- Fall color along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Meadows of Dan, Virginia
Canon announced a new flagship camera yesterday, and immediately thereafter began the inevitable commentary about theoretical image quality. I find it amusing that there are so many people who find it necessary to speculate about the pros and cons of a newly-announced camera based on spec charts and such things as pixel density, photosite size, processor speed, number of focus points, etc. Why is this?
I suppose it is because there are just a lot of people out there whose interest in photography is rooted deeply in the gear, and pouring over things like MTF charts gives them something to do. The tech stuff excites them. They enjoy speculating about the next Canikonujilympus and their theoretical pros and cons and imagined image quality. Fuji recently announced a new camera that was immediately met with comments denouncing it’s smaller sensor as though there was no possible way it could take a decent photograph. But no one had actually used one to take a photograph!
I’m very interested in this new Canon camera. It would be an excellent upgrade from the cameras I currently use. But it’s a lot of money, heavy as heck, and frankly I’m just not convinced it would improve my photography. The weak link is still the operator! The cameras I currently use still work and still take pretty good photographs, and I’m not anxious to part with that kind of money just to have something new. I’m sure it will be a great camera, but I don’t need to be first in line, if I even decide to get in line.
Lately I’ve been seriously considering moving to a smaller camera just so I don’t have so much stuff to carry around. I’m thinking that smaller may be the way to go, and while I am very interested in the trend toward smaller, mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, I’m content to see what develops over the coming months. Maybe something will come along that catches my eye. And maybe not. If I end up using my “obsolete” cameras for another year or two I don’t think my photography will suffer. But I’ll be out there taking actual photographs, not sitting in front of my computer analyzing camera specs!
Whatever comes along you can bet I won’t be standing in line for one until I see some actual photographs. Or I might be in the market for somebody’s used 1Ds Mark III.
I downed sized my glass about five years ago and have not regretted it. Nor do I wish to upgrade to a bigger and heavier camera body. DX will do just fine.
I sometimes get the itch to upgrade when I see the new models, but I’m still using the one and only DSLR I ever had, and I like it. Along with image quality and size, I value handling as well. The camera has to feel right for you or you’ll regret buying it in the first place. That means you have to have it in your hands to determine if you can work comfortably with it.
Nice shot, by the way.
Sometimes, I get that itch to try something new, like the new little camera that you can focus AFTER you take the photo, the Lytro: http://www.lytro.com/, for example, just because it is so new. Also, on the list of things to ‘try’ are the Sony A77. I think that I’d like to rent one just to see what all the hubbub is about with the super-duper EVF. However, since I’ve rented before and like the experience, I can try and not buy. Sure, it costs a little money, but what the heck. It satisfies my curiosity! 🙂
To your point, it is rather comical to see people pass judgment on things that they’ve not even used before, or even worse, it hasn’t even hit the market. I have enough cameras and enough different types of cameras to keep me happy for quite some time.
Like, Monte, I am still downgrading.
I think that Lytro is pretty cool and am interested to know just how it works. If someone wants to buy me one for Christmas that would be great, and I’d be happy with the 16GB model (hint!)! 🙂
I bought Kathy an E-PL2 a few months ago and am itching to try it, but so far she hasn’t let me near it although she has been happy to let me process the files! And the files look very nice I might add, to the point where I may have to buy one of my own just to try it out.
I told my guy at Hunt’s “no thanks” to getting my name on the list for the 1DX.
You might want to go ahead and rent one: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/four-thirds/cameras