Many changes have just taken place within digital photography in the last month. Canon has come out with a new Full Chip 12.8 mega pixel Camera for under $3,500 and updated its newer 1D MarkII. While Hassalblad has just announced three Medium format Digital Cameras.
Canon has announce a new Full Chip 12.8 Mega Pixel camera (Canon 5D) that is just a little larger then the 20D and gives you a 1:1 focal multiplier and has a list price of $3,299 coming out this October. Split the difference between the 1Ds MarkII and 20D and you get the 5D. It is targeted towards professionals and semi-professionals that shoot stills, landscapes and architectural photos. The 1:1 Focal ratio gives you a true 35mm chip so your focal length is exactly what is on your lens (i.e. 17mm is 17mm not 26mm). This gives you a much wider angle with the same lens. And the 12.8 mega pixel chip allows for large prints. To read more about this camera go to Canon’s Website link: (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=11933) and/or Rob Galbraith’s article at http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-7885-7975.
Canon has also updated 1D Mark II (now the 1D Mark II-N). It has a larger screen viewer, improved buffering and new 'Picture Style' image parameters. To learn more go to Phil Askey’s Monday, 22 August 2005 article on the 1D Mark II-N: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05082208canoneos1dmkiin.asp.
Plus, two new Canon lenses with Image Stabilization the 24-105mm F4.0L (IS) and 70-300mm (IS). The 24-105mm F4.0L is a pro lens that now completes Canon’s F4.0L lens series 17-40 and 70-200. The advantage to these lenses are they are less in cost and weight then their big brothers F2.8Ls, while still offering the Pro quality of the L series. The 70-300mm F4-5.6 IS is the replacement to the 75-300mm F4-5.6 IS, and is targeted towards the advanced amateur. To read more about these lenses go to Dpreview.com’s write up at: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05082207canonlenses.asp#press24 .
Before a person jumps into a DSLR system (starting at $1,000) they should do a lot of comparisons with similar brands of cameras. They might already have a specific brand of lenses and flash systems from their 35mm film camera (i.e. Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, etc.) that would work with the same brand of DSLR camera. And try your old lenses old before you purchase the DSLR, they might not work very well with that camera!
Try different cameras and find the one that is most comfortable for you to use, don’t worry if it is the hottest camera or not, but concentrate on how you and the camera work together. Each brand and style DSLR has their good points and weak points, make sure you get the camera with the most available good points that are important to you (i.e. frames per second, weight, controls, pixels, lens selection, and the end photo, etc.). No reason spending money on a camera that can take 8.5 frames per second if you are just shooting family photos or landscapes.
Also remember the more pixels the larger the photo files and the old computer might need to be updated or replaced. This can get very expensive really fast. If a person does not have a computer or one capable of handling the new DSLR files, they might first get a new computer and a photo-editing program. They could take 35mm shots and have them turned into a digital CD. And be able to learn what to do with a digital file prior to investing in a DSLR. The transition from film to digital photography is not the photography but the processing of the digital file. What good is taking a 12.8 mega Pixel photo if you have no idea how to adjust it to get the most out of the digital photo. For photographers that are used to darkrooms, once you see what you can do digitally, you will be blown away (w/out the chemicals).
Photo Tip:
Always shoot in your highest resolution setting your camera will go. This will give you the best photo your camera will produce! It might take more memory, and you don’t get as many photos on a memory card, but large memory cards are now affordable. You can also erase the photos that don’t turnout giving you room for the better photos. What good are a lot of so-so photos when you could have fewer good photos. Like horsepower in a car or truck you never can have enough and too little causes problems. The only thing your photo consists of is captured points of light. The more captured light the better the photo.
