brian yarvin

<p>Ray, I hate to say it, but this sounds like you're overthinking the situation. Rent the highest quality lens you can find and see if it makes a difference. My own 5d's really appreciate the occasional moment with a great lens.</p>

<p>Is the the cover glass for the sensor or a screw-in filter that goes over the lens? If it's a cover glass, it's a mighty expensive and delicate thing that has to be done in a clean room; if it's a screw-in, you can get a better price somewhere and it wouldn't surprise me if another responder to this post comes up with the answer.</p>

<p>Leonard, these are tasks that call for serious off-camera flash. Luckily, you have what many people (including myself) describe as the greatest studio camera ever made. If you're in the USA, a couple of White Lightning or Novatron flashes with stands and umbrellas should do the trick. Elsewhere, there are similar brands and I'm sure that somebody will chyme in with recommendations.</p>

<p>If it were a real business, the answer would be easy: forget about camera bodies and spend all that money on great lighting gear. Period. But it's not - it's a very demanding hobbyist who seems to be on the cusp of becoming an artist. An honorable place but hard to give advice on. I've spent much of my life in the studio and gravitate towards lighting myself. Most of all though, I'm interested in seeing where the O.P. will go with this.</p>

<p>Kryn, I'm sorry, but you seem to be confusing my point with a misconception that's all over the internet - that the main advantage of MFD is more pixels. I still use my 16MP Hasselblad back for those pro uses (check out my books - please!) and they satisfy my customers. That look is a factor too - and let's not forget plain competitiveness.</p> <p>Fashion is a tough one because it's all about image and who's the coolest. If the designers/stylists/models you need to work with have been impressed with a certain brand, you'll need to respond in some way. While the idea of amateur fashion photographer strikes me personally as being only one notch away from amateur accountant, I can understand your interest in the images. Your purchasing problem is that the other people your team will work with can take these expenses off their taxes and you can't.</p> <p>In the end, my own gut feeling is that you should be spending this money on lighting, not cameras. But these aren't business expenses, so you have some leeway here. </p>

<p>Kryn, pro or not, you still have to give us some detail on what you'll be shooting. There's a sort of paradox in your question: I've never met anybody who uses medium format that thought that the D800 was an adequate substitute, but I've also known people that felt didn't need DMF because they were satisfied with high-end DSLR's.</p> <p>This isn't a difference of opinion, it's a difference of subject matter and end use. Since you're a non-pro, we can guess that your images won't be subject to high-end magazine reproduction or super-detailed retouching, but some of the most beautiful small-press books and exhibition prints come from people like yourself. We just need to know where you want to go and how you plan to get there.</p>

<p>Back in the seventies, I put one in a Kelty D series pack and frame that had no internal compartments. The one big area held the camera, lenses, holders, cloth and meter. The side pockets held snacks, and I laid my tripod cross-wise along the top as if it were a long, skinny tent. I also put a sweater in to keep everything from moving around.<br> <br />Best of luck, this is a wonderful thing to do!!</p>

<p>I find that it does, but only when you've properly done the micro-focus adjustments. Doing this makes all the difference.</p>

<p>Ray, if you knew the city well and was driving, you could find a spot in the nearby suburbs on Great South Bay or Long Island Sound to shoot that sunset or sunrise. If you live in the area - at least fifteen million of us do - this isn't a problem. If you're traveling across the world, it doesn't make sense at all. You'll miss an awful lot of iconic photos during the time this shoot would take. As for me, my best over water sunset was taken over Lake Ontario. The Great Lakes did the job for me.</p>