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Archive 2015 · Please help me getting into photography again

  
 
Joshua Lowe
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Please help me getting into photography again


The A7 is pretty great. So is the Fuji.

I would say try out the Q just to see. I was really, really impressed with it. Even at f1.7 it's very sharp. The EVF has next to zero lag, it's light, etc. The cost is a big barrier to entry, especially if you're just re-entering photography, but it's worth at least testing out. If it were me it would come down to the A7 or the Q.




Dec 22, 2015 at 10:23 PM
millsart
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Please help me getting into photography again


If you can afford the Q, try the Q, its simply a fantastic camera.

Great EVF, super fast AF, awesome and proper MF if you want it, touch AF point selection on the LCD if you want it (Something I sorely wish Sony would offer), solid build, reasonable size, great color, and a great lens with a lovely way of rendering.

Price and being a fixed lens are the two downsides, but depending on how you look at it, a fixed lens isn't always so bad.

Sold my A7rII and rx1 for one



Dec 23, 2015 at 12:41 AM
JonasY
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Please help me getting into photography again


Thank you all, I have read everything and there are so much great advice ! Someone said on the previous page it's not the gear that will make me happy, and that cannot be closer to the truth. I want to forget the gear, and focus on taking pictures. I may sound negative, but in fact all gear has given me a lot of joy over the years. The ease you can edit and share pictures with the iPhone has made me reconsider the whole traditional post production/storing of pictures thing.

I have definitely considered m4/3; it's sort of what my brain tells me to buy. On a more emotional level I'm afraid to buy in to a system which I know doesn't give me the extra few % performance IQ wise compared to a FF camera.

Sony A7 is a "safe" choice in that sense I'll get the full frame look, and it takes a lot of different lenses. Did not know they now had a 28/2 lens, thanks for the headas up. 55/1.8 seems to be a fantastic lens, albeit a tad bit short for portraits, but might be worth trying out.

I have used manual focus lenses before, heck, even an mf only camera, so that shouldn't be a massive issue. Always fancied the Leica Summarit-M 75/2.5, maybe it would work as a portrait lens on the A7 ?

Having two CAMERAS is something I have not even considered before, but might not be as crazy as it sounds. Would open up for many interesting combinations, and it's nice to having to switch lenses, without being forced into obstructive zooms.

I haven't considered a more serious compact camera. The RX100 seems like a gem. I would miss short DOF, which makes it a bit crippled for portraits, but on the flip side it's something that can always be with me.

Merry Christmas all !



Dec 24, 2015 at 06:56 AM
galenapass
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Please help me getting into photography again


JonasY wrote:
I have definitely considered m4/3; it's sort of what my brain tells me to buy. On a more emotional level I'm afraid to buy in to a system which I know doesn't give me the extra few % performance IQ wise compared to a FF camera.


This was exactly my issue with m4/3. I stepped into the system VERY slowly....first by renting. I have since sold all my Canon gear except one camera body. IQ for m4/3 is surprisingly good. Especially if you shoot still shots with an EM5II. The EM5II sensor shift provides a ~ 36 MP like final output, without interpolation artifacts. Very good indeed! I have found it quite useful for landscapes and macro shots.

Hi ISO shots remain a challenge for m4/3, as well as continuous focus. But for me, the list of positives far outweigh the negatives. Fact is, after shooting for 30+ years, I never have had a perfect camera. Now I just tend to pay attention to the things that matter most for my style of shooting, and accept that no camera is perfect. Since I have switched to m4/3 there have been a few occasions where I felt limited by the equipment (shooting indoors at my son's black belt testing). In this case, I just rented some equipment for a few days. In fact, the best shot of the day was made with my m4/3 equipment.







Dec 24, 2015 at 10:58 AM
Stephe
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Please help me getting into photography again


I never stopped shooting but I did discover a few things as I switched from film to digital. I always used manual focus prime lenses shooting film (35mm, medium format and 4X5) but my first digital camera was a olympus E1 and all they had were zooms. I didn't realize it at the time, but for some reason zoom lenses and autofocus took the joy out of shooting for me or I somehow lost my vision. It just wasn't fun anymore. I know that might sound silly but...

I later bought a Nikon D700 and some prime lenses and quickly found my feet again. Still was mostly used with autofocus, but using primes sparked back my ability to "see the shot". I won't go into how well this system has worked for my portrait shooting (a side business) or my other nikon gear as that doesn't seem to be what you are asking for, as this is a fairly large bulky system.

I can say I found I was not happy with the bulk of carrying a nikon FX system many places and picked up an a7. I'm mostly using old manual focus glass, some of my old OM glass from my film days + some old canon/nikon rangefinder lenses and it "feels like home". Obviously this isn't a setup for shooting "fast action" but it feels like the shooting experience I enjoyed with my Olympus OM2n, except much higher IQ and the ability to shoot at ISO values unheard of back then. Plus I can play with all sorts of strange and interesting lenses on all the various adapters. The other fun thing is many of these adapters are available with a "helical focusing" feature which greatly reduces the min focus distance on the lenses used.

Anyway, you might find, like I did, that reducing the automation will help you feel more connected to the shooting experience.



Dec 27, 2015 at 10:43 AM
JonasY
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Please help me getting into photography again


Thanks Stephe, I know what you mean, after shooting both with the D700 with manual lenses, and then Leica M8 which was an absolute dream to shoot with. Overall the camera had too much issues, but the shooting experience was second to none.

I think I will pass buying into a system for now, and have narrowed down the search to LX100 and RX100 III. The former looks better on the paper, however I am not sure if Leica (?) really nailed the lens formula here ? I have looked through a lot of pictures and am missing the Leica "pop", as well as the colours from the M8 and X1.

The RX100 on the other hand, seems to have an amazing lens. Almost any photo show a big portion of the Zeiss look; it appears like you are looking at the scene itself, not a photo of it. Furthermore, skin tones are rendered extremely well. I am seriously impressed from what I have seen.



Dec 30, 2015 at 05:03 PM
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