Show Me Your Camera

Hello there my friend, how is everyone on this fine day?

As promised I attended the Digital Photography Show this weekend to gather more useful information for myself and all you other enthusiastic photographers out there.  The show was hosted by Henry's Camera, so their sales counter dominated a significant section of the room, and was a major focal point for a lot of the hustle and bustle.  They've got a lot of knowledgeable sales staff, and since I was with Richard, whose father works for Henry's, I was able to get a bit of face time with one of their gurus.

One piece of advice that my new pal Brian was able to offer was really a confirmation of something we'd discussed earlier: point-and-shoot cameras and DSLR cameras really do fall into the "apples and oranges" category.  They are two entirely different types of machines with very different niche markets.  So, when presented with my dilemma of wanting the ruggedness of my current little camera but the extraordinary quality of an SLR, he told me that what I really need is both cameras.  Given that I'm already in possession of an adventurous point-and-shoot, I should keep that for when I'm in situations where I'd be afraid to have the more fragile SLR our, and have an SLR for the times where it can be safely and conveniently carried so that I can capture some really stunning photos.  It was a fairly obvious conclusion, and one that had already been suggested to me, but it's still nice to have a professional tell you that you aren't missing a significant piece of data in your analysis (i.e. "BEHOLD!  This is the new fully waterproof DSLR coming out in June...")

This brings me to another serious debate that I'm having.  Assuming that I'd like to break into the SLR market, what one do I buy?  I had actually thought that I had the answer to this question already prepared, but I may have been mistaken.  You see, Nikon has just released it's new D3100 to replace the ageing D3000 as it's entry-level DSLR.  This means that, predictably, the price of D3000s is dropping as the D3100 becomes the more desirable camera.  I present to you Exhibit A, the price of some entry level cameras from Henry's website as of the time of writing:

Nikon D3000, no lens: $419.00 (assume more like $550 after you've got an 18-55 lens on there)
Nikon D3100 w/ 18-55 lens: $699.99
Canon Rebel XS w/ 18-55 lens: $579.99

Given those price points, and the little bit of information I'll impart in a moment, it's easy to see why Brian, when asked about the D3000, told me to buy the Canon Rebel XS.  You see, the D3100 has burst on to the scene with a host of incredible features and specs which make it an incredible camera for something that's been priced as an entry-level offering.  I was of the opinion that I didn't really need those extra megapixels, or cool little features and that I would be well served by a cheap D3000.  However, the D3000 uses what's called a CCD sensor to capture the image.  As you can imagine, the image sensor in the camera is, from a digital hardware perspective, everything.  (Note, from any other perspective the lens is everything.)  Well, most modern DSLR cameras are using a CMOS sensor which, without getting too technical, is apparently a LOT better.  What Brian mentioned as being specifically damning of the CCD sensor is a tendency to perform very poorly in low-light situations.  I'm sure that all of you who have used a simple point-and-shoot have noticed a lot of graininess in low-light shots, and I was told that you can expect the same thing from any camera, be it point-and-shoot or DSLR that's using a CCD sensor.

That said, the Canon Rebel XS, which was always in competition with the D3000, features a the more desirable CMOS sensor and isn't really that much more money.

In the end this is all just interesting food for thought, since I'm not really in a position to be buying a new camera right now, but you can see all the considerations that go into a purchase of this magnitude.

Getting away from the DSLR world, I was also eyeing up the "rugged" cameras.  In other words, the ones that feature limited waterproofing, shock proofing, and freeze resistance.  Olympus, who has been making a line of "tough" stylus cameras for years now, is still making a pretty big deal out of this tech.  They had their booth setup with an aquarium for storing their cameras underwater.  The other manufacturers seem to be creeping into this market a bit more quietly, and one camera grabbed my attention in it's own understated way.  Sitting at the end of a shelf at the Fuji booth was a little point-and-shoot with all the "proofs" that attract me to that kind of camera.  It didn't have many bells, and was a bit short on whistles, but it was solid, durable, and (I'm told) capable of taking a photo.  What really jumped out at me was the $179.99 MSRP, which I thought was incredibly low for one of these tough little cameras.  It was thin, the buttons and menus were easy to use, my only real complain was a lack of image stabilization.  Still, for anyone with steadier hands than mine who happens to be in need of an adventuring camera, this may be a good option.

Lastly, just as we were leaving a cool little camera caught my eye.  Actually, that's not true.  It was actually a Honda CBR1000 (picture my bike on steroids) that caught my eye.  They just happened to have a cool little camera attached to it.  It wasn't the first time I'd heard of a GoPro camera, but it was my first chance to get a look at it.  It's a brilliant little device that would fit neatly into my palm, and comes encased in an underwater housing.  This housing is equipped with a variety of mounting options which allow it to be securely affixed to your bike helmet, handle bars, car dashboard, really just about whatever you could want.  It then takes still shots, video, or timelapse video of whatever insanity you happen to be engaged in.  It's marketed at the outdoor sports crowd, and I personally found their suggestion of using the suction cup mount to affix to the front fairing of a motorcycle quite appealing.

Well, I am once again running out of time my friends, and so I must bring this post to a close.  I hope someone out there has found this information at least moderately useful.  See you next week.