The DSLR Marketplace - the main players

This is my take on the state of play in todays DSLR market. I apologise to Pentax and Oly users - these makers produce fine cameras, I just havent included them because both companies have such limited ranges at the moment.

Clearly my groupings are pretty arbitary and people can debate all day on precisely where any particular camera sits. In the main I've thought in terms of:

Band 1 - entry level - my first DSLR. (Note how many of these bodies can only be bought with a lens - designated by the + symbol)
Band 2 - my second, DSLR. I'm getting serious and value little touches like a second control wheel, more direct buttons, less menues etc. May do a little lite pro work.
Band 3 - ok, I'm not mucking around anymore. People have worked there way here and are after very serious photograohic tools. Bigger, heavier bodies, big VF's, lots of direct controls, can be relied upon for a variety of pro roles.

A couple of things leap out from this:

1. The need for something like the 7D becomes pretty obvious.

2. The D40 is hopelessly outgunned as an entry to DSLR land and will be replaced soon.

3. Despite having a lot of camera's on the market, Sony still has two huge gaps to fill

a) A 'serious' APS body to take on the D300s and 7D (expected to be filled in about 5 months), and

b) A high end pro model to take on the D3/1D pairs (may never be built).

OMG - I had the right spec, just the wrong company.

In the frenzy leading up to the Sony A850 I had a stab at its specification - assuming that it was going to be an uber APS-C body to compete with the Nikon D300s. Clearly I was totally wrong with the A850 being an A900 lite. But I clearly wasnt a million miles away from what some people think the prime APS body should be.

Compare the Canon 7D thanks (DPReview for the specs) to my idea of what the Sony A850 was going to be and judged how close I got.

Canon G11 - the megapixel race shifts into reverse

In a first, Canon has put the headlong race to ever higher megapixel counts into reverse with their latest incarnation of the serious photographers compact, the G series, the new G11 (thanks DPreview).

While there are undoubtedly many fine new features with this camera the single most interesting feature from a whole of market point of view is the fact that the new G11 is a "mere" 10Mp compared to the 14.2 Mp in the G10 it replaces. Not only that there is the constant reference to the new chip being a "high sensitivity" sensor.

What has driven this shift in direction? Well ever since the release of the amazing 12Mp FF D3 the benefits of high ISO shooting have certainly become better known and in many way ISO is the new Mp. Also, the advent of new micro 4/3s cameras like the Olympus E-P1 that offer the small size of the G series compacts with vastly better noise performance must have been a consideration.

But I also wonder if Canon was feeling the heat from other directions as well. Its interesting that in order to improve the noise performance of its G series compacts Canon has felt the need to drop resolution by about 35%. Time will tell how the IQ of this camera will stack up against some of the newest kids on the block, especially the ever popular (and now CMOS equipped) Ricoh's and even more interesting back lit Sony DSC-WX1.