Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
On Aug 10, 2005, at 1:11 PM, Toralf Lund wrote:
Yes, but I could easily live without it, especially if it reduced
the price of the camera, or I could trade it in for something else,
like a full frame sensor (well that would not be a direct swap, I
guess) or mechanical aperture coupling. (In the case of Pentaxes,
obviously.)
On many of the rare occasions that I need flash, it's all the flash I
need. Instead of carrying an external flash unit for those occasions,
I find it worth the small initial increase in price. It surely
doesn't add much.
No. The point was just that I'm sort of dreaming about a
"back-to-basics" DSLR - as I've mentioned earlier. On such a setup maybe
even the popup-flash would have to go... But I wouldn't want to save on
sensor size and quality, or the lens interface.
The custom functions on the Canon are extensive, much more so than
on the *ist D/DS/DL, but most of what they offer is quite useful
for various people.
Well, I haven't actually tried configuring a Canon camera, so I have
idea what they do, but 21 functions do seem like a lot... The
problem with having so many of course arises if you don't use most
of them; having so many extra options tends to make it a lot harder
to track down you do want to change.
I had the Canon 10D for a year and a half before I bought the DS.
While I rarely used many of the CF options, I did configure the
camera to suit my use once or twice: the options in customizing it to
taste were very welcome. You don't normally do these sorts of things
in the field very often, so you usually are sitting by your desk with
the instruction manual at hand when you want to see if there's a
better configuration.
The DS custom functions are very simple by comparison. More or less
useful is a moot point; the 10D's options cover a lot more things
than the DS', and thus the 10D/20D/etc are more flexible cameras.
My point is that increased flexibility often leads to reduced usability.
I mean that as a general note not related to digital cameras in particular.
Of course, if you don't feel the need for any of the CF options, you
don't have to look at them at all. I know several 10D users who never
once looked at any of the CF options.
Yeah, like I said, the real problem occurs if there are 2 or 3 genuinely
useful options, and 18 or 19 that you *may* want to use, but could
really make do without. It's often much better to have just the 2 or 3,
then.
Also, configurability does tend to hurt performance and/or reliability;
this is also meant as a general note...
They shouldn't be confused with exposure program presets, however,
which are mostly just a waste of space on the mode selector dial
for me. On either camera. ;-)
You mean the "picture modes". Yep, I wouldn't miss those one bit if
they were removed. Does anyone here actually ever use them? Or will
any users of a 3500 euro-camera like that new Canon?
Yes: "picture modes" = exposure program presets.
The only one of merit on the DS is the Sports preset because it is
the only way that you can obtain C-AF with the DS body. The D has a
position on the AF-MF selector switch, and the DL implements a C-AF
switch in the menu system. The DS is missing the ability to use C-AF
in all exposure modes ...
Sounds like the design is a bit flawed in that respect...
not a heartbreaker far as I'm concerned, but something I occasionally
miss.
I don't use any of the others. I'm usually using Av, P, Tv or M
exposure mode.
Yeah, me to. With film bodies, that is. Actually, I think I use Av about
90% of the time, but that's just my style, I guess...
Godfrey
