Which camera should I upgrade to?

[john_narsuitus]

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<p>“Please be so kind as to suggest which of the above (or possibly one I haven't considered) would be best…”<br>

“I am however willing to pay extra to get the absolute, best possible image quality.”<br>

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To be honest, when I started reading this thread, I too thought you were someone trying to provoke another heated Canon vs. Nikon equipment debate.<br>

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When you were finally taken seriously, you were given some great advice.<br>

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If I were in your position, I would:<br>

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1. Keep the Canon and get the boyfriend a Canon of his own. Being able to share the same lenses and accessories is a big plus.<br>

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2. Keep practicing and learning from others. Your current close-up shots show a lot of potential.<br>

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3. After a 1 to 2 year learning period, if I still was not satisfied with my image quality, I would consider replacing the small format equipment with a medium format digital camera like the Hasselblad H4D-60.<br>

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[michael_tam1]

<p>It was nearly four decades ago when I started with a Minolta SRT101, but did not start learning more about photography till acquiring a Nikon system in the early nineties. Apart from reading informative book, such as John Shaw's "Close Up in Nature" and taking several photography courses, I found the greatest progress made was through joining a local Photography Club. One can learn so much from listening in seminars, talking to people with keen interests and submitting entries to competitions. <br>

As with macro photography, I learned my skill from Flower Photography at the local conservatory. Good pictures come from practice, self-critic and more practice. It takes meticulous planning to make a good photograph. Although you may be more interested in insects, a static subject such as a flower or plant would reduce variables that are not within your control. Learn about control of background, depth-of-field, correct tonal exposure, tripod and focus techniques, etc will propel you far from your starting point. Stay with the excellent equipment you possessed while concentrate to learn in the making of a better photograph each time by not simply taking pictures.</p>

[christie_o]

<p>I have hundreds of flower pics, and some of them are quite nice, but bugs just seem more interesting. I've now learned what depth of field is, and some interesting techniques... it occurred to me they ought to call it circumference of field, then I might have figured it out lol. Joining a photography club sounds like a great idea! </p>

[christie_o]

<p>One of my favorite pics from my flowers file, mainly because of the wasp.</p>

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[commtrd]

<p>Well-meaning critique: image is under-exposed and could explore greater usage of rule of thirds in forming the composition. Correct lighting is a huge thing to grasp and apply in photography and one thing that is noticeable in many posted photographs...this is why many here on this thread have said to stick with what you have and concentrate on learning the art of photography instead of burning cash needlessly.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Keith has a very good point: Keeping the subject dead center in the frame usually leads to boring compositions. The "rule of thirds" work most of the time.</p>

<p>For those who shoot a lot of insect macros or perhaps even flower macros, I would investigate using flash, such as Nikon's R1C1 set. Canon have similar products.</p>

<p>And as I have said before, bright areas in the background is very distracting. Move around a bit to select your background is an integral part of photography, especially macros. Sometimes we bring our own background such as a green or dark board to block out whatever is distracting, not always possible but worth consideration.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that none of the above suggestions has anything to do with getting another camera or switching formats.</p>

[christie_o]

<p>The above was a crop, but now that I've heard about the rule of thirds I've used to attach the crop of a picture I just took focusing manually. I ended up getting a 7D because of our lens collection and I love it. All along what I needed was to learn about the diopter! Once I read about that, it all became clear (so to speak). Just thought I'd let ppl know the outcome. :^)</p>

[christie_o]

<p>the pic</p><div></div>