Cameras and Stuff
Which is more important - the image or the means by which it has been captured ?
For me it has to be the image.
But, like most of us, I still avidly read the photo press and study the tests of equipment that I just instinctively know won't make my pictures 'better'.
For the moment, though I'm more than happy with a couple of ( both discontinued ) mid-range DSLR's and a bag of not terribly expensive lenses.
For everyday use ( weight and bulk are very relevant when you like to carry a camera around every day and travel on foot or public transport ), I'm now using a NIKON D60. Light and small - but a little tougher than I assumed as a recent drop confirmed. It also features a dust removal system which seems to work very well.
The perfect partner for this body has proved to be
the Nikon 35mm f1.8G. Equally compact and light, but used carefully ( eg always using the lens hood as this lens has a propensity to flare ) it's as good as any lens I've ever owned. The one exception probably being the f1.7 Voigtlander Ultron for my long-neglected Bessa rangefinder.
And this year saw the purchase of a second hand NIKON D200 body, so that I can use some of my existing splendid Nikkor manual lenses with full metering and focus confirmation feature.
This year has also seen me shooting more film again - mainly with my NIKON FM2n. I would probably shoot with film much more often if the cost wasn't so high.
And recently I've acquired a couple of digital compacts, the CANON G9 and a SIGMA DP1. Both seem to offer excellent images ( particularly at second hand prices ) but can't quite match the speed of using a DSLR.
For me it has to be the image.
But, like most of us, I still avidly read the photo press and study the tests of equipment that I just instinctively know won't make my pictures 'better'.
For the moment, though I'm more than happy with a couple of ( both discontinued ) mid-range DSLR's and a bag of not terribly expensive lenses.
For everyday use ( weight and bulk are very relevant when you like to carry a camera around every day and travel on foot or public transport ), I'm now using a NIKON D60. Light and small - but a little tougher than I assumed as a recent drop confirmed. It also features a dust removal system which seems to work very well.
The perfect partner for this body has proved to be
the Nikon 35mm f1.8G. Equally compact and light, but used carefully ( eg always using the lens hood as this lens has a propensity to flare ) it's as good as any lens I've ever owned. The one exception probably being the f1.7 Voigtlander Ultron for my long-neglected Bessa rangefinder.
And this year saw the purchase of a second hand NIKON D200 body, so that I can use some of my existing splendid Nikkor manual lenses with full metering and focus confirmation feature.
This year has also seen me shooting more film again - mainly with my NIKON FM2n. I would probably shoot with film much more often if the cost wasn't so high.
And recently I've acquired a couple of digital compacts, the CANON G9 and a SIGMA DP1. Both seem to offer excellent images ( particularly at second hand prices ) but can't quite match the speed of using a DSLR.