Wyofoto

	Landscape photographers arguably place more demands upon a camera than any other breed. We want images which are highly detailed and have superb tonality. Not only do we want this, we want the ability to make large prints. How large? For us, 13x19 inches is a good start. If we get a really fine photo 16x24 inches is not unreasonable. and for that once in a lifetime shot, 20x30 inches or larger is a possibility. For these reasons, landscape photographers have long chosen large format or medium format film cameras as their tool of choice. My favorite in the olden days of film was the Pentax 645N. Alas, the advent of high quality full frame digital cameras, that are the equal in image quality of medium format film, have led me to retire my trusty Pentax. Many novice landscape photographers and some old hands making the transition to the digital age have written, asking me the obvious question. What 35mm digital SLR camera should I buy? My thoughts, based on the technology available as of March 2009 follow.
Digital SLR Sensor Sizes Current main stream digital SLR sensors generally are one of two sizes APS-C or full frame. Full frame sensors are the same size as a traditional 35mm film frame, about 24mm x 36mm. The APS crop sensors are smaller. Canon cameras such as the EOS 40D use a 1.6x crop sensor. Nikon cameras such as the D300 use a 1.5x crop sensor. The crop factor gives a pseudo magnification effect. Lenses used on theses cameras appear to have a greater than actual focal length. Full frames sensors are more expensive to produce. All the cameras in this comparison that sell for less than $2000 use crop sensors. Full frame SLR's in general have bigger, brighter viewfinders. They also allow lenses to work the same as they did on conventional film SLR's. For a given number of pixels, say 12MP, they also tend to have less noise and image artifacts, especially at high ISO speeds. Several digital SLR's such as the Canon 1D and various Olympus cameras use odd sensor sizes with a 1.3x or 2x crop factor. These cameras are not discussed in this article.
	Bargain Shopping with $695 in Hand At the low end, the truth is disturbing. For my money, consumer grade point and shoot digital cameras come up way short. The typical 8 or 10 megapixel digicam can usually produce a reasonable 8x10 or 11x14 inch print, but that's it. Their tiny sensors are noisey and you are forever stuck with the one lens that came with the camera. Luckily for you the prices of entry level digital SLR's have fallen so low, you now can buy into a digital system for this small amount of money. The 6 or 8 megapixel offerings just don't cut it. It takes IMO 10 or 12 high quality megapixels to make a good, detailed 16"x24" print. The Canon Rebel XSi kit is widely available for about $695 or less and is the top pick in this price range. It shoots a modest 3.5 frames per second, but landscapes don't require high speed camera work. The kit comes with the optically very good 18-55mm IS lens . This new kit lens is optically far better than the old 18-55mm kit lens. It's build quality is still pretty flimsy, so handle it with tender loving care. There is no free lunch mind you. While this combination will yield surprisingly good images when properly used, you still have a slow shooting, wimpy plastic body, with a tunnel vision viewfinder. You also have a plastic mount, wobbly lens, which only performs well when shot close to f8. If you are looking for a super light weight, compact landscape camera, you might take a look at the Panasonic DMI-G1. It's revolutionary mirrorless design, coupled with it's 4/3 size sensor, makes it the smallest interchangeable lens digital camera capable of producing a quality 16"x20" landscape print. It sells for about $675. It's lens selection though is fairly limited.
$1300 with Big Dreams In my opinion it takes about 12 megapixels of high quality data from a digital SLR to make a truly excellent 16"x24" print. If everything is perfect, you can even push a 10MP image to this size. So where does this leave us? Two cameras in this range jump out at me. The Nikon D90 and the new Canon Rebel T1i. Both are capable of producing very high quality images with the right glass. They both have very good image sensors and a focusing and exposure system that works well with stationary, or slow moving objects. The D90 has a body that's a bit plasticy, but adequate. It can shoot about 4.5 frames per second. It's viewfinder is a cut above the shabby viewfinders found in the lower cost class discussed above. It has the best walk around lens of any under $2000 camera made. The 18-105mm VR kit lens is optically very good. It is the equivalent of a 28-158mm lens on a traditional 35mm full frame camera. It might be the only lens you ever need. The D90 with it's kit lens has a current street price of $1195 The 15MP Canon Rebel T1i has just been introduced and is now selling, body only for about $799. It has a body and focusing system that is essentially the same as the Rebel XSi. The 3" low resolution LCD screen of the XSi has been replaced with the excellent 3" high resolution screen found on the EOS 50D. Initial test photos show the T1i to have a slighltly higher image quality than the Nikon D90 at low ISO speeds. Couple it with the $400 Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 zoom and you have a very formidable camera kit for about $1200. What about the Pentax K20D? A very nice body, it even has a good viewfinder, but the camera produces mediocre quality JPEG's. You have to shoot RAW to get quality images and not every one wants to do this. Also, I question Pentax's commitment to the digital SLR market. It's digital camera lenses are okay at best and Pentax could be a casualty in the industry shake up that I see as inevitable. I say all this as someone that used Pentax 35mm and MF cameras for 32 years.
	$3000 and Wanting More Do you dream of your own landscape masterpiece, hanging 20"x30" in size, somewhere above the couch on your living room wall? Both of these cameras, when used with proper technique, can help you get that print. When it was introduced in the fall of 2005, the EOS 5D was a breakthrough. The 12.7 MP darling was the first affordable full frame digital SLR at it's $3200 price. Not only that, it was the first one that didn't weigh as much as a medium format film camera. It could produce images that match in every way, the output of my trusty Pentax 645N. In the spring of 2009, it's a landscape bargain. It is offically out of production. Very lightly used copies can however be found on Ebay used, for about $1350. It's full frame viewfinder will be a revelation, if you are used to shooting a crop sensor digital SLR. The only sub par thing about the 5D, is the 3 fps burst speed . At high ISO speeds, used in low light shooting, its' performance is stellar. The best this side of a Nikon D3. Couple your used 5D with a new Canon 24-70mm L zoom lens and you have a super landscape kit for about $2500. Do you want to mix some long distance wildlife or bird shooting with your landscape work? Then the 5D may not be for you. The Nikon D300 and it's APS size sensor may be a better choice. Its' tank like body, 12 MP sensor, 51 point autofocus and 6 fps speed may be just what you need. The 12MP sensor in the D300, is heads and tails above the similar 12MP sensor in the D90. I have looked at ISO 100 test shots of the same still life, taken with the 5D and D300. At low ISO, with the proper lens, the D300 files are 98% the image quality of the 5D. Up to ISO 200 I'd have to say it's a dead heat IQ wise. It's autofocus bests the 5D easily on moving objects. The APS size sensors 1.5x crop factor, will also give you more reach with your big telephoto glass. So, team it with the superb Nikon 17-50mm f2.8 lens for a kit cost of about $3000 and you have a super landscape/wildlife combination camera.
$5000 and feeling like Ansel? Do you want a little bit more than the above cameras can offer? Would you like to make 24"x36" or even larger prints of that once in a lifetime shot? Do you want to shoot a digital SLR that can match 6x7 film scans in quality? Than 2009 may be the year you have been waitng for. The full frame digital SLR marketplace made an incredible leap forward in 2008. The 800 pound gorilla lurking in the back room finally emerged. Sony unveiled and put into full production the full frame 25MP A900. This is Sony's 5 frame per second flagship camera. The A900 is the only full frame digital SLR in the world with built in image stabilization . Each and every lens you can mount on the A900 has the advantage that IS gives at slow shutter speeds. It's magnificent 100% viewfinder is simply the best of any 35mm size digital SLR made. Yes, I have owned 1 series EOS bodies, and I've used a Nikon D3x for two weeks, so I can make that statement with a fair amount of certainty. The $3000, A900 body is as solid as a rock. It's solid but not huge in size, like the competing 1 series Canon, or D3 Nikon bodies. To my way of thinking, it's an excellent design and the ideal compromise. The Sony made, Zeiss designed, 24-70mm f2.8 zoom that can be had for about $1750 may be the best lens of its type made. Couple this Zeiss zoom with the A900 body and you have a superb landscape kit for about $4750. If you were a landscape shooting 5D owner, Canon didn't forget you in 2008. In late November, the long rumored 5dMkii finally arrived. It is in short, a $2700 conundrum. It's sensor is superb. It produces images which match the A900 at low ISO speed and actually better it at ISO speeds or 400 or higher. It's rear LCD display is superb, possibly best in class. After that the fun ends. To stop it from cannibalizing 1DSmk3 sales, Canon left it with the dated 5D autofocus system. It also left the viewfinder at a claimed coverage of 98% rather than the 100% it deserved. The viewfinder brightness is adequate, but not in the class of the Sony or Nikon D3x. Couple it with the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 zoom and it can produce images that are stunning. The net kit price for this combination will probably be about $3900. A bargain if you can live with the aformentioned short comings. Add the Canon 70-200 IS f4 zoom for about $1100 and we have an even more versatile package for $5000. What about thr Nikon D3x? I had the chance to use and test two D3x bodies for a period of two weeks. The D3x does have the best autofocus system of any camera I've used. Amazingly accurate and very quick, even in very dim light. The viewfinder is great, 100% and almost as bright as the Sony A900. The body, not surprisingly was rock solid. The IQ was a tiny bit better at low ISO speed than either of the above cameras. That said, the margin is very small, maybe 5%. It is visble only pixel peeping at 100% on the computer screen. At print sizes of 20"x30" or smaller the difference was invisible. I suspect it might become visble at close inspection, if you pushed the prints to 27"x40" in size or larger. Honestly though, it's a very, very small difference we're talking about. For my money, the D3x is simply way overpriced at $8000. If it sold for $6000 my thoughts might be different.
	$26000 LF 4x5 replacement? I was lucky enough to have a Hasselblad H3D-ii to play with for about a week early this summer. I was very impressed with this little beast. It has the best viewfiner I've used on any MF camera. I felt like I was looking through a brightened and improved version of the viewfinder on my old Pentax 645Nii. The 39MP files it produced looked good enough to produce 32"x40" prints that rivaled 4"x5" large format film in quality. The body and leaf shutter lenses worked and sounded like a fine Swiss watch. The problem of course was the enormous price, $32,000 with an 80mm f2.8 kit lens. Well Hasselblad must have been reading my mind. In 2009, they have reduced the basic kit price to a meager $22,000 . Quite a discount if you ask me. Couple this kit with the superb 50-110mm zoom lens and you have one awesome landscape kit for about $26,000. How can you pull this off? Easy, get a second mortgage on your house, tell your wife you bought it used in a hock shop and went back to shooting film. I'll see you next year and have a great 2009!