Downside to having a DSLR?

[zackiedawg]

Though some DSLRs offer the options nowadays, few of them work as easily, smoothly, or perfectly as any basic P&S, so I'll add another one to the list:

No live view, or handicapped live view.

(Ooh...I've opened a can of worms! Get the popcorn out!).

Before the DSLR lynch mob comes after me...I love my DSLR, and I rarely use its live view feature even though it is one of the easier ones to use.

However, from the purely amateur, newbie, non-camera-skilled average-Joe stance, live view makes photography easier to take and to understand. And we all know how many people out there buying cameras are complete amateurs with no photography knowledge or skills - the answer is MOST. For those folks, their first experience with digital photography is often their first experience with ANY photography...and what they saw first was a little LCD screen with the picture on it that they wanted to take. And when they moved around, the little LCD screen would change and adjust - focus, brightness, color, white balance...they had no idea what these things are, just that they could look at the little screen, and press the button when things were looking good. And when they reviewed the photo, they almost always got exactly what they saw on the screen when they were taking the photo.

With DSLRs however, in the most traditional and common use, you look through the optical viewfinder (and yes, we all know it is more accurate, lets you see better in low light, and is vastly superior for our photo-skilled brains), and you see the focus change and...well, that's about it. Color, white balance, contrast, depth of field (most amateur DSLR users haven't a clue what a DOF preview button is, so no need to bring it up!) are all unknowns while snapping the photo. Once the photo is taken, they can pull it up on the LCD, and might discover OOPS! Too dark on the subject, or BOY! was my white balance off! Again...I'm just talking from the amateur, average Joe side of the argument.

Live View as implemented on DSLRs is a partial cure, to help those who might struggle otherwise. But none are near perfect yet. Some are highly accurate in focus, allowing zooming in...but very slow in operation and cumbersome just to turn on. Some are easy-as-pie to turn on and don't slow down a bit, but they lack features like zoom, and rarely gain up in low light to assist with focus. Some are just too 'clunky' with loud mirror flips and bangs and 3-second focus and shutter delays waiting for everything inside the camera to figure out how to switch back to traditional view before snapping the pic.

I use my OVF 90-95% of the time. I have found some very useful times for live view though...and like the way my camera implemented it - one simple switch on top of the camera, no focus or shutter delays, and a tiltable-angle LCD screen. On the safari ride at AK, I was able to use live view to stick the camera well over my head to shoot across the heads on the truck to the other side, tilting the LCD down towards me to frame my shot. During night shooting, I can mount the camera on a tripod, angle up at the sky or any other angle, and still pivot the LCD towards my face, using Live View to line up the shot without leaning down to try to look through the viewfinder. Useful indeed.

But strictly for the average Joe with no camera skills and used to Live View on a P&S camera, the transition to optical viewfinders may come as a shock and possibly a disappointment, and definitely start forcing them to learn a bit more about photography to figure out why the shots don't turn out.

And I agree with the other points - size, weight, bulk, convenience, price, and lens lust are all issues I'd mention to prospective DSLR buyers!

 

[alan]

Two more to add:

1. You can't just turn a dial and start shooting video (well, okay, that's starting to change). First time my DD was actually able to play a game of throw and catch was a great example. Sure a still would have been okay, but to get the movement in there really made it a much better capture.

2. You've always got the wrong dratted lens on for whatever you're shooting.

3. Much easier to get an out-of-focus shot than on a small-sensor P+S

regards,
/alan

 

[wenrob]

Since I held onto my 35mm film camera a couple years after digital became the norm I never did become dependent on or use live view. I hear it's pretty nifty on my D90 but I haven't tried it yet. The review is pretty quick and smooth though and I use it often w/the histogram.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

I don't know if this is a negative but now that i've got a DSLR everyone expects my pictures to be perfect. Good thing i can take lots of pictures It's like they think I know what i'm doing and sence iv'e purchased mine. I've shot 2 persional kids parties and a wedding. All free of charge of coarse. If I still had my P&S i'm sure I would not have been asked for any of them. I didn't mind shooting any of them either. The wedding shots turned out great. Shocked even me. Oh yes i'm already looking to upgrade my lenses and I want a better editing program than ACDSee 6.0.

 

[SharonLowe]

For us people who try to make a living from photography, the biggest disadvantage of DSLRs is that everyone thinks they are great photographers so we don't get as much business.

Our last trip to WDW in October, I didn't take my DSLR; just took my Canon G9. Did I miss the monster (my 1DsMkII)? No. Did I have a great time? Yes. Did I "miss" some shots? Yes, but I didn't care - finally got to just enjoy some rides rather than worrying about taking photos. Did I get some perfectly fine shots? Yes, some darn good ones that maybe I wouldn't have done with my monster. And, the G9 does great video so I got some nice video that I wouldn't have got otherwise.

I think with a DSLR, many people forget to just have fun at places like WDW. Yes, I know photography is fun but always having the camera in front of your face makes you miss out on some things. And, with a DSLR, I think some people feel they have to take tons of photos to justify it.

The camera is just a piece of equipment; what you do with it makes all the difference in the world. I think many people would do perfectly fine with a good p&s if they just learned how to use it properly. But, instead they think they have to get a DSLR to get better photos.

 

[alan]

Fascinated to read your answer, Sharon. I am trying to work out what I should do with regards to cameras for my planned WDW trip in June (a long time away, I know, but I've got to start planning everything else just now, so why not that too? )

Anyway, I plan to take the SLR for night-time parades and such. But I hanker after something smaller and lighter for the daytime. I swither between the SX10IS (incredibly flexible zoom range, but lousy in low light) and the G10 (best image quality short of an SLR, but less flexible zoom. And in terms of headline features, hardly any more flexible than my Ixus 860!).

I respect your opinion having seen much of what you have posted here, so I was interested to read what you wrote. Did you find that the G9 held up well when you were wanting to take photographs?

Any more information on your "SLR-less" trip would be appreaciated

regards,
/alan

 

[Chikabowa]

I agree with the previous poster about how a lot of pros leave their DSLR at home and just go with the P&S. In fact, a lot of the pro's I know even leave the P&S at home anymore and just snap away with their iPhone.

I also agree with Sharon that you have to enjoy yourself too. Part of what makes WDW fun for me is taking my DSLR and lenses and playing around with my shots. It's enjoyable to me... which is why I choose to do it!

But I would say the biggest disadvantage of taking the DSLR is that I'm NEVER in ANY of the shots. While my Dh is fairly competent in shooting manual (my camera doesn't have an 'auto' function), he still struggles with it sometimes and his exposures are never spot on. So the pictures of me are usually trashed because I don't like them! But even then... he very rarely picks up the camera to shoot, leaving me behind and out of pictures!

 

[jfinke]

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of pros leave their DSLRs at home is because they are on vacation and don't want to bring their work with them.

For me, being on vacation is one of the times I get to use my camera extensively. But, if I was shooting 8 hours a day, I probably wouldn't even want to look at one while at WDW.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I haven't had my dSLR at WDW yet so I can hardly wait to try it out. By the time I actually get there I'll have had a lot of practice with it so I'll hopefully be able to have fun and not a lot of frustration. I think the thing I'll enjoy least is going to be changing lenses.

 

[DebºoºS]

Dittos to what has been said.

Before leaving your PnS home imagine yourself hauling around a sack of potatoes in Africa hot temps and occasional monsoons while your SOs are yelling like storm troopers for you to keep up. Only to find when you get back to your hotel room to chimp that your pics are not exactly the Kodak moments you thought they would be.

Bringing out the PnS, DSLR or video camera while on vacation is something I like to do but not when it takes away from having fun with the family.
Leave all my cameras home I'd need medical attention before I'd do that!

 

[SharonLowe]

Fascinated to read your answer, Sharon. I am trying to work out what I should do with regards to cameras for my planned WDW trip in June (a long time away, I know, but I've got to start planning everything else just now, so why not that too? )

Anyway, I plan to take the SLR for night-time parades and such. But I hanker after something smaller and lighter for the daytime. I swither between the SX10IS (incredibly flexible zoom range, but lousy in low light) and the G10 (best image quality short of an SLR, but less flexible zoom. And in terms of headline features, hardly any more flexible than my Ixus 860!).

I respect your opinion having seen much of what you have posted here, so I was interested to read what you wrote. Did you find that the G9 held up well when you were wanting to take photographs?

Any more information on your "SLR-less" trip would be appreaciated

regards,
/alan

I almost took my DSLR with a 50mm f/1.4 lens to get photos of the night stuff and dark rides but in the end, I stayed with the G9. I was very happy with my choice as it really freed me up to pay attention to the details on the dark rides without worrying about trying to get a shot. It also made walking around the parks much easier. I find the G9 flexible enough for my needs - I have add-on wide angle and telephoto lenses but I even left those at home. I did use my Lensmate 58mm adapter so that I could use a polarizing filter on it during the day. I have a hand strap on it so it just hung on my wrist. It was a pretty short trip too - just 4 full days, which added to my decision.

As for other travels, I take my DSLR and full kit since I can sell my travel photos.

Getting photos of yourself - use the Disney photopass people and yes, they will take them with your camera too if you are nice to them.

 

[Groucho]

It's hard to make a blanket statement about "pros" as there are so many different types. Your average paparazzi or basic headline news photographer may not really care as they may be only interested in churning out photos with little regard to aesthetic appeal beyond getting the subject in focus. A pro who does more "art" stuff is probably still not going to view WDW as such a fun place to photograph as an amateur, who rarely gets a chance to be somewhere that is so photogenic.

I did a DL and a WDW trip with my digital PnS and I don't think there's a single photo from them that I think is really interesting. I am very interested in the tactile feel of the camera and how it inspires me, and that's part of why I love using older, manual focus lenses; not just the latest and most expensive fast zoom that I can afford. It's fun to get a different look and be inspired by different lenses - like, how long can you keep a 105mm manual-focus 1:1 macro on your camera before having to switch lenses? What does the lens inspire you to see? Then there's the fisheye lenses, of course... Now that digital SLRs are easily affordable, I can't imagine taking a PnS, no matter what the image quality is, anywhere where I care about my photos.

Try the learning curve for an SLR.
Dialing in your ISO
Manual focus - try manually focusing in low light conditions
Manually setting f-stop
Through the lens meter with either LEDs or a needle
Waiting for a roll to be developed
Getting the developed film back to find over/under exposed/out of focus pictures with no chance of retaking the picture

Not just that... no exif data! How did we ever survive? (Or still do!) And heck, one of my SLRs doesn't even have a meter in it... so if I use that, I bring along another SLR and meter with that with a similar lens. One of these days I'll spend some time and figure out my ancient, obtuse lightmeter...

However, from the purely amateur, newbie, non-camera-skilled average-Joe stance, live view makes photography easier to take and to understand. And we all know how many people out there buying cameras are complete amateurs with no photography knowledge or skills - the answer is MOST. For those folks, their first experience with digital photography is often their first experience with ANY photography...and what they saw first was a little LCD screen with the picture on it that they wanted to take.

I disagree, pretty strongly actually. I think you're underestimating the intelligence of the average human being. This is hardly uncommon, look at the garbage foisted on the public on the television and in movie theaters! Having companies insisting that the public "needs" live view in order to understand how to take a picture is really dumbing things down. Cameras have been widely available for around 100 years and since when we heard of someone who couldn't figure out how to look through a viewfinder? Even the most camera-illiterate people have no problem using disposable cameras or cheap film PnSs with viewfinders.

I would also guess that the only people whose first experience with photography was on a digital are ones who were too young to use anything else.

 

[dmccarty]

I learned along time ago that sometimes you have to put the camera down and enjoy the moment. Its hard though.

I don't take the camera every time we go to the parks. It depends on what we are doing. Along with NAS there is CBAS, Camera Bag Acquisition Syndrome. I THINK I have five bags. The last one I bought was for our Spring 2008 trip. The thing is huge. I use it to carry the gear to WDW. Then I have a little holster bag that hold the D200 and any one of my lenses except the 180mm. The 50 1.4 makes a good all around lens. Its small and light. I can put the D200 in the small bag and its not that much to carry around.

I want to sell the D200 and get the D700 for the ISO....

I need the ISO for taking pictures of the kids playing BBall in a dark gym. That is the story I'm telling the wife. And I'm sticking too it.

Later,
Dan

 

[loopner67]

I'm struggling with this right now. I got the Olympus E510 for Christmas last year and I love it. It was a surprise from DH. I've loved all the pictures I've been able to take with it.

BUT.... we just got back from a Disney trip and I found the camera so heavy around my neck every single day. I really want a smaller camera for our next trip - one that will fit in my shoulder bag and one I don't wear around my neck.

 

[annnewjerz]

The one downside to having my dSLR for only the past two months has been...


(drum-roll)

the looks, the comments, etc.

I went to a flea market one morning and since we were later going to walk around a nearby town, I had my camera around my neck. It was my first experience with the questions and comments. The second was a trip to take pictures of a friend's baby at an apple orchard. They have ranged from "Nice lens, how do you like it?" to, "Are you a professional photographer (as she fluffs her hair and gives a quick glance in an old mirror", to IMHO the BEST reaction yet...

Question from older man at Flea Market: "Are you from the paper?"

My response: "Nope "

Question from same older man: "Are you writing an article on the flea market?"

My response: "Nope , just taking some pictures"

::Quizzical confused look from older man:: I swear I must have looked like I had 3 heads.

My mom's response: "She just got her new camera, she just brought it along for some practice"

 

[oogieboogieman]

Trying to shoot in RAW format, only to find out that I have no clue as to what to do next. I have this Olympus software to make things easier( what a joke!) that came with the camera. I downloaded my photos but it doesn't go into my Olympus software it goes in the Windows Photo Gallery. Now I,m stuck! Back to JPEG for me!

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

I'm struggling with this right now. I got the Olympus E510 for Christmas last year and I love it. It was a surprise from DH. I've loved all the pictures I've been able to take with it.

BUT.... we just got back from a Disney trip and I found the camera so heavy around my neck every single day. I really want a smaller camera for our next trip - one that will fit in my shoulder bag and one I don't wear around my neck.

Are you using the strap that came with the camera? If so, ditch it quick, that thing is torture. Mine lasted about a week before I got rid of it and went with the Op-Tech pro loop.

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

Trying to shoot in RAW format, only to find out that I have no clue as to what to do next. I have this Olympus software to make things easier( what a joke!) that came with the camera. I downloaded my photos but it doesn't go into my Olympus software it goes in the Windows Photo Gallery. Now I,m stuck! Back to JPEG for me!

I didn't like the Oly Master software either for RAW development. I'm using freeware Raw Therepee for now until I get Photoshop. It is actually decent for freeware.

 

[edolyne]

For me I have found that the downsides are:

Weight
Size
Always looking for new gadgets
Buying extra lenses

The good news is that based on the pictures you are able to take(after learning your new camera) are well worth the advantages.

For those considering a move to DSLR I would suggest finding a system that has relativley inexpensive used lens options as this will help you expand your kit with only a small amount of money vs new pricing.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Other than the aformentioned weight, bulk, addiction to buying new gadgets here are more disadvantages:

- never finding the right camera bag to carry everything
- you can't just hand your camera over to another family member so that your own photo can be taken (they get confused and your photo ends up headless)
- the days of one carry on are over