RT Panther
All-Pro
I suspect any 70-300 will mostly sit on my shelf tooThanks for the thoughts,
-Ray
Ray,
From a Dƒ perspective, I use a nice and tidy AF 70-300 ED (under $100 at KEH
-> http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70300af.htm
I suspect any 70-300 will mostly sit on my shelf tooThanks for the thoughts,
-Ray
Are you absolutely certain of this?There's nothing immoral in being spanked by albino siamese-midgets wearing nurse uniforms...
There will be occasions when I'll miss the flip up screen - of this I have no doubt. But while I used to use those a LOT for all types of shooting, I've lately gotten to the point of only using them for ultra-wide shooting when I want a really low perspective. But I've gotten less and less fond of ultra-wide over time - 20-21mm is wide enough for me in any day to day shooting and I only take my ultra-wides out on occasion just to have a play with them and see what I can come up with. But when I have the Nikon 20 or Fuji 14 in the bag, I've never found myself wishing for anything wider. And I find I don't use the flip screen for much at all in the past year or more. Since EVFs have gotten so good lately (starting for me with the RX1 and then getting better and better with the EM1 and XT1), I've found myself using them nearly all the time, something I wouldn't have predicted a couple of years ago. That's one of the reasons I decided this would work for me. In a perfect world, I'd have an OVF and a flip up screen, but so far nobody's making that. And given the alternatives, I'm happy enough with just an OVF and an LCD I might use the once or twice a year I pull out a tripod...
-Ray
The flip up screen touch screen is big for me, I think I would be lost without it. I mostly use an EPL5 with 45mm lens, in conjunction with the Ricoh GR, and I like that particular set up for "street"*because you can hang back a bit from the scene and look down into your LCD to take your photos. So use the GR for up close (sometimes from the hip, which never works for me but I keep doing it - and sometimes using an OVF). And the EPL5 with 45 for everything else. That's been working for me, but I've had the feeling that I wanted a little bit more IQ overall. So I've enjoyed reading about your experimentations over the last few months, and I thank you for so thoroughly documenting your decision making. Big change indeed, doing to FF Nikon! As you explain it, this last move makes a lot of sense to me. A D610 with a 24-120 f4 and a small D prime or two makes sense to me. But I don't really have the budget for that unless I liquidate my M4/3, and I'm not really sure I want to do that. Very interested to know that you aren't bothered by the size of the D610. I can't quite picture if for myself, but then I, believe it or not, have never once held a DSLR of any sort (except an SL1 for about a second), so what do I know? Everyone I see on the street looks like they're holding a big ole volleyball of a camera up to their face, and I just can't see having something that big as my only thing besides the GR. I think I need to get to a brick and mortar and see if I can try out some cameras and see if I agree with you on the size.
Can I ask what your take is on the IQ on D610 files after a heavy crop? That's one way the set up could work for me. FF with a short telephoto prime, then cropped a lot.
Ray, congratulations with your new camera!
Interestingly, my wife said when she looked at the photos of our recent vacation that she liked the results of the Nikons (D200 and D800) better. There is a certain richness in Df photos that is hard to beat, even at lower ISO levels. This (the richness) is also why I like the DP Merrills so much. Having said that, to me the Zeiss lenses (and probably Leica lenses as well) bring something extra that helped me wait with purchasing another a second set.
It is not the weight that kept me from going Nikon again and invest in Zeiss instead. It is the better manual focusing capability of the X-T1 (which loses its attractiveness in bright sunlight), tilt screen and the controls-layout of the X-T1. Nevertheless, I am constantly tempted to buy a FF DSLR (for example, to check how the zeiss 135mm performs with such a body). What has helped me resisting the temptation, is comparing similar shots from the x-pro1 and the nikon D800E. I honestly cannot see much difference in DR, tones, details etc unless I go 1:1 on my 30 inch screen. I've also found that the recent addition of the fuji-camera-profiles are very helpful too.
The Df is different story... I am also curious how the D810 will perform. But right now, I am more focused on completing a lens lineup that is limited yet complete before investing in a new camera system.
I agree with most of what you said Ray. Though I ended up with a few zooms anyway, most of what you describe is why my initial dabbling with a D600 eventually turned into a full fledged Nikon setup. I can definitely understand how you could be convinced to go the opposite route in your journey.
I still think you should get a loaner Leica M and 28mm Summicron from B&H though![]()
I understand where you went with this as well, Ray. I still think you should get a loaner Leica M and 28mm Summicron from B&H though![]()
I understand where you went with this as well, Ray. I still think you should get a loaner Leica M and 28mm Summicron from B&H though![]()
I understand where you went with this as well, Ray. I still think you should get a loaner Leica M and 28mm Summicron from B&H though![]()
2. . The Fuji X's are great but there is something about fullframe that is hard to describe but is there.
But what about size an weight? I definitely want to avoid the big 10-24, 24-70, and 70-200 lenses and use a bunch of lightweight primes instead. The difference in size and weight between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera becomes less important with bigger lenses. Lenses such as the Zeiss 135mm f2 APO are huge on their own and feel more balanced with a larger camera.
I am trying to convince myself I shouldn't do it: the X-T1 makes nice photos, has a tilt screen (which is such a great feature) and has controls that makes shooting fun. Why don't I add another X-T1? Even the write-off does not keep me from thinking "how would the Zeiss 135mm perform with the Nikon FF?".
So my Fuji X-T1, 5 fuji lenses and the Zeiss 50mm may be on the market soon! unless I am strong and convince myself I just want to have something new...
Yeah, "there is something about full frame that is hard to describe but is there". There's a side of me that wishes I'd never picked up an RX1 - until then I was always very happy with APS and m43, between wihich I never saw more than a tiny difference. But the RX1 wrecked me for shooting with less. I happily still use my APS Nikon A for street work, but my other two cameras now are full frame. And there's just something about the files that will spoil you once you spend some time with them.
The size and weight with cameras like the D610, Df and Canon 6D are not necessarily much bigger or heavier than APS, depending on lens selection. I won't even consider the "holy trinity" because of size and weight, if not because of cost and that I don't like zooms very much. I do have a 24-120 f4 zoom that's incredibly amazingly useful for some types of shooting (I find that 70-120 range to be pretty indispensable for making a zoom useful in my world) and f4 goes a pretty long way with a camera like the D610 or Df. BTW, I also have a 70-300 which covers my limited telephoto wants or needs. I ultimately chose a Df over the D610 - I mentioned it elsewhere but guess I never updated this thread regarding that. Close call - both great.
.....
-Ray
wow! What kinda pack did you have for carrying all that?Just came back from vacation and the camera list was 5Dm2, 7D, GF3 and FZ200 plus the GH's for video. A 400mm is always mounted to the 7D, 9-18mm on the GF3 and 24-105 on the 5D. Just use what each is best suited for.