Has the D-SLR had its day

[xavier]

Friends
In the may issue of "Digital Camera" I saw the Tag line " has the D-SLR had it day " and got fright thinking the SLRs were being scraped. Silly me. It was testing the Nikon D5000 & the lumix GF1. the verdict was ( in my view) the lumix is good for Fooling around, and the D5000 for the more seriouse photographer.

my honnest opeinion the SLR wil never be replaced as to my mind the comparison between SLRs & compacts / hybred is like comparing a Mreceades & a moris minor or a mini. what do ye think?

[Dagwood]

Originally Posted by xavier

Friends
In the may issue of "Digital Camera" I saw the Tag line " has the D-SLR had it day " and got fright thinking the SLRs were being scraped. Silly me. It was testing the Nikon D5000 & the lumix GF1. the verdict was ( in my view) the lumix is good for Fooling around, and the D5000 for the more seriouse photographer.

my honnest opeinion the SLR wil never be replaced as to my mind the comparison between SLRs & compacts / hybred is like comparing a Mreceades & a moris minor or a mini. what do ye think?

Hi Xavier, As a Lumix ,albeit FZ8 and TZ3, user I'd have to say "Fooling around" is perhaps a bridge (get it?) too far.Seriously I don't think I'm fooling around with good quality compact and bridge cameras and I've beaten club members with Canon and Nikon etc etc DSLR's costing anything up to 10 times the cost of my cameras. I guess it's horses for courses and whilst I probably will get a DSLR in the not too distant future I'm sure I'll keep my other cameras if only for their flexibility and compactness in certain situations. The only thing that has delayed me so far is the thought of dust spots on my sensor; a problem I haven't encountered so far with my existing hardware. But Heyho, what do others think??
All the best
Dagwood

At the moment, I think horses for courses is a useful phrase for the present time, but who knows what future technology advances may bring

[ABERS]

Without being too repiticious, it's got nothing to do with the camera, but who is operating it.

While I tend to agree with you Abers, art is the mother of invention, and I do not believe technology departments remain idling, as the need and greed for market share drives to the seams and dreams.

[Gil Ritchie]

Originally Posted by ABERS

Without being too repiticious, it's got nothing to do with the camera, but who is operating it.

No need to apologise for being "repiticious" - just the spelling of same - is it not "repetitious" - I am one to talk about bad spelling - but seriously - I totally agree with your sentiment on this one - well nearly - but would change it ever so slightly - and say - "IT'S GOT LITTLE TO DO WITH THE CAMERA - BUT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHO'S OPERATING IT"

But as long as you have " LITTLE BOYS WANTING BIGGER TOYS" - our words of wisdom will - no doubt - fall on deaf ears.

A bit like our comments on how this site could be improved.

[xavier]

I certianly did not expect to start such a lively disscusion on the type of kit one has in ones photo bag, but Abers is right. Its just that I see the Lumix and the Sony as being made by what are in short electronic companies that make Great televisions & HI-FIs, They do not have a tradition of cameras makeing like Cannon or Nikon. Or Kodak, Fuji, Pentax or Olimpus for that matter. it will take me time to accept Sony and Panosonics "limix" as a quality camera manufacturer. Sorry if I have offended!!

[matt wilson]

I got some excellent pics with a Canon bridge cameara and my partner continues to do so .However there are times only the SLR will do.I could never have got shots of an F16 fighter plane with full afterburners with the old equipment.

[ianpinion]

I agree entirely with Abers, it's not necessarily the standard of the kit you have but how great your understanding is of how to get the best results from it consistently.

Now as for the likes of Sony and Panasonic making cameras, well they both have paired up with some very accomplished camera makers. Sony have called on Minolta's services to help develop their lenses, whilst Panasonic have teamed up with both Leica and Olympus to develop the Micro Four Thirds lenses. You can't get much better pedigrees than that!

The Micro Four Thirds system is still very much in it's infancy and will continue to be refined as time goes on and there well may come a time when it can really compete with a traditional DSLR. When that time comes, it's sucess or failure lies with those who are in the market for buying a new camera and what their feelings and requirements are regarding it. Until then, all we can do is keep watching and waiting.

[Oly Paul]

I remember in my early film days when they said 35mm would never catch on and serious photographers would only use medium format cameras...dej a vue.