Schierer Space

As promised, I’m going to discuss a bit about what your hard earned cash will get you in cameras. I will be talking about Canon’s line of digital cameras because I know them the best, but if you have a different brand preference (e.g. Nikon, Sony, Kodak, Fuji) you’ll find similar levels, capabilities and prices. I’ll also only be talking about latest model new cameras. If you can find last year’s model online, or at your favorite retailer, you can get a pretty good deal for pretty similar capabilities. If price is your main object, you might be able to step up a bit in class for the same price if you get the previous model.
So the first question I ask somebody who’s looking for camera advice is: “How much do you want to spend?” Most people have a general idea where they think they’ll be comfortable, and I’ve found that lately, most are pleasantly surprised by what they can get for their money.
For what it’s worth, it is possible to spend more on a digital camera than on some fine automobiles. Hasselblad, made famous for most of us in relation to images taken by the Apollo astronauts, has a 39 megapixel digital camera called the H3D-II. Its regular retail price is 26500€ (~$37600). This is just slightly more than the rather nice all-wheel-drive BMW 328xi 2-door coupe. Needless to say, I don’t recommend one of these to any of my readers. I’m sure it’s a fine camera… but lets just say that if you’re reading this blog and you can actually afford to buy that camera, then please consider a small donation to the author of this site to support further camera testing.
Back to business:
I group digital cameras into basically 4 categories by size:

• Ridiculously miniature (RM)
• Normal (N)
• Got-glass-will-travel (GG)

and finally,

• single-lens reflex (SLR)

The power curve for cost vs. performance is somewhere in the fuzzy margin between N and GG. You pay more for more capabilities (upper GG and SLR) and for miniaturization (smaller N and RM). Highly miniature, highly featured cameras can cost as much as the upper GG categories. So what does this mean in dead presidents?

Here’s a summary table:

In order from most to least expensive…

• The SLR bodies are definitely the most money (like the example above!!), and you can just keep spending on lenses, flashes, filters and other accessories. Some GG will also support add on adapters for lenses, but generally these are sort-of a hack job. A full blown professional mainline SLR body can run in the $8000* range (EOS 1Ds-MarkIII). A midline SLR is in the $1500 range (EOS 40D) with lower level SLR bodies (EOS Rebel 400D) in the $700 range. Of course you still have to buy a lens, unless you have one from your existing camera. Pricing rule: The more less zeros in the EOS camera number, the more professional class the camera is. The higher the number otherwise, the newer the model is (i.e. 40D is newer than 30D, but 400D is a lower line than 40D). The difference in price generally results in faster processors, more internal memory (for buffering images), more focusing options and sturdier construction. The 40D is a magnesium alloy body, while the 400D is stainless steel (lens mounts) and plastic.
• In the Got-Glass class, Canon has two lines: the “G” and “S” lines. Don’t confuse the “S” line with the “SD” line. “G” cameras come from the legacy of one of Canon’s most successful consumer cameras the Canon G1 (its sequel, the G2, got me hooked!). They have a compact body style that is something between the Normal body and a small SLR. The latest, the G9, sells for about $500. The “S” series feature large optical zooms (12x in the S5) which are actually a bit shorter (less zoom) than competitors offerings. They tend to be a bit bulkier than other non-SLR cameras and approach the size of the smaller SLRs. The S5 sells for about $350. Cameras in this class usually have optics worthy of their resolution (unlike some of the cheaper classes) and this is one of the most expensive parts of a compact camera. Most cameras in this class are plastic construction.
• In the Ridiculously Miniature class, which Canon labels with an “SD” prefix you can get up into the $450 range, but most are in the $250-$350 range. Pricing rule: the higher the first digit the higher the camera line, the higher the number otherwise, the newer the camera is (i.e. SD950 has more features than the SD870 and the SD870 is newer than the SD850). Optical quality varies due to the size of the lens, but I have the least hands-on experience with this class. I’d pretty much only recommend a camera in this class if you need to put your camera in the coat pocket of your tuxedo or need to fit a camera in your stylishly small pocketbook.**
• In the Normal class, which Canon labels with an “A” prefix, there is a huge range of features, capabilities and prices. The cheapest cameras in this class are right around $100 (this seems to be the critical price floor for profitable cameras) and some of the fanciest can be as much as $250. The cheapest camera in this class today will be superior in many ways to any consumer digital camera from 5 years ago. Be careful though, don’t be tempted by high resolutions, these cameras often lack the optics to make any difference between an 8 megapixel and 4 megapixel image (other than taking up more space and taking longer to download).
* Pricing from DPReview and PriceGrabber. Your mileage may vary.
** If you are an extreme sports nut, and every ounce counts, but for some reason you want to stop and snap some pics during your Adventure race, consider an ultra-compact camera.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2007 at 12:02 am and is filed under Advice, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.