Always the latest and the greatest?

[Hermann]

Lasst week I met an old guy on my local patch. He was shooting some overwintering geese, using an old Nikkor 600/5.6 with a Nikon D2H with more than 300.000 clicks on the clock. Yeah right - manual focusing and all of 4.1 megapixels. He later mailed me a couple of the shots he took on that day, and they looked pretty good on the computer screen. Not the sort of quality you need for making large prints, but they looked pretty good nevertheless.

That really made me wonder, especially after the introduction of the D5 and the D500. Sure, modern cameras have (much) higher resolution and better autofocus, much better ISO performance and so on. And the shots that old guy took would have looked much better if he had used, say, a D4 or a D7200 or whatever. But do you really need a modern camera with all the bells and whistles if you don't intend to publish large prints of you photos? Sure, I want to get a D500 myself, once the prices have come down a bit and it's clear there aren't any bugs, but like I said, that old guy and his - by modern standards - ancient camera really made me think.

Over here a lot of young birdwatchers are getting into photography at the moment, and many of them can't afford to buy the latest and the greatest. So I meet quite a few people who get themselves bridge cameras or entry level DSLRs like the D3200/3300. I think they'd be better off buying a D300 or even a D200 which can be had for well under 300 euros now. Most of them have something like 15.000 to 30.000 clicks on the clock which isn't really all that much for these cameras, I think. And some older AF lenses can also be found cheaply, such as the first version of the AF 300/f4 with a converter. They'll definitely miss out on a few shots, mainly because of the slower autofocus, but I think you can get pretty good results even with these "old" cameras.

So, what do you think - how important is owning the latest gear? And what would recommend a newbie to get? A D3200 or a D3300 or rather an "old" D300 that can be had at less than the same price?

Hermann

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Get something that works for you. Don't fuss about what other people select or do. It is not very relevant.

There is no harm in having access to quality gear but on its own that won't give anything worth while unless you understand what you are doing and have the visions to accomplish this. Too much of the photography shown these days is really boring being all form and little content. One definitively won't need expensive gear to make boring pictures. The other way around, you can get superb photographs from cheaper cameras. Thus in the end this is all up to the photographer.

I still do a lot of product shots with my old D2H, by the way. The camera works, and delivers. I have had double page spreads in magazines done with that camera. As long as I manage to charge its batteries will continue to use it. Or come to think of it, I might have an A/C adapter stashed somewhere.

The image that earned me the most money over time was done with a D70.

[Jakov Minić]

For me it was always about the joy of making photos. Not the gear that I used to achieve the results.
I am still shooting a D200 and a D300

[MILLIREHM]

One is still are able to put older equipment like the D700, D300 D200 and older glass (including MF superteles) in good use. I still have for instance the 400 mm f/3,5.
From time to time I feel the lust for buying newer gear but its not because it's needed under any circumstances. No need to confuse ones mind in a mania for keeping pace with newest models and always aquiring the newest

[Hugh_3170]

One thing that camera salesmen always fail to point out is that older cameras do not stop functioning when newer cameras are released. 

In fact my 14 year old Kodak DC4800 still works. 

Funny that.

[MILLIREHM]

as long as batteries and spare parts are still available, a Cameras lifetime should not be as short as the lifespan of a car

[BW]

So, what do you think - how important is owning the latest gear?

Hermann

That is the prominent behavioral trait of our time and one might suspect that the whole "consumerism" issue have spun out of control. I consider myself a sensible guy, but even I feel a twitch in the "upgrade center" of the brain when new equipment are announced. But the whole idea of making pictures are probably less than 5% camera and gear. The most important tools are still the brain and the connections between the brain, the eye and the index finger. The only thing one can't buy, but have to train. When I get new gear, the first thing I do is to identify what it can do and what it can't do. Then I consider what it was I wanted it to do. If there is a mismatch between the two, I try to create "workarounds" so that my intentions are met. Most of the times I find that these "workarounds" is enough. Usually I find that I really learn to use my cameras after a couple of years of intense use. My test is if I am able to configure the camera in total darkness. I feel like total moron if I have to stand in front of a subject scrolling thru menus to get the camera to behave the way I want it to.

So the main point I want highlight are, get any camera you want, but learn it`s quirks, pros and cons.

[elsa hoffmann]

whatever camera you buy - grow into it and grow out of it before you upgrade.
The best camera is the one in your hand.

[Almass]

..............and when you cannot reach for the fruit at the top of the tree, you can always claim it is bitter.

D5 on order 

[Frank Fremerey]

I guess any of us DO own a lot of things we do not really need. We did buy them because we can. Why not.

Currently I use a D3 and a D600. While the D3 is good enough for any practical purpose, I get a lot more leverage from the D600. So if light levels tend to be low or I intend to crop later or I plan for really big prints, I take the D600. The D3 is fun to use, because she has superior ergonomics so I like to have a D600 in a D3 housing. The D5 is very close, alas the initial offering price seems to be 7000 Euro. The D3 was 5000 initial offering and 4000 when I bought her. I do not think this rise is justified.

[MILLIREHM]

One important thing imho is, not to force and confuse yourself to use all features just because they are part of the package you bought

[Alex Cejka]

Brings some memories back when shooting with the D2H, I thought it was fantastic camera when I got it. Going trough different models afterwards nothing felt as good until the D3 (got it used for good price). To me it is not about megapixels, all I care about is decent AF and high ISO capabilities. However as  I prefer to shoot handheld the D3 is getting heavy so my camera of choice is the Df right now. I don't think I will be getting the new D5 even if I could afford it, the body is just too heavy and large for my purposes so I prefer smaller but as capable if possible (don't really need the fps machine gun).
I usually tell people who come to me asking which camera to buy to go to the store and get the one which feels the best in their hands.

[Hermann]

I guess any of us DO own a lot of things we do not really need. We did buy them because we can.

Quite right. And that's basically what makes our economies work - people buying things they don't need. I know I've got lots of things I don't need. And breaking that habit isn't always easy, whether it be cameras or, for instance, cars. On the other hand modern cameras are undoubtedly better than old cameras (I'm only talking about digital cameras here), but I've got a feeling many people forget that you can get very good results with older gear.

But the whole idea of making pictures are probably less than 5% camera and gear. The most important tools are still the brain and the connections between the brain, the eye and the index finger. The only thing one can't buy, but have to train. When I get new gear, the first thing I do is to identify what it can do and what it can't do. Then I consider what it was I wanted it to do. If there is a mismatch between the two, I try to create "workarounds" so that my intentions are met. Most of the times I find that these "workarounds" is enough. Usually I find that I really learn to use my cameras after a couple of years of intense use.

That's a really important point, I think. And it's the reason why the industry tries to sell us "simple" products - because we then don't need quite so much time to learn to get decent results. Simplified user interfaces, fewer buttons, program modes for everything and anything. Learning how to use a complex product takes time, a lot of time. Only after you put in that effort you'll get really good results.

Hermann

[Jakov Minić]

..............and when you cannot reach for the fruit at the top of the tree, you can always claim it is bitter.

D5 on order 

 

[Mike G]

I feel the itch of NAS coming on big time, but then rationality steps in and slaps me round the head and I realise that there is nothing about the D5 that I can't live without, especially the price!