Re: A camera question for alt-photo.

That's quite a range from a DSLR to a 4x5. You might want to pause first
to consider what sort of subjects you like/want to photograph and how
much gear you like to carry around. Your shooting experience will be
very different based on your choice.

I haven't touched my single remaining view camera in years so I won't go
into that but I did recently jump from Nikon to Canon after more than
three decades of faithful (and enjoyable) Nikon use.

If you value ultra-wide angle lenses, you'll never be happy with the
half/frame chip that Nikon is currently using. Heck, even if you like a
fast "wide," you're still screwed. They have lots of holes in their
optics line-up when you need wide or fast on the half-frame chip.

The D200 is a swell camera and is more rugged than the 5D. Nikon also
has a better flash system, better autofocus and better auto bracketing.
But the Canon chip is just plain better. The images are amazingly smooth
and sharp (and those shooting digital know that those are not mutually
exclusive). I routinely make 20x30 inch prints that look like they were
shot on 6x4.5 film. But for me (and maybe it's because I'm a codger) I
like the 24x36 format and how it does depth of field and wides. (Of
course, if you're a sports or wildlife shooter you'll love the 1.5
magnification factor of the D200.)

All my images at http://www.danburkholder.com/shadows/ were made with
the 5D using the 12-24 Sigma (mostly), 24-105 Canon and 24mm Tilt-Shift
Canon. It's a simple system that is quite versatile...for certain kinds
of shooting. Simply put, I'm using Canon because I couldn't have made
most of these images with Nikon's current digital cameras (and please,
don't even mention "de-fishing" the 10.5 fisheye; the results are
terrible and there's no way you can accurately compose in the viewfinder).

I just counted the number of exposures I've made on the Canon 5D and
figured, had I been shooting film and paying for processing, I'd have
spent $1800 in the past four months. Pretty soon I'll be even-money
given the camera cost. Ya gotta love this digital stuff.

Good luck with your camera decision and happy image making, no matter
what you use!

Dan

Ehud Yaniv wrote on 7/1/06, 12:29 PM:

> Any suggestions for someone in my position.

-- 
www.DanBurkholder.com
www.TinyTutorials.com