Try shooting low light sporting events or wild life in action. The improvements in cameras over just the past three years are game changers. Faster frame rates, better ISO capabilities, and auto focus lock that is a simple as having the photographer's eye ball train in on the subject. Expensive? You bet! Which is probably the real reason behind your post. As for iPhones, they can shoot incredible shots, massively improved from just a few years back, AND they excel in the old saying - the best camera is the one you have with you!
The only difference worth mentioning is found among technophobic shooters who love answering questions like this. I mean really, how many of us really think that 9 1/2 out of 10 members of the viewing public care, or could tell, any real difference between a landscape shot with either?
Now, on to debating a comparison of photographs between high-end, flag ship (uber expensive) cameras as against those shot with an iPhone!
My daughter, as a ninth grader, secured a spot on the varsity volleyball team. She was primarily an outside hitter with the ability to reach terrific heights for cross court and spike shots. It was then I decided to go all in and learn to shoot sports. Little did I know what equipment (and expense) it would take to effectively shoot low light, fast action sports. I purchased a Canon 1Dx with two "L" lens (24-70mm f/2.8 & 70-200mm f/2.8). I also invested in classes to learn the elements of a good sports photograph and how to go about shooting from better positions. (e.g. low, etc.). Nine years later, and several upgrades in equipment, I now shoot college football and basketball. The photographs I have of my daughter are very special to me, and the fun and challenge of capturing college athletes in action have provided me with a great chance to stay active and continue learning.
70-200 provides a more compressed look, generally making people look better. While the 85 is a great portrait lens, it is a different look. As for f-stops, you're really increasing your depth of field options more so than sharpness. I have the Canon 85 mm f/1.2. Awesome lens but rarely do I use the 1.2 setting.
I have thought of the possibilities of theft, but placed each expensive camera body and high-end lens under an insurance policy. Why? For the exact reason you raise. What good are they if I am constrained from using them? That said, a black roll of gaffers tape goes a long way to conceal the exact model of camera I shoot with. But the sight of the rig I use still prompts me to know where I am, try and shoot with a friend, (strength in numbers) and download shots taken each night on to a portable hard drive. The loss of the camera may not mean as much as the loss of the shots otherwise.
Learn how to send folks a link to your photograph collection in Lightroom. It's really fairly easy. Best of all, the images are sent in a way where the photographs being sent will not create a size limitation as email transmissions often do. They can also be downloaded by the recipient if you allow downloads. Check out Lightroom's help section. Good lucK!
Yeah, yeah, so answer the question (which is fairly pointless), do you just take your photographs from the camera and say - "Done" - or is any amount of post processing allowed in your premise-oriented world? And before you answer, just remember a camera shooting JPEG - as I understand it - is adding its own tweaks to the image. If shooting RAW, the photograph might not look as nice straight out of camera, but it gives post-processing greater range. Not exploring "wish fulfillment" as you call it, might be little more than just not wanting to learn how to edit.
If one thing is revealed by this discussion, the branding industry is secure in their employment. As a sports shooter, and in answer to the original question, I anxiously await the arrival of the R3. Having not jumped in from the 1Dx series to the current Canon mirrorless market YET, I'm thinking this one might just get me over the hump.
No doubt, other manufacturers will have great choices coming as well, so enjoy what ever you shoot. Hint: makes it easier to enjoy if you still like to learn.
If one thing is revealed by this discussion, the branding industry is secure in their employment. As a sports shooter, and in answer to the original question, I anxiously await the arrival of the R3. Having not jumped in from the 1Dx series to the current Canon mirrorless market YET, I'm thinking this one might just get me over the hump.
No doubt, other manufacturers will have great choices coming as well, so enjoy what ever you shoot. Hint: makes it easier to enjoy if you still like to learn.
Out of all the vast sources of information available today, some free, some at a price, I have received the most benefit from a group called Kelby One. It is run by the number one best-selling author on digital,photography, Scott Kelby. Annual membership runs between $149to $199 but I believe you can get a FREE thirty day trial subscription. Check out a number of the video classes offered on gear, nature photography, and any other subject that may interest you. This site presents many classes, taught by leading photographers and post production experts. (Lightroom, Photoshop, etc.) (I guarantee you will want to learn how to edit what you've shot!). Best of all, this easily allows you to take it step by step, without feeling overwhelmed. I began with a fairly simple camera with a kit-lens and now have multiple flagship cameras, more complex, used to shoot college sports. I wish you the very best of luck on your decision-making process and hope you find yourself amazed at how much you've learned and enjoyed in the next year.
Although a legitimate question, I find humor in the implied objection. Is there also an issue with digital cards that can provide digital files, easily modified in post processing? After all, film images can be modified, albeit taking more time, more chemicals and having fewer options. Or perhaps the lightning fast focus capabilities are no longer a fair feature? My goodness, the cameras in our mobile telephones are slowly reaching photo qualities previously unattainable by some DSLR model cameras. If it's individual skill that's needed to produce the only truly well-taken photograph, then I am going to need to purge a few photographs from my own portfolio....the ones where composition, timing and/or luck had as much to with the results as did any setting on my camera.
The 1 Dx and its sports settings excel by having the capability to shoot at fast shutters speeds in low light, such as a gym or evening football game. It does this by its incredible ISO performance. You can shoot a relatively high ISO setting and not get a grainy photograph. With this in mind, try a shutter speed of 1,250; with f/2.8 (or your lowest aperture to blur your background); auto ISO and al servo setting allowing you to shoot approximately 8 to 10 frames per second. It also helps to learn a technique called back button focusing. Many articles have been written about that on the internet. Pick one suitable to Canon to learn the settings needed to activate the back button and deactivate focusing from the shutter button. These are general settings and will need to be modified at times. Learn to shoot on a Manual Mode setting, giving you total access to change these settings on the fly. Have fun! Do
If wild life photography is your goal, keep your 1Dx. I currently own all three (1Dx, 1Dx Mark ii, and the 1Dx Mark iii). Believe it or not, some of my best shots still come from the 1Dx. (I shoot mostly sports). I also own the 5D Mark iii and 5D Mark IV. Since moving to the 5D Mark IV, my 5D Mark iii has been a dust collector. I will be selling the mark iii model and applying funds to a mirrorless model, as soon as I feel a few more of the kinks have been worked out of the mirrorless market. (e.g. over heating).
The year; 2012. The event; 9th grade daughter made Varsity Volleyball Team. The decision; whether to upgrade from a Nikon 300 (I was sort of into photography) to a Canon 1Dx. Sports, (low light, fast action,) became the new challenge to shoot. I jumped full in. Who knew sports photography was one of the most, if not the most, expensive to shoot? Well, I do now! Never looked back. Today, I shoot college football and basketball. My wife has been nothing but supportive and enjoys the memories captured from many family trips and our children’s’ sporting events. For me, shooting sports is the ultimate release from an otherwise stressful career.