few days late.. but this is an interesting topic for me.
I've been using my DiMage Z2 since May of 2004. I owned a DiMage S414 from June 2003 until I bought my Z2. I had considered buying a 300d back when I bought my Z2.. and have been looking at dSLR's ever since. As of a year or so ago, after shooting two years with my Minolta's and having shot about 18 thousand photos during that time (and now that I look back on it, most of it was junk), I was determined to buy a dSLR.
It's been a year since I "made up my mind". A year ago, after shooting with both a 300d and a d70 I was pretty sure I wanted a d70. However, I haven't really had the money to buy one since that time. I've had to continue shooting with my camera that's worth a lot less than $300 these days. I've shot close to another 10,000 photos during this past year. My camera is starting to exhibit some problems.. buttons are starting to stick, and so on.
But I've learned more about photography and taking good photos during this time.. this time that I would have loved to have had a dSLR but was forced to use what I had.. than the previous two years combined. In fact, I've learned a lot more than that. In a way I'm glad that I haven't been able to buy a better camera just yet. Being forced to use a cheaper camera has helped me figure what exactly I want from a camera and why I need a better camera.
I don't need a better camera in order to take better photos. I've learned to take better photos with my existing camera, and I'm pretty sure I can continue to learn to take even better photos still. But a good SLR will work better as a tool than my current camera. An SLR would allow me to take the photos I want to take more quickly and efficiently, and would give me more control over the shots. I will miss less shots than I do now.. I won't have to spend 20 seconds changing basic settings like aperture, iso, and shutter speed that can be done in less than 5 seconds on a nicely designed SLR. An SLR will give me more options.. and will simply allow me to grow further and more quickly than my current camera will allow.
But do I
need a newer/better camera? No.. except that my current camera likely won't last another 5000 photos. As I said, I'm quite confident that I can continue to produce better photos as time goes on even though I'll have been using a $400 set of equipment for 2+ years. I just look forward to a more efficient picture taking experience.. and hopefully better photos a year from now than what can be produced with my current camera..
not because of the camera per say, but because the camera would allow me to continue to improve more quickly than my existing camera.
End rant.
