Quote:
Originally Posted by jenchris
There's a point where the skill level outgrows the camera and you realise that you're not getting any better pics or more satisfaction from them.
That point makes you start researching where you may improve - either by education or by investment.
Sometimes both are needed.
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I'd have to agree with your summary Jennifer.
I don't think I'll ever reach the point where I can't benefit from more education (or more practice for that matter) but I'm finding it hard to put the right weighting on the investment angle. Apart from the technical gains, it's certainly motivating, and fun, to purchase new and improved gear, and sometimes that boost in renewed enthusiasm, coupled with some relatively modest technical improvements, can be enough. Going for both more education and some extra investment sounds like an attractive option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markas
For terrestrial photography, I used to upgrade Canon DSLRs regularly - I was making enough money from landscape work to justify it. Since I don't do that anymore, I have been more than happy with my old 5D MkII - and the fleet of lenses I have accumulated.
The greatest recent advances in cameras IMO is in low light applications.
If this is important to you, consider the 6D MkII. (You also get full frame).
I have seen early evening shots of game taken with this camera on safari in Africa which are staggeringly good.....
Apart for the above, I think it is better to spend money on lenses than bodies!
Mark
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Thanks Mark - that's very useful information.
Interesting to hear your thoughts on your 5D MkII. I once had the chance to talk to Richard Woldendorp, a much published photographer, who had a similar camera, and a similar opinion (our crew were in the process of putting out a bushfire that was threatening his house at the time, but like a true pro he still had time to talk about photography!
). He said that the camera was a gem and that it did more than he felt he'd ever need, and would probably never outgrow it.
http://www.richardwoldendorp.com/ric...com/Books.html
Low light is definitely important to me. I enjoy going out in the morning and trying to get shots of the birds on our block, especially in flight or interacting with each other.
I know some of the theory - the earlier hours are best for bird activity; fast shutter speeds are required to stop the wing movement; a reasonable depth of field is needed to catch enough detail across the body; and low ISO is preferable. The problem being that's there's never enough to go round!
One setting or another is always less than ideal, especially on our block where there are a lot of trees that interfere with the light.
So it's good to hear about those good early evening shots of game with the 6D Mk2, as that's exactly the sort of improvement that I think could be useful.
I'm also taking note of your thoughts about lenses. At lower focal lengths I only had cheap kit lenses, so yesterday I bought a 24-70mm f/4 EF L lens and the results were gratifyingly good (see the fly below, at about a 50% crop) but that was in strong midday light conditions, and the old 600D was only using 100 ISO, so not much of a demand in that regard.
And I've never owned a full frame camera, so that's appealing to try too. I suspect that blowing it all on a 5D might be putting too many eggs in the one basket, and paying for things I won’t ever use (like 4k video). Buying a 6D Mk2 and leaving a few hundred to seed the saving for another lens could well be a better bet.
Thanks for your post.
Cheers,
Chris