Digital Camera Buyers' Guide - Year of the SLR
by Wesley Fink on November 23, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Things to Consider
Consumer Electronics are always on an accelerating roller coaster of better performing products, shorter life spans, and quick changes in the market. Despite this, there are watershed events in the markets for consumer electronics that bring stability and orderly progress to markets that were chaotic. An example of this is when DVD+ and DVD- merged and were supported by all DVD players and recorders. This holiday season we are hot in a war of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray and whoever wins will make the opposing camp very unhappy. There are hints and rumors that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray may go the way of DVD and merge into a standard that supports both, but there is too much at stake in both camps to even hint there is any real interest in that development right now.
You might ask what that has to do with digital SLR cameras. The answer is that DSLRs are on the verge of a format war. Canon has had full-frame DSLR pro models for several years, and their hot-selling full-frame 5D has dropped in price these days to near prosumer territory. Nikon has also announced their first full-frame pro DSLR. Rumor has it that Sony's upcoming pro DSLR will also be full-frame, which makes sense when you consider that Sony is the primary supplier of Nikon sensors.
For those of us who have been using SLRs for many years the compromises of lens factors and APS-C sensors are just too much. It is frustrating to see an incredible and expensive Nikon 20mm wide-angle lens behave like a common 30mm wide angle on a D300 or a D80. It would be nice to see a 20mm ultra wide angle again, and full-size DSLR sensors allow that.
It certainly appears that the DSLR camp is going to be split by manufacturers in the near future to full-frame pro models and APS-C entry to prosumer models. This will require companies to support two lens lines with some overlap, but the pros will win this one and we will still be using mainly 35mm glass for quality results on the APS-C cameras. There will be cheaper "small sensor" lenses, as there now are, but perhaps fewer of these in the future. This is due to the reality that advanced amateurs inevitably want to shoot what the pros shoot. That is why they buy Canon 5Ds today and why they will demand full-frame prosumer DSLRs in the future.
This is where Olympus and the 4/3 system has a crack to pop through, because the only real standards in digital and SLRs in general are full-frame 35mm on the one hand and 4/3 on the digital side. Perhaps another small-size sensor standard will develop, but as long as the big players like Nikon and Canon are mainly interested in making pro glass for the developing full-frame DSLR market there is no incentive for them to develop a new small-sensor standard. Players like Pentax just don't have the influence to forge a new standard on their own.
By this point we hope to have shed some new light on your holiday shopping for a digital SLR. Our recommendations will not be popular with many Canon and Nikon owners, but we have personally spent time with every camera discussed in this guide and we call them as we see them. This is an interesting time in the digital photography market. It is a time of flux that will only increase as this battle plays out, but what develops will probably be interesting and surprising.
Have fun shopping for the best buy in digital SLRs this holiday season. There are many great buys out there and you will likely see lots of superb specials as manufacturers fight for market share. Performance is good enough on most of the entry-level cameras that you would not be wrong to shop for the best price you can find on a 10MP camera for example. Whatever you choose, just be sure to take lots of digital pictures of your family and friends opening their holiday presents.
Happy Holidays from AnandTech!
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StephenP - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
I forgot to say nice article :). Just a little too much focus on sensor mega pixels, anyone into photography knows that stuffing a camera with mega pixels isn't enough to make a good camera. The new 400D has "only" 10mp of resolution but, that provides for A3 or even A2 prints. Does one really need more? ok, you can crop more, sure but what is the real difference between 3000x4000 pixels (12mp) and 2800x3700 (10mp), 2-300 pixels isn't a very impressive extra crop. I'll take better high ISO performance to more MPs anyday.AsicsNow - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Yeah, the unless you are using a full frame camera, the lens itself is limiting the effective resolution to not much more than 1OMP anyways. If you want a higher resolution without just adding garbage pixels that will end up as adding more noise(look at so many point and shoots that have these issues these days) you have to goto a larger format sensor, aka. 4" x 5" which is WAY beyond the scope of any non-professional photographer unless if you're a rich prick yuppie :)The D40 is a steal though if you can live without manual focus, and I can't wait for the 18-55 VR to come out. (Though I wish I could afford a 12-24 instead hehe)
Lord 666 - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Wes, while it might be under NDA, what is the time frame for the Nikon 18-55 VR? Real soon, Q1, Q2 kind of thing? If they are coming out with it, very surprised they didn't launch for this holiday season.PS - You should do these updates more often. Way back a while ago you started writing the DSLR column, but didn't continue. Keep it up ;)
Wesley Fink - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
The Nikon Press announcement for the 18-55mm VR was 11/19/2007. The street price for the new lens is $199 and it is said to be available now.Camaban - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Hmm, so the Olympus E-510 is something like $570-$670, while on Amazon UK, it's £618.....Ya know, that's like the equivilent of $1250 or something.
Ridiculous.....
makulit - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
Pentax? Ever heard of them???mcnabney - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
No kidding!!!!!!11 months ago there was a review, RIGHT HERE, that identified the K10D as one of the best choices. It is barely mentioned here, even though it is being written elsewhere as a camera of the year due to the turnaround it has caused.
Why choose Pentax?
Built-in 3 axis image stabilization which works on ALL lenses.
Almost every Pentax and Pentax-compatible lens that has ever been made works just fine on this body
Dust and water sealed body - you have to spend double elsewhere to get this
Great prices and growing library of high quality and reasonably priced lenses
takumsawsherman - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
This is an excellent point. Pentax has actually had great, low-priced cameras from the film days. The K1000 was an awesome camera on the cheap.Minolta Maxxum cameras (now Sony) was also a less expensive, but excellent camera. I have owned the Maxxum 7000, 600si and Minolta Maxxum Alpha 707 (my current camera). Although the 7000s were more durable, these cameras have excellent autofocus (they have almost always more fast and accurate than Canon/Nikon), great lenses, and are loaded with features. I am still looking for a cheap Maxxum 9 now that film is less popular.
If I were to get a new body, I would get a Sony A700, since my lenses will work, and be image stabilized (ever look at the cost of Canon's IS lenses? Ouch!). However, if I were buying a completely new system, I would be seriously tempted by Pentax, as I trust Sony less than I trusted Minolta :).
All of my pro photo customers are using Canon, even the Nikon fans. Anything big and they use a Hasselblad-Leaf system. I've heard lots of complaints about the D40x shooting JPEG poorly. Apparently to get good results one must shoot in RAW. I doubt any will switch to Sony or Pentax. Not because they aren't as good (and I think that the Sony is as good). But Minolta and Pentax have always been considered "second tier" amongst that crowd, and I just don't see that changing, whatever the merits.
Regarding lack of Minolta lenses, I have not noticed any difficulty getting good, reasonably-priced lenses, and there is a large used market in the form of eBay and B&H if one prefers something not-new.
Frumious1 - Friday, November 23, 2007 - link
I'm not sure how they "missed" the Pentax K10D....Page 4: "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."
Page 5: "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 focus module, all the other features, and pro-type dust and moisture sealing."
takumsawsherman - Saturday, November 24, 2007 - link
Maybe you missed the word "barely". I read the review. I know what it said, and agreed with the OP that Pentax got "barely" a mention, where it really produces because it has to in order to compete against the name power of Nikon and Canon.