Why I Don't Want a DSLR...Yet
by Gene Wilburn
This article appeared in the July 2003 issue of The Computer Paper.
Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras are the most coveted items on the photo scene. The recently released Canon 10D broke new ground in pricing and the announced Pentax *ist D may cost even less. With interchangeable lenses, large sensors, high megapixel count, fast focus, no shutter lag, low noise at high ISO, true through-the-lens optical viewing and creative control plus the ability to produce great-looking 16x20-inch prints, how could anybody not want one?
I want one, of course. I just don't want one...yet. The factors that temper my desire to plunk down plastic for one of these beauties are cost, lens-cropping issues, size and weight, obsolescence, and return on investment.
Cost
To say the Canon 10D has broken price barriers is not to say the camera is cheap. It simply means the price has dropped from the photo equivalent of Rolls Royce levels down to BMW levels. Any way you look at it $2500 (CDN) for a camera body with no lens is a luxury purchase. Add a quality stabilized zoom lens and you're quickly looking at at least $3500 for the basics, before taxes.
DSLRs create large images so add, at minimum, an additional $1000 for storage cards. Round up for a few other accessories, batteries and cases and you're into the $5000 range for the lowest-cost DSLR on the market. This makes the top-end all-in-one digitals such as the Canon G3, Nikon 5700, Minolta 7Hi and Sony F717 look downright affordable.
Cropping Issues
DSLR bodies are built around 35mm SLR form factors and take 35mm SLR lenses. Unfortunately, most current DSLRs contain a sensor that is smaller than a frame of 35mm film. This introduces cropping. Depending on the sensor, cropping will create a multiplication factor ranging from 1.5 to 1.7, turning a normal 50mm lens into the rough equivalent of an 75-85mm moderate telephoto.
Although advantageous on the telephoto side, this creates problems for wide angle. A 24mm lens equivalent on a Canon 10D requires a 14mm standard SLR lens. Obtaining serious wide angle coverage is challenging and expensive. Because of the cropping factor, you simply cannot get a 28-200mm zoom equivalent in a single lens, as you can from some of the high-end all-in-one digicams.
The technological answer to this annoying cropping issue is simple: build a sensor that is exactly the size of a frame of 35mm film. That has already been done and the results are stunning. Behold the Canon 1Ds, arguably the finest DSLR money can buy, at just over $12K for a body only.
Size and Weight
I prefer small, relatively lightweight cameras to large, heavy ones. The aforementioned Canon 1Ds has the size and heft of medium format gear. The Canon 10D and Nikon D100 models are beefy. The new Pentax DSLR appears from specs to be a smaller, lighter camera, in the Pentax 35mm tradition. Unfortunately, it has not yet made it to market.
Obsolescence
Digital cameras are like computers--last month's model is old news; last year's model is history. Just six months ago folks were buying up Canon D60s for a base price of $3500 for the body. It is already out of production. And the D60 had quickly eclipsed the previous D30. No one knows the lifespan of these cameras. Will anyone be able to get D30 parts five years from now? Will any technician remember how to repair them? If you tend to own cameras for a long time, the obsolescence issue bids you pause.
Return on Investment
Most professional photographers have no hesitation about getting DSLR gear. It's a business cost that gives them a good return on investment. Pros who shoot thousands of rolls of film per year can quickly recoup film and lab costs by switching to digital. In fact, they often need digital just to compete and stay in business.
But as an amateur photographer DSLRs give me a poor return on investment. I already own a film scanner and have an all-in-one Canon G2 digital. Between scanned images from my 35mm Olympus OM-1 SLRs and the excellent images I get from the G2, my digital photography needs are fairly well met. I would enjoy the extra megapixels and clean images of a DSLR, but it's difficult to cost justify one. When DSLR bodies drop in price to what my Canon G2 cost new, I may be ready to move on. Until then, I'd rather be making images than making payments.
Copyright © 2003 Gene Wilburn
Gene Wilburn is a Toronto-based writer and photographer. He can be reached at gene@wilburn.ca