Canon releases new cameras; Sony shows its cards
Posted by Jon on August 22nd, 2007Canon releases new cameras; Sony shows its cards
There are far too many digital cameras released all the time, many of them with nearly identical specs or with more smoke-and-mirrors than actual upgrade, to comment on all of them here. But when the largest digital camera company announces a major upgrade to one of its most popular dSLR lines, and previews the first 35mm-sized camera to break the 20-megapixel barrier, a lot of heads turn.
Canon announced a boatload of products yesterday, but the most interesting to me are the 40D, the 1DS Mark III, and two new point-and-shoots, the G9 and SX100 IS. Their specs have been bandied all over the Net, and you can read more about them at the links, but I wanted to wait a day to get not only the official line, but see how potential users have reacted to the news. What’s interested me most is that people have paid a lot more attention to the 40D than the ground-breaking 1DS III. They’re right to, of course, since so few people can afford to buy an $8,000 camera and even fewer could justify the purchase, but that doesn’t usually stop people from dreaming. Rather, it shows us why camera companies tend to keep a tight lid on camera specs — surprise means publicity. The 1DS III, while awesome, follows the exact formula everyone expected: Take the 1DS II, add the new technological goodies from the 1D Mark III, add more megapixels, and stir.
I would like to apologize right now for how confusing digital camera naming conventions are. Yes, the 1DII, 1DIIN, 1DIII, 1DsII, and 1DsIII are all different cameras. Yes, Canon has made both a 30D and a D30. Yes, you can buy both a 40D and a D40, but they aren’t even made by the same company. And let’s not even get into how half of these cameras have different names on different continents.
The 40D: Coming to stores soon, this camera should make a lot of people happy. It’s clear that Canon was keeping an eye on the competition of the Nikon D200 and Pentax K10D and worked to make a camera that surpasses the older models in many ways — that’s progress. They sped it up, they strengthened the body (a bit), the ergonomics look improved, the autofocus system has been improved — it should clearly surpass the D200 outside the center spot — and they even added what I consider the Most Underrated Feature, Auto-ISO. Well, sort of — the implementation is still limited, but it’s a start. Most importantly, they kept the price down. This line has long been a backbone of Canon’s line-up, and this upgrade should make most of those disappointed by the incremental improvements of the 30D very happy.
The 1DS Mark III: It’s $8,000, body-only. For virtually everyone, that’s all they need to know to make it an object of lust instead of something for the Christmas list. Everyone I know who owns a 1DS Mark II shoots international magazine covers or has a job unrelated to photography, more money than they know what to do with, and didn’t feel like buying another sports car. It’s medium-format quality, but to really get the best out of those pixels, you’ll need to treat it like a medium-format camera — get the absolute best lenses, stop down their aperture, get out that tripod, use fast shutter speeds or, better yet, professional lighting, etc. It also has the versatility to get out of the studio, though — with a respectable five frames-per-second, full weather-sealing, and the use of fast wide-angle lenses with a 35mm frame that photojournalists love, I’m sure the New York Times has a truckload on pre-order.
The G9 and SX100 IS: These are some really intriguing cameras. The G9 seems to strive to be a great camera for the serious photographer who doesn’t want to drag a dSLR everywhere, and they’ve (Thank God!) added RAW capability back. But they’ve saddled it down with a 12-megapixel sensor, which is simply silly for the size of the sensor and lens, and it still has a lens that is neither very wide nor as sensitive to light as some of the older G model lenses. If you like shooting RAW and that small, rangefinder feel, this could be worth a look, though. The SX100 is an entirely new line, and at $300 seems to have a lot of bang for your buck, with a small form-factor and a 10x image-stabilized lens that’s more light-sensitve at the long end than the G9′s. It would be nice if it had a swiveling LCD screen, but otherwise it looks like a winner.
Canon has made a strong play, but the other camera companies are also poised for new announcements. Sony, who supplies sensors to their own cameras as well as Pentax and Nikon, have shown their cards – a new, 12.5 megapixel, 10-fps sensor for dSLRs. Look for a slew of new prosumer digital cameras as soon as this can be tested and crammed into working bodies.
–Ryan Brenizer
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