Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi: Digital Photography Review

Canon has today announced a new compact digital SLR, the twelve megapixel EOS 450D (Digital Rebel XSi). On the surface a very similar camera to the EOS 400D, however there are a range of significant improvements; twelve megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.0″ LCD monitor, Live View with both AF modes (contrast-detect and passive), 14-bit processing and RAW, spot metering, improved AF, 3.5 fps continuous shooting, a larger viewfinder, SD/SDHC storage and a new higher capacity battery. All in all a fairly impressive range of usage oriented improvements and refinements.

The back screen looks huge by comparison to the XTi, and they’ve done away with some of the annoying buttons to the left of it. (Interesting point — the resolution hasn’t changed. the screen has only gotten bugger.) It’s 12 megapixels instead of 10 now. Image processor is DIGIC III, as expected. It sounds like there are some user-customizable menu options, so you can more easily get to the things that are important to you. You get an extra half frame per second. ISO still ranges from 100 - 1600. The center focus point is cross-type now, which is supposed to be a big thing. You can get twice as many shots in burst mode using JPGS now, though it appears you now get LESS RAW files in burst mode, down from 10 to 6. Odd. The viewfinder displays a lot more info to you now, too.

There are also less languages available in the menu, if you dig down that deep.

But the thing that grabbed me right away is that it’s not using Compact Flash cards anymore! They’ve switched to SD cards. Of course, I just bought a couple of CF cards while they were on sale for a decent price.

The kit lens is improved. It’s finally Image Stabilized, thought still just 18mm-55mm. The 18mm is a nice wide angle, but 55mm isn’t getting you far.
Here’s the first review of the camera.

It looks like I’ll be buying the current 400D/XTi, though. It’s about $300 cheaper, and right now that’s all the difference in the world to me. The new features just aren’t worth that. I’d rather put it towards a nicer lens.

ESPN - Federal marshals unable to find, serve Knoblauch with subpoena - MLB

Former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch had not been tracked down as of early Wednesday evening by federal marshals trying to serve him a subpoena from a House panel investigating steroids in baseball, a committee staffer told The Associated Press.

What a crazy, mixed-up world we live in.  The guy couldn’t throw a ball 60 feet to his left, but he can avoid the Feds.

Well, comics fans, you may have caught a brief glimpse or two of the famed San Diego Convention Center, but the cattle call was held across the street at the San Diego Padres’ home field, with the judges’ auditions somewhere a few blocks off at a golf course/hotel/resort I don’t recognize. Anyone know?

12,000 people showed up; 30 went to Hollywood. Your odds of being the next American Idol, Joe Blow, are fairly low.

Another phrase I’d like to ban: “That’s what I’m talkin’ bout!” I’m sorry; were you talking about something before you said that? No? Then what the hell are you talking about, exactly?

Thankfully, the show was only an hour last night and only an hour tonight. I can deal with that. Week four will be difficult to put up with, though.

The judges are still much nicer this season. Maybe after seven seasons, they feel like they’ve seen it all and now are going to delight in the insanity of the whole thing?

I loved the Mime/Mariachi combination. The mime needed work, but the high concept was bold!

Perrie Cataldo is a single father. In case you missed that, he’s a single father. They mentioned that he was a single father multiple times. When asked what happened to the mother of his small child (they never said “wife” that I remember), he said something about bad decisions, wrong place, wrong time, etc. etc. I’m sure someone in SoCal will have an article in the paper this morning with this guy’s back story.

His son shares his father’s love of unfortunately long hair tied into a pony tail, but definitely has his mother’s face.

Perrie made it to Hollywood. He sang Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love To You” in that bit of overdone warbly style that boy bands were once known for.

Michael Johns is the white soul singer. He made it through to Hollywood, where I hope he opens his eyes when he sings once in a while.

Valerie Reyes is the ultimate Idol fangirl, but she’s also sure she sings like Mariah Carey. Simon said the only thing she had in common with Mariah would be one of Mariah’s CDs left out in the sun for a year. Even Paula had to admit that it was a good description, because she stunk. On ice.

“Now I’m going to be on the rejects. So not cool,” she said, consigned to her fate as an Idol speed bump.

Samantha Musa loves Simon, and even got a group hug with her sister, who helped audition her. I thought Samantha’s audition — from what we saw — was a bit overdone and too stylized, but the panel loved her and she went through. I’m keeping in mind that we only see a small portion of the typical audition. I’m sure the judges hear more, because lots of these contestants audition on camera with nothing but a power note or three. They display no musicality or ability to carry a tune, but the judges shower them with praise and let them through. I’m HOPING those other qualities come out in another song we just don’t get to see. . .

Oh, look, the Idol staff uses Mac Power Books to check in the hopefuls. . .

Blake Boshnack is back, from NY to San Diego now. This is his umpteenth time auditioning, though he’s best known for showing up dressed as the Statue of Liberty and getting kicked out by Simon immediately back in Season 5.

Quick quiz — which Idol auditioned with a prop? I can’t think of any. Seriously, has there every been a Top 12 contestant who initially showed up dressed in costume?

And didja know that Mandisa has had a couple of hits on Contemporary Christian Radio in the last year? I just heard that over the weekend.

There was a guy singing a song, “Leave Me Alone,” that showed the most musicality of the night in his ability to keep a rhythm by snapping his fingers to every syllable. Impressive!

Alberto Hurtado is this week’s contestant most likely to get IDOL picketed by GLAAD or some immigrants rights coalition for being picked on too much. He’s all peace, love, and accent. Plus, he doesn’t clip his nails. Those puppies were loooong.

And Carly Smithson is making it to Hollywood this time. Her papers are clear. She’s good to go. This year’s American Idol might have a thick Irish brogue.

I can type no more. Tomorrow — South Carolina! It’s destined to be this year’s Seattle, judging from the previews. They’ll complain that the state is untalented, but then the winner will come from those auditions. Watch.

This is what you have to look forward to at Best Buy today:

• Blonde Ambition

It’s got Jessica Simpson in it, so you know you don’t want this one. OK, maybe it’s a train wreck entertainment thing. At least her boyfriend du jour isn’t in it with her.

• The Game Plan

It’s The Rock Dwayne Johnson. And this time, he’s a football guy of some sort.  Surrounded by cute kids.  Gak!

• Torchwood: The Complete First Season

I have a feeling that the kind of people who read this blog are the demographic for buyers of Doctor Who spin-off stuff.

• Sydney White

Amanda Bynes does a modern version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Heaven help me, but it actually sounds interesting.

• Saw IV

Ick Ick Ick

I wanted to give it another day before hitting you all with another Twitter dump. So here are some more interesting links to go around, in the meantime.

SoFoBoMo - It’s Solo Photo Book Month. For photographers, it’s the challenge of creating a photo book in 31 days. The best part is, you get to choose the starting date.

17 Ways You Can Use Twitter. (Ah, so Twitter shows up today, anyway. It’s so much fun.)

Nintendo’s Wii Fit is now scheduled for the second quarter here in the States. Of course, if you’re in Japan then you’re likely already jumping up and down on it. They sold a million units here in December. Enjoy a demo reel, in the meantime.

HD-DVD Whoops.

Pachelbel rolls over in his grave. Breakdance! I expect we’ll see this on So You Think You Can Dance this summer. . .

Image of the week: Commodore SX-64 versus the Mac Air.

‘Brady Bunch’ actor dies at 84 - CNN.com

Allan Melvin, a character actor best known for playing Sam the Butcher on “The Brady Bunch,” has died. He was 84.Melvin died of cancer Thursday at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, said Amalia Melvin, his wife of 64 years.

It’s the end of an era.

I bought lottery tickets this week. I bought them for the next two drawings of the lottery, so I wouldn’t have to make a second stop later in the week.

And then it dawned on me. What if I won the first lottery? I would have wasted those two bucks on the second lottery drawing.

I’m so very very sad a person.

• The Apple TV is better than the XBox 360. Here’s the chart to prove it.
• Mike Sterling is wrong. Comic Sans can and will hurt you. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the heck away from it.
• Industrial Robot Bowling.
• Yeah, that’s me quoted on the NY Times blog. I’m only one step away from appearing in the dead tree version now. ;-)
• It’s very weird to me to see comments after a story on NYTimes.com. But I’m glad it’s open like that.
• Why the internet exists: Watch Chuck Jones draw Wile E. Coyote.
• 24 Barrel Rubber Band Machine Gun.

Follow me on Twitter, or wait for the highlights here:

• Word I’d like to ban from the dictionary: “Progressive.” It just sounds smarmy and holier-than-thou, doesn’t it?

• @jbacardi - I hate the word musically and politically. And when used as a car insurance name, to boot.

• I love GMail and all, but it always crashes after I download an attachment.

• Life Lesson Everyone Should Know Instinctively: Don’t buy food at the dollar store.

• So far, no referrals to the blog from StumbleUpon.

• @ronxo - I barely pass “Slow Ride” on the Hard level. It’s painful.

• Crap! Someone returned what they bought to Amazon. I just lost most of my Associates points for the month. Sucks.

• Never ever under any cirumstances play that R.E.M.I.X. song on Guitar Hero. My wrist still hurts.

• The ref making all the calls at the Giants game looks like Joe Torre’s skinnier brother. No wonder all calls go NY’s way. ;-)

• Good to see the Cowboys hired Chuck Knoblauch as their snapper. [TWO Chuck Knoblauch references in one week! Crazy.]

• There is no such thing as a “wrinkle free” shirt. Don’t let ‘em fool ya.

• If you want something done right, don’t give it to a committee.

• I know we’re all waiting for the SteveNote announcements tomorrow, but I’m more excited about potential Canon Camera announcements the 24th. [See previous post — this Twitter is from Monday.  My, how time flies.]
  

• @jbacardi - I’ll see your Simone Simon and raise you a Michael Michele.

Let’s follow the rumor mill, shall we?

Thomas Heute does the math to show that Canon is due to replace the current 400D/XTi model very very soon. Their 18 month upgrade model is coming due in February. There’s a major photography convention in Las Vegas at the end of this month, PMA.

Photography Bay points to a leak in the Swedish press that says Canon is expected to make an announcement of January 24th. That’s the end of next week, a week ahead of the show start.

Photobay goes on to run down a list of rumored upgrades to the Canon 400D that the new camera — a 450D? Or is this enough to call it 500D? — would possess. It includes an upgraded processor chip from the DIGIC II to the DIGIC III. That’s currently used on the bigger brother camera, the 40D. He lists Live View (the ability to look through the screen and not the view finder) as a given. This will be a huge help to those knuckleheads who buy a dSLR without having a clue what they’re getting into. Video is a possibility — again, this is practically a must for entry-level dSLR cameras from those who expect SLRs to have everything their point-and-shoot has, and then some. An ISO boost is a possibility.

The most important possible change for me is the kit lens. It might be the newer image stabilization lens. That would make a huge difference.

Other rumors suggest facial recognition might be included.

Another site thinks the camera will be called the XTs in America. I like this site as it suggests a $599 price point. I don’t think it’ll be anywhere near that close to the current $600 price point the XTi is getting. I think $800 - $1000 is more likely, probably on the lower end.
The purists, though, don’t want to hear about new cameras. I don’t blame them, to a certain degree. But as someone just entering the field, I want to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. I don’t want to have to buy this camera twice — I can’t. I get one shot at this, and I’m waiting an extra week to hear my options.

In any case, if the new model brings the price back up to a grand, I think I’ll be going with the 400D.

We’ll see next week.

USATODAY.com

The film, which remains without a formal title, will dump the long-running “mythology” plotline — that aliens live among us and are part of a colonizing effort — that made it one of the most popular television shows in the late 1990s but ultimately drove away some viewers who found it too complex and ambiguous.”We spent a lot of time on (the mythology) and wrapped up a lot of threads” when the show went off the air in 2002, says Chris Carter, creator of the series and director of the new movie. “We want a stand-alone movie, not a mythology conspiracy one.”

That’s a very very good idea.

It’s been a busy week. This round-up of Twitter posts is a wee bit off its usual schedule. Due to volume, I’ve split them into two parts again.

Speaking of running late — a couple of weeks ago, I opened the mic and asked for your thoughts. I haven’t forgotten them. I’ll be responding to those, too. Soon. I hope. Fingers crossed.

Now for some Tweets from last week:

• @jbacardi - My fave weather saying, “What day is summer in Vermont?”

• Someone bought CompUSA and wants to keep retail stores in business. Why, was Bombay Furniture too expensive?

• New camera announced with up to 1600 shots PER SECOND. Ultra slo-mo! http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08010601casiof1.asp

• Amazon’s Gold Box finally started branching out on me today, including MST3K offers and Perl books, not just graphic novels and ASTERIX.

• I hope this format war death means a sudden drop in Blu Ray player prices. I want one now!

• @jbacardi - I can understand that feeling. I got the HDTV about 8 months ago. It’s 1080p and just screaming for a next gen DVD player.

• Moving into books on the Amazon Marketplace. Is frustrating when they don’t have a code for the one I want to sell. Might have to go eBay

• DANCE WAR deserves to get sued by AMERICAN IDOL for plagiarism.

• AMERICAN GLADIATORS is a ratings winner. When the ratings eventually slump, expect stunt casting: The return of Mike Adamle.

• Phrase I want to ban: “Let’s do this!” and its variant “Let’s do this thing!”

• No matter how much I thought I got done, it’s never enough.

• Perhaps not undeservedly, but it’s gang up on Ruby on Rails on the blogosphere this year, isn’t it? OUCH. I need to go learn PHP.

• I’d like to see Chuck Knoblauch throw out the ceremonial first pitch at an Old Timer’s Game and decapitate the first baseman

• Without a doubt, the Tweet of the day: http://twitter.com/JAFlanagan/statuses/581611282

• “AMMO24″ is the code you use to save 10% off your ammunition sales on Amazon. FYI. Now you know. [You find the most interesting things looking up coupon codes through Google. . . ]

• I hear rock songs now and think, “Green Green Red Red Yellow Yellow, GREEN/REDHOLDWHAMMYBAR!” Chorus.

Another night. Two more grueling hours. Lotsa bullet points.

• The show began to the tune and stylings of the old DALLAS soap opera. How many kids in that cattle call have ever seen an episode of that show, do you think? How many of them were born AFTER the show went off the air on Friday nights on CBS? How many of them would have a clue what the gag there was?

• We begin the night with the heart-warming tale of single mother and meth addict, Jessica Sierra. Wait, no. Let me check my notes again. Her name is Jessica Brown. She’s freshly recovered from her meth addiction, but her mug shots make her look exactly like Jessica Sierra. Funny how that works? Funnier still, she would never have been allowed this far into the competition a couple of years ago. She’s too fresh out of rehab. She talked in her prepackaged piece about how Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take The Wheel helped her recover. And she has a two year old child. Do the math. It ain’t pretty. I can’t believe IDOL is so desperate for contestants with stories that they let her through.

• She can sing, though.

• I think I might like Italian opera. I’m not sure what those two were doing, though.

• I love my HDTV. You can see the specular highlights catch lights in Simon’s eyes every time the camera cuts to him.

• Brandon Green has a bad habit of peeling his finger nails, which will earn him ZERO votes from the ladies he so desperately needs to woo as voters down the line. And then he tried to explain it to Paula Abdul, who once testified in front of Congress to lobby for better health codes for nail salons. Life sure is funny sometimes.

• Alaina (missed her last name) is this year’s charity case. They had one like her last year. You knew they weren’t good enough to go to Hollywood, but for the sake of a good time, let them through anyway, so they can be crushed in the first two days of Hollywood Hell Week. That’s the new Idol charity case syndrome.

• Simon was playing with Randy and Paula here. He knew they’d say no, so he played the role of the ‘nice guy.’ Then, Randy wilted and Alaina made it through. Whoops. It’s all about good TV, right?

• The judges really are going out of their way this year to be nice to everyone. I want Mr. Nasty Simon back, stat. It was much more fun. At least the judges seem to be having fun, and not arguing amongst themselves, this year.

• Katie Malloy sang “Unchained Melody” and took Simon’s heart. She’s definitely one to watch out for in Hollywood. Her Britney impersonation was spot on, too. Plus, she’s 18 and blonde. IDOL used to be about contestants like her. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into the show about people taking their last stab at fame before consoling themselves to a life singing karaoke, at bars, at weddings, or backup for big name talent. I miss the younger show.

• Along the same lines, does every contestant this year have to have children? There’s an IDOL baby boom going on, to the point where one went into labor at the cattle call.

• Douglas Davison is Dwight Schrute. When he sang “Livin’ On A Prayer,” I wanted to scream, “Yeah, that’s Billy Joel’s song!” But how many people will remember the reverse screw-up of that last night and realize I was joking? ::sigh:: If you have to explain it, it ain’t funny.

• Angela Reilly is the girl who made everything into a show-stopping Broadway showtune, and whose model newlywed husband helped her pick songs. (”Love is deaf,” Simon said.) I got a kick out of watching Chad play with his wedding ring constantly. I know that feeling from recent experience.

• Kyle Ensley is very nearly the second Idol Charity Case. He can actually sing, but I think he’s more musical theater than American Idol.

• Colton Swon — Mr. Blond Porcupine Hair — won’t make it far, I don’t think, but deserves a chance in Hollywood.

• What, does every city have someone who can whistle the crickets sound?

• Drew Popelreitter (sp?) is the ultimate Farm Boy. I think he’s going to prove to be too country. I doubt he can be versatile enough, but we’ll see where he goes.

• “Guyliner.” HA!

• And the grand finale — the contestant we’ve all been waiting for — the 44 year old pimp Burger King/Disco King guy — was hilarious. Again, we see the judges having fun, singing and dancing along with a contestant who just doesn’t know better.

• Or, if you’re the particularly sensitive type, you don’t like the way IDOL once again makes fun of someone for whom English is clearly not their first language.

• I thought the song was hilarious, though. Ryan looked weirded out at the whole thing, though.

Next week: San Diego! I could spot the convention center and the Padres’ new park in the backgrounds already. Looks like the cattle call was at the convention center, and the call backs to the judges were in a local hotel. I couldn’t tell which one it was from those brief clips at the end of the show. Maybe we can all figure that out together next week. (Yes, I’m sure the info is easily available on-line and all, but the thrill of the search is the fun here. And I miss the San Diego Comic Convention so badly.)

NBC orders more ‘Gladiators’ - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

After just two original broadcasts, NBC has decided to order up another season of its “American Gladiators” revival.

As expected, the howls of disappointment I hear after yesterday’s SteveNote are coming from people not disappointed by what Apple is offering, but rather by how Apple isn’t giving them their imaginary dream machines and products. The disappointment is fueled not by poor products, but by the the failure to live up to impossible standards.

Look, the MacBook Air is a nice concept computer. (I may be the only one who likes the name.) Only the real die-hards are going to spend $1800 on a laptop they can fit into a manilla envelope. It’s just way too expensive for too little computer. The form factor is beautiful and the machine is a marvel of engineering. But is it necessary? Does it really fill a gap in the marketplace?

I know it’s been rehashed before, but the true gap in Apple’s product line is in a more entry-level computer for under $1000 that would plug into someone’s existing keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Picture a Mac Mini, but in a tower form or a pizza box form. Picture the kind of box that businesses would buy, or that home users familiar with a specific PC format would feel more comfortable with. If you want growth, that’s where you want to go.

Tangent: I’m not saying that growth is the be-all and end-all of business. It drives me nuts that companies on the stock market need to grow, grow, grow to keep investors happy and their stock price rising. Note that Apple’s stock price dropped dramatically during the SteveNote today. Of course, I believe it did during the iPhone announcement last year, which has been a money-printing factory.

The real star here is the Apple TV 2.0, which is just a software upgrade and a price drop. This is the set-top box we’ve all been waiting for. This is Apple TV done right. HIGH DEFINITION delivered from the cloud over the air to your TV directly. No intermediate computer way station. You order it up from your TV and it gets delivered to your TV. True, it’s only 720p instead of 1080p, but for a $5 rental of a chick flick, who’s going to mind?

My favorite conspiracy angle on the Next Gen DVD wars is the one that Don Reisinger repeated on TWiT this past weekend — that Microsoft threw hundreds of millions of dollars into HD-DVD to create a war that nobody would win, because Gates and Company knew that the real money would be in digital downloads, not more DVDs.

The funny thing is, if he’s right then Apple just won the first battle on Microsoft’s dime. I do think digital downloads are the future. And the Apple TV 2.0 is the first winning salvo in that war. Yes, the XBox 360 has offered something like this for a year, but it’s been hidden under a gaming box and a cheap HD-DVD player and — well, it’s too much for the average consumer. And it’s too expensive.

$229 for the Apple TV? That’s pure gold. That should just about put the Vudu player out of business, because it does something just as well for a much smaller price. $229 is a great price for this thing. It can replace Netflix and Blockbuster in one fell swoop, creating a product that’s easier to use and more fun, honestly, than anything the rest offer. Add onto that the free HD video podcast potential — we’ve been talking about that for a YEAR now — and the home network possibilities — showing off your pics, playing iTunes music, etc. — and you’ve got a winning product in an affordable form factor without another monthly fee.

Apple TV is the big winner here today. (I’ll be pushing future Amazon Associates points towards its purchase.)

I also really like the Time Capsule for its simplicity. Sure, you can do NAS yourself, and quite possibly for less. But the simplicity and the form factor and the ease of use of Time Capsule should make it a winning add-on for Leopard, too.

On the other hand, this might all be the Reality Distortion Field at work. Give it a week and we’ll see.

For now, I’m thinking that the Apple TV is within my reach. It has a small enough price point and a big enough upside that I think I might be able to get it past the Finance Committee in the relatively near future. And the longer the Writers Strike continues in Hollywood, the better the Apple TV and more movie rentals looks.

Related Links:

• Last Year’s SteveNote Note (09 Jan 2007) (HDTV is no longer a problem for me. Yay)
• Follow-Ups, Updates, and Corrections (11 Jan 2007)
• Other Apple Rumors That Haven’t Panned Out (22 June 2007) (Two of them have come true since)