Please rate your most-used gear: 0 to 10

[dan_south]

<p>Please rate your current camera system (i.e., your most frequently used body and lenses) on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is Extremely Dissatisfied and 10 is Extremely Satisfied.</p>

<p>What features do you appreciate the most?</p>

<p>What could use improvement?</p>

<p>Are there any other details that make this camera system particularly useful or enjoyable in your opinion?</p>

<p>Is there a feature that would tempt you to upgrade or to consider the competition?</p>

[Leonard-just-Leonard]

<p>Nikon Coolpix p90 = 9/10</p>

<p>built in lens = no changing to go from macro to zoom and in between</p>

<p>improvement? for less than $500 it is very good</p>

<p>fits easily into carry case and attaches to backpack belt for easy retrieval</p>

<p>I considered getting a DSLR but the weight, cost etc. etc could not be justifited<br>

I am comfortable taking this in ANY weather from -30 blizzards to hot sun, rain<br>

and so on... no way I would do that with several thousands of dollars worth of gear.</p>

 

[bob_sunley]

<p>Nikon F3 and 200 Micro Nikkor. rates a 10. Good metering, lightweight, uses film, the new Portra 400 is really nice stuff. All the other Nikkors I have are really nice as well.<br>

Would like to have a 1/125 flash sync.</p>

<p>Pentax 645, 150mm. rates a 10 as well. Good metering, not so light weight, needs a monopod most of the time, uses the new Portra 400 film. Could use a 1/125 flash sync. The 80 and 45mm lenses are nice too. Could use more, 35 and a 200 or 300 would be nice.</p>

<p>Linhof 6x9 Technika III. Rates a 9. A little heavy, but excellent handling with the anatomical grip. Decent movements, uses sheet and roll film. Flash sync at max shutter speed. 65 and 105mm lenses.</p>

<p>Or, maybe you are actually asking about the fully electronic image recording systems that are marketed as cameras?</p>

<p>Sorry don't own one of those. :)</p>

<p> </p>

[rossb]

<p>Nikon D200. Rated at 3/10. Images are flat, grainless and the out of focus background is like a gaussian blur. The good points are it's durable, the images are sharp and the colors are bright.</p>

[jon_mullen1]

<p>Canon 30D, simple to use, used on manual mainly, then aperture priority secondly.<br>

28 - 80 kit lense, it works for me, once I got to know it's capabilities<br>

monpod, most frequently used piece of photographic equipment<br>

Improvements..hmm..that would have to be me.<br>

general all-round kit that works, and as for features that would tempt me to upgrade - I can't really think of anything at present except for a way for the camera to convert lead into gold, maybe.</p>

 

[jon_mullen1]

<p>That would be a 9/10</p>

 

[bobcossar]

<p>You may not think this is an answer: but, it <strong>IS.</strong></p>

<p>If I am getting the images I want, in the quality I want, then I am happy.</p>

<p>If not, i will identify<strong> WHY</strong>, and fix it. Very rarely does it cost me money to fix it, but occasionally it does. But it is <strong>ALL </strong>about getting the desired images.......Robert</p>

[dan_south]

<p>Bob S: good response, no issues.</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>Nikon D7000 and 85mm f/1.4D. 9/10. If a lightweight FX camera (of the weight of the D7000 or lighter) I'd go for it in a minute, and probably add a 105mm or 135mm f/2 DC lens.</p>

<p>But actually my most important equipment is my pair of eyeglasses. Can't shoot what I can't see.</p>

[nathangardner]

All Canon:

 

1D III - 9; amazing camera, especially for the price. Still expensive, but affordable compared to mk IV. Wish it had 45

AF points like other 1 series.

 

1D II - 9; missing luxuries of newer cameras, but a real bargain for any sports/wildlife shooter. 1D III wins for high ISO

performance, but otherwise IQ is indistinguishable.

 

17-40mm f/4L - 8; great landscape lens on the 1D. A little short since it's actually a superwide for film/FF, but I'll gladly

sacrifice range for quality.

 

50mm f/1.8 II - 9.5; yeah it's plastic and cheap, but I've never had a problem with mine. Gotten well worth my $65 out

of it. I couldn't be happier about a lens.

 

70-200mm f/2.8L IS - 7; great lens, great range, but I don't personally use it much except for weddings. Heavy. I

prefer f/4 version for outdoors.

 

70-200mm f/4 - 9; amazing IQ, one of Canon's best bangs for the buck. The cheapest piece of L glass currently

made, but definitely a great performer. Very light and fun to use. Sold it for 400mm b/c it's not long enough for birds.

 

400mm f/5.6L - 8.5; definitely my most used lens. IS would be nice but would make it less affordable. Sometimes

have to crank up ISO to get fast enough shutter, but a super sharp lens that has produced lots of great shots.

[JDMvW]

<p>Kodak Signet 35 -- 1/10<br>

all the rest -- 10/10</p>

<p> </p>

[mark_pierlot]

<blockquote>

<p>Kodak Signet 35 -- 1/10<br />all the rest -- 10/10</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hilarious, JDM!</p>

[photo5]

<p>Nikon D700 and Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4 SP - 9/10. Images are sharp and contrasty, camera is quick and high ISOs up to 6400 are superb. Cons are this is a heavy bulky beast!</p>

<p>Nikon F3HP, Nikon 28mm f2.8 AIS, Nikon 55mm f2.8 Micro-Nikkor, Nikon 105mm f2.8 AI, Nikon 180mm f2.8 ED AIS: 10/10. This is the perfect combination for sharp and clear images shot on slide film. HP viewfinder is the best. Great for documentary and almost no geometric distortion. Cons are I have to wind the film after every shot.</p>

<p>Nikon F100 and Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-D, Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4 SP, Nikon 70-300mm ED: 10/10 - The ultimate 35mm SLR film camera. Fast, feels good in the hand with perfect proportions, and has a wonderful viewfinder. I never want to stop using it. Makes me wish film were still king.</p>

[dan_south]

Canon 5D mark II with a few of the more popular Canon lenses: 9/10

 

 

Pros - Excellent image quality, portable, adaptable to many situations, good high ISO performance,

excellent IS and Live View implementation.

 

 

Could be improved - Body ruggedness. Excessive distorrtion in zoom lenses (correctable in software).

 

 

Details that add to the experience of using this system. The f/4 lens series fills a nice niche where portability is

important. The TS-E 17 and 24 are very well-engineered. Canon's Autofocus lenses are easy to focus manually, e.g.

when using Live View, because the focus ring has a nice, responsive feel. I like the feature that automatically rotates

images on the computer but NOT on the camera's LCD screen - absolutely brilliant.

 

 

Bottom line - for a comparable feature set from Nikon, you'd have to buy a D3s (high ISO and HD video) and a D3x

(high resolution). It would cost a lot more, and the lenses wouldn't be as good, IMHO.

[patrickwells]

<p>pentax ist DL 9/10<br>

pentax p30t 9/10<br>

assorted lenses 9/10<br>

shooter 5/10 this part of the system seems to be the weak point,not as advanced as I would like</p>

[ted_raper1]

<p>All my stuff - Nikon D200, 17-55 2.8 lens, 80-200 2.8 lens, Tokina 12-24 4 lens, Panasonic G1 w/20 1.7 lens, Sigma Dp1s, and Olympus EPL1 - is either a 9.5 or 10! I wouldn't have it if it wasn't. I really don't see the point in having gear that you're not satisfied with.</p>

[mark_ritz]

<p>Nikon D7000: 9/10.<br>

It's everything I'd want in a DX system, but it's still DX.</p>

<p>Mamiya M645: 9.75/10<br>

Would be a 10 if I had a winder knob to get rid of the big, heavy, loud power winder when I want to</p>

<p>Toyo/Omega 45D: 9/10<br>

Great, but not so modular. If I would have spent the money on a "better" Toyo View to use bag bellows, different rails, etc, that would be great. Also looses part of a point for being a monorail, not a field camera :D</p>

[paf iii]

<p>Sony A700,Sony A100,Tamron 17-50 2.8,18-55mmSAM,50MM 1.7 1st gen 28-85mm,Minolta 28-105 Sony 55-200mm,Sigma 70-200mm2.8 HSM,HVL-F42AM. I have built a system that I fell is a solid performer, It's what I have wanted and does what I need.</p>