[GordonG]

Just as a follow-on from my earlier post, my Canon 50D has a small problem and has gone for warranty. While it's away, the dealer I buy all my gear from has lent me a 1D Mk3 - and he'll be bloody lucky to ever get it back Man, this thing is great... I can even afford one at the moment, although I'll probably hold out for the 1D MK4 which is due shortly.

Lenses & Stuff:
Canon 17-40 F4 L (for mountain bikes)
Canon 24-70 F2.8 L (for basketball and martial arts)
Canon 70-200 F2.8 L (for basketball, general stuff, rugby league, AFL etc and especially speedway)
Canon 100-400 L (for rugby league, AFL, general stuff)
Canon 580 EXII Flash with external power pack
Gary Fong Lightsphere kit

Plus all the usual filters and flash triggers and bags and tripods that you can't afford, rarely use but buy anyway...

[Dazzler]

Looks pretty impressive...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/1dm3.html

and with that I'm gonna hit the sack (midnight here)

[Blue]

Just as a follow-on from my earlier post, my Canon 50D has a small problem and has gone for warranty. While it's away, the dealer I buy all my gear from has lent me a 1D Mk3 - and he'll be bloody lucky to ever get it back Man, this thing is great... I can even afford one at the moment, although I'll probably hold out for the 1D MK4 which is due shortly.

Lenses & Stuff:
Canon 17-40 F4 L (for mountain bikes)
Canon 24-70 F2.8 L (for basketball and martial arts)
Canon 70-200 F2.8 L (for basketball, general stuff, rugby league, AFL etc and especially speedway)
Canon 100-400 L (for rugby league, AFL, general stuff)
Canon 580 EXII Flash with external power pack
Gary Fong Lightsphere kit

Plus all the usual filters and flash triggers and bags and tripods that you can't afford, rarely use but buy anyway...

There's an awful lot of L series lenses in that lot !!!

Nice

[terry hunter]

Pip there are some old Pentaxians on the DP Review forum who'd be really interested in your old M42 mount lenses... which are all compatible with all Pentax digital SLR's of course.

I'm only into SLR's since the K10D arrived (about 3 years ago) and have one old manual mount (Super Tak. 55 f1.8) but your list looks really interesting from what I've heard others talk about.

And I think you're onto a great cam with the K-7. There's great excitement world-wide about this new Pentax offering and they are now just seeping onto the Oz market.

Again check out DPreview forums for latest info and the arguably the most respected camera review site in the world.

Terry H

And Gordon, you have a very classy and expensive range of quality Canon gear there too!   Enjoy....
... even though it's hard to indulge in both photographing and driving your i30 at the same time 

Thanks Terry,
I'm still looking at the K7 but I'm really old school here and just want a digital back for my old lenses. I do feel however that I might be overtaken by the digital era and not actually be able to do what I want as simply as I would prefer.  Photography (as an art form) should be really simple; however you capture the image.  Unfortunately, once you introduce microprocessors, their fantastic ability to be everything-at-once can eclipse the camera's original reason for being!

Not only do we now need automatic focus (how it can know which bit I want focussed is still beyond me) ... we need the ability to recognise faces so we can focus on our favourite friends.  I can tell who they are!!

And I don't need movies, I did however manage to take some quite reasonable stuff in the old days (if I do say so) but stills and movies are so far removed that I reckon they are as far apart as PCs and TV... oops 

[terry hunter]

Yes Pip points taken and there are many who agree with you.

But in the end, tools change to make the end product quicker, more forgiving on the user (cars = safer), more convenient and more multi-taskable.

For those who still enjoy working with the 'classics', I think over time it becomes more about the process rather than the product. And so while most of us want to get a product completed and useable, (ie whether we're buying a car or a camera... getting from A to B, or producing an image of a priceless moment captured by high-speed autofocus, auto metering etc. ), there is certainly much to be said for focussing on manually learning your skills thoroughly and taking great pleasure in the process.
This is sadly lacking in the consumer mentality which wants everything now and easily!

I hope I'll still be satisfied with the i30 as a transport tool and a pleasurable drive for many years and still learn to use the DSLR thoroughly and enjoy the process and the product.

Terry H

[tk421]

Pip,

You'll find that most (if not all) digital SLRs nowadays have a manual mode that gives you complete control over aperture, shutter speed and ISO. All my lenses can be manually or automatically focused depending on what effect I want. The one big advantage with digital is that you can change all these settings quickly and more easily than with a film camera.

Digital SLR's are nothing to be feared. They retain the same functions you would be familiar with, but have more tools to assist you in taking better photos (IF you choose to use them).

"Photography as an art form" is far from being a lost art. Unfortunately most digital SLR owners never learn to use, or realise the benifits the manual functions.

My advice to you is to go down to the local camera store and see for yourself what a digital SLR can do. Use all your "really old school" techniques, and I'm sure they will work just as well with a digital body as they did with film (perhaps with some very minor tweaking).

'Best of luck

Tim 

Wow. Some of you guys have some really expensive gears! Pip, I've used a Pentax before, I think it was the K100D. It was a joy to use and I'll definitely recommend Pentax if you like the brand.

What I personally think is that it really doesn't matter whether it's a Pentax, Nikon, Canon or Olympus. Like what tk421 said, head down to your local camera store and see what you'll find. Have a play with different camera bodies and find the best one that suit your needs. Just be careful not to be sweet-talked by the salesperson 

Anyway, I'm currently using a Nikon D60 with:

Nikon 50mm 1.8D
Nikon 18-55mm VR (replaced with Tamron now)
Nikon 55-200mm VR
Tamron 17-50mm 2.8
SB600 Speedlight
A made-in-china battery grip + tripod
And a few filters and memory cards

I'm looking to upgrade my camera body next year (hopefully), or even "downgrade" to an older model as I'm not enjoying the limitations in the D60

[accim]

Wow some of you really do have great gear  I saw a lot of L's in upper posts 

I have Canon EOS 400D and next lenses:

- Canon 18-55 mm
- Canon 50 F1.8
- Sigma APO 70-300

I'm looking at Canon 70-200 F4 L and Canon 17-40 L at the moment but it will have to wait 

[Doggie 1]

I have a an old Canon AE1+Program SLR with a 35-70 Canon lens plus a Sigma 80-200mm lens and also a Canon PowerShot A40 which I paid $650 for several years ago before they became the norm!

[jason117]

My camera gear consists of a much used and abused Kodak DX6490, which I use at the speedway as it usually gets pretty grubby by the end of the day, and recently a Panasonic Lumix TZ15 which I bought to take on a holiday to the U.S. Neither of these are really suited to motorsport photography but the results are'nt too bad for a neville like me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14373548@N03/

[Dazzler]

I used to have a DX6490 there is nothing wrong with them (mines still going - I gave it to my step daughter) I also have a Panasonic now (FZ28)

Some nice shots (and vehicles) there jason (thanks for sharing)

What do you think of Ambrose in Nascar? (I am a big fan he is from my home town here in Tassie)  

[jason117]

Dazz,
I never rated Ambrose when he raced here in the V8's, as to me his attitude seemed like he didn't want to be there. The team/car he was with (Stone Bros) were the best at that time and winning seemed easy. But I've changed my opinion of him, because of his progression through the Nascar ranks in teams/cars that aren't top contenders. I was fortunate enough to watch him race at Dover this year and his car control ( in a poor handling car) was brilliant.
Skaife is still better though...........

[Trips]

i have a cheap digital camera

Fujifilm FinePix S5700

http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/0702/fuji_s5700_frontback.jpg

i just found out about the shutter speed and have been having fun using it. had the camera for just over a year and have never needed to use it until now

[Dazzler]

i have a cheap digital camera

Fujifilm FinePix S5700

http://a.img-dpreview.com/news/0702/fuji_s5700_frontback.jpg

i just found out about the shutter speed and have been having fun using it. had the camera for just over a year and have never needed to use it until now

 

For what they cost these cheaper cameras do a remarkably good job .. in my opinion... Obviously a fancy DSLR comes into its own for more difficult captures..

[Kitjunky]

Fuji Finepix S100FS, 11mp . resonably fast, good images , food price £250 . Im no camera expert but it does me fine