Jumping Ship

[annabelle]

Groucho:

I did exhaustive research on trying to fix the back focus issue on my own. All I kept reading was having to put my K10d in 'debug' mode, download a program and wish for the best! And after reading repeatedly 'do this at your own risk' I wasn't too overly confident about the whole process.

Then I read this:
The K10D can only store 1 adjustment which will be applied to all lenses mounted to it. If you have one lens that back focusses and another that front focusses, making this adjustment is more or less pointless unless you want one lens to be spot on and confine the other to manual focus. When I tested my lenses I had one, which I think was a Sigma that had FF at one end of the zoom range and BF at the other. AFAIK nothing can be done to resolve that.

And this:

DISCLAIMER: You download and use this software at your own risk. If your camera doesn't function afterwards, you alone are responsible.

1:The K10D's debug mode enables a number of other possible adjustments. Please don't attempt to change any setting other than the focus adjustment. Doing so could render your camera inoperable.




http://pentaxworld.com/forum/cafe-c...d-our-k10d-back-to-service-centre-for-tuning/


http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...0-k10d-firmware-1-3-debug-mode-unleashed.html

And really, I'm a pretty smart gal... but this 'debug' program was VERY confusing:

http://photographyrulez.blogspot.com/2008/06/debug-mode-with-latest-firmware-yeah.html

I didn't want to risk damaging my cam more than it already was.

Listen, I'm not here to bash Pentax. I still have a soft spot in my heart for my K10d. I was just disappointed in how things turned out. Like I mentioned in my previous post... Nikons (or insert cam manufacturer name here) all have their own issues. So far, (for me) the positives are outweighing the negatives with my new D90.

 

[Groucho]

Groucho:

I did exhaustive research on trying to fix the back focus issue on my own. All I kept reading was having to put my K10d in 'debug' mode, download a program and wish for the best! And after reading repeatedly 'do this at your own risk' I wasn't too overly confident about the whole process.

Hmm. Open mouth, insert foot for me. I thought that was a standard feature of the K10D, at least with a firmware update.

OK, pretend that in my original message, I actually wrote "K20D" instead of "K10D". You definitely can make the adjustments I mentioned on the K20D.

 

[annabelle]

Hmm. Open mouth, insert foot for me. I thought that was a standard feature of the K10D, at least with a firmware update.

OK, pretend that in my original message, I actually wrote "K20D" instead of "K10D". You definitely can make the adjustments I mentioned on the K20D.

No biggie... I think if I would've started off with the K20d, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

 

[donaldduck1967]

(ie switching dSLR brands)

Will this necessarily help you get better pictures?

Or is inexperience more the issue with whatever camera system you have?

Discuss.

(No brand bashing, please!

And no, I'm not jumping ship, I just find it an interesting subject.)

As other said any camera is capable of great pictures. What are your reasons for wanting to switch? What doesn't your current camera do for you?

 

[jann1033]

(ie switching dSLR brands)

Will this necessarily help you get better pictures?

Or is inexperience more the issue with whatever camera system you have?

Discuss.

(No brand bashing, please!

And no, I'm not jumping ship, I just find it an interesting subject.)

i would guess one brand vs the other in itself won't automatically get you better photos but i think one brand vs the other would get you worse photos...ie if the camera is physically uncomfortable for you, not intuitive for you, you can't easily find/afford the lens or flash or whatever you want or need for type of shot( interestingly one review i read recently rated cameras not only on the normal iq etc but also ease of finding new accessories for them which you might not really think of pre-purchasing a system) , all that is going to affect your photos. all brands have idiosyncrasies ( ie some are softer in general, or noisier or the color is different ) & if that particular thing really bugs you it would affect your work cause how relaxed could you be if you are fighting with the camera. how good can your photos be if you aren't able to really concentrate on what you are doing cause you are constantly hitting a wrong button. eventually you might overcome it but i think it would hamper you for a while. it's very irritating to have equipment that doesn't perform how you think it should

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As other said any camera is capable of great pictures. What are your reasons for wanting to switch? What doesn't your current camera do for you?

As I said in the OP, I'm not switching.

I just find it interesting that people do.

And I wonder how much of that is user inexperience vs equipment failure.

(I also think it's really easy to get caught up in the whole brand thing.)

Sure, it's tempting to think that switching might help automatically produce better photos.

But I think if you're inexperienced with one brand, you're still probably going to be inexperienced with another.

For myself, I'm invested in sticking with what my gut sense brought me to and I really like. I'm still not (anywhere near) 100% there yet in using it, and of course that ultimately affects the quality of my pictures. As long as I'm aware of its shortcomings (and I agree they probably all have them in one way or another) and work within that framework and that framework's acceptable to me, I'll keep going.

If the day comes that I know the camera inside and out, have gotten better glass and/or upgraded the body (when the time comes) and am still not able to get the types of shots I want, then I'll consider switching. But really, I can't see that happening for me. If I ever have doubts, I just look at the work of the experts who use the same equipment I do, and I'm hopeful that with time and patience, I can get there one day, too.

I do think it's an interesting topic for discussion on a photography board. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I don't think I'll ever switch brands. I've got way too much invested in my NAS! I can see where the upgrading the camera and/or lens thing can get almost, shall we say, addicting. My husband says it's like chasing the rainbow! Or in the immortal words of Bono & U2: "I still haven't found what I'm looking for...." Actually, I feel like I'm very happy with what I've got, and I just need to learn how to use it better or more efficiently to get better results consistently. Next up for me in the future when the economy stabilizes a bit would be a photography class or maybe a class in photoshop; something along those lines. No more camera gear NAS or not!

 

[boBQuincy]

Similar to switching brands in order to get better photos is upgrading within a brand. Canon's SLR lineup starts with the Xs at about $500 and goes to the 1DsMkIII at about $7000. Nikon and others have about the same breadth of offerings.

Can we get better photos with the $7000 camera than with the $500 camera? In many cases I would guess the answer is no. The extra $6500 does pay for a lot more letters in the model name though.

 

[jfinke]

Following the Canon boards there were some professionals who switched to Nikon due to some of the autofocus issues in the high end cameras + the new Nikon offerings. A couple came back. These are people with $25k of equipment. Then there are people with both systems.

When you are a professional, you are probably going to use the best tool to get the job done.

For us normal people, I would doubt that there is much switching unless you are moving up and your current system doesn't meet your needs and you don't have too much invested.

Currently, I have too much invested in Canon to think about switching. Maybe if I had just stuck with the XT and kit lens, I would have switched to Nikon at a later date. However, I did numerous hours of research and made what I thought was the best decision for me.

 

[pointandshoot]

After posting my Jay Maisel comment, I should confess. I am in the middle of jumping ship (kinda). I am drifting from Nikon to Canon after 15 years. My reason is that Canon offered a better selection of lenses to suit what I was interested in shooting at a price I was willing to pay.

I spend a bunch of time at the beach and I get bored really easy sitting around in the middle of the day. So it was a 40D and the Canon 100-400mm IS for bird photography that pushed me over. Nikon has some good offerings but I liked the Canon selection better for this type of shots. I have added some more Canon gear and downsized my Nikon to primes. My daughter still shoots Nikon.

I used to think it had to be this brand or that. In the end, what I intend to shoot and what lense I think will best meet my need will determine what brand of DSLR I will pull out of my bag.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

After posting my Jay Maisel comment, I should confess. I am in the middle of jumping ship (kinda). I am drifting from Nikon to Canon after 15 years. My reason is that Canon offered a better selection of lenses to suit what I was interested in shooting at a price I was willing to pay.

I spend a bunch of time at the beach and I get bored really easy sitting around in the middle of the day. So it was a 40D and the Canon 100-400mm IS for bird photography that pushed me over. Nikon has some good offerings but I liked the Canon selection better for this type of shots. I have added some more Canon gear and downsized my Nikon to primes. My daughter still shoots Nikon.

I used to think it had to be this brand or that. In the end, what I intend to shoot and what lense I think will best meet my need will determine what brand of DSLR I will pull out of my bag.

A friend of mine who shoots Canon was recently considerng Jumping ship to the Nikon world. He really liked my D90 and considered getting the D300. I told him, since he is on a tight budget, that he should price the faster/hgher end lenses. I've noticed in doing some research for higher end lenses, that the Nikon lenses are significantly more expensive than the same offerings that Canon has. He researched and decided to stick with Canon because of the lens cost issue. He got the 50D.