State of the DSLR market: Nikon vs. Canon vs. Sony/Minolta vs. Olympus vs. Panasonic/Leica vs. Pentax digital SLR cameras, as of June 2008

Very cool! Great montage! Thanks for the hard work doing this…this gives a nice overview.

This is really good.

I like it a lot.

Thanks!

Interesting – but I will have to choose from Nikon’s as I have several Nikkor lenses – It’ll much harder now when the D700 arrives!

thanks for sharing.

Got enough tags over there?

No, not really, but I maxed ‘em out at 75. Ahem.

I could have added KissX2 and KissF (the Japanese names for the two low-end Canon XS/XSi models), but it wouldn’t let me.

Hope Some Day Iwill Get The Panasonic L10 .. Hope SO

Nice…. this is a great way to decide what I want to get.

geez.. I’d really like the D700.. I heard it only has 95% viewfinder coverage though.. only downside I see to it…

ISO 3200 is the new ISO 800

pentax deserves to be right after nikon and canon. creative comparison, though

The left-right position means nothing — Pentax ended up there only because they currently have just two SLRs on the market.

Very Nice!!! It helped me to organize my mind. I’m looking for a nice camera. Thanks!

Very nice!
But…hold on… Sony A350 better than Canon XSi/450D :O:O:O??!!

Actually, it’s more because (a) Canon has so many models to fit into the diagram, and (b) the photo of the Sony A300 was a bit too tall, and bumped the A350 down a tad. Whether one is better than the other depends on what you need, I guess. I use Nikon myself, so it’s not a distinction I can make easily.

so great !!!
where’s the 1D Mkiii?

If you read my big note under the image, you’ll see that I omitted it because it looks essentially identical to the 1Ds Mark III. You also won’t see the Nikon D40 (non-x) for the same reason. I also don’t have any of the Samsung or Fujifilm DSLRs, since those are based on models by Pentax and Nikon, respectively.

I’m an amateur photographer, and I’ve been shooting with a bulky digital Canon from 2002 and a Nikkormat 35-mm SLR from the ’70s for the past few years. The old Nikon hasn’t failed me yet, but I’ll be going to Alaska sometime in the next year, and I’d like to get some amazing pictures on a great digital camera.

I’ve saved up some money now, and I’m trying to decide between a Canon or Nikon dSLR that’s decently priced (my range is anywhere up to $700 or $800). I think I slightly prefer Nikon over Canon, but I’ll gladly look into anything. Any ideas on some modes I should be checking out?

In your price range it’s hard to go wrong with anything in the top half of the diagram. If you like the lenses you have for your Nikkormat, you can probably still use them on some of the Nikons, although the light meter won’t work with those old lenses, except on the much higher-end models that are too expensive for your budget.

So, ignoring that, it’s a tough choice. You have the Canon XSi and Nikon D60, Sony A350, Olympus E-520, Panasonic L10, and Pentax K200D all in the same sort of price range.

I think that right now the Pentax is probably the best value of the bunch (it includes weather sealing and image stabilization in the body for a great price), and while pro shooters would go for either Canon or Nikon, Pentax also has a good line of high-quality lenses, often at better prices than the "big two."

Personally, since I have a bunch of Nikon lenses, I’d look at a D60 or D80 (although I’m hoping Nikon replaces the D80 soon, since it’s getting old), or a D300 if I could afford it. However, if I had Canon EOS lenses, I’d be checking out the XSi or 40D.

Check out the reviews I link to for the various models, and see if you can try them out to see what fits well in your hands.

excellent, I’ll check them out a.s.a.p.

Oh, and thanks for replying so quickly!

at last someone who knows the real comparison between digital camera models

Good Job!

leica m8 doesn’t have the full frame chip, so it can’t be compared with 5D and D700 really. pity, innit?

" think I slightly prefer Nikon over Canon"

buy a second hand Fuji S3 Pro (i don’t know why S5 was ignored here?) – better buy than a low end Nikon.

Fantastic!!!

Very good work

Cool

I just returned a SonyA300,I realized I needed something more pro sumer.Still deciding between the Sony A700 and Canon 40D. I will probably go with the Canon.Mainly because of the choice of lenses and the live view. Prices keep dropping because the newer models are set to come out very soon.

Much as I have issues with Sony in general, their new cameras are pretty impressive. That said, the A700 is older than their other models; the 40D is very nice; and don’t forget about the Nikon D300, which is an excellent camera too. The Pentax K20D is also worth a look.

All those makers have a line of manufacturer’s and third-party lenses, flashes, and other accessories that will work for almost anyone (and Sony has the excellent Zeiss lenses available too). See if you can try each one out and figure out which works best for you. I dropped by Circuit City today and tried out the A700, 40D, and D300, and of the batch I preferred the D300 overall, although the A700 actually felt best in my hand. Then again, I’m already a Nikon shooter and am familiar with how their cameras work.

Collect them all

Thanks for the camera compilation Pen. Nice job. I’m a Pentax K10D shooter myself and you’re right about the new K20D. I thinks it’s the best value on the market for price, features and picture quality. Check out their Limited line of lenses for anyone comparing glass. I want the 70mm f/2.4

Canon announced the EOS 50D this week, as a new model in between the 40D and 5D. It looks the same as the 40D, but is a considerably upgraded camera otherwise.

…and now there’s the Nikon D90 too. Gonna have to change this graphic again soon…

This is very nice. Good job.

You’re right about the entry-level dslr market being crowded. It took me about a week just to decide on what dslr would be my first. After reading countless reviews on multiple websites, my choices were narrowed down to the canon xsi/450D, the sony A350, and the nikon D60. Making a choice was tough but I finally got the XSI. I am extremely pleased at its performance.

Today we have the official announcement of the full-frame Sony A900 to compete with the Nikon D700 and Canon 5D, so there are now three significant new DSLRs (the Canon 50D, Nikon D90, and Sony A900) missing from this image. Just so you know.

Seriously? The D700 is vastly better, but you could buy three D90s (or a D90 and several excellent high-end lenses) for the price. They are totally different cameras at completely different price points — the D90 will be about $1000 and is a crop-frame enthusiast camera, while the D700 is $3000 and is a full-frame semi-professional model.

Unless you really need the new movie mode on the D90, the D700 is a much, much better camera. But it is also three times the price. The D300 is closer to the D90, but is also a superior device, as well as significantly more expensive. You’ll need to look at what you need and what your budget is before you make a decision.

Dude, you’ve forgoten Sony A100..

The A100 has been discontinued for awhile, and is no longer easily available, so there’s no reason to include it.

I like the black one with the buttons and stuff.

the 5D Mark II needs to be up there

Yup, that makes four new cameras needed for the next version of this image: the Canon 50D, Nikon D90, Sony A900, and Canon 5D Mark II. I was hoping Canon would call it the 6D or something — their names are getting to be a nightmare ("Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III," "Canon EOS 5D Mark II"? Jeez.).

And Axl, you are a wise, wise man.

And now the Panasonic G1…

Yeah, I guess if I put the Leica in there, that should be in too. Looks like the next version of this collage is going to be bigger yet again…

come on derek let’s get the next version out there!

No way. It would be silly to update this diagram before Photokina this month and before all the pre-Christmas product announcements are finished.

Several sources in the US are deeply discounting the Nikon D700. B&H has it "priced to sell out" at $1,799. There must be a replacement of increased fabulousity about to hit the streets.

That sounds insane. Are you sure it wasn’t a misprint or misread of the D300 with a kit lens? I just checked B&H and all I see is the $3000 list price on the D700, so I strongly, strongly doubt it.

The camera is just over two months from initial announcement, and many retailers are only now getting their first D700 shipments in stock. I heavily doubt any replacement for the D700 anytime soon, unless there is some massive design flaw in the original that no one is reporting, requiring a recall and redesign — but I see nothing of that.

The D300 and D3 are now the only things even close to aging, and they’re still a mere year from announcement. The D60 covers the low end, the D90 and D300 the midrange, and the D700 and D3 the high end. All are quite new. Maybe a D3x with more resolution before Christmas, perhaps, but that’s a different beast.

By the way, I guess the Leica S2 could fit into this scheme, maybe, if it’s not considered a medium-format camera. It’s likely to be priced way beyond anything in my grid here, however: well into the five figures.

Plus there is the new Pentax K2000D, plus an updated Sigma SD15 DSLR. I’ll wait for the post-Photokina craziness to calm down before making a new collage.

This is great fun! Great Idea.

All goes to show that we are all ridiculously addicted to our gear and associated LBA. I dare you to put a currently available lens line-up list up .

I’m with the dude who wanted the black one with buttons on it (but with accents in my favourite colour, green ).

I must have been wrong about the D700 price. I could not reproduce the search that turned up such amazing results. If I see this again, I’ll buy one first and then tell everybody about it.

Very cool stuff. Just a tough, why no Leica R9

Because Leica no longer makes or sells the digital back for the R9. I will add the S2 next time I update this collage, however.

Oh, and it sounds like there will be an R10 digital SLR from Leica as well, sometime soon.

Pentax K200D is MINE!!!

I wonder if the R10 will have a full frame sensor.

According to this interview with Leica’s product manager, they would certainly like the R10 to be full-frame, but they have not yet figured out whether it will be. Lots of R10 information there if you want it.

hi, im thinking of getting an slr but im lost between nikon and canon… at first i wanted the d40or xs, but then i was contemplating on getting the xsi or a better nikon if i wanted to do it long term, not just as a beginner.. what do you suggest?

imspidermanxp the best advice I could give you is actually hold each of the cameras and see which one feels the best in your hands.. then look through the viewfinder.. pick the one that feels more comfortable.. get a beginner camera and if you like it.. get a better lens before another camera.. the optics matter more.

I agree. The bodies go out of date pretty quickly, but the lenses will last. Nikon gives you the opportunity to play with a whole range of new and vintage lenses going back right to the 1950s, while Canon gives you a more modern collection from the past 15 years. Both of their current lineups offer excellent optics, so it’s hard to go wrong there.

Indeed, Pentax and Sony are nothing to sneeze at either.

For the long term, get whatever body you can afford right now with a kit lens, then get a better lens too, like a 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4, or a fixed wide angle (24mm) or fixed medium telephoto (85mm or 100mm). That will open up many creative possibilities for you, and will work for you as you upgrade camera bodies in the future.

I wrote a blog post on this topic a few months ago.

I think spidey got the message quite well by now, thanks to you guys.
BTW penmachine I heard rumours saying some other manufacturer (maybe Schneider) is making the lenses for the Leica S2, same goes to the body, what’s you opinion on it?

I hadn’t heard that, but the S2 is so far beyond anything I’ll ever buy that it’s not something I’ve looked into very closely.

Exactly my point penmachine, to announce something so cutting edge with way-off price range only to have someone inferior in making the hardwares is actually inviting controversy in my opinion. I expect the R10 might also have the same bizzare pricing remembering what they did with the R9.

Thank you so much! i looked at both the nikon and camera last week and the nikon feels a lot more comfortable. hopefully ill be back to poost my own pictures soon!

Hi guys,
I am looking at going in for a DSLR (entry level) soon. I cannot decide between the following:
Eos 450D(has AF but sometimes the AF does not function-DPreview.com says so)
EOS 400 D(The price is attractive)
Nikon D60 (No AF but the users seem to love this cam).

The Pentax cameras seem to be rated lower than Canon and Nikon and the Sony seems to have an inclination towards subdued colour representation.

I am currently very fond of trying out landscape images and have a long way to go before I am able to compose a shot well.

Any suggestions you may have would help me us my meager financial resources in an effective way.

yeah go and hold each camera and see which one feels the best in your hands

me pentax K200d is fantastic, great quality

debashish: I think what you meant to say was that those cameras don’t have bodies with in-built AF motor. Keep in mind that most modern lenses do have built-in AF motor mind you.

Ck/click s/ shutterhack….
thank you very much for responding to my query. I have bought the canon Eos450D for 682 dollars (with KIT lens 18-55 EF-IS Lowepro bag and 4GB memory SD card).
Dunno if that was a good decision but from what I gather if photography is what I pursue as a hobby say 3 years down the line I would cerainly be looking at a better camera. For now I need to learn how to utilise the camera effectively.

Thanks a lot once agaon for your response.

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debashis – you can’t go wrong with a Canon or a Nikon. I haven’t heard much about the D60 but I have heard good things about the 450d and 400d. Check out the new Canon 1000d/Rebel XS, too. It’s a cheap, stripped down entry level model.

I have to disagree with CK Photos advice – I think there are many more important things than how the camera feels in your hands. Think about what sort of photography you want to be doing, and discuss it with someone in a decent camera store. They *should* be able to give you good information and advice.

thanks seven drunk men…..will trya nd take a decent pic this weekend.

Nikon mistakenly pre-announced their expected high-end D3x 24 megapixel top-of-the-line DSLR today (it was supposed to happen Monday). That rounds out Nikon’s lineup, and renders this diagram way out of whack. I expect I’ll create a new version in January with the D3x, Canon 5D Mark II, Sony A900, Olympus E-30, Leica S2, and the various other new SLRs announced since the summer.

woooooooooooow… nikon D3X… must be updated

I’ll try in January.

One vote for Pentax K20D.

Well done!
We’re all waiting for an update!
(D3X, Canon 50D, and so on…)

Well written and well compiled. Thanks for the effort!

i’m excited to get the sony a200 !
this picture is great.

Great collage. Favorited. When are you going to update it? Would it be OK if I used this and made my own updated version?

Sure. If you do, please let me know and I’ll see if I don’t need to make an update myself! Though I’m doing it today, so it may be too late…

Okay, done! PLEASE ADD ANY NEW COMMENTS TO THE NEW COLLAGE, updated as of January 2009:

I don’t know which one I’m going to buy,

Canon eos 450d or Sony A300..
it’s hard to choose xD

I’m not one with strong feelings in any direction, but buying Canon probably gives you wider options for lenses, accessories, and newer camera bodies in the future. That said, Sony is doing a good job taking their purchase of the Minolta SLR business forward, and they make some excellent lenses and accessories (flashes etc.) of their own, including the only fully functional autofocus SLR lenses from Carl Zeiss. Either one would be a good choice, I think.

Don’t forget to look at the updated options in my January 2009 version of this collage too.

Dolet

cool cameras.

For the Canon 1D, jhallvede, see my newer collage. This one is incomplete and way out of date.

A

A

I can’t decide wich camera I’d like to buy.
I’ve been hearing some great things about the sony h10, but my friend strongly reccomends the nikon d60.
I know the canon eos 1000d is very good but I’d like to know which of these three has the best focus motor.

It would be great if anyone who could reccomend with any of them would respond:)

@Hrefna, just a reminder that this is an old collage; the newer one (which is also now out of date!) has more cameras.

As for your question, the Sony H10 is not an SLR — it does not offer interchangeable lenses, and uses a different, smaller sensor, so it’s in a different category from these cameras altogether. It’s also much less expensive, so if you are looking at it, you’ll be comparing it to a different range of cameras than appear here.

As for the focus motors, that usually depends on the lens, since most modern fast-focusing SLR systems use motors built into the lens itself, not the camera. Older Nikon autofocus lenses (including some still manufactured by Nikon and other third-party companies for the Nikon lens mount) use a motor in the body, but the D60 does not have that motor, and so will only autofocus with the newer ("AF-S," "AF-I," or "G") lenses. That is also true of the D40, D40x, and new D5000 coming out this month. The older D50, D70, D70s, and D80, as well as the current D90, D300, D700, D3, and D3x will autofocus with the older AF lenses.

The best autofocus of any SLRs right now is probably in the high-end Nikon SLRs, like the D300, D700, D3, and D3x. They use 51 focus points (rather than 11 or 5 or 3 in lower models) and a sophisticated autofocus detection system to be very, very fast. But those are all out of your price range. In the low and middle range, many of these models are comparable, from many different manufacturers, and again it depends on the lens you’re using and what kind of photos you’re taking.

So, what I would recommend is going to a camera store and trying some of the models you’re interested in, such as the Canon 1000D, Nikon D60, Nikon D5000, Sony A300, Olympus E450, and Pentax K200D. See how they feel in your hands, how the controls work for you, and see if the autofocus works well with a lens you might be considering.

Your choice of camera should be based on much more than autofocus — all intro-level models are comparable, and whether you get good pictures also depends on how the controls and other camera performance work for you specifically, and the kind of pictures you take.

Thank you so much for the advice
Now I hope I’ll find the right camera based on these advice.
Thank you very much

THIS COLLAGE IS OUT OF DATE. NOTES AND COMMENTS ON IT ARE NOW CLOSED. PLEASE GO TO THE NEWER COLLAGE. THANK YOU.

I have removed the many superfluous notes ("Mine!", "Love this!" etc.), which were making the image unintelligible and making it difficult to pinpoint specific cameras.

I’m also blocking further notes and comments, since you should really be looking at my updated 2009 collage anyway. PLEASE NOTE that saying "[xyy camera] is missing" is pointless, since even that newer collage is out of date now. I may make an even more up to date one in summer 2009.

So GO TO THE NEWER COLLAGE. Thanks: