Don’t mind me, I’m just venting.
Have you ever tried to talk to a friend and known you were shouting into the wind?
I was discussing my newest camera with someone and he asked why I didn’t buy a Nikon D3. He seemed to be under the impression that it would take better photographs than my D300.
The only major differences that I am aware of are the D3’s full frame advantage, face recognition and faster frame rate. — Oh, yeah, and PRICE
There are some other differences but either camera is more than I need.
Now he’s hot to buy a DSLR and has been looking at some of the “deals” on Ebay. These almost invariably include a good body and a bunch of so-so lenses.
I’m not a particularly good amateur but I do know that a great lens on a good camera beats a so-so lens on a great camera.
I suggested that he take some classes at the community college.
I also suggested that he go out and practice by shooting lots of frames of anything that was of interest and see what worked and what didn’t.
He has a copy of Photoshop CS2 and a good monitor so I told him he could borrow one of my teach yourself books.
He vetoed all three options. I guess they require more work than he is willing to invest.
Since he got on this camera kick, everybody he knows knows that he wants to take pictures of models exclusively.
He already bought a nice studio lighting set-up and he plans on using his wife as his first model. (Bad idea! Wait until she decides the camera makes her look fat.)
Neither of them have a clue about make-up and his preparation consists of reading camera reviews and printing something on studio lighting that he found online.
Now, almost every guy I know, including myself, seems to wind up with expensive toys sooner or later. but we generally understand that a certain level of training and practice is required to get the most out of the equipment.
This guy on the other hand is one of those people who honestly believes that he can just buy all the right equipment and be an instant pro.
I have given up arguing or even trying to explain things to him, I just smile and nod a lot.
A few months from now he’ll be frustrated and not want to even talk about the subject.
If everything runs true to course I should be able to get his entire outfit for less than half what he’s about to pay. I just hope that the high end Canon is too much money and he goes with the D3, because all my lenses are Nikon.
You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved, but sometimes you can profit from their mistakes.