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#1
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Going backwards, DSLR to Fixed Lens.
For quite a few years, I stayed with the Sony DSC-D770 and its pro twin,
the DKC-FP3. I refused to upgrade because the cameras were not the limit on what I wanted to do. My skill was. Most of my earlier work in film was large or medium format, so I actually knew the difference. Their excellent lenses let me get all there was to obtain out of the 1.5MP sensor, and they were perfect for web and screen-viewed photos, if not too great at more than 8X10 prints. I made numerous prints at that size that looked pretty good. Good printing software let me get pics with no pixelization or other noticeable artifacts at that size. [That's more than I can say for the average 3.3MP camera of that era.] Ergonomically, they were as good or better than my old 35mm film cameras, and I could hand-hold most outdoor shots without the blurring "wiggle" I suffered with the older little P&S cameras. Moving to a mountain area, I found the panoramas I wanted and the detailed scenery cried out for something with more pixels and noise-free ISO above 50. I wanted wall-size prints, too, like the Mountain Light stuff.. I bought a Canon D60 with 2 average-quality zoom lenses, and quickly upgraded to a better one (Tokina 12-24 f4). "Zowie!" I got some pics that were impressive enough that I also had to upgrade my printers. Back to working more on my skills problems. As I trekked around the hills and mountains, I found carrying the D60, tripod, and three lenses was a real pain. What is worse, I despised having to clean the sensor, periodically. The D60 is way better in this area than some others (i.e., the dust is quite out of focus so is much less obvious), but having to photoshop out blobs in the sky quickly became tedious. Eventually, the D60 became the camera I just hauled out only for deliberate photo trips. I got a small Canon S1 IS for an everyday hiking camera. It is only 3.2MP, but has a decent superzoom (10X) lens and image stabilization that overcame some of my problems hand-holding smaller cameras for tele shots. I found I was taking 20 shots with the S1 to one with the D60 -- maybe more. Seriously rethinking what was right for me, I waited until the prices dropped a bit, and purchased a Sony DSC-R1 to do most of the things I had been doing (or wanted to do) with the D60. Here, in the high desert, the dust-on-sensor problem went away, and I had an excellent live preview mode that is missing on most DSLRs. The downside is that you better love the lens, because that's it. You can add on adapters, but if the basic lens isn't absolutely top notch, you can just end up hating the camera. It has the noise-free higher ISO I wanted, and the sensor is big enough (enough pixels and ISO) I can actually use the smart zoom for a lot of less-critical shots, extending the 5X zoom to about 20X. [Don't try that with less than about 10MP, tho.] It is heavy, at 2 lbs, but way, way less than the D60 with extra lenses. I recently carried it on a few high-altitude hikes (up near 10,000 ft) and didn't feel burdened too badly by that weight. I replaced my Canon S1 IS with a Sony DSC-H5, to get the better lens (Zeiss) and more pixels, and it is now my standard "going hiking" camera. Now, my quandary is what to do about the D60? I'll probably sell the S1, because the H5 is just a noticeable upgrade on the same thing (12X vs 10X and 7MP vs 3MP) I have considered keeping the D60 and getting a long lens for wildlife photography. Unfortunately IS does little good at 400mm and more, and some of those lenses are incredibly expensive. Maksutov mirror lenses are cheaper, but you give up autofocus and adjustable aperture with most of those. Unfortunately, they are about the only ones light enough for backpacking in. My experience (i.e., opinion) seems to run counter to much of what I read here, so I thought it might be useful to share it, and then put on my flame-resistant underware to get your feedback. What about converting the D60 to wildlife only? It seems it might be terribly under-utilized in that role. The H5 is pretty great for this stuff, and I'm actually far more likely to have it with me when the opportunity arises. Is it dumb to ditch the DSLR and replace it with "consumer" fixed-lens cameras? It's your call. LMK what you think. JB |
#2
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Going backwards, DSLR to Fixed Lens.
"J. B. Dalton" wrote in message . 130... For quite a few years, I stayed with the Sony DSC-D770 and its pro twin, the DKC-FP3. I refused to upgrade because the cameras were not the limit on what I wanted to do. My skill was. Most of my earlier work in film was large or medium format, so I actually knew the difference. Their excellent lenses let me get all there was to obtain out of the 1.5MP sensor, and they were perfect for web and screen-viewed photos, if not too great at more than 8X10 prints. I made numerous prints at that size that looked pretty good. Good printing software let me get pics with no pixelization or other noticeable artifacts at that size. [That's more than I can say for the average 3.3MP camera of that era.] Ergonomically, they were as good or better than my old 35mm film cameras, and I could hand-hold most outdoor shots without the blurring "wiggle" I suffered with the older little P&S cameras. .... Is it dumb to ditch the DSLR and replace it with "consumer" fixed-lens cameras? It's your call. LMK what you think. JB I'm thinking of doing the same as you. Will probably dump my Nikon D50 and half dozen lenses after I finish a few macro and copying jobs I can't seem to get around to. The sensor cleaning ritual is not for me. I do like fiddling with different lenses but their cost and the sensor cleaning requirement sure takes the fun out of it. |
#3
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Going backwards, DSLR to Fixed Lens.
In article ,
"oceangoing" wrote: "J. B. Dalton" wrote in message . 130... For quite a few years, I stayed with the Sony DSC-D770 and its pro twin, the DKC-FP3. I refused to upgrade because the cameras were not the limit on what I wanted to do. My skill was. Most of my earlier work in film was large or medium format, so I actually knew the difference. Their excellent lenses let me get all there was to obtain out of the 1.5MP sensor, and they were perfect for web and screen-viewed photos, if not too great at more than 8X10 prints. I made numerous prints at that size that looked pretty good. Good printing software let me get pics with no pixelization or other noticeable artifacts at that size. [That's more than I can say for the average 3.3MP camera of that era.] Ergonomically, they were as good or better than my old 35mm film cameras, and I could hand-hold most outdoor shots without the blurring "wiggle" I suffered with the older little P&S cameras. .... Is it dumb to ditch the DSLR and replace it with "consumer" fixed-lens cameras? It's your call. LMK what you think. JB I'm thinking of doing the same as you. Will probably dump my Nikon D50 and half dozen lenses after I finish a few macro and copying jobs I can't seem to get around to. The sensor cleaning ritual is not for me. I do like fiddling with different lenses but their cost and the sensor cleaning requirement sure takes the fun out of it. This thread speaks directly to a situation I was in last weekend. Some friends and I drove out to State College, PA from the Philadelphia area for a long weekend. We decided to check out the Penn Caverns that Sunday. I have an 8MP Sony DSC-W100 P&S camera and the original Canon Digital Rebel with three different lenses and an external Canon flash. I was certain the Canon would be the best camera to use to shoot photos in the dimly lighted caverns. I was wrong. I could not get the Canon to auto-focus as we were transported on a small boat through the caverns. The area was too dark for me to see well enough to manually focus. I got out my little Sony P&S camera, put the ISO up to 1250 and let it select the aperature and shutter speed. I ended up getting considerably better photos with my little pocket sized camera than I did with my fancy dSLR rig. On the other hand, while I was out walking in the bright sun near the cavern's main entrance, I spotted several graceful butterflies. I tried shooting photos of those butterflies with my Sony and it just didn't work due to the shutter lag and the short range zoom on it. I popped my 75-300mm zoom on my Digital Rebel and I was able to get some very nice photos of the butterflies from far enough away that I didn't scare them away when I pointed the camera at them. There are also times when I enjoy taking my bike out for a long ride somewhere scenic. When I go biking, I almost always take my Sony digital camera with me. Taking my dSLR stuff with me on my bike for two hours would be an onerous task. Last month, I went riding from North Wildwood, NJ to Cape May on my bike and I got some fantastic shots of birds when I reached the area near a wildlife sanctuary. I would have never been able to get those photos if I didn't have my P&S camera hanging around my neck with a strap. My point is simple. In some situations, there is simply no substitute for the flexibility in optics and exposure one gets with a dSLR, but in other times, the complexity of a dSLR just gets in the way and impedes the effort to shoot quality photographs. |
#4
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Going backwards, DSLR to Fixed Lens.
J. B. Dalton wrote:
I have considered keeping the D60 and getting a long lens for wildlife photography. Unfortunately IS does little good at 400mm and more, and some of those lenses are incredibly expensive. Actually, IS does very well in the longer focal lengths, and becomes very important for high magnification imaging, especially wildlife action, even when using a tripod. Lack of IS on 500 and 600 mm Nikon telephotos is what led some pro wildlife photographers to switch to Canon, who does have IS on their super telephotos. Maksutov mirror lenses are cheaper, but you give up autofocus and adjustable aperture with most of those. Unfortunately, they are about the only ones light enough for backpacking in. Unfortunately, the mirror lenses tend to be made cheaply and have relatively poor performance. I good wildlife lens that is relatively light, for the canon bodies, is the 300 mm f/4 L IS. Add a 1.4x TC and you reach 420 mm (*1.6 for the D60 crop factor). My experience (i.e., opinion) seems to run counter to much of what I read here, so I thought it might be useful to share it, and then put on my flame-resistant underware to get your feedback. What about converting the D60 to wildlife only? It seems it might be terribly under-utilized in that role. The H5 is pretty great for this stuff, and I'm actually far more likely to have it with me when the opportunity arises. Is it dumb to ditch the DSLR and replace it with "consumer" fixed-lens cameras? Not at all, if the weight and bulk is that much of a concern to you. Note that the D60 is 3 generations old (10D, 20D 30D, and about to be a 4th as Canon will probably announce a new camera in a month or so). I had a D60, and still have a 10D, 20D (at work), and a 1D Mark II. Dust has never been a problem. I just blow it off; no harder than keeping a lens clean. The occasional dust speck is a small problem compared to the dust and defects needing fixing in scanned film. Concerning weight and bulk, I carry everything I can. When my wife asks why I carry all that stuff for a simple day hike (30 to 60 pounds depending on large format or digital or both), I respond "because I can, and be happy that I can." It is a form of exercise. ;-) One other thing. If you really liked large format and still want all that resolution (now in megapixels), try digital mosaics and get a program like ptgui (ptgui.com) to put them together. With your 3-megapixel P&S you can rival 4x5 film (but it will take a couple of hundred images to do it). [How many J. B. Dalton's are there? I know one other (unless your are him).] Roger Photos at: http://www.clarkvision.com |
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