Experience Images

SLR Digital Cameras

Here are links to information about some of the better digital cameras that were available or announced in September 2002. We were initially thinking about purchasing a Sigma SD-9 camera, because it uses the new Foveon Sensor. It was supposed to be available in May, 2000, but it was still unavailable in September, 2002. The Nikon D-100, Fuji FinePix S2 Pro, Canon EOS-1D, and Contax N Digital were just starting to become available in August, 2002. The Contax N Digital seems to be a very nice camera, but it's around 3 times as expensive as the others, so we decided against it. After reading the reviews and considering our needs, we decided to get a Nikon D-100 camera to use to get the images for our first product. Recently, 2 new higher resolutions digital SLR cameras were anounced, the Kodak DCS 14n and the Canon EOS-1Ds.

General

In general, when we try to find information about digital cameras, we do a search using Google. We usually find a link to the manufacturer's Web site and reviews on the following sites.

We'd recommend the sites above as good sites to check for digital camera reviews. Photo.net is another good source of information about cameras and photography. For convenience, we've included some links to specific camera reviews on those sites below, but we may not update these links frequently, so Google and the pages given above are good places to look for the latest camera reviews. Information about an eBook that may be interesting to Nikon Coolpix owners can be found at the Digital Secrets web site.

Nikon D-100

We decided to get a Nikon D-100, and we're happy with it. It has a CCD sensor with about 6 million effective pixels. We used a Nikon 14mm lens (with a 35mm equivalent focal length of about 22mm) to take the images for the panoramas used in our first product. Here are some links to information about the camera and Nikon equipment in general.

Fuji FinePix S2 Pro

As mentioned in the reviews below, the Fuji FinePix S2 Pro uses a sensor which may be better in some ways than the sensor used in the Nikon D-100 or the Canon EOS 1D. The "Super CCD" sensor has 6.17 million pixels, but Fuji has a way to interpolate to 12.1 million pixel images.

Canon EOS-1D

The Canon EOS-1D uses a CCD sensor with about 4.15 million effective pixels. Canon has also announced the 1Ds, see below.

Contax N Digital

The Contax N Digital has a 6+ megapixel CCD sensor that is the same size as 35mm film. It uses Contax Carl Zeiss T* lenses. It sells for around $7000, while the cameras above sell for between $2000 and $2500. Here's a link to Contax's N-Digital Information Page.

Sigma SD-9

Sigma's SD-9 will be the first digital camera to use the new Foveon sensor. The sensor that the SD-9 will use will will have 3.54 million pixels, but each pixel will have red, green, and blue color information. (Current CCD and CMOS sensors sample only one color at each pixel.) Here are links to information about the Foveon Sensor.

The camera may be released in late October with a price around $1800. (It was supposed to be released in May with a price around $3000.) One issue with the SD-9 is that it only uses lenses made by Sigma, and the lenses that it uses can't be used on non-Sigma cameras. Here are some links to news articles about the SD-9.

Kodak DCS Pro-14n

The Kodak DCS Pro-14n will use a sensor that is the same size as 35mm film. The sensor will use CMOS technology and have 13.89 million total pixels.

Canon EOS-1Ds

The Canon EOS 1Ds will use a sensor that is the same size as 35mm film. The sensor will use CMOS technology and have 11.1 million pixels.

Panoramas

Here are some links to sites related to panoramas that we've collected. We don't get any compensation for listing these links. We don't update these links frequently, and they're not exhaustive, so the first two links below may be better places to start looking for information about panoramas. If you have problems using these links (especially if they display pop-ups), or if there are links that you think we should add, please click here to contact Experience Images by email.

General Information

Here are a few links to general panorama information. They're probably most useful to people who want to make their own panoramas.

Panorama Examples

Here are a couple of non-commercial sites with interesting panoramas. The White House tour is interesting because it is a tour of the White House, but the quality of the panoramas could be improved.

Panoramic Photographers

Here are links to two organizations for panoramic photographers.

Here are links to some panoramic photography businesses.

Software

Here are some links to software for viewing and authoring panoramas.

Scanning Cameras

Scanning cameras are very interesting, but they're more expensive than SLR digital cameras. The Panoptic Vision camera is the smallest and least expensive.

Mirrors for 360-Degree Views

Here are some links to companies that sell mirrors that can view 360 degrees. They're used with digital cameras to capture single images that can be made into 360 degree panoramas.

Tripod Heads and Other Equipment

The sites in the General category above may have useful equipment reviews. Here are some links to companies that sell photographic equipment.

Kaidan.com specializes in products for panoramic photographers.
B&H Photo Video is a good place to check for photographic equipment in general.
Bogen Photo has very nice tripods and accessories.

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