I’m a digital camera junkie. I’ve had 6 (3 point and shoots and 3 DSLRs), and am always looking to upgrade. However, the reasons for upgrading aren’t primarily more features, but convenience. The biggest shift that’s happened with digital cameras over the past six years that I’ve been on board, has been the current products have more of the good stuff from the film cameras than the early digicams, while also embracing the digital capabilities better. In concrete terms, my current DSLR body (EOS 40D) operates extremely fast (like film did) but also gives me very high sensitivity at good image quality (which film never delivered, at least at decent cost per frame). Compared to film cameras, cheaper DSLRs still mostly have inferior viewfinders and the autofocus systems are pretty sad compared to what affordable film cameras used to have.

Every digital camera I’ve bought has been a Canon and I have a considerable arsenal of lenses for the Canon EOS system, which would make switching expensive. This obviously results in myself being more interested in what Canon is releasing, than what competing companies do. There’s new product out now from Nikon, however, that makes me wish I’d gone the Nikon route. The Nikon D90 shoots HD video at 720P resolution. This is massive news. For the uninitiated, digital video solutions with similar imaging sensors and ability to swap lenses have have previously a hell of a lot more, and now you can get that “for free” as part of an awesome DSLR.

Chase Jarvis seemed to like the product a lot:

Not all is lost, however. Canon Rumors, and some other sites, are reporting the upcoming EOS 5D mark II also shoots HD, and maybe even at the 1080P resolution. The site has been slapped with cease and desists, which adds to the credibility of the rumor. If this is true, I’m going to fork out for the camera immediately, even if I have to sell something to get it. Video is cool, and having proper control over the depth of field when shooting would be awesome.