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Hi....New forum member so apologies if this has already been discussed.I'm a former film SLR user and looking to buy a digital SLR (finally).....after spending some time researching choices I've noticed that at the moment it can be a bit of a compromise buying a digital SLR since the digital revolution is still advancing. Specifically if I want a camera with 'live view' on the LCD to compose and a full frame sensor how long will I have to wait before these are readily available at the enthusiast/beginner end of the market. At the moment seems like these are just becoming available on the pro models (except the live view on Olympus EA410 etc).A year, 2years?

Hi Idleoween,
Welcome to the forum.
If you're asking us to speculate on a time frame, in my opinion it may be a couple of years down the track, but if you're asking the question because you intend to wait, then that's a mistake.
Would you have asked "I wonder when colour film will be available" in the old B&W days before you bought a camera?
Buying a camera is not like getting a tattoo, as new technology comes out you upgrade.

The d300 will have this technology and if Nikon's past history is anything to go by then there will be a consumer version of this camera within 12 - 18 months.
eg
d100 - d70
d200 - d80
d300 - XXX

The D300 'should' be available after November, so that's not long to wait. If you are an advanced user, then this will be a good camera to start your journey to the digital side of things. You'll quickly appreciate all the good things about digital, and because it's generation 4 (?) technology, you will not have to suffer the problems of earlier digital designs.

Oh, and there's always the D3 to consider, if you have the cash, available at around the same time.

But don't worry about it, just enjoy the experience.

olrac wrote:The d300 will have this technology...

Not quite - the OP is chasing a full frame option.

idleowen wrote:Specifically if I want a camera with 'live view' on the LCD to compose and a full frame sensor how long will I have to wait before these are readily available at the enthusiast/beginner end of the market.

Some might argue that it's already here: the D300, due to hit the streets before Christmas, will have live view; the 5D has been in the market for several years and is full frame. Both of these cameras are aimed directly at the enthusiast end of the market.

For the beginner, not for a while yet with full frame, because it's quite expensive technology to manufacture.

As to live view, why does this interest you? Coming from a film background this would be something that you do not have, and in many instances, I see it as being not yet ready for prime time. I can see it being useful in a professional sense, in, for instance, a journalist scrum where one is trying to grab a shot without having the camera to the eye. Apart from that, I see little real use for this unless and until the response is significantly improved.

What sort of film camera(s) do you have, and what glass do they wear? What sort of photography do you do?

I'd respectfully suggest that there are some features more important than live view that need to be brought into contention before considering what the marketing and sales types might tell us is important.

And Phillip's advice is spot on.

Oh yes, welcome to our forums.

1Ds MK III is what you need. Be prepared to pay

Whoops missed the full frame bit....

idleowen wrote:Specifically if I want a camera with 'live view' on the LCD to compose and a full frame sensor how long will I have to wait before these are readily available at the enthusiast/beginner end of the market.

Given the slow fall in full frame prices, I'd say five to ten years might see a full frame sensor at today's $1000 mark, barring obvious eventualities like carbon taxes having dramatic effects. There's also a strong argument that "full frame beginner camera" is a bit oxymoronic, the added cost of the bigger sensor means that beginners are wasting their money paying a premium for that feature. Sensor size is not going to hold you back until you're well past the beginner level, and if you are willing to use second hand gear the cost of starting with small sensors is negligible.

Remember that frame size is an artifact of the technology. back in the good old days 35mm was unthinkable, because a hand-painted glass negative that small would be so hard to deal with and produce such limited images. As technology improved we saw portable cameras, then the Box Brownie with its even smaller film size before finally 35mm became acceptable in the mass market and a few years later professional grade film became fairly widely available. Since then we've seen a few ventures into smaller films but they've been limited largely by the mass market advantage of 35mm film.

With digital we've seen the same process with the added burden that larger sensor areas cost exponentially more to produce, and that is not changing. So most DSLRs have sensors the size of APS-C film (there's that word again), some have gone to half frame (the 4/3 cameras) and others have gone the other way into bigger than 35mm - the "almost medium format" and recently actual medium format cameras. You can also go the whole hog and get large format cameras that use scanning backs.

Thanks for the replies,all food for thought.I guess I was looking to find some support in the 'buy now upgrade later' theory which I did so thanks again. Must admit my preference ,even with a comapct digital camera was to use the viewfinder,so 'live view' was only a nice to have,if available. As for full frame I think with me it will be a case of what you see is what you get and I could quickly become used to whatever field of view is present.
Great forum !