ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Choosing a Digital Camera: Do You Really Need the Latest, Most Expensive Model?

Updated on April 22, 2013
Source

Some people are fiends for the latest gadgets. You know the people - the ones that buy a new cell phone every year and stand in line to make sure that they don't miss out.

This is increasingly becoming a possibility with digital cameras as well. Canon and Nikon have bumped up the release schedule for their entry level dSLRs, and both manufacturers put out a new camera about once a year. The Canon t1i, t2i, t3i, t4i, and t5i have all followed each other in rapid succession, as have the Nikon D5000, D5100, and D5200.

This begs the question - are these rapid releases actually improvements or are they just marketing ploys to undermine the used camera market and keep people buying new cameras?

Constant Improvements in Computers and Cell Phones

There are certainly times when electronics progress at a rapid pace.

In the 1990s to 2000s, computers were continuously increasing in speed and power. According to Moore's Law, the number of transistors that manufacturers can place on a circuit will continue to double every two years. Each successive improvement in circuits and chips led to vast improvements in clock speed for home computers.

In 1998, I bought a Pentium III with a clock speed of 450 mhz. Two years later, I bought a new desktop with a clock speed of 1 ghz - double the speed of my earlier one. At that time, increasing clock speeds made computers obsolete within a year or two if you wanted to be anywhere near the cutting edge and play video games.

Likewise, phones are going through a period of rapid development. Manufacturers are incorporating increasingly fast processors in smartphones, and the useful lifespan of a smartphone is only two to three years.

However, part of what drives the need for constant improvement - and the constant obsolescence of your old hardware - is new software. As new hardware is created that can process things more quickly or efficiently, new software is created to take advantage of that hardware.

Today's operating systems, like Windows 7 and Windows 8, simply won't work on a computer from a decade ago. Likewise, modern apps and modern versions of Android simply won't work on the first Android phone.

Hardware and software improvements work symbiotically to force people to upgrade to the latest hardware, and it makes sense to keep up to date with computers and cell phones.

How Digital Cameras Are Different

Here's the problem. The symbiotic relationship between software and hardware doesn't exist for cameras.

A decade ago, when digital cameras were new, there were rapid improvements in terms of resolution and ISO sensitivity. Both of these are important features of digital cameras that are controlled more or less strictly by hardware. Improving these require new image sensors and new image processors. The first digital cameras had depressingly low resolutions, and camera manufacturers invested in rapidly increasing their size the way that computer manufacturers invested in rapidly increasing the clock speed of early computers.

The problem is that after a while, there's really not a whole lot of benefit in more megapixels. Modern point and shoot cameras shoot around 12 megapixels, while entry level dSLRs shoot at 18 to 22 megapixels. Whether you're printing an image or displaying it on a screen, all those extra pixels are just going to go to waste.

Likewise, the low light capabilities of cameras have increased a lot in the last few years. However, entry level dSLRs like the Canon t4i are now capable of shooting at an impressive 12,800 ISO. While there's more to be gained from higher ISOs than higher megapixels at this point, we're still at the point that improvements are overkill and, often, unnecessary.

So Does It Make Sense to Get the Latest Camera?

Well, let's take a look at a couple examples.

Last year, Canon released the Canon t4i / 650D about a year after it had released the Canon t3i / 600D. According this comparison of the Canon t4i and Canon t3i, there are some pretty minimal improvements.

The Canon t4i introduced a new image processor, which increased the effective ISO (from 6,400 to 12,800) and the continuous mode framerate (up to 5.0 fps). The newer camera included a touch screen, and it introduced a new autofocus system that could focus while taking video. These are significant improvements, for some people, but they hardly make the Canon t3i obsolete.

Fast forward a year, and Canon released the Canon t5i / 700D in April of 2013. According to this comparison of the Canon t5i and the Canon t4i, there's hardly a difference at all.

In fact, it's a struggle to even find something to describe as an "upgrade" on the Canon t5i. It's user interface was modified slightly, it had a new finish on the body, and it had a digital zoom.

It's also a clear sign that camera manufacturers are struggling to find ways to "upgrade" their cameras. It seems much more like a marketing gimmick designed to get people to buy and upgrade cameras, the way they do phones, rather than holding on to perfectly useful dSLR cameras.

From 2005 to 2013, Canon has released eight "upgrades" to its entry leve line of dSLRs (the Canon 350D to Canon 700D). In that same time frame, it has released only three upgrades to it's professional grade dSLR - the 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III, and 1D X.

So what's the takeaway? Don't assume that you need the latest camera on the market. Don't assume that you need to sell your camera and buy a new one when one is released.

Look very carefully at the camera specs and decide whether there's actually anything that justifies buying a newer, more expensive camera. In the context of Canon's line-up, there's just about no need to buy a Canon t5i - the Canon t3i and Canon t4i are both great cameras.

Don't fall for the marketing hype. Buy the camera you need, not the one that Canon or Nikon want to sell.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)