Do you or someone you know have TOO MUCH CAMERA?

I think the 5d3 was too much camera..at that time i was doing mostly street and somse portraits.. i probabaly never even used 50percent of its AF capabilities ..the 6d would have been fine ..but i wanted the 5d3 weather resistwnt capabilities

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18280779
Almost everyone I know has too much camera. That's not a bad thing, though.
I used to know this guy (VERY German) who always had the latest equipment, but always showed me the SAME needle-sharp Panatomic-X prints! I liked him a lot 'cause I'd buy his "obsolete" stuff at an excellent price when the new models came out. I could always sell his old stuff I already had for more than I'd paid for the new. Wish he was still around!!!

I did that with audio equipment for a few years.... I went to the same store... following this one guy who would buy stuff and return it after a few months, weeks or sometimes, even a few days. The shop would sell it as used even though it was in pristine condition. They'd give me a call after he'd been in and check to see if I was ready to buy XYZ.

joedlh wrote in post #18280793
So yes, sometimes a person can have too much camera.

That's a funny story. Has she improved any?

I have a friend who, bless her heart, has been trying really hard to understand how to use her Rebel. Apparently, I'm not a good teacher. After years of coaching and advise, almost nothing has sunk in and she is still a P mode shooter. She laughs about it now, but has pretty much given up on using it as anything more than a point and shoot. This isn't a knock against her. She's smart, just not camera smart.

rantercsr wrote in post #18280805
I think the 5d3 was too much camera..at that time i was doing mostly street and somse portraits.. i probabaly never even used 50percent of its AF capabilities ..the 6d would have been fine ..but i wanted the 5d3 weather resistwnt capabilities

Too much camera in the right hands and mindset represents an opportunity for growth.

Colorblinded wrote in post #18279523
I don't think it's a matter of having "too much camera" so much as they just throw feature after feature at it, and all I really care about is whether it meets my needs.

I rarely shoot actiony stuff but when I do, I'm glad to have the decent AF. I shoot in manual a lot, but I'm glad to have the configurable exposure modes. The extra resolution and DR of the 5D Mark IV make me want to upgrade from the III. I don't care so much about the fact that it's added in refinements in almost every other area, or other features like GPS that I wouldn't mind having.

When it comes down to it, most of the features are superfluous to me. 4K isn't even on my radar. Based on how you describe it, I'd say almost any modern camera is too much for any one user, but they're trying to draw in a huge variety of users.

Too much camera would suggest to me that the person doesn't have the skill to make the most of the camera, regardless of how they use it or however many of its features they do or don't use.

^

The classic example of 'too much camera' is the photographic novice who has money to burn, who goes into the store and buys the 'best camera' in the store, the $6000 camera that never gets taken out of Green Box mode and which suffers from target being bullseyed in the frame, and which exhibits the classic underexposed greyish 'white' snow or paper in the scene. The fact that it happens to have 25MPixels or 50MPixels does not matter, as it only is used to post 2K images for sharing with family and friends, and the 18-55mm kit lens never comes off the body, and any prints are never made. While it is his/her right and privelege to be able to do so, clearly the camera is well beyond the demands ever placed upon it, it is over-buying.

That is very different from what happens with most of us...we exploit the camera for it photographic fundamentals (exposure sophistication, detail resolution, low light sensititivity), but do not use 80% of the flexibility of features which are supported, like the 10 zones of 9 AF points, and maybe not even its ability to exchange focus screens.

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Been thinking more about this.

My 1D4 is my main body. It has a lot of features and settings that I do not use. Does that mean that I have too much camera? No, not at all - it just means that I don't use all of the features. Just because something goes unused does not mean that it is "too much".

In many ways I feel that I do not have enough camera. While I love my 1D4, it does limit what I can do. I like to print big, and I am feeling more and more limited by the 16 megapixel sensor.

I also like to shoot stuff in action, like deer when they are on an all-out run, or birds in flight. Yet, even at 10 frames per second I feel as though I often miss the best shots. For instance, if I rip off a bunch of frames of a deer as it races by me, I often don't end up with a frame that has the legs in an absolutely perfect position......I always seem to miss the "apex" of the action by just a few thousandths of a second.

If they made a 50MP still camera that could shoot at extremely high speed, like 25 or 30 frames per second, then I would end up with a lot more images that would have the legs of running deer and the wings of flying birds in ideal positions. And I would be able to print those images at nice big sizes like 60 inches by 40 inches, and still have really good resolution of the individual hairs and feathers.

So, while my 1D4 has features that I do not use, I do not feel as though I have too much camera. Rather, I feel as though I do not have enough camera.

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Wilt wrote in post #18281601
The classic example of 'too much camera' is the photographic novice who has money to burn, who goes into the store and buys the 'best camera' in the store, the $6000 camera that never gets taken out of Green Box mode and which suffers from target being bullseyed in the frame, and which exhibits the classic underexposed greyish 'white' snow or paper in the scene. The fact that it happens to have 25MPixels or 50MPixels does not matter, as it only is used to post 2K images for sharing with family and friends, and the 18-55mm kit lens never comes off the body, and any prints are never made.

Modified example: 5DIV, 70-200ISII, 24-70II, 680EXRT is her first-time kit. Asks me what settings are "best" to use. Actually listened to me for once and stopped using Green Box mode. Rarely uses viewfinder. Exposure and focus achieved by tapping the touch screen. Camera is on M, but really only ISO is ever changed... sometimes Aperture, but with no particular reason other than overall exposure changes. Shutter speed stuck at 1/40, regardless of anything else. Complains she doesn't have a Sports Mode. 200+ photos posted every few days on Facebook.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18281637
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Been thinking more about this.

My 1D4 is my main body. It has a lot of features and settings that I do not use. Does that mean that I have too much camera? No, not at all - it just means that I don't use all of the features. Just because something goes unused does not mean that it is "too much".

I don't disagree with that at all.

Yowsers! Would that be considered cheating?!

You also sell your images, so this is more than reasonable.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18281637
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If they made a 50MP still camera that could shoot at extremely high speed, like 25 or 30 frames per second, then I would end up with a lot more images that would have the legs of running deer and the wings of flying birds in ideal positions.
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Tom, maybe you need a 50MP movie camera? ; )

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18281808
Tom, maybe you need a 50MP movie camera? ; )

If only there was such a thing!

I googled it for you: 50MP "movie camera"

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18281907
I googled it for you: 50MP "movie camera"

Sadly, it seems to be a scam or, at best, a huge typographical error ...

"Kodak 50mp V550 Digital MP4 Movie Camera+dock +5


Standard features CCD resolution 5.36 megapixel (2690 ?1994 pixels) Image resolution 5.0 megapixel (2576 ?1932 pixels) Picture quality 5.0 MP for prints up to 20 ?30 in. (50 ?75 cm)4.4 MP optimized ratio for 4 ?6 in. (10 ?15 cm) prints4.0 MP for prints up to 20 ?30 in. ... AND SO ON"

It's a pity it may have falsely raised his hopes. Cruel.

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PhotosGuy wrote in post #18281907
I googled it for you: 50MP "movie camera"

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Unfortunately, not even the $45,000 Hassy comes close to meeting my needs or desires:

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18281912
..
Unfortunately, not even the $45,000 Hassy comes close to meeting my needs or desires:
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I think you're too much photographer for any camera.

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Nathan wrote in post #18281914
I think you're too much photographer for any camera.

Oh, no! Not at all!

It's not that I am "too much photographer", for I am anything but that. It is merely that what I want, in terms of print size and fine detail, is more that what is possible with today's gear. So it's not about my skill at all, it's just about what I want my clients and myself to be able to put up on the walls.

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I guess I should have dug a little deeper. I was thinking of the Hulcher which we used to document car-guard rail contact. It used film at about 50 fps & there were other high speed cameras available, so I thought that there would be digital varieties by now. There probably are, but my search terms obviously didn't come up with them. Sorry!