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Thread ID: 17506	2002-04-06 05:09:00	Digital Cameras with Interchangeable lenses...	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
42190	2002-04-06 05:09:00	Hi Guys, I need someone with the inside scoop on digital cameras... I'm currently using a Canon EOS 5 with a variety of lenses covering 20mm-500mm. I use my camera mostly for wildlife photography... The trouble is that with photgraphing wildlife you normally sit on a cold beach in south-westland for about 3 hours waiting for a penguin to arrive, only to find that the photo you took isn't that good, so you hang around wiping sandflies off the lens for another three hours waiting for the next penguin. I want the ability to manipulate images easily, and delete ones that are dud immediately, rather than waiting to have the whole film developed, then chucking the bad ones. This is the advantage of a digital camera for me, however... ...three innovations in a Digital Camera are needed here: 1.) Better Quality - 6 Megapixels is getting there... about 10 and we'd be talking. How far away is this kind of technology? 2.) Interchangeable lenses - there is no single lens substitute for 20-500mm... NO WAY, you'd have a minimum F-Stop of about 200! When can we expect interchangeable lenses? 3.) Sandfly windscreen wipers... If you want to get photo's on the South Island's West Coast, these are a must, do we stand a chance? 10 Megapixels is going to be expensive, but when will it come under 10 grand do you think? Thanks for your advice! :) Erin	Guest (0)
42191	2002-04-06 05:42:00	Hi Erin, if you've already got Canon lenses, why not go for the Canon EOS digital body? I know they're not cheap (we used them at work and I think we paid around $8,000 each for them) but you would still be able to use all the lenses, etc. that you have now. I use a Nikon F5 and swore black and blue that I'd never go to digital - not good enough quality, too gimicky, etc. but having used a top quality one, I would buy one tomorrow if I had the spare cash. I'd love the Nikon equivalent but at $12,000-odd, I just can't justify the expense at this stage. It was hard enough finding the cash for the F5! I honestly think they will remain in three camps - a few hundred dollars (very basic - email use only), under $3000 (general use) and $8000-plus (professional use). I hope someone proves me wrong, but the technology has been around quite a while now and it still hasn't come down that much in price. I must confess I haven't tried a digital camera for what my main use of a camera is - motorsports - but I've had no trouble covering rugby and other sports. If I win Lotto tonight, I'll be in the market for one!	Guest (0)
42192	2002-04-06 08:08:00	Hi, Sounds like we're in the same boat really... I did have a play with the EOS 1D, which I think is 6 Megapixels, is that right? that was quite a while ago, and it was around $11,000 then, but even at $8,000, it's not really a bargain is it? Still, I'd get a few thousand for the EOS 5 now. I like the Nikon F5 a heck of a lot, that's a damn nice Camera... :) A bit on the fat side weight-wise as far as carrying up to the top of Mountains etc... I have an EOS 1000FN for those kind of trips... I took it up Mt Cupola Yesterday, and will be taking it up Mt Travers tommorow. Only trouble with such a Camera is that it doesn't have rubber seals, so fog etc can get into it. Also, the electrics of any camera will stop functioning at about -15 centigrade... In winter, it's an OM2 or nothing :) The other weakness I've known in a high-end Camera is that with rubber seals, and the changes in atmospheric pressure, the lenses can get damaged. My dad had a few problems with such a camera when we climbed Mt Kinabalu. We took an EOS 5 up 3200m in one day, and when we changed the lenses at the hut at 3600m, it made a loud hissing noise, and damaged the seal... Not good :( Every Camera will have it's faults. The same camera gave out in Antartica, the electrics died, and it had to be warmed for a few minutes between shots, which sucks if you are paying by the minute for a helicopter! I wasn't there on that trip, but my dad swore he'd get an OM2 if he ever went again... :) Erin	Guest (0)
42193	2002-04-06 08:47:00	If you are using the Canon EOS is it not possible to get a digital back for it? Since you have all the lens, if you cannot get a digital back for the EOS, Canon does have professional digital camera's that should easily take all your current lens and flash gear etc while still retaining your connections for ap/sp etc. We use Nikon, from the F3 to the F4s/F5 through to the digital. Depending on the job, we can do much of our field work with the images in a laptop whether we are at a basketball game or in the back of a chopper and then transmit via modem to the office.	Guest (0)
42194	2002-04-06 08:50:00	Hi, Yes, getting a digital body instead of the EOS 5 would be one solution, but the quality is still rather average... Still, it's ok for mid-range print media anyway, such as newspapers, but most of my photos don't go to papers... :) Erin	Guest (0)
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