PhotoSnob- To be or not to be

2005-10-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

PhotoSnob: What Drives Photography?

The digital photo craze- Megapixels, frames per second, storage, zoom - terminology once used by technology geeks, now common banter between soccer moms at halftime. The purchasing power of millions of people in the world, looking to achieve the 'perfect' photo - the choices that are finally made in our best attempt to prepare for the unexpected - what will soon coin the expression - "You are what you shoot."

Thousands of Websites go to extremities to discuss photography equipment - all avoiding the inevitable - to be viewed as a photosnob, but can we avoid being one? At the heart of every photography lives a photosnob, whether it be your equipment, your carefully calibrated computer monitor, or the 'secret' lab you only trust with your priceless memories.

We all need a place to play, and let's just stop wasting time beating around the bush, and get to the meat of topic - why my toys are better than yours.

I dreamed of a place where everyone can just lay it down - put down the latest issue of Consumer Report, and hide the browser windows of so-called 'objective' and 'authoritative' reviews. Just state the reasons why your equipment is better than mine, and maybe we'll get somewhere.

Canon 20D
It's great! I have 3 of them. Tell me what other camera can do 5 fps, ISO 3200, has a metal body, a sensor that easily prints gorgeous 30x40 prints - all under $2000. I gave up my Nikon D70, my Canon 1D, and even set aside my Mamiya 645AF for this puppy.

I can't stand any of the prosumer Nikon-based DSLR's, such as the D70, S3. Plastic body, and just a sloppy sounding shutter.

Canon 580EX
What a let down - for all that money, I can't even use it w/ my Quantum Freewires, w/o a PC connector, nor universal optical triggering. This has got to be the most frustrating purchase I've ever made. My Nikon SB-800DX is so much better - optical triggering from any source, PC connector, an included diffusor and gels, plus it's cheaper!

Carl Zeiss 50/1.7
With the adapter on my 20D, this lens is the sharpest of all lenses I've ever used - but w/ the 20D's lack of interchangeable focusing screens, it can be difficult at times to more modern AF lenses. Yeah, yeah - I can get a new screen, but even then - every day handheld usage doesn't quite beat even the net result my mediocre 17-85 Canon IS lens. I needed to shoot landscape from a tripod to realize the advantage, and even tried tweaking my unsharp mask to, unsuccesfully, sharpen things up.