Dear Reader (Monday 2021-11-01),
Welcome to Part II of “What’s my next camera.” For those who missed Part I, it can be found here: Two Very Not Stinky Days (click here).
First though here is an appetizer. Keith mentioned in his post of 2021-10-25 (click here), that I might eventually share photos from our walk in Dale Hodges Park. Here are my 3 shareable images from that walk. Image 3 is a reflection.
And now for the main course. This past Saturday I drove by The Camera Store to pick up a rented Nikon Z7 with a Z mount 24-70 lens, before heading towards Drumheller. In keeping with the previous test, on the first day I drove east, and on the second day I drove west. Saturday’s drive was similar, but not identical, to the one on September 13. I even stopped at a couple of the same spots. On both the previous drive east and on Saturday, the sky was blue. The blue of 2 days ago was paler, and the land had lost much of its autumn richness. Yesterday, I started a little late, but I still found some colour and subjects to keep me amused and entertained.
So who is winning in the great camera hunt. It may be helpful to know that I really like my gaffer taped Nikon d7100.
As soon as I picked up the Nikon z7, I sighed and said to myself, ah this feels like a camera. I didn’t have a neck strap for the z7, and the longer I gripped the camera in my hand the happier I felt. The Sony a7R iii felt like a gadget, and the neck strap that came with it was required, as it never really felt comfortable in my hand. Also, the z7’s menu system was very familiar, and I was therefore more comfortable using more of the camera’s features.
I have finally I stopped beating my head against camera marketing buzz. I realized I don’t want or need a high-resolution camera. The larger files take longer to process on my current and still very decent computer. I generally spend considerable time composing my images, and so I don’t need the extra file size for cropping opportunities. Admittedly I sometimes screw up and will crop a lot, but those cases are the exceptions. The printing I would like to do doesn’t extend to billboard size. If someone ever wants a billboard size image, I will happily rent a medium format camera, and produce said monster. Because I would like to see more of my images printed, the tonal range afforded by the full frame sensor is important to me, and so having that sensor size will continue to be a requirement. By the way, if you insist on thinking that when it comes to printing, dpi (dots per inch) are more important than the technique used to created the photography in the first place, there is a little chart (spreadsheet available on request) at the end of this post.
Nikon, according to some, has a history of not meeting delivery targets, especially for lenses. My first new piece of glass will be a lens designed for a mirrorless camera and will cover the 24-105 focal length range. Nikon will be releasing one probably in the next quarter.
Both the Nikon z7 and the Sony a7R iii have dual card slots, and in both cases those slots have different specifications.
In keeping with the idea that the camera you will use the most is the one you enjoy the most, the z7 is the one I would enjoy the most. In comparison to the Nikon, the Sony has better tech (most of which I don’t care about), and Nikon’s ergonomics are so much better. But the Nikon lens I want doesn’t exist yet. Neither is a winner, and so I’m renting a Canon R6 this weekend. A careful reader may also notice that though I may have been enamoured with the Sony initially, the petals on that rose have faded.
A store’s true measure of service is how they deal with problems. There was an issue with the camera I rented this past weekend that I was able to resolve Sunday morning after the previous day’s ramble. Liz at the rental desk was most apologetic when I returned the camera on Monday, and has gone out of her way to make it up to me. Hat’s off to The Camera Store.
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As always, all comments are welcome and sought.
Cheers, Sean
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Love the bridge reflection shot! And skipping to the chart, I started to make something like that for my camera, then lost it, then started to think about the various sizes and aspect ratios of panoramas, and now I just do the math for any particular image.
I’m coming to appreciate B&W images more and more. The first one I’m not sure what I think, but the other two are interesting. I’m wondering if I should go back to some of my shots of that area and see if they look better in B&W. What fascinated me about the little Dorothy church was that it appeared freshly painted to my eyes, but your shot captures that the paint is fading, or a new layer was put on over an inadequately prepared base. Sort of symbolizing trying to hang onto a faded past, perhaps. The Minnewanka shot is lovely!
On the camera decision, I’ll be keen to hear what you think of the R6. I know several people that have one, and they love it! We’ll get you converted yet…
Thank you Keith for visting and commenting. As I have mentioned before, it is easy to be seduced by colour. B&W removes what at times can be a distraction. Regarding Dorothy, I think that thought of faded glory is also aided by wonderful late afternoon light. I was pleased that the Minnewanka shot worked as envisaged. Cheers