What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

You have to take both readers as part of the deal

I was going to send you a link but looks like Restrap has discontinued them.

Its the long one in black: https://www.blessthisstuff.com/stuff/technology/digital-cameras/shoot-magnetic-camera-strap/

ok

I was actually on the restrap site and that's what prompted me to think of it. I don't think that's the style she'd like though.

Cross post from any questions:

Where, up London, are good places for taking photographs during the day? Industrial, boats, architecture. General shitty urban decay.

@Fox

If nurseholiday doesn't want it I would but Glasgow...
Need a cf reader that doesn't suck to attempt a card recovery of some accidently overwritten wedding photos :/
Tip don't over write wedding photos O_o

Go into rides and races and look at Ma3ks database of routes. Some of the routes out east by the river go through worn out/industrially areas would be great for unusual pics.

Decisions, decisions.

I have a canon 40d, which I bought, I think, on here. It's great, it is still better than me but it is starting to be properly long in the tooth. The actual "taking photos" bits of the camera are fine, but i would like a couple of more modern bits (more pixels and WiFi basically)
I'm tempted to just get a second hand 50d, or maybe possibly a 60d. I think I also like the weather proofing of it, but maybe a newer non weatherproofed one would be better.... Aaarrrrrggghh

Both my cameras have WiFi- I tried and failed to get it to work with my iPhone.

Plugging cards into a reader is annoying but works

:-) ah.. damn I may be stymied then. It's actually more for remote control I want it, but I guess the same applies

This seems to add a lot of that stuff https://witharsenal.com/ Not that cheap though and the wire is a bit annoying

The built in WiFi on the 6D is a fucking Kafka-esq nightmare to set up.

Just get a nice lens and a WiFi SD card for your 40D and enjoy.

When the body breaks (which it won’t) then just replace it with whatever Canon body you can afford at the time.

Speaking of WiFi. Are WiFi SD cards actually good? Will they automatically send my photos to Dropbox? Does the camera have to be turned on? Will it drain battery?

Well you can transfer RAWs with them as apposed to low res jpegs from the built in WiFi. Not sure about Dropbox etc.

It’s only on when the camera is on and creates its own network when in use.

Thank you. I think you are all utterly correct.
I shall stick with my 40D.
and @Well_is_it, you are doubly right, I don't see the body breaking, which I really love about it. I think that these older SLR's are a decent buy for people like me. They allow you to learn loads, experiment loads.

I might be in a minority here but the image quality from the 40D is as good as the latest and greatest backside-illuminated high dynamic range Sony sensor in normal light. Yeah, it looks like shit at high iso but use bounce flash and iso 400...

It really is a good camera and they really don’t make them like that anymore, as overused as the saying is, it rings true.

If you’re relying more and more on advanced af stuff for moving subjects then absolutely get a modern camera but that’s really the biggest change in the last 10 years; even basic cameras have great af and tracking now.

I mostly take photos of bins, though, so it isn’t much of an issue.

Also, more resolution is always nice of you print but for online, 7mp is enough.

I mostly take photos of bins, though, so it isn’t much of an issue.

*spits coffee*

If you’re relying more and more on advanced af stuff for moving subjects then absolutely
get a modern camera but that’s really the biggest change in the last 10 years (...)
Also, more resolution is always nice if you print, but for online 7mp is enough.

I don't want to complicate things, but have to disagree here.

If you just look at the two digit Canons 40D and 60D there has been a lot of (useful) change - concearning the controls, also the flip & twist screens which I laughed off at first are really fucking useful / open up possibilities. Almost double the pixels and way better ISO performance, and HD video if that matters.

In general what makes me personally want to have a newer camera is:
a) more pixels. More is indeed always better - saying x pixels is "enough for the web" is some sort of Ken Rockwell logic that is not essentially "wrong" - but, to make it simple, an image would indeed look better if shot at 50mp and then reduced to 10mp as opposed to being shot at 10mp in the first place. Retouching is much nicer with a big file. You can also make bigger prints in great quality from it. The only downside of having more pixels is you need more storage and more memory / a better computer to process the files.
b) better high-iso performance.
c) better controls / articulating screen / backlit buttons / wifi etc.

What's the best option for a low budget second hand camera for while I'm on the bike? Phone has a good camera, but is too big to take pictures on the go. I want something I can grab out of the back pocket and snap a quick shot with

Yeah, you’re absolutely right but when it comes to the quality of the actual photos, it really comes down to the meat vehicle behind the camera. Vivian Mayer, Henry Cartier Bresson and Garry Winnogrand didn’t have WiFi, 28mp and 4K but then they probably would have been shit at sports photography.

Look at it this way; would you rather have a 40D with an L lens of your choosing or a 1D X mkii with a 50mm 1.8 for the type of photography that you do?

It’s impossible to not turn into Ken Rockwell with this stuff but you have to weigh up tech/cost/artistic requirements.

I DO want you to complicate things

I guess that my thoughts are these

1. I like to think that I will print photos. I never do, but I would love to. I actually should try printing some from my 40D and see if I am disappointed in anything other than my own lack of skill I suppose.
   
2. Better high-IS performance. This sort of comes under the category of "Why do you hate being able to take nice low-light photos?" but I guess realistically that is a tiny proportion of when I would have camera, and I do have an X100
   3a.Better controls - How much change is there. I am not nearly as quick as I would like to be with my current camera.
   3b. Articulating Screen. I am still in your first "why do I need that camp?" as I have never had on e. It just seems at the moment to be a thing to break
   3c. Backlit buttons. I'd like those please
   3d. wifi etc... It's the remote control I think I want. Maybe I can do that another way
   
   

It's interesting isn't it? I only dabble in photography. I'd love to be good at it, I'm not, but I enjoy it, but actually if I really think about it the gear isn't part of that. I think I was happiest when I had my first SLR and was developing B&W film in the Drill Hall by TCR. I do like the idea of toys though

when it comes to the quality of the actual photos, it really comes down to the meat vehicle behind the camera.

Yeah, very much so. I can't recall seeing a photo that I thought was let down by the quality of the camera, it's normally the operator choosing a subject that doesn't interest me, composition is off and/or they can't edit/print very well.

Having said that, playing Devils Advocate, someone like Vivian Maier was using a top quality sensor (medium format film) and Rolleiflex optics.

I’m sure she would have smashed it using an H5D but you get my point.

I take the whole “the camera doesn’t matter” thinking with a pinch of salt. I’ve taken heaps of shot with my 6d that wasn’t even remotely possible with some of my older cameras. To always blame the photographer for a bad shot is simply not true. Tools matter.