starting all over

AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
edited November 25, 2023 in Cameras
question
I simply want to ask: is there a better camera body nowadays?
to preface, canon is what i once understood, nikon was like throwing a ball left-handed.

Comments

  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited November 25, 2023
    sorry
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins

    I realize this thread is junk, sorry.
    I'm just going to take it one step at a time since every system still has all the same problems.
    I thought one camera might be the new greatest and thought what would people do if they started over.
    sorry.

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,085 moderator

    Is this "Tango"?

    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited September 4, 2024

    oh my

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,085 moderator

    Since you're starting over, we need to know your needs and expectations.

    First, what were the qualities of your old equipment that you liked and would like to translate into your new purchases.

    1) For instance, Full-Frame camera body vs crop body?
    2) Low light capabilities?
    3) Weight of camera considerations for both body and lenses?
    4) Component Cost considerations and total system budget? (You might wish to start with a basic system and with initial costs, but give an idea what you will build the system into over time.)
    5) Subject matter you wish to consider for your photography? (Landscape/scenic, sports/action, wildlife, architectural, portrait, event/candids, etc. The more detail, the better.)
    ... Etc.

    In other words, the more you tell us about your vision for your photography needs, the better we can make recommendations. My needs are going to be vastly different from yours.

    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins

    sorry I took so long getting back,
    your post is a perfect example why I love being here.
    professional, caring and great effort by others.
    sorry Im breaking in slow, I knew better than to post what I did.
    I know better and want to apologize for being a "me Monster" instead of thinking out my true meanings and what I was looking for with nessary information!
    I will post again as soon as I gather my thoughts on your points, I really appreciate you Ziggy.
    and Im going to start conduting myself better. unlike my past treating dgrin like playtime.

  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,703 moderator
    edited November 5, 2023

    Hey Aaron, I am_ so glad_ to hear you back here on dgrin, we lost track of you during your illness and the ensuing Covid years.

    Us Canon shooters need to stick together. I have a link to our time together at Toroweap back in the summer of 2009. I don't know if you remember it or not with all the intervening challenges you have had. https://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/A-Weekend-at-Toroweap-in-110/

    You might remember the boots you wore on the over look at Monument Valley in Mar of 2010. Or you may remember the German tourist we worried about at Alstrom Point..... Had he jumped there would have been a lot of paper work for us to fill out

    https://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Travel/Monument-Vallley-in-May-2010/

    As for photography recommendations my first question is what is your budget, and what do you wish to photograph? My cameras stretch from the iPhone in my pocket to several mirrorless Canon bodies. But some of my best images are iphone shots at times, too .

    One of the real advantages of the iPhone for photography is that the user does not even need a computer, or external storage devices as the images can be saved to iCloud, and shared on a phone, iPads or any kind of online device. Some will say they are not as good as larger camers, but they sure can take some nice snapshots and they cost a lot less than a new body, computer, external drives, editing software, etc etc

    I grabbed this in Scotland with an iPhone X back in 2019 - notice the person in the red jacket near the center for scale

    If my memory serves after 14 years,, you had Canon 5D or something DSLR. I still own a couple DLSRs from Canon, but I would probably start with an RF R7 today. I think it is kind of a mirrorless version for the old 7D MK II - but vastly better in every way, and costs about what a 7D Mk II used to cost - It is a crop body camera, not a full frame as Ziggy suggested, but offers decent 32.5 Mpxl files at ISO 6400 and can use any EF lens with an EF toRF adapter, or an of the many RF lenses on the market. I would not buy an R body - its AF does not begin to approach the speed and accuracy of the R7 - or the even better R3, or R5 or R6. I know you used to have an interest in wildlife and had some longer glass. Not sure if that is still relevant or not.

    One other point about the R7, it comes from Canon with an 18-150mm lens and the 18-150mm lens is sharp, small and very light. Its aperture is variable, f3.5 to 6.3 - but it makes a lovely package with the R7, small , very light, and very fast focusing. It is not as good as an R3 - not quite, but its auto focus is very effective. The R3 or R5 will be better in very lowlight, but ISO 6400 on a crop body sensor is still pretty darn useful. Modern software allows us to grab images we never could have in the past. Canon also offers an RF 100-400 f 5.6-8 lens for $599 - it's not a L lens, but its pretty darn good too - I own two of them as well as Canon's RF 100-500 which is very highly regarded. In capable hands they work very well.

    Here is a bluejay caught with my R7 and my RF 100-400 lens at ISO 400

    I have an image with the R7 and the Canon travel zoom, the 24 to 240 mm, lens that I rather like too, shot in Highlands North Carolina last summer

    I am so glad you're back!!

    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins

    haha that's one awesome gallery of toroweap! I don't remember ok-ing any pics of me ! jk.
    however, i wish i still looked that healthy. and no scars all over my head. oh and btw we have the same color of go-tee now!
    maybe there should be a thread for war stories haha!
    its so funny to me and i chuckle evr time i think about it, we looked at each other and knew we were both thinking the same thing,
    I can't remember if it was you or I that said we better get the H out of here before we end up talking to the sheriff all night!

    and the candians also were also wanting to high tail!!
    oh boy now that I'm divorced, I sure wish i could meet her again.
    oh and speaking about the crazy tourist, ive only seen one other crazier, me and Mylo went to toro in the middle of the night,
    and about 1 am i told him," Mylo seriously if you go over that edge i'm taking your equipment home and calling your wife to helicopter in to get you!"
    he told me to stop being a baby.

    yeah I don't know what ive lost as per memories, but I still chuckle every time i think about the mesa and looking back at you and everybody running to the jeep, and someone was throwing out everybody's equipment out on the dirt. everybody screaming and yelling! to get set up!
    I'm laughing now.
    and then i looked over at you handholding to get the shot and i said oh crap come get on your tripod!! and you yell back "No, im good! get back to work!"
    I will post those photos as soon as i get my smugmug account fixed!
    i have a great before and after of the most incredible light show I've ever seen!!

    ok, back OT
    can the R7 use a remote timer on bulb for long exposures?
    and i think the smaller sensor would be great cuz my old hang ups of full frame and the need for IQ all the way to the edge was a battle. though B&H was awesome getting me fixed up with perfect lens copies, i only had to send one back ever.
    yes i miss my 5d and that sharp 300 prime haha.
    pics coming after Wednesday.

  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,703 moderator

    The R7 does offer remote control via WiFi from a Canon App - how well it works, I have no personal experience, I don't like to mess with Wifi in the field, but that's just me..

    For landscape images it is easy on the R7 to just very gently touch the rear LCD with the camera on a 2 or 10 second delay.

    The R5 or R6 II offer higher pixel counts and even lower noise at higher ISOs but they are bigger, heavier, more expensive, and the files will be even larger as well. I just find the R7 a very nice, small, light handling body ( barely larger than a m4/3 body like a Lumix ) , and I rate it right behind my R3 which I really like a great deal. But it is bigger and heavier, and only 24 MPxls.

    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited November 5, 2023

    after the 17th out of thousands of youtube videos on the R7 , it seems everybody is happy. but since i just spent my mad money on a laptop and new software its going to the back burner until taxes come back.
    GOOD NEWS, I found a hard drive that was put away long ago and forgotten about. It has a ton of my old raws that never were processed so I think ill be busy for a while! and hopefully when I get my smugmug account restored I'll have the work not on that backup drive, crossing fingers!!
    I'll live either way, and until the time I order a R7 setup I'll use my P&S Canon 1GX brick. ( I've pulled off using my 1GX many times and still all ok with it so that's what I'm going to do for now.
    I've even won a few challenges with it.)(only a few noticed)
    thanks a miliion for pointing me in the right direction! I really apricate your advice!
    oh, btw those boots were retired, now its Ariat's on a daily basis. that was a huge upgrade for my feet. haha
    last question, does that R7setup do sunstars ok? you know I'm addicted to'em !

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,085 moderator
    edited November 5, 2023

    I also own a Canon EOS R7, and very much enjoy that a simple adapter allows using old EF and EF-S lenses as well as new RF and RF-S lenses.

    The new Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM is a special treat on the R7, yielding an effective Field-Of-View of an Ultra-Telephoto.

    Do have a look at the R7 discussion thread,
    https://dgrin.com/discussion/268556/canon-eos-r7-aps-c-mirrorless/p1

    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,703 moderator
    edited November 6, 2023

    One really great tip I learned here on dgrin from Ziggy, is the utility of FV mode on Canon mirrorless cameras, especially the R7, and R5, R3, and R6

    FV mode is a great feature of the R7 ! I love it. The easy access to exposure compensation is fabulous.

    Fv mode gives you the ability to control your camera like it is in manual mode, with the ease of shooting in P mode - pretty cool. I use FV mode for wildlife and social/street type shooting all the time.

    Like Ziggy I like the wide extent of lenses available for the R7 which include EF lenses made by Tamron and Sigma as well as Canon, Rokinon, etc. One lens I like quite a bit is the discontinued ( but still around cheaply on the used market ) Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD MACRO Lens for Canon. Mine has served me quite well from Alaska to the Rockies to the Arctic circle with over 12,000 files in my LR catalog. Its zoom ratio lets one shoot wide or long on a crop body. I even used it on a full frame 1DX body once when I was deep in Canyon de Chelly and without a full frame long lens. Another use for it i like is aerial work from an open airframe, where one might need long or wide glass, and cannot change lenses or camera bodies in the wind and exposure of an open door of an airplane or helicopter.

    https://youtu.be/ol_wwaXOkt4?si=g5VwNiok5ZJ4nW87

    Image from Canyon de Chelly with a full frame 1DX where I used the Tamron EFS 16-300 at 300mm out of desperation as I was as least 6 or 8 hours from any other longer glass. The periphery of the image was cropped, as expected, with an EF-S lens on a full frame body - just the same, the image isn't terrible to my eyes. The pictograph was way larger than life size, and over half way up the canyon wall in Canyon de Chelly.

    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins

    that is crazy neat!

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,085 moderator
    edited November 6, 2023

    @AaronNelson said:

    so if i see correctly there is no bulb function? should I forget about finding a camera with those abilities?

    While it's true that there is no physical attachment for a pneumatic bulb or mechanical cable mechanism, most modern digital cameras have long time exposure capabilities.

    If we're still talking about the R7 body, it allows time exposures up to many hours, with fine control over seconds, minutes and hours. This requires programming the "Bulb Timer" menu item, and after you fully depress the shutter button the camera keeps the shutter open for the duration you set.

    See the basic setup process online here:

    https://cam.start.canon/en/C005/manual/html/UG-03_CustomShooting_0070.html

    To see a generic video of the Bulb Timer function:
    (Scroll this video to about the 2 minute and 58 second mark for the Bulb Timer tutorial.)

    Canon R6 Bulb Mode Tutorial

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dJuViOISus

    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,703 moderator
    edited November 6, 2023

    As Ziggy says, built in intervalometers are present in the R7, and the R6, R6 Mk II, R3 and R5 as well. They will all take cabled remotes, and blue tooth remotes as well, I believe.

    Be careful to carry the correct cabled remote release - they are different for the various RF system bodies. The R3 and the R5 take the standard three pin remote release used by most Canon DSLRs in the past , the Canon Remote Switch RS-80N3. The Canon R and R7 bodies need a Canon RS-60E3 - single shaft - cable release that Canon also used for the PowerShot G1X, G1X Mark III, G3X, G5X, G5X Mark II, G10, G11, G12, G16, EOS Digital Rebel series, 60D, 60Da, 70D, 77D, 80D, 90D, Elan II/IIE, Elan 7/7E, Rebel Ti/2000/G/GII/X/XS, IX/IX Lite, SX50 HS, SX70 HS, EOS Rebel T1i, T2, T2i, T3, T3i, T4i, T5, T5i, T6, T6s, T6i, T7, T7i, SL1, SL2, SL3, and EOS M5, M6, M6 Mark II, M100, R, RP

    So now I have to carry two different remotes, and pay attention to which I have. There are numerous bluetooth wireless remotes available as well, but I don't favor fussing with wireless remotes in the dark, which is when I usually want a remote release.

    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins

    excellent advice! I think you guys has squared me away!
    this week has been very hard on me, using my brain more than it wants too. TBI's are far more serious than people know. I had another big seizure from the stress build-up. so I need to take a week off and slowly try to figure out this new lightroom, holy cow I'm confused.
    Wednesday I should have my smugmug account fixed and then I can post some pictures. wish me luck.

  • AaronNelsonAaronNelson Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited November 21, 2023

    sorry

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,085 moderator

    Congratulations, it's a posted picture! 👏
    Looking good.

    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
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