Tech 12 May 2008 12:48 pm
Too much information
So, I’m planning to buy a digital SLR camera in the near future. I currently use a film SLR which is almost 10 years old (a Minolta Maxxum 300si) and a digital point-and-shoot that is almost as old (an Olympus D200Z, I think). I’ve been doing a lot of research online to try to decide which camera to buy, and herein lies the problem.
The fact is, there is an amazing amount of information available about all models on the market. There are manufacturer brochures, specs, reviews, owners’ comments, side-by-side comparisons, “walk-throughs”, videos, audio recordings etc. etc. etc. But the problem is that there is way too much information. I have now read enough material that I would almost be able to write the user’s manual for the Canon EOS400D, the Nikon D60 or the Sony A100, and I’m nowhere near actually deciding for one of them. (At least I narrowed it down to these three models — plus the Sony A200, which is the almost identical twin to the A100, only two years younger)
The Nikon seems very good, but the auto-focus depends on the lens being able to do it, so the lenses are more expensive and the selection is a bit more limited. The Canon is, by far, the most popular of them, and it’s almost the “default” starting DSLR camera out there, but it is a 2006 model (its younger sister, the EOS450D, seems to be a bit too much for what I want) and the lenses included with the camera are universally described as crappy (yes, I can always buy the body only and get decent lenses separately, but this brings the price up). The Sony is, at its heart, an updated Minolta, and in fact it can use any Minolta lens (and I do have a Minolta); in fact, I can’t think of anything bad about the Sony models, but I’ve read much less about them than about the others, so I might have some surprises later. If no surprises show up, I am leaning towards an A200…
on 12 May 2008 at 9:53 pm 1.Cassio said …
Well, more information for you:
- The canon also needs in-lens autofocus motor. People say about this issue in the D60 because other Nikon DSLRS can use the in-lens motor but have an in-camera motor to use old lenses. All new Nikon lenses have autofocus motor in-lens and so do the Canon lenses. Equivalent lens for both systems are equivalent in price.
- Sony has in-camera image stabilizing (They call it Steady Shot or SS). It means you’ll be able to shot in low-light situations using slower shutter speeds without bluring the photograph. Canon and Nikon provides similar funcionality (IS for Canon and VR for Nikon) with optical (in-lens) stabilization, but you’ll have stabilization only when using this (expensiver) lens.
on 12 May 2008 at 9:55 pm 2.Cassio said …
s/People say about/People talk about/
on 12 May 2008 at 11:17 pm 3.Wilson said …
Indeed, you’re right about the Canon autofocus… funny that I hadn’t seen that mentioned anywhere, but I guess that’s normal for Canon cameras… The only one with an in-camera drive is the Sony (the drive pin is very visible in the lens mount - and it matches my Minolta).
About the Steady Shot feature, yes, that’s one more thing making me lean towards the Sonys. Their Dynamic Range Optimisation is another. But I’ve ready that in-lens stabilisation is more reliable than in-camera, because it can act differently depending on the lens features; still, it does add over $100 per lens for this feature, and the Sonys bring it “for free”…
on 27 Sep 2008 at 4:38 pm 4.Random Developments » Canon EOS1000D said …
[...] few months ago, I wrote that I was looking for a new camera and that I was reading about several DSLR models. I eventually chose one of them, and during a [...]