Digital Photography from 50,000 Feet

Some amazing things have happened to the digital-photography world in the past few months. If we were looking back from a vantage point 10 years in the future, I'd say the real revolution began when Canon introduced its Digital Rebel in late 2003, a fully featured 6 megapixel interchangeable lens single lens reflex that cost less than $1,000, lens included.

At a time when glorified point-and-shoot digital cameras with fixed lenses and electronic viewfinders could cost that much, Canon's innovation caused the entire industry to regroup. First, such a low price point suddenly made digital photography more attractive to the millions of serious photographers who would settle for nothing less than an SLR, but who couldn't afford the $1,500 tariff on even the least expensive models. Second, the presence of a $1,000 SLR on the market meant that everyone else's non-SLR models became much less attractive at that price. Vendors began dropping prices, packing their new cameras with more features, and digital photography immediately became even more of a booming mainstream consumer trend than ever before. At these prices and with these capabilities, ordinary film cameras are in deep trouble.

Even without the recent unexpected dramatic growth of digital photography over the past few years, I've watched in amazement as perfectly good photographers transformed themselves, one after another, into computer nerds. It's not hard to understand their motivation: successful photographers have an unusual combination of artistic eye, dedication to a demanding craft, a huckster's knack for self promotion, more than a smattering of good business sense, and an affinity for the mechanical and electronic gadgetry that make up our cameras and darkroom equipment. Digital photography is, on one level, just another outrageously powerful kind of photo gadget. If you liked autofocus, can't live without automatic bracketing, and think databacks are cool, you'll love digital imaging.

In fact, if you're an avid photographer, your interest in digital photography probably predates practical digital photography itself, because affordable electronic models that could compete with traditional film cameras have been available for only five or six years. This is one technology in which all of us are getting in on the ground floor.

For photographers who have longed for decades for the kind of capabilities that digital photography brings to the table, this is the best of all times to be taking pictures. You're probably the happiest clam on the beach as you watch technology finally catch up to your needs.