Originally posted by Aristophanes Soccer mom cameras. Big glass cameras..? Not so much.
My sister takes photos of my nephews and their classmates at sporting events with a Nikon D7100 and a Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 S lens with a Manfrotto Carbon fibre monopod (the lens and monopod are mine) - while the other soccer mums fiddle with
slow as hell consumer level 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS/VR lenses on entry level Canon and Nikon cameras and you know what ..Parents pay my sister for her photographs, because she has the right gear to get the job done. Many of her friends always comment on the quality of her images and are willing to pay her for photographs of their kids. With professional level gear there is always an opportunity to recoup the cost of purchasing it - this opportunity doesn't really exist with entry level equipment. Professional gear when used by skilled hands commands respect, there is no substitute for quality.
If we all used gutless optical wonders the standards of photography will fall - there are things that are possible now that no one could do 30 years ago, you want usable images at ISO 6400? you can't do that with film. You want GPS assisted tracking of celestial bodies? try doing that with a Rollei 6008 and a Gitzo tripod. You want chromatic abberation corrections when you develop your images?...well you can do that with colour film images, if you use the dye transfer printing process - which is sadly, an extinct process.
Originally posted by Aristophanes A weighty lens with no VR or IS for Canikon is going to have.......issues.
Rubbish, If photographers use correct technique there won't be any...issues. And if they have issues, then they have no-one but themselves to blame.
Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX DG - ISO 80 1/8th f/11 - Handheld @ 180mm