Hi Norm,
Having encountered your comments on the forums, I have found myself more times in agreeance with your opinion. In fact, one of your comments is a quote in one of my site (i asked your permission for it),
" Saying you don't post process is like saying you worship camera technology.. it is your god and you can't mess with it. it really is as superstitious as that. There is no magic to what a camera captures. There is no technology that captures what your eye sees and how it makes your spirit feel. Once you put the limitations of what the camera sees ahead of your own vision, you stopped being a photographer and become a technologist. The camera should help you express your vision, the camera has no vision to express."
However, I think i will have to disagree with your comment below:
Originally posted by normhead I hate it when people state assumptions as if they were fact. My cousin used to shoot weddings with a Hassy (well a couple of Haasies actually). How many of those things did his camera have? Why do people think they know what other people, not themselves , want?
This is a Pentax forum. How many of the people on this forum are wedding photographers? Even if you're right, and wedding photographers might want those things, (I know it's a crazy unsupported assumption but hey, lets be creative and assume it's true) why is that relevant? Does the fact that a dump truck driver has 30" tires on his truck, mean I want them on my car?
First of all, I did not state my assumption as if they were fact. I specifically use the words "typical", "probably", and missed my ratio by a 100% margin to show that my opinion was in fact, an anecdotal one.
Furthermore, your statement, "Why do people think they know what other people, not themselves , want?" contrasted much with the general tones of your postings, in fact, I can find an example in the preceeding sentence : "My cousin used to shoot weddings with a Hassy (well a couple of Haasies actually)."
Are you implying your cousin's shooting preference should be taken as a general reference for wedding photography? if not, why mention it? I know you mentioned it as way of proving a point of contrast - but in the process, you also set an example.
Second, i love my pentax - and I love my nikon. I am in fact, agnostic to camera brand.
I am also a glamour shooter, and a wedding shooter. And I can argue my shooting preferences for both sides.
But, I am not agnostic to camera features.
I hope I have kind of clarify my position as a neutral entity. That said, i would like to be creative, and declare that maybe we can take my general statement as fact. Lets try and come up with a logical argument that ends up with a conclusion, without introducing too much fallacy:
Fact :
- More wedding photographers use nikon and canon semi-pro to pro bodies than pentax.
- Nikon and canon bodies are larger than pentax
- pentax are praised for their durabilities, design, and all around weather resistant
- pentax bodies are not in limited supply at the store
- pentax bodies are lacking in the following department : #card slots, uncompressed hdmi out, better AF.C, 39 point AF with 3D tracking, viewfinder, rgb metering sensor, tethering, sensor size
Conclusion:
Wedding photographers value #card slots, uncompressed hdmi out, better AF.C, 39 point AF with 3D tracking, viewfinder, rgb metering sensor, tethering, sensor size, more than size, durability and design of a body, because otherwise they'd be buying out pentax.
In here i have neglected the effect of marketing - but because marketing is a self-fulfilling prophecy, a chicken and egg, my ignoring it is probably a leniency towards pentax. A good marketing begets customers begets good product begets good marketing.
Furthermore, there are organizations such as WPPI, PPOC, PPO whose membership includes large amounts of wedding photographers. A really quick survey about what these photographers use would prove interesting.
Finally, notice what i said : "A typical wedding photographer would value these things.". I did not say that these valuations were justified, right, or even necessary. In fact, i am one of your sample cases who have shot weddings with a K5 - my customers paid me, everyone was happy? I am not arguing that it can't be done. All I am saying is that - while it can be done - more effort, skill, time, precision has to reside in the photographer who wields a k5 or a manual camera or a camera that doesnt have the following feature : #card slots, uncompressed hdmi out, better AF.C, 39 point AF with 3D tracking, viewfinder, rgb metering sensor, tethering, sensor size than those who wield what is basically an automatic machinegun photographic tool. And effort, skill, time, and precision cuts into the profit of the wedding photographer.
Enter your glamour/fashion/high fashion photographer - those who values precision, exposure, meters every single corner of their scene. A hasselblad with 4 buttons (1 for aperture, 1 for shutter speed, 1 for iso and one for capture) is all they need. Or a pentax. Or a leica. Whatever. As I said, i am brand agnostic. Not feature agnostic. I realize the features of the camera that would support the kind of shooting I am doing.
I hope that clarifies things. I hate to be the person who state generalized assumption as fact. But after a quick examination, I am confident that if we go on a fact finding search, we'll find arguments to support my statement. cheers.