When you bought your camera what features most attracted you? I can say for me the ability to instantly share to social media is NOT an attractive or necessary feature. For my Powershot I like the HDMI port which I use sometimes, the powerful zoom feature, the ability to shoot in HD,FHD, OR 4K and not just lame poor quality 640x480 which my previous camera shot at. Also the many many features and shooting modes my Powershot has is attractive. Most these days think that instantly sharing media to social media is a deal breaker and why they have rejected stand alone cameras. I sometimes share to social media but it does not have to be instant. What about you? I like features and find my Powershot superior to my iPhone 12 for shooting.
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What features most attract you?
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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For me, I’d say things like being able to easily manually control ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Also, things like the quality of the imaging pipeline (sensor + processing after the sensor read), the quality of the lenses available, the ability to manually focus, the feel in the hands, the ability to work with strobes/flash, the quality of the raw files, build quality. Specifically for digital cameras, a useable histogram, focus peaking, tools like focus stacking, exposure bracketing. Above all, the ability to ”get out of the way” (I know this is partly practice, but also the camera’s design language and UI/UX).
As most cameras in the budget window I am looking at are pretty much as competent as each other, then my criteria is paired back to:
Easily and quickly be able to set ISO, Shutter speed, Aperture
Can do exposures of up to 2 minutes
Be able to be adapted to take Leica M Mount lenses
Have a real usable (not marketing usable) ISO of at least 3200
It doesn’t look expensive and doesn’t scream steal me
Doesn’t get facelifted or slightly upgrade to a new and improved version every year
I'll tweak (steal) a couple of kenoh's for my own style:
Can do exposures of at least 2 minutes
Have a real usable (not marketing usable) ISO of up to 6400 (maybe 12,800 in a pinch) and only for certain images (moving animals in low light with a slower lens, etc). This one is a manifestation of the "quality sensor / imaging pipeline" part from mine and as kenoh says, is a capability of most cameras from the manufacturers in and around the budget window I'd be looking at.
I'll also add one I forgot:
Remote release (app or cable) or timer delay available for the shutter.
Can do exposures of at least 2 minutes
Have a real usable (not marketing usable) ISO of up to 6400 (maybe 12,800 in a pinch) and only for certain images (moving animals in low light with a slower lens, etc). This one is a manifestation of the "quality sensor / imaging pipeline" part from mine and as kenoh says, is a capability of most cameras from the manufacturers in and around the budget window I'd be looking at.
I'll also add one I forgot:
Remote release (app or cable) or timer delay available for the shutter.
Good shout. Preferably a cable release but app release will do.
From 2008-2015 I used to shoot birds so I liked the full frame, 10fps or faster burst shots and the ability to swap out 800mm, 600mm, 500mm, 400mm, 300mm and 200mm fast white primes.
Nearing 2015 I wanted these bodies to have WiFi, 4G or Bluetooth so it would be easier to upload and share my photos and videos on the internet
Do not discount the sharing photos/videos onto the internet without need of a laptop/desktop. That essentially killed off PowerShots & other point & shoots and lengthened the replacement cycle of laptops/desktops from 2-3 years to 5-6 years.
CIPA disclosed a few weeks ago that year 2021 global shipments of digital still cameras have neared to year 1999 levels. This was the year when Japanese brands made the transition from film to digital. We've crossed over to over 7.9 billion people in 2021 and we're going back to shipments to cater to 6 billion persons.
Another curiosity I read on another CIPA report is the market profile of people buying these cameras. Other than working photographers the next largest segment of buyers are retirees and pensioners of both genders. Outside of these persons
I've regretted buying any more gear after 2010 as utility has gone to zero for me. I've been very happy with the iPhone's image quality since they started offering iPhone Pro Max models that weigh no more than 240 grams. EOS & PowerShots tend to weigh more than that and can reach 8kg.
The lovely thing about iPhones is that I get really cheap financing from my carrier on a 24 month contract that allows me to spread out payment over 24 equal monthly periods. This is unlike Canon cameras that I have to do a 1 time up front payment. So even when I spend on a $1,100 device every 2 years its easy on the cashflow unlike a Canon body, lens or accessories.
Last time I looked at PowerShots they've ended a lot of product lines that were supplanted by iPhone/Android. They now cater to niche segments like super zooms, rugged and underwater cameras.
What I want with my iPhone is a larger image sensor so hat hardware will improve image quality further. I'd love iPhone and Pixel computational photography tech applied onto full frame and medium format cameras into the future. It would make those images do things unimaginable to most photographers today.
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I moved to mirrorless from dSLR for a couple of reasons. I added the first one in because I assumed it would be smaller and easier to carry around (it's is, but not by much). I also loved the idea of having focal point across the entire rather than bunched up in the middle. And I also wanted to try focus peaking. The last two have worked out really well for me. I have two near identical bodies that I use regularly and it's great for me because it doesn't much matter which camera I pick up. Some people prefer to have a crop and full frame to get different fields of view, but I personally don't really like crop bodies for my work.
I started with a Canon 30D crop body and my first big upgrade was to the 5DII to get to full frame. I was in love with what full frame gave me. Over time the AF on that body started to fail, so I moved to Nikon 10 years ago. I started with the D700 and still have that body, then added in the D800 because I was briefly in business and needed two bodies. Then I added the Z6 for the reasons in my first paragraph, and was blown away by the better AF system and ISO performance, and quickly stopped using and ultimately sold the D800 because it just couldn't compare. Then I added the Z6II because I just really enjoy having two matched bodies.
When people ask what camera they should get as their next, I usually ask them what they want to shoot but can't with their current gear. Maybe they want to shoot in lower light, or maybe they need better AF performance. Buying new gear can be fun, and if you can afford it, then get what you want. But most people are on a budget of some sort, so it makes more sense to cover gaps or increase performance in some way.
Right now I actually have almost every need covered and there isn't any big gap for me so there isn't anything I really want. Definitely nothing I need. And the few things I've looked as as "extras" are so expensive and offer me zero in the way of anything new for capability or performance that I've stopped looking unless I win the lottery that I don't play.
I started with a Canon 30D crop body and my first big upgrade was to the 5DII to get to full frame. I was in love with what full frame gave me. Over time the AF on that body started to fail, so I moved to Nikon 10 years ago. I started with the D700 and still have that body, then added in the D800 because I was briefly in business and needed two bodies. Then I added the Z6 for the reasons in my first paragraph, and was blown away by the better AF system and ISO performance, and quickly stopped using and ultimately sold the D800 because it just couldn't compare. Then I added the Z6II because I just really enjoy having two matched bodies.
When people ask what camera they should get as their next, I usually ask them what they want to shoot but can't with their current gear. Maybe they want to shoot in lower light, or maybe they need better AF performance. Buying new gear can be fun, and if you can afford it, then get what you want. But most people are on a budget of some sort, so it makes more sense to cover gaps or increase performance in some way.
Right now I actually have almost every need covered and there isn't any big gap for me so there isn't anything I really want. Definitely nothing I need. And the few things I've looked as as "extras" are so expensive and offer me zero in the way of anything new for capability or performance that I've stopped looking unless I win the lottery that I don't play.
Perhaps its old inventory for months/years back? What was the release date?
These product lines below are gone on Canon USA & BH Photo.
These are casualties of iPhone/Android/GoPro/etc
I looked at Canon USA & BH Photo again and its now just SX & G Series body and the IVY that came out within the last few years?
These are the PowerShots arranged from newest to oldest released from Jan 2017-onwards
- Canon PowerShot Zoom
- Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III
- Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II
- Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
- Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
- Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II
- Canon PowerShot SX730 HS
- Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
For those unawares G Series are large image sensor point & shoots for image quality. SX Series are super zooms for focal length.
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I'll also add that because I've been shooting for so long, a lot of the things that @r.harris1 and @kenoh mentioned are on my list, but they were already a part of older bodies I had so I assume/know that they are included in upgraded models of the same manufacturer. But if you are starting fresh or switching brands, it is good to know what the baseline is in a different body.
I also shoot film now, so my criteria for a film body is vastly different than a digital body. I basically have no criteria for a film body other than that it works. ?
I also shoot film now, so my criteria for a film body is vastly different than a digital body. I basically have no criteria for a film body other than that it works. ?
Sx740HS. So perhaps they discontinued the very cheap models. My model has lots of features and no reason to discontinue it. But then again every time I go to a place where people take pictures 99% of the people are using phones.
What advantage does film have other than the experience of going old fashioned?
None really. Slowing down and being more deliberate, and a very different look than digital. I added in film because I wanted something that wasn't instantaneous and to prove to myself that I know how to meter and frame without the conveniences of seeing everything as I go.
True. But where do you buy film these days? They used to be available everywhere but I image you have to go online to buy today.
Looking at its specs its a great point & shoot.
But convenience and utility sometimes trumps specializations.
Smartphones does 99% of the photographic needs of most people. When they need 0.9% more then they go with your PowerShot. When that's lacking they go with MILCs.
You may have noticed that PoweShots and EOS mirrorless are significantly more expensive what they were prior to 2012. This is largely because of the tumble of sales for the last decades largely because of iPhone/Android/GoPro/etc
Only brand that did well within the last 15 years is Sony largely because almost half of all image sensors used by smartphones that matter are Sony. So the R&D money earned from those sales were applied to to their Sony crop and full frame cameras.
I remember back in 1992 and after being able to buy film and also cassette tapes at every corner drugstore.
True. On the plane entering my vacation I saw just one person taking photos of Washington mountains using a SLR or mirrorless camera. Probably very expensive camera. Not everyone can afford one and why I have a Powershot which I use on every vacation.
there are a surprising number of active developers if you don’t mind sending out and waiting a week or two. these places also mail order film.
6 years ago was the last holiday that I brought my EOS 7D Mark II it was attached to a EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens.
The photographers with me were fascinated by how "pocketable" the 7D became with the lens attached.
We joked that it was a "body cap" of a lens.
Other people in our group brought 1kg lenses like the 16-35/2.8, 24-70/2.8 & 70-200/2.8 IS. Their back were sore after the trip.
Having had almost all of Canon EF L lenses released from 2001-2015 makes me wish I just limited myself to the 3 EF L fast zoom lenses & replaced full frame bodies every decade.
If I had kids I'd have bought into an EOS R5, RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS, RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS & RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS by now.
Seeming that isnt the case then I'm happy with the iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB that gets charged $48.77/month for 24 months with free unlimited domestic text/calls & 50GB of 5G data with 5G data roll over.
No Canon can ever give me that cashflow
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Mike’s Camera here in Denver near you and me sell a lot of film, for reference. Yeah, you definitely can’t get it everywhere like you used to but you can still get it reasonably easily should you desire. There are also some really good local labs too.
I certainly respect your choices given budgetary constraints, but I don't think anyone here considers cashflow a driving factor when making purchases. A hobby by definition is nearly always a money sink. ?