Why you should use a DSLR in 2020

[KenElevenShadows]

I wrote an opinion article that some of you may find interesting!

 

Why you should use a DSLR in 2020 - Photofocus article by Ken Lee

[KuruPrionz]

I'll play Devil's Advocate, admittedly I am a DSLR user. I had a large one - Canon 5d with the battery pack and a 70-200 2.8. Worked well for shooting ice skating, nothing compared to current stuff. Still using a Canon T2i I bought new - something I'd never done before and probably will never do again. Especially with the cycle digital "root hog or die" competition has brought down the price of dated but incredible gear.

 

But, I lust for a Fuji system. Small, light and fabulous in it's own way. My prefered approach to making images is mostly spontaneous so I would love something that is small enough to take anywhere.

The images look nice, the 56 1.2 is pretty much the dream portraiture lens for APS-C sensor. Stopped down it's almost too sharp. Their sensor color assignment array is excellent as well, if a bit more uncommon.

 

Horses for courses, of course! You get some amazing shots and your choice of camera is the best one for your purpose.

 

Back in the film days I loved my rangefinders. A Contax IIa is a wonderous thing, so is a Leica M3.

 

Sadly, it appears the film days are over for me. Music absorbs 99% of my creative energy now.

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

I'll play Devil's Advocate, admittedly I am a DSLR user. I had a large one - Canon 5d with the battery pack and a 70-200 2.8.

 

 

To this day, my sharpest and most-loved lens is my 80-200/f2.8 Nikon zoom. I thought long and hard about buying it and ponied up the money for it (way back in 1995) and never regretted it for a moment. It's that good. Supposedly the later versions were even better but I'm OK sticking with this one. I'm pretty attached to it.

 

Ken's article mentioned battery life.... I have a little Sony A6000 mirrorless camera, and the battery life of it is just awful! It is common to be using it and I'll notice the battery charge indicator has dropped by 40% in just a few hours. And that's just "normal" daytime shooting. Heaven forbid I try long exposure stuff with it. Typically, if I shoot with it on a Saturday I MUST charge if afterward if I expect to use the camera again on Sunday. My DSLRs are nothing like this.

[KuruPrionz]

I'll play Devil's Advocate, admittedly I am a DSLR user. I had a large one - Canon 5d with the battery pack and a 70-200 2.8.

 

 

To this day, my sharpest and most-loved lens is my 80-200/f2.8 Nikon zoom. I thought long and hard about buying it and ponied up the money for it (way back in 1995) and never regretted it for a moment. It's that good. Supposedly the later versions were even better but I'm OK sticking with this one. I'm pretty attached to it.

 

Ken's article mentioned battery life.... I have a little Sony A6000 mirrorless camera, and the battery life of it is just awful! It is common to be using it and I'll notice the battery charge indicator has dropped by 40% in just a few hours. And that's just "normal" daytime shooting. Heaven forbid I try long exposure stuff with it. Typically, if I shoot with it on a Saturday I MUST charge if afterward if I expect to use the camera again on Sunday. My DSLRs are nothing like this.

 

 

Yes, the 70-200 lens was awesome. But, it is "white" (light gray) and huge. If you have that camera ready to shoot, everybody within 50-60 feet of you will be aware. The battery pack allowed 2 L-Ion batteries, I could shoot for a long time (and did) with that. I got a call one time, the lady who usually shot the 4 state plus Canada Ice Skating Competition cancelled last minute. Friday evening was a cakewalk. Saturday I had to charge one battery while using another. I shot almost continously from 9:30am to 9pm. Over 7,000 exposures. Ugh, can you say Carpal Tunnel??? Heavy stuff somehow never gets lighter.

 

My least favorite experience as a photographer, followed by a disaster wedding featureing Bridezilla and the Mother of Bridezilla.

The one lens from that era that I wished I kept was the 135 f2L, that was a sweet lens.

 

I miss full frame but I don't want the expense or the weight. We are all different, the Fuji checks most of the boxes for what I would like now. I don't shoot enough to justify it and will use the T2i until it dies.

By then I might be done. So it goes.

[KenElevenShadows]

 

But, I lust for a Fuji system. Small, light and fabulous in it's own way. My prefered approach to making images is mostly spontaneous so I would love something that is small enough to take anywhere.

The images look nice, the 56 1.2 is pretty much the dream portraiture lens for APS-C sensor. Stopped down it's almost too sharp. Their sensor color assignment array is excellent as well, if a bit more uncommon.

 

I hear so many great things about Fuji. And one of the bonuses of Fuji is that their firmware updates are not boring, incremental updates for bug fixes, but genuinely add new features.

 

Horses for courses, of course! You get some amazing shots and your choice of camera is the best one for your purpose.

 

This is it at the end of the day. One of the greatest photographers of the last fifty years is Michael Kenna, who continues to choose 4x5 large format film. Oh sure, if I client asks, he'll use a digital camera. But for everything else....it's large format film cameras.

 

But yes, it's all about what's best for your purposes. For many, that is mirrorless. And that's a great choice. For some, it's still DSLR.

[KenElevenShadows]

 

Ken's article mentioned battery life.... I have a little Sony A6000 mirrorless camera, and the battery life of it is just awful! It is common to be using it and I'll notice the battery charge indicator has dropped by 40% in just a few hours. And that's just "normal" daytime shooting. Heaven forbid I try long exposure stuff with it. Typically, if I shoot with it on a Saturday I MUST charge if afterward if I expect to use the camera again on Sunday. My DSLRs are nothing like this.

 

Battery life is a huge reason why I am still using DSLRs. I really like some of the feature set that mirrorless has, but really, I want that battery life. I also value the robustness that most DSLRs have over their mirrorless counterparts (note that I said "most"...there are some mirrorless cameras that have outstanding weather sealing).

[KuruPrionz]

 

But, I lust for a Fuji system. Small, light and fabulous in it's own way. My prefered approach to making images is mostly spontaneous so I would love something that is small enough to take anywhere.

The images look nice, the 56 1.2 is pretty much the dream portraiture lens for APS-C sensor. Stopped down it's almost too sharp. Their sensor color assignment array is excellent as well, if a bit more uncommon.

 

I hear so many great things about Fuji. And one of the bonuses of Fuji is that their firmware updates are not boring, incremental updates for bug fixes, but genuinely add new features.

 

Horses for courses, of course! You get some amazing shots and your choice of camera is the best one for your purpose.

 

This is it at the end of the day. One of the greatest photographers of the last fifty years is Michael Kenna, who continues to choose 4x5 large format film. Oh sure, if I client asks, he'll use a digital camera. But for everything else....it's large format film cameras.

 

But yes, it's all about what's best for your purposes. For many, that is mirrorless. And that's a great choice. For some, it's still DSLR.

 

We've all heard this one a bajillion times - "The best camera is the one you have with you."

I can pack my T2i and 3 lenses in a small pack and it's light. I don't do it often. I realized that I NEVER took my 5d with battery grip and 70-200 2.8 anywhere, ever. Unless I had something lined up I really wanted to do, which did not happen often.

 

The Fuji would fit in a small shoulder bag and weigh very little. I am in love with some of the images I've seen from the 56 1.2, that is a sweet lens.

 

I shot a fair bit of 4x5 back in the day, view camera is another level of ability and vision to create the perspective you want instead of the perspective you see. I'll never forget the day sat on the couch on a side wall, 4x5 on a tripod, and dialed it in so that it looked like it was in the middle of the room, facing the television straight on. It wasn't, not even close. Sinar Alpina, full movements. You can do incredible things.

Those huge films on a light box are stunning too.

 

Alas, I developed an intolerance for fixer and it is not fun.

[KenElevenShadows]

I bring my little point-and-shoot on hiking trips most of the time. Sometimes, that's the best camera to take. Those little Canons and Fujis and Panasonics and so forth....they're really good cameras.

[KuruPrionz]

I bring my little point-and-shoot on hiking trips most of the time. Sometimes, that's the best camera to take. Those little Canons and Fujis and Panasonics and so forth....they're really good cameras.

 

Yes, I really miss my Canon G9, I had it for about a decade and suddenly it just stopped working. New battery didn't help. I looked it up, common for them to just fail and some people fix them. Not me, I sold it as-is.

 

Took very nice images as long as you kept the ISO low. Incredible macro lens too!!!

[KenElevenShadows]

Nice. I have this ten year old Leica DLux 4 point-and-shoot with a built-in Zeiss lens and I still use it all the time.

[KuruPrionz]

Nice. I have this ten year old Leica DLux 4 point-and-shoot with a built-in Zeiss lens and I still use it all the time.

 

Can't go wrong with that!

 

I would like to find another compact camera, for my use a hot shoe is ideal. Macro is essential too but most compacts have that.

 

I photograph LOTS of stuff to sell. I prefer to photograph all defects, with a penny close by for size perspective.

It reduces the number of questions I get on the item and has eliminated returns.

 

I am sort of "Bizzaro World Commercial Photographer", I use the wrong gear to take sharp photos of the wrong things.

[KenElevenShadows]

I like the Leica for sure. I think those new Fujis sound quite amazing. Mike Martin has one of them. I think they're called the XT2 or XT3, that series, if I recall correctly.

[Franz Schiller]

I love Fujifilm cameras....I have the X-T20 and just love it to death. The kit lens is incredible. I have a few other lenses but kit lens works for me 95% of the time. Probably going to upgrade in another year or so, maybe when the XT5 comes out.

[KenElevenShadows]

They're great cameras, and their firmware updates are actually useful and provide more features. Image quality is really great. Sounds good to me.