So, that leaves a question, is it better the buy a used ex-pro camera or the latest new consumer camera???

As for me? well I’m sticking the to the 10 and saving my pennys for some better lenses….

Sharpness of a lens is often measured in lpmm, thats Lines Per Millimeter. Usually it is measured in “real life” contrasts, the lines are not pitch black and pure white, rather two shades of grey. A fairly good lens will achieve about 60 lpmm at its sweet spot around f8. Now to the important part, it does not matter what size of sensor the lens is made for, the glass will not perform better with a smaller or bigger sensor. So lets say we have quite good lens with 60 lpmm as input. Now think of two cases of capturing theese 60 lpmm. One on a 18 mm wide sensor, one on a 36 mm wide. Then print this image 1 meter wide.

In the small 18 mm sensor case, the captured resolution will be enlarged 55 times (18×55=~1000). The 60 lpmm from the lens will thus be reduced 55 times, to 1 lpmm in the print (60/55=~1). Now lets look at the bigger 36 mm sensor. That captured resolution will be enlarged only 28 times, so the captured 60 lpmm from the lens will only be reduced to 2. That is twise the resolution in final print. But this does not hold up in the real world, but i think you got the point. The reason that it is not true IRL, is that mentioned System Resolution. More megapixels and everything else the same, will rise the SR, but not as much as you think, the same goes for the lens. If you have a crappy res. and want to double it, you want get dobble by a twise asa sharp lens, neither with a twise res. sensor. Both have to be upgraded. But if you allready have the best lenses and jam packed pixels on the sensor, physical size on the sensor is the only way forward. It is like they say about cars, nothing beat cubic (size) inches. Heres an article about system resolution for those willing to take the overcourse.

In camera it would be the precision of the AF system, Image quality and ergonomics.

Off camera would be the lens at my disposal and their price, as an example Olympus has fewer lenses -less options for specialized shootings- and they are more expensive than what you find in the top 3 camera makers… and this should be taken into account when buying a camera “Are the lenses competitively priced and have great quality?”, “I need this lens for (wedding, portraiture, photojournalism, landscape, etc) is it available in this brand or do I have to rely on 3rd party lenses??”

… but when you *do*…

If I could get a camera that shot at 0.1 Mpx when my shots were not good enough, or mistimed, or out of focus, but automagically switches to 20 Mpx when everything comes together,
my card’d never fill up quick enough to force me to change ‘em in a single shoot!

The studio is a pretty different world. Art Directors seem to want the best of both worlds, always saying “shoot looser, leave more room around the subject so there’s plenty of bleed and I can move it around in the layout”. Then, two days later, they point to some little detail and say, “now, I can blow that part up to full page, can’t I?”. Uh, yeah, right…

I will often capture an image that looks much better when cropping serves to change the aspect ratio - get to pretend I own one of those high end medium format digital backs. That may never happen, but a nice square photo does the trick from time to time. The additional MPs help preserve a good sized print.

Firstly I look for Ease of use. I have big hands and some buttons are just in the wrong place on some cameras. even the Digital rebel is not perfectly laid out for my fingers but I am getting there!

Next I look for versatility. I still shoot every day with a point and shoot but it has a superb range of settings that when you get to know lets you create simply stunning photos. but it really peeves me that I forgot to check if it had a viewfinder even though it was definitely on my wish list so low light work is hit and miss. It is lucky I like surprises!

I have grown to love the Richness of colour and the relatively low noise of the Canon Digital Rebel compared to my previous cameras but I didn’t even consider that till I bought it and discovered it for myself.

in the future I’d look for Bluetooth tethering, built in remote flash syncronisation(multi channel, improved Dynamic range, improved noise reduction, improved resolution (not necessarily more MP) and faster memory chip uploads and downloads.

in the software dept it would be nice if we couled upload software packs to the camera…. eg If i want to develop my skills with the ZONE system it would be nice if the camera had a tutorial mode and s ZONE system assist mode.

THis could be incorporated with a more advanced in viewfinder HUD.

Maybe I should work for canon and teach those guys about how creativity starts in the head!

thanks for a fab blog and tutorials

In the perfect world, I agree with you 100%. But as we all know, when you finally identify that “primo shot” of the 200 you to put on a card, a bit of cropping may be needed. Within the last few weeks Jim put up some great pre-cropped shots of an actor in a variety of costumes. So if that one great expression was otherwise in need of cropping, you trash the shot? I like the extra MPs if I need to crop a bit. “Hope for the best; plan for the worst.”