Just strictly impressions of cameras that we own and use and not
as any type of endorsment/sales pitch.
I think MM has some rules about selling shit via these threads but,
if we are simply sharing our subjective opinions on gear...
is that cool?
Could make for some creative writing and be useful to other members...No???
Don Garrett
Posts: 3,775
Escondido, California, US
I agree, that it would be interesting, and probably informative if we would write something about the cameras we use. I have one caveat though - it often becomes a pissing match, and a Canon vs. Nikon debate real fast here. It is hard, if not impossible to get any real discussion going. My criterion is image quality. I am not terribly concerned with anything else. Others may like the look or feel of a camera, or it's history. I don't care about that as much, but it seems that those points dominate the discussions we have had here, (and brand is always behind the scenes).
If there are other opinions, I would like to hear them, but, so far, any discussion about gear here seems to be very shallow, and not too informative. I may be wrong, but that is what I believe I have observed in these forums.
If I am in the market for a new camera, I usually go to DP Review, it is pretty comprehensive, though, in the past, I have looked elsewhere for as much information as I could get my hands on before letting go of any money for gear.
-Don
I like DPReview as well but,they tend to do pages and pages of
"this button does this and that button does that" sort of stuff with
only 2-3 pargraphs of real,honest impressions of the gear...
I also agree that some MMer's are incredibly judgmental and...Ummm,
"prickish" in their...Ummm..."contributions" But,
I've also never seen what I would say was a well written,fairly comprehensive
review of a specific piece of kit either...
Don Garrett
Posts: 3,775
Escondido, California, US
Jay Strange wrote: I like DPReview as well but,they tend to do pages and pages of
"this button does this and that button does that" sort of stuff with
only 2-3 pargraphs of real,honest impressions of the gear...
I also agree that some MMer's are incredibly judgmental and...Ummm,
"prickish" in their...Ummm..."contributions" But,
I've also never seen what I would say was a well written,fairly comprehensive
review of a specific piece of kit either...
It's hard, and takes a lot of research and time to get enough "good" information to make a decision. Sometimes just going to the local Calumet, and trying out a camera, then taking the images back to your computer tells you more than anything you will find on the internet. I also wish good discussion was easier to find !
-Don
Even with the people who disagree with your review, your review would be valuable here. Write away. It's always nice to hear what gear people like, and why someone else doesn't like it. That way, we can all make more informed decisions when purchasing.
Alejandra looks great..... if I do my job properly!
Anyone who has followed this forum over the years knows that I have written extensively about lighting systems (including occasionally light modifiers), primarily the Paul Buff ABR 800 ring light (which I use all the time) and more recently about the Einstein E640 mono light when it was introduced. If you do write about equipment from a company with which you have a relationship (I'm sponsored by Paul C. Buff companies), I think its important to include a disclaimer to that effect (which I try to do, and if I forget I get hammered about it which is appropriate).
Being sponsored or having a relationship with a company doesn't necessarily make your views invalid, but I do think people have the right to know about that relationship so they can take it into account when they are reading the reviews.
I've haven't written much about cameras, although I've shot with Canon exclusively for my entire 28 year career. In the past I could go on for hours about why I thought Canon had the superior system, but today (and for the last three or four years) that would (in my opinion) be a little silly. Nikon and several other companies obviously have camera's and lenses every bit as good as anything Canon has to offer. What I do think is true is that if you use one system regularly you do become familiar with all the tricks to get the camera to perform at it's highest level, and user reviews are often useful when discussing how to set up (as an example) the auto focus system to solve a difficult shooting situation. This is particularly true today because the cameras have become increasingly more sophisticated, and let's face it, who really reads the manual cover to back several times? (Okay, Michael Fryd does, it's impossible to bore Michael and I'm blessed to know him!)
Anyway, here is my tip for the day. Before you point a lens at something, stop. Really stop. Are you stopped yet? Good, now proceed. Carefully check all your camera and lens settings and confirm they are appropriate for what you are doing. Don't assume the camera sitting in your bag magically knows that your not shooting in a dark room (like you were yesterday), but are out on a sunny beach at three in the afternoon. If your shooting in aperture priority, i.e. is the ISO setting high enough to keep your shutter speed up? All that goofy technical stuff that the camera will do so well, if it's properly set up!
Sigh, I recently bought for a lot (as in a lot) of money a very expensive telephoto zoom lens. Shot with it for a couple of weeks (and this is commercial work mind you) and in general was pleased with the results. However (however?.... not a good word) not every picture was as sharp as I thought it should be. Most, but I'd run into a series that were.......soft. Hmmm... a lot of money for soft?? So, one day I'm sitting around trying to figure out if I need to send this (very) expensive zoom lens in for adjustment, and while I'm studying the lens I noticed something. The IS is turned off. I have no idea when that happened, or if it had ever been turned on! What an idiot. But one thing is clear, I didn't stop, I didn't check everything out, the standard stuff yes, but the switches on the side of the lens, all FOUR of them (I don't even know what two of them do, rtfm)? Nada. So that's really smart. I spend a lot of money (did I mention that the lens was expensive?) on a lens that is world class, then I apparently disabled the single most expensive system on the lens.
The camera equipment today is all pretty good, it's the users that occasionally need to be reviewed for chronic dementia.
John
--
John Fisher
900 West Avenue, Suite 633
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
305 534-9322
http://www.johnfisher.com
Kevin Connery
Posts: 15,391
Fullerton, California, US
Moderator Note!
Reviews are perfectly acceptable. Encouraged, even.
Spamming, trolling, or such is not.
Inciting riots is not.
If there's a relationship between the writer and the product/company they're reviewing, disclosure is highly suggested if not absolutely required; not doing so can easily make a review fall into the spam category.
John Fisher wrote: Alejandra looks great..... if I do my job properly!
Anyone who has followed this forum over the years knows that I have written extensively about lighting systems (including occasionally light modifiers), primarily the Paul Buff ABR 800 ring light (which I use all the time) and more recently about the Einstein E640 mono light when it was introduced. If you do write about equipment from a company with which you have a relationship (I'm sponsored by Paul C. Buff companies), I think its important to include a disclaimer to that effect (which I try to do, and if I forget I get hammered about it which is appropriate).
Being sponsored or having a relationship with a company doesn't necessarily make your views invalid, but I do think people have the right to know about that relationship so they can take it into account when they are reading the reviews.
I've haven't written much about cameras, although I've shot with Canon exclusively for my entire 28 year career. In the past I could go on for hours about why I thought Canon had the superior system, but today (and for the last three or four years) that would (in my opinion) be a little silly. Nikon and several other companies obviously have camera's and lenses every bit as good as anything Canon has to offer. What I do think is true is that if you use one system regularly you do become familiar with all the tricks to get the camera to perform at it's highest level, and user reviews are often useful when discussing how to set up (as an example) the auto focus system to solve a difficult shooting situation. This is particularly true today because the cameras have become increasingly more sophisticated, and let's face it, who really reads the manual cover to back several times? (Okay, Michael Fryd does, it's impossible to bore Michael and I'm blessed to know him!)
Anyway, here is my tip for the day. Before you point a lens at something, stop. Really stop. Are you stopped yet? Good, now proceed. Carefully check all your camera and lens settings and confirm they are appropriate for what you are doing. Don't assume the camera sitting in your bag magically knows that your not shooting in a dark room (like you were yesterday), but are out on a sunny beach at three in the afternoon. If your shooting in aperture priority, i.e. is the ISO setting high enough to keep your shutter speed up? All that goofy technical stuff that the camera will do so well, if it's properly set up!
Sigh, I recently bought for a lot (as in a lot) of money a very expensive telephoto zoom lens. Shot with it for a couple of weeks (and this is commercial work mind you) and in general was pleased with the results. However (however?.... not a good word) not every picture was as sharp as I thought it should be. Most, but I'd run into a series that were.......soft. Hmmm... a lot of money for soft?? So, one day I'm sitting around trying to figure out if I need to send this (very) expensive zoom lens in for adjustment, and while I'm studying the lens I noticed something. The IS is turned off. I have no idea when that happened, or if it had ever been turned on! What an idiot. But one thing is clear, I didn't stop, I didn't check everything out, the standard stuff yes, but the switches on the side of the lens, all FOUR of them (I don't even know what two of them do, rtfm)? Nada. So that's really smart. I spend a lot of money (did I mention that the lens was expensive?) on a lens that is world class, then I apparently disabled the single most expensive system on the lens.
The camera equipment today is all pretty good, it's the users that occasionally need to be reviewed for chronic dementia.
John
--
John Fisher
900 West Avenue, Suite 633
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
305 534-9322
http://www.johnfisher.com
John, your honesty is always refreshing I spilled good club soda reading about the switches on the lens
The problem crops up when a sponsored photographer, who clearly has a reason to write a favorable review of the equipment he/she gets for free, doesn't acknowledge the sponsorship, and pretends to be unbiased.
Robb Mann wrote: The problem crops up when a sponsored photographer, who clearly has a reason to write a favorable review of the equipment he/she gets for free, doesn't acknowledge the sponsorship, and pretends to be unbiased.
Just one of the reasons one should never base an important decision on information from a single source.
Shouldn't be a prob then...
I'm not sponsored.(I wish!!!)
I'm not famous.
Usually after I pay my bills I have about $1200 left to my name... But I DO buy,use and sell about 8-9 cameras per year...
I know...a bit wacky but...
it's a harmless fetish really!!!
(Tech note: The scene required a 1/4 sec shutter speed on normal mode, but it used 1/60 sec speed instead, firing 4 shots and merging them to the appropriate exposure.)
Jay Strange wrote: Actually Raoul,
ADV stands for adverb...as in:
Carefully and quickly pack up that X-10 and send it to me so I can do a proper review...
Cool Beans!
There is another setting: EXR... Express Remit to Jay!
I understand what you mean by other internet reviews... they just copy the users manual and post glossy photos of their "borrowed" unit...
...another jewel of the X10:
You can turn OFF all the lights on the camera: LCD, Playback, etc and still keep taking pictures by using the OVF. On a dark auditorium, like an Opera, it doesn't light up... and the photo Nazis think you are using Opera Glasses!
salvatori.
Posts: 2,621
State College, Pennsylvania, US
George Ruge wrote: Pentax RULES!!!!!!:-)))))))))
I couldn't agree more. Of course, my Pentax is a 30 year old P3 film camera, but I still think that; wait for it......... Pentax RULES!!!!!!:-)))))))))
excellent advice. we have a fuji x-pro1 that i'm not completely used to yet (the wife uses it mostly) and went out the other day with it in manual focus mode (the switch is on the body, not the lenses, and the wife had in manual to shoot some video previously) and did the whole shoot that way. the only pictures that turned out were the ones where the subject was six feet away. lol. lesson learned. glad it wasn't a wedding. i guess the lack of focus beep should have been a clue but it can be noisy outside.
i would say that it's even better to zero out the camera right after a shoot rather than waiting until before the next shoot.
John Fisher wrote: Anyway, here is my tip for the day. Before you point a lens at something, stop. Really stop. Are you stopped yet? Good, now proceed. Carefully check all your camera and lens settings and confirm they are appropriate for what you are doing.
I couldn't agree more. Of course, my Pentax is a 30 year old P3 film camera, but I still think that; wait for it......... Pentax RULES!!!!!!:-)))))))))
Hehe, yeah, I have an ME, just thinking about film though, haven't really started shooting it yet. I've also got my Mom's Rolleichord and a Graphic View 4X5!! kind of putting the cart before the horse!,:-)))
I love my Canons!!!! My review is simple - IT ROCKS MY SOCKS! I have large big fat long fingers and it fit in my hands nicely. I like the ergonomics. I had a G6, Rebel, 50d, 5d mkII and now a 5d mkIII.
Disclaimer - I am not a professional, I don't work for Canon, nor do I care to.
Phil Drinkwater
Posts: 4,233
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
I'd keep it very related to a specific camera and brand and NOT mention how it compared to any other cameras or brands. That should stop the majority of the silly arguments.
I'd also be very clear about the type of work you do and don't do so people don't pick at the holes with regards to work which you've never even done..
Personally I couldn't give a flying F about charts or pictures of brick walls. Tell me about the camera's strengths and weaknesses in real world shooting conditions.
@John Fisher: I feel your pain. Yesterday I was shooting an abandoned barn, ravaged by fire. It was dreary and around 29 degrees, windy, and I was cold. Put my D300s up on a tripod to make sure there was no shake and began to fire away. My 18-200mm Zoom lens stopped down to F16. WTF???? Many shots just looked soft and I know that aperture on that lens is very sharp. After freezing in place for about 9 years, it seemed, I happened to glance at the switches on the lens. DUH! VR was on, and it should have been off for tripod shooting. I had to reshoot every image that I so Superbly had taken! LOL
Phil Drinkwater wrote: I'd keep it very related to a specific camera and brand and NOT mention how it compared to any other cameras or brands. That should stop the majority of the silly arguments.
Hehehe... these are the MM forums. Around here a discussion about Ginger Ale canwill turn into a Nikon vs. Canon argument.
Phil Drinkwater wrote: I'd also be very clear about the type of work you do and don't do so people don't pick at the holes with regards to work which you've never even done..
AMEN to that! .
It amazes me how many fanboys will bust in saying they should get this camera or that camera, without first knowing what the person is going to be using it for. Yeah, like I really need 6 frames per second doing headshots in a portrait studio!
Jay Strange wrote: Just strictly impressions of cameras that we own and use and not
as any type of endorsment/sales pitch.
I think MM has some rules about selling shit via these threads but,
if we are simply sharing our subjective opinions on gear...
is that cool?
Could make for some creative writing and be useful to other members...No???
I think that was the primary intent of the Photography Talk forum, no? Real-world experience from real-world users; gear talk, etc.
Anyone can log onto DPReview if they want numbers and stats and in-depth feature explanations or comparisons between brands and models. I want to hear from people who have spent their own money on the product and used it more than a few times.
Jay Strange wrote: Just strictly impressions of cameras that we own and use and not
as any type of endorsment/sales pitch.
I think MM has some rules about selling shit via these threads but,
if we are simply sharing our subjective opinions on gear...
is that cool?
Could make for some creative writing and be useful to other members...No???
I can't imagine a better place to write an opinion piece on camera gear.
I have to disagree with the idea that there should NOT be comparisons between models from different manufacturers. The point is there are choices, and a good review will point out those choices and allow the reader to discern which options best apply to their own situation.
I shoot both Canon and Nikon on a daily basis. Canon because that's the system owned by the publishing company where I work, Nikon because that's what I own. My favorite camera would be an amalgam of major and minor features that I find on camera bodies with one nameplate and not the other.
Just off the top of my head, some of those minor features.
Canon - battery charger flashes a sequence that shows how the charge is progressing
Nikon - the on-off switch is in the same place on every body, and right where I like it
Canon - the button in the center of the controller to the right of the LCD can be programmed to view the image I just shot, and the + and - buttons are right under my thumb. Great for checking the image with one hand.
Nikon - I can adjust metering sensitivity for various modes in 1/6 stop increments
Canon - I get three savable Custom settings on the Mode control dial
Nikon - I get multiple card slots on "non-pro" bodies
None of those are deal-breakers. And no one could look any at my images and say which was shot with which camera. But they may be very important features to an individual and how they intend to use the camera they are considering.
Jay Strange wrote: Just strictly impressions of cameras that we own and use and not
as any type of endorsment/sales pitch.
I think MM has some rules about selling shit via these threads but,
if we are simply sharing our subjective opinions on gear...
is that cool?
Could make for some creative writing and be useful to other members...No???
Do you sell cameras or accessories?
Do you have a blog you're trying to get people to read?
If not, I'd bet you're not breaking any rules.
I can't imagine why you'd want to write a formal review. If there's a feature you want to discuss or make people aware of, just write about that.
still-photography wrote: I have to disagree with the idea that there should NOT be comparisons between models from different manufacturers. The point is there are choices, and a good review will point out those choices and allow the reader to discern which options best apply to their own situation.
I shoot both Canon and Nikon on a daily basis. Canon because that's the system owned by the publishing company where I work, Nikon because that's what I own. My favorite camera would be an amalgam of major and minor features that I find on camera bodies with one nameplate and not the other.
Just off the top of my head, some of those minor features.
Canon - battery charger flashes a sequence that shows how the charge is progressing
Nikon - the on-off switch is in the same place on every body, and right where I like it
Canon - the button in the center of the controller to the right of the LCD can be programmed to view the image I just shot, and the + and - buttons are right under my thumb. Great for checking the image with one hand.
Nikon - I can adjust metering sensitivity for various modes in 1/6 stop increments
Canon - I get three savable Custom settings on the Mode control dial
Nikon - I get multiple card slots on "non-pro" bodies
None of those are deal-breakers. And no one could look any at my images and say which was shot with which camera. But they may be very important features to an individual and how they intend to use the camera they are considering.
We can tell you're not using the 5D3. There are no zoom buttons. It requires tow hands now.
Moderator Note!
Cool Beans!
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