Technological advancements

[Ado Wolf]

It is incredible how many technological advancements were made in the past 5 years, particularly after the transition from DLSR to MLC. I was pondering which of these advancements had the greatest impact on my photography... and I can say with big certainty, that in my case the No. 1 for me would be "silent shooting".

I was wondering which one would be for you? subject recognition? eye tracking? high frame rate? pre-capture? auto-capture?

cheers, Ado

 

[Nimi]

It is incredible how many technological advancements were made in the past 5 years, particularly after the transition from DLSR to MLC. I was pondering which of these advancements had the greatest impact on my photography... and I can say with big certainty, that in my case the No. 1 for me would be "silent shooting".

I was wondering which one would be for you? subject recognition? eye tracking? high frame rate? pre-capture? auto-capture?

cheers, Ado

Great topic.

For me, it's the new lenses from Nikon and Sony. Canon is probably just as good but i havent used enough to pass judgement. A little too clinical in some cases, but the pro-level ones have never been this good.

 

[Woody Meristem]

I'm not sure if it's procapture (precapture) or silent shutter; I always use silent shutter so I suppose that should be #1 for me. But for those of us who use Olympus neither one arrived in the last five years, my 2016 Olympus E-M1 ii had both in 2016. So it would probably be the ability to lock-on and follow the eye of a bird or mammal in newer cameras.

 

[David Berry]

Which advancements had the greatest impact on my photography?

Ado …

That's easy to answer: seeing a digital image in the viewfinder rather than an optical image.

A mirrorless camera's viewfinder does a lot more than literally 'finding the view'. Now I can see the photo that I'm creating (albeit half-finished), not simply what's 'out there'.

Brave new world: wonderful!

… David

 

[Fishboy1952]

For me it’s hard to select just one thing. I love the new AF modes and the ability for the camera to track the subject across the viewfinder. High frame rates are a boon. But I think I’d agree with silent shooting. I used to shoot with a D500 and then a D850. Great DSLRs. But at the respective 10 and 9 FPS, it sounded like a machine gun and I know it startled or at least disturbed my subjects at times. My goal is to capture images without affecting the wildlife that I’m looking at. Silent shooting does that.

 

[bleirer]

Autofocus that moves the AF point with the subject.

 

[StefanSC]

I was wondering which one would be for you? subject recognition? eye tracking? high frame rate? pre-capture? auto-capture?

IMO, most of the "mainline feature" technical innovations in the last 5-7 years of ML are a bit overrated ...

I've seen plenty of times where subject recognition went haywire, 25fps more often than not means a lot of samey-looking images, I've encountered situations where the silent shutter actually worked against me as the subject was decided to keep it's back towards me and I can't remember the last time I got a shot more than 1/3 EV off the exposure I really wanted...probably back when I was shooting a D200.

Don't get me wrong, they are all great to have and the whole is clearly more than the sum of the parts. I've gotten shots in the past 9 months since I've gone all-in on mirrorless that I wouldn't have gotten with my old D500 for example.

But I've been shooting with a D7200 and AF-S 300mm f4D for the past few weeks for kicks and the things I missed most aren't from the list above ... what I am missing are more subtle things:

1) The ability to review the images in the viewfinder and to generally use the camera menus without taking it away from your eye (btw, why hasn't any manufacturer made transparent menus / PiP menus so I can see the feed from the sensor while I am digging through settings... this is such a low hanging fruit ).

2) Unified behavior between EVF and display (with flippy display so I don't have to crawl through the mud for some shots).

3) IBIS... I forgotten how sloppy I could be when handling a telephoto due to IBIS .

But if I were to mention one technology that really changed my shooting, it would be AI Denoise algorithms... for the way I use my images, mostly web-use, these have made me 90% independent of sensor size and have saved me quite some time and money.

 

[DRM]

It depends. Sometimes the greatest impact comes from the ability of the camera to recognize the subject, lock onto its eyes, then track it around. This helps me enormously when composing action shots of people. Sometimes the high frame rates bring up good shots to great shots because of the unique pose or look of the eyes captured. Sometimes the silent shutter allows me to capture images I otherwise wouldn’t. And sometimes the advances in tech help me capture great shots at levels of light I wouldn’t have previously been able to. And then there are the lenses …

 

[NorthernFocus]

I have to the thing that made the biggest impact for me is lag/blackout free EVF. If not for that I'd still be shooting DSLR.

 

[JAS]

As noted by others above, the digital viewfinder - what you see is what you get - has been the biggest improvement to my shooting experience. Absolutely love it and that is what will drive the final sale of my remaining DSLR bodies, as I can replce them with appropriate Z bodies.

 

[fcotterill]

The many advances we enjoy today are hard to rank. Each can assume priority in a specific circumstance for wildlife photography. These include Silent shutter; rapid fps of 20fps and higher; Wysiwyg EVF thanks to excellent digital viewfinders, Eye-detection&Tracking....

And I agree quite a few of these features were pioneered some years prior to 5 years ago: including in the Nikon 1 system and Olympus MILCs. AutoAF was one of first Autofocus modes that introduced feasible live tracking of erratic subjects, and it was introduced in the D5 and D500 (2016) - with 3D Tracking as well.

 

[DRwyoming]

I was wondering which one would be for you? subject recognition? eye tracking? high frame rate? pre-capture? auto-capture?

For me the biggest technology game changer predates mirrorless with incredible high ISO performance. Available light shots that were pretty much inconceivable in the film and early DSLR days are commonplace and support things like very fast shutter speed for action in softer light. That and advanced AF system performance including both speedy acquisition and tracking both across the frame but also improved tracking of fast moving subjects across distance which really started to shine in late generation DSLRs and just keeps getting better with mirrorless technology.

I love what my mirrorless cameras can do but like the post above I think of a lot of the advanced features as nice to have but not need to have. Sure a WYSIWYG viewfinder is awesome as is a real time histogram prior to shutter release especially for folks figuring out metering and exposure but I wasn't missing exposure on a ton of shots before those innovations. Similarly silent shutter is sometimes nice when working from blinds or otherwise very close to wildlife subjects but I rarely set to true silent unless I'm shooting in a group situation where everyone else turns off all shutter sounds as even in blinds I like hearing the shutter(turned down to 1) and not relying on visual clues in the viewfinder for things like burst length and for much of my shooting I'm not super close to my subjects to the point where even the noisy D850 shutter would spook them.

I need reading glasses these days so using the EVF for menu settings is a pretty nice feature but again it doesn't revolutionize what I shoot or how I shoot.

I guess in addition to high ISO capabilities I like fast frame rates and fast AF systems for shooting action and subject/eye detection is really nice and no doubt has allowed some creativity that would have been harder if I had to manually reposition the AF point for off center compositions but I still do that fairly often when subject detection struggles in cluttered shooting situations or with multiple subjects where I want focus on a particular eye.

So many great new features it's hard to count and I really like having things like much better control customization, built in auto capture is fun, precapture sounds great and if it's extended to raw captures I'll probably make use of it, built in focus stack shooting is pretty nice for macro and even some landscape work, focus peaking in manual focus mode is pretty handy at times and the stuff mentioned above is pretty great. I guess like a lot of technology the sum of all those advancements is greater than the individual features and no doubt modern cameras are pretty incredible tools.

 

[fcotterill]

As for the newer lenses, they have introduced several new features: especially incredible optical quality with the E type and latterly Z Nikkors. Such that all the current Z Telephotos rate from Excellent to more than Adequate. [hence the frequent debates and questions as to which to choose, fyi current DPR thread] Equally the Mirrorless Ultrawides have eclipsed their DSLR predecessors, particularly as lighter and unprecedented quality optics, which are more compact eg 14-24 f2.8G compared to 14-24 f2.8S, and IME the nifty 14-30 f4S taking 82mm filters.

A built-in Teleconverter can be very useful, and it's deeply appreciated in my 180-400 TC (but I recall Canon had a telephoto with integral TC earlier). Equally, several modern Telephoto Zooms deliver very good quality, and in Nikon's case, the 70-200 f2.8E FL pioneered this standard (2017).

In a different tier call it consumer travel zoom, the new 28-400 Z has eclipsed the 28-300 G; and this new super zoom also fits the niche very well for a wildlife video captures.

However, I also rate radically better ergonomics with improved VR of several telephotos is the big enabler for wildlife photographers ; here the current Z Lightweights set the benchmark in a trend highlighted by the 300 PF (2015) and 500 PF (2018). I find the 800 PF sets the highest benchmark in how well it blends Handholding with unprecedented Reach. Undoubtedly, it's a game changer.

 

[NorthernFocus]

... I find the 800 PF sets the highest benchmark in how well it blends Handholding with unprecedented Reach. Undoubtedly, it's a game changer.

I completely agree with this. Felt that way about the 500PF and the 800 took it to a whole new level.

Some of the biggest technological improvements are not due to a single feature but a combination. For example for amateurs shooting Nikon the combination of PF telephoto lenses, improved AF performance in low light, and modern post processing software has greatly reduced the IQ performance gap between reasonably affordable super telephotos and the top tier lenses. In the Z mount lineup the built in TC in the 400 and 600 is now a bigger differentiator than the wider aperture.

 

[wotan1]

I am a big fan of the following:

Z telephoto lenses especially the 800mm pf;
Autofocus and subject detection advances
Super fast frame rates
Denoise processing
Better post processing computers and monitors

It is a wonderful time for wildlife photography.

 

[SCoombs]

One you might not think of: fully electronic shutter. This isn't because of anything it does to any individual photo. In fact, it can even cause problems at times for things like flash and on some camera bodies, rolling shutter.

Rather, it's because I don't have to worry about wear and tear in the camera. I can shoot and shoot and shoot and take chances and waste shots and experiment and practice and do long bursts at lower speeds looking for the perfect shot and make mistakes and do all sorts of things I'd have been afraid to do when I knew every click was a step closer to the camera being replaced or at least having the shutter replaced. The number of photos I've taken in a short time is staggering and I just wouldn't have done this with a DSLR.

 

[Ado Wolf]

Great topic.

For me, it's the new lenses from Nikon and Sony. Canon is probably just as good but i havent used enough to pass judgement. A little too clinical in some cases, but the pro-level ones have never been this good.

Absolutely true, the new generation Z lenses have proven to be better than the previous generation F lenses. I am still hoping that Nikon will come up with more compact prime lances like the 28t and 40 mm pancake lenses. I currently fancy my 400mm 4.5 a lot (married to my Z8).

 

[wotan1]

One you might not think of: fully electronic shutter. This isn't because of anything it does to any individual photo. In fact, it can even cause problems at times for things like flash and on some camera bodies, rolling shutter.

Rather, it's because I don't have to worry about wear and tear in the camera. I can shoot and shoot and shoot and take chances and waste shots and experiment and practice and do long bursts at lower speeds looking for the perfect shot and make mistakes and do all sorts of things I'd have been afraid to do when I knew every click was a step closer to the camera being replaced or at least having the shutter replaced. The number of photos I've taken in a short time is staggering and I just wouldn't have done this with a DSLR.

Good point.
Of course the major technological advance was digital photography itself. Before digital you only had 36 shots on 35mm per roll or 12 on 120 roll film for medium format. You were not able to preview anything and you never knew whether you did something wrong until you got the negatives or slides back from the lab days later. On top of which ISO was fixed by the film you selected. Not to mention color balance which was also set by the film type. Remember tungsten film?

 

[Ado Wolf]

I'm not sure if it's procapture (precapture) or silent shutter; I always use silent shutter so I suppose that should be #1 for me. But for those of us who use Olympus neither one arrived in the last five years, my 2016 Olympus E-M1 ii had both in 2016. So it would probably be the ability to lock-on and follow the eye of a bird or mammal in newer cameras.

True, Olympus has been offering pre-capture For while now. I use this function on my TG 5. Subject recognition and tracking is definitely my second most appreciated technological advance, particularly when photographing energetic kids

 

[Ado Wolf]

Ado …

That's easy to answer: seeing a digital image in the viewfinder rather than an optical image.

A mirrorless camera's viewfinder does a lot more than literally 'finding the view'. Now I can see the photo that I'm creating (albeit half-finished), not simply what's 'out there'.

Brave new world: wonderful!

… David

Oh, true, I missed mentioning the EVF in my short list and it’s WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) advantage.

 

[Ado Wolf]

For me it’s hard to select just one thing. I love the new AF modes and the ability for the camera to track the subject across the viewfinder. High frame rates are a boon. But I think I’d agree with silent shooting. I used to shoot with a D500 and then a D850. Great DSLRs. But at the respective 10 and 9 FPS, it sounded like a machine gun and I know it startled or at least disturbed my subjects at times. My goal is to capture images without affecting the wildlife that I’m looking at. Silent shooting does that.

that was also the first thing that hit me when I press the shutter on my Z8, coming from a D850 and it’s machine gun sound.

 

[Ado Wolf]

IMO, most of the "mainline feature" technical innovations in the last 5-7 years of ML are a bit overrated ...

…

But I've been shooting with a D7200 and AF-S 300mm f4D for the past few weeks for kicks and the things I missed most aren't from the list above ... what I am missing are more subtle things:

…

3) IBIS... I forgotten how sloppy I could be when handling a telephoto due to IBIS .

But if I were to mention one technology that really changed my shooting, it would be AI Denoise algorithms... for the way I use my images, mostly web-use, these have made me 90% independent of sensor size and have saved me quite some time and money.

Haha, I know exactly what you mean. I went for a camera that is even less advanced than the D7200.. the D3400 which I am now using with my 300 PF

IBIS is definitely a plus, but having steady hands (still) and older F lenses with built-in VR, that’s probably not very high on my list.

I still didn’t buy any AI denoise software, but I think that’s probably something I will be investigating soon, considering many of my photos are taken at Sunrise and/or sunset (golden hour and sometimes blue hour), in heavily wooded forests.

 

[Ado Wolf]

As noted by others above, the digital viewfinder - what you see is what you get - has been the biggest improvement to my shooting experience. Absolutely love it and that is what will drive the final sale of my remaining DSLR bodies, as I can replce them with appropriate Z bodies.

I’m still struggling with selling my D850.. and making the full switch to MLC. For some reason I still find it a good idea to keep using two cameras. I guess I want to avoid losing certain skills which are needed for DSLR cameras, they are not required for MLCs.

 

[Ado Wolf]

And I agree quite a few of these features were pioneered some years prior to 5 years ago: including in the Nikon 1 system and Olympus MILCs. AutoAF was one of first Autofocus modes that introduced feasible live tracking of erratic subjects, and it was introduced in the D5 and D500 (2016) - with 3D Tracking as well.

I agree, although 3D tracking in DSLR cameras was not as accurate and ans efficient as it has become now. I can tell because I still use my Z8 and D850 alternatively.

 

[Anjin San]

It is incredible how many technological advancements were made in the past 5 years, particularly after the transition from DLSR to MLC. I was pondering which of these advancements had the greatest impact on my photography... and I can say with big certainty, that in my case the No. 1 for me would be "silent shooting".

I was wondering which one would be for you? subject recognition? eye tracking? high frame rate? pre-capture? auto-capture?

cheers, Ado

AF and SD improvements. And noise reduction software next.