Camera of the year?

Question

With all the great DSLR's that came out this year, can you believe Popular Photography chose the Sony a100 as the Camera of the Year?

What do YOU think deserved the honors and why?

Answer 1

Interesting, but I can't find this in their website for the current issue: http://www.popphoto.com/inpopularphotography/3132/current-issue-november-2006.html
If it's true, they're smoking crack.
I did find this article by Popular Photography, in which they compare the recent batch of 10MP dSLR cameras. Here, they seem to agree with the adage that you get what you pay for. They give the Nikon D80 a better writeup than the Sony A100, which in turn is better than the Canon 400D. The Pentax K10 was still too new to draw conclusions.
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3157/nikon-d80-competitive-set.html
Here's my take on the 2006 dSLR models:
The Sony A100 is a mixed bag - a promising first effort after buying up Konica/ Minolta, but they're not there yet. As a brand, they also need to work on their lens line-up.
The Pentax K10 is what the Pentax community has been waiting for... but not too many other people. It will be interesting to read some in-depth reviews (it would be great if they could offer Canon/ Nikon stiffer competition.) The Pentax K100 and 110 are second rate economy models - if you want economy, get a Nikon D50 (and there are plans for a D40. Look out, Pentax!)
The Olympus E330 was a bit of a disappointment... apparently, the marketing department overestimated the market for a dSLR with a p.o.s. viewfinder. The E400 isn't out yet but this is another one to watch.
The Canon 30D was a non-event, but the 400D was a good upgrade for the 350D.
The Nikon D200 was announced in Nov 2005, so I'm afraid it doesn't qualify, but the D80 was a fantastic upgrade for the D70s.
The Fuji S5Pro isn't available yet, but it doesn't seem like it will generate much interest outside of professional wedding/ studio photography.
In all, I would have given the award to the Nikon D80. Together with the Canon 400D, this is the only camera that has made a real impact, and the D80 is better value for money.
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added Nov 12th, 23:27 GMT.
I see you're currently at 24.936 points and I KNOW you have 7+ Best Answer in the pipe line, so congratulations on reaching level 7. And then there's your listing on two top-10 boards. Possibly even 3 (for photography) when they update the stats. Busy, busy, busy ;-)

Answer 2

From what I hear, the Nikon D80 is a great camera and runs a close race with the D200, It has my vote and I don't even own it....but then again I've heard a lot of good about the a100 as well......but they are both pretty new so maybe that's why they have so much hype

Answer 3

Here is your winner (Thhpp!)

Pentax K10D
and the support to prove it..

http://neocamera.com/feature_compare_10mp_dslr.html
http://www.cameratown.com/news/news.cfm/hurl/id%7C3335

Eric

Answer 4

K10D Very good value for money