For people who have yet to visit New York City, I’d like to point out that the Brooklyn Bridge is actually a nice place to just hang out. The City encourages people to stay up there and relax — there are many benches on the bridge along the walkway. You can sit and look at the Manhattan skyline, look over the water, people-watch, pose for pictures, and gaze at the sunset (or sunrise if you get up early enough).
Continue reading “Hanging Out on the Brooklyn Bridge”Tag: new york city
The New Normal – New York City During the Coronavirus Lull
And yes, it’s a lull. Or at least I believe it’s a lull, since I also believe that virus cases will eventually spike in the city again. As of this writing (August 22, 2020) the COVID-19 case numbers inside New York City are extremely low. According to the New York City Department of Health website, we’re averaging under 200 cases per week in the whole city, and have been this way for a while.
Continue reading “The New Normal – New York City During the Coronavirus Lull”If I Could Start Over…
I have owned many cameras over the years: manual film cameras, point and shoot cameras, Micro Four Thirds cameras, APS-C cameras and professional full-frame cameras.
I’ve also bought lots of different lenses for all of these different cameras and camera formats, from cheap zooms to expensive primes.
But if I could start over, knowing what I know now and having experience with all of this gear, would I make the same choices? Would I buy and own the same stuff?
The answer is no way.
Keep it Simple
Starting over, I would try to keep everything as simple as possible. That means only two cameras. I say two cameras because I do think every photographer needs a backup camera, so in my “starting over” plan that’d mean owning a second copy of the same kind of camera or a closely similar model.
Keep it Cheap
I’ve spent a lot of cash on gear. I wouldn’t do that again. I would just get the cheapest camera that fits my needs and be done with it. Also consider that when a more expensive camera breaks, it’s more expensive to repair. I want a camera so cheap that I can just buy a new one for the cost of repairing a higher-end camera.
Image Quality Above All Else
In the past I have told myself that the image quality of certain cameras was “good enough”. Why even bother with carrying a camera around if you’re aiming just for “good enough” image quality? It is true that all modern sensors perform very well, but there are differences between the formats. There is a point where it’s hard to tell those differences (such as newer APS-C sensors versus full-frame sensors), but smaller sensor formats than APS-C just don’t deliver in a lot of circumstances. So no more “good enough” — I want superb image quality.
Controls Aren’t That Important
I don’t care that much about controls, buttons, dials, menu design, and so on. Are you going out shooting to make beautiful images, or are you out there to hold a camera and play with the buttons? I would absolutely rather have a camera with fewer controls that made stellar images than a “pro” camera with tons of buttons and dials that wasn’t so great.
Okay, Let’s Start Over
So what does this all mean? It means I’d choose an APS-C camera, like one from the Nikon D5x00 series. The sad thing is, I already have a Nikon D5100 that I feel performs better than any other camera I own. I should have just stopping buying cameras after that one. Using it with an old 30mm Sigma f1.4 lens, the D5100 delivers images I haven’t been able to match with other combinations. I can also easily set it up for video since it has a fully-articulated flip-out screen and an input for a microphone.
If I knew everything that I know now I would have just bought that one camera — or these days, Nikon’s latest version of it, the D5500 and focused on taking pictures rather than chasing gear.
Every photo in this article was taken with my little Nikon D5100 & 30mm f1.4 setup. I bet you, dear reader, probably thought a more expensive, newer, or possibly even a full-frame camera took these images. But they didn’t. It was Nikon’s little outdated “amateur” model that made them.
What do you think of my decision process and final choice? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and consider following me on Instagram.