Game Changing DSLRs

[MarkBarbieri]

Which DSLRs do you think were major game changers. I'm talking about models that had a significant impact on the industry. Here's my list. It's done from memory, so if I got my facts (or opinions) wrong, feel free to correct me.

1) Kodak DCS-100 - I only list it because it was the first. I never saw one or met anyone that ever used one.

2) Nikon D1 - The first DSLR that people actually bought.

3) Canon Rebel - The first sub $1,000 DSLR. It was the release of the Rebel that started the explosion of hobbyist DSLR buyers.

4) Canon 1Ds - The first "full frame" DSLR.

5) Canon 5D Mark II - The Nikon D90 beat Canon to the market as the first VDSLR, but it was the Canon that shook up the video industry.

6) Nikon D3 - The first ultra-high ISO DSLR.

That's my list. Are there any others that you think were big game changers? Maybe the first DSLR with sensor based stabilization? Maybe Sony's first entry into the DSLR world heralding the first major new player in the still camera world in a long time?

 

[WDWFigment]

I wouldn't disagree with any of those, but I would possibly add the Nikon D40, Canon XT, or XTi as cameras that found their way into consumers hands in large numbers. The problem is, which do you add? Maybe you already have it sufficiently covered with the Rebel.

 

[mabas9395]

I'm kind of curious what new, key feature the next "game changing" camera will have? We've sort of hit the limit of useful mega pixels. Better dynamic range or lower noise would be great but is just the next step in improvements and I can't see the results being so much better that it "changes" the game. Being web enabled to upload automatically to flickr or facebook could change things since it would remove the step for a computer, but that wouldn't be useful for serious photographers. I'd like a built in gps for geotagging without needing a separate attachment (cool, but again not a game changer).

Any other ideas?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I don't agree that we've hit the "limit of useful mega pixels" yet, but I don't think that we'll see "game changing" improvements. Like dynamic range and ISO improvements, resolution gains will be incremental.

I'd like to see radio controlled flashes with built in flash controllers in the cameras. It's not game changing, but it would be a nice improvement. I'd like to see camera bodies molded to fit Arca style quick release clamps. Built in Bluetooth or Wifi for untethered shooting would be nice. All of those would be incremental improvements, though.

I could see Medium Format coming down in cost to make it a game changer. Pentax's digital MF camera is going cost around $10,000 here when it ships. That's a price point that will get some people that hadn't considered MF to start thinking about it. Get that price down to $5,000 or even $3,000 and you'll see some serious market shifts.

Another possible game changer would be for someone like Sigma to develop a "universal" camera body that is capable, with cheap adapters, to take lens designed for different mounts. That would change things.

Foveon looked like it would be a game changer, but it never really worked out. Maybe someday.

Those funky sensors that capture light coming through in both directions might change things significantly.

I've always dreamed of having sensors that could read in stages during a shot. Imagine if your sensor could be read in 1/10,000 of a second so that the camera sampled it many times during a single exposure. You would never have to worry about overexposure. You could do HDR in a single shot. I don't think anyone is working on anything like that, but it would be cool if they made it happen.

3D might be a game changer. After playing with a 3D TV for a while, I really doubt it. 3D will be huge in video games because it can adapt to your perspective (as your head moves the scene shifts), but I don't see it being a big thing in photography or video.

There are at least two game changers coming in video. First, we need RAW video. RED has it, but it costs too much. Give me a complete video system under $5,000 that lets me shoot RAW. Second, give me 4xHD video. At that point, I not only have awesome looking video, at 8 megapixels my frame grabs become useable at reasonably print sizes.

I suppose that a third video game changer would be something that does AF really well on a DSLR so that mortals can shoot moving subjects in shallow DOF. I still don't understand why that is so hard. Can't they use an infrared laser for range finding or something?

 

[zackiedawg]

Since "game changers" could indicate that they had an impact on the design of other manufacturers, or helped create a standard or needed feature that most or all DSLRs adapted...and also because it could indicate a new branch or direction not yet previously conceived...I'd also place these on my own list (not to break up the Canon and Nikon love...but I feel a few other manufacturers have had something to bring to the table!):

Olympus E330 - First DSLR interchangeable lens camera with live view.

Minolta 7D - First DSLR with sensor-based in-body stabilization

Sony A850 - First full frame DSLR to break the $2,000 price barrier

And for the future...no knowing if this will change the game, but i'm making a prediction it will:

Sony A560/580 - First DSLRs with automatic, self-aligning image stacking ability for noise reduction and/or dynamic range (just my prediction, but I think this is a feature that's going to be on pretty much every camera - DSLR and P&S alike - in the future). Small asterisk goes to the A500/550 cameras for doing an in-camera auto-aligning image stack for HDR only).

Of course, the micro 4:3 mirrorless cameras, APS-C mirrorless cameras, and Sony's new fixed-mirror SLTs could also be game changers, in that they are having an impact on the DSLR market - though they aren't DSLRs, so they dont' really fit in here.

I agree on the Pentax medium format - too pricey still, but it's starting to close the gap to making medium format have an impact.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I'm kind of curious what new, key feature the next "game changing" camera will have?

Any other ideas?

One with *really good* AF during video shooting. Even the T2i and 60D, which are Canon's latest with full HD, don't AF very well.

Nikon's got one coming out that could be a big deal in the video department....

 

[jfinke]

Reading the title, Canon 5DII is the first thing that popped into my head.

It has really changed the way the people use DSLRs. TV shows are now being shot with them in HD.

Heck, 4 years ago, you were lucky if your favorite show was on TV in HD. Now we have a $2500 camera with a full range of lenses capable of producing beautiful video.