Help! About to give all my money to a corporation! 10D/D60/wait

[aaron emanuel litvinoff]

Hi. I have only ever owned one camera - the old, sh*t Canon AE-1. I

am convinced about going digital as I am 17, a student and cannot

afford to pay £6 everytime I want a film processed. After much

humming and hahing on comparison reviews I have decided to go for a

Canon DSLR. The 10D seems good, although I am disappointed with the

price (as far as my pocket goes). £1000+ really is the limit of my

finances. To someone who used the D60 and then graduated to the 10D,

is there much of a difference?

 

I am concious of the technological side of DSLRS - I know that new

ones frequently come out which are better (unlike film SLRS). Does

anyone have a vague idea of what I can expect to surpass the 10D by

say, this Xmas? Is the industry expecting, for instance, a sub £1500

camera which wont have the 1.6x factor?

[phule]

<em> the old, sh*t Canon AE-1</em>

<p>

Hurray for broad sweeping generalizations and immaturity!

 

<p>

You want to spend £1K now rather than spending that on film? At £6/roll that's 166 rolls of film. What about lenses? How are you going to shoot anything with a 10D if you can't afford to buy any lenses for it?

[lemastre]

The exhaustive writeup on the EOS 10D camera at the

dpreview.com web site suggests that it is a state-of-the-art sort

of camera. The number of megapixels should provide the

resolution you need. I don't know your level of photographic skill

or ambition, but it seems like a lot of money for someone of

limited means to spend on one camera, which may not even

come with a lens attached. And I assume you have the

computer gear to print your pictures, because if not, you'll still

have to pay a sort of "processing" fee.

 

As to whether the camera will be obsolete soon. Of course it will

be supplanted by an "improved" version. The makers of all

general-market cameras, especially those featuring lots of

electronics, are constantly finding new whistles and bells to

make you dissatisfied with what you have. This doesn't mean

what you have is no longer adequate, though. Photos are made

in your head more than in your camera, anyway. I have just as

much fun with my 50-year-old Leicas as I ever did, despite

changes going on all around me. I acknowledge that clients

who used to happily tolerate the time required to obtain

conventional photos now turn to digital shooters because they

can get stuff faster and in the digital form that some newspapers

like. Everybody wants everything faster if possible.

 

One question that should concern purchasers of all these highly

complex new devices, cameras and others, is how reliably will

they continue to deliver all the tricks they're supposed to perform

and how much of that complexity do you really need?

[aaron emanuel litvinoff]

ok guys. lets draw the line here - this aint gona be a film vs digital discussion, and this post isn't "shall i spend my money or not" - I don't leave that up to strangers to decide.

 

I am going to buy a Canon DSLR, either D60 or 10-D, but I wanted to know if anyone had heard anything about what is going to come after the 10D or from anyone who thinks there aint much between the D60 and 10D.

[aaron emanuel litvinoff]

as for the type of work ill be doing, take a look in my portfolio :o)

[chip l.]

The D60 used the Rebel as a basis of focusing and viewfinder. The 10D was built from the ground up as a DSLR. What this means is easier use, and faster focusing than the older models.

 

There will always be better cameras down the road. I doubt that you will see better than 1.6x frame factor at that price level for a or two IMO.

 

Rumors have it that Canon will have later this year a $999 DSLR. I think that it may be a Digital Rebel, with the 10D staying in the lineup. Pentax is to have their digital *ist in August (if not delayed again). Rumors that Nikon won't have any new "consumer" DSLR's until early next year. All of these will be in the 1.5-1.6x frame factor.

 

Hope this helps

[phule]

<em>anyone had heard anything about what is going to come after the 10D</em>

<p>

Well what do you think? Do you think Canon is done with DSLR and the 10D is going to be the last camera? Of course there's going to be something after it and it's going to be better and cheaper than what you buy today. And then, after those, there will be better and less expensive ones until full-frame DSLRs are showing up in cereal boxes for free. Why do you not already know this?

[craig_gillette]

One of the things that you probably shouldn't do is look at the leading edge. That's were things change fastest, especially prices. What can the D60 do that the D30 wouldn't? Is that important to you? What does the 10D do that the D60 doesn't? Is that important. The industry and more especially, the various forums are full of rumors. The real information is almost always very closely held as to pricing and scheduling.

[craig_gillette]

Have you thought about what impact the crop factor will have on your architectural work?

[chip l.]

Craig,

 

You are right about rumors, yet in this age of the internet rumors have bigger basis in fact. Of course only time will tell. If I were a betting man, I would say that we will see a under $1000 DSLR. It will probably be based on the the lower end of the current SLR's - rather than a lower price point of what we have.

 

While companies try to hold information closely, there are those that ignore the NDA's in some way. And with the internet it is fairly easy to hide ones identity. Not saying that there is anything to the rumors, but reality says that there is probably a kernal of thruth to some of what we are seeing in the rumors.

[chris_kelly3]

Hi Aaron. If you're worrried about "investing" in obsolence get a Leica M and a Minolta

5400 scanner. Leica change their M series machines once in a blue moon, the lenses

are peerless and replacing a £500 scanner will hurt a lot less than wondering about

what Canon will announce next. I say this as the owner of 10D, a G5, a Leica R9 and

Hasselblad 503CW. Although I love the technolgy that canon deploys my German

lenses are still head and shoulders above the Japanese zooms I use on the Canon.

In the end, it's the pictures that matter, not the vehicle you used to capture them!

Cheers

[chip l.]

Chris,

 

You have a point, but the point was spending the dollars on processing. I will admit that as a Leica owner I love the gear (and the 5400 is on my wish list); yet a shoot this weekend at a carousal proved that digital has a place. I was able to shoot about 2 "rolls" with my 10D not worrying about film costs.

 

I find myself now packing my 10D and Leica gear together. the Leica is for when I need something small and unobtrusive, or when I need wider than 28mm that my 17-40L on the 10D provides. It is all about the right tools for the right job.

 

In relooking at the original question he might be served by the G5 or something simular till the market settles down. For teh images that he might end up doing, the G5 might meet his needs. A little slower in response, but it is the eye of the photographer, not so much the gear or tools. You can adust to the tools.

[aaron emanuel litvinoff]

thanks guys

[richard thompson www.fotoz]

Firstly I disagree - the canon AE-1 is far from 'sh*t'. You have learnt the BEST way.

 

Secondly, get a 10D (if the 1.6x factor wont prevent the wide angle shots required for your architechture work). If you're a student in the U.K., you will appreciate the one and a half grand camera debt over the fifteen grand boozing debt you will have when your 21 !

 

If you need your wide angles and your on a budget, you could always get a Sigma 17-35 lens at £300 rather than the canon 17-40L at £650 and then upgrade when you have an income...

[albert_truong]

I think the answer depends on what you plan to do? If you're in school and the camera greatly helps you in some way, fork out the extra money so that you can make use of it NOW so that you can get all the great benefits immediately.

 

I currently goto an art school and am constantly shooting references for illustrations. Fed up with my POS P&S digicam (and envious of my buddy's d30), i finally sought for a loan to get me the 10D. I am using it everyday and making good use of it right now. I consider the camera a piece of School equipment to help me learn (well, it's partially true :) )

 

if you want sub 1000 dslrs, look for used d30's. My friend has his, and is still using it since its birth.

 

just a word of advice: purchase the lens in a store, where you GET to test them out.