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December 20, 2007
[ THE BEST OF THE YEAR ]
THE SINCEREST FORM OF PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT is purchase, is it not? And that being the case the best place to start a survey of the year’s top products will be with those that are so good that Imaging parted with hard earned money to possess them.
This year we bought two digital SLRs. OK – we know – two is excessive, but we couldn’t resist. It took some explaining to Mrs Imaging, as you might well imagine.
Early in the year we replaced our Nikon D70 with the D80 – a worthwhile upgrade, we felt, for the extra pixels (4 million) and a few added features. 
Then later in the year we were seduced by the new Canon 40D with the 17–85 image stabilised lens. We know, it has the same pixel count as the Nikon, but it has this huge LCD screen and it feels luxurious and it will take pictures by the light of a firefly’s bum. And it has a very big, very bright viewfinder. And so on.
[Canon 40D Sample images here...]It’s been a great year for new DSLRs. Canon and Nikon brought out new professional models. Sony and Panasonic came along late in the year with the A700 and the L10. And then Olympus amazed us with the stunning E3, now the best of the Four Thirds cameras. This photo is from the E3...
[For a larger version click on the picture]
When the dust settled there was one camera that we thought stood out in the crowded market above $2000 and that is the Nikon D300. This is the camera we would buy if we could afford it at $2900 for the body. This camera combines all the desirable features of the D200 with a new 12 megapixel CMOS sensor (the same as the Sony A700 we assume) and a million pixel 7.5cm LCD screen, plus live view and auto dust removal. [Full test and sample images yet to come]
The good news is that at the other end of the scale prices on entry level DSLRs are dropping like stones. Pentax and Nikon have got their prices down to under $800. And a little over $1000 will buy the excellent Pentax K10D or the Olympus E-510.
Our second big purchase of the year was a Dell 60cm (they call it 24 inch) LCD monitor. This brilliant screen is more than true high definition – it has pixel dimensions of 1920 x 1200. (We bought a Compro USB TV tuner for $80 and turned the PC into a high definition television.)
The Dell has overcome our prejudices against LCD monitors and we find it excellent for photo editing. And you should see our high definition slideshows (made with the brilliant Memories on TV Pro ). Our only grumble is that we paid $1200 for it and thought we were getting good value. Last week Dell was advertising it for $600.
In software it was Adobe’s year. As well as confirming their dominance of the image editing business with Photoshop CS3, Adobe also launched their stand alone digital darkroom, called paradoxically, Lightroom. Then last month a new and improved version of Photoshop Elements hit the shops.
The software disappointment of the year has been Windows Vista. It was put on sale before third parties, such as manufacturers of other peripherals, had time to fit their drivers to the new operating system. On our dual core PC with 4GB of RAM and a fast 320GB hard drive Vista is as slow as a wet week. Our advice to XP users – wait!
The year in compact cameras has been dismal. Manufacturers have gone pixel mad, loading their tiny 
sensors down with 10 or 12 megapixels, leading to serious deterioration in image quality. The best compacts now are the lower priced Sony DSC W and Canon A and Ixus units with fewer than 8 megapixels and with optical viewfinders. If you’re in the market for a compact don’t be fooled by either the price or the pixels – no matter what the salesman says, stay under 8 megapixels.
The biggest pleasant surprise of the year was the Kodak
Easyshare Z712 IS camera. This is a pseudo SLR with a 7 megapixel sensor and a 36–432mm image stabilised lens. We were stunned by the responsiveness of this camera. And once the saturation and sharpness have been turned down to their lowest setting the picture quality was good. For $500 this is a lot of camera in the best Kodak tradition.
In printers we belatedly got around to assessing the Hewlett Packard Photosmart Pro B9180 (A3+ and pigment ink). This goes to the top of our preferred printers, even though we are being seriously ripped off in this country. Through the year we grew exasperated seeing Australian retail prices at double those in the US. We accept the case for some disparity – but not twice the price. You could fly to America, buy two, and the saving will pay your air fare.
Finally, Dear Santa: We have been very good Chez Imaging this year. Please bring us a Tokina ATX124 12–24mm lens for the Nikon. We really like it. $800 is more than you usually spend on lollies and hankies, but just this once…[To see some sample pictures taken with the Tokina lens click here]
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Posted by terry at December 20, 2007 02:22 AM
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Comments
Merry Christmas to all at DPexpert and thankyou for your reviews, comments and insights during 2007.
May Santa fill your stocking with the much loved Tokina of your dreams.
P.S. Can you please put a word in to Santa for me for a D300....and a 70-200 f2.8VR.... oh, and a SB800.
Posted by: RichardR at December 21, 2007 04:43 AM