It’s time to start shopping for Holiday gifts for the photographers in your life again. This year’s Digital Camera Holiday Guide places the emphasis on value and good deals instead of the latest, greatest and most expensive. You don’t have to let a tight budget get in the way of picking out great photo gifts. There are lots of good deals to be had if you know what to look for. Our Holiday Guide will help you pick out the best digital camera gifts for your hard-earned money

2008 Holiday Gift Guide >>

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A New Level of Image Quality

Nikon has announced the release of the D3X FX-format digital SLR. It features 24.5-megapixel extreme resolution for dynamic range, detail, color depth and sharpness perfect for fine art, high fashion, commercial, and landscape photographers.

Whether creating gallery prints, catalogs, magazine covers, or billboards, the large 5.94-micron pixel size and high signal to noise ratio produces vibrant images with breathtaking image fidelity while reducing lost highlights and shadows, and ensuring smoother tone reproduction with minimized noise.

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The Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 gives a new identity to the fledgling Alpha line with an industry-leading, auto-focusing, tiltable Live View display. Other user-friendly features include built-in image stabilization and dynamic range optimization (DRO), making the $800, 14.2-megapixel Sony Alpha A350 a powerful addition to the consumer digital SLR market.

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Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >> ISO 3200 Sample >>

Pros No compromise Live View auto focus Tilting LCD Built-in image stabilization 14.2 megapixels of resolution Anti-dust coating and sensor vibration Detailed battery meter	Cons Detail-destroying noise reduction Small viewfinder Fn button and other controls need fine-tuning Lots of plastic parts Only 2 frames-per-second capture rate using Live View

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Official Micro Four Thirds Standard Press Release >>

I am an unrepentant fan of the Four Thirds System digital SLRs. The Four Thirds DSLRs by Olympus and Panasonic get a lot of criticism because of their smaller sensor and supposed inferior image quality. But most criticism misses the point - the smaller, lighter Four Thirds camera bodies and lenses offer real advantages that often outweigh any image quality costs. So today’s announcement from Olympus and Panasonic about the Micro Four Thirds Standard is very exciting to me. A new, even smaller changeable lens camera system means that serious photographers who value lightweight, compact camera equipment have even more to look forward to.
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Nikon Announces D700, SB-900, and 2 New Lenses

Official Nikon D700 Press Release

Late in August of 2007, Nikon’s last big set of announcements sent shockwaves through the industry, bringing out their FX-format (full frame) flagship model, the D3, and their high end DX body, the D300, plus five new professional lenses. These announcements single handedly stemmed and even reversed the flow of photographers who had been moving from Nikon to Canon. The new bodies have been a huge hit, driving up demand for Nikon lenses and accessories.

Between the time Nikon started shipping these new high end cameras in late November-early December and the present, the Japanese photography giant has been hard at work on the next high end releases: The D700 Digital SLR, SB-900 Speedlight, and the 45mm and 85mm PC-E Nikkors.

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The Nikon D300 is a 12.3 megapixel high-end digital SLR designed to meet the needs of the advanced amateur and professional photographer. Nikon has positioned the D300 as both the class-leading DX body and a smaller companion body to the new D3 full-frame digital SLR. In the tradition of the F-series film camera bodies that made Nikon a household name, the D300 offers all of the features of a professional body at a fantastic price.

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Nikon D300 Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >> ISO 3200 Sample >> ISO 6400 Sample >>

Pros Class leading image quality Highly innovative and advanced 51-point auto focus system Six frames-per-second continuous shooting; up to eight with MB-D10 battery grip 14-bit RAW modes Best-yet Auto ISO implementation 3D Color Matrix Metering II Renowned Nikon ergonomics, build quality and feel Weather-sealing Crisp 3.0-inch 922,000-dot VGA LCD Live View with two auto focus modes Compatibility with nearly every Nikon lens made in the last 30 years; full metering with manual-focus lenses

Cons 14-bit RAW slows shooting speed to 2.5 fps Grip must be removed to replace camera battery Live view does not display histogram or aperture changes Top status LCD shows only the dynamic mode, not the active focus point Multi-selector does not have dedicated center button Rubber covers on the 10-pin remote and PC sync ports are on the thin side MB-D10 joystick has a different method of operation than multi-selector No locking USB cable attachment for tethered shooting

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Today, Canon announced a new 10.1-megapixel entry-level digital SLR in Europe and Asia, the Canon EOS 1000D. So far I haven’t been able to find out if it will be introduced in the North America. The press release has not appeared on either Canon USA or the Canadian Canon Web site. However, other photography Web sites are also listing it as the “Canon EOS Rebel XS”, a Canon USA naming standard, implying that it will be available in the US, too.
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Olympus E-420 - World’s Smallest Digital SLR

Olympus E-420 Final Pro Review >>

The 10-megapixel Olympus E-420 is currently the world’s smallest digital SLR. It makes the Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D look positively chunky. Olympus recently sent us an E-420 for evaluation so I thought I’d get a short preview up while we work on our comprehensive review.

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Canon EOS Rebel XSi - Much More Than A Beginner Camera

Canon announced their latest entry-level digital SLR, the 12.2-megapixel EOS Rebel XSi, at the annual PMA tradeshow this January. Last week, when Adobe released the update for Lightroom 1.4.1 with support for the Canon EOS Rebel XSi, I decided to see if I could buy one. None of the big online camera dealers listed it as available. But my hunch proved right when I got lucky at my local big box electronics store and snatched up their only XSi kit. I have a mountain bike festival coming up in a week and rather than wait for Canon to send me an XSi, I figured I’d just buy one so I could test it at the bike event.

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by Photo-John and Renee Lee

Nikon’s entry-level D40x digital SLR is one of the smallest and lightest 10-megapixel DSLRs on the market. The D40x has a high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD display with a unique, user-friendly exposure information display and a built-in Help system. It was available as a kit that included an 18-55mm DX Zoom-NIKKOR kit lens. But due to the recent introduction of the Nikon D60, it’s now available as a body only. If you want a kit you’ll have to buy the D60 kit, which comes with the new Vibration Reduction version of the 18-55mm Nikkor kit lens.

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Nikon D40x Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >> ISO 3200 Sample >>

Pros Compact and light weight Unique Help menu and Shooting Information Display ISO 100-3200 sensitivity range 10-megapixel sensor (3872×2592 pixels) Noise Reduction option Shooting Information Display SD memory card (if you’re stepping up from a compact digital camera)	Cons Difficult to access some functions without using the menu Slow 1/200 second flash sync Only 3 auto focus points SD memory card (if you already have CompactFlash cards)

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Olympus has just announced their newest and smallest digital SLR. In fact, the 10-megapixel Olympus E-420 is the smallest and lightest digital SLR yet. It’s almost 20% lighter than Nikon’s D40x / D40 / D60 (they share the same body) – formerly the smallest and lightest digital SLR. Olympus makes a further claim to small and light by introducing a new Zuiko Digital 25mm f/2.8 lens that’s less than an inch thick. The new lens is equivalent to a 50mm in the 35mm format and makes for a super compact, full-featured DSLR shooting package.

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OLYMPUS E-420: WORLD’S SMALLEST AND LIGHTEST CONSUMER
DIGITAL SLR DELIVERS ENHANCED AUTOFOCUS LIVE VIEW
Compact Size Makes It the Ultimate DSLR to Take Anywhere,
Next-Generation Live View Ensures It Performs Better When You Get There

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., March 5, 2008 – Olympus today announces the extremely portable E-420 - perfect for everyone who wants to step up to the power and performance of a digital SLR (single lens reflex) yet enjoy the ease of use and ability to compose images on the LCD common to point-and-shoot cameras. Weighing a mere 380 grams (13.4 ounces), the E-420 is 20 to 40 percent lighter than competing DSLRs. Good things come in this small package, including Live View, which enables users to hold the camera away from their faces and interact with their subjects - ideal when capturing photos of children, for example.

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