selling services and software for musicians. Midi Utilities. –

New PowerShot S5 IS and SD850 IS Digital ELPH cameras This is just a small make over of old S3. Nothing so revolutionary.

Pentax K200D
Pentax is the Rodney Dangerfield of camera companies—they just don’t get any respect. The fact they operate on a shoestring budget, have recently been taken over by lens-maker Hoya and have as much clout with your local mega-retailer as I do may have something to do with it. Many photographers made their bones with Pentax K series cameras (back in the film days) so there’s a bit of nostalgia for the brand. Most new shooters don’t know Pentax from Pampers. This is too bad because the company makes decent D-SLRs—forget their point-and-shoots since they’re light years behind Canon and Sony. With this sad tale on the counter, DigitalTrends was happy to receive Pentax’s new entry-level D-SLR, the 10.2-megapixel K200D which costs $799 USD with the basic 3x 18-55mm lens–about the going price for an introductory 2008 D-SLR. Yes you can get the older 8MP Canon Rebel XTi and 6MP Nikon D40 for less but why bother when you can a new one with higher resolution? And you know you won’t pay $799 USD—more like $725– for this kit since Pentax doesn’t have the cachet of the new 12MP Canon XSi, 10MP Nikon D60 or recently reviewed Sony DSLR-A350 . Let’s see if this one gets a little respect or not… Read | Permalink | Email This | User Reviews | Linking Blogs

Sony alpha DSLR-A200
Camera companies really want you to move from point-and-shoots to D-SLRs. The reason is pretty simple—they make more money. It’s no secret (even though over 35 million digicams will be purchased this year) that prices are dropping. To make up the dollar difference companies are driving down entry-level D-SLR prices–hoping you’ll spend more jack if you’re looking at a fully-featured point-and-shoot like the Canon G9 ($499 USD) or Sony DSC-H9 ($429 USD). D-SLRs are also enticing if you’re a seasoned digicam owner who is sick and tired of slow-acting shutters and even slower shot-to-shot times. Enter the new Sony alpha DSLR-A200, the replacement for the company’s entry-level D-SLR, the –A100. For $699 USD, you get a 10MP digicam, built-in image stabilization, anti-dust circuitry and 3 frames-per-second shooting. This speed and a D-SLR’s ability to quickly focus and snap photos are the biggest appeal—along with overall improved picture quality with less digital noise since all D-SLRs use larger APS-C sized imagers. We thought it would be a nice test to try out the –A200—especially after testing the Canon EOS 40D, a newer D-SLR that costs twice as much. Sure it’s not fair but who said life was all peaches and cream? Certainly not us… Read | Permalink | Email This | User Reviews | Linking Blogs

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