Digital SLR - your recommendations

[Muzza]

Fellows,

My (optical SRL) Minolta Dynax 700si broke down during the United States Grand Prix Saturday practice (see PS note) and I am comparing digital SLR models prior to purchasing one.

What are your comments and recommendations on this concern? Of course "more is better" (more resolution, higher speeds, bigger buffers) in such a case, but comes at a cost.

So, dividing the playing field in three price ranges for chassis only (lenses, flash, memory cards and other not included), as below...

- class 1: up to USD 2,000
- class 2: from USD 2,000 to 3,500
- class 3: higher than USD 3,500

How would you rate the currently available digital SLRs? What is a must, what is necessary, what is nice-to-have and what is just gizmo-caca-for-tech-freaks?

Thanks,


Muzza

P.S.: a note on Minolta optical SLRs. I have been shooting with Minoltas for at least ten years, and the 700si is my third one. In a world where Canon and Nikon and fancied over, I really enjoyed my relationship with Minolta (maybe because they used to sponsor the Toyota group C cars?). However, their cameras - although very resourceful - are quite fragile. I spent throusands of dollars in repairs, prism re-alignments and similar things.

[KC]

A lot depends on what you plan for your images. My 2.1 mpixel Olympus shoots fine for publication in newspapers and low resolution monthlies. The SHQ format image is 1600 x 1200 and can print to almost 11 x 17 without interpolation. However, I am considering the new Canon Digital rebel body since I already own lenses for a Rebel in 35mm. It offers 6.3 mpixel (I think).

If you are looking for publication in glossy color publications, then I would suggest any of the latest crop of 6.0 mpixel SLRs. Nikon has a model especially made for sports shooters. It gives up some image size for being able to shoot continuously for 28 frames.

I did hear some complaints this weekend about the Canon D30 and its autofocus. One of Motorsport Media Groups shooters was complaining that even with centerweighted focus the camera was focusing on the background instead of the race boats he was shooting. This could be down to operator error because I know the D30 is popular among sports shooters and journalists.

What about the DiMage line from Minolta? I don't know that much about them, but I understand they are nice cameras.

[MolsonBoy]

Muzza, my friend purchased the Canon EOS 10D prior to the Vancouver race. It is a 6 mp and is solidly built. He is very happy with it except he has to deal with the lag time that some digital cameras have. you see some sample images in the champweb gallery. In Canada the prices have dropped a couple hundred since this camera was first introduced and I assume the prices are lower in the US too.

My other friend upgraded to the EOS 1D from a D30. This camera is fast and he can really tell the difference from his older camera. It is leess mega pixels than the 10D but most sports photographers like it for it's speed. But then again it cost more.

I think you answered your own question about the Minolta line. Having to spend more to fix a camera over the years would be better spent on a higher end Canon or Nikon.

[vwpilot]

Wait for the new Nikon D2h to hit the market this fall. It will be only 4mp (same as Canon 1D) but that is good enough for easy 11x14s and higher, I do that now from my 2.74 D1h. Plus you will get 8 fps for 40 frames, more than any DSLR out there, its a new sensor that is supposed to be super low noise, has a new ambient white balance sensor, will have wireless capability, a new faster 11 point af system, built on a pro body with seals and durability of pro bodys, new LiIon batteries, vertical grip and shutter built into pro body, and the best part, will retail for around $3200 usd. A ton of camera for the money. I will be picking up a couple over the winter for next season.

[KC]

The Nikon is the one I was referring to. I couldn't remember the model name.

[redshoes]

MolsonBoy, I had the same problem with lag when I first got my D60 but it's something you soon get used to.

Pretty much all the motorsports photographers I know use a Canon of some sort, D60 and 10D being the most popular. Only know of one photographer using a Nikon and she's had no end of problems with it - now on it's second or third shutter mechanism. Seems like every time I speak to her it's either just come back from Nikon service centre or is just about to go back. Admittedly all under warranty but still a major inconvenience.

[woodyracing]

where exactly is the lag ?
Ive heard reviews mention shutter lag but Im not sure what that means.

[KC]

Many digitals do not react to the button being pressed as quickly as a 35mm camera do. For the sports shooter this can be critical as you can easily miss part of the action. The closer you get to a Digital SLR the less this lag time exists between when the shooter presses the button and when the CCD gets exposed.

There are some things you can do to assist your pro-sumer level digital to speed up the process. Most digitals have some nice features. Pretty quick autofocus, image stabilization, white balance auto correction, automatic fstop correction, etc. All of these things take a little time to do as the camera analyzes what you are doing and tries to make the best of the scene you are trying to capture. Turn off your autofocus and pre-focus. Set you white balance and lock it in. Make some test shots to find the correct exposure and lock it in. I do most of my shooting in manual mode so I can reduce the shutter lag by at least 1/2. Its still about 1/3rd of second slower than my Canon Rebel, but I have learned to work around it.

[woodyracing]

I'm slightly unhappy about this lag, especially with cameras at this level (£1000+) even if you can get used to it.
Anyone with a Canon D10 got any comments about the lag ?

[vwpilot]

The lag is almost non existent on dslrs, even the slow ones. IN using dslrs, i have found the only time i have significant lag is if the camera goes to sleep, then i try to quickly take a shot.

To get around this if i think somthing is coming up to shoot, i always give the shutter a quick tap to wake up the camera, then its basically instantaneous.

At least thats how it works with my Nikon. If you look at the Nikon lines, shutter response is in the milliseconds and right in line with film cameras. The new D2h is supposed to have the shortest response time of any camera.

The times i run into this the most is when i am using manual focus, because i will folllow the subject and hit the shutter and it takes a second for it to wake up. When using AF its not as big a deal because I am hitting the shutter to lock on focus, so when I hit the shutter to shoot the cameara just responds as its already awake. BUt when using manual I sometimes forget to wake it up and get the little bit of lag. It is also pretty much documented that the Nikon cameras wake up much faster than the Canons. Its possible your shutter lag is really the camera just waking up.

[woodyracing]

thanks for the info, I dont have a dslr yet but I am considering the D10 which will fit my Canon lens.

[Tim Falce]

I have a Nikon D100, it does not suffer from shutter lag. The only problem with it that I can find is that when shooting large format, fine pictures on continuous shooting mode it stops to think about life, the universe and everything after about 4 to 6 shots.

[redshoes]

Originally posted by vwpilot
The lag is almost non existent on dslrs, even the slow ones. IN using dslrs, i have found the only time i have significant lag is if the camera goes to sleep, then i try to quickly take a shot.

That's one of the things I miss most about my film camera. I can pick it up and snap away almost immediately. With a digital if you haven't used it for a few mins it goes into power-save mode and takes a few seconds to spring back into life. You can turn this feature off or increase the time before it powers down but there's always a trade off with battery life.

Every auto SLR has some sort of lag while it sorts out focus and exposure, DSLR's tend to be more obvious. The first time you use a DSLR you WILL notice it, but it's not something to get concerned about - we're talking about a tiny fraction of a second. Give it half a day and I doubt you'll realise it's there.

[woodyracing]

ok thats reassuring, i guess I wont worry about the lag.

[PaulSands]

Don't buy a Sigma SD9

[Peter Mallett]

Originally posted by PaulSands
Don't buy a Sigma SD9

Any particular reasons Paul? If you used that for Spa I thought the results were great.

[PaulSands]

I'm just not happy with it...dont feel confident its going to deliver..I know a lot is down to the user (and the lenses)...plus I havent yet managed to upload directly from the camera to PC and have had to buy a Compact Flash card reader...oooh and it only saves RAW files so at the highest res I can only fit 162 images onto a 1gb microdrive as each file is between 5 & 7 mb
It doesn't seem to perform very well in inclement conditions..that's why the Spa shots are ok...Maybe its just me getting used to it, problem is to really get used to it is going to take experimentation and given that three of the four meetings I've had it for now I've had trackside access I havent wanted to risk getting nothing
The better pictures from Spa,IMHO, are the nightime ones taken with my HP Photosmart 850 which only cost me £1500 less than the Sigma kit

[vandijk]

Originally posted by woodyracing
I'm slightly unhappy about this lag, especially with cameras at this level (£1000+) even if you can get used to it.
Anyone with a Canon D10 got any comments about the lag ?

Woodyracing,

I am using a 10D and the lag is not noticable to me. I am not sure about the same priced Nikon D100. 300+ 10D samples, reduced in size however, can be found on my site. Most of them are shot with the EF200/2.8 and some with the 1.4 extender added to the above lens(Spa 1000Km).

Sander
www.vandijkonline.net

[rdjones]

Has anyone seen the new Canon EOS 300D. It is new Canon entry level model I have just seen one in Dixon's for £899.99. Reading the reviews it look a very nice peace of kit.

[vandijk]

Originally posted by rdjones
Has anyone seen the new Canon EOS 300D. It is new Canon entry level model I have just seen one in Dixon's for £899.99. Reading the reviews it look a very nice peace of kit.

Haven't seen it yet but it must be great value for money. Same image quality as the 10D. Take a look at Phil's review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos300d/

"The EOS 300D is a formidable camera, not from a feature set point of view. Not from a body finish point of view (which is actually better than I'm sure you're thinking). Not from how its feature set compares to other digital SLR's (although it can certainly hold its own), but rather for what it offers, for its value for money. And for what this camera could mean for the future of digital SLR's and the entire prosumer digital camera market. There's no doubt that there is an important place for cameras such as Sony's DSC-F828 and Minolta's DiMAGE A1, but you would have to be wearing blinkers not to realize that anyone considering spending over $1000 on an all-in-one camera such as that will now put the EOS 300D Kit high on their list."

[PaulSands]

I cant belive this I didnt even realise the 300D had interchangeable lenses...absolutely no way I'd have bought the Sigma if I'd known...I could use very bad words right now

[PaulSands]

arrrrg its only £749 at warehouseexpress.com

[vandijk]

Originally posted by PaulSands
I cant belive this I didnt even realise the 300D had interchangeable lenses...absolutely no way I'd have bought the Sigma if I'd known...I could use very bad words right now

Sorry PaulSands... In marketing they call this Post-purchase evaluation - Cognitive Dissonance

"The final stage is the post-purchase evaluation of the decision. It is common for customers to experience concerns after making a purchase decision. This arises from a concept that is known as “cognitive dissonance”. The customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase immediately, but is likely to switch brands next time."

I guess they are right...

/s.

[Peter Mallett]

I know they are very convenient but are digital cameras better than film cameras?

[PaulSands]

damn straight they're right...whats more annoying was that I'd been holding out for the Pentax *istD but that looked like it was never going to appear (and of course it now has) so I plumped for the Sigma as my preferred supplier didnt have any 10d's in stock...I suppose I shouldnt whine too much as I suppose had I not had the Sigma there is a fair chance I wouldnt have got some of the shots (and access) I have over the last month...looks like Santa Claus may have to be really really kind to me this year...then again there's always eBay to offload the SD9 on...not that I'd ever sell it given my outspoken opinions of it