Already???.. ...it's only been 2+ yrs since he first laid his eyes on his beloved Canon 1D MkIII...Another camera upgrade???...
I think a better poll question should be.. What new DSLR should we BCers get for kwun as his Xmas present this yr?... *I can hear kwun giggling in the background..
Uhhmm..which one??.. ..there are a few Nikons to choose from...The D3? or the D700? or the D300? or back to his old D200 and/or D70??..
most likely he will opting for lighter camera. either D700 or D300s or maybe wait a while for D700s? gosh... panasonic GF1 is nice. and why no one planning to present me a gift?
Hmm.. ..since our Mr. T is a Panny endorser, i think we should ask him to sponsor kwun's new Xmas photog gift... ..i was thinking of Nikon's D900..
I endorse any concept or idea of getting rid of unnecessary bulk or weight, a prerequisite to opening up the field of interchangeable lens photography to the masses. Now, both Olympus and Panasonic have done it with micro four thirds format. We need Panasonic because they can make cameras more affordable than Olympus or Leica. If need be, Panasonic can sell cameras at super market prices. If I were Panasonic I would be in talks with Walmart to form a long term business partnership. Let us now see if Canon or Nikon will do likewise with their FF and APS-C formats. One suggestion is to make the APS-C more versatile, like the way it was intended to be by the inventor Kodak, that is to provide their APS-C cameras with an option to use APS-C, APS-H, and APS-P with a flick of a switch. If current FF and APS-C dslrs-the word reflex implies a mirror box with prism-do not shrink by getting rid of the mirror box, the micro four thirds will eventually become the largest pie of the camera market share. The newcomers will be those millions of P&S owners. Eventually, even owners with those bulky, heavy FF gear will start to use micro four thirds, initially as a second camera and later on as the main camera, if Canon and Nikon do not take a giant step now. But both Canon and Nikon are not known for their pioneering spirit, from the early days of copying Leica and Contax to using Kodak's film APS-C invention. Once the mirror box is thrown out of the window and consigned to history, photography will jump by leaps and bounds. We will have formats well established to satisfy all, from super market prices to sky-high prices. Just imagine the day you will find almost everyone carrying a P&S-size interchangeable-lens camera in his pocket or her handbag. With such a gigantic and extensive photographic reach, we will be advancing the art of photography. The number of photos on TV, news media, etc will then come predominantly from these newcomers or beginners, because they are everywhere.
micro 4/3 low light(high iso) quality isnt at par with aps-c nor DX format. yet or not yet or in future, we are still unsure. still struggling hard as we push it to iso3200. olympus pen EP1 and panasonic GF1 are selling at higher price than canon 500D and nikon D5000. luckily GF1 comes with built-in flash. flash for EP1, one need to add few hundreds USD, which is costing same to external flash for dslr. lenses? still very limited choice. yes, you may use other brands' lenses but the functions not fully compatible. furthermore, you need to get adapter for each brands! that will cost couple or three hundred USD more! throw out the mirror box? do anyone still not really understand what is SLR means? for USD1000++ for an p&s camera is not everyone taste. some more want to interchangeable lenses, that will cost up to USD2000++. nikon and canon p&s cameras are not far behind. even fujifilm p&s camera is very good. all at a fraction of 4/3 p&s camera and almost on par photo quality. about setting standard or copycat, why dont say about other arent even catch up canon/nikon in term of fast?
Please bear in mind that current digital formats, with the exception of Four Thirds, are not open system standard but proprietary and unique to each manufacturer. The APS-C, DX, FX or FF of each manufacturer are not compatible with another manufacturer's. As an example, a Canon L lens cannot be used on a Nikon FF body, etc. Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds are the exception, with lenses and bodies from any manufacturer compatible and interchangeable with each other, except that dedicated Micro Four Thirds lenses cannot be used on Four Thirds bodies (the reverse is ok) because of its shorter lens flange to sensor distance. Also almost all lenses from all manufacturers can be adapted for use on the Micro Four Thirds body. This opens up a mouth-watering opportunity to shop for the best fast prime standard 50mm lenses of high quality for a song from any manufacturer. On a Micro 4/3 it becomes a 100mm F/1.4 or F/2.0 lens. A 100mm F/1.4 top lens with a price tag of a few glasses of beer is beckoning everyone. You cannot get a better deal than that. You can get a Nikon, Canon, Olympus 50mm F/1.4 lens in the used market for very little money. BTW, a slr's mirror box and associated pentaprism, was useful in the film days, to help you see what the film will see. With today's electronics we can see through the lens without the mirror box/pentaprism, i.e. lcd screen, evf. All they need to do is improve on the evf.
Here we go again.. ..the debate of 4/3 digicam is "the future" is spilling over to this thread... It's simple. As long as 4/3 digicam can't take action/sports/journalism type photos as the DSLRs, there's nothing much to talk about. Until that day comes, DSLRs will rule the action/sports/journalism field. If it's all about reducing the camera body sizes of DSLRs, i'm sure Canon & Nikon have already thought about that. To put it mildly, the ideas brought up by Mr. T are interesting. But i doubt it's going to happen soon.
You fellows can actually test this out-whether Micro Four Thirds can do the job of FF dslr in a badminton hall for action pictures. Is light weight an asset or a liability? What do you do with the photos taken? Blow them up to 12" x 18" or 20" x 30"? Or simply to have them appear on the sports page of a newspaper in a size no bigger than 2" x 3" or display them on your pc monitor? The very top professionals who take pictures of historical monuments and sights complain about the small size of the 24mm x 36mm sensor or negative as being totally useless for their job. For them it is at least a 4" x 5" large format camera. These professionals are not bothered with weight of their equipment because they can take all the time in the world to take the best pictures for archives or museums. In a badminton hall, press photographers are designated a special place for taking picture. Now how will they fare with their huge lenses and heavy bodies if they were just one of the crowd? Try a 180mm F/2.0 lens on a micro four thirds and also on a FF camera with the same focal length and lens speed.
Thats equivalent to always cropping to use only the middle FourThirds size of your frame and claiming that you have a 100mm 1.4 lens...