Expensive (Canon?!) SLRs versus old lumix bridge?!

[JennyS]

There's a very good article here by Ken Rockwell on why the camera is not important.

Your Camera Doesn't Matter

Yes!!!!
That is a really good article, and theres also lots of useful info in his 'How To' technical section

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by PMG

an artisan can work wonders whatever they are using - if they love what they are doing Like the ?new avatar - I'd shout, swear and threaten if someone had robbed me of an ear too!!!!!!!!

Pauline

It's a Tom cat Pauline and it's not the ear he's missing that's causing that look, it's something a bit more precious - jewels and family spring to mind

[RichBrew]

Originally Posted by gfilmsuk

There's a very good article here by Ken Rockwell on why the camera is not important.

Your Camera Doesn't Matter

To balance the view, have you read this?

Luminous landscape

[PMG]

Originally Posted by ron1863

It's a Tom cat Pauline and it's not the ear he's missing that's causing that look, it's something a bit more precious - jewels and family spring to mind

So he's just come round from the anaesthetic and found out whats missing - spittin' mad aint he

Pauline

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by RichBrew

To balance the view, have you read this?

Luminous landscape

Good link Richard. I'm a right one, I agree with them both!

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Good link Richard. I'm a right one, I agree with them both!

Then we're a right pair Graham, cause I do too!

But when you get right down to the heart of the matter, they're not really disagreeing with one another. Ken Rockwell has this paragraph...

"Sure, if you're a pro driver you're good enough to elicit every ounce of performance from a car and will be limited by its performance, [my italics] but if you're like most people the car, camera, running shoes or whatever have little to nothing to do with your performance since you are always the defining factor, not the tools."

While Sean Reid says this...

"Now, to be sure, owning a fine piano will not make one into Mitsuko Uchida. Owning the best paints, brushes and canvasses will not make one into Jan Vermeer. Buying the latest and fastest sport motorcycle will not make one into Miguel Duhamel. Owning a fine pen, typewriter or keyboard will not make one into Marcel Proust. Buying a rare and coveted guitar will not make one into Eric Clapton. And, of course, buying a Leica M will not make one into Robert Frank any more than buying a good view camera will turn one into Paul Strand."

In effect both are saying that the skill and vision of the photographer is crucial but that higher quality tools, in the hands of someone who knows how to use them, will produce better results than poor quality tools in the same hands.

I think we can all agree that Lewis Hamilton won't win any grand prixs driving a 1967 Ford Anglia - he'll hit the limitations of the car long before he reaches his own limitations. But he'd drive that car a darn sight better than most of us could!

And the same is true with photography. The very best photographers (pro or am) will get every last ounce of performance out of whatever camera they have in their hands and will produce images that the rest of us can only marvel at. But that doesn't alter the fact that some cameras have higher capabilities than others or that some lenses produce higher quality images than others.

Just by way of example, when I bought my first DSLR I wanted to photograph birds with it. But I was pretty skint so I bought a really cheap (less than £100) Nikon 70-300 G lens. I used this lens a lot and I got a few okay-ish shots with it. Then I scraped up some cash and invested in a Nikon 80-400 VR lens for just over £1000 and the quality of my results changed out of all recognition. Same photographer, same camera but the difference in the results was incredible. This was not because I didn't "learn to get the best out of" the 70-300, it's because that lens's best is simply nowhere near what the 80-400 can deliver. It's true that Andy Rouse, Chris Gomersall or Laurie Campbell can get better images than me with either lens because they're better photographers than me. But that doesn't alter the fact that I can get better images with the 80-400 then with the 70-300.

Dave p.

[eeyore]

I remeber being at marwell with mr rouse a couple of years back and discovering that while trying to photograph a fast moving fossa , that he could get better pics than me with my 300D but even his werent that great while with his 1ds (mk1 - this was as i said a few years back) there wasnt a lot in it and my shots with the 1ds were better than his with the 300D - though obviously his with the 1ds were much better than mine.

what this boiled down to was that he had the skill and knowledge to anticipate its behaviour and thus make up for the slow af and limited burst of the 300D while the much faster 1DS allowed me to indulge in "spray and pray" which made up for my lack of knowledge. However his skill, knowledge , and experience combined with a decent camera made for better images still.

That said I'm aware that buying a 1DS (or even a D3 ) wont morph me into andy rouse - for one thing i'm better looking and support a decent football team - but it is equally true that to get images like he does I would require both his skill and experience and a decent camera !

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by eeyore

while the much faster 1DS allowed me to indulge in "spray and pray"

LOL! That's a great expression Pete! I'm guilty of it myself with the D300 and it's six frames per second mode. Trouble is it means having to edit down hundreds of photos for just a handful of keepers and I'm spending too much time on the PC as a result.

Dave P.

[Blackdog]

Originally Posted by pressld2

LOL! That's a great expression Pete! I'm guilty of it myself with the D300 and it's six frames per second mode. Trouble is it means having to edit down hundreds of photos for just a handful of keepers and I'm spending too much time on the PC as a result.

Dave P.

Halelujah! I thought it was just me that did that
I'm disciplining myself to slow down these days and the shots are getting better 'cos I'm thinking about it more rather than 'spraying and praying' - brilliant terminology there Pete

[RichBrew]

I've always been a sniper, rather than a machine-gunner!

RichBrew