So I Bought A dSLR That Defies All That I Was Advised Upon

It is probably one of the most breathtaking decisions I have made lately when I got myself an early Christmas present for the next 5 years combined: an entry level full frame camera.  To my dear friends whom I have been bugging for months asking the same set of questions in 101 different ways, thank you for your patience.  I really appreciate it.  Though my final decision is probably not what you would have imagined, your consistent answers have lent me much clarification.  Or so it seems.  I am certainly not as rational as what some friends of mine would think.

OK.  I am most definitely not the smartest dude in town.  I got a shock when I saw the 70-liter dry cabinet delivered to my office.  It is bloody huge!  Big enough to fit a baby inside!  I swear I thought I’ve ordered a 60-liter.  And I got a shock when I held my camera.  So bloody heavy!  Unlike my friend Mark who has also got himself a Nikon camera on the same day (how excited and productive he was!), my accomplishment for day 1 was as follows.

  1. Fully charged the battery!
  2. Took me a long time to tie the stripe.  Really, Nikon should just attach these stripes for us.
  3. Took me a long time to figure out how to attach the bloody heavy lens to the rather heavy body.  I swear I saw virtual dust going into the body while I was holding my breath throughout the nerve-racking process.
  4. Spent a long time staring at that heavy beast pondering: What shall I do next?
  5. Took a picture of Cynthia while she was sleeping.  Then decided against keeping that photo.

This morning I woke up and made some progress.  I managed to set the time zone, date, and time and … time to go to work.

So, why a Nikon D700?  Here is the secret dream world of a simple guy.  The irrational bits first.

  • I love a bigger size, a hand full.  One friend of mine suggested that I should try these bodies before putting down my hard earned cash.  I would agree with her.  Not sure why I trusted my visual instinct so much.
  • Somehow the point-and-shoot picture control dial bugs me.  The one that comes with the landscape, portrait, night scene, and etc. icons.  So I picked D700 as it doesn’t have that dial.  To me, I want the hard way.  Except, now it is so darn hard that I don’t even know how to take a picture.

I know I know … what can I say?!  OK.  Now comes the less irrational bits.

  • I know wise man says “invest in the lenses and not the body”.  I am certainly investing on lenses (got myself a decent Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8) but I am also very hung up on one obscure and basic requirement of mine ever since the day one I started to research on which camera to get: full frame
  • This is a baseline requirement for me because I can safely say that I will keep this body for quite some time.  I am not into the mega pixel race.  That is silly to me because it is highly unlikely that I want my photographs to be printed in an exhibition size.  Not now, not for the next decade.  And since I am happy with the mega pixel and the full frame sensor size, what else would I want from the future upgrades?  Perhaps a video function?  Perhaps a better frame-per-second?  Perhaps a Wi-fi connectivity?  Nah, not for me.
  • I don’t see camera sensors can be larger than the 35mm full frame ones that I have.  Lenses will have to be much bigger than what they already are today.  Nor do I see that sub-frame will be the de facto standard for the professionals.  Hence, I prefer to collect lenses that are made for full frame cameras and not to think of the crop ratio that keeps screwing up my brain.
  • I am aware that sub-frame camera has a perceived farther reach due to the crop ratio.  But I am also aware the advantages of a full-frame that I am happy with.

I am so glad that the days of debat is over.  Next step, figure out how to take pictures!  Stay tuned.

18 thoughts on “So I Bought A dSLR That Defies All That I Was Advised Upon

  1. wilfrid Post author

    James Soh – Thank you! You have made an excellent choice! My friend Mark has got the Nikon D90. I think he loves it a lot. At least he is now taking pictures while I am still trying to customize the menus! Duh! So hard! Lol.

  2. Darkspore

    Take your time. Rome was not built in a day you know. That’s one huge lens hood you’ve got that man… is it built for self-defense when you need to fight with other photographers for a photo shoot?

  3. G

    WOW it is huge!!!
    What does that long lens thing do?

    And a 70litre dry cabinet? Gosh it’s very big! I remember my friend bought something half the size and it was rather big already (??)

    I am looking forward to your photos!!!

  4. wilfrid Post author

    G – Yes, it is bloody huge and heavy! Not the largest hand held lens though. If I get the telephoto zoom lens, it will be 60% longer (physically) and 55% heavier. Gosh, I need to train up my muscles to be a photographer.

    That lens I got is a Nikon 24-70mm. I think it has a decent wide angle for scenery and yet able to take pictures of people. It doesn’t have a long reach and for that, I will need a telephoto lens like I mentioned.

    Erm … please don’t set your expectation too high. My last camera is a tiny little point-and-shoot. So much can go wrong in a dSLR, especially for a newbie like me!

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  6. ndroo

    Hahaha. Glad you are okay with the weight. My old hands can’t stand heavy cams. I now even do without the battery grip on my 40D. Maybe it’s coz I’m too used to carrying plastic cameras like the Diana.

  7. wilfrid Post author

    Ndroo – Looking at the pictures at your site, it doesn’t matter what camera you hold … lol. I am still trying to get used to the weight to be honest. Without the grip, I find it hard to balance the camera with the flash unit attached in upright position. Maybe I just need more practice.

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