Zach Arias goes Canon -- Ashton Kutcher Sulks

Great article on gear management from Zach.

http://zackarias.com …-canon-world-still-turns/

He makes the wholesale switch to canon. (24-70 lovers may want to skip paragraph 10.)

Interesting that a guy like him has to buy used gear or put off buying other lenses b/c it's too expensive. That genuinely confuses me.

I noticed that too. Somehow, that endeared him to me a little (not that I want to give him a hug or anything.) Still, I think its educational to note that he doesn't need to be rocking the gear craziness to get results. Plus, he is a businessman.

In this respect, he reminds me of David Ziser (www.digitalprotalk.com). David shot hassys for years, but now does the lions share of his work with a 7D and a 18-200 mm lens. Read his book or blog and you'll see that, since hes got three shooters to outfit, he can't afford to be filling bags with $5000 bodies. And his images still look great.

That is an excellent post! His focus on getting the correct gear for the job and the shooter, over getting whatever gear everyone else says is the "best" should be repeated more often.

I suppose since it's implied in his blog post that he doesn't really do low light shooting, it really doesn't matter what camera he uses to a certain extent. His switch was apparently driven by both resolution and video...I think...

nicksan wrote in post #12946823
I suppose since it's implied in his blog post that he doesn't really do low light shooting, it really doesn't matter what camera he uses to a certain extent. His switch was apparently driven by both resolution and video...I think...

I think you are right. Its not a sports shooters bag, for sure. But a 5D Mark II with a flash on the top focuses just fine in low light, which makes it seamless for your average low light applications.

Huh. To each their own but there's a number of things that leave me scratching my head. What do I know, he makes more money at photography than I do. The 24-70L comment though is a bit over the top. Is it 24-70G? No, but it's damn good.

"The AF is horrible compared to the Nikons"
"The D3 is a pro body. The 5d is prosumer."
" I need a solid system that I can count on, that will do what I need and will stick with me for some time to come."
"The first thing I had to retire from my current Canon kit is that stupid 24-70 2.8 L lens. I hate that thing. It weighs 400 pounds and at 2.8 it falls apart very quickly."
"Yes, I bought a $450 AF assist beam for the stupid 5d."

Celebrities. Yawn... Don't understand why folks get all caught up in what celebrities do, don't do...

Mr. Clean wrote in post #12948256
"The AF is horrible compared to the Nikons"
"The D3 is a pro body. The 5d is prosumer."
" I need a solid system that I can count on, that will do what I need and will stick with me for some time to come."
"The first thing I had to retire from my current Canon kit is that stupid 24-70 2.8 L lens. I hate that thing. It weighs 400 pounds and at 2.8 it falls apart very quickly."
"Yes, I bought a $450 AF assist beam for the stupid 5d."

I'm not really seeing anything in the above quotes that I'd argue with. He may be guilty of hyperbole but he's not saying anything that hasn't been chanted by many people on these forums for the past several years.

krb wrote in post #12950316
I'm not really seeing anything in the above quotes that I'd argue with. He may be guilty of hyperbole but he's not saying anything that hasn't been chanted by many people on these forums for the past several years.

Exactly. But I guess a celebrity with a blog makes his/her opinion that much more "relevant", just because...

argyle wrote in post #12950367
Exactly. But I guess a celebrity with a blog makes his/her opinion that much more "relevant", just because...

Exactly. But to tell you the truth, I don't know who this Zach guy is.

I guess that's because I do my own research, make my own choices and formulate my own opinions and do not sit at the feet of celebrities like some 13-year old dreamy-eyed groupie at the foot of a rock star.

Picture North Carolina wrote in post #12950647
Exactly. But to tell you the truth, I don't know who this Zach guy is.

I guess that's because I do my own research, make my own choices and formulate my own opinions and do not sit at the feet of celebrities like some 13-year old dreamy-eyed groupie at the foot of a rock star.

Your not the only one to have drawn this conclusion, but I really think you miss the point. First, although I am not particularly a fan of Zach's work, he is an accomplished photographer who personal story is somewhat inspiring. I don't know that I would call him a celebrity, but he is a working professional whose choices are informed by real word experience, and whose daily paychecks are a net result of said choices.

What I took from the article was a guy who is wildly opinionated yet, at the same time, extremely open minded about his craft, enough so that he was willing to abandon his brand for what he thought gave him the best chance for success. I think that is admirable, in so much that there are thousands of us on these forums that would never consider Nikon, can rattle chapter and verse all their shortcomings -- but have probably never shot one.

So, to your comment, isn't it possible that, in doing your "own research", an analysis of Zach's thoughts might afford you the opportunity to learn something? If not, dismissing him as a celebrity may not be fair, but dismissing those who might enjoy his opinion as "groupies" could be construed as rude.

Mr. Clean wrote in post #12948256
Huh. To each their own but there's a number of things that leave me scratching my head. What do I know, he makes more money at photography than I do. The 24-70L comment though is a bit over the top. Is it 24-70G? No, but it's damn good.

"The AF is horrible compared to the Nikons"
"The D3 is a pro body. The 5d is prosumer."
" I need a solid system that I can count on, that will do what I need and will stick with me for some time to come."
"The first thing I had to retire from my current Canon kit is that stupid 24-70 2.8 L lens. I hate that thing. It weighs 400 pounds and at 2.8 it falls apart very quickly."
"Yes, I bought a $450 AF assist beam for the stupid 5d."

Exactly. It sounds like he doesn't really a pro-grade AF system for what he shoots, but he's rather opinionated on it. I'm no disagreeing with his opinion on the D3 being a pro body and the 5D being a prosumer one. But that's pretty much a "no sh*t" type of information.

I don't follow him at all. I've seen some of his work, and I am not really a big fan. For someone who apparently has discriminating requirements ("I need a solid system that I can count on), he seems to be a little short on the exact type of gear that fits that description...Well, yes, he had the D3, but he could have gotten his resolution with the D3x, granted the video would be a factor. But he would have gotten the "solid system that I can count on" camera. Sounds like high ISO isn't a huge factor since he doesn't do low light shooting, so that would have been perfect, minus the video. He could have easily gotten some of the other Nikon cameras that have full spec video.

But gathering from his gear journey, it might be that he can't afford the really high end stuff? Not that it really matters. But then again, that alone makes me want to take whatever he says with a huge grain of salt and it's rather curious that a "working professional" who is a borderline "celebrity photographer" wouldn't be able to afford that...not that I know anything about his business.

Nicksan, I'm not a big fan of his work either. But he is somebody who built his photography business from the ground up and is willing to share his lessons learned with others. He's not my favorite photographer by a long shot but he is a good teacher. One of the big things he emphasizes is that using plastic to buy gear is a mistake. From a business perspective, he has a point that starting a business with a cheap camera and kit lens but no debt is a lot better than starting off with all the best bodies, lenses and lighting equipment but having to worry about covering that monthly credit card payment in addition to all the other expenses.

Quotes from the article about affording gear:
"Remember I’m a cash and carry photographer."
"Most importantly, I’ve built my camera bag without the use of a single credit card."
"What is in my bag is hand picked, highly researched, tried out first, and bought after bills have been paid and I still have the cash to do so."

Why he chose the 5D over the D3x:
"Nikon has a 20+ MP body but it’s $8,000. That’s a big bag of Canon gear for $8k."

krb wrote in post #12951714
Why he chose the 5D over the D3x:
"Nikon has a 20+ MP body but it’s $8,000. That’s a big bag of Canon gear for $8k."

Yes, I understand. I am on the same boat as you. I'm not a fan of his, but respect what he does.

But he should stop **** about the 5D2 AF system because the best gear is gear you can afford, and if he couldn't afford the D3x or had the money but just didn't feel right getting it, then that was his decision and has absolutely relevancy to the level of gear each camp has to offer.

He doesn't do any low light shooting...so IMO, a robust AF system isn't needed. But he goes on to bash the 5D2's AF system? I mean, he does shoot for pay right? Wouldn't it be in his business's best interest to get the best tool for the job...you know...a camera with a "reliable AF system", which apparently is not the 5D2?

Then again, he mentioned he spends more than 50% of his time with workshops, so I suppose that's his REAL money making business...