[Closed] Digital SLR info: buy now or wait for new stuffs?

Only by happy accident.

I've only seen a couple of his pictures

there's one that's burned into my retina such is it's frequency.

I don't recall seeing any of yours MrSmith..

But I didn't need to tell you that, did I?

And before you ask, no I don't have scientific proof, but I have thousands of files that prove the point conclusively to my eyes

i didn't have you down as a measurebator 🙂 and i'm unlikely to ask for scientific proof. there are only 4 relevant questions

is it easy to use?
is it reliable?
will it pay for itself?
are your clients happy with the results?

any working photographer will be familiar with the above.

Only by happy accident.

Don't be silly.

The typical exposure goes for the middle ground - this is fine for recording the scene. Are you trying to say that EVERY shot could be improved by changing the exposure from that middle ground?

i don't have any reason to post any images on a website about MTB's and stuff

Except we'd like to see them, so it'd keep us happy. Unlike the rest of your contributions on this thread at least 🙂

The typical exposure goes for the middle ground - this is fine for recording the scene.

wrong.
a meter will try to make things 18% grey(of the same luminance)
so a black dog standing in front of a blackboard will give a reading and exposure that makes them grey, a white horse in a snowstorm will also be grey if the 'correct' exposure given by the meter is followed.

the actual correct exposure would be the same (if using black and white film with a wide tonal range) if the luminace of the 2 scenes is constant.

understanding how your meter works is one of the fundamentals of photography.
this is an old book about B&W but it explains it very well and once learned you can apply it to all photography
[img] [/img]

Ok so next time I am out snapping polar bears or panthers I'll bear that in mind. However, typically we arent.. so if I step out onto a Cardiff street and snap someone in the crowd - is my camera going to get it 'wrong'?

that's for you to work out for yourself once you understand how your meter works.

Or could I not just look at the screen and/or histogram?

and having finished "chimping" you look up to take the shot again and it's gone or the light has changed.

If anyone wants to to really shoot my flawless complexion in total quality they use large format, you 35 mm dudes are talking round in circles, your cameras are toys, reading you arguing with each other about quality on a small area sensor.... What can I say.

To the OP I say buy it dude, this year I have lost two good friends, they're dead, gone, no more photo opportunities for them, buy the 700 now dude and go create and show us your pictures. I love good photography, (especially if it includes me) tomorrow the sky could fall on your head, buy the camera now quality at your level? Don't even discuss it, your photos will all go on crappy internet or computer screens so why worry?

Life is too short.

Cibachrome hah it always washed out, it was never for detail, it just had long term UV resistant dyes for display prints and lightbox use.

My understanding is that metering (and by that I'm talking about Nikon's Matrix Metering as used in all the auto modes) neither goes for the "middle ground" not does it go for 18% grey.

It actually splits the picture up into hundreds of segments then compares those segments to a database of thousands of "well exposed" images to find the closest match and use the exposure from that.

I suspect other cameras may employ similar techniques for full auto metering and exposure.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Nikon-Camera-Technology/ftlzi4lw/1/3D-Color-Matrix-Metering-II.html

and having finished "chimping" you look up to take the shot again and it's gone or the light has changed

Not quite sure what your point is other than telling me how shit I am at taking photos, what a bad time I am having and how worthless my whole effort is...?

PS I'm not so stupid to look down at my camera when shooting something dynamic.... but cheers for the assumption 🙂

i'm not saying anything of the sort, i'm saying that if you understand how your meter works (it seemed to me that you didn't) then you would take better pictures.

I'm sure that's the case since I have plenty to learn.

However your tone is awfully disparaging and has been this whole thread.

EDIT: having read back, you are not being directly disparaging to me beyond the 'chimp' comment which I assume is a generally used term, seems your earlier posts directed at Elf set the tone with which I read the rest of the comments... 🙂

i'm not saying anything of the sort, i'm saying that if you understand how your meter works (it seemed to me that you didn't) then you would take better pictures.

Why not rent a body and see what you think?

You could then test your old lenses with a modern Nikon DSLR, which would give you real world experience of the body in question. You sound pretty set on FX, but think you might be surprised with something like a D7000.

I would be surprised if the price of a D700 dropped much in comparison to the D800 when it is released, although we can keep our fingers crossed!

Be interested to hear how you get on either way.

maybe something to do with giving an informed answer which is followed by a 'yeah but' response from those who don't know what they are talking about but think it's better to have some sort of comeback instead of acknowledging they didn't have a clue and might have learned something.

Seb has a longer fuse than me as i wouldn't offer any more hard earned advice to somebody who just asks more 'yeah but' questions not to actually be better informed themselves but because they have a fear of not being as expert as they thought they were.

i'm happy to learn of others who know more than myself and share the info but not enter into a TJesque pissing contest.

Why not rent a body and see what you think?

if you buy right you can test it out then sell it again for no loss (or less than the cost of a days hire)

i wouldn't bother telling you how to suck eggs either

My comments weren't aimed at you 😕

there are only 4 relevant questions

is it easy to use?
is it reliable?
will it pay for itself?
are your clients happy with the results?

any working photographer will be familiar with the above.

But Elf isn't a working photographer, AFAIK. So those questions aren't relevant to [i]him[/i].

Let's just clear that up shall we? There are great pictures taken on auto, imo.

Graham's right. If a shot on auto is 'right', that's a happy accident that's been nudged into being by a clever algorithm that gets things right 'enough' some of the time. A good photographer with a decent grasp of how exposure works can do much better than that, nearly all of the time.

My original post might have struck the wrong tone, but the point is valid. I was suggesting that if a high-end camera like the D2X is turning out poor results, the fault lies with the photographer not the camera. Don't blame the tools. Learn to use them better.

quite right. i should have said "relevant to me"

(and a big yes to the above post)

Don't blame the tools. Learn to use them better.

Seb has a longer fuse than me

Not sure about that. I swore off this forum a while back after getting dragged into one too many pointless 'yeah but' debates. I'm a sucker for a good argument 😀

So I'm signing off. Elf, good luck with whatever decision you make. I think you should just buy one and use it. You never know, you might have fun 😉

maybe something to do with giving an informed answer which is followed by a 'yeah but' response from those who don't know what they are talking about

I don't think that's what happened - at least I didn't read it like that.

Elf's confrontational, but then we know that. And there had been a lot of people not really reading or paying attention to his OP which is annoying to be fair. After that there seemed to be a lot of slagging off of other people's photo taking which was un-called for.

I admitted that I didn't know what I was talking about by the way 🙂

i don't have any reason to post any images on a website about MTB's and stuff. it doesn't generate income and i'm not after plaudits.

Fair enough. Not exactly sure quite why you bother posting on photography threads on here though really, if that's your attitude.

Seb has a longer fuse than me as i wouldn't offer any more hard earned advice to somebody who just asks more 'yeah but' questions not to actually be better informed themselves but because they have a fear of not being as expert as they thought they were.

Your condescending and sneering attitude suggests it is in fact yourself who might fear exactly that you accuse others of...

I've bin doing photography on and off for over twenty years mate. Done bits and pieces for money, but chose not to follow a career in it because that's not what it's about for me. I just want to enjoy it. And I enjoy others enjoying my stuff.

You seem to think I am some sort of 'beginner' who hazzunt a clue. Carry on in your ignorance, I find it amusing to think that you consider any advice you might give someone, as doing them some sort of favour for which they should be grateful. How arrogant. Seb is a highly respected cycling tographer (I'm sure he does other stuff too that I'm not aware of), yet he's not once come across as arrogant or superior, as you have many times on many photography threads on here. Seems that these sort of threads are a waste of your precious time. Maybe save yourself the bother and don't worry yourself with any of them in future. Just an idea, like...

I've already stated I respect Seb and value his opinons. It's a shame I don't feel the same about you, or yours.

i'm happy to learn of others who know more than myself and share the info but not enter into a TJesque pissing contest.

Why mention TJ at all? Completely irrelevant and a snidey bit of an ad hominem attack there. If you ask me, it's all about a pissing contest with you. That's how you come across, anyway.

Elf, good luck with whatever decision you make. I think you should just buy one and use it. You never know, you might have fun

Seb, cheers mate. I appreciate your input, truly. And I think that a D700 is the way to go, sooner rather than later. So, thanks for yours and all other positive comments, as they've actually been very interesting and helpful.

all this to take pics of sunsets and london landmarks at jaunty angles.
can't you just do that with your phone?

Er, apparently I can, yes! 😀

[img] [/img]

Really, really wish I'd had a decent cam with me that day, but then it was a total surprise and I had no idea I was going to be going up there.

Ah well.

the best camera is always the one you have with you.

Fuji X100 would have captured that nicely 🙂

Fuji X100 would have captured [s]that[/s] £800 nicely

FTFY

I'm just wondering if Nikon will be releasing an FX cam for about a grand or so, soon for the Xmas market.

No.

HTH.

Fair enough. Not exactly sure quite why you bother posting on photography threads on here though really, if that's your attitude.

you can post on a photography thread you know without posting a pic, there are no rules that say you have to.

Your condescending and sneering attitude suggests it is in fact yourself who might fear exactly that you accuse others of...

im not scared of what people post on cycling forums (pics of gashed open legs from flat pedals do make me a bit queasy though)

You seem to think I am some sort of 'beginner' who hazzunt a clue. Carry on in your ignorance, I find it amusing to think that you consider any advice you might give someone, as doing them some sort of favour for which they should be grateful. How arrogant.

you are a beginner (digital). you have little knowledge of digital photography that's why you posted in the first place soliciting advice from people who have had years of experience using that kind of equipment every day.

Why mention TJ at all? Completely irrelevant and a snidey bit of an ad hominem attack there. If you ask me, it's all about a pissing contest with you. That's how you come across, anyway.

why mention him? because when supplied with answers and a general consensus from various people there is an underlying willingness to be contrary and right at the same time (the T-J response) which overrides the desire to maybe find the right answer.

as for a pissing contest i deliberately don't push my own work, the places i get to travel or the equipment i get to use. because it's not about comparing zoom length.
that's why i steer clear of camera forums, i should of learned my lesson.

you are a beginner (digital). you have little knowledge of digital photography

There you go again with your ignorant assumptions. Hey ho. You carry on thinking you know stuff what you don't, it don't matter to me. I'll just sit here laughing at you.

Interesting that you think somehow that 'digital' photography is a completely different animal to analogue photography.

why mention him? because when supplied with answers and a general consensus from various people there is an underlying willingness to be contrary and right at the same time (the T-J response) which overrides the desire to maybe find the right answer.

Nope, you mentioned him because you need to find a target to direct your own insecurities at. And as for answers to the contrary; notice how I've actually mentioned that I apprecite all the positive advice given on this thread, and have gone from undecided to a much clearer idea of what I need to do.

Look:

Seb, cheers mate. I appreciate your input, truly. And I think that a D700 is the way to go, sooner rather than later. So, thanks for yours and all other positive comments, as they've actually been very interesting and helpful.

I'm struggling to find any positive input from yourself. All I see is a load of sneering arrogance. That is often the case with you on photography threads. I'm not the only one that thinks this either.

that's why I steer clear of camera forums, I should [b]of[/b] learned my lesson.

Hopefully, you will [b]have[/b] learned a lesson from this one... 😉

 

Interesting that you think somehow that 'digital' photography is a completely different animal to analogue photography.

so you are a mindreader too?

Nope, you mentioned him because you need to find a target to direct your own insecurities at

an psychiatrist as well as photographer! is there any limit to your expertise?

maybe you can shed some light on this: i have this dream where a swarthy tandem cyclist with long flowing tresses comes to the rescue as i'm stranded in a windswept treeless scottish wilderness (i'm bald, maybe it's a subconscious insecurity there) thing is there is no saddle on the back of the bike only a seatpost, no handlebars either.
he says to me "hold on tight we man" in his rough scottish brogue.
i then wake up in a cold sweat feeling insecure

what's your expert opinion?

Is this still rumbling? Blimey 😯

It's ok Geoff; I've done with MrSmith now and he'll not bother with this thread anymore as he obviously has loads of places to go and equipment to play with, so others can now join in without fear of and snidey nastiness. 🙂

Anyone out there still actually using fillum then?

Oh, and anyone got any experience using the D700? Pros? Cons? Personal experiences?

that's for you to work out for yourself once you understand how your meter works.

That's a lovely set of photos on your website, Mr Smith, but to be honest I'm not convinced that they (the landscapes, at least) would be much different if you'd shot them on auto.

What's happend to SFB, he normally would be all over a thread like this?

😉

What's happend to SFB, he normally would be all over a thread like this?

last i heard he's re-coding photoshop for Adobe so it has a more intuitive GUI.

That's a lovely set of photos on your website, Mr Smith, but to be honest I'm not convinced that they (the landscapes, at least) would be much different if you'd shot them on auto.

some were shot on 10x8 film. there is no auto mode on a symmar manual shutter.

Nope, he's still around. 🙂

Why not bung some up on here, MrSmith? Give some of us plebs the benefit of your vast experience?

some were shot on 10x8 film. there is no auto mode on a symmar manual shutter

That would explain it 🙂 But my point holds ...

so others can now join in without fear of and snidey nastiness.

like ...

Why not bung some up on here, MrSmith? Give some of us plebs the benefit of your vast experience?

[img] [/img]

Just thought I'd join in......with the Willy waving 😆

Heh! He may be richer, but he's younger and balder than me! 😀

Not that baldness is necessarily a bad thing or anything like.

Why not bung some up on here, MrSmith? Give some of us plebs the benefit of your vast experience?

Elf take a look at http://www.garysmithphoto.com/

They are all embedded in a Flash file (yuk!) so he can't post them individually on here.

last i heard he's re-coding photoshop for Adobe so it has [b]an automatic arse recognition feature[/b].

FTFY