Will there ever be a manual DSLR?

[selmerdave]

I could almost go for something like that, sort of like a K1000 but with a digital sensor. Not to be confused with a DSLR that allows manual photography, which I know exists. I'm talking about something that was designed to be used as a simple manual camera. I'm not as put off by the digital format itself as I am the million-gizmo machines that house it.

Dave

 

[Rob]

I'd be keen on a no frills manual digital camera, however, the manufacturers market to the wider audience. As bells and whistles are selling points, this situation, as I view it, will just get worse. Leica had a reasonable attempt at it with the Digilux, but they haven't done terribly well lately.

Rob

 

[Big Mike]

They make digital backs for medium format bodies. That way you could possibly have the benefit of digital with the simplicity of a manual body.

 

[selmerdave]

I guess that is sort of what I'm talking about, except for 35mm and cheaper than $15k.

Dave

 

[Alpha]

I've seen digital backs on ebay for as cheap as a few grand. I can't remember whether they were 6x7 or 645 though.

 

[Rob]

Look up the digilux2 and it's panasonic equivilent on dpreview. It's the most similar thing out there to what you've described.

Rob

 

[Rick Mark]

I would love to have the option of buying a no-frills manual DSLR - I'm just shopping now for a camera and I realize I'll have to pass on the D50 and the D70 and go right to the D200 because it's the only way (evidently) that I can use my manual lenses.

Unless someone can tell me something different...

 

[Jeff Canes]

I just checked the Nikon site both D50 & D70 have manual mode but I’m not sure how easy or not they are to use in manual

 

[Unimaxium]

It seems the new Panasonic Lumix SLR has this kind of K1000-like feel. It has a manual, labeled shutter dial on the top as well as manual aperture rings on the lenses. Plus the shutter trigger is in the middle of the shutter speed dial like on a lot of older SLRs. Looks to me like a nice blend between old and new.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022801panasonicdmcl1handson.asp

 

[Unimaxium]

I just checked the Nikon site both D50 & D70 have manual mode but I’m not sure how easy or not they are to use in manual

From what I've read, Rick is right that the D70 and D50 won't work well with manual lenses. Apparently Nikon has crippled these models so that the light meter won't function unless you use a modern autofocus lens with it. I remember that being one of the main reasons I decided on a Canon system when I was upgrading from my K1000.

Apart from the meter thing, though, I believe manual lenses will work in all other ways with those bodies.

 

[Jeff Canes]

Uni, I was not talking about manual lens, because my familiarity is only with Canon and they don’t have a full line of manual EF lenses. So they really don’t compare with Nikon in that way.

Meet how you work the camera in manual mode with AF lenses, IMO Canon models above The Rebel (not sure about the Elan) are very easy to use in manual mode.

In no way do I mean to say that Nikons are not easy to use in manual mode, I just don’t know

 

[DocFrankenstein]

There's an epson manual digital viewfinder which accepts leica glass. 1.5 crop and you even have to wind the shutter.

It has the viewfinder of bessa R3a I beleive. (100% one to one magnification)

I'd really like it if someone came up with full frame digital with manual rewind.

 

[bznsharkie]

That Panasonic above looks really sweet, I dont mean to hijack the thread, but where can I find additional info on it (when it is to be released, and price).

 

[slickhare]

as well as manual aperture rings on the lenses.

yay! that's how i like my lenses! i really don't like doing shutter speed and f/ on the body.

 

[panzershreck]

yeah seems to me like they over-complicate things for the sake of over-complicating them

i've been thinking about moving to the dark side, moving to digital for a few months now, everytime i look at them i wonder "why?", simplicity = better, it's just a tool after all, like new cars that have a bazillion gadgets nobody ever uses, while the actual ability to drive, the point of a car, is looked over