Digital Obsolescence

sineadw

I've been looking at all your work here (salivating really, and swearing I will *never* have the guts to post a picture ) and I'm half thinking I should get myself a digital some time in the new year. I love my manual, and I think I'll go for another anyway (my own is dying I think - there's a loose connection in the light meter/shutter speed bit and apparently the parts aren't around anymore) One reason I've steered well clear of digital though is I'm afraid of spending a fortune on something which is laughable a few years later. That really bugs me.

So is it the case? My Nikon coolpix set me back over €300 a few years ago and I'd be very pleased if someone gave me 20 quid for it now (different ballgame, I know). Is it the same with the SLR market? How long realistically would I get out of a half decent mid-range?

Carrigman

Here is a good article on digital obsolescence:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/obsolescence.htm

Go for the digital SLR, Sinead, enjoy the photographic freedom you'll enjoy and don't worry too much about the cost.

John

Roen

Don't worry about that, a good pic now is a good pic in a hundred years time. The big players will try and convince you that you need all the latest gizmos to keep up with the Jonses, but you simply don't.
Some of my favourite pics this year were shot with a 10D, a three and a half year old digi slr with all of 6.5 Mpixies.
Guys are real suckers for gadgets and I'm no exception, I love shiny new stuff. It's just a credit to the various companies marketing depts that they have us thinking this way.
You won't regret getting a dslr, what you will regret is losing all those pics you could have got.

Best of luck and don't be shy.

Zillah

A decent Nikon or Canon DSLR bought now will do you for years and years. The only reason you'd want to upgrade is because you change. You might want newer gadgets and extras and features, but they're not needed. Unless you go professional or whatever, a decent DSLR will do you fine for years.

Sebzy

Have been shooting with a 5MP Olympus E1 now for nearly two years the model is nearly 4 years old. I just look at it this way

My lens's have a life of 15+years
I'm not going to print larger than A3 which makes 5MP just right

I'm still happy with my slr and plan on using it for another year or two. But have planns of upgrading the body next year to something around 12MP+...


Seb

Wez

Think about it this way.. Most of the worlds best photos have been taken on things that'd be lucky to still be in one peice at this stage!

The key part of a good photo is timing and composition, the latest camera isn't going to turn a peice of sh!te into a work of art. I'm using a praktica ltl that cambo on here gave to me (thanks again!) and I'm delighted with the shots I'm getting from it. I was planning on getting a nice 350d or something, but I don't really need one. I might just get a handy little point and shoot to keep on me all the time, for handyness sake, but I don't know if I even need one.

I reckon keep snapping until you've hit the point where you actually need a more sophisticated camera (you'll know when you've come to this stage) because there's alot of hype over the latest machinery which most people will never use! Most of the benefits of a new camera can be done in photoshop if they even need it at all.

Newer cameras cost big bucks, but they loose their value pretty quick.

Check out pinhole.org. It's got some amazing pictures in the gallery, and they're taken by a peice of photographic paper shoved in a light proof box! There isn't even a lens on them!

I reckon you should work on getting a good photo before upgrading.

Of course, this is purely my 2cent, some people may argue you need a newer/better camera for whatever reason, but you just need to think more creatively before you'll need an upgrade. The fact is, a camera's a camera, the most important part of it is the thing behind it, you!

evilhomer

Wez wrote:

Think about it this way.. Most of the worlds best photos have been taken on things that'd be lucky to still be in one peice at this stage!

That says it all really doesn't it? There is only so much a camera can do for you technically. The rest is up to you.

The only time I think you will regret not having a better camera is If you take an incredible shot and want to blow it up HUGE! But lets face it how many of us will actually blow up bigger then A3/A2 which are both achievable with 8.2 megapixel and some careful software upsizing.

Lenses should be picked carefully though.

Fajitas!

I'm using a 2 year old Dslr, and a film slr...and some toy cameras...and a Hassy... I mean, as mentioned already, if it;s a good pic, it's a good pic.


Espec with modern cameras, most being about 8-10 megapixels, that, in my opinion is more than enough.

Fenster

Most good photos are from the taking of the picture, not in the processing. The most honest advice about taking photos is to go out take some, take more, take many more and then only show people the interesting ones. It's what everyone else does.

5uspect

I bought a couple of digital p&s cameras and even though they are slow and often noisy battery eaters they can still take a good picture (they're still around and being used my both myself and family members). I bought a 350D about 6 months ago and I adore it. I can't imagine ever needing to upgrade like i did with the p&s cams simply because an SLR is a "proper" camera in the sense that you have all the basic camera cogs and wheels you need without any silly new features like a bigger screen more video recording or whatever. And at the end of the day with an SLR its all about the lenses...

sineadw

Thanks for the input everyone - much appreciated So lenses are where to spend then? Thats not so bad if I don't have to throw the whole bloody thing out. It just irks me that something can be awesome one minute and crap the next.

It'll be the new year anyway, and probably something secondhand. For now its me and my 35mm. If it lives that long!

Roen

That's the thing, it is not awesome one minute and crap the next, it is perceived as being crap. It can't change over night. When I do upgrade I'll be keeping the 20D, not as a backup, but as a dedicated body in it's own right, i.e. leave the macro on the 20D and put the 300mm on the xxD that'll be coming out over the next year. Or whatever lens suits the days shooting.
I got some images I'm happy with with the 20, and I hope to be getting four more years from now.

Dundhoone

I agree with Roen. i have a Nikon D50. I want a D200.....or whatever comes after it. But I wont sell the D50, it takes photos to the standard that I need them, I dont really worry about losing /breaking it , which makes it an ideal holiday camera. So I'll keep it as a backup whenever I do manage to get the dosh together for a new one. Theres alway going to be some new gimmick , otherwise manufacturers wouldnt be able to sell new models. Its always something you "have to have"

Its like lcd/plasma tvs. Worse picture quality than CRTs but everyone has to have one, just because they are in fashion!

Sebzy

Dundhoone wrote:

Its like lcd/plasma tvs. Worse picture quality than CRTs but everyone has to have one, just because they are in fashion!

What lcd / plasma their so yeaterday I just bought the most amazing new cutting edge piece of technology it uses MIHDP and rocks

Mental Image High Definition Projection.
It works just like your regular imagination but it costs just over 2000Euro which makes it so much better.
Seb.

evilhomer

Sebzy wrote:

Mental Image High Definition Projection.
It works just like your regular imagination but it costs just over 2000Euro which makes it so much better.
Seb.

Do you get Picture in Picture on that?

Dundhoone

Sebzy wrote:

Mental Image High Definition Projection.
It works just like your regular imagination but it costs just over 2000Euro which makes it so much better.
Seb.

A bargin at double the price!!:D

sineadw

lol - and I'm sure you get a 7 of 9 in there somewhere too, or is that next month..