So you want to buy a new camera?

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Yeah, me too.
But there a few ‘open source’ solutions.

I need more mega pickles.
You sure? My canon 70D has 20 of them and that’s plenty for an A3+ print, A2 at a push. How big is your 'fridge? And who has enough wall space to hang more than a few A2s?
Still want more? Then photograph the same scene with a longer focal length and make a pano. Slap on a 150-600 and go nuts… (actually, anything more than 200 is just painful (good practice though))

My cameras high iso performance is bad.
Ha, try the 70D. Its not just pants its filled nappy bad. However darktable (I’m a fan, thanks Devs) can reduce noise to nothing at 400iso. 800 is good. 1600 plus? There’s a fix for that -

dt raw grab
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See where I’m going?
Shout out to @patdavid and his in-depth tutorial -

https://patdavid.net/2013/05/noise-removal-in-photos-with-median_6/
Jeez, 10yrs. Where’d that go?

A little more fettling and that last tiff looks like

dt stack grab
dt stack grab1920×1080 414 KB

Twigs & leaves flapping about in the wind are not the best example of this technique but shows whats possible. Oh yea, ditch the tripod and shoot hand held in high burst mode. And if you’re really smart set the camera to Av (canon remember) and auto iso with max iso at 1600 (best not stress the software - devs are good but they’re not gods) and min shutter 1/250s.

But my cameras very old and has a small sensor, I need a modern full frame camera with higher dynamic range and 17 bit depth.
Really? Thats what I was thinking until -

(Thomas Eisl has a bunch of useful videos in YouTube. Thanks for letting me share the link. Website NSFW.)
Long video series short, gains from large modern sensors are pretty small while prices for large modern sensors are pretty, aah, large. Then there’s the dynamic range of your display medium - you think your monitor or printer can match the DR of that shiny new camera? Not even close.

OK so not a new camera. What about that new Otis f/0.95 bokehmonster?
Two words - Brenizer Method

So there you have it. You don’t need that spendy new kit (yes, talking to you @qmpel!). To wring out every last bit of useful information from whatever camera you have now just use the Brenizer Method and stitch together 742 focus stacked, HDR exposure bracketed and median blended 600mm images then let everyone admire all that work on their phones…

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What else am I supposed to spend my money on?

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There is more than resolution. there is way faster AF. superior subject tracking. tracking for different subject types even. :shrug: and i could go on.

for context i just had this with an x-h2s and a friend went from a 600d to an R6 II … and it is night and day in so many aspects.

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This sounds a lot like my recent blog post on used gear. Yes, AF is a good reason to upgrade, but the 7Dmk2 is another option for an AF upgrade without breaking the bank (and also not being very new). I think it also depends on the types of subjects you’re shooting (e.g. static landscapes vs moving models).

At the end of the day, I think the thing limiting me the most is lack of composition skills and not bringing my camera with me enough (not the hardware).

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I solved this with hardware, I got a Ricoh GR iii that I carry more than any camera I’ve ever owned.

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Oh man, where do I even start?

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I’ve been watching Thomas Eisl for a short while, and his videos are always interesting and thought-provoking.

He gives his thoughts clearly, although at times he hesitates as he searches for words in English, but he always backs-up what he says with data and/or logic. And he doesn’t need to use words like “mother*****r” or make a strange face to convince the viewer he’s funny. He’s professional.

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So, where do I even start - as you explicitly mentioned me, @jimd?

… you are right. and you are wrong also!

Don’t want to get into defensive mode, just want to say that satisfaction is a highly individual thing :slight_smile:

I really think you are right, the end result matters. It doesn’t care about brand or iso noise. A good image can even be taken with 50y old gear!

But the happiness of the photographer also matters!
Last weekend I was taking pictures in an old coal mine, it was reaaally dark in there…

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and nevertheless I was happy with my family pictures. Here is one 100% crop at ISO10000

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I’m convinced, that I wouldn’t be so happy, if I had taken the pictures with my EOS80D :man_shrugging:

This is, what’s important to me - my own satisfaction and happiness.

I :green_heart: you all.

P.S. Thanks for the material to watch and get some ideas!

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As I’m reading a second time …

… I think I found a little irony here :thinking::slightly_smiling_face:

Yeah, I share this feeling. I’m of course one of the guys, standing more on the technical side.

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What else am I supposed to spend my money on?

A powerful computer to stitch together 742 focus stacked, HDR exposure bracketed and median blended 600mm images. :wink:

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Fabulous post and video

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Digital cameras are very mature these days. You no longer need the newest and most expensive.

I often recommend the Panasonic GX80/GX85 or G80/G85 cameras to people.
Amazing value for the price (also good available second hand).
Lenses like the Lumix 12-32mm f3.5-5.6, Lumix 12-60mm f3.5-5.6, Lumix 25mm f1.7 are budget friendly but optically more than good enough.

I like to photograph insects withouth a tripod. The GX80 + m.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro + Meike mk320 flash is unbeatable for the price. Image quality is very good, its user-friendly, its very compact and light…

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New flooring, exterior paint, worn-out furniture replacement, car replacement … LOL such is life, I guess.:smiley:

I suppose I should be thankful to have such “problems”.

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Yeah I’m doing that as well. Well at least the house stuff. The car is good good for now.

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My long-paid-for 2010 Honda Accord has 155k on the clock, so it’ll do more with a modicum of care. But I’d sure like to go back to a mid size truck like I had before. Much better for photography and astronomy, not to mention home ownership. But trucks are stupid expensive now (not to mention stupid huge).

We haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but after 26+ years of pets in the house, our carpet needs to go. Far away. VERY far away, if you get my drift! LOL

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Maybe I’m a dying breed, but I don’t buy anything ‘latest and greatest’ until I have to. My newest camera is eight years old, modest compared to most, yet a world away from the one used by my grandfather — who, as a photographer, I could only dream of holding a candle to.

Don’t get me wrong; new toys are amazing — and a heck of a lot of fun! — but I suppose I have a soft spot for ‘this is more than good enough for me; lets just get on with it.’

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If you’re me…wristwatches. Look up “Omiwatari”.

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Lately I’ve kind of hopped on the trend of seeing what I can do with old digital gear, the Zoomers are doing something similar. This was mostly spurred by a serendipitous purchase of a used D3S late last year. I’ve been enjoying that so much (plus darktable is missing noise and WB profiles for a number of older cameras) I’ve been keeping an eye out on the used market locally older stuff. It’s amazing what a few hundred dollars will get or what people basically throw out. Recently added a D2Xs to my horde as well. I got it basically free with a box of old Nikon batteries and crap and once I cleaned it up it’s basically brand new, only 5,000 clicks on the shutter. I kind of enjoy the older more limited gear.

Only new thing on my radar camera wise is the Fuji X-T5 or X-H2. I’m still on their older 24MP sensors and the Fujis have become by bread-n-butter cameras these days. Especially for portrait work.

Right now I’m getting ready to redo our raised vegetable beds and get the garden set out. Also almost honey bee time as well.

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My wife is already convinced that I have the perfect camera. If she sees this post she will be very trilled that others are on the same opinion :slight_smile:

By the way - I had the opportunity to test it at -25 C (give or take). It was so cold that the flash refused to open. And yes - everything else worked very well. Once it warmed up - the flash worked again too.

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Wow!

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