Was your choice the right one?

That wasn't one of their best was it? terrible iso handling was its down fall as far as I was concerned
I up graded to a 7D from 450D and it was my first experience of a decent camera that was up there with 5Dii & iv owners ! !
It did not take me long to discover that 7D ISO limit was 800, any thing more then noise was heavy.
I remember going on TP meet in London and a Pro guy mentioned way did you get 7D as noise is bad, I pointed at his 5Diii or iv he had, and told him I can not afford three and half grand camera and fifteen hundred lens ! ! !
However with todays Noise Software owning a 7D would not be too bad !
 
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the Canon 350D was also my first Digital SLR and was a revelation to me , I’ve still got mine and it still works even though it’s a bit battered , I gradually upgraded going through 40D, 7D, 7Dmk2 as well as a 550D and 6D 2 and am now using an R5 , to be honest I’ve never considered changing to another manufacturer , have always been happy with Canon also because their lenses are superb and customer support has been excellent
I found the 7D image quality to be good , just need to nail exposure
the autofocus tracking of moving subjects like birds in flight wasn’t very good on my 7D though, that was the reason for me to go for the 7D mk 2 which had excellent autofocus
 
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It did not take me long to discover that 7D ISO limit was 800,
Curiously, I found that mine was better at 800 than 400, go figure as the Americans say.

However with todays Noise Software owning a 7D would not be too bad !
That's a fair point, Just several years too late on the software.
Everything moves on, cameras software etc.
Who knows where we'll be in 5 or 10 years time?
 
I up graded to a 7D from 450D and it was my first experience of a decent camera that was up there with 5Dii & iv owners ! !
It did not take me long to discover that 7D ISO limit was 800, any thing more then noise was heavy.
I remember going on TP meet in London and a Pro guy mentioned way did you get 7D as noise is bad, I pointed at his 5Diii or iv he had and mention I can not afford three and half grand camera ! !
However with todays Noise Software owning a 7D would not be too bad !

Curiously, I found that mine was better at 800 than 400, go figure as the Americans say.


That's a fair point, Just several years too late on the software.
Everything moves on, cameras software etc.
Who knows where we'll be in 5 or 10 years time?

that’s a very good point , I’ve been going though my old shots and reprocessing them with DXO 5 and Topaz , it’s amazing what you can do now
 
I used Minolta X700 35mm film camera before I got my first DSLR, a EOS 450D, however it could have easily have been a purchased of Nikon. Jessops were offering a deal at the time on the 450D with half price Tamron zoom and interest free for 24 months ! !
If the deal had been a Nikon I properly would have brought Nikon instead.
My 450D was basic which was good as I had to learn how to understand a lot of basic skills that other top camera models made easy. I upgraded to 7D and loved it appart from the noise issue. One thing I did notice was that Nikon cameras from lower models to top ones were sharper than canon due to the heavy AA filter Canon decide to use and cripple their cameras.
For a holiday camera I purchased a Sony NEX5R and what a cracking little camera only let down buy OKish lens.

I now own 7Dii a very good upgrade from 7D, Sony NEX5R, Sony A6600 which is great camera and I use my Canon L lens on it and love the results, Canon R7 which for all its cons and it should have been 7Dii mirrorless successor. The eye AF is alien technology and very sticky, though not as good as R5 or R6ii as the larger senor is much better for eye tracking. The R7 is a cheap mirrorless camera with bloody good tracking AF.

I was regretting buying the R7 as I had no walk around lens and do not like the APSC RF glass at the moment from Canon, also my Sigma 17-70 DC F2.8-4 OS HSM ( which is a great APSC lens ) has a pulsing issue on the R7, and the IBIS on R7 would not function with a third party lens. The sigma 17-70 works fine on my 7Dii and I have no issues at all.
This issue started me thinking I might sell Canon and go all in with Sony. However I have order a used Canon EF-S 17-55 IS USM which has some great reviews. If this works, which I believe it will I will have my main camera back. As I was using my A6600 as my walk around and my R7 for wildlife & motorsports only using my canon 70-300L f4-5.6 & 100-400L Mkii.
 
My first proper camera was a Fuji X-T20, which to be perfectly honest I bought on the strength of a) reading some good reviews and b) thinking that it looked really cool.

Although I had a vague understanding of the exposure triangle, in practice I didn't really know what I was doing much of the time, and so I used to mostly shoot in aperture priority mode. I got a few good photos, but I also had a few occasions where I could see a shot but couldn't capture it; inevitably followed by a bit of a mental slump, and feeling like "all the gear, no idea".

When the pandemic hit I had a bit of a cash issue, so I sold it, along with the lenses I'd picked up, and bought a Lumix FZ2000 bridge camera. I used that for a couple of years, watched loads of YouTube videos & tutorials, got into a couple of forums, and did a one-to-one workshop with a photographer; after all that I felt much more confident, and started shooting in manual most of the time (RIAT a couple of years ago was an exception; a couple of times I used shutter priority to make sure I got the prop blur, but didn't miss the shot fiddling with my camera).
All the time I was using the Lumix though, I missed the tactility of my Fuji, and decided that for my 50th I wanted everyone to buy me a new camera.

Late last year I found an X-T30 with the XF 18-55 lens *super* cheap - like literally too cheap to pass up on (when the cashier checked the price she actually gasped at what a good deal it was), so I bought that, and told my wife that instead of a camera for my birthday I wanted a lens :D

Since then I've absolutely *loved* shooting with it, and have experimented with some cheap manual primes, which I enjoy very much. I'm very happy with the shots I'm getting from it, and I can't say enough how much I enjoy using it - I don't miss my Lumix at all. At some point I want to get an X-T4, just for the IBIS apart from anything else, although I'm at the stage now where I know enough about my settings that when I'm using the primes I can generally get to a fast enough shutter speed that it's not an issue (and it's all good practice at keeping my hands steady, right?) :)
 
I tried pretty much every major brand back in my student/film days, and from 110 to large format. Finances dictated what I actually bought for myself, and that was a cheap Cosina clone with a Pentax K-mount. Back then, you could be very cheap Praktica and Zenit cameras for peanuts. But Nikon was the brand I desrired, for various reasons. I ended up with a Nikon film system, and went through a fair few cameras and lenses. I even dabbled in the Canon AF system to see what it was all about, but happily went back to Nikon because I preferred the ergonomics, mainly. I nearly got into the Minolta AF system, but life conspired to prevent that. Which I'm kind of glad about really; Minolta made some excellent cameras but the Nikon system was just better for me.

My move into digital was dictated by what I had already; a small selection of lenses that would at least work on a digital body, and I didn't at that time have much money for new kit. I've moved up into the Z mount system, and again, my existing kit was still useable. So I'm ultimately very happy to be a 'Nikon user'. Like others here, I wouldn't consider changing to a different system now. I did have a little think about it just before buying a Z6, tried a few different options in shops, but nothing swayed me away from Nikon.

I suppose my choice was the 'right' one, because the equipment I've bought has enabled me to take the kind of pictures I want. I think the actual brand is secondary really; I've always found Nikon stuff to be a little more robust and reliable than other brands, but I'm sure I'd be just as happy had I gone an different route and ended up with Canon. Or Sony. I suppose the big question is; if I was starting afresh right now, would I still go with Nikon? I'm not so sure that's an easy question to answer....
 
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There’s no ‘wrong’ decision to make, this thread has shown that every system is capable of producing some questionable cameras, but even those could still be used to produce great images with care.

One day I’ll go through my old wedding portfolio and pull out some high iso images from the 7d (some say unusable - my customers never complained).
 
I came to a bit of a crossroads with my gear. I was happy with my Nikon DSLR's, I mainly used my D5 and D850 for my motorsport work and was heavily invested in some expensive fast Nikon glass. I wanted to try video work but knew the Nikon's were not that good so I purchased a Z6 and loved it. I fell for the EVF, it's a proper game changer IMO and it go me wanting a D5/D850 cross in mirrorless form. Unfortunately at that time, the Z9 was not available and I mulled switching to either a Sony A1 or Canon R3 and then changing lots of glass. Fortunately the Z9 came out and it saved my losing a lot of money on the glass (even though I've almost changed them all to Z mount now) but I still wonder how good the Sony or Canon offerings are, especially after some trying times with the Z9. It's a fabulous camera, my keeper rate has gone up and now I have a Z8 to partner it I'm happy. But I guess I'm like a lot of us and I do mull over whether I did the right thing by sticking with Nikon.
 
Had various Canon's. 50D was my fav.

Not got any now. Wouldnt know where to start!
 
I came to a bit of a crossroads with my gear. I was happy with my Nikon DSLR's, I mainly used my D5 and D850 for my motorsport work and was heavily invested in some expensive fast Nikon glass. I wanted to try video work but knew the Nikon's were not that good so I purchased a Z6 and loved it. I fell for the EVF, it's a proper game changer IMO and it go me wanting a D5/D850 cross in mirrorless form. Unfortunately at that time, the Z9 was not available and I mulled switching to either a Sony A1 or Canon R3 and then changing lots of glass. Fortunately the Z9 came out and it saved my losing a lot of money on the glass (even though I've almost changed them all to Z mount now) but I still wonder how good the Sony or Canon offerings are, especially after some trying times with the Z9. It's a fabulous camera, my keeper rate has gone up and now I have a Z8 to partner it I'm happy. But I guess I'm like a lot of us and I do mull over whether I did the right thing by sticking with Nikon.
The soft ware updates have transformed the Z9 to a very powerful and capable camera !
 
There’s no ‘wrong’ decision to make, this thread has shown that every system is capable of producing some questionable cameras, but even those could still be used to produce great images with care.

One day I’ll go through my old wedding portfolio and pull out some high iso images from the 7d (some say unusable - my customers never complained).

The images still stand up, i sold this one today, from an event yesterday.

I still use the 7D as a remote camera, as its kind of expendable if it were to get taken out.... so cavieted by the fact the focus might be slightly off where i want it, even so looks indicative of/close to 7D normality to me. I.e a bit fuzzy and a bit noisy.

However when comparing to the clean images on my R5 its just night and day... but my point of references are only a 20D, 7D or R5 not the best sample size....


Capture.JPG

Final processed image. Had to do significant noise reduction (close to 90%) on lightroom sky adjustment layer/mask. Could have "got it right" in camera but as i say, remote camera so no control. This just highlights another limitation of the 7D, very little latitude to bring out the best of an image, if you don't get it quite right.

IMG_4892.jpg


Its just generally soft - but of course there is the caviet that it was a remote camera shot, compare that to the R5 of the same corner though and its just night and day, which I guess you would expect given the difference in time period and cost between them, however even for 10 years ago I am not sure I'd be happy with the 7D shot if it was from my main camera.

5G4A3329-Edit.jpg
 
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The images still stand up, i sold this one today, from an event yesterday.

I still use the 7D as a remote camera, as its kind of expendable if it were to get taken out.... so cavieted by the fact the focus might be slightly off where i want it, even so looks indicative of/close to 7D normality to me. I.e a bit fuzzy and a bit noisy.

However when comparing to the clean images on my R5 its just night and day... but my point of references are only a 20D, 7D or R5 not the best sample size....


View attachment 392971

Final processed image. Had to do significant noise reduction (close to 90%) on lightroom sky adjustment layer/mask. Could have "got it right" in camera but as i say, remote camera so no control. This just highlights another limitation of the 7D, very little latitude to bring out the best of an image, if you don't get it quite right.

View attachment 392972


Its just generally soft - but of course there is the caviet that it was a remote camera shot, compare that to the R5 of the same corner though and its just night and day, which I guess you would expect given the difference in time period and cost between them, however even for 10 years ago I am not sure I'd be happy with the 7D shot if it was from my main camera.

View attachment 392973
I’m not by any stretch suggesting that the 7d IQ compares well to any modern camera (or indeed most of its competitors at the time).

My point is; despite its legendary terrible IQ it’s a perfectly usable camera. And you’ve proven that cos you’re still using it ;)
 
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I’m not by any stretch suggesting that the 7d IQ compares well to any modern camera (or indeed most of its competitors at the time).

My point is; despite its legendary terrible IQ it’s a perfectly usable camera. And you’ve proven that cos you’re still using it ;)

exactly, but every time i look at it them in more than 1:1 i do cringe at that noise and the fuzzyness it creates :p
 
No. And, a bit of explanation - started with Canon 5D (works camera) before getting Canon 5D2 which was traded for 5D3 then 6D over a period of 5 years. Then changed over to Nikon D750 for 2 years. Then, Canon R6 (big mistake - explanation at end). Then, stopped photography full-time so sold (!!!) and got a Sony A73 and baffled by the focusing system. Currently selling A73 and got the A9 - again not the most intuitive for focusing.

Should have just stuck with the R6 - I could literally focus in a crowd on my selected person/s (!) within seconds. This was, for me, the game changer.

I was expecting the Sony's to make selecting and focusing similar but, it's so much more complicated! Select the right focus option + zone etc etc etc. And, Sony touch screen - really!!! The only touch thing about even the A9 screen is tapping to select a focus point which it actually rarely selects and if it does, can't be sure because you can't see the selection point to see what you've selected.

Maybe, I have rose-tinted glasses or something for the R6 ???
 
Started off with Pentax (via Chinon - a CP-7m) as I bought an unwanted prize off a colleague - a Z10....

Still have film Pentax, and use them. Went into digital age with Pentax, *ist D, *istDL, K10D, K20D, K-5 and K-3 before arriving to my current K-1....

About 12-13 years ago went Full-frame. At that time, Pentax had no offerings and most FF lenses were discontinued. Choice between D700, D3 and 5D2 or 3. Went with D3 because it had grip and two card slots; declined the Canon because a) I hate their menus and b) SWMBO uses Canon and would 'claim' the body,,, So APS-c was Pentax and D3 was Nikon. At that time AF and flash were advantages of the Nikon I acknowledged but once I'd paid out for the camera budget for lenses was limited, and the choice was not so good - the 24-120 of that era was pants and mid-range lenses were old generation (AF-D)....Pentax DA/DA* lenses were more modern.

Full steam to 2015 I needed a 2nd body for major holiday so got a D7100. I did most things well except for one thing. The pitiful buffer. To begin with the K-3 was sidelined because of the D7100s superior AF, but after 3-5 shots the camera locks, but then I took the K-3 with me (and it got more use). Then the D500 came, game changer. It became my sole APS-c camera, and replaced the D3 as well. So come 2017, it was Nikon APS-C and Pentax FF.

Then I realised one of my systems needed a 2nd body - so got a D810. Never truly got on with it. 'Replaced' by D850 (off forum) last year. why did I wait do long? It's the do-all camera....perfect companion to D500. Menus familiar (and not dissimilar to Pentax), same cards and form factor.

Still have the K-1 - but since complimented by D-FAs 15-30 and 24-70 and D-FA*70-200 (sharpest lens I have) which I use for weekend trips or workshops....

Next step, when to buy a Z-8...
 
Frankly I’m all over the place (GAS or something else)?
DSLR/Mirrorless: Had a Canon 100D that I loved. Upgraded to a 77D which was even better. Then started lusting after mirrorless and swapped for a Fuji X-S10. Lovely camera but didnt warm to it. Went back to another 77D. Eventually decided to go back to mirrorless and guess what? Another X-S10! I’ve warmed to it more, but still miss and desire Canon greatly for some unexplainable reason.

Others: I’ve owned several Panasonic Lumix travel cameras, but now have a Sony RX100vi for pocketability esp when travelling abroad or travelling light. A fabulous camera.

And I also have a Panasonic Lumix FZ2000 bridge when I know I need extra reach at the expense of IQ (over the X-S10) and/or don’t want to be carting extra lenses around.

I'm still toying with the idea of going back to Canon, with the R10 or at a £ push the R7, but for what I do the R7 is probably overkill .
 
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I’ve have had an interest in photography as an amateur for over forty years and I do have a tendency to change cameras! I was very settled with Fuji for a few years and had plenty glass to go with it.

As technology in cameras improved I was getting more intrigued by the claims of fast tracking autofocus and FF. So I sold all my Fuji gear and bought an R5 and some glass. What I have found is that I love it when I take the camera out but for various reasons that happens less and less. When I go on holiday I will lust for a good compact camera and bought a X100V but rarely took it out with me and used my phone. So the X100V was sold.

I have just returned from a holiday and made the decision not to take my camera! 90% of the time I was happy with that decision and the photos the iPhone 14 pro provided me with, as holiday memories.

if I’m asked to photograph family or friends events (celebrations, evening wedding do etc) I will take the R5 and enjoy my photography. But these events are three times a year at most.

So I’m back at the point when I have photography gear worth a lot getting minimal use. Again I’m considering a change. not on this occasion lusting for the latest and greatest. But to…… well I’m not sure ! The best camera is the one that’s with you and that’s just not happening at present.

So on topic yes I have made a number of errors when changing gear. My most memorable was buying three different versions over 5 years of the Sony RX100 series and just couldn’t get on with the camera. I never learn! Fortunately, I was in a position to take the financial hit
 
While I initially recommended the Sony Alpha A7 III, I actually ended up using the Nikon Z7 II and boy, oh boy, it blew me away! The image quality, the autofocus, and the overall performance were off the charts. It truly elevated my photography game to a whole new level.
 
There have been a few really in depth discussions where people have asked advice or opinions about what camera or system would be right for them.

It would be interesting to hear how they feel about their choice after they have had chance to settle in with whatever they bought.

I changed to Panasonic Lumix M43 about 20 months ago, and for me it has added a lot to my enjoyment, and was the right system for me, and feel no urge to look for anything else, and don't feel I am missing anything I really need.
In terms of weight, features, performance and affordability, it would be impossible for me to do better for the way I use it.

As many say, it's always going to be subjective and perhaps dependent on what you photograph, but for me I started with Canon and quickly moved into FF with the classic 5D, loved the images it produced but the AF was poor. Moved to Nikon with their glorious D3. What a camera.

An unfortunate incident whilst hiking lost me both D3 cameras, so I downsized and shifted to Sony and their CSC systems, ending up with the A9 and its epic autofocus system. However, I was never happy with the image quality and found myself rarely using it, I even tried the 52 week thing to get some inspiration back but struggled to be honest, especially with the ever improving phone cameras.

I wanted to get into MF, but autofocus was a concern for me, but I missed proper photography, Figured I would get an inexpensive stop-gap so back to DSLR it was for a used bargain and this is where Nikon came back into play as their D810 offered near MF quality as base ISO (obviously it will still never be "medium format") with a fairly decent autofocus system and at a crazy low price, along with plenty of inexpensive high quality used lens about to complement it.

I forgot how much I liked Nikon's colour science and image quality and I will most likely either upgrade to a D850 for the even better autofocus system and it won't really cost much to do this, or I will shift into their CSC systems, but this will be far more expensive and perhaps for my casual use a little too much. Either way, it looks like I'll be sticking with Nikon for a while now and it feels right for me.
 
As many say, it's always going to be subjective and perhaps dependent on what you photograph, but for me I started with Canon and quickly moved into FF with the classic 5D, loved the images it produced but the AF was poor. Moved to Nikon with their glorious D3. What a camera.

An unfortunate incident whilst hiking lost me both D3 cameras, so I downsized and shifted to Sony and their CSC systems, ending up with the A9 and its epic autofocus system. However, I was never happy with the image quality and found myself rarely using it, I even tried the 52 week thing to get some inspiration back but struggled to be honest, especially with the ever improving phone cameras.

I wanted to get into MF, but autofocus was a concern for me, but I missed proper photography, Figured I would get an inexpensive stop-gap so back to DSLR it was for a used bargain and this is where Nikon came back into play as their D810 offered near MF quality as base ISO (obviously it will still never be "medium format") with a fairly decent autofocus system and at a crazy low price, along with plenty of inexpensive high quality used lens about to complement it.

I forgot how much I liked Nikon's colour science and image quality and I will most likely either upgrade to a D850 for the even better autofocus system and it won't really cost much to do this, or I will shift into their CSC systems, but this will be far more expensive and perhaps for my casual use a little too much. Either way, it looks like I'll be sticking with Nikon for a while now and it feels right for me.

Until more images are posted in the Digital Medium Format thread...........................................
 
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My very first (real) camera back in ‘92 was a K1000. Starting out in life I was not able to expand my kit so it was a 50mm and that was that.

When digital came along I went Canon and I had…and still have… a number of them. In the early days of digital Pentax did not have anything that excited me.

Started building a few MF film systems and now I have a few more cameras than the Missus is truly happy with.

For now I am embarking on a K1000 and Pentax-M lens hoarding adventure…I think owning the gear is trumping the actual joy of photography. And I am not planning to get rid of anything either…
 
I'm a working photographer and for 20 years used canon until I was convinced that Sony is the only way forward and I was missing a trick . So I sold my r6 cameras and bought 3 Sony a74s. This was around 6 months ago ...so far I have sent the cameras back to Sony 3 times due to faults ...I never once sent a canon away in 20 years . The sonys are slower in every way including autofocus and eye auto focus ......the colours are crap along with inaccurate white balance ....the menu is terrible....they look and feel like they were made by lego ...the battery life is not as good ....the button placement is crap as I keep changing settings when the cameras are banging against my hip ...the screens are not as good .....the hot shoe design is terrible.....the weather rating doesn't come close to canon .......so yeah I'm well pleased for changing lol
 
I'm a working photographer and for 20 years used canon until I was convinced that Sony is the only way forward and I was missing a trick . So I sold my r6 cameras and bought 3 Sony a74s. This was around 6 months ago ...so far I have sent the cameras back to Sony 3 times due to faults ...I never once sent a canon away in 20 years . The sonys are slower in every way including autofocus and eye auto focus ......the colours are crap along with inaccurate white balance ....the menu is terrible....they look and feel like they were made by lego ...the battery life is not as good ....the button placement is crap as I keep changing settings when the cameras are banging against my hip ...the screens are not as good .....the hot shoe design is terrible.....the weather rating doesn't come close to canon .......so yeah I'm well pleased for changing lol
So, just to be clear…DO you like Sony cameras or not?:p
 
It's an interesting question and the obvious 'issue' is that people often don't settle and/or are always chasing the next thing.

Personally I'm wondering whether having rediscovered the joys of photography I should be buying a 'better' DSLR than my D90 in order to keep using the lenses I have or 'go mirrorless'.
 
It's an interesting question and the obvious 'issue' is that people often don't settle and/or are always chasing the next thing.

Personally I'm wondering whether having rediscovered the joys of photography I should be buying a 'better' DSLR than my D90 in order to keep using the lenses I have or 'go mirrorless'.
Mirrorless?? That is a HELL NO from me…but that’s me…

My late model 5D bodies sit rarely used while I shoot my 5D1 often…

Hang on to that D90.
 
I seem to have a weird fascination with cameras.. I started out with a d3100 then went to a d7000 before selling due to their weight and going mirrorless.

Small to start with with an e-m10 before I needed better AF so got an e-m1. Then came many many lenses and suddenly I had a heavy camera bag again.

So I got a Fuji xf1, then when that died I got an x30. Then an x100T

Then I decided a fixed lens was too restrictive so I bought a d500 and added a cheap d600 after.

oh, a heavy camera bag again…

The X100T went, an e-m10.2 came. Followed by an e-m1.2

I’ve been here before haven’t I ?

This year I decided I wanted a camera for travel so I sold the m43 gear and got an x-t20 and 3 lenses. In all honesty, it’s probably bigger and heavier than the Olympus gear. And I miss the articulated screen and IBIS..

Was my choice the right one ? I suspect not…. again…
 
Current camera is the only camera I have bought new; I love it to bits - as much as my film cameras which I've never experienced before so Im a happy bunny :D
 
Thanks. I've had a quick look round and that was top of the list – a few hundred seems to buy you a good one.

Having said that, I also have and A7iii in mind because, y'know, GAS!
Yep…boy and DO I know GAS…;)
 
I'm a working photographer and for 20 years used canon until I was convinced that Sony is the only way forward and I was missing a trick . So I sold my r6 cameras and bought 3 Sony a74s. This was around 6 months ago ...so far I have sent the cameras back to Sony 3 times due to faults ...I never once sent a canon away in 20 years . The sonys are slower in every way including autofocus and eye auto focus ......the colours are crap along with inaccurate white balance ....the menu is terrible....they look and feel like they were made by lego ...the battery life is not as good ....the button placement is crap as I keep changing settings when the cameras are banging against my hip ...the screens are not as good .....the hot shoe design is terrible.....the weather rating doesn't come close to canon .......so yeah I'm well pleased for changing lol
Wow you’ve been unlucky :(
 
I have generally owned several cameras at once. Those I like, I keep, those that don't work out, move on to other users,

After all, variety is the spice of life... :woot:

My cameras DSC-R1 07075.jpg
 
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