A good read for the gear obsessed...
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Sejanus.Aelianus
Veteran
A couple of thousand words to say "Modern equipment is all good, so if you get pictures that you or other people don't like, it's your own fault".
True but lacks nutritional content. 😉
True but lacks nutritional content. 😉
hepcat
Former PH, USN
This should be a required read for anyone who frequents forums and complains about gear. The truth hurts.
Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the link.
jschrader
Well-known
Sejanus.Aelianus
Veteran
You're quite right. On the other hand, surely brevity would make the knowledge more accessible? :angel:
pvdhaar
Peter
Most times, what Thom writes hits the nail right on the head, but this piece was credibility challenged.. How can you claim that for everyone else simple/consumer gear 'is good enough' if in the very next line you say you're the exception and can't do without use of a D800E? Reading this, there's only one conclusion to be made: gear matters.
hepcat
Former PH, USN
What he said was that gear only begins to matter after all of the other factors are of sufficient quality that the gear itself becomes limiting. Before that point, the other factors are much more important in image making.
jsrockit
Moderator
Sure, gear does matter... but as long as you say to yourself, what do I need to accomplish what I want to accomplish photographically?... you'll be ok.
The other side of the coin is that if you have a lot of spare cash and you like cameras, there is nothing wrong with just enjoying gear.
The other side of the coin is that if you have a lot of spare cash and you like cameras, there is nothing wrong with just enjoying gear.
burancap
Veteran
Wow. That was mind-numbing. I switched to skim mode 1/3 of the way through. Thinking about thinking about thinking about gear! Who has time to make images any more?
redisburning
Well-known
oh look another one of these.
pvdhaar
Peter
Beg to differ..
The raison d'être for pro cameras isn't just pixel count or bit depth, it's that the camera doesn't get in the way of getting the picture. That means responsiveness, high frame rates, fast AF. Pro's don't choose cheapish cameras that are unresponsive, have small buffers and are slow to focus.
My beef with this piece by Thom is that beginners are perhaps even more hindered by gear limitations than your average experienced photographer who knows workarounds for them.. Heck, beginners would even be better served by the very best cameras and shouldn't bother with beginner models.. saves them money in the long run too.
Vics
Veteran
Here's someone who says, "...it ain't no Summicron...but I like it." He just posted it the other day, but look at the response!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33710543@N04/13353097704/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33710543@N04/13353097704/
Soeren
Well-known
Hmm I have never needed high framerates and seldom needed faster AF.
Thing is most cameras on the market today will produce quality enough to satisfy.... well even wedding photogs
entrylevel lenses are way above the quality tresshold for most and a lot of people will get along fine with beginnermodels. Yes people worry about the wrong issues and bark up the wrong tree when complaining about the camera because mostly the problems are themselves and what and how they shoot. I have met a lot of people wanting to know about my pics but when I tell them when I get up in the morning to take pictures they go "no way Im gonna do that". Well thats when the light is there. Some guy get a D800 and don't bother to read the instructions but want other people to tell him how to make certain settings. People buy 85mm f/1,4 but does not know what f/1,4 is.
best regards
Sejanus.Aelianus
Veteran
I approve of such people. After a year or so, they get tired of carrying it around and sell it. Then I can buy it for a lot less than new.
What's not to like about that? 😎
hepcat
Former PH, USN
Ok, now wait just a d@mn minute. Making images? Making images? Who buys photo equipment to make images any more? I thought we were supposed to buy this stuff for bragging rights about what the charts say! What are you talking about? THAT is a mind-numbing concept! Wow. 🙄
David Hughes
David Hughes
Ssssh, don't say a word about it. Otherwise how will we pick up all those goodies for the opening bid on ebay? You should be spreading the don't bid on second hand stuff it's all rubbish story...
Regards, David
David Hughes
David Hughes
Yup, there's always someone who gets it wrong. Like those perverts who read the instruction manual instead of burning it as they should.
Regards, David
hepcat
Former PH, USN
Peter... I'm sorry, but I think your post is exactly what he's talking about. As a pro who has shot MANY weddings with Mamiya C330s and Hasselblads, and all kinds of sports with manual SLRs over the years, I can tell you that frame rates, pixel counts, and fast AF are highly over-rated. They're convenient, but I resort to manual more often than not anyway. As a matter of fact, it was my dissilutionment with the exaggerated claims of automated systems that I've returned to <mostly> manual equipment when shooting "pro" work. Lens charts, pixel counts, and buffer rates just don't amount to a hill of beans. Overly-complex menus, arrays of buttons, dials, and knobs, stacks of comparison charts and over-thinking the whole thing has become de rigeur, and when it comes down to it, have little to do with making good endearing or enduring images.
YYV_146
Well-known
Maybe the body doesn't matter as much as it used to be, but the lenses certainly can make or break a shot.
I don't mean to say that every shot requires the absolute minimum of DOF the focal length could offer, but looking at pictures made with a F1 Noctilux or 21mm Summilux, they are special in a way that even people with no photography experience can immediately comprehend. The same goes with filter kits for landscapes, lighting systems for indoor work - I can hardly imagine any decent indoor portrait that did not use a good flash or two.
Another case in point. I recently acquired a 135mm Smooth Transitional Focus. Being a lens with unbelievably smooth bokeh the still life results I got out of it were unreal. The other day a friend and long-time follower of my work told me that my recent flower shots look much better than anything I've done before. He use the term "peaceful", and I understood that it must be the STF's Bokeh at work 😀
I am a gearhead and quite proud to be one. Knowing what kind of specific tool suits your job is as important than knowing how to use the tools - and that is something a lot of people understand from experience, but dismiss others from wanting to learn by spending money on equipment.
I don't mean to say that every shot requires the absolute minimum of DOF the focal length could offer, but looking at pictures made with a F1 Noctilux or 21mm Summilux, they are special in a way that even people with no photography experience can immediately comprehend. The same goes with filter kits for landscapes, lighting systems for indoor work - I can hardly imagine any decent indoor portrait that did not use a good flash or two.
Another case in point. I recently acquired a 135mm Smooth Transitional Focus. Being a lens with unbelievably smooth bokeh the still life results I got out of it were unreal. The other day a friend and long-time follower of my work told me that my recent flower shots look much better than anything I've done before. He use the term "peaceful", and I understood that it must be the STF's Bokeh at work 😀
I am a gearhead and quite proud to be one. Knowing what kind of specific tool suits your job is as important than knowing how to use the tools - and that is something a lot of people understand from experience, but dismiss others from wanting to learn by spending money on equipment.
oftheherd
Veteran
I thought the article was going to be about GAS. Having read probably half of it, I wish it were. But for any who get value out of the article, good for them.
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