the more you shoot, the less you need? (quite long)

[zig]

hi guys!
just a thought for the morning. i have bought a dslr about 2-3 months ago and have been shooting like crazy since, at first like most people i was all caught up with buying the sharpest lens, the longest zoom, the widest aperature, getting vexed about my camera not having the fastest this and the fastest that.

Then good folks from CS like belle&sebastian and other folks, advise me to relax and just have fun with the camera.
i really like people,and fashion stuff, so with my limited budget i got a 2nd hand flash ,and that awesome 50mm f1.8., and since then i had so much fun with that two gears.

studio use, the 50mm is actually pretty long,if you factor in the 1.6x . and its reputed to be razor sharp!
outdoors, i had so much fun limiting myself to just the 50mm, just last weekend i was shooting the street buskers, i had to squeeze past the crow get right next to this canadian chalk artist, i had to make friends with him to shoot him. and then i had to kinda shout at him to hold that pose to get a halflength its really so leberating, while other fellow phtographers are using their big guns standing in the distance like a phantom shadow clicking away.
so guys whats your take on gear? do you agree, the more you shoot, the more you realise that you dont need that much?

 

[ortega]

what you need depends on what you shoot and how you like to shoot. Unless you are doing it as a profession, you don't "NEED" the best hardware. Even a point and shoot camera can take award winning (not local award) pictures. Just read American Photo Magazine and there is an article of an award winning photographer who shoots only with an Oly 5050Z and 5060. Great pictures. Check it out for yourself.

 

[fengwei]

Well, all depends on what you are shooting at lah.

If say, you wanna shoot some sports events, like the wakeboard competition a couple of weeks ago, you'd feel the limit of your slow lenses, and might want to go for a fast f2.8 70-200 or even 400mm f4 prime lens

If you shoot macros, and really want to get good shots, you'd feel the limit of your (if you have one) Sigma 70-300 APO Macro Super (II) lens' macro capability, and you might end up with a dedicated prime macro lens (100mm or 180mm, f2.8).

For street shooting, 50mm might be okay, but if you want to cover a street even well, like the buskers festival, I think 50mm portrait lens is just too limited. I tried mine last Sat., missed some shots I think A faster 28-70 f2.8 lens might be better. But for things like motorshow model shooting, the 50mm lens is just perfect :bsmilie:

It all comes down to what you want to shoot I guess.

Happy shooting ...

hi guys!
just a thought for the morning. i have bought a dslr about 2-3 months ago and have been shooting like crazy since, at first like most people i was all caught up with buying the sharpest lens, the longest zoom, the widest aperature, getting vexed about my camera not having the fastest this and the fastest that.

Then good folks from CS like belle&sebastian and other folks, advise me to relax and just have fun with the camera.
i really like people,and fashion stuff, so with my limited budget i got a 2nd hand flash ,and that awesome 50mm f1.8., and since then i had so much fun with that two gears.

studio use, the 50mm is actually pretty long,if you factor in the 1.6x . and its reputed to be razor sharp!
outdoors, i had so much fun limiting myself to just the 50mm, just last weekend i was shooting the street buskers, i had to squeeze past the crow get right next to this canadian chalk artist, i had to make friends with him to shoot him. and then i had to kinda shout at him to hold that pose to get a halflength its really so leberating, while other fellow phtographers are using their big guns standing in the distance like a phantom shadow clicking away.
so guys whats your take on gear? do you agree, the more you shoot, the more you realise that you dont need that much?

 

[GitS]

yeah, its when u have next to nothing that you are forced to look into yourself for an interesting perspective in documentary photography. i shot some of my best stuff when i started with a 50mm 1.4 and 24mm 2.8 and was forced to push the limits of both lenses....when you start collecting the 16-35,24-70, 70-200 etc....your mind starts to get lazy plus the zooms have a slow f2.8 compared to the f1.4 for the 50mm, f1.8 (money no enough for 1.2 hahaha!) for the 85mm or even f2 for the 100mm in low light....lovely lenses...

 

[XXX Boy]

Yes, I do agree. I been only using a 50mm and a 90mm lens only for street photography.
Some ppl buy alot of lens coz they really have no idea of what they are shooting...one day see friends shooting wild-life then buy a 300mm f2.8 lens...one day see friends shooting macro then buy macro lens....

 

[ST1100]

Photography is really two hobbies hidden in one. Taking pictures and getting new toys. To most of us, both parts are fun.

 

[Witness]

it depends .... like fengwei said....certain equipments are inadequate for most situations...

if i dun have a WA zoom and i dun have enough space to back up to for a table shot during a wedding...wat do i do then??

hope u understand wat i mean...

cheers.....

 

[max007007]

I used to have the following lens and to me it is one of the best combination of range and speed.
1) 24-70 f2.8
2) 70-200 f2.8 IS
3) 1.4x mkII

 

[obviousdude]

i second what fengwei and witness says: it depends on what you shoot.

and to add to that, i also have a variety of lens, but i restrict myself to only bringing 1 along with me when i go out for casual shooting.

i'll then force myself to be creative abt how i use the lens i bring. that's one way to add some spice into the images because it means i won't keep to the "safe" styles.

and on another day, i'll bring a different lens, and stick to that for that day.

 

[dkw]

Don't fret, a lot of new users go through this phase of discovering what they like to shoot. With digital, shooting is free and you can move up the learning curve very rapidly. Don't get put off by some folk here who frown on newbies who keep jumping from lens to lens or cam to cam, its all part of the discovery process. So what if its sports one day and macro the next? If you find it fun, good for you!

 

[Jed]

I think it all depends on the photographer. I think personally as a general rule people evolve. First thinking they could always do with more gear, then realising that actually they can do a lot with not a lot of gear, and finally realising that while they can do that, if they do have more gear they can do even more, while not at the same time needing more gear, if you get what I mean. Maybe there's a stage beyond that, but I'm not quite there yet.

 

[syrinx]

I think it all depends on the photographer. I think personally as a general rule people evolve. First thinking they could always do with more gear, then realising that actually they can do a lot with not a lot of gear, and finally realising that while they can do that, if they do have more gear they can do even more, while not at the same time needing more gear, if you get what I mean. Maybe there's a stage beyond that, but I'm not quite there yet.

Your post makes so much sense! To me at least. Seriously.

 

[espn]

Well I just did a ROM as a backup using a 50mm, fun fun, ISO was up to 800 and 1600 though

You don't need good lenses to get good shots, they do help, but ultimately your skills need to be good.

Me still learning from all the pros here

My next on the purchase list:

Nikkor AF-S 28-70 f/2.8
Nikkor AF-S 17-35 f/2.8
Nikkor AF-S 70-200VR f/2.8G

AND I'm DONE!!!

:bsmilie:

Ooops w-an-king again

 

[sebastiansong]

equipment is just the tool to capture the image... having a wide range allows different approaches but does not necessitate good results. Worse still, being spoilt for choices is the worst scenario to occur.

the more you shoot, the more you understand yourself, your style and the equipment that you need. Better yet, you learn to quickly adapt to the situation, minimising any disadvantages you might initially have. In that sense you are right to assume that the more you shoot, the less you need.

 

[LimCB]

The more you shoot, the more you'll less likely to ask irrelevant questions like these. The greatest joy about this hobby is that you can use whatever gears you desire. Who's going to stop you and who will care? Just buy whatever you need and sell whatever you need. Who needs to know?!

 

[Astin]

zig, when u shoot more, u will figure out what area of photography u are most interested in, hence u will get deeper in that specialized area and will need less equipment. Now u are interested in people and fashion so a 50mm is "good enough", if tomorrow u change your interest to sport or astronomy then your 50mm is not enough.

 

[obviousdude]

equipment is just the tool to capture the image... having a wide range allows different approaches but does not necessitate good results. Worse still, being spoilt for choices is the worst scenario to occur.

agree, hence i try to only go out with one lens. to remove the option of choice and to force myself into a situation where i use wat i have creatively.

but owning a series of lens will allow me to be flexible depending on the event, or the surrounding.