Vintage Digital Cameras

[Mike Farley]

It is easy to be seduced by the latest gear, but older digital cameras can still produce good results. As if to prove that point, the top shot in Imaging Resource's monthly photo competition was taken on a Canon 10D, a camera which can be bought used on eBay for less than the cost of a meal out fo two. When launched 13 years ago, it cost £1,500 which is the equivalent of around £2,200 in today's money*. While it is true that start up times**, AF systems, high ISO performance, frame rates and megapixel counts have all made gains over the intervening years, used within their limitations older cameras can still turn in decent image quality. As if to prove the point, with two original Canon 7D's and a Nikon D300 also prevailing, only one of the top five images was shot on what might be considered a modern camera. A Nikon D800, which is already discontinued, was the sole representative of more recent gear.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/20 ... rize-money

* Which is roughly what a high end enthusiast camera such as a Canon 5D Mk III or Sony A7R II cost new nowadays. The prices might be similar, but there is no comparison when it comes to specification.

** How many remember that the earliest digital cameras did not start instantaneously, but needed a couple of seconds or so to become ready? I had the Canon 300D, which was based on the 10D, and the delay could seem like an age when wanting to take a shot.