Limitations brought back fun of photography

[Ado Wolf]

I booked a vacation with my 2 daughters to Palma de Mallorca. I had a choice of taking my Z8, Z6, D850 and Z50 with a choice of lenses..

The thought of sand and salty water spray damaging my gear immediately disqualified my expensive 45 MP camera bodies.. changing lenses with the remaining Z6 and Z50 was also a challenge, considering both lack the sensor shield..

I ended up going for a used D3400 that cost me only 140$.. DX like Z50 but 24 MP like the Z6. I knew I could take this camera anywhere and not worry about the rough elements..

The challenges though were not to be underestimated:
1) lack of the 2nd front wheel ( that one hurt the most)
3) Lack of FN buttons
4) only 11 focus points
5) lack of EVF (WYSIWYG)
6) no HDR mode
7) no Time Lapse mode
8) lack of subject / eye detection
9) Lack of a proper 3D tracking

Having said that, the challenge of getting a photo of my energetic kids (always on the move), despite these limitations, made the whole process that much more fun and the gratification of having nailed that perfect shot overwhelming!

A bonus of using an older DSLR was the fact that no one had interest in stealing it, so I am able to leave it with the towels on the beach while we go swimming in the sea

This really brought back my love of photography to a higher level and reminded me that the photographer and his talents make a good photo.

 

[simonsi]

and that is exactly why many are sticking with DSLRs, myself included. However you look at it, its more involving and dependant on the photographer and less about the gear (As increasingly was pinhole, view and early film but I am not from those eras). I liken it to bow-hunting vs rifle, some still do it for the involvement in the process and additional challenges, many hunters do both. Once upon a time there were only bows

 

[John Navitsky]

i often find that the case as well. this weekend i shot at an event where the 70-200 was probably the "right" choice, but i brought ONLY a 400mm prime :-D

 

[Nimi]

I booked a vacation with my 2 daughters to Palma de Mallorca. I had a choice of taking my Z8, Z6, D850 and Z50 with a choice of lenses..

The thought of sand and salty water spray damaging my gear immediately disqualified my expensive 45 MP camera bodies.. changing lenses with the remaining Z6 and Z50 was also a challenge, considering both lack the sensor shield..

I ended up going for a used D3400 that cost me only 140$.. DX like Z50 but 24 MP like the Z6. I knew I could take this camera anywhere and not worry about the rough elements..

The challenges though were not to be underestimated:
1) lack of the 2nd front wheel ( that one hurt the most)
3) Lack of FN buttons
4) only 11 focus points
5) lack of EVF (WYSIWYG)
6) no HDR mode
7) no Time Lapse mode
8) lack of subject / eye detection
9) Lack of a proper 3D tracking

Having said that, the challenge of getting a photo of my energetic kids (always on the move), despite these limitations, made the whole process that much more fun and the gratification of having nailed that perfect shot overwhelming!

A bonus of using an older DSLR was the fact that no one had interest in stealing it, so I am able to leave it with the towels on the beach while we go swimming in the sea

This really brought back my love of photography to a higher level and reminded me that the photographer and his talents make a good photo.

Great and sounds so true! I recently had to shoot film, and picked a 50yr old Olympus with fixed lens (my childhood camera, inherited recently). Most fun I had in a shoot in many years and the client was blown away.