How many amateurs bought the D3?

Hi, I am slumming from the Sony camp and am drooling for a Sony version D3 to come out.. I shoot PJ style weddings and this D3 is right up my alley, just waiting to see if Sony can close with their FF offing soon.

The price of the D3 is up there for me and I can write it off, so how many are pros here and how many amateurs that can afford to buy such a toy?

http://www.crogersphotography.com/

Hi Craig,

start counting here:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=25762984



--
Denis

can't believe how much money some people have.. or credit..

Craig said:

can't believe how much money some people have.. or credit..

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Well....there are some amateurs with too much money here....they like to put the D3 into the water or doing other torture stuff.

;-)

Some of us amateurs like to actually take pictures with our cameras.

PS: when it comes to money, the definition of "enough" is:
Just a little bit more..........

PPs: I guess that probably holds for everything else you like to have around also.

Markus Richter said:

Well....there are some amateurs with too much money here....they like
to put the D3 into the water or doing other torture stuff.

;-)

Click to expand...

I have a friend in the wedding business and he still uses KM 7D cameras along with a new

fuji S3 that he won in an picture contest with the WPPI and he is doing very well.
I think he gets over $4k per wedding and has 30 or so booked a year..
He also just won CT photographer of the year. not bad.

So I guess its not just the camera.

it's the Indian.

I had this crazy guy in mind who loves to drop the D3 into the water or smashing it on the floor...

;-)

dwight3 said:

PS: when it comes to money, the definition of "enough" is:
Just a little bit more..........

PPs: I guess that probably holds for everything else you like to have
around also.

Markus Richter said:

Well....there are some amateurs with too much money here....they like
to put the D3 into the water or doing other torture stuff.

;-)

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

If someone can afford a D3 and learns how to use it, who cares if they are professional or not.

In my 60 plus years in photography, I've seen some very poor images from supposed professionals, and some excellent images from those who are not interested in defining themselves as "Professional"

my point is that the pros can write it off as an expense

Good luck with that. Sony may be able to make pro sensors, but the rest of the camera is a different matter.

Although the D3 is quite expensive, I saw it as an investment to last me the next 10 years as a 'serious' amateur.

Craig said:

Hi, I am slumming from the Sony camp and am drooling for a Sony
version D3 to come out.. I shoot PJ style weddings and this D3 is
right up my alley, just waiting to see if Sony can close with their
FF offing soon.

Click to expand...

--
Yukon Territory / Canada
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoshq
D3, 17-35/2.8, 20/2.8, 50/1.8, 80-200/2.8

Craig said:

my point is that the pros can write it off as an expense

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Not all amateurs who buy high end gear replace it every time something new comes out, but when something breaks/fails or when there is significant improvement to offer them a real benefit.

Tell me, why is it that no one questions a computer geek spending $10 000+ on computers, jut to play some games, or an amateur golfer buying a $5 000 - $10 000 set of sticks to bash a little white ball around, yet when an amateur photographer wants to buy good gear for their hobby it is suddenly too expensive or a waste of money?

Andrew

65tigershark said:

Craig said:

my point is that the pros can write it off as an expense

Click to expand...

Not all amateurs who buy high end gear replace it every time
something new comes out, but when something breaks/fails or when
there is significant improvement to offer them a real benefit.

Tell me, why is it that no one questions a computer geek spending $10
000+ on computers, jut to play some games, or an amateur golfer
buying a $5 000 - $10 000 set of sticks to bash a little white ball
around, yet when an amateur photographer wants to buy good gear for
their hobby it is suddenly too expensive or a waste of money?

Andrew

Click to expand...

I would add...

Is £3000+ for a weeks vacation on a cruise ship expensive? Dunno, some people pay it.
Is £3000+ for 3mths rental of a BMW M5 expensive? Dunno, some people pay it.
Is £3000+ for an acre of English farmland expensive? Dunno, some people pay it.

Is £3000+ for a plasma TV expensive? Dunno, but that's what I had to pay 6years back.

Is £3000+ spent on training equipment for the Olympics expensive? Dunno, but that's what I had to pay 15 years ago.

Is £3000+ for a D3 too expensive for my intended use? To be blunt, I really don't know why it would be of any concern to anybody other than myself.

Am I in a position to write off (think it is called tax avoidance, albeit legal) any of the purchase price? No, like many amateurs the Treasury got a full 40% of my income and a further 17.5%VAT on this one so I am doing my bit in keeping the economy afloat
--
Mark

I'm an amateur photographer, but a professional designer. I design scenery and lighting for the theatre. I have been takin gshots of my work since 1968 and have never been totally happy with the results. I bought the D3, my first "professional" level camera specifically for documenting my work. I find it too heavy to use as a vacation camera, but I am blown away by the quality of the show shots. With AUto ISO and a minimum shutter speed of 200 almost every lens I own produces nice sharp images. Lot's of money, yes,, but tjhis is documenting my life's work. Worth every penny. My first show shot wit the D3 will be posted within the next four days or so.
Davy
--
http://www.pbase.com/davydavis2247/galleries

but I will be making money with it now

Craig said:

can't believe how much money some people have.. or credit..

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Can't believe that either when I see idiots lighten one cigarette after the other, drinking expensive alkohol every day or spending fortunes in expensive restaurants or on unhealthy-expensive junk food...

From a nice camera every one, two or three years you have fun and probably some unforgettable memories, from alcohol, tabac and too much unhealthy food (which costs the same not taking into account the medical costs later on) you get cancer...

--
Kindest regards,
Stany
I prefer one really good picture in a day over 10 bad ones in a second...

http://www.fotografie.fr/

I am no pro but the cost of the D3 was not that big of a deal. Heck the lens cost quickly exceed the body cost

--
Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida

I think there reason more photographers/amateurs are buying the priciest pro bodies and lenses these days is that the costs of photography have changed dramatically over the past few years.

Exactly 10 years ago, I calculated that I was spending $2000 (1998) dollars a year on film and processing alone (not including enlargements, etc.). That also does not include the cost of the enlarger and other lab chemistry etc. for doing black and white in the basement. Because the operating costs were so high, I used 2nd-hand lenses and a $500 body.

Today, taking the same $2000 a year (not even adjusting up to today's dollars), a D3 and an Epson R2400 can be purchased using 3 years of operating costs alone. I plan to get 5-7 years (hopefully more) from my D3, so by today's terms, photography is much less expnesive than it was in 1998, when I could only afford a $500 body.

The costs have changed from high-operating to high-fixed; it's no surprise that many more photgraphers are now purchasing the best bodies and lenses, and it has as much to do with photography as it does with consumer spending.

Mark

I seriously don't know...

Having all top zooms glass from 14 to 200 including 1.4 primes, Macro VR, D3, D300, SB800s, etc, etc... doesn't make me PRO...

What is the real definition of PRO? Can someone tell??? Should it generate 100% of the income? NPS?

Love photography a lot!...
Grew up in my father's PRO studio/lab...
Shooting for 20+ years...
Main job is in IT area...
Have my own small photo studio at home...
Shooting 20+ wedding per year...
Now it generates 50% of my total income (mostly weddings)...

Who am I??? ;o)))

--
Real photography - it's just the ability to see what was already created by God!
http://www.pbase.com/grig

I'm an amateur - and own a D3 - I've been into photography since my father gave me a Nikon FE for my 12th birthday - and been shooting ever since. I never really considered photography as a profession - as it is pretty tough to make a name for yourself - and being a wedding / portrait photographer didn't really appeal in any case.

I also think amateurs have a fresher and different take on photography to pros - as we are not shooting everyday of the week - we are less tethered by work considerations - and so can potentially shoot more creatively. Also my real job as an IT consultant affords me to pursue this hobby as seriously as I do.

My previous camera to the D3 was the D100 which I've been happily shooting with for 5 years - and before that an F90X also lasted me 5 years - I plan to shoot with the D3 for more like 10 to 30 years... This camera is good enough for me for a long long time.

I take over 800 shots for each game (kids soccer) and I am lucky if I get 40 keepers. I sell them for $1 (4x6), $2(5x7) and $4(8x10) to any parent who wants one. I donate team photos and pay for their uniforms. Technically since I charge for the pictures I am a "Professional" but in reality I use the limited dollars it generates to support my hobby.

At the end of the day, its not about dollars, but about value. I spend 3 hours a day in a car, 10+ in a chair and another 6-7 in my bed. I drive an Audi, sit in an Aeron chair and sleep on a really good mattress. I take a lot of photos when I am not doing the other things. Typically this is on outings with family and friends.

I also wear $12 sneakers from Costco and $8 shirts from Walmart. So what!

To me spending $800 on real snow tires for my car (the only thing that actually touches the road) to make sure I operate with the very best and safest equipment installed is a no brainer. I don't understand why women buy Louis Vuitton handbags when a plastic grocery sac will do. I love spending time with my family, driving nice cars, eating good food and drinking good wine, being comfortable while I work, taking photographs and getting a good nights sleep. These are the things I choose to spend my money on.

I spent the last two games trying to shoot the D300 with the 70-200 2.8 VR and at the end of the day, ISO 3200 @ 1/160th - f/2.8 on the D300 just doesn't get me there. I wanted it to work, it costs less, but it doesn't represent value to me as it still wont do what I want it to. Granted it is better than my D70 or K10D but it is not what I would consider presentable. This makes the D3 the correct tool for the job. Its not a matter of how much but if I am able to afford it or not. So technically I am an Proamature. At the end of the day, I don't think a whole lot of my shots, spend a lot of time here in these forums trying to improve my skills and looking at a lot of the others work here wishing I could capture just a 10th of their creativity and vision in my shots. No matter though... I still love photography and will simply keep trying with the tools that are most appropriate and that I am able to afford. The D3 will not make me a better photographer, but it will allow me to take more average shots in awful lighting conditions