Ian's latest missive on the possible misalignment of the imaging sensor
in his E-3, coupled with stuff I've been hearing/reading over the last
six months or so, leads me to an inescapable conclusion: DSLRs may be so
complex now that it's almost impossible for any camera maker to produce
a body (or lens!) that is consistent and high-quality from sample to sample.
We've got Oly's issues with their lenses (perceived "wobble" in zooms,
focusing issues), bodies (quality control, incomplete water-sealing on
the LCD, now a misaligned sensor), Canon's inability to get their AF
problems locked down in the new professional models, the Canon 40D's
problems with misaligned sensors, Nikon's front-focus issues with the
D300, Pentax's ongoing problems with some of their DA*-series zooms...
Complexity appears to have finally bitten most of the majors in the ass.
Couple this with the almost-infamous reticence on the part of the
Japanese-based companies to admit errors (losing face and all that), and
we appear to be experiencing a perfect storm in the latest generation of
DSLR gear.
I wonder if they're all gonna come through this, or if ultimately we'll
see more makers exiting the industry, like we did a few years ago? I
know the salespeople at my fave pro shop here in Calgary are
disappointed and frustrated with a lot of different camera brands --
they believe they've been left trying to sell inferior equipment to the
customers, and are now reluctant to whole-heartedly recommend *any*
brand to anybody. Just the other day when I was in there, a woman had
brought her digital Hassy in, complaining that the images were soft,
indistinct, and weirdly pixelated. Sure enough, a couple of the senior
guys do some tests, and the Hassy doesn't appear to be performing
anywhere near spec. 39 megapixels, all that money, and a customer still
can't get a guarantee of quality from one of the most legendary marques
in the camera world.
What the Hell is going on?
Garth
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