All digital SLRs share a long list of common features, such as manual, aperture-priority, and shutter-priority exposure modes. All have great autofocus capabilities. Here are some of the features that vary the most from camera to camera.
■ Burst mode capabilities. For example, one Canon model grabs 4 fps for 32 JPEG images in one burst, or 11 RAW images. Another camera from the same vendor ups the ante to 5 fps, but can capture only 23 JPEG images in one blast. If you’ve got deep pockets, Canon’s top-of-the line dSLR blazes through sports photography at an 8.5 fps clip for 40 JPEG or 23 RAW images. You’ll find other burst mode capabilities in cameras from Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax, and others.
■ Anti-shake. Some dSLRs may have vibration reduction built into the camera (although, as I write this, only one model offers this capability). If you want to hand-hold your camera at low shutter speeds, or need to take rock-steady telephoto shots without a tripod, regardless of shutter speed, you’ll want to consider this capability.
■ Higher and lower ISO ratings. Some cameras offer sensitivities as low as ISO 50 and as high as ISO 6400 and beyond. Most digital SLRs have USB connections to your computer. Some have FireWire (IEEE-1394) links. We’re starting to see the ability to exchange photos between camera and computer over wireless connections, too.
■ Playback/review features. You’ll find digital SLRs with back-panel LCDs as small as 1.8 inches diagonally, and at least one new model with a 2.5-inch LCD. Using Canon as an example again, one Canon model with a 2-inch LCD offers 120,000 pixels of resolution, while another is much sharper and brighter at 230,000 pixels. how a camera’s LCD panel performs.
■ Maximum shutter speed. Some cameras top out at 1/4,000th second; others go as high as 1/16,000th second. In real life, you’ll rarely need such brief shutter speeds to freeze action. For example, if you want to use f2.8 on a bright beach or snow scene in full daylight, if your camera’s lowest ISO setting is ISO 200, you’ll probably need to use a shutter speed of 1/8,000th or 1/16,000th second.
Compared with point-and-shoot digital cameras, all dSLRs are a bit on the chunky side. However, some are more compact than others, and a few, particularly pro models with large battery packs and vertical grips, border on the huge. Before you lay down a large hunk of change for a digital camera, play with it to make sure it’s a size that you’ll be comfortable lugging around with you. The difference in weight alone can be significant if you’re walking around all day with a camera strap around your neck. If you’re the sort of photographer who would have been happy with a small, lightweight, virtually silent Leica rangefinder camera (which nevertheless produced superb pictures), you might also prefer a smaller dSLR.
Don’t forget to take into account the size of the lenses you’ll be using, too. My favorite digital SLR has a 28mm-200mm zoom lens that was touted, on introduction, as the smallest in the world. I’m very happy I have that compact lens with such an extensive zoom range because for many photo outings it’s all I need, and I can avoid carrying around a weighty camera bag and a half dozen other lenses. If you need a compact digital SLR, check out the size and weight of the lenses you are likely to use at the same time you examine the heft of the camera body itself.
You might have studied the explanations of digital SLR technology in this chapter because you’re pondering which dSLR to buy. Because technology changes so rapidly, it’s unlikely that the camera you buy today will be your last. A generation ago, film SLR buyers were committing to cameras produced by companies called Topcon, Miranda, or Yashica. These were fine cameras in their time, but none of them survived to the digital age.
Even among modern digital camera vendors, you have important SLR manufacturers that were late to the party (Konica Minolta, for example) and others with now-you-see-it/now-you-don’t products, such as the Contax N Digital, a 6MP digital SLR announced in July, 2000, but later withdrawn from the US market. You can be certain that Konica Minolta is in the digital SLR fray for the long term, but can you be that confident about all the other players in the game?
Digital SLR decision makers often fall into some categories:
■ Serious photographers, photo enthusiasts, and professionals who already own lenses and accessories belonging to a particular system, and who need to preserve their investments by choosing, if possible, a dSLR that is compatible with as much of their existing equipment as possible.
■ Professionals who buy equipment like carpenters buy routers. Compatibility may be a good idea if an organization’s shooters share a pool of specialized equipment, but a pro choosing to switch to a whole new system probably won’t care much if the old stuff has to fall by the wayside.
Six months later they were posting questions in newsgroups about whether they should sell everything again and buy a Canon EOS 20D or maybe a Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D.
