Lighter, smaller, sharper The GoPro Hero3 is 25
percent lighter than the previous-generation Hero 2's camera. It's also
30 percent smaller. However, all of that reduction manifests in reduced
thickness with a new depth of only 20mm. The height and width (42mm by
60mm) are unchanged to maintain compatibility with GoPro's line of
BacPac add-on modules and rear doors for the clear plastic shell.
On
the front panel, you'll find the new f/2.8, six-element aspherical lens
that is supposed to offer twice the image sharpness and reduce the
amount of barrel distortion at the extremes of its 170-degree field of
view. However, the characteristic fish-eye look of the video and photos
captured by the Hero3 hasn't been totally removed, as it's sort of a
hallmark of the action-camera style, adding a bit of drama to scenery as
it speeds by.
The Hero3 uses the same improved LCD of the Hero 2,
with its monochromatic dot-matrix display. I found the screen to be
easy enough to navigate using the GoPro's combination mode/power button
to change modes and the shutter release to make selections. However,
there is a bit of a learning curve. Expect to spend a bit of time on
your first outing just looping through the menus and getting used to
where the options are. I also found the LCD to be a bit difficult to
read in direct sunlight. The
Hero3 (right) is the smallest GoPro camera ever, edging out the
previous Hero 2 (middle) and the old-school Digital Hero 5 (left).
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
The
front panel is also home to two indicator lights: one red to indicate
that the Hero is recording and one blue that blinks to indicate that
Wi-Fi is active. There are also smaller red indicator lights on the top,
back, and bottom panels that are visible from most angles.
On the
back panel, you'll find the removable cover for the 1,050mAh lithium
ion battery. Swappable batteries are a good idea if you plan on being
out shooting all day. Next to the battery door, you'll find the
proprietary BacPac connection where the accessory BacPacs, such as the
LCD and Battery BacPacs, connect.
On the right side of the unit
(when viewed from the front), you'll find the Wi-Fi button that
activates and deactivates the wireless connectivity with the GoPro app
for smartphones or the Wi-Fi remote (which is included with the Hero3
Black Edition, but not the Silver or White editions). The details of how
the Wi-Fi remote works have already been detailed as part of our review
of the GoPro WiFi BacPac. However, this built-in Wi-Fi functionality
renders the WiFi BacPac itself obsolete for this new generation --
although you'll still need it if you have a few older Hero 2s kicking
around.
On the left side, behind a removable plastic panel, you'll
find the Hero3's greatly simplified bank of connections. There's a
Micro-HDMI output, shrunken down from the Mini-HDMI of the previous
generation, and a microSD card slot, shrunken down from a full-size SD
card slot for space savings. The Hero3 doesn't come with a microSD card,
but supports cards with capacities up to 64GB. Finally, there's a
Mini-USB port, which makes a return appearance, that is used for
charging and syncing. However, with the aid of optional adapter cables,
this Mini-USB port can also double as a 3.5 mm microphone input or an
analog video output. I like to see GoPro doing more with less space
here, but this connection scheme pretty much locks you into only using
GoPro's first-party adapters, which may not be too big a deal for some
users. The Hero3 consolidates the previous generation's inputs and outputs down to two ports and a card slot.
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
On
either side of the Hero3, you'll find a small pinhole microphone for
audio recording alongside your video. GoPro claims that its wind
reduction algorithms have been improved for this generation. Like the
previous generation, the camera comes with a swappable Skeleton back
panel for its clear plastic case that can be used to further improve
audio quality at speeds below 100 mph at the expense of waterproofing.
Rough and tumble shell
The Hero3's clear plastic shell is as much a part of the GoPro system
as the camera itself and has received an update as well to match the
smaller Hero3 chassis. Now thinner than before, the Hero3's shell also
offers three waterproof buttons that pass your inputs through to the
power/mode select button, the shutter release, and the new Wi-Fi button.
The
back panel is still removable to allow replacement, for example, with
the aforementioned Skeleton door or deeper doors that accommodate the
BacPac add-ons. The door also features a new two-stage lock that that
requires a tab to be pushed to the side before the locking mechanism can
be lifted and rotated out of place. This adds a bit of extra security,
keeping the camera sealed in its case, but I never really had any issues
with the old, single-stage lock, so this new, sometimes incredibly
difficult-to-open lock seems a bit unnecessary. Users who often submerge
their GoPro cameras might not think so.
Finally, the Hero3's new
shell features a new, flat lens that is supposed to work better with the
new lens' reduced distortion and offer better underwater image quality.
Like every generation of Hero shell before it, the Hero3's clear shell
is completely user-serviceable with the ability to replace any component
from the lens to the door to the body itself independently. It also
retains compatibility with GoPro's entire catalog of mounting options.
Build quality & handling
The plastic housing, like the previous version, is robust enough to be knocked, dropped, drenched and thrown about.
There's
an extra lock on the top hinge which can be fiddly with cold or gloved
hands, but will guard against accidental leverage of the hinge, although
we did find the hinge assembly coming off from time to time.
The
mount attachment is the same as previous models so you can reuse your
existing mounts without buying new ones, or take advantage of the many
Third Party options out there such as the K-Edge GO BIG mounts.
The
only things about the camera that have got bigger are the operational
buttons for the menu and shutter activation: an improvement over the
previous model, as it makes operating the camera inside and outside the
housing easier. The
menu system is unchanged although, as with previous HERO cameras, you
can find yourself pressing the same button over and over to cycle
through the menus when you've clicked past the option you wanted to
change.
Performance
The metering functions cope very well across a range of light conditions and rapidly changing light conditions.
The
sensor and compression improvements, in terms of quality over the
HERO2, are obvious when looking at 100% crops of identical photos with a
reduction in artefacts.
There is a tiny improvement in resolution and chromatic aberration is still present, but less so than with previous models.
The
white balance, which can be adjusted in nerd-friendly Kelvin, isn't
always right in auto mode, returning magenta-tinged blues at times, but
nothing that a little post production couldn't fix.
One
marked improvement is the ability to retain details in highlights. On
the previous model bright areas were easily blown out, but there's a lot
more detail now.
There is a sacrifice to be made in
detail in dark areas, which we found when shooting into low autumnal
light. But then this camera comes from California, where they love the
sun.
LCD touchscreen performance
The
optional touchscreen is a great addition, if only for navigating the
menus. Whilst only 5cm across the diagonal it eliminates the guess work
from lining up shots, and provides an opportunity to check back footage
quickly and easily.
The unit doesn't have its own power
supply so it is a drain on your camera's battery. There's no setting to
change the brightness and the screen isn't visible in bright sunlight.
Why they chose to use white graphics on light grey backgrounds is a
puzzler, when more contrasted icons would make for easier viewing.
It can be a little slow to respond to presses in video playback.
When shooting underwater, the touch functions won't work so you'll be relying on the regular buttons for menu selection.
Compared to the competition, such as the £100 ($150) cheaper
Sony HDR-AS15, which already has Wi-Fi built in for live streaming,
identical frame rates at 1080p and 720p plus a stereo microphone and
speaker compared to the GoPro's mono and no speaker; and the £160 ($250)
cheaper Drift HD which has a built in colour screen and more buttons
for menu navigation, is the GoPro worth the extra money?
Yes.
Especially if you're a professional videographer, because of the wide range of resolutions and frame rates it offers.
And yes again, if you want a small, light camera that is capable across a wide range of environmental conditions.
If
you're not that worried about weight or size and are looking for a
cheaper alternative, then the Sony offers a great picture for less money
and does pretty much the same job. Depending
where you want to use it, the GoPro already has a mature range of
mounting accessories. They're still a little flimsy and overpriced, and
difficult to attach with cold or gloved hands, but it does mean that you
can attach the camera to pretty much anything that moves.
With
the HERO3 the main takeaway in terms of image quality was the improved
detail in highlighted areas, but when shooting into the light you can
lose a lot of information in the dark areas of the image.
The
menu system is still a frustration too, but the LCD touchscreen negated
this annoyance and we hope the free GoPro App, which becomes compatible
in December for the Black Edition, will do the same job as the
touchscreen, as well as making framing of shots and shooting a more
controlled affair.
In sum The $399.99 flagship GoPro Hero3 Black
Edition goes head-to-head and toe-to-toe with the top of line Contour+2,
which retails for the same price. Both cameras offer great HD video
quality and both cameras ship with waterproof, ruggedized plastic shells
to protect your investment. Both feature built-in wireless connectivity
with smartphone apps: GoPro uses Wi-Fi; Contour uses Bluetooth. The
Contour+2 wins a round with its ability to record and embed GPS
elevation and speed data into its videos and the fact that it ships with
video editing software, while the GoPro offers neither. I've also noted
on many occasions that the Contour is easier for novices to use, with
its slide and record control scheme. The
GoPro Hero3 Black Edition (pictured) is the best sports camera yet, but
the Silver and White editions are great value alternatives.
Antuan Goodwin/CNET
However,
the Hero3's smaller chassis, on-device display and controls, and
superior resolutions and available frame rates make it the obvious
winner in a spec battle. If you're a semi-professional or prosumer
sports camera enthusiast, taking an extra day to figure out the Hero3's
more complex control scheme is totally worth the greater amount of
on-device flexibility of shooting modes.
However, at about four
Benjamins, the Hero3 Black Edition may be too much camera for your
average consumer who only occasionally hits the slopes or is only
uploading to YouTube or Facebook. For those who don't need 4K video or
want to hold off on buying the Wi-Fi remote, the $299.99 Silver Edition
and $199.99 White Edition meet the right price points, but come into
competition with the newly announced ContourRoam 2.
The GoodThe GoPro Hero3
is smaller, lighter, and features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. The
Black Edition offers a number of ultra-high-resolution capture modes and
high frame rates for standard HD resolutions; burst speeds for still
photos has been greatly improved.
The BadGoPro's
control scheme has a longer learning curve than the simpler slide-n-go
setup of the Contour cameras. Only 15fps on 4K video renders this
selling point mostly moot for action videography.
The Bottom LineThe
GoPro Hero3 Silver and White editions are strong contenders in the
sports camera market, but the faster, more powerful Black Edition is
head and shoulders the best sports camera on the market today.
The Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art is a fast 'normal' lens designed for
full frame SLRs, and one of the most hotly-anticipated lenses of 2014.
Sigma shook up the moribund 'fast 50' sector back in March 2008 when it
announced the 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, which we considered to be 'Highly Recommended'
for its excellent optics, especially at larger apertures. This marked
the start of string of excellent fast primes from the Japanese lens
maker, including last year's stellar 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art (another winner of our top award).
The latest 50mm is unusually large and expensive for its
type; indeed its $950 / £850 price tag suggests Sigma is aiming at
users who might otherwise choose the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm F1.4G or Canon EF 50mm F1.2L USM.
It bears a distinct family resemblance to the company's 35mm F1.4, but
if anything is slightly larger, with a 100mm / 4" long barrel and 77mm
filter thread. Its complex optical formula of 13 elements in 8 groups
isn't based on a conventional double-Gauss design, like most 50mm
primes are, but instead is of the retrofocal type.
This set of characteristics, along with Sigma's recent track record
of making impressive optics, means that the 50mm F1.4 Art has
inevitably invited comparison to the astounding Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 - quite possibly the sharpest lens
we've yet seen. However given that lens's $4000 price tag, it seems a
little optimistic to expect quite the same qualities. But the Sigma
offers autofocus via a ring-type ultrasonic motor (with full-time manual override), which means it wins out on practicality.
Headline features
50mm focal length
Fast F1.4 maximum aperture
Ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor with full-time manual override
Internal focus design
Will be available in Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha, and Sigma SA mounts
Size and Design
The 50mm F1.4 Art is quite different from any previous
autofocus 50mm F1.4 for full frame, and much more similar in size and
optical design to a typical 35mm F1.4 lens. This means it's almost twice
the length, and three times the weight of the more traditional
double-Gauss designs from Canon and Nikon. It's also substantially
larger than either the older Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, or the Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM, both of which are pretty sizeable for a 'fast normal' prime.
Here you can see how much larger the Sigma 50mm F1.4
is compared to a traditional design the Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM. For some
potential buyers, this extra bulk may be reason enough to discount the
Sigma.
Mount the 50mm F1.4 on a full frame SLR, though, and
it handles perfectly well. Its bulk will probably discourage any attempt
at one-handed shooting though.
The Sigma's price means that we expect it to be used
mainly on full frame cameras, so we're going to concentrate on analysing
this aspect of its performance in this initial short report. As,
usual, though, we're also making data for APS-C available - click here to see test results from the EOS 7D.
We're looking at a Canon-mount lens simply because that's the first
version to go on the market (and therefore be available to test).
The Sigma performs exceptionally well on full frame; it may not quite match the Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4
for sharpness at maximum aperture, but it outperforms anything else in
its class for which we have data, including Nikon's recent AF-S Nikkor 58mm F1.4G. Particularly remarkable is its extraordinarily low distortion.
Sharpness
Sharpness is very impressive indeed. At
F1.4 it's unusually high for a 50mm prime, and deteriorates only
slightly from the centre to the corners. By F2.8 it's extremely sharp
right across the frame, to the extent that these measurements are
probably limited more by the EOS 5D Mark III's 22MP sensor than by the
lens. There's hardly any change on stopping down to F8, but beyond this
the softening effect of diffraction inevitably kicks in. However even
F16 should give entirely usable results when extended depth of field is
necessary.
Chromatic Aberration
Lateral chromatic aberration is extremely low. There
might be a little green/magenta fringing right in the corners of the
frame if you really go looking for it, but it's unlikely to be
problematic in normal use.
Vignetting
Vignetting is kept well under control, at just 1.5
stops wide open, which is very respectable for an F1.4 prime. The
falloff profile is rather gradual too, which tends to make any
vignetting less visually objectionable. Stop down to F2, and any
vignetting effectively disappears.
Distortion
Distortion is astonishingly low, with just the barest
hint of pincushion stretching at the extreme corners of the frame. This
marks the Sigma apart from other 50mm full frame primes, which all tend
to show some degree of barrel distortion.
To really appreciate just how good the Sigma is, we need to
look at how it compares to other similar lenses (click on the yellow
links to open up comparison widgets in a new window). The benchmark
right now is the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55,
and while the Sigma can't quite match it for outright sharpness right
across the frame wide open, it's extremely close. Indeed when tested on
the 22MP Canon EOS 5D Mark III, it's clear that the MTF measurements for
both lenses are being limited as much by the camera's resolution than
the lens itself, even at maximum aperture. In other respects the gap is
also very narrow, with the Sigma having slightly higher chromatic
aberration, but less vignetting and lower distortion than the Zeiss.
Now let's take a look at some other premium fast primes. The Sigma is simply much sharper at maximum aperture than the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm F1.4G
(despite being tested here on a lower-resolution camera), and has far
lower distortion too. We see a similar story compared to the Canon EF 50mm F1.2L USM;
the Sigma is sharper, has notably lower later chromatic aberration, and
of course practically no distortion at all. It's also worth noting that
the 50mm outperforms its much-lauded sibling, the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, in every attribute we're measuring here.
Compared to more-conventional 50mm F1.4s, the Sigma also shines. It's substantially sharper than either the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G or the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
at apertures larger than about F5.6, and has lower chromatic
aberration, vignetting and distortion than either of these lenses too.
It's much the same story with Sigma's previous 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM;
the new model is much sharper wide open, and clearly better in the
corners of the frame at intermediate apertures. Of course these lenses
are all much less expensive - but this shows why.
Summary
From the lab test results, the Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM |
Art goes a long way to living up the high expectations that have been
placed on it. Indeed it's one of the best-performing lenses of its type,
bettered only by the much-more expensive Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 - and even
then, not by all that much. We'll be expanding this report into a full
review as soon as possible, in which we'll be analysing its real-world
behaviour and looking at the less-tangible aspects of image quality, but
just right now, we're very impressed indeed.
Image Samples Gallery
We've had an early sample of the 50mm F1.4 DG HSM for a
couple of days, long enough to put together a quick initial samples
gallery. We've concentrated on large-aperture shots to show sharpness
and bokeh, but have also thrown in several images shot at smaller
apertures too.
There are 31 images in the samples gallery. Please do
not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine
without prior permission (see our copyright
page). We make the originals available for private users to download
to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction
with this review), we do so in good faith, please don't abuse it.
Nikon's entry-level DSLR loses its anti-aliasing filter for more detail than ever before
Manufacturers generally update their entry-level cameras
with greater frequency with those at the top of the line, since they're
keen to capture that lucrative first-time buyer. Although these cameras
are far cheaper than the professional ones at the top of the range, by
snagging a customer at this stage in the buying cycle you're often
guaranteed long-time loyalty in terms of buying accessories such as
lenses, and eventually, a more advanced body.
Whenever I'm asked for an entry-level DSLR recommendation, those at the bottom of Nikon's range always spring to mind. The Nikon D3200, which I reviewed back in 2012 was an excellent performer and its easy handling made it the ideal choice for beginners.
The
D3300 looks set to be another good choice for beginners. It offers the
same 24.2 million-pixel count as the D3200, but omits the optical
low-pass filter over the sensor and should therefore capture sharper,
more detailed images.
Removing the anti-aliasing filter
is something we've seen mainly on professional and enthusiast level
cameras until now. Removing it increases the chance of moiré patterning
appearing on some images – usually when you photograph something with
repeating or close patterns. Enthusiasts and pros don't usually have a
problem with removing such patterning in post-processing, but it's
interesting that Nikon should choose this design for an entry-level
model, or, customers who are less likely to use image-editing software
to perform such tasks.
Nikon claims that a high pixel
count, such as found on the D3300, almost eliminates the risk of such
patterning occurring, so it will be interesting to see if we can find
any examples of it in images straight from the camera.
The D3300 has many updated features
Along
with the sensor redesign, Nikon has also improved the user interface as
well as the Guide Mode, to give it more functionality and make it a
little cleaner in appearance.
Like the Nikon D5300,
the D3300 has the manufacturer's latest generation processing engine:
EXPEED 4. This allows the new camera to shoot continuously at a maximum
rate of 5fps up to 100 fine quality JPEGs.
In addition,
the native sensitivity range runs from ISO 100 to 12,800 and there's an
expansion setting that takes it to the equivalent of ISO 25,600.
Provided that noise is controlled to Nikon's usual standard, this should
mean that the D3300 performs better in low light than its predecessor,
making it more versatile.
There's an extra stop of sensitivity for low-light shoting
The
EXPEED 4 processing engine is also responsible for allowing the D3300
to record Full HD movie footage at framerates up to 50p/60p and with
continuous autofocus. Helpfully, there's a microphone port as well as a
built-in stereo mic for better sound recording during movie shooting.
Like
the D5300, the D3200 has a Special Effects mode that allows a
collection of styles to be applied to JPEG images and video. Nikon has
boosted the list of effects to 13 and it now includes Pop, which
increases colour saturation, Toy Camera, which creates a retro effect,
and Easy Panorama. These effects can be previewed in real time on the
LCD screen.
The D3300 has a dedicated 420-pixel RGB
sensor to gather exposure, white balance and focus information to inform
the Automatic Scene Recognition system. Meanwhile, there's an 11-point
AF system, which has a central cross-type AF point for extra
sensitivity.
Finally, although the D3300 uses the same
battery as the D3200, we are told that the new processing engine allows
the camera to be more efficient in its power consumption, and the
battery is claimed to last for around 700 shots – we'll be keen to put
that claim to the test during our review.
Build and Design
The D3300 is the second DSLR from Nikon to use a monocoque
construction. That means it's made from one piece of material, making it
both lighter and stronger than the D3200.
Nikon has
also reduced slightly the size of the camera when compared to the D3200,
but placing the two side by side doesn't reveal too dramatic a
difference. The grip is still deep and comfortable to hold, with the
textured surface making it feel particularly secure in the hand.
The hand-grip is slightly smaller than the D3200's
What
does make a significant difference however is the new 18-55mm kit lens,
which is now collapsible. While by no means small in comparison to
compact system camera lenses, when collapsed the lens is quite a bit
shorter than its predecessor, making it easier to fit into a bag when
not in use.
When you want to use the camera (with this
kit lens attached), you'll first need to press a button on the lens
barrel to expand it back into normal proportions. This does mean that
start-up time from packed away is a little slower than other cameras,
but you can of course leave it extended if you need a quicker start.
The kit lens folds down to become super-compact
Like
the D3200, the D3300 has a three-inch LCD screen with 921,000 dots.
This is a fixed unit and Nikon is still resisting the urge to join the
touchscreen revolution, which is a little disappointing given how many
of the camera's controls are changed via the screen itself.
That
brings us to the user interface. The D3300 has a pleasingly modern
appearance, with the high resolution giving the display beautifully
rounded edges and displaying the interface's colours well. When
shooting, the camera displays three circles which represent shutter
speed, aperture and sensitivity (ISO). These displays change as you
alter settings using the scrolling dials, most obvious being the
aperture circle which closes and opens to represent the opening and
closing of the aperture blades.
A
dial on the back of the camera is used for altering the aperture or
shutter speed, depending on the mode you're shooting in. When in fully
manual mode and needing to control both, you'll need to hold down the
exposure compensation button while scrolling the dial to switch between
the two parameters.
There aren't a huge number of control buttons
There
isn't a huge number of buttons on the D3300, which is to be expected of
an entry-level camera. On the top plate you'll find a mode dial for
switching between exposure modes, such as fully automatic, aperture
priority and the newly incorporated Effects mode. Also on the top plate
you'll find the exposure compensation button (for use in automatic and
semi-automatic modes) and an info button, which helpfully turns off the
rear display, preventing it from being a distraction while using the
viewfinder.
A sort of quick menu is accessed on the
D3300 by pressing a button labelled 'i' on the back of the camera. After
you've pressed this, use the directional keys to pick a setting you
want to change – such as white balance – and then press OK to bring up
the different options available to you. Unfortunately, this menu isn't
customisable, so if there's something on this menu you rarely use,
you're stuck with it.
There is also a function button
near the lens mount. By default holding this down will allow you to
quickly change the ISO, but you can change this to control JPEG quality,
white balance or Active D-Lighting. ISO seems like a sensible choice
since it's something you'll probably need to change the most often out
of the options available.
The viewfinder offers 95% coverage
Changing
the AF point is very simple. All you'll need to do is press the
directional arrow keys to move around to the point you need. As the
central AF point is cross-type, it is more sensitive than the others, so
you may find it beneficial to focus and recompose in certain
situations, or, if you're just aiming for speed.
The
viewfinder is optical and offers a 95% field of view. While it is bright
and clear, not being 100% does mean that there is a chance of something
appearing in the final image that you didn't notice in composition.
With such a large resolution though, cropping out any of those mistakes
shouldn't lead to a reduction in quality.
The D3300 sits at the bottom of Nikon's entry-level series,
positioned as the friendliest of beginner-friendly DSLRs, just below the
D5300.
Don't be fooled by their class bearing though, both cameras use a
powerful 24MP APS-C sensor. Opting for the D3300 rather than the D5300
means living with a fixed 3.0-inch LCD, rather than one that's fully
articulated, and no built-in Wi-Fi.
Nikon D3300 key features
24.2 MP DX format (APS-C) sensor
Expeed 4 processor
Fixed 3.0" 921k-dot LCD
1080/60p HD video
5 fps continuous shooting
700 shot battery life
The D3300's Expeed 4 branded processor is responsible for many of
its gains over the previous model, the D3200. This model gets an upgrade
to 1080/60p video recording, an extra frame per second in burst mode,
and a higher ISO range up to 12800 (25600 with expansion).
Operation and Controls
In the Auto and scene modes, the D3300 behaves very much as a
point-and-shoot, with very little user intervention required or allowed
(you get control over focus and flash modes, but that's about it). Guide
mode is a middle ground - you take control of the camera's exposure
settings using a 'usage scenario' logic - but it's on switching to the
PASM modes that the D3300 really comes into its own.
From the top you can see the D3300's flash, shown here in its
closed (stowed) position and the hotshoe which can accept any of Nikon's
current range of Speedlight flashes. The left-hand side of the top
plate is bare, but on the right of the pentamirror 'hump' you can see a
cluster of control points ('info' button, movie start/stop and exposure
compensation) along with the mode dial.
The basic exposure parameters - shutter speed, aperture, and
exposure compensation - are all handled by the well-placed rear
thumbwheel in concert with the exposure compensation button. This layout
makes changing these settings fairly quick and fluid, though the twin
dials of the Fujifilm X-A1 are a step ahead.
We also like Nikon's dedication of the four-way controller to selecting a
focus point manually - combined with the 11-point AF system this makes
focusing on off-center subjects a breeze, without having to always focus
and recompose for every shot.
The rear dial handles either shutter speed or aperture in the
semi-manual modes. In full manual mode, the dial sets shutter speed at
default - pressing and holding the exposure compensation button switches
it to aperture. It's still possible to apply exposure compensation in
manual exposure mode (via the 'i' menu), which either applies a bias to
the target shown by the meter, or adjusts the image brightness directly,
if you have Auto ISO engaged.
The other shooting controls - ISO, white balance, focus mode
and the like - are all set from the active control panel on the rear
display, accessed by pressing the 'i' button. Likewise Live View is
accessed by pressing the 'Lv' button, which you'll need to do in order
to record video.
The D3300 also offers a customizable function button on the
front of the camera near the lens mount, with just a handful of settings
it can be tasked with accessing. The exposure lock button on the rear
next to the command dial can also be customized to handle focus and/or
exposure only. Here are all of your options:
Button
Available functions:
Fn Button
• Image quality/size
• ISO sensitivity
• White Balance
• Active D-Lighting
AE-L
AF-L
• AE/AF lock
• AE lock only
• AE lock (Hold)
• AF lock only
• AF-ON
The function button acts as a direct control to whichever
setting it's assigned. Pressing and holding the Fn button makes it
possible to use the command dial to change the setting. This means that
the user has direct access to either shutter speed or aperture
(depending on the shooting mode), exposure compensation, and another
setting like ISO. For a beginner learning the basics of exposure, that's
probably enough.
Interface
The D3300 features a slightly more condensed 'quick' menu than
is offered in its bigger siblings like the D5300, omitting Active
D-Lighting access, but all of the essentials are present. The command
dial can't be used in either selecting a function or setting it. We were
annoyed by this behavior in the D5300, since use of the command dial
would make changing settings just a little bit quicker, but D3300 users
(who we expect to be using one of the automated modes more often) may
not find this as irritating. This camera is targeted more clearly toward
a user moving up from a point-and-shoot, so this point-and-shoot-like
interface is likely not a problem - unless that user has ambitions
beyond that approach.
The 'info' button on the top of the camera toggles this
settings display on and off. Two rows of settings are stacked along the
bottom of the display.
Pressing the 'i' button on the back panel activates the quick menu, highlighting the item that was last accessed. The four-way controller is used to navigate between settings.
Unlike many of its rivals, there's no option to then directly change the setting, though...
..instead, pressing the 'OK' button brings up a sub-menu
where the desired setting can be changed by using the directional
buttons (again, the dial remains unused).
'Help' screens are available to explain various camera and
exposure functions. Highlighting an item on the quick menu and pressing
the '?' button (also the zoom out button) on the back panel will bring
up this informational screen.
Losing the shortcut to Active D-Lighting is disappointing, but
doesn't feel like a huge loss since it's only available in on/off states
(the D5300 offers more control over ADL modes). It can be assigned to
the customizable Fn button, but that requires giving up your only means
of direct access to ISO. The D3300 does not offer a touch screen, and
neither do most of its entry-level DSLR peers. However, touch screens
can be found among the mirrorless competition - the Olympus E-PM2 and
Panasonic GF6 both offer one. We think that those moving to a more
advanced camera and are accustomed to point-and-shoot or smartphone
interfaces would feel at home with a touch screen.
Performance
We were big fans of both the D3200 and the D3100,
so we had pretty high hopes that the D3300 would continue this
impressive line-up. Nikon entry-level cameras offer a lot for the cash,
and the D3300 is no different in that respect.
The big
difference between this camera and its predecessor is the removal of the
anti-aliasing filter, which has been done to improve detail resolution.
As expected, the D3300 has excellent resolving power, zooming in to
images to 100% reveals that very fine details can be seen. Happily,
we've not come across any examples of moiré patterning when shooting
stills, suggesting Nikon's claim that a high pixel count presents less
of a problem for AA filter-less cameras is accurate.
Our
labs data indicates that the camera performs better than its
predecessors in our resolution test – you can see a full set of charts
on the next page.
Noise is well controlled
With
such a high pixel count (24 million pixels), there comes the increased
chance of noise appearing in images. The D3300, like the D3200, handles
low light, high sensitivity situations very well. Noise only really
starts to become particularly apparent when shooting at ISO 3200 above,
and even then it's acceptable, or certainly preferable to a blurred or
missed shot.
Examining images at 100% reveals that
detail is kept well, while our lab charts indicate that the D3300
favours detail reproduction over noise reduction, something which is
borne out in real world shots, but not to the extent that shots become
unacceptably noisy. Again you can read in-depth analysis from our labs
testing on the next pages.
Image smoothing is something
that can be seen right the way through the sensitivity run, but at the
lower end of the spectrum it's not particularly noticeable, only when
examining images very closely at 100% does it become apparent. When
printing at normal sizes, such as A4, or sharing online, it doesn't
present a problem.
One
of the benefits of having a large pixel count is the ability to crop
images and still retain a decent resolution, but this is something to
bear in mind if you've been shooting at a high sensitivity and want to
crop an image. Any image smoothing or noise may become more apparent the
more you crop the image.
Metering
In the
majority of everyday shooting conditions, the D3300's general-purpose
metering does a good job of producing accurate exposures. I did find,
however, that the camera can get confused if you're shooting something
with very high contrast – for instance a bright sign in otherwise dark
conditions. It's not particularly surprising, and switching to spot
metering or dialling in some exposure compensation helps to reduce this.
If you shoot in raw, you've also got the option to alter the exposure
in post-production, with raw format files containing plenty of detail
for you to work with.
Automatic white balance is
similarly impressive, managing to produce accurate colours even while
shooting indoors. The only time I had to change from the automatic
setting was when shooting a row of red outdoor lights, when the camera
got a little confused and produced a slightly colder colour than I would
have liked. Otherwise, shooting under normal household artificial
lights produces images which are very close to accurate, hardly erring
towards warm tones at all, which is excellent to see in a beginner
camera.
Autofocus
Autofocusing speeds are pretty
high, especially in daylight or well-lit conditions. It's rare for the
kit lens to hunt around to acquire focus, and rarer still for it to
present a false confirmation of focus. Speeds do drop a little in lower
light conditions, but it's only when it gets very dark that the lens
struggles to focus at all. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that
focusing speeds drop significantly when using Live View, so it's only
really recommended you use that if you're shooting something stationery,
or you're shooting from an awkward angle and can't compose using the
viewfinder.
The new kit lens is a decent performer to
get you started with. Its focal length range is good for a variety of
general situations, while it is capable of producing sharp images.
By
shooting at a mid-range aperture of around f/8 we can assess the
sharpness of the lens across the frame, and in this respect, the lens
puts in a good performance. A good suggestion for a next lens would be a
50mm f/1.8, which would be handy in lower light conditions, and for
shooting portraits.
I was very impressed by the D3300's
battery performance. After a day of shooting, checking images and then
scrolling through saved images, the battery life indicator hadn't even
dropped a single bar. Nikon's claim of around 700 shots per charge seems
about accurate and makes it an excellent camera for holidays, family
outings and other times where you don't want to worry about conserving
the battery life.
Auto ISO
The D3300 offers an Auto ISO system similar to what's offered
in the D5300. It's accessed from the shooting menu, where you can set a
baseline ISO along with a maximum sensitivity and a minimum shutter
speed, which can also be set to Auto. Selecting Auto maintains a
'1/equivalent focal length' rule for shutter speed in P and A modes. In
the D5300 you can also choose to skew this higher or lower, depending on
your faith in VR and your confidence in handholding. There's no option
to do this in the D3300.
As has long been the case with Nikon, the D3300 makes it
unusually awkward to engage and disengage Auto ISO - you can only do so
from the main menu. In a move that risks being confusing for beginners,
you can continue to manually specify an ISO, while in Auto ISO mode, but
all you're doing is specifying the minimum that the camera will use.
Diving into the camera menu is the only way to turn ISO
Auto on or off. From this screen you can also set a maximum sensitivity
and minimum shutter speed.
What's missing here? The D5300 offers the chance to
customize your Auto minimum shutter speed, rather than simply following
the 1/equivalent focal length rule. In the D3300, this option is not
available.
Even without the ability to adjust its behavior to your liking,
this dependence on focal length is very helpful, but doesn't hold up in
the very basic full Auto mode. In this mode the camera operates under
the assumption that you want to use the built-in flash unit. If you
override this and turn the flash off (which thankfully, you can) the
camera doesn't take this into account. This means you could find
yourself shooting at the long end of the zoom and the camera is happily
shooting at ISO 100 and 1/60sec. Take into account the high resolution
sensor here and you're likely to see some shake under these
circumstances. The bottom line is that, counter-intuitively, beginners
might be better served by using Program mode.
Battery Life
The D3300 ships with Nikon's EN-EL14a rechargeable lithium-ion
battery, providing a CIPA-rated life of 700 shots per charge. That's
head and shoulders above the Canon T5's estimated 440 shots and the
Pentax K-50's 410 shots (and miles ahead of the 300-odd images most of
its mirrorless rivals will produce, thanks to their need to use their
rear screens). In testing this proved to be a realistic figure, fielding
a long day of shooting without a problem and only needing a recharge
with moderate use every couple of days. An MH-24 charger is bundled with
the camera, charging a depleted camera in under two hours.
Image Quality and Features
The D3300 relies on the 24 megapixel APS-C sensor used by its
D7100 and D5300 siblings. Like those cameras it lacks an optical low
pass filter, a component of the camera's sensor that's designed to
slightly blur fine detail in an effort to reduce the risk of moiré. The
effect of removing the OLPF, in theory, is to allow the sensor to
capture slightly more fine detail.
In reality we found that the difference in sharpness between this
sensor with and without an OLPF is very hard to see in the real world,
and it depends on using the best lenses at their sweetest apertures. Kit
lenses like the 18-140mm F3.5-5.6 VR we used with the D5300 and the
D3300's bundled 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 VR II are rarely sharp enough to yield
any extra sharpness that the removal of the OLPF provides. Since many
D3300 users will be perfectly happy to keep shooting with the kit lens,
we think there's no real advantage or consequence of the camera's sensor
design.
JPEG image quality
Did we mention that the D3300 has a 24 megapixel APS-C sensor? It
has a 24 megapixel sensor. JPEG image quality from all of those pixels
is very good, and lines up with everything we've seen from other Nikon
bodies with the same sensor. All images below were captured with the
18-55mm F3.5-5.6 VR II kit lens.
ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/1000sec
100% crop
ISO 450, f/4.0, 1/40sec
100% crop
ISO 3200, f/4.0, 1/60sec
100% crop
ISO 25600, f/5.0, 1/100sec
100% crop
Nikon's JPEG engine tends to take a more aggressive approach to
noise reduction and muddles a bit more fine detail in the process than
we'd ideally like, something that becomes more obvious around ISO 3200.
Keep in mind though that the above are pixel-level details from very
large images. Downsizing for printing or viewing at web-friendly-sizes
will have a sharpening effect. Toning down the camera's noise reduction
settings will also yield sharper images, and for the very best results
the D3300's Raw files provide lots of latitude for post processing.
Raw
A major advantage in shooting Raw is the ability to recover tone
and detail from parts of an image that the camera's JPEG engine hasn't
revealed. The example below shows how far you can take the D3300's
12-bit Raw files in Adobe Camera Raw. The left image was converted in
ACR 8.3 at default exposure settings, and the example on the right
reflects increases in exposure and shadows. No noise reduction was
applied in ACR to either image.
ACR defaults with NR turned off
ACR defaults with +0.30 exposure and +100 shadows
100% crop
100% crop
We've taken the example above further than is sensible, for
illustrative purposes. Consistent with Nikon's other 24 megapixel DSLRs,
at base ISO the D3300 provides a wealth of information for processing
later in Raw. There's a fair amount of noise in the shadow regions of
the image on the right, but the level of detail recovered is impressive.
Canon's most enthusiast-friendly APS-C SLR to date
The announcement of any Canon DSLR usually creates a lot of
excitement, but when that camera launches a new sensor with a new pixel
count (for the manufacturer) and is aimed at enthusiast photographers,
it ups the ante considerably. So naturally there's been quite a buzz
surrounding the new Canon EOS 70D, which has a 20.2 million-pixel CMOS
sensor coupled with a Digic 5 processor.
As well as
having a higher pixel count than Canon's other recent APS-C format
sensors, the EOS 70D's sensor is a Dual Pixel CMOS device, which enables
faster focusing during Live View and video mode. There are two photo
diodes for every pixel site (strictly speaking pixels don't exist until
an image is created) on the sensor, and each of them can read light
independently to enable a form of phase detection autofocusing to be
used to focus the lens.
While
the diodes are read separately for autofocusing, they are read together
to form the image, and this means the Canon 70D creates 20.2 million
pixel images.
Although every 'pixel' is a dual diode
device, only the central 80% are used for auto focusing, because using
the outer edges makes the system more prone to errors.
The
Canon 70D also has a dedicated phase detection sensor for use when
images are composed in the viewfinder. This has 19 AF points, all of
which are cross-type, just like the Canon 7D's
AF system. However, the two cameras' AF systems aren't identical, since
the Canon 70D only has three AF point selection modes: Single point AF,
Zone AF and 19-point Area AF. While
the 60D has a maximum continuous shooting speed of 5.3fps, the 70D can
shoot at up to 7fps at full resolution for up to 65 JPEGs or 16 raw
files, which is useful when shooting sport and using the 60D's
continuous focusing capability.
Sensitivity
may be set in the native range of ISO 100-12,800 with an expansion
setting allowing the equivalent of ISO 25,600. The top native setting,
ISO 12,800 is an expansion setting on Canon's other enthusiast SLRs.
Canon
was the first manufacturer to give a DSLR a touchscreen, and the 70D
has a 3-inch 1,040,000 dot LCD that can be used to make settings
adjustments and scroll through images. As with the Canon 700D,
the manufacturer hasn't added the touchscreen functionality at the
expense of buttons or dial controls, since the Canon 70D has all the
physical controls that you'd hope for.
Further good news
with the Canon 70D is that the LCD screen is on an articulating joint,
and this makes it easy to view from a range of angles, whether shooting
in landscape or portrait format. Wi-Fi
connectivity is fast becoming one of the must-have features for
cameras, and the Canon 70D does not disappoint in this respect. While
the ability to download images wirelessly may not be all that enticing,
the possibility of controlling the camera remotely using Canon's free
EOS remote app for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets is a real
bonus for wildlife photographers.
Canon has also included
a few features to enable more creative images to be captured with a
Canon 70D - there's a built-in Speedlite transmitter, for example, which
gives wireless control over multiple Canon Speedlite EX flashguns, a
multi-exposure mode and an HDR mode that combines three images to create
one with a greater range of tones.
There's also a
collection of Creative Filters (Grainy B/W, Soft Focus, Fish-Eye effect,
Art Bold effect, Water Painting effect, Toy Camera effect or Miniature
effect) that can be used to give JPEGs a particular distinctive look
when shooting in Live View mode.
While
it's disappointing that these can't be used when shooting raw files
simultaneously, or when using the viewfinder, they can be applied
post-capture in review mode, so it's possible to retain a 'clean' image
as well as one with the filter effect.
The Canon EOS 70D
has a full price of £1,089 / US$1,199 / AU$1,499 body only, putting it
well above the Canon 700D but at the same price point as the Nikon
D7100.
Battery Grip BG-E14
The EOS 70D gets a new battery grip, the BG-E14.
The grip replicates the main control set for portrait
format shooting, including the dedicated AF area expansion button. The
camera is designed so the rear dial is reasonably accessible when using
the grip.
It will take either two LP-E6 batteries to double the
camera's endurance, or six AA batteries (via a second tray included in
the box). There's also a storage slot for the camera's battery
compartment door.
Canon EOS 70D key features
20.2MP APS-C 'Dual Pixel CMOS AF' sensor
DIGIC 5+ image processor
ISO 100-12800 standard, 25600 expanded
7fps continuous shooting, burst depth 65 JPEG / 16 Raw
'Silent' shutter mode
1080p30 video recording, stereo sound via external mic
19-point AF system, all points cross-type, sensitive to -0.5 EV
Fully-articulated touchscreen, 1040k dot 3" ClearView II LCD, 3:2 aspect ratio
Single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
Built-in Wi-Fi
Single-axis electronic level
Built-in flash works as off-camera remote flash controller
AF microadjustment (can be set individually for up to 40 lenses, remembered by lens serial number)
In-camera High Dynamic Range and Multiple Exposure modes (JPEG-only)
'Creative Filter' image processing styles, previewed in live view
Performance
Although Canon's new Dual Pixel AF system is faster than its
previous Live View AF systems, it isn't quite as fast as the contrast
detection systems in Panasonic's recent G series compact system cameras
such as the Panasonic G6 and Panasonic GX7, or Olympus's PEN range including the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 and Olympus PEN E-P5.
However,
it's not that far off, and it's sufficiently fast for the camera to be
used handheld when composing images on its screen - at least in normal
daylight conditions. And it means that the articulating joint on the
screen is much more useful.
When light levels fall, however, the focusing slows and a backwards and forwards adjustment becomes noticeable.
While
the Canon 70D's Dual Pixel AF system may have grabbed many of the
headlines, it's only used in Live View and Movie mode. When images are
composed in the viewfinder, the 19-point AF system is on hand, along
with manual focusing. This AF system uses all cross-type points for
greater sensitivity, and it's excellent, very fast and accurate.
In comparison with the Nikon D7100's
51-AF point system, however, 19 points doesn't seem that impressive,
but the centre of the frame is well covered. In comparison with the
coverage that you get with the average compact system camera, it seems
rather poor, because the points are clustered around the centre. This
means that off-centre subjects require the focus and recompose
technique, which is a common issue with DSLRs.
Canon has
one of the best automatic white balance systems around, and on the whole
it does a good job of capturing pleasant-looking colours that reflect
the conditions without overly correcting for any particular light
source. The
images sometimes err on the side of warmth, but the results were
generally very pleasant and better than cold, 100% accurate shots. That
said, the Daylight white balance setting often produces slightly more
pleasing results in early evening light or on bright sunny days.
In
the Standard picture style the Canon 70D produces images with
pleasantly saturated, natural colours. However, there's a trend towards
more vibrant tones and stronger contrast these days, so some may prefer
to boost the saturation and contrast in-camera using the available
settings adjustments.
This can be done pre-capture
in-camera or post-capture using the supplied Digital Photo Professional
software. In addition, Picture Style Editor is supplied to enable Canon
70D users to create bespoke picture styles to use in their camera. There
are no surprises with the Canon 70D's 63-zone iFCL metering system. It
generally performs well, but because of the weighting that it gives to
the brightness of the subject and that the active AF point, it is prone
to over- or under-exposing in high contrast conditions.
This
can be a real problem when shooting sunlit landscapes, because you need
to be very careful about where you set the AF point. If it's positioned
over a patch of pale grass in full sun, the chances are that the rest
of the image will be underexposed, whereas positioning the active AF
point over a shadow area will result in the majority of the image being
over-exposed.
Many of the enthusiasts who make up the
target market for the Canon 70D will be experienced enough to know how
to deal with such an issue. But less experienced photographers may fall
foul of the metering system. One way around the problem is to shoot in
manual exposure mode, taking a spot meter reading (Partial, Spot and
Centre weighted metering are available, in addition to Evaluative) from a
mid-tone.
Our
tests show that the Canon 70D is capable of capturing plenty of detail.
However, even at the lowest sensitivity settings there's a clear
benefit to shooting raw files, since out of focus areas in JPEGs
sometimes have a slightly watercolour appearance at 100% on-screen. In
comparison, raw files look more natural.
Even images
taken at ISO 100 have a slight texture visible at 100%, but chroma noise
(coloured speckling) isn't a major issue throughout the native
sensitivity range (ISO 100-12,800). As usual, however, in-camera noise
reduction takes its toll on detail as sensitivity rises.
Raw
files converted to TIFFs using the default settings in Digital Photo
Professional look a little better than the JPEG files captured
simultaneously, but we think it's best to turn down the noise reduction a
little as the raw files are processed, to reveal a bit more detail.
That
said, there's an impressive amount of detail visible in images captured
at ISO 12,800, and although there's a fine-grained texture visible when
images are sized to make A4 prints, it isn't objectionable. If light
levels permit, however, we'd recommend keeping below ISO 6400 where
possible.
Operation and controls
Top of camera controls (right)
The EOS 70D's right hand top-plate has almost exactly the same
control layout as the 60D, the sole addition being the AF area
expansion button between the front dial and shutter release. The front
dial changes the primary exposure parameter for the selected mode:
program shift in P, aperture in Av, and shutter speed in Tv and M.
Behind it is a strip of buttons giving direct access to autofocus and
drive modes, metering pattern and ISO (the latter being markedly
better-placed for operation with the camera to your eye than the Nikon
D7100's), along with one that illuminates the top-plate LCD.
Three buttons are placed on the camera's shoulder for operation by
your thumb. The AF-ON button activates the camera's autofocus, and the
'Star' button next to it is a customisable autoexposure lock. Beside it
is the AF point selector - press this and you can move the focus point
around using either the front and rear dials, or the directional pad
inside the rear dial. The latter two buttons are also used for playback
magnification.
Top of camera controls (left)
On the other side of the pentaprism you'll find the power
switch and mode dial. This has the familiar four exposure modes -
Program, Aperture priority, Shutter Priority and Manual - plus Bulb
shutter mode and a single user-definable Custom position. There's also
'Auto+', 'Flash off' and 'Creative Auto' modes, the latter offering
results-orientated creative control, along with a SCN position that
consolidates Canon's long-running scene modes (sport, landscape etc.) in one place. The mode dial rotates freely though 360 degrees, with no end-stops.
Below these, there are two buttons to access the camera's menus
and change the amount of information displayed on the rear screen.
Rear Controls
The rest of the 70D's major shooting controls are on the back,
mainly arranged for operation by your right thumb. The combined live
view / movie mode controller is beside the viewfinder; with the switch
in the stills position, pressing the central button engages and
disengages live view.
Flick the switch into the movie position and the camera enters movie
live view with a 16:9 preview display. The Start/Stop button then starts
and stops recording.
The Q button brings up an interactive control screen while
shooting, allowing you to change camera parameters that can't
necessarily be accessed directly through external buttons. It also
brings overlaid option menus in Live View and Playback modes, offering
rapid access to features such as in-camera Raw conversion. The playback
button is immediately below, with the delete key towards the bottom of
the camera.
The rear dial is used to change exposure compensation in P, Av and Tv
modes, and change the aperture in M. Set within it is an 8-way
controller that's used for such things as changing the focus point,
navigating menus and scrolling around images in playback. The rear dial
can be locked against accidental settings changes using the switch
that's beneath it.
Front of camera controls
The flash activation button is conventionally placed on the side
of the lens throat, and activates a motorised (as opposed to
mechanical) release.
The depth of field preview button is on the handgrip side of the
lens throat, and designed to be operated by your left hand. It can be
customized to access a number of different functions.
We're not huge fans of this position to be honest - it can be awkward to
reach when shooting in portrait format, or with the camera on a tripod.
Wi-Fi connectivity
The Canon EOS 70D becomes the latest of the company's cameras to
include Wi-Fi capability. It's still an unusual feature to find built
into a DSLR, but one we think will be increasingly widely used.
802.11b/g/n standards and, according to Canon, has a transmission range
of up to 30m/98.4 ft. Be aware that movie mode is disabled when Wi-Fi is
active and any physical connection to a computer or printer will be
broken.
The full list of features offers is as follows:
Transfer images between Wi-Fi enabled Canon cameras
Connect to smartphone or tablet (via EOS Remote)
Remote control from PC (via EOS Utility)
Print from Wi-Fi enabled printer
Upload to web service (e.g. Canon iMage Gateway)
View images on DNLA-enabled devices (e.g. TVs)
With Wi-Fi enabled on the EOS 70D, you can transfer
images to a compatible Canon camera, send them to a Wi-Fi enabled
printer or media player or upload them to the Canon iMage Gateway web
service (free registration required) which provides 10GB of online
media storage and sharing options for social media. You can also send
1920 x 1280px images to a smartphone or tablet.
Although we'll mainly concentrate on connecting the EOS 70D to a
smart device, it's also possible to use Wi-Fi to connect the camera to a
PC and control it using Canon's EOS Utility. This means it's also
possible to use a 'tethered' connection to other software that can
connect via these means, such as Adobe's Lightroom.
The camera can save up to three presets for the connections you regularly make - with the aim of making re-connection faster.
EOS Remote (Android/iOS)
One of the main uses we find for in-camera Wi-Fi is the ability to get
images off the camera, either for showing to other people or sharing on
the internet, while away from a computer. Whether it's demonstrating an
image to its subject or providing them with a JPEG, or simply
documenting a weekend away on a social network, it can be a convenient
feature.
The Canon implementation is comprehensive but also overly
complicated. For instance, rather than just allowing a smartphone to
connect to the camera, it's also possible to connect the 70D to a
smartphone by connecting both devices via a common Wi-Fi network (The
snappily named 'infrastructure' mode). And it's here that the connection
presets both help and hinder - while they make it easier to
re-establish connections if you're regularly using multiple connection
methods, the need to constantly define a preset every time you make a
new connection is slow and frustrating.
You can speed things up a little by adding the Wi-Fi option to the
custom 'My Menu' tab, but that's not a huge improvement. Ultimately you
can tell a lot about how capable and how complex the EOS 70D's Wi-Fi is
by the fact the company produces a 174-page pdf detailing all its
features (there's also a 36-page 'Basic Instruction Manual' that
explains the key points).
Once connected, the EOS Remote app gives you the choice of either
browsing the images on the camera or remotely controlling its shooting.
Remote shooting
The remote shooting section of the app gives a reasonable degree of
control over the camera. You can set the camera's focus point and get it
to focus. By default the app is set to focus and trigger the shutter at
the same time, but there's a menu option to add an AF acquire button to
the interface (the smaller circular 'button' in these screen shots).
You're able to control ISO, exposure compensation and whichever
primary shooting parameters are available from the exposure mode the
camera is set to.
The basic screen shows the focus point and some
basic shooting settings. Pressing the 'Info' button at the top of the
screen cycles through the levels of shooting details shown.
The smaller of the two circular buttons on the right is optional and performs a focus acquisition.
Pressing the square 'sliders' button on the right of the window
brings up icons for the major shooting parameters that can be controlled
from the app.
For instance, here we've selected the ISO option, allowing the sensitivity to be controlled (or set to Auto).
Once a value has been selected, you have to press the 'return'
arrow on the right, taking you back to the main preview screen. To
change another setting, you have to re-press the 'sliders' button.
Once you've shot an image, a thumbnail of it appears in the lower
right of the screen. Tapping on this shows a strip of images along the
bottom of the screen. From here it's possible to perform a simple review
of images, including the ability to zoom-in. There's no way of
transfering from this image review mode to the full image review mode
covered below.
Tapping on the thumbnail that appears at the bottom
right after you shoot an image opens a filmstrip along the bottom of the
screen.
Tapping on one of these thumbnails then allows you to review the images you've shot.
It's possible to zoom into these images by the usual two-fingertip pinch and spread touchscreen method.
Image review and transfer
All images and video on the SD card can be reviewed using the EOS
Remote app. It supports familiar smartphone gestures such as pinching,
swiping and double-tapping to browse through images.
When reviewing images you can display an overlay with filename, capture date and exposure settings.
You can also rate images with 1-5 stars (as you can through the
camera's menu) that can be read by Canon's Digital Photo Professional
software.
From the image review section of the app you can rate images stored
on the SD card and email or save 1920 x 1280 S2 JPEG versions to your
device's image gallery. These are handy, but not useful for critical
image analysis since you can't get an accurate idea of focus accuracy
from such small files.
Transferring full resolution JPEG images to the web is possible, but
only from the camera itself. To do that you must first use Canon's EOS
Utility software (supplied with the 70D) to configure a compatible web
service like Canon's iMage Gateway, Facebook or Twitter with the 70D
connected to a computer via USB. Once configured, you can then upload
single or multiple images via Wi-Fi at either full size, S2 or S3
resolution settings.
Image quality The image quality didn't change
noticeably between my preproduction tests and my final tests, but my
opinion has. It's...fine. Not outstanding for the money, but not bad,
either. However, it's simply not as good as the Nikon D7100.
Yes, it's still an advance over the 60D, but not enormously -- I don't
think you even gain a full stop of usability, and any advantages seem to
stem from the slight increase in resolution. It's a bit better than the
Rebel T5i across the entire sensitivity range, though you really have to
scrutinize them. (The T5i looks better starting at ISO 1600, but that
seems to be because the T5i meters a third of a stop brighter).
Boosting
the saturation and contrast of the Landscape picture style has worked
well in this scene, captured as the sun burned off the early morning
mist.
The GoodThe Canon EOS 70D's
new sensor delivers excellent autofocus performance and the camera
itself is quite fast. Its design is reasonably streamlined and the
feature set appropriately tailored to the target market as well.
The BadThe
image quality doesn't overly impress for this price class, and certain
aspects of the design -- notably single card slot, hard-to-control
multicontroller and the Wi-Fi/movie mode conflict resolution -- are
annoying.
The Bottom LineAn overall excellent camera, but one that fails to capture the best-in-class prize for image quality.
