The news generating the biggest buzz in the red-hot digital SLR sector is, without a doubt, the entry of giant electronics companies, notably Sony, Samsung and Panasonic, into what had heretofore been the exclusive domain of camera companies with a strong film heritage. Whatever else may be said about this trend, it’s a sure indication that DSLRs have entered the mainstream as mass-market products, because companies that big don’t generally focus on niche markets.

Certainly DSLR sales can only benefit from the marketing muscle and product design savvy of such leading corporations. However, with Konica Minolta handing over much of its DSLR knowledge base to Sony, Pentax partnering with Samsung, and Olympus working closely with Panasonic (which already has strong ties with Leica), many industry veterans wonder where all this is going, and whether Nikon and Canon will be the only two traditional photo manufacturers left after the great electronics onslaught. However, from the consumer’s point of view, new partnerships and new models are good news because they mean improved technology, more choices and more competition—all of which lead to better products at more attractive prices.

Going Head to Head On the Enthusiast Front
Basically, the DSLR market is divided into three large tiers—pro, enthusiast and consumer—and at PMA 2006 most of the DSLR action was in the latter two categories. As usual, Nikon and Canon are duking it out in the high-end enthusiast arena. In one corner, there’s the recently announced 10.2MP Nikon D200 with an impressive 5-frames-per-second framing rate, 2.5-inch LCD and built-in i-TTL Speedlight. In the opposite corner, Canon’s new-for-PMA 8.2MP EOS 30D—with stainless steel and magnesium body, 5-fps framing and 2.5-inch LCD—is a worthy successor to the incredibly successful EOS 20D. Not to be totally upstaged, Pentax exhibited—under glass—a yet-to-be-named 10MP enthusiast-aimed DSLR scheduled for fall 2006 release, along with a new SMC Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2AL lens (32mm equivalent on the Pentax *ist D-series cameras). Also glass encased, and shown for the first time in the U.S., was the long-rumored Pentax 645 digital SLR, an 18.6MP beauty with Kodak-developed extra-large CCD and “Pentax-original 645AF lens mount” that will maintain compatibility with Pentax 645 film camera lenses.

Price Busters and Badge Engineering
For consumers and dealers the most exhilarating news from Pentax was the February 1 announcement that it was dropping the price of the 6MP Pentax *ist DL kit, complete with 18–55mm lens, from $799.95 to $599.95(!), with the intriguing comment that “Pentax is repeating our heritage of 30 years ago when we introduced the Pentax K1000 that sold over 2.5 million units.” If this proves to be an industry bellwether, we should be seeing some spirited competition in the entry-level consumer sector.

The second piece of Pentax news concerns the first results of the partnership between Pentax and the Korean-based electronics and high-tech manufacturing giant, Samsung. The first Samsung DSLR ever, announced in mid-January, is the GX-1S, a broad-spectrum consumer model with 6.1MP, 2.5-inch LCD, 11-point AF, ISO settings to 3,200, 19 custom-programmable functions and a Pentax AF lens mount. Well, in case you haven’t already heard it elsewhere, the GX-1S is, with minor cosme-tic differences, a Pentax *ist DS2 in Samsung livery—a classic example of what the Brits call “badge engineering.”

As for Samsung’s Schneider-Kreuznach D-Xenon lens line, at least the 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 standard short zoom appears to be a dead ringer for the Pentax 18–55mm—except for the nameplate of course. Whatever the nameplates may say, the camera and lens constitute a high-quality DSLR, offering excellent performance and features at a very competitive price.

Just before the show, Samsung dropped the other shoe, announcing a second DSLR model in its 2006 lineup. It’s the entry-level Samsung GX-1L, with 2.5-inch LCD, 5-point wide-area AF, 3-mode metering, including 16-segment multi-pattern, center-weighted and spot, plus 8 scene modes—and a Pentax AF-type mount. The GX-1L will be offered as body-only or as a kit bundled with—surprise, surprise—an 18–55mm Schneider-Kreuznach D-Xenon lens. If the feature array sounds familiar, it should, because the GX-1L is virtually identical to the Pentax *ist DL, surely one of the best values in an entry-level DLSR. Obviously, Samsung decided that the fastest and most efficient way to get Samsung DSLRs on the market was to put their name (and the Schneider-Kreuznach lens name) on well-developed, high-quality Pentax products, but it will be fascinating to see what the next generation of this partnership brings, possibly with more technical and design input from Samsung’s formidable technical resources.

Panasonic, Olympus and Leica: Leading with the Lumix Brand
In terms of new product intros, the biggest DSLR news at PMA was the joint announcement by Olympus and Panasonic of the Lumix DMC-L1—the first fruit of a partnership begun in January 2005. It is based on the “open standard” 4/3 system pioneered by Olympus and incorporates a new 7.5MP live-view MOS sensor that provides continuous LCD viewing, a feature lacking on previous DSLRs. The new sensor is also claimed to combine the high image quality of a CCD with the low power consumption of a CMOS. Other DMC-L1 features include a 2.5-inch LCD, Venus Engine III processing LSI, supersonic wave filter dust-reduction system, side-swing mirror, magnesium body and analog-type controls with full manual options. The new camera, which supports SDHC memory cards, will be marketed exclusively under the Lumix brand, and lenses and accessories are planned.

Significant optical announcements were also made at the packed press conference prior to the opening of the show. The DMC-L1 debuted with a new high-end Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14–50mm f/2.8–3.5 ASPH lens with built-in Mega Optical Image Stabilization, and Panasonic will be working closely with Leica in developing new lenses for the DMC-L1 and future Lumix DSLRs.

Sigma also announced five new 4/3-system lenses in addition to their current 18–50mm f/3.5–5.6, 55–200mm f/4-5.6 and 18–125mm f/3.5–5.6. The new Sigma optics include a 30mm f/1.4 EX DC, 18–50mm EX DC, 105mm f/2.8 Macro EX DG, 150mm f/2.8 Apo Macro EX DG and a 50–500mm f/4–5.6 EX DG.

Sony and Konica Minolta: Waiting ’til Photokina?
Those anticipating quick results from the Sony-Konica Minolta connection—or at least some kind of definitive product announcement—will simply have to have patience. Nothing specific is slated to be revealed before this summer, but, we were able to glean some fascinating insights from an interview published in PEN Weekly, an excellent Japanese online magazine produced under the auspices of the Japan PhotoImaging Enterprises Association (JPEA). In analyzing the comments made by Yakuta Nakagawa, executive vice president of Sony, the man in charge of the DSLR project, it is clear that any new Sony DSLR incorporating KM technology is going to be conceptually different from the DSLRs presently out, which Nakagawa characterizes as outdated and too dependent “on the craftsmanship of experienced workers—a world that will soon cease to exist.” He also “was amazed to see that the DSLR is still fundamen-tally mechanical” and feels the design must become more electronic “or we would be no match for powerful rivals like Canon and Nikon.”

Nakagawa said, “We are not interested in the niche world of professionals,” and that Sony plans to introduce cameras aimed at a DSLR mass market. He also believes there will be a continuing market for high-caliber reflex-viewing EVF cameras, like Sony’s formidable R1.

As for the DSLRs’ lenses, don’t assume, as many analysts have, that they will be made by Konica Minolta. Oh, there will be Sony-branded DSLR lenses, and conceivably, some could even sport the illustrious name of Carl Zeiss, as the lenses on a number of Sony digital cameras already do.

Whether they bear the name of a major electronics company or a traditional camera maker, PMA confirmed that DSLRs continue to grab headlines and generate excitement among the imaging public.