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 Recommendations
Entry-level buyers don't normally have a collection of lenses for their new camera, so they are usually shopping for kits. Kit lenses are notorious for being mediocre, but that is improving in some of the kits we have recently seen. Our recommendations considered the quality and value of the kit itself, as well as the lens system for the entry DSLR buyers who end up enjoying digital photography and want to grow.
We are getting ready to be stoned, as our recommendation for best value in a kit is the 2-lens Olympus E-510 kit. The picture above is the complete kit, with both the 14-45mm f3.5-5.6 and tiny 40-150mm f4.0-5.6. These two small and light lenses cover the 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 300mm - a range from true wide angle to moderate telephoto. The 510 system finally realizes the promise of 4/3 with a small light body and small light lenses, but these two lenses are also two of the finest quality kit lenses available anywhere. This two-lens kit is available for as little as $675 at Amazon.com with free shipping, and you will find the E-510 two-lens kit at many web and brick-and-mortar stores for less than $800.
You get all the checklist features in this 10MP DSLR kit. This includes auto sensor cleaning and Live View as well as body integral image stabilization that works with all 4/3 lenses. This image stabilization - a first for Olympus - is selectable for either horizontal motion, which is generally best for panning and action, or both horizontal and vertical for general use, or off.
Olympus has improved their autofocus modules with each new generation, and the E-510 is the best one yet (outside of the E-3). However, the autofocus is still a weakness in an otherwise very capable system. It uses the somewhat dated 3-point autofocus, with a center cross sensor for greater sensitivity. In normal light, the E-510 is just as accurate and fast as other cameras, but it tends to search too much in low light conditions. Olympus introduced a fast and innovative 11 cross point 4-plane AF module in their new E-3. It needs to move down the line quickly to fix the last remaining issue with Olympus DSLR cameras. However, your reward with the E-510 is gorgeous, sharp, and evenly lighted lenses with the two kit lenses - and that is what photography is about.
Alternative: If low-light performance is a major concern, then you would do well to choose the Sony A100 kit with the 18-70mm kit lens. For a bit more money, the Pentax K10D gives you a great 11-point auto focus module, the truly useful hyperprogram feature that allows front and back dials to shift aperture and shutter speed in equivalent program steps, 3-plane image stabilization, all the other features, PLUS pro-type dust and moisture sealing.
The Safe Choice: The safe choice, and the one most buyers will make, is the Canon Rebel XTi or the Nikon D40x with the pedestrian 18-55mm kit lens. The problem with either choice is they don't include image stabilization, which is most useful with the slow kit lenses most camera makers sell with their entry cameras. In their favor, Canon includes auto sensor cleaning, but Nikon doesn't even bother with that. Nikon does provide a bit better image quality with their 18-55mm, so that makes it something of a toss-up.
It appears both Nikon and Canon are being hurt somewhat by their lack of mechanical image stabilization since they have both announced the availability of their basic kit lens with optical image stabilization. Yes, you will be seeing these IS and VR versions of the 18-55mm in future Canon and Nikon kits. There are arguments that can be made for optical IS instead of the mechanical body-integral IS that works with all lenses. However, the thought of spending more for the Canon 18-55mm with IS is difficult to stomach. What these announcements really say is Canon and Nikon are still resisting IS as a standard feature, though they are addressing this as a checklist item with IS/VR versions of their entry kit lens.
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.