Feature: More companies are entering the Digital SLR camera space
Motivation: Canon and Nikon dominate Digital SLRs - but new and big players are on the way

Canon and Nikon dominate digital SLRs -Single Lens Reflex camera and we can thank Kodak for that. Kodak did an IBM. Not wanting its film and film camera sales to be impacted for several years in the mid to late 90's, Kodak sponsored a Canon developed high end digital SLRs that sold in the $20,000 to 30,000 dollar range. In effect the camera was out of reach except for professionals and their organizations. Nikon, worried that Canon was gaining a leg up on how to design and build digital cameras and SLRs, started to push out at bargain prices its small handheld digital cameras that delivered high quality multi- Mega Pixel images going well beyond the 320 and 640Kpixel images dominating the early market.

True the Nikon small cameras lacked the features of an SLR - the ability to use interchangeable lenses and delivery of a WYSIWYG view finder; but the Nikon cameras had almost all of the feature that are now standard on most digital SLRs:
1)a LCD on the camera that acted as viewer not just of the pictures just taken but also allowed users to review any or all of the digital images taken stored on the cameras Flash Memory card;
2)the LCD also acted as a control area for configuring the camera:
3)crucially, the LCD allowed users to erase/delete any pictures that had been previously taken; the resulting memory space was then free to accept new picture right away;
4)one could easily expand storage available for images by buying a 32 or 64MB flash card;
5)Looking in the viewfinder one could see basic camera settings: shutter speed, aperture, etc.
Now these features were not copied verbatim from the highend Canon digital SLR but they certainly had an influence on the Nikon design. So by the early 2000's when digital cameras were starting to take off, Nikon and Canon - not Minolta, Pentax, Leica or even Olympus (which had entered the non-SLR small digital camera market) were the first and most aggressive in features and pricing while introducing their low end digital SLRs.

Canon brought pricing into the $1500 range quickly with the D30 and followed that up with several low price but high feature cameras in the $1200-1500 range. Nikon followed suit - but kept its prices in the $1500 to $10,000 range. the result is that digital SLR sales now eclipse film SLR camera sales by 4 to 1 and rising. And with telephone cameras sparking the market - why take a 3MPixel image with a coke bottle mobile phone lens ? - digital SLR sales are continuing to grow.

And as fruits for their labors, Canon has over 50% and Nikon 30% of the worldwide market for digital SLRs. But are the two leaders about to repeat the complacency mistakes made by Kodak, a name that may disappear from the US corporate scene(eerily like Polaroid)? Currently digital SLR prices are stuck around $1000 as the features slowly creep up 8 to 10 Mpixel for the new Canon Rebel Xti with auto-sensor cleaning and other new features. But the problem is that film cameras from Canon and Nikon with equivalent bodies and feature sets sell for 1/2 to 1/3 the digital prices. And service expenses - don't get me talking about the $265 fee and long wait I had to pay to get the autofocus feature on my Canon Rebel XT working or the $205 for a battery cover and new battery for the 30D or the "aren't you grateful that we do provide service direct from Nikon on ......"

Enter the Asian Dragons

Sensing a large and still growing market with some price performance opportunities, at least three Asian dragons have just announced over the course of 2006 that they will be entering the digital SLR marketplace. And these are Asian consumer electronic powerhouse dragons - Panasonic having bought the , Sony having bought out the Konica/Minolta digital SLR camera rights, and Samsung having bought the Pentax lens and camera designs and rights to produce/manufacture. Each of these vendors have lots of marketing presence, production capacity, R&D savvy, and appear to have bought some very good entry point technology to get into the digital SLR marketplace. Lets see what each plans to bring to digital SLRs.

Panasonic Lumix L1

Panasonic is a power in VCRs and a broad range of consumer electronics. Panasonic has been teaming with three powerhouses in the camera business (Epson, Leica, and Olympus) in the design and development of its first digital SLR. And what a collaboration! The design in many respects is retro as you can see from the screenshot above. Its back to the future with a shutter speed ring and aperture dial on the lens plus three exposure modes: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9. Now this is a different camera design that some people are going to love.

The sensor is 7.9MPixel, the back control screen is 2.5" TFT LCD, the4:3 mount allows for a range of Leica lenses but also better perpendicular light exposure reducing vignetting and color aberrations seen in other digital cameras. The camera has a vibration-based dust removal system on camera turn on. But perhaps its most impressive duo is the image stabilization on camera and also in the Leica D lenses.

In addition, the camera offers through its digital processor 8 modes of operation including 3 specifically for black and white images. The camera is also able, like the Sony Alpha100, to capture 3fps of images up to the capacity of the SD memory cards. pricing has yet to be announced though the Olympus 330, several of whose components are in the Lumix, provides a hint at about $1000US. Given the Leica lenses, impeccable image sensor design and image stabilization not to mention retro features - this camera will capture a lot of attention from photo pros when it becomes available.

Samsung GX-10
Samsung has a reputation for bring very good price performance to just about every market they enter. And the company relentlessly pursues its goals. Once dismissed as a "Johnny come lately in the PC video screen market, Samsung is now a major player there. In digital cameras, Samsung has managed to garner some good reviews for its NV-line of compact cameras. So when Samsung announced its entry into the digital SLR space, using Pentax technology as a starting point, digital SLR camera buffs had to take notice.

First, the Pentax line of cameras and lenses (not all of which will work with the new digital) has a huge following. Second, Samsung is an electronics chips powerhouse, so they like Sony will be able to produce a lot if not all the electronics required in their cameras at very competitive prices. Finally, Samsung does have the tendency to compete on price and warranty service as required. And the latter, 1 year standard warranty with increasingly extravagant charges by Canon and Nikon's repair services - there may be an opportunity for Samsung to do a Kia and Hyundai - win market share by providing better service.

The GX10 (see screenshot above) is Samsung's entry into the digital SLR space and appears to be primarily a rebranded Pentax K10D camera. There is much speculation on what this joint development venture with Pentax will show in terms of unique features in each camp. Speculation has some of the internal sensors and processing done differently but since the camera will not appear until November - and so far all Samsung has released is summary technical specs - this is an open question.

However, the line-up features of features are fairly impressive:
1 - in camera image stabilization system
2 - CCD sensor with anti-static coating and dust cleaning vibrations on startup
3 - all camera sealings with metal overlaps and silicone sealants
4 - 10.2MPixel CCD sensor with 1.6 multiplier
5 - 2.5 in TFT LCD for replay and camera management
6 - ability to interface gracefully with a wide selection of Pentax lenses
7 - improved performance for ISO 1600
8 - TTL metering for AutoFocus and 16 segment image metering
Many of these features such as image stabilization, professional sealing, wide range of lens support go well beyond the new Nikon D80 and Canon 400D Rebel XTi specs. And there appears to be no major gap in features with the Canon and Nikon. It remains to be seen how good the images taken will be(but consider the Pentax heritage). However, the rumored pricing at $800US for body alone is typical Samsung, very competitive. In sum, this a camera which should make a very good impression on the digital SLR market - only a few steps behind the new Sony Alpha.

Sony Alpha100
Sony is synonymous with innovation and style in a broad range of electronic markets. Sony has been in the digital camera market with several products that have lead with design and performance innovations from the Mavica to the Cybershot. But now Sony has bought out the Konica Minolta digital camera line and has used it as a launching pad for its entry into digital SLRs. With the introductions of the Sony Alpha Sony has struck at the heart of the market leading Canon and Nikon product lines.

The Alpha has features that go past even the new 10MPixel Canon 400D and Nikon D80. Instead, the Alpha100 has features matching and going beyond the Canon 30D and the Nikon D200 which sell in the $1800 to $2500US range. But Sony is charging $1000 for its camera.

Lets make a quick comparison of features. The new Nikon D80 and Canon 400D Rebel XTi both feature 10.2Mpixel sensor and images, 2.5"TFT bright LCD display and control screens, on sensor anti-static coating and for only the Canon dust removal through vibration system. Ditto for the Sony Alpha. But the Sony goes beyond with such top of the line features as image stabilization - so you can hand hold a camera at 3-4 stops slower speeds and still get a sharp image, Dynamic range optimization - so that images with areas with high contrast are better equalized, plus high speed image transmission - so that 3fps-frames per second can be sustained until memory is full. In sum this performance is so impressive we have already done a preliminary first preview of the Sony Alpha and have to consider it tops in a crop of very good new digital SLRs.

Summary

For awhile it appeared that Canon and Nikon had the digital SLR camera world to themselves. But the entrance of 3 major Asian electronics players with Panasonic, Samsung and Sony has changed that equation. The features and price wars that marked the beginning of the digital SLR cycle are back - and consumers should be able to benefit. Hopefully some of the issues we have raised about digital photography will now be addressed more seriously. We see suggestions of this. For example, Nikon in the D80 has moved from an electronic shutter system to an all mechanical one while the Panasonic Lumix L1 adopts mechanical rings for aperture and shutter control in a throwback.

But make no mistake, the image processors that are at the core of all these digital cameras provide the smarts for better picture taking - image stabilization, better auto-focusing, and dynamic range compensation are just a few features. So as digital photography continues to grow, hopefully there will be lively competition among the many players to provide features that continue to meet users needs while addressing some of the fundamental issues raised in our four strikes article.