This can be a fun discussion. However, if I may be allowed an analogy: When I was a kid, I worked on a farm. Sometimes, I had to move manure from one place to another. I noticed that the cows didn’t really care if I hooked up the manure wagon to a Ford or Chevy pickup.
Next week, I am going to Mexico to shoot my final wedding before I retire as an event photographer. In the past 37 years (shot my first wedding in 1972), I have covered over 800 weddings and a gazilion corporate events. For 20 years, I shot, primarily, Pentax. For another ten years, my main camera was a Canon. For the past nine years, I have used Nikon.
Never, in all that time, have I had a bride, or other client say: “You should have used…” a Ford — I mean a Yashica – or Sony – or a whatever….
You can make all sorts of technical arguments — or ergonomics — or anything else, but, unless you consider exactly what the application is, and what the skill level of the photographer is (or even just what the operator’s familiarity with the machine is), you do, the vast majority of the time, end up with: It just doesn’t make that much difference. A fun discussion? Maybe. A serious consideration, when it comes time to pull out your credit card — hmmm… not so much.
An example. We often hear that the Nikon D700 is not a good sports camera — unless it has a battery pack — so as to increase the FPS rate. Technically, correct. However, the fact is, for years, we shot sports with manual focus and manual film advance (or a clunky motor drives). Now, mainly due to great marketing, we think we ‘need’ a new camera, every couple of years.
Enjoy the discussion, but, train your eye, and learn how to take advantage of all the features you current camera has, before you ever think of making a switch.
by Paul Edward
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