stanikon wrote:
You make a good point, but to me (and, I suspect, a lot of others) it is pointless. As a rank amateur of, at best, the "duffer" class, most of the features you mention are of no use to me. As an award-winning pro of 48 years I can see how they would be essential to you and your craft. To me they are just a lot of expensive toys that I would never be able to use to full advantage. For example, when would I ever need a completely silent camera? I have been taking photographs since the mid-50s (20 or so years before you even turned pro) and cannot think of a single situation when I ever needed that.
No amount of new gear or the "latest and greatest" is going to make me a better photographer. I am, if nothing else, a realist. I am through throwing money at dreams and I still maintain that what is behind the camera is much more important that what is in the camera. I still aspire to be better, but to be better with what I have, not be the same with something new or different.
You make a good point, but to me (and, I suspect, ... (
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BTW I started taking photos in the late 50's stanikon as a young boy, and have been a paid pro since 1973 .
I have taught photography to hundreds of students at a state university, many of them beginners in photography. The proper use of gear can make you a better photographer, a better master of your craft.
Most of my courses in Digital Photography, Photojournalism, 35mm B&W film photography are about the aesthetics, the art of seeing, the rules and fundamentals of image making and how my students can break the rules and find their own vision, their own creativity.
But I also need to teach them about the gear and how to use it to best achieve their creative vision for any subjects they shoot.
Even when shooting wildlife as simple as something in your backyard, or even covering a meeting or quiet event, it can be of advantage to shoot silently. Not having that mirror flapping noise is a real feature that all photographers can benefit from, not just pros. If you dont realize that, you are missing something stanikon.
A photographer that has gear with better autofocus, a better viewfinder that gives them more and clearer information, more creative options to try, better ergonomics, less weight to carry, better low light performance and more , CAN be a better photographer, getting better results and having more fun and success in the process, with less frustration and disappointments, ask any of my photography course students .
That is just a fact stanikon, whether you think it applies to you or not.
Cameras can be tools and can be toys, it is up to you. My gear is both to me LOL. . Mirrorless gear costs no more then DSLR gear at all. There is great mirrorless gear for any budget. Check it out if you doubt that.
This isn't throwing money at dreams at all, you are being overly dramatic here IMHO. This is about getting the gear that works best for your needs and stays within your budget. Easy, peasy with today's mirrorless gear.
None of this is pointless at all. They are countless good points to using mirrorless gear. But also no one is saying you have to change gear and buy something you dont need for what you want out of photography.
My Digital Photography and Photojournalism students learn photography with both DSLR kits and mirrorless kits we have for them to use at my university. They learn photography equally well using either. At the end of my digital photography and photojournalism courses then they have an idea whether they prefer their creative experience better with DSLRs or mirrorless, and then they are free to choose what they may wish to own and use going forward.
Most are choosing mirrorless for their first camera purchases. After all, the world is now used to taking photos with smartphones and those cameras inside all smartphones are mirrorless cameras.
Old habits are hard to change and stanikon there is no reason for you to change what is familiar and comfortable to you. But at the same there is no reason for you to diss the new reality for photographers today. I am a child of rangefinders and SLRS (I still teach a SLR 35mm B&W film class, wet processing, darkroom printing and all and love it), but I also have embraced all the advantages along the way of both DSLRs and now mirrorless.
Cheers and best to you stanikon.