Which camera do you use, if you have several cameras at your disposal?

[mikemyers]

I’ve had this “battle” for maybe the past ten or fifteen years. I used to have just one camera, that did, or was forced to do, just about everything. Nowadays, having acquired several very competent digital cameras (along with my old film cameras that I just look at, and hardly ever use), I’ve got several cameras from which to choose.

For better or worse, I have been following the advice that if I restrict myself to only one camera, I will learn how to get the most out of it, and I’ll always be familiar with the settings and controls.

At the same time, my understanding is that different cameras may be better at different things.

Using @Joanna as an example, I understand that the uses her Nikon D850 for almost everything, but has the Large Format camera for use when it matches the project better than the Nikon. Neither camera can replace the other all of the time.

For me, I’ve got multiple cameras that I keep because of their special abilities.

I’ve got a Leica M8.2 which I hardly ever use, but it is the only camera I own that is good for infrared photography, as it doesn’t have the anti-IR filter.

Then I’ve got my Nikon D3, which is good at a lot of things, buy my D780 does anything the D3 does, and does it better. For sports photography, I used to enjoy the D3, but it’s huge and heavy, and the 16-year-old technology can’t keep up with the newer and “better” Nikons. I’ve also got my Leica M10, which I use just for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. It doesn’t stand out, and for the most part people seem to think it’s a “toy” point-and-shoot. Unlike the Nikons though, everything is “manual”. By comparison, shooting with a Nikon is effortless, even in (M)anual mode. And finally, I’ve got my Fuji X100F, which is very small and inconspicuous, very quiet, but also creates high quality images. It also includes many “film simulations”, but I’ve always thought I could create them in PhotoLab. I guess I should include my Nikon Df, but the D780 does everything the Df can do, and does it better.

That’s just my collection - I suspect that many of you have newer and older cameras, and different cameras for different purposes. I’m wondering how each of you choose which camera to take with you, when you head out to take photos. What determines which camera you will take with you.

Long ago, when I got a newer camera, I sold or traded my old camera. That no longer works for me, and if I were ever to buy a “mirrorless” camera, it would be in addition to, not instead of, what I already have. I’ve never been very good at getting rid of things, cameras included, but KEH made it very easy for me to get some $$$ back, and unload things I neither used anymore, and which I never developed an attraction to.

Perhaps all of you are smarter than I am, and you just have and use one camera, and you don’t buy additional cameras, you replace cameras as the need arises. Oh, and one last thing - I get the feeling that people for the most part no longer buy cameras, they just use their smartphones…

[Joanna (Joanna Carter)]

@mikemyers

I’ve got a Leica M8.2 which I hardly ever use, but it is the only camera I own that is good for infrared photography, as it doesn’t have the anti-IR filter

So, what’s wrong with ditching that and using your D780 with an IR filter in front of the lens?

Here’s one from my D810, 4 minutes exposure, unretouched…

False colours…

B&W…

The flare spots are from light penetrating behind the filter and reflecting on dust spots.

@mikemyers

Then I’ve got my Nikon D3, which is good at a lot of things, buy my D780 does anything the D3 does, and does it better

So, what’s the point in keeping it? It’s a hefty chunk with the weight of a battery pack that you wouldn’t consider adding to your D780. And it’s only 12Mpx, thus making it fairly unusable if you want to do your usual crops.

@mikemyers

I’ve also got my Leica M10 … I’ve got my Fuji X100F

Fairly functionally equivalent (both 24Mpx) I can see why you might want something like this for discrete street photography but both???

@mikemyers

I guess I should include my Nikon Df

Just as with the D3 - why? Same problem of lower resolution (16Mpx)

@mikemyers

KEH made it very easy for me to get some $$$ back, and unload things I neither used anymore, and which I never developed an attraction to

So, take all that stuff and gain some funds for some of those things you keep on saying you would like but can’t afford.

@mikemyers

if I were ever to buy a “mirrorless” camera, it would be in addition to, not instead of, what I already have

Ah, yes - hyperbole, blurb, waffle, keeping up with fashion trends, just like the Leicas.

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I confess to having kept my D810, but simply as it is permanently mounted with my 80-400mm lens, so I can grab that in case the 300mm isn’t long enough. It sits in the car, not in a cupboard. As does a Canon Powershot G10, which never seems to lose its charge and can deliver amazing macro shots that a full frame camera just can’t do.

Of course, I have the Mamiya 7II MF and my beloved Ebony LF cameras, but they are there for times when digital just doesn’t cut it and they don’t duplicate other cameras.

@mikemyers

I get the feeling that people for the most part no longer buy cameras, they just use their smartphones…

But that’s the difference between “people” and photographers.

I have used my iPhone for the odd shot where there really isn’t anything else that can get a macro in focus like this…

[mikemyers]

@Joanna

So, what’s wrong with ditching that and using your D780 with an IR filter in front of the lens?

Why get an infrared conversion? – Kolari Vision.

With digital cameras, infrared photography is still possible without any modification. Digital camera sensors are sensitive to infrared light but contain an internal filter that blocks this light. This is good for regular photography because it allows for accurate colors. However, if you are trying to take infrared pictures, this poses a problem.

Infrared photography is possible on an unconverted camera with an external infrared filter like our 720nm filter, but when doing this, keep in mind there will be two filters in the light path. One filter blocks infrared light at the sensor, and the external infrared filter blocks visible light. These two filters cancel each other out, requiring very long exposure times to get a properly exposed image. This makes it impossible to take clear infrared pictures of moving objects. The external opaque filter also makes composition on a DSLR difficult.

An unconverted digital camera can only shoot IR in 720nm or 850nm.

With an infrared conversion, the camera’s internal hot mirror is removed and replaced with a filter that only lets infrared light through. This allows for handheld infrared shots with normal exposure times and low ISO. There is no more need for filters in front of the lens, allowing for easy composition and lens switching.

A converted digital camera is the only way to take good digital infrared portraits, as the subject no longer has to stay perfectly still for a long exposure. Putting the filter inside the camera instead of on the lens allows you to use autofocus. An IR conversion also allows more filter options—like the 590nm, 665nm, and blue IR—which do not work on stock cameras. Additionally, an IR conversion lets you use fisheye and wide-angle lenses that aren’t compatible with lens filters.

D3:

@Joanna

So, what’s the point in keeping it? It’s a hefty chunk with the weight of a battery pack that you wouldn’t consider adding to your D780. And it’s only 12Mpx, thus making it fairly unusable if you want to do your usual crops.

I bought my D3 new for $5,000, and the going rate used seems ti be “$250 or best offer”. It’s the same camera as when I bought it, and while it won’t match the D780 or DD850, I use it anyway every so often, for other reasons. Yes, about the megapixels, and it also has 16-year-old dynamic range. Why am I still using a 20-year-old Sony TV in my bedroom? Why pay more for something “newer”. You’ve already talked me out of even considering buying a D5 or D6. But I believe the D3 is more weather sealed and rugged than the newer Nikons.

@Joanna

Fairly functionally equivalent (both 24Mpx) I can see why you might want something like this for discrete street photography but both???

The Leica and the Fuji are not the same, and both have been replaced by newer cameras.
If I had to sell one or the other, it would be the Fuji, but the Fuji is the best camera I have for “walkabout” or “street” photography, which I rarely do in the USA.

@Joanna

So, take all that stuff and gain some funds for some of those things you keep on saying you would like but can’t afford.

Probably good advice. My financial advisor says the same thing!

@Joanna

Ah, yes - hyperbole, blurb, waffle, keeping up with fashion trends, just like the Leicas.

I did replace my D750 with the D780. As for “fashion trends”, I bought my M10 in 2016, and the newer models cost more $$$ than I can count - and I doubt if any of them would do anything more for me than my M10. In the USA it’s called "Keeping up with the Joneses. No thanks. Most everything I own is old. But I used to be guilty of what you refer to. I had a D2x from the very first shipment to B&H, and ditto for my D3. My Df came after B&H was having a close-out sale, and if I can get enough $$$ for it, I’ll sell it. No need for it. It was sort of a “collector’s item”. Anyone wanting to pay me for it will get the box, paperwork, and all the other stuff.

@Joanna

I have used my iPhone for the odd shot where there really isn’t anything else that can get a macro in focus like this…

Nice iPhone photo. The current version is an iPhone 15, with the 16 coming out soon. Mine is an iPhone 11 Pro. I’m not doing a very good job of keeping up.

I hope more people in this forum post what cameras they have nowadays. Just curious.