By Mark Mayhew
This months brief from the editor has to be the hardest I have yet had to deal with. The e-mail arrived from Eugene:- I want you to look at what you get for your money from digital cameras and how that compares to film based cameras please Mark.
Well first let me whinge because writing for a completely international readership means I cannot relate prices as they are all different all over the world. Secondly it is very hard to compare digital cameras to film as they are quite far removed in what they do. I know he gets a lot of emails from you the readers asking, "Should I ditch my SLR outfit and buy digital?"
So let me begin this article by saying that digital is fun, but unless you are prepared to spend 3 times what you spent on that system then no don't ditch it. Think of digital as somewhere between your SLR kit and a very high quality compact.
There are different types of digital camera and of course like anything you get what you pay for. Please don't think that I have had any input from the manufacturers either, because the following article is based upon my own experience and curiosity. I will only mention 3 cameras, but hey you can look around yourself to see what's what!
Of course the main manufacturers are producing digital cameras, but there are also those being produced by computer makers, printer makers and old Uncle Tom Cobbly and all!
Olympus certainly started out with the prettiest of the bunch and now produce an SLR camera that produces the goods. This is about the closest to looking like the sort of kit you are used to, but has a price tag about the same as a Nikon F5, or EOS 1 with a lens.Fuji have done well with digital and now produce the Fine Pix 4900 zoom. This has everything you could want, and looks like a cross between a palmcorder and camera. It has aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual focus. You can adjust the sensitivity to range between 125-800 ISO. That has to be for us camera buffs otherwise I cannot see the point.
Pentax have also joined the bandwagon now with the Pentax EI 2000. It is SLR and has all that you would expect other than interchangeable lenses which none of these cameras have. So you see with prices up around a Nikon F5 body you might be better off investing in a really good quality film scanner.
No sorry if I seem difficult, but the truth is digital cameras are great fun and you should really get one. As yet don't replace your SLR kit unless you intend to spend really big money on a kit. I like to think of my digital, which is an Epson by the way like I used to think of my compact. Understand this though, my compact has earned me as much as my Full outfit has purely because of the convenience of having it with me.
So enjoy your SLR outfit for a few more years yet, get the pictures scanned professionally and you'll have no problems. Use your digital camera for fun, like a Polaroid back in a studio situation to see how the shot looks. Have it with you at all times so on that fateful day when you bump into Kylie Minogue in the high street and her boob falls out you'll be ready! :-) What would that be worth???
Everyone's needs are different. Have a look at what's on offer, read the write ups, decide what you want and need and then decide if you feel it's value for money. If all that falls into place then buy. Do remember that digital cameras are improving rapidly so whatever model you buy will soon be out of date. Don't fall into the trap of keep on upgrading though. My computer is a 450megahertz and I don't feel the need yet to rush out and upgrade because this one is doing me just fine.
One last word! Remember that your film, even own brand will produce excellent results time and again and can be scanned (professionally) for a digital image of high quality. You cannot buy a camera that has interchangeable lenses and everything you have for the same price you can buy a brand new SLR kit YET!
It will come, but not yet. Oh and one last thought, if my name was Mr Nikon, or Mr Cannon I would have my R&D working night and day to come up with a back that would plug into all my camera bodies so they would convert to digital and back to film again.
©Struthers Web 2000