Hi brother darthbaboon,

I have to disagree with you that non-SLR can do what the SLR advantages. Here are few points that I can think of... which advantages go to SLR, and in most likely non-SLR like prosumer cannot do;

+ BIG camera attract attention of models in events. The bigger is always better. If they do not look at you, there is no eyes contact in your pictures. Same thing happen if there are a few photographers in a any event, let say wedding group pictures. People will tends to look at those BIG camera as they are the official one.

+ BIG camera feel more pro and will also drive you to better compose, play with setting like compensation and white balance. End Results -> Much better pictures. I see lots of prosumer camera people simply point and shoot. Even got nice scenery, it senget...

+ SLR can go very wide or very tele. All SLR can easily go way below 24mm equivalent. On full frame + sigmal 12-24 zoom, you can reach 12mm ultra-wide!!! Try doing that with any non-SLR camera.

+ BIG sensor on SLR with large aperture primes can lead to beautiful background blur. This is a no-no to any non-SLR camera. Refer to the picture on http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/612019

+ Prosumer camera might offer high zoom range, but thier tele range image quality always sucks. I had seen from my ex-S2 IS and ex-S3 IS, there tele performance are suck compare to EF70-200 f2.8 or EF100-400 L. So in a way, prosumer paper spec might be good, but actual performance is another story.

+ Bigger sensor tends to have much better signal-to-noise ratio, which mean cleaner higher quality image. On my new 40D, I can easy shoot at ISO1600 and enjoy very low noise picture. Refer to http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/612019 on most of the ISO1600. Can you re-produce that clean result with your prosumer?

+ Spending more on SLR also boosting our economy, which will help everyone in a chain re-action.

+ Sometime with BIG camera, you are allowed to enter media section for some events. Without the right spot, it will be worthless on how good your camera is.

+ BIG camera plus some L lenses also make you happy and proud for some stupid reasons.

Hope my words make a sense or two...

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 17 2008, 11:48 AM

I heard Canon got some lenses can reach all the way to f1.2!!!

---

Added on January 17, 2008, 12:00 pmAgree. It is why I use mobile phone camera to capture where I pack my car in shoping complex, rather than use my SLR.

It looks pro in this way.
Anyway, the complicated setting also get me confuss sometime... and many mistake.. but dun care la... just frap-frap-frap...

Newer dSLR today all have liveview.. I do not see any noticable delay actually. Pretty usefull.

Fast frame rate sometime also can get wow from your surronding friends. The minimum to impress others are 5fps. In this area the Canon siao mark III 10fps is pretty impressive. I found lots of pro simply want to show off by shooting at that frame rate rather than nessasity. Anyway... I understand that. Prosumer will be rather weak in this area.

I used to have S3 IS... The autofocusing speed actually very geng liao...


This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 17 2008, 12:00 PM

Yo... Glad some one is human enought to understand my statements...

Sometime the advantages of using SLR is hard to explain via words and pure logics. Some time it need no reasons. It is more like having fun. Sometime I also see people shooting with 300 f2.8 for potrait or fashion, which actually I think no need one la... But siok la.. BIG ma...

Yeah... I often see that... Normal people cannot understand from the point of logic... because it does not make sense after all.

But sometime logic does not matter... Happy... Having Fun... Smile... Laught... Hahaha... and that's what matter...

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 17 2008, 02:22 PM

Yeah... Happy to know that more people agree with my nuts teory on SLR advantages...

"There is a meter telling you whether you shot would be correctly exposed or not" -> It does not matter. Most of my shots are done in AV/TV mode where the exposure should be ok based on the camera evaluation. If not, compensate accordingly like 1/3 brighter etc.... Sometime even the exposure meter level indicate meaningless in fully manual mode. I prefer to look at the LCD playback to know if the result on or not on. After all, why not use digital camera in the digital way?

"How to activate Liveview?" I was helping my neighbour D40 because he cannot autofocus with his new 50 f1.8, which later realise the camera has no autofocusing motor inside... Ma Le... But if my memory are reliable, I did not see Liveview option there... It is either the function is not there or Nikon using other name.

By the way, I can confirm the new D300 got live view, because I was shooting with some other photographer in wedding events. Live view very useful in those "yam seng" shots where you just need to lift up your camera high high and look at the LCD... Hahah...

Yeah... At least you admit it.

It is why I see people who has limited budget, but still buying high-end camera (but older model la) like Nikon D1 as well as Canon EOS 1D. At least those bigger camera really make one feel more confortable in those events...

And it is also why I ask people try not to buy entry level camera like Nikon D40 and Canon 400D because they are too small la... No styles... Tak ada gaya...

And to make it related to the original topic, tiny prosumer camera lagi teruk la.... Imagine if you dare to use a compact IXUS camera while others around with BIG SLR + BIG looking flash gun to shoot.... LOL...

Personally, I do not like to use flash in my photo... But I still mount the BIG flash gun on my camera... just for the SIZE issue....

As I had expressed in my previous numerous posts that SIZE matter... Always go as BIG as possible... When yours is BIG (White lense, 300 f2.8 etc), you never shy to show... And on the other way, small things tends to be embrassed.

These teory works on a lot of things;

Camry, Accord is much better than Kelisa and Kancil.... S class is better than C class... Even kids that do not know the price of the cars can understand that...

Even our politician admit that some AV video was him, all because his size is OK and want to tunjuk. Imagine if yours is small, being captured in video, and watch by others... Do you want to admit it is actually yours?

Hope my words can help in opening your mind to understanding the important of dSLR so you are not regreting getting one. If you want to regret, only regret yours are not big enought, and should get bigger one...

Remember BIG is always Better.... LOOOONG also good. BIG + LONG = VERY GOOD!

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 17 2008, 05:58 PM

Yeah... That's why my lenses all got hood.

I even made an oversized, and super effective hood for my tiny 50 f1.4 lense....

BIG and LONG is always better...

Yeah... BIG BIG BIG.... LONG LOONG LOOONG.... always better...

I had seen some sifu (idiot?) shooting fashion runway with 400 f2.8!!! Hahaha...

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 17 2008, 06:18 PM

Hmmm... It might be too loooong even for my taste...

I worry it might scare the models off with this gigantic size!

Anyway, I am pretty happy with my current size.... good enought..

Err... I think I will take a photo of it... then easier to explain la...

To me is to make the camera looks bigger. It also looks better that way. Some say can protect your camera from knock-knock. Some also say protect from flare lo... Basically are all positive things la...

Yeah... Agreee on that. Especially nowdays there are so many affordable used white 70-200 f2.8 around...

---

Added on January 18, 2008, 9:37 amI had tried the Canon 50 f1.2 L. That's the biggest 50mm that I had ever used. Result really not bad. I attached some sample test images here... Nothing modified using photoshop that kind of things... No cropping also...

Anyway, a homemade hood can make your small 50mm bigger. It is like most gals use something to push it up and looks bigger... Similar concept la...

Anything wrong with that?

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 18 2008, 10:07 AM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Good picture there! You certainly make your 300D proud.

How low was the shutter speed? 1/4 ~ 1/8 ?

Keep it up with your good work.

Personally I was from the old batch, films for many years... Thus old people like us has some problem with photoshop magician...

Well, I also use photoshop, but mainly to convert raw to jpeg when there are serious color cast like very yellowish lamp post light source etc... and maybe slight exposure correction... 10 or 20 percent adjustment...

If you have higher capacity CF, I always recommend shooting raw. You never know if you need it.

I think I had never crop a single picture... except one event when shooting butterfly with my non-macro 100 f2 prime lense where the subject is so small...

Anyway, photoshop should depends on individual need. But I have a feeling that if anyone depends too much on it, it should degrade the way you take picture, because always think it can be solved later...

Personally, I do not need photoshop much and can live without it or with JPEG direct... I got myself winning some prizes by using straight-JPEG, without a single modification! And I think my pictures still pretty ok straight from it. I think the latest Nikon D300 + D3 that use CMOS should be able to get similar good result directly also...

This post has been edited by TheVoIP: Jan 21 2008, 03:33 PM