Kodak digital camera with a Canon lens mount
SURPRISE FROM KODAK
Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c
Yesterday, Kodak announced a 14 megapixel digital camera that takes Canon mount lenses. This will be the highest resolution digital body for Canon mount lenses. Better yet, it has a full frame (in 35 mm terms) imaging sensor. There is no field of view crop so wide angle lenses will be truly wide angle lenses, just like on 35mm film bodies.
For all of us Canon users who are waiting for an affordable body with a full frame sensor, several questions will be uppermost. What will the price be? How good willl the images be? How convenient or intuitive will the camera controls be?
There is only one currently available digital body for Canon mount lenses with a full frame sensor, the top of the line Canon 1Ds at a whopping street price of over $7,000. Imaging quality is excellent.
You can save a few grand with the recently announced Canon 1D Mark II. It is an 8 megapixel boty BUT it still has a 1.3 FOV (field of view) crop. A 100mm lens on the 1D Mark II has the same field of view as a 130mm lens on a 35mm film body. The current 6 megapixel Canon bodies with a 1.6 FOV crop will set you back between $900 (Digital Rebel) and $1,500 (10D).
If the price is right, the image quality is high, and useability is good, this camera will be a blessing for Canon shooters. Some folks will buy the Kodak, others will wait for the competition to force Canon to come up with a camera with a full frame sensor and a lower price.
In the good old days (5 or more years ago), Kodak would produce two digital camera bodies with both Nikon and Canon mounts. Back then, a 6 megapixel Kodak digital body would cost $30,000. We have come a long way in price, convenience, and quality.
This camera is supposed to be released in May. We shall see. The initial Kodak body with a Nikon mount was delayed quite a bit in its release, and ended up being a disappointing camera in several ways (especially high ISOs in low light). An upgraded version of the Nikon mount camera is much better.
I hope that this camera is a winner in price and quality and gives Canon a run for the money. Kodak has had a lot of financial woes lately. Fuji film sales has eroded much of Kodak's long vaunted film business, and Kodak has had struggles in the digital arena. I hope Kodak bounces back. We will all be better off if they do.
Keep an eye on
DP Review for a full review of the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c sometime in the future. That will tell much of the tale.
