Recently I began an experiment to see what life is like on the other side of the photographic divide. In other words after shooting with canon cameras all my life I decided to try a Nikon. You can read more of the reasoning behind this here and some of my early thoughts here. It’s been about a month now, so how is it going? Its been going really well. I really like the D90, despite being a smaller and technically less high end of a camera than the 5D I had been using.I have been getting used to it and it’s pretty much become second nature to me now.
On of the things that I have found interesting is that I am doing things I never did with my 5D. Using bracketing for example. This is probably because it’s right there on the side of the camera, rather than buried deep in the menus as it is on the 5D. In fact it’s so much trouble to use on the 5D I doubt anyone would ever use it. But wait, I hear the internet trolls calling, isn’t bracketing just a crutch for people who are useless at photography? You know, like raw is apparently*. Well, its actually very useful if you want to do things like HDR, or even in tricky lighting situations. Not to go off on a side rant here, but it really ticks me off some times when you hear from those idiots out there who say you’re not a good Photographer if you don’t get the shot perfect in camera first go, or if you use RAW creatively, or you look at your LCD. In terms of exposure, first of all, Cameras don’t always get it right, and secondly, what’s actually “right” is a matter of interpretation. And sometimes you can’t tell from the lcd or the histogram if the exposure you got is right for what you have in your head, or what your artistic vision is. Absolutely it’s an important skill to get your exposures nailed in camera but if you don’t get it right every time or if you want to be creative with your photos afterwards it doesn’t make you any less of a photographer. Anyway, rant over.
I’ve also tried a few multiple exposures on the D90 which is pretty fun. You might think, why on earth would I want to do multiple exposures when I can just comp in Photoshop. Well, it’s actually a bit of fun and it makes you think about what you are trying to composite because you have to get it right in camera. It can be a good way to experiment artistically and, like I said it’s fun.
And that pretty much sums up my D90 experience so far. It’s fun. It’s renewed my interest in Photography which had been waning. I think the fact that what I’m seeing on the LCD reasonably reflects what comes out of the camera is helping, unlike the 5D which would often lead to disappointment. A couple of times I have taken a shot and have been just blown away by the rich vibrancy of the image. It seems to nail the autofocus most of the time too. I had taken up my 5D this morning for the first time in a while and was playing around with it and i was amazed by the level of frustration in using it again. What’s particularly frustrating is the fact that images just aren’t sharp when using my 24-105L lens. I was just messing and took a shot of the room and the table in front of me. I was focussing on the remote control that was on the table. The 5D took the image with slight motion blur, or slightly out of focus, I’m not sure which. The D90, with it’s much cheaper lens, took it and it was pin sharp. What the hell? Of course it’s quite possible there is something wrong with my 24-105. But it’s supposed to be a pro lens. It’s not bad, it’s just not perfect. The D90′s was perfect.
On a side point too, the D90 has encouraged me to go out and take pictures more. Maybe because it’s lighter and I don’t mind bringing it with me everywhere, but either way, i’ve been taking a lot more photos. So in that end I set myself the goal of taking a picture a day, every day in 2009. Well, at least posting an image (I forgot to take one yesterday). You can see the results on my photo blog or here in this mobile me gallery which should keep updating. (use the rss if you have a feed reader). Anyway, one of the side effects of this is because I don’t vary much from my route everyday it’s forced me to think far more creatively in order to try and get something different and interesting every day. I know loads of people have done this one a day thing, but I heartily recommend trying it. It is a bit of a commitment but it’s worth the effort as it helps you expand your creativity. I’ll write more about this later in a separate post.
The goal of buying the D90 was to see if I would be happy making a complete switch to Nikon. I had been tempted back to the 5DII now and again over the last few weeks, but picking up my 5D quickly knocks that Idea out of my head. Although I was fairly skeptical in the past that the additional resolution makes that much difference, I have to admit, the thought does appeal to me. Especially when you see some of the images people are posting. But still, i really don’t want another frustrating experience like I’ve had with the original 5D. I would love the D3x but I think that it is too expensive to justify when it’s not your primary source of income. So I will probably go with the D700, even though there is the possibility of a D800 (or D700x or whatever) some time this year. To be honest I think the low noise of the D700 coupled with a descent ergonomics make it a better camera for me than the 5DII. The other option is the A900 from Sony. This has been getting rave reviews too. I think a lot of concerns about the poor noise quality or the over softening from early reviews were addressed by shooting RAW and not using Sony’s converters. But going the Sony route would limit me in terms of lens and flash choice. The mythical D70x / D800 would be the ideal camera. I could just wait but then I could be waiting for ever, and I’m planning to push photography from being he supporting act of my career to the main event some time over the next year.
In the mean time, I hope these updates are proving interesting. I will try to blog about this stuff frequently. I’m also hoping to make better use of my photo-blog too rather than just posting photos to it. If anyone has any suggestions, or if you’d prefer I keep posting here instead let me know by posting in the comments.
(*A well known photography “pundit” posted this comment recently. I’m not giving him a link)
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I’ve come to the conclusion that there are three types of picture people…
1) Those that are into cameras (take very few pics but love the spec game)
2) Those that are into photography (pay more attention to the light and composition and less to hardware)
3) Those that actually are into both (usually pros)
I find the vast majority of the people I know fall into the first and I out shoot them every time with a simple G10
Hi
Some of your comments betray a certain amount of confusion regarding how cameras work and how photography works for you.
Re the first point… the fact that one camera takes a blurry shot, be it motion or focussing blur – and another that doesn’t. Well there are so many factors at work here and without further info on exposure, iso speed, jpg or raw(and the converter used), lens type and ambient lighting levels, it’s impossible to answer your implied question. It’s entirely possible that your shooting technique is at fault ie that one camera fits you better than the other so enabling better shots. As always, exif info is your friend.
Re the second, basing a camera choice on spec is purile. The most important question is ‘what type of photography do you do?’ Once you have that sorted then the camera choice is greatly narrowed and simplified.
Personally, I spend most waking hours either taking landscapes or planning how to get there. So for me the choice was simple – a fairly straight forward camera with easily accessible controls that can be used with gloved hands, robust but not heavy camera, high quality lenses and the very best resolution/noise at low iso speeds. Even tho’ I own a IDsmk1 and some good Canon lenses, I went with the Sony a900 and the Zeiss 24-70. This combination fulfils 95% of my photography. It doesn’t have live view or video recording or high iso quality but it answers all the other requirements important to me. It’s the best tool for MY job needs. I also saved a lot of money at the Sony price point.
So perhaps you should ask the same question?
ps I have the same Canon lens – it’s not the best option and the Zeiss beats it into a top hat at the expense of slightly worse vignetting.
“Some of your comments betray a certain amount of confusion regarding how cameras work and how photography works for you.”
I have been taking pictures as a serious amateur photographer for over 15 years, starting with a fully manual camera. I know how cameras work thank you very much.
Secondly, I wasn’t asking a question, I was meerly expressing my thoughts on the point. That is why I didn’t go into technical details because it was not the point of this blog. I know what specific lenses should be capeable of, I know about motion blur and that is not the issue – and I know my 5D is not focusing correctly, on more than one lens. It seems to be very slightly off, requiring you to stop down significantly to get an image sharp.I have read other people having this problem too.
“It’s entirely possible that your shooting technique is at fault ie that one camera fits you better than the other so enabling better shots.”
Again, I know what I’m doing. Sorry to be blunt, but I’m not an inexperienced new comer. I did not have this problem shooting film, or with any other camera I have used.
“Re the second, basing a camera choice on spec is purile”
I don’t believe I was. Some people do however. Look at the discussion around the 5D Mark II. People were talking about switching to this camera before it ever came out based purely on its spec sheet.
“It’s the best tool for MY job needs……So perhaps you should ask the same question?”
I believe that is the point I was making (in a round about way).
And by the way – in case you missed the original post – the reason I went with the D90 was not to replace the 5D – but merely to try a Nikon camera, and it’s control system. I intend to go with a D700 probably. I am also considering the Sony a900 so it’s good to hear your input on that
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