Camera Labs

You know: Bodies, curves, looks send men dreaming
So here is the poll of the month: Which of the latest and greatest DSLR-bodies do you find has the nicest looking design. Please concentrate on the outward appearance not features, sensor size, price etc.

I'll add to this poll as soon as new bodies appear (Olympus e.g.)

B.t.w.: The new Sony will never get a vote from me! In my eyes that's clearly the ugly duckling of the new breed. Cannot understand what Sony's design-department had been smoking then...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I was straying towards the Canon EOS 1Ds MKIII, but seeing as I am a Nikon man, I said D3. My second choice would have been the 1DsMKIII.

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Canon EOS 5D + 50mm f/1.8

http://flickr.com/photos/nathan_ward

I have to say the wet look finish to the E 510 is really nice also. But I love the mean business look of the D300 and I am trading my 510 in for it in January.

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Canon 40D - EFS 17-85mm IS - EF 50mm 1.8 II - EF 70-200mm f.4 L - Speedlite 580EX II - GF Lightsphere Cloud - S.I.L.K 300DX PRO Tripod - Manfrotto 679 monopod - LOWEPRO Trekkar Backback - Adobe CS3 -

I will have to agree with Nathan here. The D3 is one sexy beast .

Jay

I agree! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt their sales to come up with the a camera that looks good.

I voted 40D even thought I'm a Nikon user.

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Graham
Flickr

I'd have to say:

In terms of looking "cool" - 40D

In terms of looking "pro" - 1Ds MkIII


The 40D is big, but makes you look more cool, rather than kinda "geeky" (like when you have a computer, you get ones that look cool, then others that look pro, but the ones that look pro are often considered geeky, like rack servers )

I think the colour and size of the lens reflection in the product photos makes it look better as well, even though you know it won't look like that when you get it lol! the 40D with the blue lens reflection looks really cool.

I voted the 1Ds MkIII since it looks pro

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Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!

Usability is not features so it must be ok to cast my vote based on usability - or am I making my own rules here? As a computer scientist with speciality in usability I had to go for the simple design that I think will be the fastest to operate. Unfortunately it didn't inherit it's predecossors EV dial but it's still a real photographers tool.

Aesthetics-wise I would have gone for a Leica M8, retro Oly E-410 or a Canon 5D. But non of them where in the poll...

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Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

Hmmm Rune, you're speaking in riddles. Which body did you vote for?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

LOL - You have to guess it then.

It's predecessor had a exposure/flash compensation dial - yep, no fungy menu to change that - and dates back to 2004.

It has a fairly simple layout of buttons where you can control most of the camera with right hand only.

It doesn't have live view

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Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

40D???

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

40D was a good guess since that one is probably the one I would upgrade to today.

But design/usability vice I see the A700 a bit better for me If it had live view and/or was cheaper than 40D I would consider it.

KM Dynax 7D was it's predecessor and had a huge amount of manual control, from a usability perspective manual control is often faster to operate than screen menus.

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Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

I'd have to say I'd prefer to be seen holding a Nikon D3 rather than a D300, much like I'd rather be seen driving a Mercedes CLS rather than a BMW 320D.

And I agree that the Sony A700 is the "ugly duck" of the group.

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Nikon D90 + MB-D80 + SB-600 + AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 + AF-S 35mm f/1.8 + AF 85mm f/1.8 | My photos on Flickr.