Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Leica, Panasonic, Olympus…or?

<p>Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Leica, Panasonic, Olympus…or?<br /> <br /> Does the Gear You have Really Matter? Or How I learned to just take a “Pitcher…”<br /> <br /> Well, I will commence with a simple answer "NO"...Whether it is a Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Canon, Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung or any Medium format camera and digital back out there, it really is of no great consequence which brand you own! You want to know why? Based on a recent survey, 90 percent of all DSLR camera's rarely print their images larger than A4 (8x10") format. In other words and in most cases, a good 5 mega pixel camera with good noise specifications would be more than sufficient to do the job and do it very well.<br /> <br /> Now, if what you spend most of your time doing is pixel peeping your images at 100 percent on your screen to see if you can notice any anomaly of any sort, than yes, do go out and purchase a $40,000.00, 50 mega pixel back for your Hasselblad. However, if you do so, you will find that you might notice some interesting phenomena, like high chroma noise issues at anything above 400 iso.<br /> <br /> Another interesting problem is that when you go to press, the tram noise or pattern will destroy most of those fine pixels that you observed on the screen, a kind of natural grain producer of sorts. <br /> <br /> Of course the quality of the sensor is very important, but I believe that any of the 10 mega pixel plus camera's out there could do an admirable job.<br /> <br /> I have watched with bemusement the wars that are ongoing on the forums between this and that brand and usually come away thinking that unless you know why you have purchased a brand and to what purpose, than you might as well close your eyes and do a "eenee, meenee, mynee, mo" exercise to determine your choice.<br /> <br /> So, if you have no plans to produce an image larger than 12 x19" and have a limited budget, feel confident that no matter what you buy, it will be overkill for that format.<br /> <br /> Just be happy that the technology provided for the photographer today has easily out specified the top end camera that existed just 3 years ago. <br /> <br /> Enjoy your toy and go out and play...<br /></p><div></div>

<p>You forgot Mamiya, Hasselblad, Phase One, Arca Swiss, Chamonix, Ebony, Sinar, Toyo, Wista, etc.</p>

<p>;~)</p>

 

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<p>So, if you have no plans to produce an image larger than 12 x19" and have a limited budget, feel confident that no matter what you buy, it will be overkill for that format.</p>

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<p>And if you DO have such plans?</p>

 

<p>If you're talking 35mm DSLRs, I would stay with Nikon or Canon. They will more than likely be around a lot longer than any of the other 35mm names mentioned. But your premise is correct.....it ain't the equipment, it's the photographer behind it that really matters. just if you go with the other brands, the likely hood of having an unsupported camera in the future is much greater than if you go with Nikon or Canon. And that is a real thing to consider if you want to make photography a career or a lifelong hobby. Just my 2 cents on the subject.</p>

<p>Look, I have had stuff blown up to 3.5 X 5.0 meters shot with a 10 megapixel camera. My Swarovski Christmas Campaign were 2 X 3 meter posters shot with 14.6 megapixels. It is all about viewing distance and tram print press output, usually not more than 180 dpi maximum and that is in book type press.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Not really material for the Beginner Forum since it's more of a lecture than a question from a beginner. So... bumped over to CC forum. <a href="http://www.viddler.com/explore/haveboard/videos/3/">Have fun stormin' the castle</a> .</p>

<p>The problem seems to be that if you know what camera was used during the shot, then you will see the difference in quality. If you dont know, you will not notice any difference or you notice but dont know if the quality is better or worse than the same sceen shot by something else!</p>

<p>This is the conclusion of an interesting shotout by Mr Reichmann at luminous landscape. He shot the same sceens using both Canon G10 and Hasselblad with 39Mpix back. A group of highly experienced photographers and picture editors was then set to pick out which A3+ was shot with which camera. Well, a blind hen would do as well!</p>

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<p>Not really material for the Beginner Forum since it's more of a lecture than a question from a beginner. So... bumped over to CC forum.</p>

 

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<p>I'm going to disagree with your assessment. It's actually the answer to a question often asked by beginners and makes a valid point. </p>

<p>There are a number of good cameras and systems out there. There's plenty of time to turn into a gearhead later without throwing endless rules and assessments at beginners. In fact, an awful lot of beginners are turned against the art by people who scream "you must" at them, or equally bad, buy cameras they're not ready for yet.</p>

<p>Okay, Deb, disagreement acknowledged. But I can assure you from experience that threads like this will never benefit the beginners for whom such posts are intended. Due to the nature of the way discussion forums work most such threads quickly disappear down the queue and will never be seen by the very people who might benefit.</p>

<p>Don't believe me? Watch the Beginner Forum carefully for the next week or so. Even if this thread had remained there, we'd still get half a dozen questions asking which camera system to buy. Beginners want personalized responses to their specific questions. They each believe their situation is unique. That's just the way it works.</p>

<p>I'd be more impressed if experienced folks like Benjamin instead replied to questions asked by beginners on the Beginner Forum. It takes a lot more effort to patiently mentor rookies on a case by case basis. Posting a lecture or manifesto is easy. But it rarely benefits the person who actually needs the help.</p>

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<p>Does the Gear You have Really Matter?</p>

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<p>Well, depends: For the final picture? Not really. For the owner? Some of them for sure.</p>

<p>To paraphrase:</p>

<p>Grinder, Sub, Hoagie, PoBoy, Torpedo...or?</p>

<p>Doesn't matter, until you actually pick one, at which point you defend it like you invented it.</p>

<p>Example: It's a grinder. Subs aren't the same. Hoagies taste funny. Torpedos are for wimps who just talk about their food instead of eating it. Grinder. End of story. :-)</p>

<p>--Ryan</p>

<p>Image quality - probably not.<br>

<em>The comfort level with specific brand </em> , <strong>probably</strong> . I loved Bronicas, can't explain why and at same time wasn't big on Hasselblad. Same thing with Nikon, love the way it feels in my hand compared to Canon or Sony.<br>

Adam</p>

<p>Nikon, Canon, pentax, Sony, etc all make a range of DSLR's that are roughly comparable in quality within a given price range. That doesn't make them all the same for any individual. I advise people to handle the cameras in their price range and pick the one that feels best in their hands, has controls that they like, and offers the lenses and such that they want. While the IQ of these cameras may be similar, these other factors are important as well.</p>

<p>I think the gear you have absolutely matters. With no equipment at all, I find it harder to do photography. With my gear, I <strong>can</strong> take pictures. </p>

<p>I am with Ian, I think the gear matters. I think a person needs a camera that first of all functions and is of sufficient quality and versatility to photograph the scene and to provide the output that is desired. No real reason to spend many thousands on a camera for snapshots and posting to the web but I think folks get caught up in materalism and what have you.</p>

<p>"Does the Gear You have Really Matter? "<br>

==================<br>

Not really, it is the Photographer not the brand that really counts. I took a photography class not too long ago and 95% of the students there had either a Nikon, or a Canon. One student I made friends with had an Olympus E3. I even got a chance to hand-hold that baby... </p>

<p>Years ago I did an Advertorial series for VOGUE Italy with 100 Fuji disposable 35mm cameras with a fixed f11.0 aperture and a slave on the little flash unit they come with. Set my main flashed to output f11.0 and off I went.</p>

<p>I guess after Canon and Nikon, Sony is getting very serious in the 35mm market. Just watch because they have the best Carl Zeiss lenses like 135mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.4 and 16-35mm f2.8.</p>