Digital Camera Buyers' Guide - Year of the SLR
by Wesley Fink on November 23, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Entry-Level SLRs
Last year entry-level barely managed to get some models under the $1000 limit, but this year the entry range is comfortably $400 to $750. However, only a few new models have appeared in "entry-level" this year. Nikon updated their aging 6MP 40D model to 10MP, and they call the new model the D40X.
Olympus, which seemed to be struggling with the 4/3 format in a market dominated by APS-C sensors, came back to life. First, they introduced the smallest DSLR yet in the 10MP Olympus 410, which features "Live View" and the Olympus dust-busting standard called Supersonic Wave Filter (first introduced with the E-1 in 2003).
Live View is the ability to see through the lens on the camera's LCD - something point-and-shoot users take for granted, but a feature that was absent from SLRs until Olympus pioneered it. It's not a hot feature appearing on other makers prosumer cameras like the new Canon 40D and Nikon D300. Olympus also delivered on the promise of 4/3 with tiny kit lenses with the 410 and later 510 that many experts consider the best quality kit lenses available today.
Recently Olympus upped the ante even higher with the Olympus 510. In addition to Live View and auto dust cleaning, the 510 adds in-body image stabilization that will work with any lens mounted on the Olympus 510. In terms of checklist features the 510 looks like a strong player for Olympus this holiday season.
Pentax also discontinued their low-end K110D and refreshed their K100D with a "Super" added to the name. It's still 6MP and still features body-integral shake reduction, but it now supposedly does all of this faster.
Price Reductions
You may want to look back at the Digital SLR Buyer's Guide for details of the rest of the entry-level cameras. That's because many of the models are the same as last year - they are just much cheaper now.
The 10MP Sony A100 comes in a kit with the Sony 18-70mm lens for $600 to $700. The body only is now about $550. Canon's best-selling Rebel XTi, which is also 10MP, is available in the same price range - $600 to $700 for the kit with the 18-55mm lens. The updated 10MP D40x is also available this holiday season in the same price range.
Nikon has always asked and gotten a premium for their cameras, so we find the D80 still selling for around $750 for the body alone and $850 and up for a D80 kit. One of the amazing price drops of this season is the Pentax K10D, which can be found with the kit lens for around $750, or as a body alone for as little as $650. The Pentax K10D is the only camera in this group that has full dust and moisture sealing. It also features body-integral image stabilization, auto sensor cleaning, and an 11-point focusing system.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
74 Comments
View All Comments
melgross - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
I doubt that any of the cameras were actually tested. They just seem to be his preferences, sometimes, based on incorrect information, or lack of understanding.I agree, stick to computers.
Wesley Fink - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
Corrected the typo to 5.0fps.I personally have spent time shooting with EVERY camera mentioned in this Buyers Gude except the Nikon D300 which supposedly has just started shipping.
This is a Buyers Guide based on my experiences using these cameras. It is not a review. My first SLR was a Pentax over 40 years ago and I have owned and used almost every 35mm system over the years, and even shot medium format exclusively for several years. I made a living as a Professional Photographer for two periods in my career.
It is very easy to profess to know everything, but quite difficult to admit there are many things you don't know. I don't know everything about photography, but I suspect I have much more valid experience to write this Buyers Guide that most who would tackle this. I also have an open mind not severly blinded by conventional wisdom or marketing hype, which is why I have been writing for AnandTech for quite a while.
Wesley Fink - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
Corrected the typo to 5.0fps.I personally have spent time shooting with EVERY camera mentioned in this Buyers Gude except the Nikon D300 which supposedly has just started shipping.
This is a Buyers Guide based on my experiences using these cameras. It is not a review. My first SLR was a Pentax over 40 years ago and I have owned and used almost every 35mm system over the years, and even shot medium format exclusively for several years. I made a living as a Professional Photographer for two periods in my career.
It is very easy to profess to know everything, but quite difficult to admit there are many things you don't know. I don't know everything about photography, but I suspect I have much more valid experience to write this Buyers Guide that most who would tackle this. I also have an open mind not severly blinded by conventional wisdom or marketing hype, which is why I have been writing for AnandTech for quite a while.
KorruptioN - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
The Sony A700 does 5fps continuous, not 6.5fps as quoted in the article.Wesley Fink - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
Corrected the typo. I personally have spent time shooting with EVERY camera mentioned in this Buyers Gude except the Nikon D300 which supposedly has just started shipping.This is a Buyers Guide based on my experiences using these cameras. It is not a review. My first SLR was a Pentax over 40 years ago and I have owned and used almost every system over the years, including medium format. I made a living as a Professional Photographer for two periods in my career.
It is very easy to profess to know everything, but quite difficult to admit there are many things you don't know. I don't know everything about photography, but I suspect I have much more valid experience to write this Buyers Guide that most who would tackle this. I also have an open mind not severly blinded by conventional wisdom or marketing hype, which is why I have been writing for AnandTech for quite a while.
AssBall - Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - link
I didn't realize you were 60 years old Wes.Photo people are always rabidly defensive of their own stuff. When the day is done, guess what... they all work pretty much the same for the rest of the world.
hoppa - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Is the prosumer section a joke? The only thing you can come up with for Canon is that "it doesn't break new ground" and that 10 MP is too skimpy? Excuse me? It's common knowledge that more megapixels does not equal better, and it's even more known that the difference between 10 and 12 megapixels in minuscule if not even impossible to tell the difference between in anything but 20"+ prints. Furthermore, the noise levels on the Canon are *so far below anything else out there* that it easily out-resolves its 12mp brethren.Get a clue, guys. This write-up is pathetic.
Captmorgan09 - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
But come on guys, stick with what you're good at, reviewing mobos/CPUs/PSU and so on. I've never really been impressed with your camera reviews/buying guides. The most important thing about buying a camera is image quality. Fancy bells and whistles are nice, but if the picture looks like crap, who cares. If you read real reviews of these cameras at sites like dpreview, you'll see that there is a valid reason why Canon/Nikon cameras are the best sellers, image quality.Hulk - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Exactly.I've long been a fan of Anandtech but this article and others that try to talk about high-end cameras make me do the "oh jeez did they really write that?" face.
As the above poster says it's about image quality in the D-SLR category. Optical image stabilization is simply better than mechanical. And there are many times when a straight prime with no stabilization is best.
And please don't talk about auto focus speed of the body alone. The lens has a lot to do with auto focus.
I could go on and on so please if you have to do camera articles just stay with rangefinders.
andrew007 - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
I got E410 in August just before my trip to Japan. The reviews were favourable and I wanted something light. After using it for a while, I am really happy with most aspects of it, and the price has fallen even further since. It is really a very light camera AND lens(es), making it easy to hang around your neck and take with you every day. Yet it's full featured and it makes nice pictures. I have no complaints on the lens whatsoever, and with a fast CF card it's pretty snappy. The only real complaint is dynamic range, as the various reviewers noted. It's easy to blow out highlights in high contrast situations - which is the most situations, unfortunately, when you're a tourist going outside on a sunny day. So one must keep fiddling with the exposure compensation. Other than that, I can't see any reason to not recommend this camera to someone who is going on a vacation and wants to make good pictures but is not interested in totting large bags and heavy lenses. Pictures these Olympus make were much better than what my friend's Canon Elph (the newest model) made, and for not that much more money.