Apparently, We Don't need a New DSLR for Christmas

Sandy Hancock · 11-27-2015, 02:50 AM - **1 Like**

I couldn't help myself....

LensBeginner · 11-27-2015, 06:03 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Des

Imagine a camera brand that has retained the same mount for 40 years! I'll buy that.

...you could call that a "pentax"...

**RobA_Oz** · 11-27-2015, 06:11 AM

Originally posted by Sandy Hancock

I couldn't help myself....

Confession is good for the soul, brother. Was it the girl in the bikini? More interesting than the writer, I guess.

AquaDome · 11-27-2015, 10:08 AM

The tone of the article is rather condescending. I posit he is externalizing his own subconscious angst. The third paragraph is him justifying it to himself.

dsmithhfx · 11-27-2015, 11:26 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by AquaDome

The tone of the article is rather condescending. I posit he is externalizing his own subconscious angst. The third paragraph is him justifying it to himself.

And I think his advice is spot on. If you seriously want to learn about photography, an entry-level DSLR is a good place to start (you could also learn with other type of cameras, including p+s models). If you just want to take 'better pictures', you can start right away with whatever camera you already own, even a smart phone. The capturing device, no matter how much it costs, will not help you take 'better pictures', unless and until you apply some study and effort, and I don't mean by casually flipping through dog and cat calendars or browsing instagram. The main thing that the vast majority of people who take photographs are generally very, very bad at, is where to point the damn thing.

Grippy · 11-27-2015, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by dsmithhfx

And I think his advice is spot on. If you seriously want to learn about photography, an entry-level DSLR is a good place to start (you could also learn with other type of cameras, including p+s models). If you just want to take 'better pictures', you can start right away with whatever camera you already own, even a smart phone. The capturing device, no matter how much it costs, will not help you take 'better pictures', unless and until you apply some study and effort, and I don't mean by casually flipping through dog and cat calendars or browsing instagram. The main thing that the vast majority of people who take photographs are generally very, very bad at, is where to point the damn thing.

Very well said and so true. So many people get caught up in the gear race and still don't understand the basics.

dansamy · 11-27-2015, 07:32 PM - **1 Like**

Yeah, but new stuff! New, SHINIER stuff!!

Nicolas06 · 11-28-2015, 06:49 AM

This is pure bullshit. Yes a DSLR is big/heavy and you have to make some effort to carry it arround. Bottom line is if you don't even want to do that, you are not going to make the necessary effort to get a great picture. You are not going to move to get a better composition, you are not going to want to take the right apperture or shutter speed and you are not going to wait until tourists are gone to take this shoot or go back to place when the lighting is more interresting.

Getting a DSLR when you come from a smarphone/compact is the easiest way to get noticably better shoots. No amount of learning with your smartphone will allow you to got past the fixed focal, so-so low light performance and almost infinite dof. Even if you don't want to learn a DSLR is cheap, get packet with quite lot of quality. Just try and shot and you get something noticably better than with a PS.

On the contrary with a PS you need all the knowledge to bypass all the limitations of the gear and still get great results.

Here my first shoots on flickr after I got my DSLR to get better pictures... Many issues, far from perfect... Still noticably better than what I got from a PS or smartphone:

dsmithhfx · 11-28-2015, 07:42 AM

Originally posted by Nicolas06

Yes a DSLR is big/heavy and you have to make some effort to carry it arround. Bottom line is if you don't even want to do that, you are not going to make the necessary effort to get a great picture.

I can't even.

officiousbystander · 11-28-2015, 07:49 PM

I gave my 11yo nephew my Kx which he recently took on a trip to South America. I've just spent a few days editing them. Even with jpgs straight from the camera there's headroom to do cropping and fixing exposure and colour. Trying doing that with a phone or a p&s. So it's not just the initial photos, it's what you can do with them afterwards. Why deny that opportunity to beginners or non-professionals just because they can't get the most out of it from the get go? When it comes to giving good cameras as gifts read the parable of The Sower (Matthew 13). Now look what's happened. I'm turning into Ed.

**RobA_Oz** · 11-29-2015, 01:48 AM

Well, there's a range of opinions. Reading articles like this is a bit like interrogating witnesses at the scene of an accident – ten witnesses; ten different versions of the same set of events, all seen from a slightly different angle, and interpreted with different sets of experiences and biases. Overall, what I think the writer is trying to say is that for a lot of people, buying a DSLR for Xmas is somewhat like giving a puppy to a child – the difference being that many puppies go back to the pet shop or on to the animal shelter when the novelty's worn off, the DSLRs go into the cupboard, to be brought out on the odd occasion. Not all of them, mind, but probably most.

But then, a lot of other Xmas presents, even ones to yourself, are like that.

**monochrome** · 11-29-2015, 07:47 AM

It's pretty simple, really. There are gear people and image people. Most of us are somewhere between the two extremes, but if you are really close to the gear end of the continuum, great, go for it. If it makes you happy and you have the money, buy it.

But don't write some self-effacing blog post to assuage your guilt.

So here's a clue, dude - I know myself. In my case, I don't care what comes out of the camera today. I know it isn't very good and I know it will be a little better tomorrow. What I like today is using gear, especially old gear - the actual, in-the-moment experience. To a certain degree I like just HAVING old gear. So sue me. If I see a lens or camera that looks interesting or fun to use (whatever my reason for fun is) I buy it. Sometimes I sell it later, sometimes I don't. I usually don't get back what I paid. The difference is the cost of my individual take on the hobby.

I really don't know whether I'll buy the FF. I do have a limit.

dansamy · 11-29-2015, 07:58 AM

I like new, shiny stuff. Gadgets of all sorts. The roaster I bought for Thanksgiving won't make me a better cook, but it moved the turkey out of the oven so we could bake pies while the turkey was still roasting. It's a tool. My DSLR certainly doesn't make me a better photographer, but it does let me catch a fleeting moment that the PnS would have missed. Doesn't help me get the moment focused though!

dsmithhfx · 11-29-2015, 08:15 AM

Your Camera Doesn't Matter

**monochrome** · 11-29-2015, 08:18 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by dsmithhfx

Your Camera Doesn't Matter

srsly? Ken Rockwell?

11-29-2015, 07:47 AM	#27
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	It's pretty simple, really. There are gear people and image people. Most of us are somewhere between the two extremes, but if you are really close to the gear end of the continuum, great, go for it. If it makes you happy and you have the money, buy it. But don't write some self-effacing blog post to assuage your guilt. So here's a clue, dude - I know myself. In my case, I don't care what comes out of the camera today. I know it isn't very good and I know it will be a little better tomorrow. What I like today is using gear, especially old gear - the actual, in-the-moment experience. To a certain degree I like just HAVING old gear. So sue me. If I see a lens or camera that looks interesting or fun to use (whatever my reason for fun is) I buy it. Sometimes I sell it later, sometimes I don't. I usually don't get back what I paid. The difference is the cost of my individual take on the hobby. I really don't know whether I'll buy the FF. I do have a limit. Last edited by monochrome; 11-29-2015 at 07:56 AM.

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11-27-2015, 02:50 AM - 1 Like	#16
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,267	I couldn't help myself....

11-27-2015, 06:03 AM - 1 Like	#17
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by Des Imagine a camera brand that has retained the same mount for 40 years! I'll buy that. ...you could call that a "pentax"...

11-27-2015, 06:11 AM	#18
RobA_Oz Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tasmania, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,195 Original Poster	Originally posted by Sandy Hancock I couldn't help myself.... Confession is good for the soul, brother. Was it the girl in the bikini? More interesting than the writer, I guess.

11-27-2015, 10:08 AM	#19
AquaDome Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: New Carlisle, IN Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,475	The tone of the article is rather condescending. I posit he is externalizing his own subconscious angst. The third paragraph is him justifying it to himself.

11-27-2015, 11:26 AM - 1 Like	#20
dsmithhfx Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Toronto Posts: 5,142	Originally posted by AquaDome The tone of the article is rather condescending. I posit he is externalizing his own subconscious angst. The third paragraph is him justifying it to himself. And I think his advice is spot on. If you seriously want to learn about photography, an entry-level DSLR is a good place to start (you could also learn with other type of cameras, including p+s models). If you just want to take 'better pictures', you can start right away with whatever camera you already own, even a smart phone. The capturing device, no matter how much it costs, will not help you take 'better pictures', unless and until you apply some study and effort, and I don't mean by casually flipping through dog and cat calendars or browsing instagram. The main thing that the vast majority of people who take photographs are generally very, very bad at, is where to point the damn thing.

11-27-2015, 02:51 PM	#21
Grippy Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Adelaide Posts: 816	Originally posted by dsmithhfx And I think his advice is spot on. If you seriously want to learn about photography, an entry-level DSLR is a good place to start (you could also learn with other type of cameras, including p+s models). If you just want to take 'better pictures', you can start right away with whatever camera you already own, even a smart phone. The capturing device, no matter how much it costs, will not help you take 'better pictures', unless and until you apply some study and effort, and I don't mean by casually flipping through dog and cat calendars or browsing instagram. The main thing that the vast majority of people who take photographs are generally very, very bad at, is where to point the damn thing. Very well said and so true. So many people get caught up in the gear race and still don't understand the basics.

11-27-2015, 07:32 PM - 1 Like	#22
dansamy Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,450	Yeah, but new stuff! New, SHINIER stuff!!

11-28-2015, 06:49 AM	#23
Nicolas06 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 4,854	This is pure bullshit. Yes a DSLR is big/heavy and you have to make some effort to carry it arround. Bottom line is if you don't even want to do that, you are not going to make the necessary effort to get a great picture. You are not going to move to get a better composition, you are not going to want to take the right apperture or shutter speed and you are not going to wait until tourists are gone to take this shoot or go back to place when the lighting is more interresting. Getting a DSLR when you come from a smarphone/compact is the easiest way to get noticably better shoots. No amount of learning with your smartphone will allow you to got past the fixed focal, so-so low light performance and almost infinite dof. Even if you don't want to learn a DSLR is cheap, get packet with quite lot of quality. Just try and shot and you get something noticably better than with a PS. On the contrary with a PS you need all the knowledge to bypass all the limitations of the gear and still get great results. Here my first shoots on flickr after I got my DSLR to get better pictures... Many issues, far from perfect... Still noticably better than what I got from a PS or smartphone:

11-28-2015, 07:42 AM	#24
dsmithhfx Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Toronto Posts: 5,142	Originally posted by Nicolas06 Yes a DSLR is big/heavy and you have to make some effort to carry it arround. Bottom line is if you don't even want to do that, you are not going to make the necessary effort to get a great picture. I can't even.

11-28-2015, 07:49 PM	#25
officiousbystander Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 912	I gave my 11yo nephew my Kx which he recently took on a trip to South America. I've just spent a few days editing them. Even with jpgs straight from the camera there's headroom to do cropping and fixing exposure and colour. Trying doing that with a phone or a p&s. So it's not just the initial photos, it's what you can do with them afterwards. Why deny that opportunity to beginners or non-professionals just because they can't get the most out of it from the get go? When it comes to giving good cameras as gifts read the parable of The Sower (Matthew 13). Now look what's happened. I'm turning into Ed.

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11-29-2015, 01:48 AM	#26
RobA_Oz Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tasmania, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,195 Original Poster	Well, there's a range of opinions. Reading articles like this is a bit like interrogating witnesses at the scene of an accident – ten witnesses; ten different versions of the same set of events, all seen from a slightly different angle, and interpreted with different sets of experiences and biases. Overall, what I think the writer is trying to say is that for a lot of people, buying a DSLR for Xmas is somewhat like giving a puppy to a child – the difference being that many puppies go back to the pet shop or on to the animal shelter when the novelty's worn off, the DSLRs go into the cupboard, to be brought out on the odd occasion. Not all of them, mind, but probably most. But then, a lot of other Xmas presents, even ones to yourself, are like that.

11-29-2015, 07:58 AM	#28
dansamy Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,450	I like new, shiny stuff. Gadgets of all sorts. The roaster I bought for Thanksgiving won't make me a better cook, but it moved the turkey out of the oven so we could bake pies while the turkey was still roasting. It's a tool. My DSLR certainly doesn't make me a better photographer, but it does let me catch a fleeting moment that the PnS would have missed. Doesn't help me get the moment focused though!

11-29-2015, 08:15 AM	#29
dsmithhfx Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Toronto Posts: 5,142	Your Camera Doesn't Matter

11-29-2015, 08:18 AM - 2 Likes	#30
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by dsmithhfx Your Camera Doesn't Matter srsly? Ken Rockwell?