Archived information of digital SLRs

see also: 

• dSLRs for travel
• Canon
• Olympus E digital
• Nikon

Now let's see what you get for your money in 2007:

• Canon 400D kit:
  • Canon 400D body ~$A1000
  • Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS  ~$1099 to cover 28-136mm, 475g, but slow aperture, average optics and build quality
    • alternatively could choose:
      • Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L - 28-64mm - better optics, build quality but no IS, no telephoto & $A1439 - you would need another lens to fill the short telephoto gap
      • Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS - 28-88mm - faster optics but again, no telephoto and $A1999 
  • Canon 70-200L f/2.8 II IS $3400 to cover 112-320mm with IS, 1570g, but not enough telephoto for smaller wildlife
  • Canon EF-S 10-22mm $A1400 to cover 16-35mm, 385g
  • total cost: $A8400
  • total weight of the 3 main lenses: 2.4kg 
  • advantages:
    • low noise at high ISO and more dynamic range if shoot in RAW mode
    • wide angle is wider but this causes problems with vignetting with Cokin filters
    • optical based IS probably will be more effective than body based IS as in the Olympus but more expensive.
    • image quality is marginally better as long as you use the better lenses as well.
  • disadvantages:
    • cost, size, weight, less comfortable to hold
    • kit lenses not worth using
    • standard zoom is slow ie. only f/5.6 at telephoto which means it lets in about HALF the light of the Olympus one.
    • AWB performance only average and no spot metering
    • wide angle has no IS
• Olympus kit:
  • Olympus E510 in March 2007 with IS and live preview ~$A1500
  • Olympus OM 50mm f/1.4 lens with OM adapter ~$A150 - for those occasions where you really need a f/1.4 or f/2 aperture and can manually focus with the magnified live preview (eg. art galleries, available light portraits)
  • option 1:
    • Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 $A840 to cover 28-108mm, 435g, with fast aperture, shallower DOF for portraiture
    • Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 $A1400 to cover 100-400mm gives extra reach for smaller or more distant wildlife and only 1070g
    • Olympus 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 $A1400 to cover 22-48mm - a good range for landscape while still allowing filters and only 485g
    • total cost: $A5160, a saving of $3000 with which you could buy an Olympus 7-14mm f/4.0 to give 14-28mm
    • total weight of the 3 main lenses: 2kg - 17% lighter than the Canon kit - every bit counts when bushwalking or getting through airlines cabin baggage (and if you get the E410, even more compact and lighter but no IS).
  • option 2:
    • Olympus 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 SWD to cover 24-120mm - I am guessing this will be about $A1400
    • Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 $A1400 to cover 100-400mm gives extra reach for smaller or more distant wildlife and only 1070g
    • total cost $A4300, a saving of $A4100 but range limited to 24-400mm instead of 16-320mm
    • and if you really have the money, add:
      • Olympus ZD 7-14mm f/4.0 to cover 14-28mm 
      • Olympus ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro instead of the 50mm OM for improved image quality and AF
  • advantages:
    • more compact lenses, lighter and all weather-protected with very good build, thus much better for the traveller or bushwalker
    • cheaper
    • standard zoom has fast aperture, better optics and better build, but if you are on a budget, you could get away with the kit lens which is even lighter.
    • telephoto zoom has more reach for wildlife photos
    • unique live preview if you get the E330/E410/E510
    • camera has spot metering and image stabiliser
  • disadvantages:
    • more noise at high ISO but this is offset by wider aperture lens and IS
    • future cameras will always tend to have less number of pixels than the Canon but once you get to 8-12 megapixels, for the far majority, the number of pixels no longer matters. For the more demanding, a 16 megapixel camera would be nice for professional uses and perhaps Canon or Nikon would have a better chance of achieving this in a cropped sensor than Olympus, although such photographers would probably prefer the bigger, more expensive full frame cameras such as the Canon 5D and its successors, and these cameras cannot use the EF-S lenses.
• Nikon kit:
  • Nikon D80 camera $A1550
  • AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 IF-ED - gives 36-180mm range with IS, 575g, $A1150
  • AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED - gives 105-300mm range with IS, 1470g, $A3120
  • AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED - gives 18-36mm range, 485g, 77mm filter, $A1929
  • total cost: $A6749
  • total weight of 3 main lenses: 2.53kg - even heavier than Canon's even though they are all AF-S designed
  • advantages:
    • best viewfinder, nice ergonomics, best TTL flash
    • wide zoom gives a nice range
    • optical based IS probably will be more effective than body based IS as in the Olympus but more expensive.
    • image quality is marginally better as long as you use the better lenses as well.
  • disadvantages:
    • no dust protection - yet
    • heavy
    • standard zoom is only f/5.6 but it does reach 180mm although personally I would prefer 28mm in wide end.
    • the telephoto zoom only reaches 300mmand its heavy but it is f/2.8
    • these DX lenses can't be used on MF cameras nor on full frame cameras if they eventuate.
    • wide angle has no IS
• Pentax kit:
  • Pentax K10D camera with kit lens ~$A1800
  • 16-45mm f/4 ED = 24-68mm ~$US500; 67mm filter; 365g; $A750 - high levels of CA at 16mm;
  • 80-200mm f/2.8 ED = 120-300mm; 77mm filter; nice lens, but heavy; ?$US2000
  • see Pentax lenses here
  • advantages:
    • weather-proofed body with CCD-shift IS and dust protection
    • nice large viewfinder view
    • kit lens is good enough to use
    • unlike Olympus, they have a range of prime lenses available.
  • disadvantages:
    • limited range of digital lenses
    • no live preview
    • a little big and heavy

If you are on a tight budget:

• option 1: limit your photographic options to only one reasonably good AF lens:
  • Olympus E510 with kit lens ~$A1500
    • the Olympus kit lens is good enough for most people, but with this combo you don't get IS - yet
  • Canon 400D with Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens ~$A2650 but this does not fit a long term strategy
  • Nikon D80 with kit lens - but no dust protection, no IS and no live preview 
• option 2: get one very good quality, versatile, dustproof, weatherproof AF lens that will cover most travel needs:
  • Olympus E510 with 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 SWD lens (24-120mm range) 
• option 3: compromise on image quality and get a long range zoom lens or two:
  • Olympus E510 with kit lens to cover 28-105mm at ~$A1500 and
    • Zuiko 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 - ~$A780 to cover 36-360mm
  • Canon 400D with BOTH:
    • Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS  ~$1099 to cover 28-136mm
    • Canon EF 90-300mm f/4.5-5.6 $A399 to cover 144-480mm
  • Nikon D80 with either:
    • AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED - 27-300mm IS lens at $A1200 will cover most needs
    • AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED - 27-203mm non-IS lens for a cheaper option at $A550
• option 4: use 2nd hand MF lenses to build your options:
  • this is the option I went for, but you really need the 10x live preview of the E330 to help focussing.
  • Olympus E330/E410/E510 with kit AF lens ~$A1500 (these are the ONLY camera that will accurately focus a MF lens for under $A4000) 
  • OM to Four Thirds adapter (buy on EBay for about $100) or whatever adapter you need for the lenses you plan to use
  • aim to get prime lenses of the highest quality remembering the 2x crop factor, consider:
    • Zuiko OM 50mm f/1.4 to give a 100mm lens which works pretty well at apertures f/2 and smaller ~$A50
    • Zuiko OM 50mm f/3.5 macro to give excellent macro results as well as useful as a 100mm lens. ~$A150
    • Zuiko OM 35-105mm zoom to give a 70-210mm zoom with pretty good results at apertures f/5.6 or smaller ~$100
    • 135mm prime for 270mm at apertures f/5.6 or less ~$A50
    • 200mm prime for 400mm wildlife photos at apertures f/5.6 or less ~$A100
    • of course, you could consider Nikon F lenses or Leica R lenses, etc you just need the adapter.
  • total cost $A2000 and this gives you a wide range of photographic options, albeit not as easy to use as AF lenses and you still don't have a wide angle less than 28mm.
  • advantages:
    • more fun with different lenses to play with
    • relatively cost effective and if in 3 years, you decide to change to a different system, you have not outlayed a lot of money on redundant lenses
    • although you need to stop down the apertures on most of these lenses to f/5.6, the 2x crop means you end up with a light, compact, relatively fast telephoto such as a 400mm f/5.6 effect which would not be possible to achieve with any other system.
    • MF lenses are more robust than AF lenses.
  •  cons:
    • accurate MF is a bit cumbersome but once focus is set you can concentrate on the composition 
    • for most people the MF will be too frustrating and so they may be better off with option 1 and save up for more expensive AF lenses.
    • the 2x crop factor means wide angle is problematic, hence use of the kit lens for 28-110mm or consider purchasing a Zuiko Digital wide angle zoom as your next lens but costs $A1400.

• the inevitable technological progressions that contribute to rapid depreciation but improve camera capabilities:
  • faster, more powerful computer chips / sensors and more memory buffer at lower prices:
    • faster, more reliable auto focus & exposure algorithms such as predictive motion AF (eg. canon 20D/350XT), face recognition AF (eg. Nikon coolpix 7mpixels), wireless TTL flash control (eg. Nikon i-TTL)
    • higher resolution, lower noise sensors with higher dynamic range (eg. Fuji S3) & image quality
    • faster start-up, minimal shutter lag, faster shot-to-shot, longer burst mode (sequence shots)
    • fast write of simultaneous RAW + JPG
    • the usual functions such as matrix metering, multi-spot metering, live histogram (but showing all 3 RGB channels such as Fuji S3 Pro & high end Canons)
    • improved auto white balance and WB options
    • wireless FTP image transfer to computer in real time
    • GPS-enabled to allow recording of location data with image file, perhaps via Bluetooth GPS units.
  • higher resolution, faster AF zoom lenses (hopefully parfocal, compact, relatively inexpensive and perhaps with image stabiliser option), although the rate of improvement of these will probably not match electronic improvements as breakthroughs in glass technologies such as flourite/ED/APO glass as occurred in the 1990's may not be so readily forth-coming, thus these lenses may not depreciate anywhere as rapidly as camera bodies will, and worse may be the limiting factor in medium term camera development.
• reasonably priced, compact & robust like the Olympus E410/E510
• weatherproof & dustproof like the Olympus E-1
• automatic sensor dust cleaner like the Olympus SLRs 
• optical viewfinder with good manual focusing aids - manual focusing  is generally disappointing with most of the dSLRs and more work needs to be done, but then the manufacturers want you to buy their expensive AF lenses.
• swivel/tilt high quality LCD screen that can be used to compose the picture like the Sony F828/Oly C7070:
  • Fuji S3 Pro can display a live LCD view by swinging the mirror up but this has problems that make it useless:
    • cannot take a photo in this mode!
    • can only use it for 30sec max, it is only B&W and viewfinder is blacked out.
  • Olympus E330 has a tilt LCD but it doesn't swivel
  • frame assist mode to allow visual alignment of horizon, etc. (eg. Oly 8080 and Oly E330 in Live Mode B)
• compact flash +/- sd memory cards
• long battery life like the Olympus E330/E-1
• good range of reasonably priced high quality lenses, esp. wide angle and fast telephotos in range 75-300mm
• perhaps an in-camera optical stabiliser like the Panasonic, Sony, and Olympus E510 so it works on all lenses
• ability to switch the IR block filter out of the way for astrophotography & IR photography like the Sony cameras, or use a modified IR-blocking filter which still allows infra-red & astrophotography such as the Canon 20Da (2.5x better H-alpha region transmission) or the Hutech-modified cameras.
• ability to use Olympus OM, Canon and Nikon manual focus lenses via adapters (eg. Olympus and Canon)
• high shutter speed X-sync like the Nikon D70, Olympus E-1
• getting closer to a good compromise, but still quite expensive are the new cameras from Nikon & Canon released late 2005, but they still need sensor cleaning unlike the Olympus and we are still waiting for their high end version:
  • Nikon D200:
    • 10mpixel, usual Nikon features incl. iTTL flash, fast x-sync, 3D metering, but also wireless FTP and GPS options; $US1699;
  • Canon 5D:
    • 12mpixel, usual Canon features but perhaps most importantly for those with old lenses, it is full frame and there are adapters for most brands of manual focus lenses - but how good is manual focus on it? approx. $A5000
    • this would be an even better camera if:
      • it had live preview so one can manually focus more accurately and not have to have your eye on the viewfinder
      • it had CCD-shift image stabiliser
      • it had sensor dust protection
      • it was cheaper - if Canon made one with the above features for under $A2500, I would jump on the Canon bandwagon (although I would still use my Olympus OM wide angle lenses on it)
      • am I dreaming? well maybe not, the new Canon 1D MkIII has live preview and some sensor dust protection but its not full frame and no CCD IS.

Some lenses to consider (may be better options now):

•  
  • Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS  
    • 27-136mm, versatile but substantial distortions, vignetting and CA still. No where near as good as the Zuiko 14-54mm but it does have an image stabiliser. Cannot be used on full frame cameras;

  • Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5  

    • the favourite standard zoom equiv. to 28-108mm; ~$A840

    • mind you, the standard Olympus kit lens will do a serviceable job and the soon to be released Zuiko 12-60mm with ultrasonic motor promises to be even better, especially for travel with its 24-120mm equivalent range at f/2.8-f/4.0 and hopefully will not be too expensive.

  • Leica 14-50mm IS lens for Olympus/Panasonic but expensive and appears not to be as good as the Zuiko 14-54mm

• if you are into wildlife photography, you should also consider a telephoto zoom of 150-400mm range:
  • Canon 70-200L (112-320mm equiv.):
    • f/4 version - ~$A1400
    • f/2.8 version - ~$A2600
    • f/2.8 IS version - ~$A3400
  • Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 (100-400mm equiv) 
    • ~$1400 - better value than the Canon f/4
    • if can't afford it, consider the cheaper:
      • Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 - ~$A780;
      • Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 kit lens
• if you are into landscapes, architecture or travel, then a super-wide angle lens 21-24mm focal length, but ideally one should be able to use a Cokin graduated filter to avoid the sky getting burnt out:

  • Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5:

    • equiv. to 16-35mm. Unlike the Olympus, it is not dust proof; 

    • Cannot be used on Canon full frame cameras; ~$A1400; 

  • third party wide angle lenses such as Sigma
  • Olympus 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 (ie. 22-44mm effect) ~$A1400
• if you are into flowers, then you need a macro lens if your main lens doesn't give adequate close focus:
  • Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro - ~$A800
  • Olympus 50mm f/2 macro - ~$A800 - this is one of the best lenses ever made.

Digital SLR's:

• in general, compared with "prosumer" non-SLRs:
  • cons:
    • all are much bigger, heavier & more expensive than non-SLRs, thus greater risk of depreciation
    • standard AF lenses are usually slow (eg. f/4.5) compared with f/2.4 on the Olympus C8080 & cannot match the macro ability or the zoom range
    • optical viewfinder and lack of live LCD view means worse for very low light infra-red or astrophotography which require image boosting via LCD screen or AV out.
    • subject to dirt on the sensor degrading images & needing regular cleaning  
    • cannot use LCD for composing photo as the sensor does not have access to the image until the optical viewfinder mirror is moved out of the light path. THUS usually do not have rotating or angled LCD screens which means composing photos with camera overhead or on the ground is difficult or impossible.
    • NB: viewfinders tend not to be as good to manually focus as with the Olympus OM film camera viewfinders 
  • versatile if get extra AF lenses but these are very expensive and note that most sensors are smaller than 35mm film and thus lenses designed for 35mm cameras will become more telephoto as the image is cropped to the central rectangle only making it difficult to achieve wide angle without buying a wide angle lens specifically designed for that camera.
    • can get lens adapters to allow Olympus OM to be used on Olympus E or Canon EOS here but cost $US175.
  • higher dynamic range & lower noise at higher ISO and much better for astrophotography once overcome the focus issue.
  • faster shot-to-shot operation
  • optical TTL viewfinders allow much better low light & manual focus capability than EVFs BUT worse for very low light infra-red or astrophotography which require image boosting via LCD screen or AV out.
  • the various manufacturers have their own proprietary innovations:
    • Fuji - increased dynamic range by using R & S sensors; lowest noise at high ISO;
    • Olympus - compact, CCD dust remover, largest range of specially designed digital lenses which are generally smaller & faster but no IS.
    • Minolta - sensor-based image stabiliser
    • Canon - lens-based IS; low noise at high ISO; fast AF; Canon lens range;
    • Nikon  - Nikon lens range; fast usage; great electronic flash and exposure metering;
• Nikon D70 (2004):
  • 6 megapixel, plastic; fast x-sync 1/500th sec; only 4x playback zoom - most are 10x; 
  • instant start up; cannot do RAW+SHQ JPEG; avg AWB;
  • cannot use Olympus OM lenses as adapters would prevent focusing at infinity.
  • new D70s:
    • 1/8000s shortest exposure-time; remote cord-plug (not the well known 10-pin type ), 2" LCD display; high speed USB 2.0 connector; new accu EN-EL3A
• Nikon D70s (mid-2005):
  • has the same CCD sensor and imaging pipeline as the D70 so image quality should be identical.
  • several changes have been introduced including improved auto focus accuracy, slightly wider flash coverage, a higher capacity battery, a new larger 2.0" LCD monitor and re-designed menus.
  • new optional Remote Cord.
  • Nikon Capture 4 (Ver. 4.2) software, which can be used to control the D70s from a computer via the USB connection.
• Nikon D50 (mid-2005):
  • similar to D70 but cheaper, lighter (540g vs 595g) & easier to use & has improved auto focus especially in the area of motion tracking, it has a new auto AF mode (which automatically switches between single and continuous AF depending on the subject), it has a lower resolution metering sensor (420 cw 1005 segment) but that sensor is a newer generation than the one used in the D70 (and D70s) - spot metering circle is also larger (2.5% cw 1%), the maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 sec (cw 1/8000th), continuous shooting is 2.5 fps (cw 3fps), no WB tuning, it has a better viewfinder eyecup, the LCD monitor has increased to 2.0" in size, the D50 takes SD cards (not CF).
  • The only key difference between the D50 and D70 from an image pipeline point of view is that the image processing algorithm has now been tweaked to improve rendition of highlight detail (to clip less and have a softer roll-off to the highlight). It's also worth noting that the D50's default color space mode is IIIa (instead of Ia in the D70) which is still sRGB but is described as being optimized for nature and landscape photographs
  • uses uncompressed RAW instead of compressed as in the D70; no wireless flash; no viewfinder grid; no control panel lamp;  no DOF preview button; 
• Canon 20D:
  • great for action photos as image stabilization, affordable primes up to 400mm focal lengths, clean high iso images, fast Ai servo focus that seems to work very well for birds flying at you.
  • 8mpixel; 9 point AF; 5fps; avg AWB; no spot meter; noisy; x-sync 1/250th;
  • the high quality "L" lenses are poorly matched to their consumer bodies in range, weight or balance.
  • their new EF-s lenses partially solve this problem but are pricey and slow
  • although their IS will control camera shake it will NOT stop motion and there is NO substitute for a faster lens.
  • the older E-TTL flash system was problematic for many users
  • to get the most out of ones photos, it is frequently necessary to use post processing including raw processing,. It does have better high ISO noise performance than either the Olympus or the Nikon, but the Fuji is still the market leader.
  • an Olympus OM lens adapter for the Canon EOS cameras is available, see here.
  • Canon 20Da (announced Feb 2005):
    • modified IR-cut filter to allow 2.5x better H-alpha transmission to allow better nebulae astrophotography
    • live preview LCD screen with magnified image focussing to assist astrophotography
      • live focussing with this it cannot  be used with the electronic manual focusing lenses, which are 85f1.2L, 200f1.8L, 300f2.8L, 400f2.8L I & II, 500f4.5L and 600f4L.  Exactly the lenses that best fit astrophotography!
• Canon 5D:
  • a full frame 12.8 mpixel digital at almost a reasonable price (~$A4500 for the body)
  • lighter and less durable than the high end digitals and with less functionality including more primitive AF and only 3fps
  • it is like a 30D with spot metering added and in full frame sensor size.
  • vignetting can be a problem, especially with the 70-200mm lens wide open
  • doesn't quite cut it for sports photography but will suit most other needs but a lot bigger than the cropped sensor cameras.
• Olympus E series and Panasonic digital SLR's:
  • see Olympus E digital
  • advantages:
    • unique supersonic dust removal system
    • potential for cheaper, smaller and lighter bodies and lenses with high quality for same price.
    • For an illustration of the benefits of 4/3rds, compare the Digital Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 zoom with the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L-series zoom. The Olympus lens is as good or better in image quality, but has a wider zoom range, it is half the size and weight, and costs less than half as much.
    • all include spot metering unlike the cheaper Canon's.
    • the E-330 is the ONLY camera with live LCD preview (until its sibling Panasonic enters the market)
    • the 4/3rds cameras are the ONLY digital cameras that can use manual focus lenses designed for Minolta MC/MD, Rollei SL, Exacta, and Topcon while being also able to use those from Olympus OM, Contax C/Y RTS, Yashica, Nikon F, Pentax K and M42, Leica R .
  • disadvantages:
    • sensor dynamic range less and thus noise at high ISO is more
    • 2x crop means not so useful for using legacy manual focus lenses with focal length less than 35mm.
    • a distant 3rd to Nikon and Canon in popularity so ability to compete and survive in the long term is an issue
    • availability of image stabilised lenses is limited to the forth-coming Leica lens, but the new E series in 2007 should have IS built-in to the bodies.
    • no shift lenses (the 2x crop makes the ones designed for 35mm less useful)
• Fuji S3 Pro:
  • 6-12mpixel, 23x15mm sensor with special R/S cells that can be used to increase dynamic range or resolution
  • 14bit A/D; Nikon F mount; X-sync 1/180th sec; 2.5fps for 7 RAW; built-in flash; film type simulation modes;
  • cons: big & heavy; LCD live view is non-functional; buffer not as good as D70; AA batteries;
• Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D:
  • this has been upgraded to the MUCH BETTER 400D which finally has dust protection (although not very efficient apparently) & a decent LCD screen.
  • Feb 2005 as a step from the 6mpixel Digital Rebel 300D and as a cut-down version of the 20D; 
  • no spot meter!
  • personally I would not buy the kit lens but consider a better lens for general purpose such as the 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM EF-S lens which provides an angle of view of a 27-136mm lens on a 35mm camera & thus should cover the vast majority of your photography (except sports/action/wildlife/extreme wide angle) without the need to change lens and introduce dust onto your precious sensor.
  • compared with the 300D:
    • 8 mpixel; 3fps; mirror lock up; 2nd curtain flash; better manual focus & AF;
    • 25% smaller; 2.5oz lighter; 3 layer optical filter may make Hutech modification impossible;
    • CF write speed 3.5x faster; viewfinder blackout time reduced from 225ms to 170ms;
    • startup time faster at 0.2s; RAW+JPEG as separate files rather than embedded files;
    • improved WB; better WB correction; B&W filter modes; dark frame subtraction;
    • brighter focusing screen for manual focus; USB 2.0 10x faster; uses 35% less power;
    • less gap between microlenses on sensor.
    • eTTL II flash means less likely underexposure with specular highlights in image via measurements taken with pre-flash;
  • compared with the 20D:
    • 3fps instead of 5fps; 14 jpegs instead of 23 jpegs burst; slower focus; 9 custom functions instead of 18; plastic instead of magnesium alloy body; ~$US600 cheaper;