Hasta La Gadget!

We can’t quite recall if the last week in April of 2008 was jam packed with camera introductions, but you can go ahead and pencil this little stretch down as quite an important time in the lives of DSLR junkies. Nary 24 hours after we gave you our pair of pennies on Nikon’s D5000, Canon’s EOS Rebel T1i (its arch enemy, just so you know) has arrived. Based on specifications alone, the T1i looks like a much more serious shooter than the D5000, though its kit package — which also includes an 18-55mm IS EF-S lens — runs you $50 more and omits that all-too-intriguing articulating display.

Instead, you get a fixed 3-inch Live View display (like the more expensive D90 over on the Nikon front), a 1080p movie mode (which trumps all Nikon DSLRs at the moment and matches the mighty EOS 5D Mark II), a ISO sensitivity up to 12,800 (the D5000 tops out at 6,400) and a 15.1 megapixel sensor (compared to the 12.3MP sensor in the D90 and D5000). We’re going to run out and pit these two against each other in order to bring you a more thorough showdown soon, but for now, hop on past the break to see how the T1i — which is shipping to the public today as well — stacks up against the D5000 on paper. Oh, and check out the gallery if you’re intrigued by world class knock-down-drag-outs.

Continue reading Canon EOS Rebel T1i vs. Nikon D5000… fight!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon EOS Rebel T1i vs. Nikon D5000… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Streaky lines on your G10 photos? Don’t call MUFON, hit up your local Canon repair center. The company is acknowledging an issue that results in small, horizontal defects like that pictured above. Apparently such aberrations seem to appear at random, regardless of camera settings, but the affected units’ serial numbers are at least easy to pick out at the read link. Not exactly good news for Canon, hot on the heels of the 50D vertical banding fix, but at least it isn’t attempting some sort of cover-up.

Update: LimeyHoya commented to let us know Canon USA has posted up the same notice, meaning you can now figure out if you’re affected without having to ponder any abstract Google Translate koans.

[Via Impress]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon confirms line defect on G10, denies existence of fourth-dimensional UFOs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Listen up Canon users, the mothership just issued firmware updates for its EOS 50D, Rebel XSi (450D), and Rebel XS (1000D) DSLRs. The updates provide support for the AF assist beam on Canon’s Speedlight 270 EX flashgun. More importantly perhaps, is firmware version 1.0.6 that “addresses the vertical banding noise phenomenon” for owners of the 50D. By addresses we presume Canon means fixes but we won’t know until we hear your feedback. Well?

[Via Digital Photography Review]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon 50D firmware update fixes vertical banding issues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we’ve already seen a couple video clips, but Canon’s new EOS Rebel T1i / 500D certainly deserves a proper unboxing, don’t you think? Nothing you probably don’t already know if you’re into this cam, but we will say the menu screen looks a little nicer than on previous models. Hit the read links for the full rundown.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon Rebel T1i / 500D gets unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey readers, Cheap Geek is late today because this cheap geek was getting numbers to his accountant. Yay! Pushing my taxes to the last minute makes me feel extra-cheap!

1. Buy.com has a great deal on a Dell Latitude D531 laptop. It runs off an AMD Mobile Sempron 3600+ 1.8-GHz processor and has 512MB of RAM and a 60GB hard drive. It also has a 14.1-inch screen and runs Windows XP Home. It doesn’t have a CD-RW or DVD drive, but whatever. The D531 costs only $299 with free shipping and looks like an excellent second machine or student machine.

2. A couple years ago, shooting home video meant shelling out some real money. Now, with this deal from Tiger Direct, you can grab a Canon ZR900 miniDV for only $129.99. Sweet price. It’s refurbished, but you get a one-month warranty so that’s enough time to check it out.

3. It’s a recurring theme in this column: Memory is getting so darn cheap! Costco is selling a Seagate FreeAgent external hard drive with 1.5TB of storage (!) for only $109.99. Wow, that’s cheap. That’s the best storage deal I’ve ever come across.