Let's hear it for the dslr!

[emraphoto]

That's the way I feel. I can't see the appeal of a camera that focuses wherever it pleases, and disagrees with me about exposure. Most of the shots I've ever taken with my Nikon DSLR have been with manual focus lenses, and many (perhaps most) have been exposed manually too, often with the screen and histogram as a 'Polaroid'.

Do I get better pics by relying on cameras with auto-everything (or indeed, auto-anything) than with manual cameras and 40+ years of experience? No. So why change?

The picture is one thing. The pleasure of taking the picture is another -- though the more I enjoy the process, the better the pics tend to be.

Cheers,

R.

they have focus points Roger. you can select them yourself.

 

[Viktor Sebastian]

You can also lock focus and reposition your framing, much like focusing on an edge with a RF and reframing.

 

[FrankS]

Tools. Choose the type best suited for the job and best-liked by you. Don't try to force others into accepting or agreeing with your choice.

The original post is a little like someone walking into a Ford dealer and shouting, "Aren't Chevys just great?"

 

[sig]

Talking about tools, cars and how to operate them.... My wifes mother had her car for 2 years before she realized she had air condition, she had been sweating for 2 whole summers. If she had read the user guide she would know that she had air condition and how to use it. Much the same can be said about how to operate auto focus.

 

[peter_n]

I like my Fuji S5 a lot. One lens, a 17-55/2.8 zoom. Totally reliable. Great pictures OOC. Incredibly quick results. What is there not to like? Yes I shoot B&W film but for family stuff the S5 is absolutely unbeatable.

 

[rover]

Hi Rover. What kind of DSLR do you have that does not have a manual mode with center average metering and manual focus mode?

It is a Pentax K10d, so yes, I can make it into anything I want it to be. That said it is big and heavy. The lens compatibility is amazing with the Pentax line, but as good as the viewfinder is, and it is very good for a DSLR, I made the mistake of buying an ME Super and an MX. There is no comparison to manually focusing with MF body vs a DSLR (and I do have a Katz-eye screen in the K10d).

It has it's uses and it is very good at those, like the parade Monday. But as Roger says, it is not that satisfying to use. My R4a is in my bag too, so as my son's band is staging I am sure that will be the camera I use mulling in the crowd. DSLR for the reach as he marches and I chase like a maniac parent with a camera.

 

[rover]

they have focus points Roger. you can select them yourself.

easier and faster to use the center point only and recompose, just like using a .....

 

[rover]

Now granted I will upgrade at some point to a camera with better AF, the Pentax K7 is said to be pretty fast, and that should be replaced shortly, another step forward? I don't regret going with Pentax because of the in body IS and lens compatibility... but lightning fast AF speed of a top tier Canon or Nikon would be nice too. Those cameras were more than 2x what I paid for the K10d though, so to me they are not much different than an M9. Just a dream.

 

[Roger Hicks]

they have focus points Roger. you can select them yourself.

Um... Yes... Sure... It's just that I find it a lot quicker and easier to focus than to piddle around telling the camera where I want it to focus on this shot... and the next shot... and the shot after. "I want to focus on the lower left in this shot... and dead central on this one... and lower right, whoops, no, sorry, upper right on this one."

I don't deny that some people find automation quicker and easier. I just can't see how or why.

Cheers,

R.

 

[shadowfox]

DSLR's are fun. And they don't have to be expensive either.

Got this one for about two-hundred bucks from a wedding photographer:

It's small (based on Nikon N80) but has integrated vertical grip. I set the focusing point to the center and recompose, just like RF cameras 🙂

Thanks to Nikon F mount, I can use manual lenses like ...

a screw-mount Telyt 200/4 with adapter, or...

the 35/1.8 Nikon DX which is a darling of a lens (cheap too).
More shots here.

 

[koniczech]

Having been alive for only two decades, I really only used DSLR's, digital p&s', and the occasional CVS disposable. Because of my recent venture into real film camera territory, my immediate impression is, or course, the speed difference.

Obviously, DSLR's can take tons of pictures in no time at all, which I love. However, whenever I hear people talking about how they love the look of film, I have to ask myself, will anyone ever say they 'love the look of digital'? What seems to have happened is people who don't want to wind every shot, load every roll, etc. spend that time later on with Photoshop. This week alone, I have unintentionally come across three photographers that market themselves as 'vintage photographers', or something along those lines. They, of course, use DSLR's and then photoshop the s out of their photos making them look like some kind of washed out photo with mold growing on the edges. Since lots of people love grungy/old things, kudos to these wedding photographers for finding this market.

I personally don't like the look of people putting their digital photos on 35mm borders or the other resultant film-looking borders. I don't try to make my film shots look like digital...

So is this why we have the forum title of 'Evil SLR'? (specifically dSLR's). I can't hate them because I use both, but I think it's clear that when you need to take lots of shots, you take a dSLR.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I think it's clear that when you need to take lots of shots, you take a dSLR.

Or an M8/8.2/9?

Also, when do you need to take lots of shots? More than you could with film? A 1000-picture wedding is 30 rolls of 35mm. How much more do you need?

I don't deny that there may be such times. I just can't think of many.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ezzie]

I want to use my rangefinder whenever I can, but have to admit there are times when the dSLR will do the job better. But then again, I'm comfortable with both.

 

[back alley]

i don't have a dslr...

 

[Sonnar Brian]

DSLR's are better for macro work and long-telephoto work than an RF. The Viso-Flex essentially makes the M8/M9 into a DSLR. You cannot make a DSLR into a split-image RF.

It has been a while since I was at a wedding, now it's the Kids of the married friends. I enjoyed using the M8 at it, was the only one there shooting "existing Light". Some of people's RED AF-Assist beams were showing up in the Photo's. I was trying to figure out why the Bride had red stripes running across her dress in some of the shots.

 

[gshybrid]

My niece's bat mitzvah party was held at an estate formerly owned by Samuel Clemens. A beautiful building. There were a million cameras there including two hired guns. I had my M8 with a 35lux and I was the only one not using a flash. I got to say my set up captured the atmosphere of the event while most of the other shots I saw just documented the action.

 

[nobbylon]

Roger,
this focus issue you have, I've got my D700 set up to focus track. I press the shutter and lock a focus point, say someones face or eye or a moving car etc and then wherever I move the camera it tracks the subject. Works flawlessly for me and for moving subjects is a far better 'on focus' rate at wide aperture than any manual focus M I've got.

 

[peter_n]

the 35/1.8 Nikon DX which is a darling of a lens (cheap too)

Yes what a brilliant little lens, just $200 new! 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger,
this focus issue you have, I've got my D700 set up to focus track. I press the shutter and lock a focus point, say someones face or eye or a moving car etc and then wherever I move the camera it tracks the subject. Works flawlessly for me and for moving subjects is a far better 'on focus' rate at wide aperture than any manual focus M I've got.

If it works for you, it works for you. For me it's just another damn' button to press.

It may be that I have an overly romantic view of anticipation and intelligence, but I find I am happier with my approach.

How much does it matter, as long as we both get pictures we like? I'm prepared to believe that some do better with automation.

Cheers,

R.

 

[fotomeow]

If it works for you, it works for you. For me it's just another damn' button to press.

It may be that I have an overly romantic view of anticipation and intelligence, but I find I am happier with my approach.

How much does it matter, as long as we both get pictures we like? I'm prepared to believe that some do better with automation.

Cheers,

R.

Agreed. And Im kind of surprised some of us havent met in the middle ground here. Since reading this thread yesterday, I've been fantasizing about using both a dSLR AND a RF to complement one another for multiple occasions.

How 'bout a dSLR with a reasonable zoom of 28-85mm with f3.5-4.5 or so, AND an M6 or M8 with a FAST f1.4 35mm/50mm Lux? I could capture images with the dSLR zoom that I could not get with a fixed lens RF, AND I could get some proper snapshots with the RF with proper DOF, available light, and mood.