Digital Camera Information

Here is an interesting diagram by ClarkVision which depicts his research on the correlation in mega pixels between the different 35mm films at variable ISO levels.

He says:

“While my research is preliminary, it does seem to agree with what people are saying, and because people look at different things (image smoothness versus spatial detail), it shows there is a lot of room for interpretation.”

It is the second diagram (see below) that’s really interesting as he tries to correlate film resolution against the different DSLR on the market. Based on his diagram, the sensors in some DSLR camera, notably the Canon 1Ds mark II have already exceeded the resolution in film.

Source: ClarkVision

A review by CNET in the UK about a camera combat between the Camera phones, a digital compact camera and a digital DSLR has to be the worst review I have ever read. In fact the review is more like a primary school project and I think this is where it is aimed.

In this review they compare the picture quality between the camera phones: the Nokia 6300, Sony Ericsson K810i, Nokia N95 against the digital compact camera; the Canon IXUS 70 against a DSLR camera; the Canon 400D. Both normal and low light were compared for visual appearance only.

Although the conclusion was that the Canon 400D came out on top, the Nokia N95 was not that far behind. I hope people do not use this as a true review but as a negative control on what NOT to read.

Have a laugh at these quotes:

“colours came out fairly balanced if not a little yellow, but that’s probably due to the lighting in the room.”

“.. but the shot came out a little blurry, which may have been due to moving our hands slightly when we took the shot.”

Source

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the new Nikon D40X and although it does lack a bit of depth, it does give a good idea about the camera for which they praise highly. For example, they mention the great ISO performance with noise from ISO 100 to ISO 800, but failed to say how the Noise Reduction (NR) which looks amazing does start to blur the details at higher ISO’s settings. They also forgot to mention the lack of Auto focus motor.

Anyhow here’s what they write:

“The Nikon D40x may finally have got the entry-level DSLR that can give Canon a run for its money while holding off Sony’s advance. It is, by an admittedly narrow margin, a better camera than the EOS 400D in many respects, including the crucial area of overall image quality. It is easy to use, has Nikon’s traditional fantastic build quality, and performs superbly well. If you’re looking for an SLR for under £500 the D40x should be near the top of your list.”

The full review can be found here.

There has been quite a bit of noise between Hoya and Pentax. Is it on or off? Well, I think it’s on again. Here’s an English translation from Hiroshi Suzuki, President and CEO of HOYA CORPORATION:

“HOYA and PENTAX have been carrying out discussions on the merger of the two companies to achieve management integration based on the Basic Understanding for Management Integration signed and released on December 21, 2006.

There was no resolution of ‘abandon of merger’ at the meeting”.

Here is a very interesting review on the speed comparisons between the Nikon D200 and the Fujifilm S5 Pro by RaduGrozescu.com.

He writes: “Most Fuji S5 pro owners will use it in a wide DR setting, so they will have to live with 1.6 fps which is about what one can “pump” the shutter release in Single advance mode. This is enough for most applications which do not require “motor drive” speeds.

But if one is after speed for a particular assignment the Fuji S5 can be set to 100% DR and with a SanDisk Extreme III the figures become:

Jpegs, Image Display OFF:
Camera: fps, Buffer, Time (seconds)
Nikon D200: 5, 25,2.0
Fuji S5 Pro: 3, 19, 2.3,

Jpegs, Image Display ON:
Camera: fps, Buffer, Time (seconds)
Nikon D200: 5, 25, 2.3
Fuji S5 pro: 3, 16, 2.9

RAW, Image Display OFF:
Camera: fps, Buffer, Time (seconds)
Nikon D200 standard: 5, 21, 3.0
Nikon D200 compressed: 5, 21, 2.2
Fuji S5 pro: 3, 21, 2.8

RAW, Image Display ON:
Camera: fps, Buffer, Time (seconds)
Nikon D200 standard: 5, 21, 3.4
Nikon D200 compressed: 5, 21, 2.8
Fuji S5 pro: 3, 19, 3.2

As indicated by the results, you can easily notice that apart from the fps difference which is 5:3 in Nikon’s favor, the buffer size and flush times are quite similar, with the Fuji even having better flush times in RAW compared to the Nikon in uncompressed RAW.

So the Fuji S5 pro is not such a slow camera, after all.

Full review

Do you have fungus growing inside your lens? Have you ever looked through your camera lens recently? With the aperture wide open, and you see tiny growth which is the mycelium or structure of the fungi.

You see fungi grow in all condition but thrive in areas where there is particularly low water activity where bacterial microorganisms cannot compete. Over time, the fungi excrete secondary metabolites which etched the surface of the lens rendering it useless.

The best remedy is keeping the lens in a cool dry place. Here are some further recommendations to further reduce the risks:

Here are some interesting facts for 2006 for digital cameras. According to Reuters, Canon has topped the market share in global digital camera shipments in 2006, however South Korea’s Samsung Electronics jumped up the ranks to 5th place from 9th a year ago. Nikon is ranked 6th in the world.

Tokyo-based Canon shipped 19.7 million digital cameras in 2006 which accounted for 18.7 percent of the overall market. Canon’s shipments jumped 23.3 percent from 2005.

In total, the Industry wide digital camera shipments in 2006 rose 14.5 percent to 106 million units from a year earlier. This was driven by the strong popularity of Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras. DSLR shipments grew 39 percent to 5 million units last year.

Sony Corp was No. 2 in the market with a 15.8 percent share, up from 15.2 percent in 2005. This was helped with the introduction into the DSLR market with the Alpha A100.

Eastman Kodak which is the only U.S. Company among the top five digital camera makers, ranked third with 10 percent, a drop from its 14.2 percent share a year earlier. This could be due to their exit of the DSLR market a few years ago.

Olympus Corporation came in fourth with a market share of 8.6 percent, down 9.8 percent in 2005.

The big winner in 2006 was Samsung, who displaced Nikon and became the fifth-largest seller of digital cameras in the world. Samsung has expanded its market share to 7.8 percent in 2006 which is a huge jump from the 3.8 percent it had a year earlier.

Nikon Corporation, the world’s second-biggest maker of professional cameras (DSLR) after Canon, ranked No. 6 in the overall digital camera market with a 7.6 percent market share in 2006.

Digital SLR Market
Canon also dominated the booming DSLR market, securing a 46.7 percent share in 2006, with its shipments rising 30.7 percent from a year earlier. But its share was trimmed from the 49.5 percent it had in 2006 amid increased competition from rivals.

Nikon cemented the No. 2 position in DSLRs with a 33 percent market share. Its shipments jumped 35.9 percent with the introduction of successful models such as the Nikon D50, D70s, D80 and the D200.

Sony, which purchased the DSLR unit of Konica Minolta Holdings, shipped 326,240 DSLRs in 2006, accounting for 6.2 percent of the market. A great result after being in the market for under a year.

Samsung has announced an 8.4 megapixel CMOS image sensor with a 1.4㎛pixel design at Samsung’s fourth annual Mobile Solution Forum. This is the worlds smallest CMOS sensor.

The new CMOS image sensor chip provides a very high signal to noise ratio which is a key measure of overall image quality.

This was achieved by implementing advanced light sensing features and minimized noise levels. Notably, an extended photo diode technology was implemented to achieve higher light sensitivity and saturation levels, resulting in an enhanced fill factor.

In addition, it provides the same image quality as the charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors currently used in the majority of digital cameras and camcorders around the world. Since the new CMOS image sensor only uses one-tenth the power of a CCD image sensor, it should quickly replace CCDs in all three key applications-mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders.

The CMOS image sensor product line of System LSI Division is one of the five major product areas that Samsung has been focusing on to enhance and balance the company’s overall competitiveness. Samsung’s present portfolio of CMOS image sensor technology spans across the range of 1.3 through 5 megapixel resolutions with the 8 megapixel CMOS image sensor expected to be available in the second half of this year.

The CMOS image sensor market is expected to show high demand for high-resolution devices. The current outlook toward 2009 shows a compound annual growth rate of over 90 percent for 3 megapixel and higher resolution devices over a four-year term from 2006 through 2009.

Source

It looks like Nikon will be sourcing more parts from China for its current and future digital cameras. By establishing Nikon International Trading (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd in China in March 2007, China will become a major supplier of parts and components for imaging products, including digital cameras, with improved quality control and more timely delivery. Operations will commence on April 1, 2007.

The International Procurement Office, established as a part of Nikon Hong Kong Ltd. in 1998, has played a role in Nikon’s procurement strategy to expand its business steadily. Nikon foresees the need for improved management of an increasing number of parts procured in China, as well as increased quality assurance and improved delivery times as part of their imaging business production strategy.

It is for these reasons that Nikon has established this wholly owned international procurement subsidiary as a base for procurement operations in China.

According to Nikon management, the establishment of the local Chinese subsidiary will help to advance their production strategy, allowing them to provide high-quality products that respond even better to the users’ needs, thus enhancing Nikon’s already significant market presence.

Company Overview

Name Nikon International Trading (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Address 7th Floor, Tower A, Shenzhen Zhongtianyuan Logistics Centre
Taohua Rd., Futian Free Trade Zone, Shenzhen 518038, China

Capital US$500,000 (approx. ¥55,000,000; 100% from Nikon Corporation)

Representative Yasuaki Ishiguro, Director & General Manager

Employees Approximately 35 at outset

Primary operations Procurement and wholesale of parts and components for imaging products, testing and inspection of products, parts, and components, and technical guidance