D. von Briesen
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 p.9 #20 · 'Official' Post-PMA Discussion thread | |
Hey Joshua, how are you? Your camera served me well for quite some time! I still have it (the 1Ds "Classic" and I'm considering converting it for infrared).
Eventually I bought a MII, again used, again saved a few dollars, again from somebody on FM. FM's been such a great source of information, correct spelling, trenchant critiques, and lovely pix almost daily!! Thanks too, Josh, for the many very kind comments regarding my work.
And to the snarkers who always feel it necessary to opine that it's the photographer not the equipment; how much bettter will your pictures be? etc, etc, if you really read the original posts you'll realize that my only real "disappointment" is that sports shooters & photojournalists got theirs first!! (Although it's a little disconcerting that it's their second upgrade to our none, but the economics of market share are obviously driving that.)
It's so facile to step into any discussion about equipment and insert the same tired cliche regarding the photographer and equipment. But I doubt there's a photographer among us who doesn't strive in some fashion or another to improve their equipment to improve their final output.
(BTW: very well put, what you said, Dan. Thanks. I can't help but envy your Grand Poobah Super-Digi MKX-S2-IIIb but then again how many of us can ever truly hope to own one of those!!)
And this is especially true when it comes to digital.
That said, I can promise you I'll be doing everything I can to continually improve my photographic skills. Get up earlier, more often; hike longer and harder; do more research about great places to be; push myself in new and difficult ways to force different "seeing"; study more about processing techniques; strive to improve my printing: as they often say, the harder I work, the luckier I get!!
Still, all the developments that went into the 1DM3 bode nothing but great things for the new 1DsM3 when it does come out. I'm excited and looking forward to some very significant improvements in IQ that are quite specific to my needs as a photographer.
Could I go out and buy a 4x5 as someone suggested? Sure. I struggle with this all the time, particularly when it comes to being taken seriously by some magazine publishers (in my backyard, Arizona Highways in particular; read their submission policies and you'll understand) and a fine arts buying public that seems to think the only serious photographic art still must emanate from film.
But I fell in love with photography because of digital. I love control of the entire process, the immediacy, the incredible rapidity with which one can improve their skills, the workflow of a DSLR as opposed to large format film.
Economically, the kit of lenses already owned argues for staying within the DSLR format. The radical cost of shifting to a fully augmented digital medium back with hassy body and lenses can't be justified at present. I'm not sure that my kind of hiking intensive landscape work would be particularly well served with a medium format system either. One can dream of the IQ from a 39 MP Phase One, but cost, convenience, already owned equipment needs always be considered.
As for the pure and simple capitalism of it all, I'm not sucked in. I know only too well how and when to distrust corporate consumer manipulation.
Actually, with this next generation of cameras, I think we're finally reaching the tipping point where one will be able to think of a new top-end DSLR as a 5-8 year camera body.
True, dust removal, easier MLU access, larger live LCD, more readily adjustable multi-image bracketing, and other convenience upgrades don't necessarily make for better images, although the ease with which one can work and time saved might suggest, obliquely, better images. DR increase; 14 bit tonal gradations (any of you ever experience mild posterization, even in 12 bit, even with 1Ds M2 files, when trying to increase shadow detail in a full range or beyond image file? I thought so!); less shadow noise (thus more detail); better, more usable high ISO: these are all things people have discussed on these pages for years.
How can you fault someone for wanting to take advantage of that?
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