Lightroom Magazine

Alternative DSLR?

While many opt for Canon or Nikon DSLRs, don't ignore the established brands just because they were not the leaders in the 35mm film camera market!

by Jon Mitchell

While looking around for a DSLR, I am usually an open-minded chap. In the old days, I would generally avoid Minolta, Pentax and Olympus SLRs as they were heavily outclassed by Nikon and Canon. Aside from rangefinder cameras, they were the almost only option in the 1990s.

Now, in the brave new world of the digital single lens reflex cameras, the playingfield is once again levelled - with Pentax, Minolta, Samsung, Sony and Olympus turning out some very respectable DLSRs at a better price than the usual suspects.

I was playing with a E-500 Olympus DSLR and quite liked it, aside from the focusing, though otherwise for the same price as a Nikon D40, you get an 8 Megapixel DSLR with all the usual bells and whistles and an interesting line-up of new lenses.

I did actually buy one (unfortunately, only to have it stolen some hours later!) and it works well at 200 ISO and below though the noise above that is similar to what you used to see from an EOS-1D MkI at 400 ISO.

Otherwise, in the limited time it was in my hands, I found it to be a pretty good camera. It has now been superseeded by the Olympus E-510, which has a 10 MP CCD and probably better performance at higher ISO settings.

Likwise, new DSLR creations from Pentax with it's *IST series and Minolta with some very useable DSLRs. Most of them are cheaper than their Nikon or Canon equivalents and worth having a good look at.

I bought a Canon 350D from a traveller here in Kathmandu and later sold it, mainly due to the poor NB-LH battery, which is simply not up to the job. Nikon DSLRs have smaller MP chips, though are more sturdy and the batteries are much better, even on the D50, which holds up well battery-wise alongside the Canon 20D, for instance.

Battery power is an important consideration when buying a digital SLR, usually even the infamous NB-2LH is doable in an urban environment, though what if you are in Iraq - where there is one hour of power day in some places. Working in Nepal, this is a big issue, as in many places, the power also may not be available.

I have met one tourist here who bought a D40 and he said that the battery held up without recharge for his whole trek, some 10 days or so. And this fellow took a lot of pictures, more than most amateurs I meet.

Some of these cameras are bound to steal a march on the main brands in the future, if they have not done already and are a sensible option if you do not rely on a specific lens set (such as sports photographers with some long and fast telephoto lenses), as a new lens set can be bought inexpensively and you may actually make some cash from selling your old kit...

So next time you surf the net of visit a camera shop, then consider the other DSLRs on the market, they may well fulfill your needs and save you some money too!