Brand and Model Perspectives

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I shoot an Olympus e-510 DSLR, a Kodak P-880, an Olympus C-750Z and a Nikon 775. Yes, I do still shoot with the Nikon 775 even though it is a 2MP camera with a slovenly response to tripping the shutter release. And I used to shoot two Minolta film SLRs - the XE-1 and the X-700. I'm saying all this so that I can share some perspectives with you. Notice, I say, my perspectives - they are not the absolute fact - perspectives are what you develop when you intend to buy a new camera, particularly a DSLR.

Most newbies are told to go to a shop and hold / handle a few cameras. Some use that handling to make up their mind, but often we see newbies come back to the forum, none the wiser. So much for that - they are so new to the DSLR business, they listen to the salesman, they listen to more experienced forum posters and they still can't make up their mind. Because they don't have sufficient discrimination to eliminate a brand or a model.

My perspective is towards entry level DSLRs by the way, so, here goes.

Canon

Canon is a big brand - it makes pro level 35mm equivalent DSLRs (called "full frame") as well as chic IXUS point and shoot cameras. I know people and have recommended Canon point and shoots, particularly the Powershot A Series that are good value for money. I have no shooting buddies near me that have Canon DSLRs although I have some friends who have Canon DSLRs. As a Pro brand, you will find some of the sharpest, well built, brightest, heaviest lenses made by Canon in the world. If you saw the Olympics or sports meets, there would be a whole brace of Canon Pro sports shooters with big white lenses.

If you intend to be a Pro sports shooter, a Pro journalist, then Canon is one of two brands that is a no brainer choice. Be prepared to spend big bucks for quality. Be prepared to carry heavy gear. Be prepared to insure your gear. I would expect lens rentals and repair facilities to be available given the demands of the Pro photographers.

But what do the Canon entry level DSLRs offer you?

1. A reputation inherited from the Pro gear (whether practical or not). The ability to buy a Pro quality, expensive lens if you wanted to.
2. Reasonable, competitive features.
3. Better low light pictures given the same type of kit lens as the other brands.
4. You can buy non Canon brand lenses from third party makers.
5. You can use second hand, autofocus, meant-for-film Canon lenses.

What I don't like about Canon?

1. The right hand grip from the earlier entry level models - it didn't feel right in my hand (you may feel differently).
2. The perception that I have to buy more expensive, better range lenses (bigger as well) if I wanted some respectable sharpness and performance).
3. The perception that the earlier entry level kit lens was not "nice"
4. No in body sensor shift image stabilisation

Our perceptions are clouded by our prior experience - I had had no prior experience with Canon film or digital bodies.

Nikon

Nikon is the other Pro brand in cameras. My comments about Nikon Pro cameras would be similar to Canon, except that Nikon has only recently arrived on the full frame, 35mm sensor scene. With Nikon though, I have some empathy. My photo mentor when I was in school carried a Nikon. My nearest photo buddies carry Nikon DSLRs. I have held the Nikon D40, D40x, D300 in my hands and came away happy with the feel of the bodies in my hand, the silky sleekness of operation.

What do Nikon entry level DSLRs offer you?

1. The very cheapest models feel good in your hands and are quite small in terms of bulk - almost like the small Olympus bodies. Once you fit non kit lenses on though, the bulk increases significantly, although with the new kit lenses, the package still looks attractive.
2. The ability to fit a long heritage of older Nikon lenses, even manual focus ones.
3. The ability to fit Nikon Pro quality, expensive lenses.

What I don't like about Nikons?

1. Features in the cheaper bodies have been purposely truncated so as not to draw sales away from their mid-range and Pro level bodies. For example, exposure bracketing and depth of field preview.
2. Some older, meant-for-film autofocus Nikon lenses will not motorise on the cheapest Nikon bodies.
3. No in body sensor shift image stabilisation

Olympus

Olympus has always been a maverick. The famous designer was Y. Maitani - he designed not only the famous OM-1 film SLR but even very unique and special small cameras like the XA. Olympus is not a big camera company. They have skills and reputation in microscopes (I used them when I was studying Materials Engineering).

When it came to the DSLR world, the story goes that Olympus never had an established auto focus film SLR - (maybe the autofocus idea generated bulky film bodies and bulky autofocus lenses which were not the Maitani style) - so they decided to maverick it again and produce an E-System using a smaller Four Thirds Sensor. The Four Thirds organisation has a few members - Kodak, Panasonic, Leica and Sigma. They just announced the micro Four Thirds Standard - which is about using the same sensor size, having a shorter flange distance to the removable lens mount - we're all waiting to see what kind of EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) camera body will eventuate. Existing Four Thirds lenses will mount on a micro Four Thirds body with an adaptor and autofocus.

Olympus contribute body design ideas and probably body chassis to Panasonic Lumix DSLR cameras.

What do Olympus entry level DSLRs offer you?

1. A well designed, optimised (sharpness vs cost vs size) pair of kit lenses.
2. The smallest bodies amongst the competitors (although certainly bigger than a compact camera).
3. A from-new line of lenses from Olympus and Leica. Some re-engineered lenses from Sigma
4. The ability to fit (with inexpensive eBay adapters) manual focus second hand lenses from Olympus, Minolta, Nikon, Pentax K, M42 Screw Thread, Nikon.
5. In body sensor shift image stabilisation
6. A 2x sensor crop factor so your effective telephoto magnification for the same optical focal length has more reach. A 200mm optical focal length lens will give you 400mm of reach.
   

What is less to like about Olympus?

1. A smaller sensor, so slightly more grainy photos at ISO levels above 400.
2. The 4:3 aspect ratio vs the 3:2 aspect ratio of the other brand's APS-C sensors.
3. The 2x sensor crop factor will make legacy and current lenses less wide. A 24mm optical focal length will become 48mm focal length effectively, meaning it isn't wide any more.
   
4. Less lens choices and no legacy auto-focus second hand lenses.
5. A less than sharp viewfinder (makes focussing those manual focus lenses hit and miss)

Pentax

Pentax is a very senior brand. It was a peer competitor to my previous favourite and deceased brand, Minolta. Neither were able to compete with Canon and Minolta in the heavy duty, big time Pro photographer market, although there were Pros who did use both brands. In their film SLRs Pentax stayed with the M42 screw thread mount (called the Pentax / Practika mount) a long time. They are a small company but they have recently merged with Hoya Glass who make optical filters, spectacle lenses. They also work closely with Samsung and some of their DSLRs are rebadged and sold by Samsung with some changes.

What do Pentax DSLRs offer you?

1. Very good value for money. In fact, probably the lowest price possible for a DSLR, particularly the older models.
2. A variety of "primes" - single focal length lenses that are small and light.
3. A variety of lenses including second hand manual focus lenses (M42 screw, Pentax K mount). New lenses are either Pentax branded or Samsung and Schneider Kreuznach approved. Sigma are a major lens supplier.
4. Utilitarian features - well thought out, photographer's features rather than the latest "I have this feature too" ideas.
5. In body sensor shift image stabilisation

What is less to like about Pentax?

1. The reliance and close association with Sigma means that the lens feel and build quality do not have the Nikon / Canon "feel". That does not mean Sigma / Pentax lenses are not adequate.
2. The surface finish and general feel may not be up to the standard of a Nikon.

Sony

Sony had been making digital compact cameras for a long time. When they wanted to get into the DSLR business, Minolta happened to be looking for a buyer for their camera business, so Sony bought the Minolta camera and DSLR business. With that, they introduced the first Sony DSLR, the Alpha 100. Soon after, Sony, with much investment in technology and development, introduced a brace of new Alpha models, incorporating more Sony ideas. Sony have an extensive optical, digital business in still cameras, TV cameras and TV technology, just like their competitor Panasonic.

What do Sony DSLRs offer you?

1. The Sony brand, support and service network, retail and point of sale network. IT'S A SONY! Competitive and keen pricing.
2. Engineering money and engineers galore - they too are technology mavericks.
3. Minolta personnel and expertise from the previous Minolta DSLRs.
4. Second hand, Minolta Auto Focus Lenses, new Sony branded ones and Carl Zeiss branded lenses.
5. In body sensor shift image stabilisation

What is less to like about Sony?

1. The kit lenses are not the sharpest.
2. Some features purposely left out on the entry level bodies.
3. A peculiar left - right weight balance caused by cramming articulating large LCD panels in the body.

Sometimes choosing a brand from these is first preluded by - "Do you have a problem with not buying a universally accepted Pro brand like Canon and Nikon". Your photos may not and will probably not be different but the chip on the shoulder may show through. If you have no problems, then you can continue on to enjoy choosing from a wider range of brands.

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Which DSLR shall I buy?

"Which DSLR shall I buy" is the most common question that newbies (from no experience or non DSLR Point and Shoot experience) ask. And very often, they want a camera that:

1. has the best IQ (Image Quality)
2. best prowess in shooting shots in low light
3. can handle action / sports shots with ease

Some of them read lab reviews and are totally confused after reading the reviews because the jargon and concepts mentioned are over their heads. Others revel on the minutae of numbers, throw-away remarks by reviewers and pixel peep at sample photos that reviews have taken over and over again so that cameras can be compared. The common problem these newbies have though is, they can't make up their mind. You feel real sympathy for them. Some, however, reject your sympathy. They may nominate a champion camera and start passionate and vindicative debates about how good that champion camera is against all others. Based just on reviews and reads - they haven't actually used the camera at all.

There are now so many camera models being hawked as single lens package, dual lens package with overlaps in pricing by discounting older models, replacing the kit lens with a poorer quality one or adding a cheapie lens as a bonus, it's all purposely a mess to confound the buyer.

So friend, how now? Here are my proposed answers.

1. Do read the reviews. Not just from one site. Skim through the details if you find the jargon dizzying or tedious. Read the conclusions. Don't read between the lines too much - the reviewers are human - they have experience and wisdom as well as feet of clay.
2. If you are like most newbies, you will have a budget. With that budget, you can eliminate several combinations immediately. If money is no object, then nominate whatever everyone says is the best and then go to the shop, hold that combination and ask yourself whether you want to carry that bulk, that amount of money on you when you shoot.
3. With the remaining combinations, ask yourself about lenses. The camera body is one factor but really, I would want to enjoy my photography from day one, not hope that at the end of three years, I would have bought the lenses that I could afford. I really need some reasonable lenses right now, not in three years time.
4. Choosing lenses can take you a while - size, weight, single or two to cover the zoom range, enough sharpness, bright enough to shoot indoors or whatever you want to shoot (action). Either choose lenses to buy now or make a lens buying plan and overview the total spend now and over time. One way to hit a price bracket is for either the camera maker or the camera shop to fit an excellent DSLR body with a cheapie lens that really really degrades the Image Quality of the photo. Think about that.
5. Next, go feel the cameras and preferably with the lenses that you want, fitted. Holding the camera without the lens you want gives you false impressions. It is very important that the camera feels right in your hands. Words cannot describe how awful it is to spend good money and carry a camera that feels really bad - and this is subjective - something you can't read from reviews.
6. After you leave the shop, think about the brand that you are buying into. In Australia, we have competitive cars from Ford, Holden (GMH), Toyota, Mitsubishi and the European makes. Yes certainly there are differences in car models but at the end of the day , I'll bet people buy the car because of the brand or brand illusion. The same with cameras. I've seen lots of conversations about features and technical merits but I am pretty sure, people buy the brand of the camera as much as the actual model. Each camera has the brand explicitly tattoed on the body - just like the Mercedes or Rolls Royce symbol.

See, proposed answers are all about you. Because the ability to take a good shot is more about YOU than the camera.

del.icio.us Tags: DSLR,Choice,Camera,Photography

What camera reviews are good for...

I was participating in an internet photo forum and reflected on how camera reviews are now heavily referenced and / or bashed by camera fans. They also completely confuse newbie camera buyers with the level of technicalities compounded with often subjective off the cuff remarks by the reviewers.

Here's my angle on camera reviews.

1. Camera testing labs are generally well equipped and professionally staffed. Objective Lab test results allow us to compare the technical merits of two or more camera models.
2. Lab Test Results objectively report the truth of the testing. However, as we are not optical specialists or physicists or photo metric specialists, the significance or superiority of one value vs another has to be interpreted using subjective and judgmental words by the reviewer. Therein lies one major issue.
   1. The reviewer must firstly explain the relative difference in the reading comparing the model under review with another model.
   2. Secondly, the reviewer often neglects to inform that "under field shooting conditions", the superiority of one model over another in that value is completely nullified by the variations in skill, environmental conditions - of course, he would neglect to inform of this, he is informing you of the test result - talking about shooting in the field is off topic, in a sense.
3. Making small talk and spinning a story is how a journalist or a reviewer makes a review interesting. Remember journalists are taught to tell a story so that the reader is entertained - tables and charts already clearly report numbers - so the reviewer thinks his job is to make the review interesting. There will be affectations in language reflecting the writing background, the age and experience of the reviewer - all the subjective human features. Sometimes good writing makes us read a review from start to end and makes us come back for more reviews. In fact, we often look to a reviewer to provide some wisdom and subjectivity in the context of his shooting experience.
   
   This can lead to issues again. We may respond to the perceived tone and language of the reviewer - and either praise his experience and credibility or deprecate his skill in the (English) language and his phrasing.
4. There are few absolutes when we shop. A particular camera model in a different country or a different time may be price and discount variances (hence affecting value), be more suited to certain tastes based on demographic, overall economic status of the area, availability, warranty service. So the "bang for buck" of one camera vs another varies - which affects the shopper.
5. Handling in YOUR HANDS, your subjective perception when you use the camera to shoot, your reaction to the menus and buttons and ultimately your mind set when you shoot with that camera - that's something that cannot be reviewed by proxy - you have to experience it.
6. There are sample to sample variations in gear. As well as wear and tear on gear loaned out to reviewers. Despite the best quality assurance in the world, if the reviewer received a dud, he will report dud results.
7. A camera may be optimised for different things. Like improved shooting in the field. Shooting a certain type of subject or scene. These optimisations may unfairly affect the straight results in the lab.
8. The reviewer may come from a traditionalist background or the exact opposite - never having used film cameras. The reviewer may be a keen enthusiast or may have been a full time professional photographer in his previous life. This affects his inclination for certain features - for example, the preference to have gear that blows up to full wall size posters vs the optimisation to display on 1080 16:9 flat panel screens.

With this in mind, how should one take reviews?

1. Do pick a professional camera gear website for technical lab reviews. Take reviews of cameras from computer websites and electronics websites with some detachment - you may have a reviewer who is a photographer at heart, but likely, that is not his main strength or his job.
2. Don't get upset that a reviewer does not share your passion with the camera that you have just bought. You have chosen your camera based on a number of factors and in context of your perception and experience. The reviewer is probably not at all like you - doesn't think like you, doesn't have the same criteria and most importantly doesn't need to buy this camera - he may already have his own gear - and as the owner of his gear, he may be as passionate about his gear as you are about yours.
3. Don't use a review to justify your decision about your camera purchase. You have already bought the camera, there is no reason why everyone in the world has to agree about the merits of your camera.
4. Don't use the review or the reviewer as the basis for optimum operation of the camera. The reviewer did not intend to use that camera to take photos for his own enjoyment - he carried out the review because that is his job - he may or may not want to use that camera socially or personally. Once you have bought the camera and used it extensively for a while, you are now a bigger expert on that camera than the reviewer who spent a few hours, a few days, a few intermittent weeks with that camera.
5. Do be aware of what the reviewer said, but don't let it inhibit you in your use of the camera. Whilst the reviewer, in the context of so many cameras he has seen, may suggest that such and such is not worth doing or this camera is less capable than another, he did not buy the camera himself - YOU DID. Therefore, you, because of your commitment may perform miracles or simply work hard enough with the camera that you CAN get the camera to do things that the reviewer was not motivated to do.

del.icio.us Tags: reviews,cameras,photography