Early test results seem to indicate that the new D700 from Nikon is indeed an incredible camera. Image quality, ISO performance, speed and handling are all top drawer. It's also very strong, with a magnesium allow body. What you pay, for all this quality, is more than mere money. In addition to being expensive (estimated at approximately $3,0000.00 retail), it's also fairly large and heavy. Nevertheless, most reviewers seem to think it will be a worthy competitor to Canon's EOS 5D. In short, the D700 is probably one of the best digital SLR's available today.
The micro four thirds system, on the other hand, is not a single product, but a new standard. And, as yet, there are no products to demonstrate its practicality.
Micro four thirds builds on the existing four thirds system. It uses the same sensor size but changes the standards that define how light is routed to the sensor and how the operator views the scene. To begin with, the micro four thirds system will dispense with the reflex mirror, pentaprism and bulky housing associated with that approach. Instead, this system borrows from more basic camera designs through the use of electronic viewfinders. This means that the main sensor will not only record the scene, but will also provide a "live view" to the finder and/or LCD.
Micro Four Thirds, will reduce the mechanical complexity of the camera, its size and its weight. Lenses can be smaller, camera bodies can be smaller, and image quality should remain essentially unchanged.
At this point, I can hear camera enthusiasts far and wide shaking their heads. Given past experience, and the products currently on the market, I doubt that many of us would select an electronic viewfinder over an optical one. The new Nikon, according to early reports, has a beautiful optical view, and I can't immediately think of any professional, or semi-professional camera with an electronic finder. Having said that, we are basing our judgement on the past. Digital cameras, as part of the digital age, should benefit from the rapid improvements that go hand in hand with modern electronics. There is no doubt that electronic viewfinders will continue to improve as quickly as LCD technology does, Pentaprisms and mirrors, on the other hand, have probably improved little in the past twenty years, and are unlikely to change markedly over the next twenty.
Another area where there has been much contention is in sensor size. The four thirds sensor, while much bigger than the sensors used in point and shoots, is the smallest of all the "pro" and "semi-pro" designs. Old time photographers will remember that larger film formats always offered the potential for better quality results. The D700 from Nikon, with it's full frame sensor, will certainly appeal to this mind set. Having said that, "larger is better" is not necessarily true when it comes to sensors. While full frame sensors do offer lower noise and better response when pushed to higher ISOs, miniaturization is one of the elements that has driven progress in the digital age. It may be that improved technologies will eventually negate some of the perceived advantages the larger sensors possess. Smaller sensors already offer other advantages purely their own, such as smaller cameras, lighter lenses, increased depth of field and a larger teleconversion factor.
So far so good. What about the role of the camera? For me, a camera is a tool. More than that, the camera is a portable tool built to a high technical standard offering reliable service. The key ideas here, then, are these: 1) tool; 2) portable, and; 3) quality. It doesn't really matter what order these are in. The important thing is that the design of any camera take these essential attributes into consideration.
Ask yourself how you shoot. Unless you're working primarily out of a studio where your camera lives on a tripod, and spares are close to hand, you will probably also highlight portability and reliability/durability as attributes high on your list. It seems to me that a standard designed to shrink size and weight, while reducing the mechanical complexity of the unit, will naturally fulfill these requisites.
As with all designs, the Micro Four Thirds standard will result in some compromise. Manual focus by wire is one, and it's something that I'm not fond of. But given that electrical connections relieve designers of the need to couple the focusing ring to a specific part of the lens, they can optimize glass arrangement and control layout, keeping the design small and efficient.
Whereas the D700 may represent the best of conventional thinking in the digital age, the Micro Four Thirds System gives us a chance to look ahead towards new and better possibilities. Whether Micro Four Thirds prospers or not, chances are it is pointing us in the direction digital photography is going anyway. I for one look forward to high end gear that is as convenient to pack and use as some of the best point and shoots already are.
A good tool facilitates the craft. It acts like an extension of the user's body. You can forget that it is a tool because it fits; it works; it does what you want without constantly reminding you of its presence. This is where Micro Four Thirds should take us.
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For a little fun, here's a list of attributes, or features, that I like in a camera:
- capable of producing high quality images
- a joy to use - natural and intuitive
- small and light enough to be convenient - unobtrusive
- responsive on start up and in use
- reliable
- robust - durable dust and water resistant body and lenses
- quick accurate auto focus in most common lighting conditions
- easy option for direct and mechanical manual focus
- ample buffer for multiple RAW or SHQ exposures
- large bright viewfinder to enable accurate manual focus
- large controls that can be manipulated easily
- excellent battery life
- articulating LCD screen
- effective anti dust system
- continued system development into the foreseeable future
- option for manual control of all major camera functions
- provision to operate camera by remote from in front or behind
- auto bracketing of up to 18 exposures over +/- 3 ev stops
- good value for the money - competitively priced
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