Reviews

Epson Stylus Photo R3000 printer review
For many enthusiast photographers Epson’s Stylus Photo R2880 is the printer they use, or aspire to using. Though it produces excellent prints, it suffers from two often cited problems, both of which the new R3000 addresses. The first of these is that although the R2880 is capable of using nine inks, it only has eight cartridge bays and the Matte Black and Photo Black ink tanks are interchangeable. This means that if you switch from printing on glossy media to matte, you must remember to swap the ink cartridges. It’s not difficult or messy, just a pain having to remember. Epson’s new R3000 has nine cartridge bays.

Head-to-Head Review: Canon EOS 60D vs Nikon D7000
Canon’s EOS 60D and Nikon’s D7000 are both aimed squarely at enthusiast photographers. These users demand a versatile camera that can be used for just about every genre of photography. Not surprisingly the 18-million-pixel EOS 60D and 16-million-pixel Nikon D700D are pretty closely matched (their main specifications are shown in the full D7000 vs 60D review below), but each has a few distinguishing features as follows.

Nikon D7000 Review
A new 16.2 million pixel sensor plus novel AF and metering systems, mean it’s all change with the Nikon D7000 - the new Nikon DSLR that some believe is the Nikon D90 replacement. Angela Nicholson takes a closer look at the Nikon newcomer and also compares the D7000 vs D90.

Olympus E-5 Review
A 12.3 million pixel sensor borrowed from the E-PL1, a new TruePic V+ processing engine, 720p movie recording and an electronic level are all improvements that the Olympus E5 has on the E3, but is that enough to tempt Four Thirds photographers to buy an E-5? Find out in our in-depth Olympus E-5 review

Etre Fivepoint Gloves Review
Etre’s Fivepoint gloves are designed to keep your hands warm and allow touchscreen operation, but how well - and how comfortable - are their conductive fingertips in practice? We put them to the test

Canon EOS 60D preview - pre-production model
Time has been running out for the Canon EOS 50D ever since Canon announced the Canon EOS 7D, and it was clearly in extra time once the Canon EOS 550D was unveiled, so it’s replacement, the Canon EOS 60D, doesn’t come as a huge surprise to many.

Canon EOS 1D Mark IV review
Canon had quite a torrid time with its EOS-1D Mark III, which was announced in February 2007. First, there were the notorious AF issues, with some users claiming that the camera couldn’t follow focus as well as its predecessor, the EOS-1D Mark IIN. Initially, Canon batted these concerns away, saying the problems reported by some professionals were a result of them not understanding or correctly selecting the various custom modes. This may have been a fair point in certain cases, but it soon became apparent that the camera also had problems that had to be addressed by a couple of firmware upgrades as well as the recall of some bodies

Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100
When it comes to making a statement on the wall, A3 prints just don’t have the same impact as A2 prints, and for many enthusiast photographers who own a 14 or 18-million-pixel camera, an A2 printer is the next logical step. These printers also offer an economy of scale, because while the ink cartridges cost a bit more, the price of the ink per millilitre is considerably less

Canon EOS 550D review
I was very impressed with the Canon EOS 7D when I tested it in AP 7 November 2009, and it seems I wasn’t alone in this view as AP forum members voted it their Product of the Year at the 2010 AP Awards. Subsequent investigations have also confirmed that even though it has a smaller APS-C-format sensor, it can really give the full-frame EOS 5D Mark II a run for its money. So when Mike Owen, Canon Europe’s photo products planning manager, came to the AP offices to give us an exclusive preview of the Canon EOS 550D, a camera billed as a ‘baby EOS 7D’, he had my full attention. A camera that has the same 18-million pixel count and much of the same technology as the EOS 7D for almost £500 less could be as attractive to enthusiast photographers as it is to the novices at which it is primarily aimed.

Canon EOS 7D review
When I first received Canon’s press release for the EOS 7D, I assumed the camera was a full-frame model, perhaps bridging the gap between the EOS 5D Mark II and the EOS-1D Mark III (since updated to Mark IV). However, to my surprise, I discovered that it’s an 18-million-pixel APS-C-format camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10
A recent AP online poll revealed that of the five Micro System Camera (MSC) systems currently available, AP website users have the most faith in Panasonic’s. This is despite the fact that Olympus has a longer history in photography and that Ricoh, Samsung and Sony use larger (APS-C-sized) sensors rather than the 17.3x13mm Four Thirds-type device employed by Panasonic. In its favour, though, Panasonic was the first manufacturer to enter the MSC market and, more importantly, it has proved that it can make decent small cameras that produce high-quality images

Sony Alpha 850 review
Sony hopes that the new full-frame Alpha 850 will be a significant step towards winning a larger slice of the DSLR market. This camera is remarkably similar to the company’s top-of-the-range model, the Alpha 900, but the price is significantly lower.
While the Alpha 900 can be found on sale for around £1,899, most dealers are listing the Alpha 850 at around £1,650. The prospect of a full-frame camera for less than £1,700 is very enticing, but after a few months on sale perhaps it could even dip as low as £1,500, which is a significant milestone for many potential buyers.

Pentax K-7 review
As Pentax’s first real high-end enthusiast DSLR, the 14.6-million-effective-pixel K-7 faces tough competition from the likes of the Canon EOS 50D and the new Nikon D300s. However, it isn’t just a ‘me too’ model, as it has a few unique features such as a sensor that can automatically rotate by as much as 2° to correct a sloping horizon and an in-camera HDR mode. It is also very compact for a camera of this level, and has 77 weatherproof seals to keep moisture and dust at bay. The prospect of a small, highly functional DSLR that might have the class-leading detail resolution of the Pentax K20D is truly enticing.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II review
New technology, such as in-camera sensor cleaning, dynamic range optimisation and Live View in the rest of Canon’s DSLR range as well as many of its rivals’ cameras has left the EOS 5D looking rather dated, and for many months a replacement was expected with each photographic trade show being the anticipated launchpad. Now the waiting is over and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is here. Could it help Canon win the DSLR market crown back from Nikon?