon's diminutive D40 would be a bit clunky to maneuver in tight spaces. The thing is, we only needed snapshots but we wanted them to look good - we've been testing the Nikon CoolPix S210 for some time, liked its size and decided to give it a chance. We weren't disappointed. More after the break. In situations like indoor parties in busy locations, the last thing you want to be doing is fiddling with a camera while you miss out on all the action. A good point and shoot that can figure our the conditions, grab the best photos and not produce too many duds is ideal. It is even better if the said camera has built in stabilization, which the Coolpix S210 has as well. We chose the party setting on the camera, enabled the VR image stabilization and had face recognition enabled. The best thing about this palm sized camera is that it is easy enough to use that you can pass it to anyone and just tell them to point and shoot and the camera does everything else. It isn't the fastest camera though, with one to two seconds time between shots depending on the image size. Slim Achiever The CoolPix S210 is an 8 megapixel point and shoot that is one of Nikon's smallest and lightest. In your pocket, it feels like it is barely there. Controls are reasonably easy and while it lacks a viewfinder, the bright 2.5 inch LCD more than compensates for this. Slim and small, the S210 is a bit tricky to hold if you have large hands. Do use the included strap to make sure the camera is secure when it slips from your fingers. The small size, smooth Aluminium body and rounded edges make it a bit tricky to hold. Still, its small size is less intrusive and less "official" looking than a DSLR which could just scare away people since who wouldn't mind posing for a snapshot from a smaller camera. For the party situation, we decided to use flash after our experience of having messy blurred shots. Between a small camera that's held unsteady, low light and moving subjects its difficult to ensure you get a clear picture. With the S210's party mode setting, the flash helped freeze the subject's movement and even better! Zero red eye! The movement and feel of the party was well captured and in the end, the celebrant was happy to have the photos to remember the event. Conclusion The Nikon S210 performed pretty flawlessly for a point and shoot. Response time could have been a lot faster but, for the S210's price ($149 at Aden Camera Downtown ) We liked the end results and the ease of use. There were a few blurred shots but we credit that to photographer error and misfiring the camera in a dark, crowded room full of dancing people.

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Nikon D60 – Prosumer and Pro Fun - Review

Nikon has been very busy these past two years securing their foothold in the consumer and prosumer DSLR market. Its popular D40 line of cameras introduced DSLR photography to legions of non-professionals and made it easy for them to take amazing photographs. More after the jump. As a replacement to the famed D40 line, the D60 offers all the benefits of the Nikon system but adds a number of fun features to make photography less technical and much more enjoyable. Nikon’s focus for this segment of the DSLR market is on creativity rather than technical expertise and we believe this will attract even more users to the D60. Rocking a 10.2 Megapixel resolution, a new lens, an innovative dual dust reduction system and enhanced performance features like an orientation sensor for horizontal/vertical shooting, the D60 is well on its way to being the new crowd favorite. Nikon listened to its users and made a list of features and improvements that went into the D60. While the camera body of the D60 is very similar past models, the included lens seems a bit bigger. This is because the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G lens now comes with vibration reduction technology that ensures fewer blurred photos and missed opportunities. There is also an eye sensor that saves the batter while the LCD turns on or off when it senses the proximity of the users eye. Fun features abound in the D60 and include a number of photo color and effect filters that simulate the more expensive screw-on versions and a stop-motion movie mode that stitches 100 JPEGs into short movies for an interesting time-lapse effect. The D60 utilizes Nikon’s aptly named EXPEED technology to maximize image quality and processing speed. The camera also offers creative features that are designed to allow the optimization and adjustment of images without the need for a computer. Image optimization is achieved through functions like Active D-Lighting (which compensates for strong shadows), and the automatic correction of false eye color when using the built-in flash. With its software, Nikon has essentially removed the tedious process of altering images with programs like Adobe Photoshop and given users the ability to create interesting images on the camera before they even reach a computer. We have used the Nikon D60 and its sibling, the D40 here at The Canadian Reviewer for the past two weeks and love the ease of use, sturdy build quality and the amazing pictures we've been able to take. The D60 is a very capable DSLR which is thoroughly enjoyable to use and is perfect for those who are seriously considering getting into DSLR photography for the first time. The D40 may be simpler but it would be a better choice for a first time DLSR buyer. Black's Photography recently had the D40 body on sale for $329. Canadian - a great bargain for a great camera. Inheriting a lot of the technology found on more expensive DLSRs, the Nikon entry level DSLRs D40 and the D60 offer first time buyers a great package and many easy ways to take amazing pictures while learning the intricacies of DSLR photography.

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