Now that I’ve gone medium-format, I’d like to get one. Speed of use is not an issue, stability is paramount.

Gitzo and Manfrotto have so many models I’m bewildered. Need help[/quote]

All I can say is that I am more than happy with my Amnova

Now that I’ve gone medium-format, I’d like to get one. Speed of use is not an issue, stability is paramount.

Gitzo and Manfrotto have so many models I’m bewildered. Need help

• This baby is tall, very tall!
• Sturdy and solid
• Very well constructed
• Seems easy to use mechanism wise but time will tell

Am really looking forward to getting out and using it!

Regarding my Defender, it is the only time I’ve bought a vehicle from new. Apart from replacing a faulty relay, and the contacts in the starter solenoid (both of which I did myself) oh and one tyre, it has run faultlessly for 8 years). I love it:-)

@ Mac I’m glad you like the photos. Reflections have always been something I like to use

I have never owned a Defender either but friends have and they are pretty solid as far as I am aware. Agricultural, but solid!

I even worked for a time at Bearmach in Cardiff, Swansea and Swindon. Mostly at the Cardiff location, though, as it was the corporate headquarters. Still, even after all that, if I was offered a Series again, I would take it in a heartbeat.

The old 328i was a classic. The new A6 is very good, the old one a bit wonky. Now we are four in the family I am looking to go bigger, am currently lusting after either a Range Rover Sport or A6 Allroad. A full-on large format photo setup would almost be the same price!!

Dunks, have you chosen a camera yet man!

Damn I nearly wrote BMW and Audi as I have owned both (328i and A6). I really like the look of the R8

@Jeremy

Not me sir – I drive a 12 year old Jeep these days!!!!

It can be difficult to take note of tone, even with smileys etc, so no apology necessary for me. Actually your post prompted me to read up on medium and large format cameras and some of the photos are truly amazing. But wow at what cost? The new systems are coming in at $35,000 + for a body and digital back!

There has been some gentle Nikon/Canon ribbing going. The point I think to have been made was that the two major DSLR brands are Nikon and Canon and that Dunks would not go wrong with either’s offerings.

I have come up against people who thought equipment was everything, spent a fortune and then lorded it up. Fact was, their photos were terrible, they never got out of P or “the green setting” (an actual quote) and didn’t have a clue what DOF even meant. They could have got the same shots with a high-end P&S, perhaps even better as they would have been actually taking photos instead of pretending to twiddle with their DSLR settings.

Now one comment HAS offended me. BMWs and Mercedes are awful cars. Now, Audi, like mine, that is a quality vehicle!

No, I have to agree with Chris, I enjoy the in depth level of debate and was aware there are some keen and experienced folks following the blog so was sure I would receive good advice. To see such passion is great.

I will be doing a lot of research based on your comments and having a look at the URL’s suggested. It does seem as if it is a choice between Nikon and Canon and once I have a shortlist may come down to price/availability and ‘preference’ when I actually get my hands on them.

Will keep people posted!

Peace, love and xmas spirit to you all!

The question is have we helped Dunks who doesn’t seem to have got a word in since he asked the initial question

My comment regards the ‘bundles’ was based on my (limited) experience when I was looking around for the D80. At the time I was getting tempted by the offers that included things like 3 lenses, 2 tripods, bag etc. I came to the conclusion that while having all that in one ‘hit’ may be attractive it would be a short term approach and I should take the process slower and buy individual items at as high a quality as I could afford over a period of time.

@John

My DOF experience is limited, but I have had no issues with the D80 at all

[quote comment="22132"]

And I’m mildly offended at the “snapper type photography” comment, and the imagination thing. It makes you sound pretty arrogant and a little silly.[/quote]

Didn’t read it like that myself I felt it was a generic observation about making the shift and maybe not looking at this as a brand debate

[quote comment="22132"]Why would I lug a Contax about, deal with film, digital backs, hard-to-find lenses, at a cost that is difficult to justify in the face of today’s top-end DSLRs offering similar if not equal performance and vastly superior convenience? Plus do they even make it anymore?[/quote]

Now that is easy – because he can and because he enjoys it and it gives him photographic satisfaction – which is what it is all about!!! Is why I ride a Harley Davidson and not a sports bike for example.

[quote comment="22141"]I’d say it is taken very seriously by most Canon & Nikon users. Look at the posts here!You guys are slagging each other off about a brand of camera. All of this fan boy stuff is a bit pathetic in the face of what photography is about; results[/quote]

I think you are right in general but not here! Canon or Nikon – it really doesn’t matter. No different than a BMW or a Mercedes. Both great cars without doubt, but some people prefer one to another. Wouldn’t say no to either of them would you really?! I haven’t heard any complaints from either Canon or Nikon users, and the general view seems to be to buy what you feel comfortable with within your price range. That a Canon or Nikon will server you equally well, and that it is all TOTALLY irrelevant if you don’t get out and use the bloody thing!!!

@Mac

didn’t want to leave you out but had covered all my points above!

Canon vs Nikon is taken very seriously by some, but nobody here so far.

And I’m mildly offended at the “snapper type photography” comment, and the imagination thing. It makes you sound pretty arrogant and a little silly.

Why would I lug a Contax about, deal with film, digital backs, hard-to-find lenses, at a cost that is difficult to justify in the face of today’s top-end DSLRs offering similar if not equal performance and vastly superior convenience? Plus do they even make it anymore?

As to the Canon/ Nikon thing, there is more to life than that. Think medium format or even large format if your imaginations can run past the snapper type photography. I’d go there if I could afford it. Maybe I’ll save up, I’d love a Contax 645

> But I have to say after reading Understanding Exposure I have determined the best way
> to judge DOF is to take LOTS OF PICTURES.

No arguments there!!

I’m English, although mother hails from South Africa originally. At one point back in the medieval day the family ruled over Kent…

Anyway, back to cameras.

Gary, I used to use DOF on my old Pentax film SLR, with mixed success. It is a noted missing feature on the D40, and apparently works quite well on the D80 (Chris?).

But I have to say after reading Understanding Exposure I have determined the best way to judge DOF is to take LOTS OF PICTURES.

> and to note for Dunks above there is no depth-of-field preview on the D40
> which is a bummer and will probably make me upgrade at some point.

I’ve had five SLRs over the years. I’ve tinkered with the DOF preview on a number of occasions, but never once been able to use it properly. By the time I use the DOF preview, the viewfinder’s always too dark to be able to discern whether what I want to be in focus is actually in focus or not, and vice versa.

Are you telling me that you actually, genuinely get benefit from it? (Or is it just that you know it’s missing from the camera you currently have and would like to try it because of what you’ve read?) Inquiring minds wish to know!

Saith the Nikon fan-boy! I bet you come from Edinburgh too!

Seriously though, I’m a long term Canon user. If I was starting over again I would consider Nikon as the first alternative to Canon. There are quite a lot of similarities between the two ranges. They tend to try to leap-frog each other when they release new models.

@Chris #32
> avoid the bundled deals however attractive they look as they will be shipping
> out of date and not particularly useful lenses.

Sorry, but I disagree. Looking at the Canon EOS 400, which has replaced the EOS 350d I bought in May 2006, it looks (according to the Jessops site) as if it still comes with the same lens.

This is not an out of date lens. Neither is it a “not particularly useful lens”. I would argue that the 18-55mm range is a reasonably useful range, especially for a beginner to (D)SLRs. It’s also pretty compact.

What’s it’s not is high quality (optically). I was warned about this before I bought, but decided to proceed. For, oh I don’t know, maybe the first ten months it was my only lens and I was generally happy with it (as far as it went, range-wise). It was only after I bought my Sigma 10-20 lens that I began to realise that, optically, it produced slightly “soft” images in comparison. But you have to spend a lot more to get the higher optical quality lenses.

Dunks – in case my comments about the quality have put you off, take a look at any of the images in these three pages, where virtually everything is shot with the standard kit lens, in three quite different situations.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Sony Bravia advert
Dunure Castle

Some other dealers put together their own bundles with different lenses.

I can’t speak for the Nikon range, but I don’t see them being any different.

However, apart from that, I think I pretty much agree with the rest of you comment.

Chris is right. While Pentax, Olympus, Sony and others make great DSLRs too I am sure, it is really between Nikon and Canon.

For sensible peeps who bought a Nikon, this is one of the best sites to go to also:

http://www.bythom.com/nikon.htm

He has some great ebooks available for particular models of Nikon DSLR (including the D80).