Which way to jump?

Questions on editing, camera settings, equipment, critiques, how to upload photos, etc....
Brian_F
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Which way to jump?

Unread post by Brian_F »

Ok, since the number of full-frame lenes for
Pentax is dried up and the out-of-production
aftermarket prices are getting silly I guess it's
time for me to go with one of the big boys.

The question: Has anyone here used both Nikon
and Canon gear and can say why you went with
one over the other? Right now I'm looking at either
an Elan 7e with a 28mm f2.8 or an N80 with a 28mm
f2.8. Both sets of gear get high marks but I'm not
inclined to try both and see :P
I haven't lost my mind, it's on tape backup here somewhere...

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railohio
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by railohio »

Either camera would be $50 now. Why not order both from KEH and return the one you don't like within the 2-week period they allow?
"I shot the freight train / But I did not shoot the fantrip"

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J T
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by J T »

Well, you could always jump into the 21st Century. :wink:
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LSRC
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by LSRC »

Do you know anybody else that shoots either Canon or Nikon? If so, choose the brand that your friends have. Truth be told, Canon and Nikon are fairly similar. I shoot Canon because most of my friends/bosses shoot Canon, and it's nice to trade lenses in the field.

TrainWatcher
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by TrainWatcher »

LSRC wrote:Do you know anybody else that shoots either Canon or Nikon? If so, choose the brand that your friends have. Truth be told, Canon and Nikon are fairly similar. I shoot Canon because most of my friends/bosses shoot Canon, and it's nice to trade lenses in the field.
I have liked Canon's over all ruggedness and quality, especially with my SX130IS point and shoot. On a recent trip to Best Buy however, while shopping for a DSLR, I couldn't help but notice the 24.2 megapixel Nikon D3200 was the same price as the 18.0 megapixel Canon Rebel T3i. So, which one is better? Megapixels or the quality? Canon lenses seem to also be a tad cheaper.

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Ypsi
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by Ypsi »

James, unless you are going to makes some billboards (We need more train billboards! :lol: ) I personally do not think that the diverence between 24.2 and 18 will be that big to the naked eye.... but thats just my opnion. and don't worry one day we will have 10,000 megapixel camears that will fit in our pockets :lol:
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conrailmike
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by conrailmike »

YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:James, unless you are going to makes some billboards (We need more train billboards! :lol: ) I personally do not think that the diverence between 24.2 and 18 will be that big to the naked eye.... but thats just my opnion. and don't worry one day we will have 10,000 megapixel camears that will fit in our pockets :lol:
It really shouldn't be your opinion, because it's fact. You'll never use 24MP to it's fullest unless you plan on always making HUGE prints....and I mean REALLY HUGE prints.

Brian_F
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by Brian_F »

Blech! So far I've done nothing. I guess I was just frustrated
about the price of a lens that I don't really need anyway.
Sometimes I think I can substitute gear for creativity and
reality slaps me down! :P I need less stuff, not more.
One good film body and lens plus one good digital superzoom
should be enough for the next couple of years. Maybe by
then I'll learn something. :mrgreen:
I haven't lost my mind, it's on tape backup here somewhere...

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bdconrail29
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by bdconrail29 »

conrailmike wrote:
YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:James, unless you are going to makes some billboards (We need more train billboards! :lol: ) I personally do not think that the diverence between 24.2 and 18 will be that big to the naked eye.... but thats just my opnion. and don't worry one day we will have 10,000 megapixel camears that will fit in our pockets :lol:
It really shouldn't be your opinion, because it's fact. You'll never use 24MP to it's fullest unless you plan on always making HUGE prints....and I mean REALLY HUGE prints.
Either that or if you have to crop the crap out of your photos, which can happen in sports, but shouldn't in railfan photography. MP's also aren't everything either. My main camera has 18 MP and even when cropping, whips the crap out of my 22 MP camera. There are sensor design considerations as well. My opinion is the same as Mike's, if the MP's cost more money simply b/c of the MP's, don't bother wasting your money.
Brett

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conrailmike
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by conrailmike »

bdconrail29 wrote:
conrailmike wrote:
YpsiAmtrakBoy wrote:James, unless you are going to makes some billboards (We need more train billboards! :lol: ) I personally do not think that the diverence between 24.2 and 18 will be that big to the naked eye.... but thats just my opnion. and don't worry one day we will have 10,000 megapixel camears that will fit in our pockets :lol:
It really shouldn't be your opinion, because it's fact. You'll never use 24MP to it's fullest unless you plan on always making HUGE prints....and I mean REALLY HUGE prints.
Either that or if you have to crop the crap out of your photos, which can happen in sports, but shouldn't in railfan photography. MP's also aren't everything either. My main camera has 18 MP and even when cropping, whips the crap out of my 22 MP camera. There are sensor design considerations as well. My opinion is the same as Mike's, if the MP's cost more money simply b/c of the MP's, don't bother wasting your money.
It's actually a pretty subjective issue. You can get very nice 30x40 prints from an 8MP camera, will you get more detail with more MP? Yes, but it also depends on other factors such as lens (sharpness, resolving power), DOF and focus, and things like 8bit vs. 16bit. If you're printing from an 8bit sRGB jpeg file vs. a 16bit sRGB TIF file, you're cutting out detail there. It also depends on what you're shooting, a 30x40 print of a cityscape will have more detail when it's shot with a 21MP camera rather than an 8MP camera. It also depends on the media you're printing on, such as a print done on canvas in which you can get away with less MP.

Let's also remember, how far are you standing away from a print hanging on the wall when you look at it?

bdconrail29
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by bdconrail29 »

I'm not familiar with Nikon, but a case in point is Canon's 1D and 1Ds series cameras. Everything else equal, the 1D and 1Ds series models give files that have more tonal range and ability to change color tones in post versus 5D series models and up. This is one reason why the IQ of the 1DX is superior to the 5D Mark III, despite the latter having 4 more MP's. However, you can clearly see a difference in detail if you crop way down. I agree, put a bad lens on any camera and it's not going to go so well. Resolving power has a lot to do with IQ. That's why the 7D has remained so popular for use at low ISO.

If you really need a billboard photo of your railfanning photography, go with medium format and you can pick up Leica's new model for $45,900 at a dealer near you! :). What is that one, 80 MP's I think?

To answer the OP's original question, 24 vs 18 MP's is in my opinion a silly consideration for railfanning, since typicall you'd use low ISO and not crop all that much. Save your money for good glass.
Brett

Brian_F
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Re: Which way to jump?

Unread post by Brian_F »

Stop it. Billboards have huge viewing distances and are usually
printed with a 6 or 7 line screen. 10 dpi is enough resolution
for most purposes. The biggest billboards will run about a 3
megapixel file. Adding more won't change the quality from
a normal viewing distance. They went digital when the Canon
D-30 and Kodak DCS 730 came out.

</guy who makes his living in full-color production printing>
I haven't lost my mind, it's on tape backup here somewhere...

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