It seems a lifetime since my very first photography class in high school, the year 1981. My only previous experience with cameras and this most exquisite of arts and communication, was small portable 110 and 126 style cartridge machines that had negatives so small I could not believe they could be enlarged. But, they gave me an introduction to a treasure that would remain with me to this exact moment.
To today's digital photographer, these look like toys, I'm sure. But they did a great job in getting me started. Trial and error were how we learned the hobby/trade and progressed to the more advanced 35mm.
Eventually I learned to shoot with a pinhole camera, developing with paper only and moving up to black and white processing and enlarging, eventually to colour. We had a great teacher and by the time graduation came in 1985, I was rather good at it! I'd used a few different 35mm models in high school, the primary bodies being a Minolta 370, a 700 and then a Pentax P3 .
Then I was bit by the Nikon bug. These bodies, hell even a used one, were usually way out of my price range. But I did move up to a Nikon FE, FG and an FM. These were amazing cameras and I still have the black body FG and also an N80 with grip.
Then the digital camera wave hit, obliterating most of the film market in a few years. It took me ages to convert, shooting film for customers, weddings and other up until 2002, when I started to really see the writing on the wall. I was really hesitant to go digital, primarily due to the cost of the bodies, which were up there at $1000 or more. And that was for 3 or 4 mega pixel cameras. But I knew film processing would dry up and I would be forced to make the jump.
Then, after my final trip to New York City and then a European adventure in 2004 that had me returning with 20 + rolls of film, I knew I had to change. It was costing a fortune to get them developed and the results from the various processing machines was wild in scale, some being horrible with light leaks and crummy enlargements. So, I saved up and bought a Nikon D50, a 6.1 mp digital. I was immediately in love with digital and the options of instant photos that could be sent to my desktop computer.
Occasionally I would print photos for my albums but that was quickly becoming a thing of the past as well. Life was good!
As a freelance photographer since the late 80's and a wedding shooter for friends, I had learned to love digital. But I saw a trend in clarity and crispness that every new mega pixel was bringing to the marketplace. It was getting better and better but the bodies still out of reach in price. My Nikon D50 was purchased in 2005 and I shot many thousands of images with this delightful camera. But it was becoming dated and while I had good glass with the lenses owned, I needed an upgrade. The D3200 became the replacement in 2013, becoming a new friend that now shot HD video. Great camera and one that still holds up great at 24 mp.
This has been a delightful body for me and produced some amazing photos over the last few years. But I wanted to move up, not in mega pixels but in what the camera could do, it's auto focus capabilities and upgrades in so many other areas. I knew it was going to be the most expensive camera I had purchased and held off till something became affordable. One day I was at Pro Photo in Portland and saw a used D300 pro body for sale for $250, with a grip and accessories. This camera is a classic in the Nikon lineup and even though it is 12.1 MP, the glass I was using made this no issue at all, especially as I was shooting B/W with it most of the time, in manual or AP mode. So, I bought it as a backup body but it did start to become my primary camera due to it's quality, incredible images and construction.
The use of the D300 really spoke volumes to me about quality and advancement of today's DSLR cameras and the market they are such a part of. As I had always known since the beginning days of photography, it is the glass and light, the composition and skill of the photographer more than the body. Yes, each camera has qualities that help but ultimately it is the glass and skill that make an image unique. Did megapixels really make THAT big a difference these days or was it the additional aspects of the camera that were driving prices so high?
After researching this for years and looking over thousands of images shot at 6mp to 36mp, both colour and B/W...it truly is amazing how little difference a high MP rating is on images that are not blown up larger than an 8 x 10. Unless using a tiny pinhole camera on a cell phone or Go Pro camera, there is really no reason a 12 mp DSLR with a good lens can't shoot as well as a 24 MP body with the same lens. The quality is amazing no matter what you shoot if the glass and light are good. The D50, moved on to my brother for some shooting, still produces amazing photos at 6.1 MP. How far will the MP market go and will that really justify a body being sold for $2000+ ? Not in my opinion. Maybe for the construction, the seals, the auto focus and metering capabilities,etc.
About a month ago I decided to upgrade to the soon to be discontinued D7100 at $699 as it had dropped $88 over the past 6 months. It is a 24 MP as well with HD video but the quality and additional capabilities make this my primary for many years to come.
When I see other photographers shooting with cameras I drool over, like the D750, D810 or D5...sure I get a wee tinge of jealousy. They are well made, expensive and have a certain "look at me, I'm awesome" factor . But that doesn't mean they take great photos as a camera can produce horrible photos no matter what.
Where will photography go in the future? I believe higher mega pixels, more mirrorless bodies, more metering and faster auto focus. But the same reason we use them is the image. And as I shoot stills, not many moving subjects, my cameras are doing JUST FINE.
Here are a few photos from the past few years I have shot with the D3200, D300 and D7100.
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