Canon Rebel SL2 announcement in September 2017? [CW2]

rebel sl1
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Another Canon camera that is long overdue is the replacement for the Rebel SL1.

A new rumor suggests the Rebel SL2 will be announced in September. The Rebel SL2 may be smaller and lighter than the Rebel SL1, which still is the world’s smallest DSLR.

Specification wise we can expect a feature set between the Canon [shoplink 43813]Rebel T7i[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 43814]EOS 77D[/shoplink].

Stay tuned.

Global Market for Action Cameras expected to grow by 15%

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Research company Technavio published their Global Action Camera Market 2017-2021 research report, where they discuss the state of the industry and market. Technavio expects action camera sales to grow by 15% until 2021.

Market research analysts at Technavio predict that the global action camera market will grow steadily during the next four years and post a CAGR of almost 15% by 2021. This market research analysis identifies the high growth in adventure tourism as one of the primary growth factors for this market. The adventure tourism market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism industry and was valued at more than USD 430 billion in 2016. With individuals across the globe increasingly focusing on sharing photos and videos through social networking sites, this growth of the adventure tourism industry will propel the demand for action cameras since they can withstand harsh conditions during adventure activities such as freestyle skiing, climbing, snowboarding, trekking, and bicycling.

Technavio’s report is fairly long and detailed, read it here.

Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer deal – $129 (after $250 MIR)

Canon PIXMA PRO-100
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At a glance:

  • 4800 x 2400 dpi
  • Print 8 x 10″ in 51 Seconds
  • Wi-Fi, Ethernet, AirPrint, PictBridge
  • Print Sizes up to 13 x 19″
  • 8 Ink Cartridges Including 3 Monochrome
  • CD, DVD, Blu-ray Printing
  • Print Studio Pro for Photoshop, DPP

This is a pretty good deal. You can get the Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo Printer for just $129 after $250 mail-in rebate (instructions) at B&H Photo.

Today’s Gold Box and one day only deals at Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, B&H Photo, eBay and Adorama

All that glitters is not gold: Sony A9 not ISO-invariant and sacrifices dynamic range for speed

Sony a9
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Sony a9 at a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

There is no free lunch and anything comes at a price. This appears to be true especially for Sony gear, always hyped and most of the time only because of the specifications sheets.

DPReview wanted to know better. They put the Sony a9 on their test bench, and found some interesting things. So, how does the powerhouse a9 perform when it comes to ISO-invariance (what is it?) and dynamic range.

DPReview found out that the Sony a9 is not ISO-invariant, and that “the camera is adding a fair amount of read noise that results in noisy shadows, limiting dynamic range at base ISO“. They also found that the Sony A9 sensor “was likely optimized for speed at the expense of low ISO dynamic range“.

What does all this mean? According to DPReview “this limits the exposure latitude of a9 Raws, so you’ll have some limited ability to expose high contrast scenes for the highlights, then tonemap (raise) shadows in post“.

All that glitters is not gold. Read DPReview’s in-depth analysis.