The Planted Tank Forum banner

general griping & old-man complaining

3K views 31 replies 18 participants last post by  mr.bigglesworth 
#1 ·
When I'm in a good mood, I find it humorous. Other days, it slightly irritates me;

How people will spend $800 and up on a fancy-ass DSLR camera, only to leave it on "auto" all the time.

I routinely throw this in my best friend's face - he's a full-on offender. He doesn't know his f-stop from his ISO setting. Yet he carries around a camera that he's easily spent over a grand on after you consider the case and this special flash he bought for it. That's the only setting he ever touches - how much flash to put on the pic. He's endlessly monekying with that one setting.

My own approach is simple; I am a father and 95% of the pics I take are of my kids and family, so I can look back on them years from now and wonder where it all went. I don't need, or want (for storage reasons) massive raw format, gallery-quality images. My personal opinion is that I'm able to get more shots by having the camera in my pocket and not buried in a camera case - so I carry a "point-n-shoot" - Canon SX110. It's just flexible enough that I can get a decent shot with the right settings - it's the perfect compromise, IMO.

But I learned a long time ago to not hold others to my standards. What I see as a very pragmatic and easy decision doesn't apply to what others want.

Yet I can't stop snickering at all the suburban dads carrying around these monstrocities around their neck, without a clue as to how to actually use them. At the very least, you'd think one would spend a weekend surfing the web and learning the basics after they dropped that much cash on a camera...

Thanks for listening.
/rant
 
See less See more
#4 ·
I know - when faced with the
snap photo - attach to computer - download file - attach to email
vs.
snap photo with phone - click send
i tend to choose the latter as well.

Hell, the camera on my android phone rivals the p&s camera I spent $150 on 10 years ago. If only they made snap-on wide angle lenses for the phone... lmao
 
#11 · (Edited)
I have very very few pictures of my kids and family.
I would rather spend my time enjoying a baseball game, going to the park, the zoo whatever than trying to record those moments.

And then there is the fabricated moments, when you take your 1 or 2 year old somewhere and they ball their eyes out the whole time and puke. Then you spend 10 minutes trying to get everyone to smile in sync so you can think back and pretend you literally had a Kodak moment.

I don't think the quality of the picture has anything to do with the quality of the memory.

Here is one of my favorite photos. My daughter being chased by a goat.
 
#9 ·
I just dropped a grand on a Nikon 5200 and extra lenses. I am going to take a photography class though. I can't wait to see the pics I will get with it. But I do agree that some people are silly with tech they can't use. Especially TVs. Brighter is not better people.
 
#10 ·
In the worst case, they will quickly lose interesting in photography and would only showcase their toys in special occasions. Yes, an Iphone or a simple point and shoot is more for them. But they want to play photographer... On the good side, they may take interest in the art of photography and beginning to pursue it.

Just for the record, this is what I shoot for leisure...it didn't even cost me over $700...:)




My favorite shot from yesterday, with the camera above.



With the actual bike race, I was shooting with my Canon 1dmarkIII.
 
#19 ·
I bought a nikon d3200 with an extra zoom lens. I also got a tripod with a remote shutter. I have taken my time to learn f-stops, shutter speeds and depth of field. There is always room to be better, but i like macro photography and need a lens that costs more than the camera. Makes me "shutter" to think that if i put more money into the hobby - how can a piece of glass improve my skills? They cant. So for the last few weeks i have practiced and practiced to make sure that i still want to invest the money.

I used to be a real PnS guy, but after i had a kid, it changed.
 
#20 ·
Hi WheeledGoat,

I agree 100% with your comments; I am seldom on 'automatic' mode unless it is a family function and I want to take pictures 'on the fly'.

I too have a several year old Canon SX 110 IS and find it to very versatile and yet not complicated.

 
#25 ·
Well I know it isn't truly "entry level" but I firmly believe you get what you pay for. Plus I want good lenses. How is Nikon for cameras? Cameras aren't really my field of knowledge unless it's more the P and S form.
 
#26 ·
You should play with both Nikon and canon in the store. I find the Nikon cameras have a better quality feel to them than canon. Canon is more cheaper plastic. Controls are a bit weird also on the canon, ask the sale person how to change. Settings quickly via dials and then make your choice. Nikon is better for portrait and landscape and fishes? Canon is better for fast moving shooting such as sports. You should also read up on lenses as both companies offer unique lenses in some categories the other does not. If you are not planning to shoot sports and do not need the frame rate the d800 is a fantastic camera. Some lower end cameras will not have controls for quick adjustments, and as you get better you will look for that. You should also look for a 100 percent viewfinder so what you see in the viewfinder is what you will get. Since i believe you may be shooting plants and fishes, this may be important. Full frame cameras also let on more light but the lenses are generally more expensive.

But the worse thing you can do is set a budget. Spent almost all of it on a body and then have nothing left over for good glass. There is only so much you can do with kit lenses, the lens that comes in a kit. Nice pictures are possible, but you will be hampered in low light situations, when you want to blow out a background to isolate your subject and other things you can do only with good glass. Go to the store and play, once you commit to a brand, its very expensive to switch to another.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
Well I love Canon for P and S cameras but I will look into the Nikons. I haven't had or used a Nikon in the P and S format only because I believe they are just charging to much for that format. I mean some of their cameras can be as much a DSLR from other companies. CRAZY I TELL YA CRAZY!!!
 
#28 ·
I hate lugging the DSLR around myself, but still use it for some things, but 90-%, I use a G12 Canon. Small but decent enough to do most things out and about. Traveling is a PITA with 3-6K$ worth of equipment. So unless I'm sure I need a good pic and the DSLR is able to do it well, I do not bother.
 
#29 ·
Forget nikon and canon for p and shoot. I shoot nikon on dslr but my carry around is now a Sony rx100 with a 1.8 lens. I has spot focus and two adjustment dials for manual mode which makes it perfect for prosumers like me. This camera is simply amazing for a point and shoot.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#30 ·
Real never looked at Sony. The wife has a nice Sony P and S but never really used it. I bet it takes really good pics. I always use my Canon to take pics right now but the battery is finally going and I really don't want to spend the money on the battery for a 5 year old camera.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top