Whats the difference?

[Dogmatix]

Hey all.

Although I am happy with my choice in Picture taking machine... the Nikon D5000, I was having a random thinking moment and wondered.

If the picture quality is 80% the glass you put on the front of a DSLR... Whats say the differ between my D5000 and say a D3X?

Other than the price tag they hold. :shrug:

Also, what makes a amatuer camera, and a pro camera?

Cheers all.

 

[awp]

Get hold of a pro body and feel the difference.
+ build quality
+ weatherproofing
+ shutter lasts to around 300,000 clicks v maybe 50,000
+ much better AF
+ 100% viewfinder
+ Lots of other thingsI can't think of at this time of night

 

[trencheel303]

Bigger, better built, more FPS, better sensor, better noise control, better grip, probably a clearer viewfinder, more controls and dials and buttons and things to press, etc.

40D for instance is bigger and heavier than 400D and is built out of metal not plastic. 1D and 1Ds are built out of bits of battleship but will be substantially heavier...

 

[trencheel303]

it's the same argument as cars, a vauxhall Corsa costing a few grand still gets you from A to B like a ferrari but, well, you work out the rest

 

[TheNissanMan]

it's the same argument as cars, a vauxhall Corsa costing a few grand still gets you from A to B like a ferrari but, well, you work out the rest

And using that argument I've seen Mk1 MR2's beat modified Scooby STI's around a track

So it's the person behind the wheel not the wheels itself

 

[G2EWS]

And using that argument I've seen Mk1 MR2's beat modified Scooby STI's around a track

So it's the person behind the wheel not the wheels itself

That is true,

But I would rather drive 500 miles in a day which I do regularly in my Discovery 3 than an old Suzuki 410!

Same thing with the cameras, I prefer to use my D3X for normal shots and my D700 for low light conditions than my D300 or now very old Fuji S3 or even older Fuji compact.

However, if I was a better photographer then that would help even more!

Regards

Chrsi

 

[taz]

Hey all.

Although I am happy with my choice in Picture taking machine... the Nikon D5000, I was having a random thinking moment and wondered.

If the picture quality is 80% the glass you put on the front of a DSLR... Whats say the differ between my D5000 and say a D3X?

Other than the price tag they hold. :shrug:

Also, what makes a amatuer camera, and a pro camera?

Cheers all.

Are you saying 80% glass 20% camera?

Don't forget the human element - that's got to be the biggest % surely.

 

[Jayst84]

As said, you have to go get hold of one, won't take you long to see the difference then. You can look up the spec sheets as well and see the technical differences for yourself.

Are you saying 80% glass 20% camera?

Don't forget the human element - that's got to be the biggest % surely.

It's also irrelevant when the user is the same person.

 

[Arkady]

Picture-wise not a great deal.
I borrowed a mate's D5000 while out in Afghan and shot a couple of HTS (home-town stories - the sort that go in the locaal papers - basically an environmental portrait that you set up beforehand) jobs with it just to see if it was any good and to prove to her that she'd bought a good camera - guess what?
It is. Very good, in fact.
I used a 24-70 f/2.8 to shoot with and at the size we generally use the images there's no discernable diffference.

I did find the camera too small and fiddly, but after I'd worked out the menu and camera controls which was pretty easy, even without the benefit of the manual due to the homogenised controls (thank you Nikon), it was amazingly easy to use and produced results comparable to the more expensive cameras I use day to day.

Where it falls down is the less robust build-quality and the lack of weatherproofing and seals against dust and clag.
And it's too small for me to use comfortably...

 

[HoppyUK]

You can't say that image quality is 80% lens and 20% camera. There was some truth in that when shooting film as the camera obviously had no influence on that - just a box to hold the film with a shutter in it, basically - but that's not true with digital.

You need both both a high quality image formed by the lens, and a high quality recording medium to capture it. You can't do one without the other so in that sense digital camera and lens are 50/50%, and to extract maximum quality they should be evenly matched.