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Author Topic: Hello! Looking for your opinions  (Read 2253 times)

Shengji

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Hello! Looking for your opinions
« on: March 11, 2012, 03:52:09 pm »

Hi everyone,

I've been a long time fan of this site, I've found it very helpful and inspiring over the years. I decided to create an account here because I'm having a tough time deciding what to do and from what I've seen, the community here is very mature and seems to lack the drama, trolling and over the top fanboyism that plagues our hobby's internet presence.

So basically, my DLSR was no longer right for me - that's perhaps a story for another day - and I'm looking with real interest at the mirrorless interchangeable lens style cameras. I like them because of their smaller size and that I can use them without attracting as much attention! I like to have lots of control over my camera, manual everything - though please don't think that I'm snubbing auto everything - I love auto everything too, but a camera which won't let me control what I want to control will end up frustrating me sometimes.

So what sort of pictures do I like to take? Well, I love taking a good landscape - doesn't everybody? It's where I started in photography and where I developed my love of the camera. I also enjoy the occasional street photo session. This will be my only camera so it will have to fulfil the family snaps role too and often I'll want to take a nice portrait of someone. In fact, my family snaps often turn into mini portrait sessions.... much to the dismay of everyone else involved. Where my interest really lies is in making projects - let me explain by telling you about the idea's I scribbled in my notebook in the last 24 hours (I'll write it out exactly so you can understand how my mind turns!!)

"A shot of me in the kitchen. I'm cutting an orange (or lemon depending on background) with a knife open but I'm slamming the knife hard on the cutting board. The two (perfectly cut) halves of the orange are flying off the chopping board with the force and juice is spraying out from the cut. I've got a huge grin on my face"

"Comedy shot, husband and wife in bed the wife has all the covers and is stretched out across the entire bed. the husband is hunched up with cold and is hanging off the edge of the bed. Wife is fast asleep and blissfully happy. Husband is awake and looking jealously at space on bed. Note, bed is very feminine, no masculine elements - though his bedside table could be a little haven of masculinity" - yeah, guess how I thought that one up!!

"Shot of a tiny little woman fighting a grasshopper (perhaps a dog). No photoshop, just use lord of the rings style tricks and carefully plan scene so she can be far away and creature close to camera and both lit from same source and both sharp. note if taken from the ridge on the hill can have plenty of space to get them both sharp and still get creamy bokeh from hill in background to help add to illusion"

So you see where my creative mind wanders too and I have to have lots of skills from different areas of photography to get it to work (not that it often does work as well as I would like)

So I am considering both the Sony NEX 7 and the Fujifilm X Pro 1. I've seen all that the internet has to say in terms of criticism of these camera's and to be honest, whenever I find myself wondering about how sharp x lens is in the corners or whether contrast detection is too slow I tend to grab one of my books of historic photographers or watch pro photographer, cheap camera on digitalrev tv and all such pixel peepisms vanish to be replaced by inspiration!

I was wondering what your opinion of my choices are and why? Am I wrong assume the four thirds cameras will become very point and shoot oriented (I use point and shoot to describe the sort of heavily automated cameras designed for people who like to take photo's but have no interest in photography) in the next 5-10 years. Can you think of a real wildcard idea that might make me think of something else, do you have an opinion on the NEX of X pro systems which may make me think....

Let me know!

Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for reading my wall of text,

Will
« Last Edit: March 11, 2012, 03:55:31 pm by Shengji »
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wolfnowl

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Re: Hello! Looking for your opinions
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2012, 01:30:40 am »

Will: This is a little old, but it might be of use to you: How to Buy a New Camera

Mike.
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Shengji

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Re: Hello! Looking for your opinions
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2012, 04:42:00 am »

Thanks Mike, that's a really great piece! It kind of wrapped up very elegantly exactly how I feel about buying a camera! I see it as similar to buying a horse I think (Having never bought a horse, I must say) - I wouldn't buy one without meeting it, spending a couple of hours with it, riding it as much as possible (assuming that's why I'm buying a horse) and getting the correct type of horse is so important. Buying a race stallion would be a waste of money if I want to do dressage!

I like the horse simile because it also works well for the ownership of the camera - your photography will be the result of the partnership between yourself and the camera. Doesn't matter how much you lust after a Leica (and I do!) if you get one and your "personalities" clash,  your photography will suffer - if you get on with a samsung perfectly and you can produce better photo's with it, then it's the right choice! OK, I may be drifting off topic now....

I'm in no hurry to make any decision, I'm waiting until my good local camera shop has the Fujifilm in stock and perhaps the Olympus OM-D too and I can give them a try. I couldn't think of anything stranger than buying a camera online without having touched it.

I'm going to re-read your article several times before I make a decision, thanks again,

Will
« Last Edit: March 12, 2012, 04:46:44 am by Shengji »
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wolfnowl

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Re: Hello! Looking for your opinions
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2012, 09:04:30 pm »

You're most welcome!  We (usually) help each other out where we can, although we have on occasion suffered through a minor difference of opinion...  ;)

Mike.
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