My Thoughts
I find myself following a lot of web forums, and one in particular gets almost unreadable leading up to a Canon release. My assumption is the Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, et cetera forums on this particular board are just as bad, but since I do not own any of these brands I do not frequent these sections.
It starts with someone speculating on specifications for the next camera model, and why the current camera model will not be able to compete. A few weeks before a model is formally announced, supposed leaked pictures start to pop up. Some of these are realistic, some are just absurd. These pictures are always accompanied by guesses about specifications. After the camera is formally announced there is a round of ‘what a great camera’ followed by irritation on the features that are left out, followed by bashing those that speculated incorrectly. And a flood of posts about ditching the current model for the newly announced model follows closely after. Finally, after the model is in the hands of forum members and being used pictures of their pets, bedrooms, and backyards will be shown with absurd crops to show supposed softness or back / front focus issues.
This is just silly. I am still shooting with a pair of Canon 10d’s. For those not familar with the Canon dSLR lineup, the 10d is now 2 generations behind in the middle level; the so-called ‘prosumer’. (I hate that term, but that’s for another rant.)
The problem with many of these posters is that they are so focused on the equipment that they lose track of the image. The image, of course, is what matters. Sure, larger resolution generally leads to sharper prints, to a point. Sure, a faster lens or autofocus will make it easier to capture a fleeting moment. But to a person that has never used this line of camera, reading these forums gives the impression that you cannot take a quality picture with your camera once the replacement makes your camera ‘obsolete’.
Will I be saving up for a 30d as my next camera – no. I thought I might before the formal announcement, but it just does not seem to be enough of a camera above the 20d to justify the additional cost. Honestly, my next camera will probably be either a 20d or another 10d. B&H Photo still sells new 10d’s. I just bought one for $800. Hopefully they’ll drop even more as the 30d starts showing up.
If I had the money to do it, my next camera would the the EOS 5d. It appears to be a perfect camera for my needs, and looks to be one that I would be able to continue using for many years. Not that the 10d won’t, but I worry about the future of the 1.6x crop in the current mid-level Canons and I miss a full frame camera since moving to digital. Not having a 17mm lens be 17mm anymore is irritating, especially since there isn’t anything to replace it with.
All that said, I do often find myself caught up in the speculation of future models and the sheer ‘geek factor’ of cameras. If I didn’t, I would not spend so much time on web forums. Fortunately, up to this point I’ve been able to differentiate between what I need out of a camera and what I want simply because it’s new and cool.
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