sheldon minsky Loc: iron mountain michigan

Jerry, at our ages it will not make a difference.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I was being facetious...

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Leica has never been a volume brand like the others so I’m not sure I would include it in that list of 30 years ago. All my “stuff” is Pentax (carry over loyalty from my first SLR) or Fuji. It appears that Pentax’s dedication to the DSLR will at some point make them the only source for a new DSLR. I do think there will continue to be a demand for DSLRs, albeit a small one.

Stan

Abo

It's foolish to say one brand is best when there's many models and many lenses
to choose from in one brand.

Also all brands continue to make new models
and the advantages of one brand over another are ephemeral.

The ops question has the credibility of a vegetarian carnivore.

This old story may help you understand the matter:

A skilled photographer was invited to a dinner party.
When he arrived the hostess said to him;
"I've seen your photos, they are sensational, you must have a great camera."
When he was leaving he said to the hostess;
"The food was sensational you must have a great stove."

MDI Mainer

Perhaps, but if Nikon or Canon didn't try and compete to retain their high-profile customers, I'd be demanding new company leadership at the next stockholders' meeting.

tokeefe1554 Loc: somewhere out there

I've always heard that it's NOT the camera, but the person behind it.

Tim

BebuLamar

That what the people with the best cameras always say.

bnsf

What about Minolta?

delder Loc: Maryland

Last Film SLR was F4004 Nikon.
First DSLR then a used D3100 for compatibility with legacy lens kit.

BebuLamar

Sony bought Minolta camera business in 2005. Before that in 2003 Minolta merged with Konica to form Konica Minolta. I think Konica also stopped making film and camera when they sold the camera business to Sony.

dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC

When I still lived in Erie County, PA in 2013, I belonged to a large photography club. Many of the members were buying the latest and best equipment regularly.

The man who won our monthly competitions more than any other was using a 5 MP DSLR that was old and considered obsolete. Many of the members had advanced to 12 MP and 16MP cameras that were "high end" models at the time.

Art, the man I am refering to, was just a great, highly talented photographer and the equipment he used didn't define him.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Better camera, better pictures... Sometimes.
But not always.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When the awareness of a new model brushes your life, your journey to success has begun.

russraman Loc: New York City

APPLE

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

The eight you named are doing well. Try and get an OM-1 or the Olympus/OMDS 150-400 f4.5. You are on a wait list for the OM-1 and OMDS is no longer adding to their backorder list for the 150-400 until they catch up with the backorders they have. The OM-1 is the only stacked sensor for $2200. All others are double the price or more (and full frame). And Canon now has a lens that will surpass the 2000 angle of view of the 150-400 plus 2X teleconverter. But that is at triple the price, more that double the size and weight, and will not be easily handheld for shooting.

And Panasonic is still ahead of Canon in still/video with their GH6 and accessories. Watch what happens to them once they add a dual focusing system to their 4/3rds. And Leica is still the high quality brand that it always has been. And there are UHHers that will have to have their Leicas pried out of their dead hands. And Pentax is one of the best weathersealed cameras available. And Sigma, Leica, and Panasonic all share the same full-frame mount.

Canon and Nikon sell by name alone mostly. Sony sells with their innovation and by their going to mirrorless first. Fuji has the APS-C cornered by their continued APS-C innovation and not treating it like a stepchild. OMDS continues the original Olympus innovative with quality bodies and lenses. Panasonic is playing two format markets and is ahead of the "non-commercial" video.

And this all makes it great for us photographers.