[Klaus]

RAW distortions at 12mm ... 6.8% 

 

[thxbb12]

I like that camera size link, Klaus!  It's fun looking at your fantasy set-ups.  It was a shocker to see the EF 85/1.2L is over a kilo!  And apparently the Sigma Art 85 is much heavier still!

 

Right!  Well I thought I would add another devil to the why sales are down phenomenon.  Someone mentioned that phone cameras are getting good enough for a lot of people.  But what I have been seeing here is there seems to be a lot of people buying compact fixed lens cameras with anything from single focus range to 10x or more zoom ratio.  These cameras are very inexpensive, and some have pretty decent IQ.  My own experience with them is that they are slow, have short battery life, break easily, and are unpredictable.  But I developed my dislike of them years ago.  They may be better now.  But they are big with the hiking crowd.  I hope I never have to use one again!

 

Just as an aside I tried to use my iPhone to take a photo of a golf ball.  I was free to pick a shady or sunny area.  It made no difference.  The dimples were impossible to capture.  It was an eye opener.  With an actual camera, it would have been a simple shot even with the cheapest lens!

 

You might want to read the post I just posted here: Cell phone IQ and the future of camera systems

[borisbg]

RAW distortions at 12mm ... 6.8% 

 

In line with 12-40 f2.8?

[Arthur Macmillan]

Hi Thxbb12!

 

I look forward to reading it!  I hope they aren't going to go too off the deep end with claims like having sharper lenses by far than those of dslr's.  And I think I have a pretty good idea of the what the future of camera systems is.

 

And I have nothing against highly capable small mirrorless cameras...possibly embedded into our own eyeballs! 

 

I know that future cameras will be great.  I just want to give already existing dslr's their props for being as amazing as they already are.  And despite what seems to be constant improvement I will still see photos taken with my Canon Rebel XTi and think, "I'd have a hard time getting a better picture even today!"  That is real value!  If you have a digital camera that is still pretty good from ten years ago.  Of course, today's cameras are better, but I looked at some interesting Flickr statistics.  Interesting because of the spin Flickr puts on what is supposed to be statistical information.  You can get there by clicking on a camera listed as being used to take a photo.  Then it rates cameras first which are the most popular cameras, then if you choose a camera maker, it lists the cameras in order of highest to lowest within a certain brand.

 

I sort of hate when numbers are bastardized in this fashion.  It one point I would have called Flickr a photography and photographer oriented community...Now, get ready for this.  The number one best camera manufacturer is not Canon, Nikon, Ricoh, Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, ...the list goes on.

 

The number one camera manufacturer is Apple, maker of the iPhone.  Arrrrrgh!  That's just wrong!

 

Anyway, I like to read about new technology.  Just so long as we all know Apple does not make the best cameras in the world!

 

It's was also interesting to know that in terms of the number of items uploaded.  I believe Canon 5D Mark-ii and Canon Rebel XTi /400D were no.1 and no.2 respectively. Then Rebel T3i/600D, Rebel XT/350D , and in 5th was Rebel T2i.

 

So what you ask?  Well just look how old those cameras are!  They list about 200 models from Canon including all of the point and shoots, and all of the mirroless Canons.  The first Non-DSLR canon ranked by numbers of uploads was Canon Powershot SD1000 at position #20.  The first Canon MILC was EOS M at somewhere around 90 or 100.  I don't feel like counting, and while Flickr will sort the cameras by different criteria it still uses different formulas to determine what the most popular cameras are.

 

For my purposes I just wanted to point out that the Canon cameras that are uploading the most photos were

1- Canon 5D Mark-ii

2-Canon Rebel XTi

3-Canon Rebel T31

4-Canon Rebel XT

5-Canon Rebel T2i

 

And were the XTi not stolen I would own 3 out of the 5!  I can easily back it up with numbers by virtually no pictures are being uploaded by any non dslr 10 years old.

 

Anyway, those stats are just for fun!  I'm not being a Luddite.  I'm just really grateful for the service my dslr's have given me.  My sister still uses her Canon D60!  (Not 60D!  D60 comes before 20D!  it has a 6MP sensor).  And actually, I was pretty surprised how much use they get on Flickr.

 

Flickr also sorts them by number of Flickr members who uploaded any photos with a certain model camera.  A completely different order:

 

1-5D Mark iii

2-6D

3-5D Mark ii

4-Rebel T3i (600D)

5-70D

(A considerably more modern list.  But still I don't now how them come up with "Most popular", yet another ranking...you get the idea)

 

My final point I guess is how we rate a camera is highly subjective.  For me longevity is way up there!  I still have the first interchangeable lens I ever had.  At it is Canon EOS, and it still works quite well!

[Klaus]

Ah, I miss the EOS 3. Awesome camera.

[toni-a]

Ah, I miss the EOS 3. Awesome camera.

Without drifting away the subject, yes you can make some good work with virtually anything, just with modern gear, you make it easier.

Of course you know I am reusing EOS 30 (and yes from time to time I do use EOS 30D or even 300D)