Canon plays the megapixel war now
So Canon has just announced the 400D, a 10MP dSLR to compete with Nikon d80. Sad really, its become just a pixel war now. Compared to the d50, the new Canon has a image width of 3888 pixels as opposed to 3008. Why couldn’t they both give us a camera with high fps images by incorporating a nice large buffer.
In other camera news, sigma/tamron have a cheaper version of Nikons impossible to get and exorbitantly high prices 18-200mm lens. No more lens switching! Also, been looking at these portable hd+card readers. Small little things that’ll let you back up your card without needing a laptop to do the transfer. Perfect for those trips where taking the laptop would be a pain.
Kind of miss the advances we used to get with old 35mm film cameras. The manufacturers actually spend R&D to design better bodies with better user features i.e. better viewfinders, film advance motors, metering and autofocusing systems etc.  Now, all we’re left with is who has more pixels.
August 25th, 2006 at 6:55 am
I totally agree with you, Chitti. Although the d80 thrills me as new gadget in general, I would only buy it ’cause of it’s viewfinder (magnification .95 against my d70 .80 or so…). But really I don’t need so many pixels! And for the rest they’re mostly identical, or worse, since the d80 doesn’t have a proper shutter and can’t go up to 1/8000 as my d70!
The thing is many consumer could afford these little SLR, and now they’re making the market. These are not cameras for ‘photographers’ anymore…
August 25th, 2006 at 7:54 am
Exactly! See, the d80 is the next logical step for you after your d70, and would probably be the same for me after the d50 (which has 0.95 btw, but only 1/4000). Can you believe it that the new k800i camera phone has a best picture mode i.e. when you take a picture, it takes about 7 pictures very quickly so that you don’t get that problem of eyes closed, just missed it. If a camera phone can do that, why can’t a dSLR body?
I think ‘photographers’ can use these cameras and would find them more than adequate. But, with digital camera’s now, the overwhelming theme as to what makes a better photographer is the spec sheet on the camera, and minute details about lens’. Its no longer about the shot. You should check out the forums at dpreview - biggest waste of my time when I was researching the d50/350D.
Here’s my wishlist as to what I feel like I miss the most on the d50 body.
- a proper viewfinder through which you can manually focus i.e. a grid, or something which lets you see if the object is in focus.
- a button to change the metering i.e. spot, center etc. Now I have to dive into the menu screen. Similarly for focusing mode; continuous or single.
August 25th, 2006 at 8:58 am
well, I agree again with all you’ve said, but my d70 (and the d80 too) has the button to change the metering mode and a grid in the viewfinder…
August 25th, 2006 at 11:18 am
nice..like i said, I wish the d50 had those.
so, better start saving up for the d80 then…:-). Maybe it makes the last minute wishlist item on the wedding gifts
August 26th, 2006 at 8:54 am
I miss something that would tell in the viewfinder which metering mode is in use and what is the current ISO… too many pictures shot in spot metering thinking it was matrix, and too many times I forgot the camera on 1000 ISO!
September 5th, 2006 at 10:32 am
erg, ehm,
) Does anything like that exist??
I agree with you guys that generally speaking the technical skills of what-is-already-the-old-generation of SLR (D70, D50, EOS 350d) are more than adequate for a professional photographer as well, except for some extreme situations (1/8000??). And I also agree tat what is missing is not the quality of the lenses and neither the quality of the pictures. What can be imoved is the comfort DURING USE, so the control of all your settings looking inside the viewfinder only and few buttons at the reach of your right hand fingers which really deermine the charcteristics of the picture. As Chitti said: 1) AF-S or AF-C mode (AUTOFOCUS STATIC OR CONTINUOUS. I currently let that on “auto” most of the time because it’s more probable tha i forgot to change it raher than the camera fails to recognize the suitable mode) 2) Metering system 3) manual focus support, and here it’s not about a grid for the composition, alberto, but it’s about having something like the old half-moons which would show you when the subject is in focus. Do you really have anything like that albi? 4) instant depth-field button, which the D70 has 5) a fast 70-120mm lens for shooting proper pictures in dim light (and flash) from not so close and not so far away, with special interest in portrait. I mean like in case of a weeding