High-end cameras hit amateurs' wish list

NEW YORK - A professional-quality digital camera is at the top of Nate Paulson's wish list this holiday season, and while the price tag of nearly $3,000 is still a little steep, he expects it to fall within his budget soon.

At a camera store in Manhattan this week, Paulson and other photography aficionados pondered a growing range of high-quality digital cameras that are luring even the most die-hard traditionalists away from film.

The bank employee seems to have set his heart on Canon Inc.'s 5D with 12.8 megapixels - one of many digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, which allow users to see images exactly as they will be captured.

"I'm waiting for the price to come down. I think it will," Paulson said, eyeing an advertisement for the new model.

Professional-quality digital cameras still cost far more than basic "point and shoot" devices, but prices have fallen by 50 percent or more in the last few years.

Improvements in picture quality are also helping to convince even professional photographers, who once swore by film, to convert to digital.

Digital SLR cameras, like film counterparts, enable users to manipulate light and depth of field through a mix of manual and automatic controls and interchangeable lenses, with the added advantages of digital photography.

Photographers are freed from the hassle and cost of using film, and can experiment with photos before and after shooting.

Allan Weitz, a photographer and a Web editor for camera shop B&H, said that among entry-level digital SLR cameras, Nikon Corp.'s D40 with 6.1 megapixels was a popular choice, selling with a lens kit for around $600. Higher megapixels indicate better resolution.

"Two years ago, the same kind of camera cost $1,500 to $1,600, and two years before that, $3,500," he said. "Every year to a year-and-a-half, you find more cameras for less money, and better quality."

Other popular entry-level digital SLRs under $1000 include Canon's EOS Digital Rebel XTi and Pentax Corp.'s K100D.

Moving toward the higher end, Canon offers the 30D, with 8.2 megapixels, for around $1,100. At the same price level, Nikon's 10.2 megapixel D80 is also popular with more serious amateurs.

At the professional level, Nikon's top-of-the-line 12.4 megapixel D2Xs is sold for around $4,700, while Canon's EOS-1Ds MARK II offers 16.7 megapixels for around $7,000.

Canon and Nikon accounted for around 80 percent of the digital SLR market last year, according to researcher IDC.

PRICES HALVE, SHIPMENTS DOUBLE

Market research group NPD estimates that over 30 million digital cameras will be sold in the United States this year, double that of 2003 and roughly a 20 percent increase from last year.

While some hard-core fans of film say it produces quality and depth that cannot be captured by digital, more photographers consider new high-end digital SLRs to have equal, if not better, quality compared to most 35-millimeter film cameras.

"There's so much you can do with digital, and it's more convenient," said Sally Kim, an art director at an advertising agency who recently bought the Canon 30D.

Digital camera users can view their pictures immediately and adjust lighting or setting errors that would have resulted in a wasted roll of film.

Kim said she was happy to keep using the same camera for another two to three years, but she would be interested in a full-frame digital SLR camera if prices fell further.

Full-frame digital SLRs have sensors that are the same size as their 35 millimeter lens frame, particularly useful when shooting landscapes. Most digital SLRs have smaller frames, leading to narrower fields of view.

Weitz at B&H already has a Canon 5D, one of the few digital SLRs with a full frame, and is wishing for a 10.3 megapixel Leica M8, a sleek and compact model that costs around $4,795 and can be used with the company's top-quality lens.

"It's the quintessential, most beautiful camera. They carry through the feel and process of original film photography, except you can see the photos as you take them," he said.