Pro bodies too large?

<p>How can we ever recognize a pro if he has a small camera? ;-)</p>

<p>Well as an actual full-time, working news and sports photog, I started with D2-bodies and now have a pair of D700's with grips, and a D300 with a grip.</p>

<p>I shoot spot news, features, lots of sports and news-y stuff on a daily basis and I need the pro build of the bodies. My cameras go through a lot and us pros need a certain level of quality in the D2's and D3's Nikon makes. </p>

<p>Weight isn't an issue for many pros in my field. We know we need certain tools to do our job and that's that.</p>

<p>If the weight is too much, get something lighter. Simple as that. Now the D700 and D300 and the 5D Mk. II are all nice, pro feature bodies and have an optional grip. I like that idea better, for travel assignments, etc. but sometimes the full body just feels better, especially b/c it balances better with larger lenses like the 14-24, 70-200 and any of the long glass.</p>

<p>A full body camera allows me to hand-hold a 300 f/2.8, because it balances better. At the end of the day of shooting sports, yeah I'm physically tired, but my photos need to be at a certain level for our reader's and it works out best with the full bodies. </p>

<p>I dunno, I don't mind the weight. It just feels like a good camera.</p>

<p>I spent most of my career shooting with Hasselblad and 4x5 cameras. 35mm, and Nikon DSLR bodies, pro or not, all seem dinky to me. Actually, I have big hands and prefer a larger camera body to hold on to. Until I had health problems, weight was never a factor for me. I certainly never made a camera buying decision based on weight, however, there are some cameras I would never buy because they are just too small. The exceptions to that, are my beloved Leica M2, M4, M6, III and IIIg bodies. ;-)</p>

<p><strong>:-) </strong>Try working out a little more, <strong>LOL!</strong> It a is matter of to what you are willing to become accoustomed.<br>

Best Wishes DEC</p>

<p>> The exceptions to that, are my beloved Leica M2, M4, M6, III and IIIg bodies. ;-)</p>

<p>I read this thread waiting for Leicas to pop up, and almost got to the end with no sign of them, but sure enough, there they are. Unfortunately the M9 is very far from my price range, and the recent 'cheap' alternatives don't seem that great yet.</p>

<p>I have a D40 and it's certainly light enough to be carried around for traveling etc., but it's still a pretty big lump compared to a rangefinder.</p>

<p>Yes and no. Integrated battery grips are very useful in certain types of shooting. But in other types they are dead weight and I prefer not to carry dead weight as it always has a negative impact. That's why it's good that there are bodies like the D300 and D700 that are slightly smaller and pro quality. The Olympus OM series was pro quality, yet very compact. If a Nikon is the weight of a Hasselblad and I'm doing landscapes, I'm obviously going to take the latter due to superior IQ.<br>

There's always the "go to the gym" -crowd, but athletes don't choose the heaviest gear either just because they are fit, they choose the gear of maximum performance. Some of focus on photos, other on "what balances well" ;-)</p>

<p>Have a look at Pentax bodies. I bought a k-7 and it feels very much like the old FE2 size wise.</p>

<p>IMHO all of the upper line digital bodies are too big. I see no reason why they should be so large compared to (say) an old 8008s or F100 or Konica Hexar. But they are. I mean, they don't even need a big clunky film transport of anything.</p>

<p>Let's face it, they are image-recording computers with specialized software. they're full of features that could be done later with CS4 if you could ever find a camera with simple manual settings. IMHO they have all lost their way. If you want a freedom feeling try taking any film camera with manual settings on your next walkabout.</p>

<p>Tom,</p>

<p>Different topic, this isn't a film vs. digital debate. And every DSLR Nikon has ever made can be set up with simple manual settings with the turn of a dial.</p>

<p>I think the original poster answered this question definitively, and showed at the same time that this oft repeated question is just a red herring of an issue. Serious gear is for serious needs. If one is complaining about the weight of particular SLR gear, it immediately says the complainer's needs aren't serious, they're casual. So, yes, for casual photography, serious gear is a mismatch. For serious photography, it's just the ticket. And, this isn't meant as a slur to people, each of us probably experiences both kinds of needs. When I don't want to do serious photography, I take the P & S that fits in my pocket and have a perfectly good time. Whenever I do want to do serious photography, I take my serious gear and never whine about its weight. Whining about weight simply makes no sense, folks. If you whine, you are trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. Stop it. </p>

<p>Actually, Steve, if you're a serious photographer, sometimes smaller is good. Hiking to some remote location is one good example of that, or the kind of reportage or street photography that requires being unobtrusive (those people should shoot something like an M9, a pro camera if there ever was one. They're not whiners, they have a specific serious need... which happens to not be met by very large pro cameras.</p>

<p>The size and heft of a pro camera body once saved my life. I'll never complain about camera weight anymore. And what is a camera compared to some of the lenses I'm using?</p>

<p>Having several camera models allows you to pick the best suited for a given application. I generally tend to use the heavier ones (D3S/D3X) as they produce the most stable platform, sometimes going for a long hike I'm using a D40X or a D200. This is a moot point.</p>

<p>Actually, Peter, the question wasn't "is small good sometimes?" The question was, is pro gear too heavy? This is the question I consider to be a red herring. Gear is what it is, and if one is complaining about the gear, it simply means one isn't serious enough to want to use it. People should interpret their complaints better and stop wanting what can't be. As you point out, if somehow pro bodies are too heavy for a particular person's application, then the complainer should go buy the M9. Or a P & S. But they shouldn't sit around complaining that camera companies should magically create a camera weighing 100 g that fits in their pocket, gives them a 10x optical magnification of SLR quality, 24 MP, and SLR-quality pixels all at the same time.</p>