camera queries

[moktan]

dear friends,
(i) do you think the micro four third is the way to go as far as future camera purchases are concerned? here i am talking about the 'serious' amateur and not folks who fall in the mamiya or the leaf aptus bracket..
(ii) what is the life of a reasonably priced digital camera ? meaning say someone spends 30K for a digital camera, will the camera last for another 20 years?..here i am not talking about advances in technology or aspirational issues but just the life of the camera..that is..do averagely priced digital cameras come with a working life of a couple of decades?
this question is prompted by philosophic issues raised by a dying Minolta DIMAGE A1 for which i paid a small fortune about seven years ago..
thanks

 

[sachin_k5]

dear friends,
(ii) what is the life of a reasonably priced digital camera ? meaning say someone spends 30K for a digital camera, will the camera last for another 20 years?..here i am not talking about advances in technology or aspirational issues but just the life of the camera..that is..do averagely priced digital cameras come with a working life of a couple of decades?

hmmm..i think since reasonably priced digital cameras have been in the market for the last 10 years, i can answer your question correctly after another 10 years. :lol:

 

[gobble]

Maybe with a brand like Leica one can have reasonable confidence in its life. Not sure as my point and shoot is only a couple of years old and rarely used.

Micro 4/3rds will not die out so quickly. If it does you will have a collectors item at hand that you can sell at 5x the price one day

I considered the 4/3rds a few months back then decided I did not want to spend 60 to 80K on lens after spending 30K on a body. Hence I got the Lumix Lx3 with a F2.0 lens and 3x zoom and retained my Canon S5 for its 12X zoom.


Cheers

 

[iaudio]

Moktan,
I might not be qualified to suggest you anything on this matter. But I still feel aps-c, aps-h or full frame would be safer choice. Widely available lenses, easier upgrade path, service etc
And from the limited sample images I have seen, the full framers have an upper hand over the micro four thirds, but again it is not a fair comparison..

As for your other question, I am not sure. I dont think the DSLRs one buys in the 30k are built to that quality, I mean, to last 20 years.

 

[gobble]

Moktan,
I might not be qualified to suggest you anything on this matter. But I still feel aps-c, aps-h or full frame would be safer choice. Widely available lenses, easier upgrade path, service etc
And from the limited sample images I have seen, the full framers have an upper hand over the micro four thirds, but again it is not a fair comparison..

As for your other question, I am not sure. I dont think the DSLRs one buys in the 30k are built to that quality, I mean, to last 20 years.

er ... full frame ... you are talking 2 to 3 lacs price range right? I think Moktan wants a "somewhat cheaper" range model

Cheers

 

[moktan]

thanks iaudio and gobble..
though to put matters into the right price perspective..i am spreading my choices between the lumix lx3, the canon s90 and the Fujifilm S200Exr..nothing spectacular......
..but i would still wish to know the life of a generic digital camera, every thing remaining constant that is...

by the way would wholly recommend Barthes' Camera Lucida an idiosyncratic inquiry into the nature and essence of photography...

 

[gobble]

thanks iaudio and gobble..
though to put matters into the right price perspective..i am spreading my choices between the lumix lx3, the canon s90 and the Fujifilm S200Exr..nothing spectacular......
..but i would still wish to know the life of a generic digital camera, every thing remaining constant that is...

by the way would wholly recommend Barthes' Camera Lucida an idiosyncratic inquiry into the nature and essence of photography...

Those who have owned many camera's can probably guide you better.

Will check out the book someday

The S90 is the Lx3 competitor with F2.0 lens isnt it? I saw it with a colleague and compared it briefly.

Cheers

 

[Raghav]

lumix lx3 anyday between the 3. Just for the Leica lens its worth it.

Other than that you can have a Pana G1 for under 30k with kit lens

thanks iaudio and gobble..
though to put matters into the right price perspective..i am spreading my choices between the lumix lx3, the canon s90 and the Fujifilm S200Exr..nothing spectacular......
..but i would still wish to know the life of a generic digital camera, every thing remaining constant that is...

by the way would wholly recommend Barthes' Camera Lucida an idiosyncratic inquiry into the nature and essence of photography...

 

[marsilians]

...(ii) what is the life of a reasonably priced digital camera ? meaning say someone spends 30K for a digital camera, will the camera last for another 20 years?..here i am not talking about advances in technology or aspirational issues but just the life of the camera..that is..do averagely priced digital cameras come with a working life of a couple of decades?
this question is prompted by philosophic issues raised by a dying Minolta DIMAGE A1 for which i paid a small fortune about seven years ago..
thanks

A more significant criteria is the shutter life of a digital camera. Mid to high end digital camera DSLRs so to speak, offer between 80,000 to 250,000 frames. Thats a long time but you pay premium on them. This will also determine their performance under high ISO.


For point and shoot, they have been around for about 12 years now as mainstream products. So its hard to say what the life expectancy would be. My 1 MP Kodak camera bought in 1999 for $850 died in 2003 when I used it for about 3 months in Mangalore. The humidity just killed the camera. Since then I invested in a Canon Digital SLR and a kick around 4 MP point and shoot. Its been 3 years and so far so good.

I doubt most digital cameras will last 20+ years. Some may but the business model is very different now than it was years ago.

 

[bansal98]

dear friends,
(i) do you think the micro four third is the way to go as far as future camera purchases are concerned? here i am talking about the 'serious' amateur and not folks who fall in the mamiya or the leaf aptus bracket..
(ii) what is the life of a reasonably priced digital camera ? meaning say someone spends 30K for a digital camera, will the camera last for another 20 years?..here i am not talking about advances in technology or aspirational issues but just the life of the camera..that is..do averagely priced digital cameras come with a working life of a couple of decades?
this question is prompted by philosophic issues raised by a dying Minolta DIMAGE A1 for which i paid a small fortune about seven years ago..
thanks

Both Sony and Nikon are about to launch mirrorless APS-C sensor cameras. I would personally wait for those. m4/3 cameras bodies are great but the lenses are so so (too slow 3.5-5.6, not many primes).

 

[kneo]

I doubt whether you yourself would want to keep a camera for 20 yrs !! That's a really long time. The upgraditis bug is really prevalent amongst alpha males

 

[gobble]

Both Sony and Nikon are about to launch mirrorless APS-C sensor cameras. I would personally wait for those. m4/3 cameras bodies are great but the lenses are so so (too slow 3.5-5.6, not many primes).

Exactly why I skipped it. An f2.8 lens would have tilted the decision in favor if the 4/3rds for me

Cheers

 

[gobble]

I doubt whether you yourself would want to keep a camera for 20 yrs !! That's a really long time. The upgraditis bug is really prevalent amongst alpha males

if you see a sturdy old heavy camera like 40 years old - you will realize they are a joy to hold in ones hand and to own

Cheers

 

[psychotropic]

hey moktan, why wouldn't you be considering one of the entry level (APS-C) DSLRs like the Nikon D3000 and the Canon EOS 1000D? or even a 4/3rds DSLR like the Olympus E450?

 

[Brendon]

A mirror-less camera system is definitely the future for consumer cameras. DSLRs I am sure will survive but it will steadily lose market share to mirror-less cameras as consumers will want a more compact package that can still rival the mid-range DSLR cameras in image quality.

That said I feel that Micro 4/3rds are not a very viable option as of now. The lenses are much more expensive than DSLR lenses and as someone pointed out there are few fast prime lenses available.

Unless the OP has big bucks or can suffice with one single prime lens with kit lens (20mm f1.7 and 14-45mm) then he should consider a 4/3rds system.

 

[avidyarthy]

I possess two ........ my Dad's German make 1960s Voigtlander ...all manual settings ... still in working condition and his procured Canon AF 35M (Auto Focus, 1 : 2.8, 38 mm) in 1983. Incidentally, this Canon was used extensively by me till 2009 ......... before I went digital with Canon PowerShot SX100IS in 2009.

if you see a sturdy old heavy camera like 40 years old - you will realize they are a joy to hold in ones hand and to own

Cheers

 

[moktan]

Thank you dear friends for sharing so much info and insight into cameras ...i have indeed been repeatedly advised to go the entry level DSLR route ..but I am still circumspect about Digital SLRs because they seem so forbiddingly large (besides being expensive and a hassle to maintain ) ...not very practical for someone whose whole approach towards photography is shooting interesting stuff that one comes across during the course of an ordinary way...i want something that I can stuff inside a jacket pocket...anyway the drift I get from the responses is that micro four thirds definitely hold promise of better things to come..so I will patiently wait ...and by the way I am as cost sensitive as they come ..
thanks all

 

[iaudio]

Moktan, for you, then I think the fuji f200 exr would be a good bet. Good luck.

 

[gobble]

Just a tip: On Ebay India I purchased my LX3 for just 2K more than international MRP. I got mine for 26.5K when the international prices were hovering between 24K to 26K at different sites.

so dont pay a premium buying from shop.

Regards

 

[psychotropic]

Oh in such a case the F200 EXR is perfect for you. 17k, pocketable and from my understanding the best pocketable camera under 25k. Anything with interchangeable lenses even micro 4/3rds will not be pocketable in any practical way.