[Brad]

After 10 years of digital point/shoots, I started about a year and a half ago with a Canon Rebel T3.
Had quite a bit of fun with lenses (Tokina 11-16mm F2.8, Canon 50mm 1.8, Canon 70-200 F4L)
Decided to get a better camera and went with the Canon T4i - much better handling and I like the photos better too.
Then added a Canon 85mm 1.8 and a Tamron 17-50 2.8.

Learning much more about exposure, bracketing, framing, light.

Finally about two weeks ago, made the decision to go full frame.  Canon 6d with the 24-105 F4L kit lens.
Once again, big step up in handling, low light capability, and photo quality

I was thinking about it last night, and I pretty much went through the same type of progression with audio gear.
Amps/preamps/turntables/DACs/speakers/cabling/etc
Has anyone else noticed that similarity? 

Any wagers on when I'll get into medium format digital? 

[SET Man]

Hey!

    It was a very different world back in the film's days.   

Take care,
Buddy

[Brad]

Hey Buddy,

You had a nice film camera museum when we got together a few years ago.
If you make it to Houston, you can check out my lens collection   

I did get some nice pictures last summer in NYC with the 11-16mm Tokina.  Had beautiful weather 2 mornings in a row.  Great light and the 11-16 worked well for NYC architecture.

I have a trip planned this fall that includes Taos, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake, and Arches Nat'l Park.
Should be a solid 10 days of driving/hiking/photography.

Cheers,

Brad in Houston

[charmerci]

I have a trip planned this fall that includes Taos, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake, and Arches Nat'l Park.
Should be a solid 10 days of driving/hiking/photography.

Cheers,

Brad in Houston

Unless you want to, I'd suggest skipping Utah north of I-40. If you're in the Arches area, make sure you spend some time in the Canyonlands NP. You'll love the trip!

[stlrman]

Your trip sounds awesome!! I have been to all those awesome spots many times.
Your skipping maybe my favorite though, Zion National Park.
Have a blast and post some pics .

[Brad]

The Salt Lake part of the trip includes the UT vs BYU football game in Provo, and three nights in Snowbird, and was the whole genesis for making the trip to begin with      

I definitely want to squeeze in Zion if we can
Also Mesa Verde on the way back to Albuquerque if possible

This is a long trip for me, but still doesn't seem to include enough time to see all of the wonderful sights out there.

[sl_1800]

I bought a Nikon D40 about 5 years ago and now I'm looking to move up the chain as well.

[Brad]

Are you looking at the D600/800 or a crop body to replace the D40?

I was fairly well invested in Canon lenses, so I didn't look too hard at the Nikons. 
One of my friend's got the D800 a few months ago and she loves it.

One nice thing Canon has for the 6d is a set of videos covering basic/advanced use - you can even view them on the camera's LCD.

[sl_1800]

I just bought the Nikon D7000 with kit lens.  Trying it out, might take it back for the D7100, not sure yet.  Just not really willing to spend the money for the larger format cameras such as the D600 or 800

[sl_1800]

Well I took the D7000 back and got a D7100.  I decided if I'm going to buy new then I might as well buy the newest.  This time I got the D7100 without the kit lens which is the same price as the D7000 with the kit lens, after all I have several lenses.  Here are a couple of pics of my new camera.

[Early B.]

Well I took the D7000 back and got a D7100.  I decided if I'm going to buy new then I might as well buy the newest.  This time I got the D7100 without the kit lens which is the same price as the D7000 with the kit lens, after all I have several lenses.  Here are a couple of pics of my new camera.

Let us know your impressions of the D7100. I'm considering upgrading my ancient D300 to the D7100.

[Photon46]

I've never been one to get to emotionally charged over buying camera gear, it's always been a tool to accomplish a task that needs to be done. I've been more in love with the outcome of the photographic process rather more than the process of making photographs. Although, I will admit I love the sound of a large format shutter whirring away as it opens the iris. We recently bit the financial bullet big time at work and upgraded to medium format digital. I've been pretty stoked getting familiar with my Cambo Ultima D and PhaseOne P65+ back, awesome image quality. Captures a 22.5" x 30" file @ 300 dpi. The photo shows a Hasselblad back rather than the PhaseOne we bought, but it's otherwise the same camera. I did order it a with sliding digital back, that's a nice tool in the studio.

[sl_1800]

Early B,  I took some pics this weekend with the D7100.  Bare in mind I'm no expert so all I can say is the pics turned out sharp with good color which my old D40 had a hard time with. 

[navi]

I've never been one to get to emotionally charged over buying camera gear, it's always been a tool to accomplish a task that needs to be done. I've been more in love with the outcome of the photographic process rather more than the process of making photographs. Although, I will admit I love the sound of a large format shutter whirring away as it opens the iris. We recently bit the financial bullet big time at work and upgraded to medium format digital. I've been pretty stoked getting familiar with my Cambo Ultima D and PhaseOne P65+ back, awesome image quality. Captures a 22.5" x 30" file @ 300 dpi. The photo shows a Hasselblad back rather than the PhaseOne we bought, but it's otherwise the same camera. I did order it a with sliding digital back, that's a nice tool in the studio.

Nice! I've always wanted a Large format system for my med format Digi (31mp hasselblad)  mainly for architecture and shooting products in the studio. What are you using it for?

[Photon46]

Navi, I use the Cambo for three primary duties. First, I work for a fine art publishing atelier that produces print and sculpture editions and we need to photograph all our studio's editions for catalogs, books, educational materials, galleries, and web based publications. Another use for the PhaseOne has been to replace the functions of the film copy camera we recently de-installed because we just can't get wide roll film for the copy camera anymore. We used to be able to get roll film 42" wide which we'd use to make film positives for photogravure and lithographs. Now, we stitch together image files and print digital positives instead. Can't say I miss the film hassle too much. It was a wet mess trying develop a 42" x 60" piece of film in the darkroom! Even with the vent fans going, the smell of fixer and stop bath would knock you over when using trays the size you use for film that big! Lastly, an artist will occasionally visit the studio and need to photograph something to incorporate into a print project.

[JohnR]

The only problem with the analogy is that going from prebuilt into DIY is much more difficult with camera gear

Somewhat OT: I'd love to know if anyone ever actually took a photo with a monorail camera that was in the "pretzel position."

[Photon46]

Somewhat OT: I'd love to know if anyone ever actually took a photo with a monorail camera that was in the "pretzel position."

Admittedly, the advertising photo is extreme. However, you'd be surprised how convoluted a monorail can get when you're controlling the plane of focus in a close-up product shot or food photography situation. All those movements really do get used, sometimes quite extensively if you have a lens with a large image circle.