How important is the camera body V lens

B

Bill16

Senior Member
There are great reasons for upgrading , but only if you feel the need/desire! I never had a bad Nikon, and all of them with the right person behind them could make beautiful photos! But I upgraded anyway,with my desire looking for pro features, till now I have them in my D700, D800E and most of them in my D7100 good enough to qualify in my book! :)

So upgrading is purely your choice, and is not a need unless you decide it is! :)
 
W

WayneF

Senior Member
I forgot pentaprism viewfinder. :)

I guess it was 50 years, but it doesn't seem that long ago when the only settings on cameras were shutter speed and aperture. :) And we had a great time, and got some good pictures, but it is tremendously easier today. The hard stuff has become possible, and the easy stuff is trivial.
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
WayneF said:
I forgot pentaprism viewfinder. :)

I guess it was 50 years, but it doesn't seem that long ago when the only settings on cameras were shutter speed and aperture. :) And we had a great time, and got some good pictures, but it is tremendously easier today. The hard stuff has become possible, and the easy stuff is trivial.
Click to expand...

And the little useless dial that you could set what speed film was in the camera in case you forgot and did not have the little window in the film back that would let you see the speed.
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
When I look back at my upgrades over the last 5 years:

D3100 to D5100 to D600 to D610 to Oly EM1 to Oly EM5 II, The most significant was actually D3100 to D5100. Auto-bracketing was the single most important feature to me in the move up (and that includes going from Dx to Fx).
 
Last edited:
R

RON_RIP

Senior Member
Well the day will come probably that I will need to move up from my D7000 but it will be the result of the camera breaking down, not the desire to move up to new features. This camera gives me everything I need and I would rather spend money on improved glass than jumping from body to body. Nonetheless, all my new lens purchases will be fx glass in case my inevitable move happens to be a full frame. Just sayin
 
B

Blacktop

Senior Member
I just shot a bunch of pictures inside Mellow Mushroom (a Restaurant/bar)with 70's Dolly Parton at 6400 ISO...OMG...OMG....OMG!!!
Everyone needs this camera..Even the new guy, @Kevin H :applause:
 
Last edited:
E

Elliot87

Senior Member
Often the photographer is the most important factor but there are times when the gear is far more important. I was photographing a Kingfisher in low light with D7100 and 70-300mm. I had all the time I needed to try different settings and I know where the lens is best. With that gear in those conditions I think I got the near to the maximum possible even though I would consider to myself an average level photographer with A LOT of learning still to do. If you'd put a D750 with a 300mm 2.8 and 1.4 TC in my hands, I'd have got better results. If I could have changed one thing at the time it would have been glass.
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
Often the photographer is the most important factor but there are times when the gear is far more important. I was photographing a Kingfisher in low light with D7100 and 70-300mm. I had all the time I needed to try different settings and I know where the lens is best. With that gear in those conditions I think I got the near to the maximum possible even though I would consider to myself an average level photographer with A LOT of learning still to do. If you'd put a D750 with a 300mm 2.8 and 1.4 TC in my hands, I'd have got better results. If I could have changed one thing at the time it would have been glass.
Click to expand...

In that scenario i would have said you would have been better with a D7200 with 300 and 1.4,as great as it is i would not have bought the D750 had seen my long term image making future in birding.
 
E

Elliot87

Senior Member
mikew said:
In that scenario i would have said you would have been better with a D7200 with 300 and 1.4,as great as it is i would not have bought the D750 had seen my long term image making future in birding.
Click to expand...

Sure, I was more thinking about being able to bump up the ISO a lot, the D7200 does have an advantage over the D7100 in that regard too from what I've seen.
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
Sure, I was more thinking about being able to bump up the ISO a lot, the D7200 does have an advantage over the D7100 in that regard too from what I've seen.
Click to expand...

This is the sort of thing that made me pose the question,camera bodies are now very relevant to the images you want to capture,sure any camera body in the right hands can do nearly anything but most us us want to take advantage of technology where it helps.
 
E

Elliot87

Senior Member
mikew said:
This is the sort of thing that made me pose the question,camera bodies are now very relevant to the images you want to capture,sure any camera body in the right hands can do nearly anything but most us us want to take advantage of technology where it helps.
Click to expand...

I guess in a studio environment where you can control the light and distance to the subject, the photographer is always going to be the most important factor. Give me a D810 and a pro a D3100 and I know it won't be me getting the best pictures. Wildlife on the other hand, having the right gear is critical IMO, you still must know what you're doing but if you don't have the reach or can't get a fast shutter speed then it doesn't matter how good you are.

Have you seen any of the DigitalRev pro photog cheap camera challenges on youtube?
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
I guess in a studio environment where you can control the light and distance to the subject, the photographer is always going to be the most important factor. Give me a D810 and a pro a D3100 and I know it won't be me getting the best pictures. Wildlife on the other hand, having the right gear is critical IMO, you still must know what you're doing but if you don't have the reach or can't get a fast shutter speed then it doesn't matter how good you are.

Have you seen any of the DigitalRev pro photog cheap camera challenges on youtube?
Click to expand...

Yes i have seen a few of them,he starts to wind me up some times then he will say something i like so i carry on watching.
 
E

Elliot87

Senior Member
mikew said:
Yes i have seen a few of them,he starts to wind me up some times then he will say something i like so i carry on watching.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, sometimes it seems they're trying to copy top gear too much and I don't like seeing perfectly good cameras being wrecked on purpose. On the whole they're entertaining enough in moderate doses.
 
R

Retro

Senior Member
Kevin H said:
Do I??

My D5100 takes pic's like this....
Click to expand...

Those are stunning pictures, Kevin. I hope to do as well very soon; as soon as I can get a telephoto lens and the time to use it.

I was discussing photography with a friend recently who loves his Canon SX60 or SX530 or whatever it is. He thinks SLR photography is stupid, and his awesome Canon can do everything a DSLR can do. He was criticizing my FE2 and I explained to him that I want to control all the factors in the photo and I like to know what made the shot the way it is; i.e., f stop, shutter speed, etc.. He said "I don't care how the shot was made! I just want to get the shot!"

End of discussion. That's where we part ways. If great shots were all there was to photography, I would just buy a Coolpix and go sailing. Photography is not a passion then. In my view, my friend is not into photography. He's just into getting great shots.
 
J

jay_dean

Senior Member
Elliot87 said:
Often the photographer is the most important factor but there are times when the gear is far more important. I was photographing a Kingfisher in low light with D7100 and 70-300mm. I had all the time I needed to try different settings and I know where the lens is best. With that gear in those conditions I think I got the near to the maximum possible even though I would consider to myself an average level photographer with A LOT of learning still to do. If you'd put a D750 with a 300mm 2.8 and 1.4 TC in my hands, I'd have got better results. If I could have changed one thing at the time it would have been glass.
Click to expand...

Wholeheartedly agree.
 
Top