Right, been reading everywhere, that a good photographer, is a good photographer, regardless of the camera, which I appreciate, however, I noticed a huge improvement in my own photos going from Bridge, to Compact, then to DSLR, a BIG difference.
The major fact is that i’ve taken the time to understand and appreciate the science behind it.
What I really want to do is compare… I’m trying to get hold of an old Nikon F401s or similar ( just the body, can use my DSLR lenses I guess ? ), I have a throwaway left over from the wedding, with a dead flash, my trusty Samsung L73, and my old Fuji Finepix 3000 bridge.
I will choose a suitable location, take everything I can, set up and shoot my brains out ( not literally ), develop, scan, etc and flickr em all to judge…
I reckon you’ll find a similar step up when you move from a DSLR to a non-optical viewfinder camera. It seems to me that the optical viewfinder is a handicap not a help, it provides no feedback from the camera, just a way of looking through the lens… Have you tried a micro 4/3rds camera like the Lumix G series? That way you get a reflex view, but you also see the sensor output as you adjust the exposure. That’s real feedback, and it is a wonderful aid!
What do you think?
I’m not sure I’d agree with that to be perfectly honest, a relying on the sensor to process the image to then present it visually to the user is introducing lag.
Even on the top end DSLR’s, live-view is still slow.
Benefits of the single lens reflex are difficult to argue with, you can see exactly what the sensor will see when you open the shutter, and as the sensor isn’t in use constant, the heat created reduces noise, and prolongs battery life.
One of the benefits I personally love about SLR’s is the sheer speed, they focus without the need of the sensor ( they have a seperate auto-focus processor ) and when you hit the shutter, the image is captured when you want it, not half a second or 2 seconds later, by which time you can easily have missed the shot you spent so long waiting for.
As for how to determine the exposure, you naturally get a feel for it with an SLR, if what you see down the lens is dark, you’ll adjust it without thinking.
… and even if you get it wrong, the quality of the RAW captures means you can nearly always retrieve up to 5 stops of exposure compensation…
Thanks your insight though, what camera do you use ?