Did that get your attention?
With Nikon now sporting a full frame camera (D3). Do you think Canon is going to sit on it’s butt and do nothing? No way! IT’S ON!!!!! This is a good thing for photographers. Competition between the two will bring better and better cameras to the market. And cheaper and cheaper full frame cameras. That’s right! Affordable full cameras are on their way. Yippie!
The 1.5X and 1.6X crop factor cameras will still be around, but they will be the low end, entry level cameras. And the associated lenses will be considered to be the same. Low end, entry level. That expensive “made for digital” lens you just bought will still take great photos in a few years, but it’ll be worth next to nothing. What low end, entry level photographer will want to pay a lot of money for a lens that they can’t take with them when they decide to upgrade to a full frame digital camera? Not many.
So what should you do? Sell all your “made for digital” lenses now! Start buying lenses that can be used on full frame cameras. You know that once the full frame cameras are in your price range you’re going to get one. So, why buy lenses that you can’t use in the future.
What are your thoughts on digital lenses and the future of digital SLR’s?
4 comments ↓
Yeah I covered this 2 weeks ago, basically you are right – sell now and sell quick. For Nikon people DX and likely G lenses are going to be snuffed as pros demand more functionality and full frame comes to their line-up.
http://www.hyperphotocube.com/2008/05/11/film-vs-digital.html#more-49
I don’t think they will discontinue them. There will always be people entering the DSLR market and the 1.5X or 1.6X crop factor camera will be the perfect entry point. I just don’t think those people will buy the expensive “made for digital” lenses. They will buy cheap lenses to get them started and then will invest in better “full frame” lenses that they can take with them when they upgrade.
The issue is that as digital moves to Full Frame you will get more megapixels – so old film lenses and new full frame digital lenses will get ‘more’ picture than the 1.5 or 1.6 cropped lenses.
And considering the old stand-by “put money into glass as it keeps its value” isn’t going to hold true. For amateurs and semi-pro, not a big deal. But for Professional photographers and their business, depreciation and resale value on a couple of tens of thousands of dollars of camera equipment is a big deal.
a good quality full frame lens will, in my opinion, keep its value better than a good quality 1.5X-1.6X crop factor lens.
Any business man knows, things depreciate and technology keeps improving. The trick is to have a good accountant and to plan for the future.
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