INTERESTING NEWS??????????

While cruzing the web ran accross this poll and wondered what you folks would think of it?????

Saw this poll on the popular photography and Imaging site thought I would post it here

What's D80?

I don't care. Just because there's a bunch of people who think camera X is better, doesn't mean it's so.

Oh, people tend to gravitate to the latest and greatest when a new release is announced. In the long run, though, Canon wins out in overall sales.

The D80 is just a newer D50. It's meant to beat out the XT. The 30D will still beat the D80 if we are talking camer abilities. But then, most people are not well educated.

Well, for startes, it would make sense to group the 1499 based on amateurs, semi-pros and pros. Alpha, the D80 - all these are clearly aimed at the DSLR entrants or still the lower end of the DSLR spectrum.

There, the cost of shifting is likely lower and consumers also like the 'latest and greatest'. The more evolved (or settled) photogs cant shift just like that.

I think of it this way. You can get nice shots with any DSLR, as long as you know how and with what to use it.

A poll with just 1500 answers is too small (almost insignificant considering the size of the market). On the other hand, for this kind of poll, a 3% is well within what is called statistical error and, thus, not meaningful.

its too bad the panasonic is so low.

That looks about right though. Sony's advertising is always going to draw a crowd, and the d80 will be a decent place holder in the nikon lineup for a while

I know what you're getting at because I took a college course in opinion poll methodology.

In regards to this "poll" however, we don't know the size of the market. I suppose the site could figure out how many people viewed the page in the time the poll was up. My guess is that 1500 respondents is beyond what you would sample from the number of visitors to that site, and that the error rate is probably below 3%.

The problem with the poll is that it's just one question, with click-buttons for each choice. There is no "Vote" or "Send" button. Once you click a choice, your vote is sent. This doesn't give people a chance to rethink their answer.

Online/web polls are bullcrap "science" anyway, so who cares.

grego wrote:
The D80 is just a newer D50. It's meant to beat out the XT. The 30D will still beat the D80 if we are talking camer abilities. But then, most people are not well educated.

So, it'll beat it, so what?

You make it pretty clear what the D80 is aiming at. What's the sense in comparing it to something it's not meant to compete with?

Will the top of the line Nikon beat out the 350D?

Statistically, the problem is not the sample size (you don't need very big samples for research like this, the error with a thousand respondents is about the same as the error with a million).

The problem with this sample is self-selection, i.e. a non-random sample. From such samples, unless you know something about its characteristics, you cannot draw meaningful conclusions.

P.

You are right. I should have said that the sample is not significant for a self-selected sample the way this kind of polls work. If many people answered it, you could make an argument on its validity. With only 1500, it may mean a biased self-selection. Hence, no meaningful conclusions.

I recall a Canon's board member who mentioned a 60,000,000 per year market. And that was in 2003-2004 if I remember correctly. If interested, I can search it for you.

The camera only captures the image. The photographer has to see it.
Looking at something is not the same as seeing it.

That is correct. Maybe the cameras should be polled as to whether they are willing to switch the photographer.

First of all, it's true that the sample is self-selected -- simply because it is on the web and participation is voluntary. A true unbiased poll has to reach the respondent in both a random and unbiased manner. As I believe I implied, no web poll is science.

Second, the "market" is not the same thing as the group that the sample represents. Strictly speaking, the poll sample only represents the visitors to the site -- NOT all worldwide camera users/buyers or prospective camera users/buyers. That's why I said the sample size was probably more than adequate.