Who are the leaders in digital camera technology?
Who stands out above the rest?

I believe that Fuji is the leader of the pack when it comes to advanced technology. With the release of their new Fuji S3 Pro, the advances in CCD imaging is rapidly approaching that of the silver image. As a professional photographer for over 47 years I have finally accepted the fact that digital is here to stay. I have now joined many other professionals in the digital world. I find that the new technology has made me lazy. I just had my darlroom remodeled at a cost of over $17,000 and havent used it.I really LOVE digital

whats the silver image?

In terms of digital camera sales and popularity, the two leaders are Nikon and Canon. In the professional world, Canon currently has the edge. They are the only manufacturer that uses artificial Flourite crystal lens elements (they make use of several other proprietary technologies as well), consistently produce the fastest, most responsive cameras (pro models), and maintain a reasonable price point for their consumer models. The S3 Pro reminds me of the old Kodak NC2000's from 1994 in that its great sensor technology slugged into a poorly designed body with an interface that has not been thought-out thoroughly.

"Silver image" is referring to the chemical process used in traditional photographic exposures.

brphoto;

I did not mean to ruffel feathers. I was just making an statement of my opinion. As long as ther have been more than one make of camers there has been disagreements about who is best. To make a comparison; some people drive Fords while others drive Cheorlets. It is all in what you like.

Not to worry, no feathers ruffled! It is totally personal taste; I was hoping that would not start a Canon vs. Nikon vs. Everything else debate as those go nowhere! (I'm usually biased though :), as Canon is what I shoot professionally with, but I did shoot Nikon for years and years before going digital.)

-Will

I think Canon will be the brand i choose. Thanks.

Who Are The Leaders?

Canon & Nikon

If your going to be really pedantic about it, PhaseOne, Hasselblad, Kodak/Creo & even Mamiya technically outgun both Nikon and Canon in the digital technology stakes although all of these manufacturers offer products at mortgage busting prices way out of reach of anyone other than very serious professionals.

Although if we are going to restrict this to the two 'biggies' in the market, Canon & Nikon, they are pretty evenly matched with each having their own fans. It would be true to say however, that it always seams to be Canon applying the pressure with new advances rather than the other way around.

What about further down the market though? Do these two still stand out head and shoulders above the rest? As a leader I'd expect the best through all ranges, Fuji seem to have the market covered from £250 to £450 non SLR type cameras. Neither Nikon or Canon offers anywhere near what Fuji can at this price range?
If they can, or are planning to in the future, please enlighten me before it's too late:)

Cheers.................

I havent had any experience with Canon's Digital Ixus compacts so couldnt comment although I have used comparable Fuji and Nikon fine & coolpix cameras and found the Fuji to be better overall.

I would say the top three in new and creatve tech, would have to be Fuji, Olympus and the kodak/IBM. They all have been and still are designing and coming up with some great inovations in digital tech and development.

I have been reluctant to enter the digital arena until, after much reading and studying the pros and cons of each manufacturer, the field started to stabilize, at least to where each was headed and the dust seemed to settle. I'm still shooting 35mm and digitizing my slides using Nikon film scanners.
As 35mm was and probably still is the most popular format for serious amateurs and pros in nature and wildlife, I've stuck to studying what would be that format. I have further limited my research to the SLR field. I just can't quite bring myself to have a camera that uses a single lens that uses "Digital Zoom" beyond its "Optical Zoom' capabilities.
So, after all that I finally decided to enter the popular world of Digital Cameras. After all that reading, everything seemed to point to the Canon Rebel XT, as a good entry-level camera. (Price, features and reviews).
I made the purchase somewhat reluctantly as I'm still mad at Canon for changing their mounting system from their FD mount to the EOS mount. Thereby rendering all of my FD mount lenses obsolete. (Have since found several adapters that work very well).
I have to tell you that, as upset as I was with Canon, I made no mistake. It takes images that are every bit as good as those taken with my (film) cameras.
So, at least for the moment I'm sticking with Canon.

I'm not really a photographer, so my opinion doesn't count for much. However, I had used Fuji products and not been that impressed. I recently bought the Canon S2 IS as a lower entry camera and I've been very impressed. For a duffer like me, it serves my needs without the expensive outlay of the higher priced products.