Shots from Heaven
Monday night, sure. Definitely been running behind.…
I bought the Nikon D200 with one purpose in mind: having an extraordinary tool available to make my work better. Judging from the first few days’ exposure (pun intended), it’s going to be very useful.
Quite a list of improvements over the Sony — which, as you’ll remember, was Sony’s top-of-the-line camera at the time. Last year, when I stood at the crossroads of which camera to get, I was convinced that an all-in-one camera (with the lens permanently attached, I mean) was the way to go — simple and elegant.
Then came my friend Gerald’s wedding. Using his Canon Rebel XT really opened my eyes to the possibilities. I was wrong a year ago, pure and simple.
However, by being able to revisit the purchase a year later, I got lucky. Now, more and better camera options are available. This Nikon D200 wasn’t out yet when I purchased last year; Canon’s also improved their mid-range with the 30D. Both are better cameras than either the Sony or the Rebel, both offer pretty amazing capabilities in low light, bright light, and for taking multiple pictures in a row, and both would help any designer looking for expand their skill set and offerings.
I went with the Nikon for two reasons. First, the grip and “feel” of the camera as compared to (especially) the Rebel. The Canon 30D, while not as comfortable as the D200, is much better than the Rebel, but still not as comfortable for my hands. (Your experience will vary — please be sure to try both!) Second, the wide variety of available lenses. While an astonishing array of lenses are available for both Canon and Nikon systems, the options for what I was specifically looking for — fixed-length lenses for portraits and “stuff” shots (including macro) — seemed larger on the Nikon side, often for less cash. (The better 85mm Nikon lens, for instance, is about half the price of the better Canon 85mm.)
Note I don’t mention quality. As far as my eyes are concerned, the differences in quality between the 30D and D200 — and the Rebel and Nikon’s D50 and D70s — aren’t enough to purchase one system over the other. It’s about what works better for the photographer. I went with a mid-range camera body so that advanced capabilities were there from the get-go — and so that I wouldn’t outstrip those abilities in less than a year, as I did with the Sony. (And that’s before adding more lenses, which any SLR user can do.)
I also broke a “rule” almost immediately: the second lens is from a third-party manufacturer. I’d had several discussions regarding third-party lenses with a bunch of different photographers, and most seemed to agree that, at least until you know what you’re doing, for the best in terms of quality, you should stick with the camera manufacturer’s lenses. However, Sigma makes a wide-angle macro, a combination that fascinated me, and I took the risk. So far, I’m impressed indeed. (So much for rules…;)
Is all perfect? No, not at all. I’m still very much learning, especially how to deal with a complex camera (think Photoshop — lots and lots of layers of capabilities). Plus, the whole “frame with your feet” thing is still not an ingrained habit. Fixed lenses force a whole different style of photography after years of zooms. (I will be getting a zoom, the 18-200VR, but it’s a pretty lengthy waiting list. Perhaps next month.)
Some items on the camera will take some getting used to; the round switch on the back feels flimsy, and the lenses attach from the opposite direction from every other I’ve seen (counter-clockwise) and for some reason my brain just can’t accept that.
That said, it’s an extraordinary piece of equipment. More than half of the thousand or so photos I took this weekend were directly for work, and I’m already constructing a couple of projects (neither are books, unfortunately — both support pieces) using photos from the new camera. Perhaps not wedding-level “trial by fire,” but right to work nonetheless. Sweet.
Oh, and two more things. One, a thousand RAW photos, give or take, is about 15GB of space. All of a sudden, drive space is at a premium. (Backup time!!) Two, while iPhoto will take RAW files, and provide some simple adjustments, it’s still necessary to take a trip into Photoshop if you’d like to tweak on a fine level. My iMac doesn’t support Aperture (graphics card isn’t good enough), which would bring the adjustments and workflow/organization into one program. Next upgrade!
More on the photography front in the weeks to come. Next post: book design. Yeay!
