Nikon's newest ad a true disaster
Quote:Personally I found this really insulting from Nikon,
That is your opinion - and you have a right to it.
On the other hand if you want to take a one inch wide subject, or fast moving subjects it does help if you have a macro lens, or a camera body good at focus tracking.
I am not saying you cannot crop if your lens cannot focus to 1 inch wide, or pan with a fast moving subject and manual focus - because you can - but a competent photographer (always part of the equation) with appropriate equipment for the job will usually do better than one without appropriate equipment.
Turning to 400 ISO the original Canon 1D and Nikon D2x did not perform well - any current DSLR is good at 400 ISO and quite a few are good to 1600 with careful exposure.
What you are missing is good equipment does make it easier to take some photographs better, and at any price point a lot of equipment is better than 5 years ago.
Whether "better" is a higher standard than some photographers need is another topic.
I also believe it's furor over nothing.
To me there are three aspects to taking a photograph:
1) Composition, framing etc requiring photographer creativity
2) Good equipment to capture that creativity on the chosen medium (digital card/film)
3) Viewing that image accurately on a calibrated medium.
The combination of good 1+2+3 equals a superb photo to look at and enjoy.
I think Nikon were addressing (2); and a good lens is important; after all, that's were the light enters the camera for capture (1).
If people get upset set at 1 advert and threaten to boycott Nikon then I suggest they probably should get upset at alot of companies; the upside would be saving alot of money, I suppose
IHO.
To me there are three aspects to taking a photograph:
1) Composition, framing etc requiring photographer creativity
2) Good equipment to capture that creativity on the chosen medium (digital card/film)
3) Viewing that image accurately on a calibrated medium.
The combination of good 1+2+3 equals a superb photo to look at and enjoy.
I think Nikon were addressing (2); and a good lens is important; after all, that's were the light enters the camera for capture (1).
If people get upset set at 1 advert and threaten to boycott Nikon then I suggest they probably should get upset at alot of companies; the upside would be saving alot of money, I suppose
IHO.
Quote:I also believe it's furor over nothing.
To me there are three aspects to taking a photograph:
1) Composition, framing etc requiring photographer creativity
2) Good equipment to capture that creativity on the chosen medium (digital card/film)
3) Viewing that image accurately on a calibrated medium.
you missed out the all important one between 1) and 2) -
1b) Technical expertise of photographer to ensure correct (or optimum for his purpose) exposure, focussing, depth of field.
I guess that what Nikon were hoping to imply was that "photographers" who lacked those basic skills could still get by if they let the camera use its "auto modes".
That being so, a much better strap line would have been:
"With a Nikon, you don't need to be a photographer!"
That couldn't have been offensive to anyone who considered him/herself to be a photographer.
Nikon sell far more cameras, even high-end models like the D3X, to happy-snappers than to skilled photographers. As a professional I'm grateful because Nikon get an economy of scale that makes their products affordable, and there's a bouyant secondhand market as another supply of good kit. We'd be in serious trouble if the snappers bought only what they really needed!
For as long as I can remember (and I took up photography in 1956) advertisers have been telling us that it's the camera that creates the pictures. All the user has to do is press the button and this latest ad is giving exactly the same message.
I've lost count of the times that punters have looked at my pix and then told me that I must have a very good camera!
Some Nikon users have even threatened to ditch the marque and move to Canon. This will just put more good kit within the reach of an impecunious photographer.
For as long as I can remember (and I took up photography in 1956) advertisers have been telling us that it's the camera that creates the pictures. All the user has to do is press the button and this latest ad is giving exactly the same message.
I've lost count of the times that punters have looked at my pix and then told me that I must have a very good camera!
Some Nikon users have even threatened to ditch the marque and move to Canon. This will just put more good kit within the reach of an impecunious photographer.
