Comments on: Why I don't have a DSLR

Glaskowsky examines the pros and cons of digital SLRs.

[mrbdm99]

You could always wait for this...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/21/pentax-busts-out-hasselbladian-31-6-megapixel-645-digital/

Shouldn't be too much longer before it is out. I know that report says 31.6 megapixels, but there is also this, older I know: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0503/05031502pentax645digital.asp

I hate to see someone leave Pentax for Canon or Nikon (or any other brand for that matter when we are talking about DSLR's, point and shoot, I could understand).

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Holy smokes

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Holy smokes

(Er, apparently "enter" on the subject line submits the form. Hmm.)

Anyway, wow, that looks awesome. But I bet that camera alone is worth more
than my car, and I'd still have to buy new lenses...

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[Andy Kowalczyk]

Anti Shake

I voted with my wallet on a Pentax K100D.

I find in-camera Anti-Shake to be a compelling feature.

I also find AA batteries as a power source to be oddly comforting if you get off the grid for any length of time( a set of Lithiums lasted through several months of thrice weekly snap-shotting in a K100D).

Given your Medium Format habit you may find the Pentax K10D more to your liking.

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Those do look pretty good

But with Canon or Nikon, I'd get some degree of commonality with friends.

That means I could probably afford to get one or two of the less-common
lenses-- a super-wide angle or a perspective-shift type, given my usual
habits-- in place of more common lenses that I could borrow if needed. And
my friends might be interested in borrowing the weird lenses from time to
time.

It's tough to be the third-most successful competitor in any industry, even if
your products are a better deal than those from the bigger guys...

Thanks for the advice, though, and I will take the time to check out those
cameras in more detail before I make any buying decisions.

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[frankwick]

"Why most people don't NEED a DSLR"

Perhaps you should also write an article on why the majority of the population doesn't need an SLR. My wife is a professional photographer and I too am accomplished and assist her on weekend weddings, etc.... It blows me away to see so many people walking around with $1500 rigs set to automatic. People are always asking me why their expensive camera doesn't take great pictures like the professionals get. It's like golf clubs: You can buy expensive sticks, they look good, but they will not turn you into Tiger Woods.

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Good point

Actually I'm very happy with my Lumix, in spite of some minor
shortcomings-- the movie mode is very badly implemented, for example, and
the SD card slot sometimes fails to connect with the card the first time it's
inserted (it never seems to shake loose, though, so I'm not sure what's going
on).

Although it's a fairly small and affordable camera, it has a 10:1 optical zoom
and a reasonable feature set. But if I was going to go out wandering in some
foreign city to do some serious photography, it wouldn't be adequate-- no
manual controls, for example.

I think you're basically right, though. Most people will never really take
advantage of interchangeable lenses and manual settings, the things that
distinguish good DSLRs from the good all-in-one automatics, so the extra
cost of a DSLR may be money wasted.

On the other hand, a DSLR certainly is more capable. No all-in-one can match
the combined zoom range of multiple lenses, and DSLRs tend to offer both
larger sensors and wider-aperture lenses. So some kinds of photography are
easier with DSLRs, even in automatic mode. If someone's willing to pay for
these incremental advantages, I can't really second-guess their choice.

[Alternadoc]

Pentax- a little shaky

The K10 is a great camera, but no one knows what will happen to Pentax after Hoya completes their buyout. Nikon is on a serious roll over the last year; for the price the quality of their bodies is better than Canon's until you get to the ultra high end. Look for the D300 from Nikon in November.