[baro-nite]

Thought-provoking article by Ming Thein:

Points of sufficiency: do you really know how much is enough? ? Ming Thein | Photographer

Samples:

‘I have a D700. Should I upgrade to the D800/ D800E?’ The fact that that question is even being asked signals that the marketing department has done a good job.

if you can’t get a good 45×30″ or so print out of the D700, then your shooting technique needs work

One of the reasons why the photographic industry is still growing despite passing saturation point some time ago is because of the photographers themselves: they don’t know when to stop.

[Docrwm]

I agree. Of course it's not just bodies, LBA is a harsh mistress.

[psychdoc]

Right on.

For most of us, our current cameras are still way more advanced than our skills.

[vrrattko]

I find this bit interesting (for the critics of not so fast DA limited lenses):

Here’s another curious thing: equipment with more conservative specifications often performs better than more extreme gear, even though the extreme gear frequently costs several times more. This is because we’re dealing with known technology, with greater tolerance for error: this is why there are many superb 50/2s or 50/2.8s that perform excellently wide open, but few 50/1.4s and faster that do. It’s also why lenses with higher resolving power – take the macros for instance – have modest apertures. It’s easier to correct for smaller apertures.

[aurele]

Baro-nite : i couldn't agree more !

The marketing departements are very good when it comes to gear : most people think "with a DSLR i will do better picture than with my bridge" . Not always, and most of the time just "no".

Well, and that's the point of merketing : selling you something that you don't really need !

[magkelly]

Maybe I'm just not "normal" compared to most photographers but I do know when to stop, at least when it comes to the more pricey digital stuff. I'm not out there every year buying a new camera just because I want one. If I am looking at an upgrade on a camera or a lens it's because there really is something about that camera or that lens that I need, not just want.

I love the looks of the K-30 and I definitely want one but the main reason I am going for it eventually is because I could use better AF and a WR body. My K-x is a good camera but it's not really advanced enough for pro work though I am trying to do that with it. Marketing doesn't drive my choices in terms of gear at all. What my wallet can afford and my current needs as a photographer does.

I'm the same way with cars. I only upgrade the vehicle when I have to. I usually buy an economy car. If my car looks cool, great, but I care far more that it's reliable and doesn't guzzle gas than I do that it's the latest model. Actually it seldom is. I buy used cars. I've never had a new car actually. Our Focus was 2 years old when we got it and looked new, but wasn't. I'm guessing the person I got it from had upgrade fever or just didn't like it maybe? So maybe it's a good thing that some people are that way or I would not be driving my cute screaming red Focus SLE, lol.

But honestly I didn't get it because it looked like a sports car. My Dad definitely wanted it for that. He's a sports car nut, that guy, always has been, and he loves them in red. But in the end we bought it because we got an extremely good deal on it and it had killer gas mileage. For me the fact that it's actually a sweet looking little car is bonus, that's all...

[hcarvalhoalves]

You can't count on your hands how many people ask why their cameras are broken in this forum (or any forum) every week when it's obvious they haven't learned how to operate it in the first place.

They'll blame the AF on blurry photos shot at 1/10. They'll blame the AF when the camera doesn't automagically recognize they wanted the kid's nose on that side of the image to be in focus without recomposing. They'll blame the ISO in a noisy photo taken at 1/1000.

Most camera buyers are gear heads, it's like the people who buy cutting-edge PCs and read PC Magazine. They don't do anything with it, they just want to spend money and be marveled by technology.

[magkelly]

I wasn't going to go there, but yeah, I agree. Sometimes I read posts on camera forums like this one and I just want to scream GO READ THE DARNED MANUAL STUPID at some people because it's so obvious that THEY are the problem and not their camera. My own experience is that most of the cameras I have owned can actually do more than I need them to if I actually use them as the maker intended.

Let's face it up till a decade or two ago people were taking decent pics with digital cameras that did far less in some ways. I know I was. If I can't get stellar shots with a camera that's got considerably more capacity than my first digital ones ever did than clearly I am the problem, not the camera.

I make a point of actually reading my manual though before I ever even try to use a new camera. I don't really get people who don't. I mean how are you supposed to learn a camera properly if you don't? Yeah, all cameras have certain things in common, but all cameras have their particular quirks and if you don't read the manual you may never know that.

My pet peeve actually is people who buy a serious camera who then proceed to use it like a P&S, never once taking it off manual. But that's probably partially jealousy I will admit. Watching someone with a $1500 camera who doesn't really care to know how to use it is sheer torture for me. I get so tempted sometimes just to walk up to someone like that, bitch slap them, take their camera and run. But of course I can't do that and not end up in jail so I just have to sit there, bite my tongue and suffer....:P

[monochrome]

A Subaru Outback does 95% of the stuff a Suburban does, for half the money. An Accord EX-L does EVERYTHING a BMW 5-Series does (except the Honda goes from Zero to the Speed Limit 3 seconds slower), for less than half the money. Given that my vehicle spends 23 hours a day parked in either my garage or the space I rent in one at my office building who the hell cares about 60 seconds a day? If I need to haul big stuff, trailer heavy stuff or get somewhere really fast I can rent something.

The analogy works for cameras.

[baro-nite]

The analogy works for cameras.

Bringing in a car analogy just starts new arguments. Insofar as a car is merely a tool for moving things, nobody needs a BMW. But maybe it has a more comfortable ride and/or quieter cabin? Some care about more than just getting from A to B and can afford to pay for the extras.

Cameras also have secondary factors (ergonomics, functions) that are important, but that's not usually why people buy new cameras. For me, the gist of the article is that if you think you are getting better image quality with your camera upgrade, you might be deluding yourself. To go back to your car analogy, this would be like buying the BMW because "I need the faster 0-60 time". Unlikely.

I'd like better high ISO performance than I have with my K10D. I wonder if I really need it, though. I have a feeling that when I do upgrade I'm still going to shoot almost exclusively at low ISO. I'm amused by all the complaints that the K-5 II isn't a "compelling upgrade path" from the K-5. Of course, from business point of view it's good to convince your customers to upgrade.

[troenaas]

This is consumerism in a nutshell!

Without it, todays economy would collapse.

How to keep the economy afloat?

Buy some more.............

[aurele]

I'm amused by all the complaints that the K-5 II isn't a "compelling upgrade path" from the K-5. Of course, from business point of view it's good to convince your customers to upgrade.

The K5II is really appealing for me : it adress the main thing that prevent me from getting a K5 : the AF that wasn't really a big leap from the Kx.

And for people like me that, after 2 and half years of use of a K-x, really reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally want a silent shutter, then the K5II is even more appealing since the K30 is quite noisy.

For the rest, i don't do video, nor LV, so basicaly i will wait from christmas or just after to get one

[wildman]

know how much is enough?

That's the last thing the American economy wants you to know.

[audiobomber]

I choose my gear very carefully after extended research, whether it's a vehicle, audio component or camera. Once I make my choice, I tend to hang on, because it meets my needs and is reliable. That explains why I still have a 2003 Pathfinder, I haven't changed a stereo component in five years, and I am not very tempted by the new Pentax bodies.

I have a K20D and K-x. I don't love the K-x, but it does the job when I need high ISO or a backup to the K20. I bought a K-5 and returned it, because it was hopeless in tungsten light and because it didn't offer much beyond my existing bodies. People commonly exaggerate the performance of newer gear. The amazing ISO performance of the K-x turned out to mean 2/3 of a stop over the K-20D. The K-5 is only a third of a stop beyond the K-x, and they are equal at ISO 6400. At least the new bodies addressed the AF wonkiness of the K-5.

I'm looking for a replacement p&s. My mini-DSLR, the PowerShot A720, has been convincingly eclipsed by the new high-performance compacts. I'm tempted by the RX100 but it has some faults and I consider Sony the evil empire. I'm hoping Ricoh comes out with an interesting compact soon, and there is a new crop of replacements to consider (Fuji, Canon, Olympus).

[vrrattko]

This is consumerism in a nutshell!

Without it, todays economy would collapse.

How to keep the economy afloat?

Buy some more.............

exactly, but that is sick...keeping the economy afloat on the expense of common people financial collapse....but this is on another topic, really
I agree with the all posts above....i witnessed recently a man buying dslr asking salesman if the more advanced Nikon D5100 can zoom longer than entry level Nikon D3100 ....apparently this guy came from bridge cameras and have not a slightiest idea how SLR and lenses work. Those customers are easy prey for marketing...