Upgrade Or A Camera For Life (ish)

CaptainPenguin

CaptainPenguin

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Nigel Cliff
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I noticed on here the other day somebody asking about finally upgrading their Nikon D50 that they had from new 6 megapixels and 6 years old) and it got me thinking are we close to the day where we dont need to upgrade and can have a camera if not for life at least for a good few years until it dies on us.

At present my 30D doesn't do everything I need,95% of it yes but in low light shooting the football under iffy floodlights in the middle of Winter I could do with a couple more stops ISO and better noise control.
So step forward the 7D which I understand will do all of this and more so once I am able to afford a 7D will I need to even think of upgrading,my guess is not

Back in the film days even pro's kept cameras for years even if they had been superceded in the companies range and maybe now we are that stage with DSLR's because even if the sensor dies its cheaper to replace than get a new camera,gonna b****r the second hand market though.
 
I would agree really. The extra features and the hype are what persuade people to keep upgrading the bodies. I think there is a step up in iq going to full frame but really with a good lens and a good user a 5 year old camera will hold its own with its 2011 counterpart in most respects.They have to keep adding things like video etc and megapixels to hide the fact that image quality hasn't improved a huge amount. Obviously it has some and noise handling is better but its not huge imo
 
I think that it is a very different subject with film. As most the bodys did the same thing, Sure some had Auto modes and the like, but they at the end of the day just held film, which was pretty much the same whatever camera you put it in
 
I upgraded from my Canon 350D to my 40D pretty quickly (within 6 months of taking up the hobby), but I am completely in love with my 40D and don't want to change it any time soon. I'm planning on investing in some glass next, but can't envisage wanting to change the 40D for a long time yet.
 
Would be nice wouldn't it but I think we're a long way off from the ultimate camera just yet. There's always more megpickles, iso, dynamic range, focus, custom functions etc.

Now a camera that will do everything 'you' need it to do, well I think I passed that milestone a while back and still upgraded :lol:
 
Cameras are like any other consumer product now, phones, TVs, computers, just because the one you have is more than enough for what you do does not mean that you stop lusting over the newest, greatest toy.
 
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Bought a D70 6 years ago, used it for 4 years until I could afford a D700, have no desire to replace this even if / when the D800 comes along. With the D70 I was often lusting after the D200 and D300 but now, I'll probably use the D700 until it wears out or gets stolen.
Given the money, I'd rather go on a workshop and improve my own skills, than improve my camera body.
 
I started on my photography about 18 months ago with a 400D after about 3 months I upgraded to a 50D, only because it came cheap ish with the 100-400 i was buying, I have no plans of getting rid of it anytime soon, it is doing everything I want it too, simple to use and takes a great photo(not be me though).

If its not broke donot fix it. unless it does not do what you want it too any more

spike
 
Davie said:
Would be nice wouldn't it but I think we're a long way off from the ultimate camera just yet. There's always more megpickles, iso, dynamic range, focus, custom functions etc.

Now a camera that will do everything 'you' need it to do, well I think I passed that milestone a while back and still upgraded :lol:
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Davie its not the ultimate camera I am talking about rather a camera that does everything you as an ndividual need,I mean if you never print above 10x8 you dont need more megapixels,if you only shoot landscapes you dont need blindingly fast AF or 10fps
 
I noticed on here the other day somebody asking about finally upgrading their Nikon D50 that they had from new 6 megapixels and 6 years old) and it got me thinking are we close to the day where we dont need to upgrade and can have a camera if not for life at least for a good few years until it dies on us.
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Ah, I just assumed you ment all of us, not the individual.

Maybe for alot of us we don't need a better camera because the one we have does everything we require but the newer ones that come along could also do everthing we need but just that little bit better or easier. lol that's what I tell the wife anyway :)
 
CaptainPenguin said:
I noticed on here the other day somebody asking about finally upgrading their Nikon D50 that they had from new 6 megapixels and 6 years old) and it got me thinking are we close to the day where we dont need to upgrade and can have a camera if not for life at least for a good few years until it dies on us.

.
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ive just replaced my 300D (which was dying) with a 450D s/h - my other camera is a 20D which has a good few years left in but which I might upgrade to a 7D next year if I can afford it

so yeah i'm another one that doesnt upgrade evertime a new widget comes out, only when i really need to.
 
Don't forget that digital sensors were around for only 10 years in the main stream market. Many things are still changing till they settle down a little.

It depends on the camera really. 1Ds mkII is clearly within top 5 current cameras, even if it devoid of some modern features like big screen or sensor cleaning. 1Ds mkiii should hold the title of a top 3 camera (up to 35mm) for a long time to come. For those unfortunate to have nikon, D3x and maybe the s are good equivalents.
 
CaptainPenguin said:
I noticed on here the other day somebody asking about finally upgrading their Nikon D50 that they had from new 6 megapixels and 6 years old) and it got me thinking are we close to the day where we dont need to upgrade and can have a camera if not for life at least for a good few years until it dies on us.

At present my 30D doesn't do everything I need,95% of it yes but in low light shooting the football under iffy floodlights in the middle of Winter I could do with a couple more stops ISO and better noise control.
So step forward the 7D which I understand will do all of this and more so once I am able to afford a 7D will I need to even think of upgrading,my guess is not

Back in the film days even pro's kept cameras for years even if they had been superceded in the companies range and maybe now we are that stage with DSLR's because even if the sensor dies its cheaper to replace than get a new camera,gonna b****r the second hand market though.
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It does not make business sense for any camera manufacturer to produce such a camera so it wont happen :lol:
 
jacob12_1993 said:
Depends how much money you have, many people couldn't afford the equivalent of a new d300/d700 etc every three years.

Jake
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But those same people can afford a L lens
 
jonneymendoza said:
But those same people can afford a L lens
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not necessarily - I only have one L series lens and that was a total score of of ebay.

I certainly couldnt afford to replace my camera every 3 years - which is why i'm still using a 7 year old 20D , and ive just replaced a 9yr old 300D with a 18 month old 450D
 
jonneymendoza said:
But those same people can afford a L lens
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People that do that I think get it more right than people that don't. A good lens will last longer, keep its value and provide more benefit to the images than a newer body.

I have spent 4 times the amount on my lenses than the amount on the body. I don't think I regret it at all.
 
jacob12_1993 said:
The difference is that a lens, if looked after, will perform for 20-30 years :thumbs:
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not for that long, you think lens technology wont move forward in 20 years time? i bet it would much sooner and your 20 year old lens will perform bad compared to the latest ones
 
I have a K20D and Im pretty happy. I will upgrade to a K5 when prices come down, but that will take a few years yet, and Im happy until then.
You only have to go onto Flickr and see some of the shots there to realise that it is the person behind the camera who makes the shot..
 
jonneymendoza said:
not for that long, you think lens technology wont move forward in 20 years time? i bet it would much sooner and your 20 year old lens will perform bad compared to the latest ones
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Quite possibly but I and no doubt thousands of others are using lenses that are well over 20 years old and getting great results,I am very confident that were I financially able to get a 7D and 4 L lenses today that unless they actually broke would still give me everything I needed in 20 years and needed rather than wanted is the operative word here.
 
jonneymendoza said:
not for that long, you think lens technology wont move forward in 20 years time? i bet it would much sooner and your 20 year old lens will perform bad compared to the latest ones
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I have a Nikon 50mm f2 that is well over 30 years old and bar the autofocus and metering it is optically superior and constucted a lot better in comparison to my new 50mm f1.8 :thumbs:
 
jacob12_1993 said:
I have a Nikon 50mm f2 that is well over 30 years old and bar the autofocus and metering it is optically superior and constucted a lot better in comparison to my new 50mm f1.8 :thumbs:
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My mum has lenses that are way over 20 years old but they are not compatible with my 400d :/

Better build quality as well.
 
What is improving is the high ISO quality. Can see a case of it ending up being 6400 ISO say as your 'standard' setting unless you want some blur some years down the line - because the human eye won't be able to usefully differentiate the difference between that and 100 ISO.
Plenty of other things to, of course. For instance focus speed, light metering and bit depth (how about a 128 bit per colour image which can offer better post-procsesing to extra out under/overexposed sections.)

In the end, as above, plenty of people are happy using 50 year old designs in some cases.
Others are always going to find good reasons why the latest technology can improve their results and experience.
 
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