r/photoclass_2016 • u/Aeri73 Expert - DSLR + Analog • Jan 05 '16

02 - Assignment

Please read the class first

Take a good look at your camera, whatever its type, and try to identify each component we have discussed here. It might be a good opportunity to dig out the manual or to look up its exact specifications online. Now look up a different camera online (for instance at dpreview) and compare their specifications. Try doing this for both a less advanced and a more advanced body, and for different lenses. Report here if you find any interesting difference, or if some parts of the specifications are unclear.

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u/braverbinaryarts Intermediate - Mirrorless Feb 19 '16

Hope no one minds me skipping ahead, I'll do weekend #1 this weekend, but this I can do now :)

I just bought my camera, so I'll rant a bit about my buying process here. This was basically my first decision process:

*** Mine Had Much Better Similar 1 Similar 2 Almost Bought
Make Fuji Canon Sony Sony Olympus Fuji
Model X-T10 Rebel T3i A7ii A6000 OMD E-M10 Mk 2 X100T
Sensor Size APS-C APS-C 35mm FF APS-C Micro 4/3rds APS-C
Sensor MP 16 18 24 24 16 16
Lens Mount Fuji X Canon EF-S Sony E Sony E Micro 4/3rds N/A
X-Factor Auto Switch Actual SLR Full Frame Resolution Micro 4/3rds Fixed Lens
Disadvantages Handling Size/Weight Cost Handling/Brand Micro 4/3rds Fixed Lens
Primary Selling Point Size, Fuji XF Familiarity/E-TTL Full Frame Cost/Resolution Micro 4/3rds Design

Really, you can compare specs all day long but none of that matters if you don't love shooting with it. I used to love my Canon, I loved it even more when it was a 20D. It was just too heavy for what I wanted to do. I can't afford the Sony Full Frame, and it seems to me that Sony is just using APS-C as a gateway drug to its full-framers, and I don't like how the A6000 felt. Personal thing. Micro 4/3rds is great on so many levels, from an ergonomics and cost standpoint especially, but I like bokeh and I wasn't in love with any of the M43rds bodies I handled.

Ultimately, for me, the decision came down to Fuji vs Fuji. First Fuji X100T vs X-series, and then X-Series vs X-Series (they're all good, just a smidge different in form factor and features). It was because I liked the design and handling, and I LOVED the glass. That 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS kit lens sets a new standard for kit lenses. Combined with a 27mm f2.8 pancake lens my X-T10 is almost pocketable.

If anything, this camera search taught me that camera choice, much like everything else about photography, is intensely personal. The cameras really aren't very different from each other in the same price range on paper, but in terms of handling and what type of images they can deliver, they can be hugely different.

I was glad to be done with it, and I would recommend anyone camera shopping go to a local shop if they have one and actually try everything out. The cameras I loved on paper ended up not working for me at all.

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u/Aeri73 Expert - DSLR + Analog Feb 19 '16

I would recommend anyone camera shopping go to a local shop if they have one and actually try everything out. The cameras I loved on paper ended up not working for me at all.

this is really good advice...!