Canon EOS-1Ds
Canon Digital Rebel

I originally had a Coolpix 900. It fell off a table and I found myself holding two cameras - one with the LCD, the other with the lens. Believe it or not I was still able to snap a few pictures although terminally out of focus. I upgraded to the then new 950 - a great traveling camera and a lot more rugged than the 900. The only big problem with the 950 is how fast it eats batteries. The cost of batteries balances the cost of film.

I just bought a Nikon D100. It could have been a Canon but since I've had an F2 and an FM for centuries along with an array of excellent Nikkor lenses - which I can still use with the D100 - I stayed with Nikon. I did buy a new 24-140 VR zoom. It's my first still camera zoom. I used to be a purist - only primes. I've found the lens' automatic movement dampener to be excellent. I can shoot handheld at 1/10th or 1/5th with no visible shake. The camera also has a built-in mirror flap dampener. I can get an acceptable handheld 1 second exposure!

The D100 is still new and I’m still learning my way around it.

My favorite camera? The one I will never sell, not even for the few thousand dollars I’ve been offered for the camera and lenses? – my trusty 1962 Leica M3 – with a 50mm, a 35mm, a 21mm, and a 180mm Leitz lenses.

My wish list for digital SLRs? – increase the chip size as to make the 35mm lenses correspond. The lack of true wide angle lenses is a big drawback. But I’m sure that is already coming down the pike.

Ozzie,
Out of curiosity, what is the widest prime lens you are using with your new D100? What marked differences have you noticed (in addition to the narrower field) between its use on your D100 and your original film SLR's?

That would be a 24mm prime as well as the 24-140 zoom. The main difference is, as you know, the 24mm ends up being the equivalent of a 28mm in the D100 and most other DSLRs with the same chip size. The other difference is my prime 24mm is an f2.8, the zoom is an f3.5. Of course the prime is not automatic in any way. The zoom is a G lends - meaning it has no internal aperture control. That is accomplished electronically in the camera body.

I haven't made a side by side comparison, but I think the 24 prime is sharper than the 24-140. I've perceived a certain lack of crispness in the 24 zoom.

There is a lot to get used to.

Much in the same way that Ozzie would have considered a Canon were it not for his inventory of Nikon lenses, I would have thought about the Nikon but for my existing stock of Canon pieces.

Man, if those batteries were getting that expensive, a rapid charger and some NiMH or LiIon batts would have been in order. We use them on my wife's Garmin GPS and on our FRS radios. The cameras already came with rechargeable (proprietary) batteries and chargers.

I too would like to see the chip expanded to 35mm frame size (not that 6.3MP is keeping me from doing my job now). Shall we start a pool to guess (bet) on the intro date? I'm thinking September 2005. :-)

The Canon 1Ds already has a full 35mm size CMOS chip. Or do you have a specific price point in mind?

The CoolPix 950 takes 4 AA batteries. I have some rechargeable AA but that didn't solve the problem. I would have to re-charge after 36 to 40 shots or carry a few pounds worth of AAs.

I think the battery drain in the 950 is a design flaw. The batteries would exhaust very quickly if I were to take, say, 20 shots in 10 minutes. The life would be longer if the shooting slowed down. Heat build up in the camera is quite pronounced when shooting a sequence.

On the other hand, the D100 has a rechargeable LiIon battery that never seems to die. You can even leave the camera on for days without any visible drain.

The early production runs of Coolpix 950's did have a problem with battery consumption. This was corrected during the production run. I don't remember if it was a firmware upgrade or if the camera had to be sent back to Nikon for the fix. You might want to email Nikon service about your battery consumption issues.

Jeff, can you envision a day when a camera with specs similar to those of the 1Ds can be available for <$2K? That's OK, I had a hard time imagining a camera like the 10D for $1500! :-) (but I'm used to it now)

Ozzie, whoof! That's pretty severe battery consumption! I guess I'm just glad I didn't buy a Coolpix 950 (plus I never would have bought one of the "swivel" model Coolpixes--too wierd!)

The D100 sounds like the right item...I also have no battery longevity problems with the 10D...These cameras are soooo similar! Actually, Cigar Aficionado (don't laugh!) did a comparo of digicams and found the D100 slightly ahead of the 10D on ergonomic factors. I think it is true that if you stick to the brand platform you are with based on your existing fleet of brand-specific lenses and accessories you'll be happy. Actually, Cigar nailed two of the hot digicam categories and why they are hot...and why I now am using both. The digital SLR like the Nikon D100 or Canon EOS 10D--because they are the photographer's camera (for a digital)-- and the subcompacts like the Powershot S400 and the rest of the Canon Elphs--because they will never leave your side and you'll always be ready to take a picture no matter where you are.

Jeff, thanks for the info on the 950 problem. Since it was always a point and shoot toy, I never thought of checking into the excessive battery drain.

Mike, actually the odd swivel design of the 900 series does have a few advantages - it allows placing the camera in odd positions and still see the framing. You can even shoot around corners. Why anyone would want to do that, I don't know, but you can.

Well, since I (erroneously) thought this forum to be about weird things (still crazy), I've avoided it 'til now. But I'm glad to find it.
Been through a Minolta s414, Oly c5050, and am considering a Panny fz1. Hesitation on the 2 meg thing; but won't spend up for a fz10. I'd rather put that much toward a 300D.
That 12x OIS REALLY has me intrigued, and it's size would allow me to carry it constantly. Just draggin' my feet on this one.....

I have a 3-4 year old (? - it's been a while) Olympus E-10. It's been a wonderful camera. I've dragged it over hills and through muskeg including a couple of near immersions (not recommended). It's behaved wonderfully. I'd upgrade to the E-20 but it's only a 1 megapixel change (along with a couple of neat features) so it's not quite "worth it" yet. If they keep the same system and go to an 8mp unit, I would buy it in a flash.

It's a complicated camera - lots of buttons and dials - but everything is in a place that makes sense for my fingers. The auto programs are pretty good and it has excellent manual controls.

The one "feature" that I orginally wished it had - changeable lenses - is, IMHO, less then completely desireable. It's really hard to dirty up the sensor if you can't take the lens off. You can buy a good telephone (albiet a bit heavy) and a wide angle that slip over the main lens.

Never had to send it to the factory, so i don't know how responsive they are.

The ability to use 4AA batteries, as opposed to a proprietary shape/size is another great feature. With the newer 2200 mAh Lithium-Ion batteries I can go pretty much all day without popping a new set in.

I've also recently started to shoot in the Olympus RAW format and let Photoshop do all of the heavy hauling in terms of image manipulation. I get significantly better results and much more flexibility that way.

Of course, your milage may vary...

I forgot to add my new digital camera to this thread.

Minolta A2
(as well as a Canon S100 Digital Elph)

I bought a Minolta A2 a few weeks ago. I decided on it over a Digital Rebel since it has a built in 28-200mm lens with an image stabilizer. It works great, superb ergonomics (imho), with manual buttons and dials for almost everything. And if you put a 28-135mm IS lens on the Rebel, the A2 is about half the size, and still has a more useful lens.

If I wanted to carry a camera bag with several lenses around with me, it would have been a close call, but I'd rather travel lighter, and always have the camera with me.

Well, bottom line is, when I am on vacation, traveling light is key, so I bring my S400 (subcompact Powershot) and leave the D10 (SLR) back at the office. Hey, I need a break, y'know! The 400 stays on my belt whether horseback riding, wine-tasting (up the Mendocino Coast) or hiking in the woods. So if I really feel motivated to shoot, there it is. Obviously I wouldn't make that my primary camera on a red-carpet shoot.

Canon Powershot G3 here

Here are some pics I have taken with it

http://www.pbase.com/toogy

I have 3 digital cameras that I shoot with regularly

1) Canon s400- the perfect cam for sneaking into a Prince concert (although as my friend found out, they'll still take you in back and give you a good talking-to if they catch you...black out that LCD!!)


2) Canon EOS 10d -- using this thing in raw mode makes it very close to the perfect digital camera.

3) Imacon Ixpress 132C (22mp) on a Hasselbad H1. (don't hate me, its what I do for a living.) Despite what you may have heard, there is nothing quite like a 22mp back. I recently produced a show of black and white portraits (24x30 and 36x44) that left many of my photog friends shaking their heads. The detail is in the range of 4x5 (maybe better), the tonal range is beyond what you can imagine. It's really a studio camera, but I find shooting with it on location to be a real joy.

Barry

Barry, I use the same cameras as you ...except for the Imacon.
:-)

I guess I should pick one up the next time I have a loose $33K (not including the Hassie) to spend on a camera...it sounds like a sweet rig. Actually, the fact that you even mention the other two in the same e-mail as the Ixpress is quite an amazing testament to Canon products.

ive probably posted here before, but i have a 10D. :)

Mike

You know since photoshop cs came out, and I started using raw files off the 10D, I've become so much more confident about using it commercially. And it's really great having the higher iso's, and lens selections. The imacon is really an ISO 50 camera...not much use beyond studio, locked down, and full daylight situations---so it's nice to have both. By the way, I think you can still get the Imacon 132C - hasselblad H1 kit for about $27K....not that it makes the price any less absurd.

Barry

Barry,

That sounds good. I have been using my 10D for everything from event candids (can you say paparazzi, boys and girls?) to product photography for display advertising, Point-of-Sale material and catalogue publication, and have been getting away with JPEG files (of course re-saved as CMYK EPS files before doing any retouching). I just leave it set at ISO 200 and let it rip, using whatever lights and lens fits the occasion, just as I used to do with the film-based EOS. I'd be afraid to use the 10D for high-end formal portraiture or fashion work, but I don't do that anyway. It has more than paid for itself and has changed the whole way I work. I guess I'd call it the greatest bargain in the business right now.

Oh yes, and I usually carry the Powershot S400 on my belt just in case something funky happens with the 10D (batteries go south or it gets whacked by a drunk rock star) in the middle of a red-carpet walkthrough. And I just always have the s400 on hand with me wherever I go, so I'm never without a camera.

I've been using the 10D for about a year. Really a fabulous camera. Recently I've been using the 1D Mark II. It's a different realm.

I put my 10D on the block here several weeks ago. But, with no bites, I pulled it and have decided to keep it as a second body. It's smaller, lighter size (w/o battery grip) and its 1.6 crop factor will make it ideal for relatively casual walk-around work and for use with my longer lens.

CANON EOS-10D
 

I'm a happy owner of a CANON EOS-10D, POWERED BY A BATTERY GRIP, A 550EX FLASH UNIT, AND AS FOR GLASS A CANON 50MM F/1.4, A CANON 100MM MACRO F/2.8 AND A SIGMA 15-30 F/2.8 HSM DG

I bought a Canon A-70 15 months ago. I took 9000 pictures with it. I love that thing. I had a Nikon EM as a young Marine in Beirut, I cherish the pictures that I have with it. I had no idea what I was doing but managed to get some good shots. I remember trying to read about shutter speed, iso and F-stop while rounds were landing in the Airport. I would love to get a Canon Digital rebel and do the firmware crack that gives it a menu like the 10D. I will get one soon. I just perchased a Canon Optura 300 from buydig.com. I read about all of the video cams online. It is only because of the reviews that I read on this site that I decided on that video camera. It cost $705.00 with 3 day shipping. I am building a new Athlon64 XP51 machine this month. I will have a blast processing the video from the camera with it. It is not a 3ccd camera but it fits right in size, video quality and price for this family.

I've had a Nikon D70 with kit lens for about 2 months. Have added 2 lenses so far but am lusting for more. Also have a Panasonic 2mp that has a 12x zoom (could not pass it up for $230!) and my wife has one of the Canon 2mp Elphs. Started with the Oly 2040 (it broke in the first week). upgraded to the 3040. Followed by Minolta 5mp D7, Nikon cp5000 (great wideangle) and a Sony 717.

Thats 8 digital cameras I've owned in about 3.5 years. Might seem like a lot to some (or most) people... but I have learned a ton about photography that I never would have with my SLR film cameras- instant feedback has been the key for me.