DPReview readers are not typical DSLR users

[Wotexva99]

I bought my XT about 16 months ago and i started on the "green box" w/ my kit lens 18-55. I shot with that for about 6 months then bought a Sigma 10-22mm and a 70-300mm. AFter i bought those i got Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". Reading that book really taught me a whole lot. Thanks to it i only shoot in manual mode now, but still learning. My next step is shooting RAW.

I highly suggest reading that book. It breaks things down ino Layman's terms that is very helpful.

 

[Eggolander]

I'll bet they would've chewed your ears off if you got too close.
Canon types are easy-going, so you got away alive....

A few weeks ago I attended a local event that is a bonanza of
stunning photo opportunities for the amatuer, wanna-be and pro
photographers.

What was this stunning photo event, 'jeff-w/#'s' ???

I smell something......

 

[diannedawn]

I have owned everything from 110 film pocket cameras, Canon AE-1, Canon AE-1 Program, a Olympus digital P&S, a Sony digital P&S, and FINALLY a Rebel Xti! I loved my 35mm Canons but often used my 110's instead. I waited forever for the Rebel to be affordable (for me) and to have the most features/for the $, yet I still carry my P&S in the car in case I happen across something I want to photograph.... I personally do not feel comfortable dragging my Rebel with me every where. I am reasonably comfortable setting exposure and shutter speed myself, I did it for years, and yet I sometimes grab the Rebel and put it in the green box when I want to snap a picture FAST! .... I guess my theory is I'd rather have a less than perfect shot than no shot at all....

I have the lowly "kit" lens and the 50mm f1.8 II...that's all I can afford...

Bottom line is: I enjoy taking pictures, and I enjoy looking back at my pictures ... I don't feel the need to impress anyone else! I am sure many of those "green box" users out there, that so many here look down on, feel the same way.

 

[JLockwood]

First off, I love the comic! Second, I could agree with you more that it is the photographer who makes the pictures, not the camera. If I find another yahoo (so-called 'pro') who tells me 'The lens makes the picture', I'm going to shove said lens up their rear and see what kind of picture they can get out of it then! This all falls into the inherent snobism (is that a word?) of photography or of the world for that matter. 'He has an XTi/400D, he MUST be an amateur', or 'he only has a P&S, what a dumb hillbilly!' 'I have my fancy Mk III and a I take crappy pictures but I must be a pro, because I have the equipment!' I actively picked my XTi over 'Pro' models even though I could afford them, simply because I liked the portability of the XTi over the other ones. I can make my camera do almost anything that one of those pros can do and I'm sure there are people out there that can take some stunning pictures while using the Green Box. It is about the photographer, not the camera. I wish everyone had a DSLR and that P&S would go away (I wouldn't care if they kept them in Green Box mode), because it would make my hobby cheaper. I don't need the SLR around my neck to prove that I'm a better photographer than someone else, I'll let my pictures do the talking.
--
Losers find excuses, winners find a way.

 

[JLockwood]

I'm not sure I understand why not shooting in RAW + JPEG is a slappable offense (because you need to eat up you memory cards' space faster)? I know several pros who shoot in High-Res JPEG for every photo. If you get things right when you take the picture, you don't need to mess with it in Photoshop. This actually bugs me more than 'Green Box' shooters, those who just take the picture and think to themselves 'I'll just tweak it in Photoshop'. How about you try to get it right from the beginning? I also think it is funny when people knock a camera because it can't shoot RAW for the basic modes (that is why they are basic, you don't have to do anything else). Don't get me wrong, I shoot the majority of my photos in RAW more as a just-in-case than anything else. I try to get the photo right without help from the boys and girls from Adobe (and when I do use their help it is with Lightroom not the full-blown mod-machine that is Photoshop).
--
Losers find excuses, winners find a way.

 

[NNS]

I have owned everything from 110 film pocket cameras, Canon AE-1,
Canon AE-1 Program, a Olympus digital P&S, a Sony digital P&S, and
FINALLY a Rebel Xti! I loved my 35mm Canons but often used my 110's
instead. I waited forever for the Rebel to be affordable (for me)
and to have the most features/for the $, yet I still carry my P&S
in the car in case I happen across something I want to
photograph.... I personally do not feel comfortable dragging my
Rebel with me every where. I am reasonably comfortable setting
exposure and shutter speed myself, I did it for years, and yet I
sometimes grab the Rebel and put it in the green box when I want to
snap a picture FAST! .... I guess my theory is I'd rather have a
less than perfect shot than no shot at all....

I have the lowly "kit" lens and the 50mm f1.8 II...that's all I can
afford...

Bottom line is: I enjoy taking pictures, and I enjoy looking back
at my pictures ... I don't feel the need to impress anyone else! I
am sure many of those "green box" users out there, that so many
here look down on, feel the same way.

Here here great post.

 

[Corry Heinricks]

I find there's one big problem with green box. A few times I have
handed the camera to friends so they can try it out. They start
pressing the buttons, and before you know it, the flash pops up,
making them -almost- drop the camera! (no one has actually dropped
it yet). Is it only my friends that are clumsy, or has this
happened to others? (That's why I always set the camera to P when
handing it to someone now)
--
JS

this happened to ME the first day i used my camera, out at soccer, i was taking group shots outside IN GREEN mode and was NOT expecting the flash to pop up, my daughter had quite a laugh at my shock but i didn't drop it.
--
CORRY

 

[Corry Heinricks]

If you think the Fuji 9600/9500 is going to give you DSLR
performance then think again.

I very briefly had a Fuji 9500 & it was the most useless camera I
have ever used.

Anything above 400 ISO was very very grainy.

The focus was slow & not accurate.

Manual focus was a joke.

If your thinking of buying that Fuji thinking it's almost a DSLR it
will be a big mistake.

Go DSLR & never compare the 9500/9600 to the 400d as the 400d is
leagues ahead.

I was NOT happy with my fuji s5000 even though it had manual settings and a good zoom it was so slow to start up and take the pics and i was never happy with indoor shots, one of the reasons i wanted to switch and upgrade. i am hoping to improve indoor photos even in green mode (gasp).
--
CORRY

 

[DGWeiss]

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Definitely the chicken.
--

Definitely, the egg.

--
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Or, get out your 50mm/1.2.

 

[Rudiman]

Definitely, the egg.

;-)

--
***********************************************************
Rudi - Phounder Of The Phart ... CATS member #100 > ^..^
My Homepage: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman
Favorites: http://www.pbase.com/rudiman/my_favorites
Everything in my galleries, God Made. Its just my job to show them.
***********************************************************

 

[Roonal]

... one of the reasons i wanted to switch and upgrade. i am hoping to
improve indoor photos even in green mode (gasp).

Speaking generally I think it is not uncommon for people to throw money at a problem, but end up with little or no improvement, sometimes they even end up with worse results.

Been a number of threads on here by people saying they bought a DSLR yet their pictures are worse and wanting to know how come.

Switching to a DSLR, but continuing to use the pop-up flash isn't in my opinion necessarily the answer - depends on exactly what the problem is with the pics from the lesser camera. In general.

And on what the user wants to accomplish and what their budget is.

In some cases I think the biggest improvement one can make to indoor shots (taken inside the family home) is not upgrading the camera, but getting an external flash if the previous camera can (or can be "made") work with one.

Or buying a "lesser" camera and an external flash that'll work together - not maxing out one's budget on just a DSLR w/ kit lens (no external flash) and "assuming" that'll "fix" the problem.

My 2 cents

--
Good Day,
Roonal

'Money doesn't buy happiness, but it makes for an extravagant depression' by golf tournament sportscaster

 

[happypoppeye]

...its all about money

 

[love_them_all]

I take it your post is simply an observation rather than discriminating the beginner level users. I shoot Av about 70% of the time and M/Tv otherwise with strobes.

If Canon (or other major brands) makes only hi end professional cameras selling only to full time pros. They'd probably make so little money most of them would be out of business. Then they will be bought by bigger corporations and start selling to the mass market. This is where the $$$ is.

This is a free market. Anybody who can afford an SLR can buy it and use it like a P&S if they want. These people keeps the demand so average costs can go down.

Under most lighting situations, even the full auto option would give u good results. Composition is way more important.

If you are using Av or Tv you are still using something automatic. No, it's not full control.

People who shoot full auto sure can make great images, they just need more PP skills.

--

 

[Volli]

I know my 400D well and shoot 95% in manual mode, but i am not good in composition. I guess if I would spend less time here in the forum, i would make much better pictures. I am sure, that there are thousands of green boxers who make better pictures than I do. (and I know at least 2 persons)

 

[Christoph Stephan]

So, what advantage does a have a DSLR have over a P&S for
photographer who only shoots in auto mode, doesn't do any post
processing, and doesn't plan on swapping lenses? Other than future
growth potential, I can't think of any. Perhaps someone here can
mention what I missed.

1. The large optical viewfinder - I always find the tiny viewfinders of point and shoots very inconvenient. Even worse, many have only the screen nowadays. Framing with the screen as opposed to the viewfinder is very inconvenient too, and almost impossible in bright sunlight. Also holding the viewfinder against your eye provides some image stabilisation.
2. Manual zooms - they are much better to operate than motorized zooms.

I would argue that it is ultimately the photographer behind the
camera that takes the better photos.

I once met a person at a party who took amazing shots with her mobile phone.

I my mostly use manual modes but, (or because) I am too lazy for post processing. There are simply too many pictures.
--
Chris

 

[formerpro]

yet I still carry my P&S
in the car in case I happen across something I want to
photograph.... I personally do not feel comfortable dragging my
Rebel with me every where.

Neither do I. But then we're female, and I for one would prefer not having the extra weight with me unless I intend to use it.

My cell phone is enough camera for me to take everywhere. I'm VERY happy with the pictures it takes. The pictures are terrible, but it's a camera I won't leave at home. It's really that simple.

 

[Wotexva99]

I bought my XT about 16 months ago and i started on the "green box" w/ my kit lens 18-55. I shot with that for about 6 months then bought a Sigma 10-22mm and a 70-300mm. AFter i bought those i got Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". Reading that book really taught me a whole lot. Thanks to it i only shoot in manual mode now, but still learning. My next step is shooting RAW.

I highly suggest reading that book. It breaks things down ino Layman's terms that is very helpful.

 

[Littlefield]

Even better then Peterson's book is John Shaw's Nature Phography and Field Guide . It has the best explanations bar none for metering and exposure IMO.
Read it and say what he says about the green box

 

[photoguynorth]

snip

My materialistic comment earlier was by no means targeted towards
all green box shooters.

I was not picking specifically on your comments - just the overall attitudes. Generalizations work both ways, don't they (Meaning I generalized just as much)?

I think you touched on an another interesting topic when you
mentioned how "[a DSLR] takes better pictures than a P&S". Is that
actually true?

Not always, but I think it CAN be. And I was in no way trying to encourage green box usage for everyone - it does some things better than a P&S (noise, dynamic range, zoom, etc.) and some things not as well (deep DOF, (over)saturated colours, in camera sharpening). My point was just that I hear over and over people making derisive comments about 'green box' users, 'kit lens' users, other brands, L lenses, non-L lenses, etc., etc.. Personally I think this is a result of people judging someone elses choices based on their own priorities - and that does not work. I never meant to run anyone down - just trying to make people think a bit. FWIW, I think many DSLR owners would be happier with a P&S - I just wouldn't make fun of them for having a DSLR. Well - maybe I'd make fun of some of them, but only if they drove the wrong kind of car!

 

[photoguynorth]

But they know the audience (those who put time into extra events/learning) typically want to go farther. That does not mean they want everyone to move off the green box.