johnhendron.net: hendron’s digest - a weblog

Between now and January, I plan on purchasing a new camera for use at home for my own personal photography. I currently own a Canon-brand camera, and they have whet my attention with two new models, the 50-D and the 5D, Mark II. While the first is available now, the second is not yet available in stores.

I just came across a new website, called DXO Mark that attempts to rate cameras based on three main factors: dynamic range, color depth, and its capability with low light. Previously a favorite website, Digital Photography Review has done excellent, multi-part reviews that look at these same factors, alongside ergonomics, opinion, and actual photographic tests you can view.

This new site, however, is interesting because it’s using numbers and produces a raw “DXO” score. The Canon 50D, what I’d call a mid-range camera among DSLR cameras, didn’t score nearly as well as others on DXO. For similar money to the yet-to-be-reviewed 5D II, the Nikon D700 looks very nice.

Thus far, DXO is only highlighting your more expensive cameras. I have found for cameras we typically buy for school situations, ergonomics is the number one factor among teachers. “I want something that’s easy to use, but also something easy for the kids to hold.” Many teachers also find smaller, point-and-shoot models difficult to control with their smaller buttons. Another concern related to ergonomics is size, as the “smaller ones are easier to disappear, we feel.”

I’m not sure there’s any truth to that, but I hear teachers: we want bigger cameras. While easy to use is nice, those with more manual controls are better for teaching kids the basics of photography. This balance between automation, manual control, size, and durability are the factors that have influenced our purchasing decisions for school.

Notice I haven’t once mentioned megapixels! This is the metric that all camera manufacturers are obsessed by as a single measure of quality. I’m hoping this new DXO idea takes on to replace the number of pixels each sensor can produce.

These photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand are quite inspirational.

Arthus-Bertrand has been photographing unique views of our planet, seen from the sky, since 1994 - and has produced an exhibit of over 150 4-ft. by 6-ft. prints which will be on display in New York City at the World Financial Center Plaza and along the Battery Park City Esplanade from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009.

I am not sure how I feel about using the word yearbook as a verb, but seeing some results, this could be fun.

Yearbook Yourself is a website that will “show you” what you look like through the ages, by imposing your face into the head and hairstyles of iconic figures through the decades.