Camera Brands Discussion

Recently, in a discussion group that I follow on Facebook (Nikon Z Mirrorless Cameras), a gentleman posted this for discussion:

I thought that this was a very interesting topic. Here was my response:

I attended a pre-conference Photoshop World many, many years ago when KelbyOne was called NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). It was led by a National Geographic photographer. I was there to learn about photography with my Konica-Minolta DSLR. The photographer literally would not answer my questions because I did not have a Nikon or Canon. I wound up taking a poll at the conference over the next few days. About 75% were Nikon shooters, 24% were Canon shooters, and then there was me at 1%. I wound up buying a Nikon D90 shortly thereafter.

A number of years later, a lot of professionals that I had been following for years, and had been diehard Nikon shooters, were switching to Canon because of their low light capabilities. They started to build up their collection of expensive lenses.

Then, Sony started to take over the mirrorless market. I find that hilarious, since Sony bought out Konica-Minolta. No one liked their DSLRs because they were so proprietary.

Nikon has only survived, in my humble opinion, because of their great DSLR reputation and people were invested in their wonderful lenses. I also think the low-light capabilities of the Z mirrorless series has saved them!

I have owned the D90, D7000 (which had issues), D7200, and now the Z6ii. I was soooooo tempted to go to the Sony brand when I went mirrorless… mainly for the autofocus. But, it was too difficult and expensive to start completely from scratch.

I am not sure there is a perfect brand out there. I truly believe that photography is more about the photographer than the equipment. That is why some mobile photographers are doing so well! I love my Nikon Z6ii, but it only is part of my equation! Here is a photo I am going to be entering in the Texas State Fair this year.

 Total Solar Eclipse Practice Shot

I did some practice testing today, here is the best of the test shots. Aren't the sun spots so cool (or, hot in this case)?!?

I bought a few things for my camera to use during the total solar eclipse. One of which was a battery grip that allows you to put two batteries in the camera, as I ran out of battery during the annular eclipse. During my tests today, I thought I was having a problem with the grip (ultimately I was not). I remembered that a few years ago I bought a dummy battery that lets you plug the camera into a wall socket. I found it, tried it out, and it works perfectly. So, since I was not able to get the included remote to work with the grip, either, I'm going to send the grip back (I am going to use my wired trigger, instead). I really feel good about this as I wasn't sure how many times I would use the grip in the future, anyway.

I also tested out my magnetic filter holder that allows you to take your filter off very quickly. I love this feature, however, it is proving to be a little difficult with the lens hood attached. Not sure that I really need the lens hood, anyway.

Another item that I purchased that I tested out today was a new 3-way, geared ball head for my tripod. Oh my gosh it's a game changer! Such smooth and easy transitions to reposition the sun as it moves in the frame. I’m so glad that I bought it and I will definitely use this in the future... it may even become my permanent ball head on my tripod. I am getting more and more excited about the event coming up!

I did not wind up purchasing all of these items from Amazon (some may no longer be available to get by 4-8-24), but here are the Amazon links if you want to see which ones I selected.

Dummy Battery – https://a.co/d/a9Q0ntS

NEEWER MB-N11 Battery Grip – https://a.co/d/bjGIgbu

Benro GD3WH 3-Way Geared Head – https://a.co/d/7a1kgSs

Kase Wolverine Magnetic Adapter Ring Kit (need to know your own filter thread size) – https://a.co/d/4DHNF0O

Taken with Nikon Z6ii, 28-300mm with FTZII Adapter and generic 2X teleconverter (600mm), 1/2000, f/11, ISO 400 (adjusted in Adobe Camera RAW and cropped)

Note: Someone mentioned that they hoped that I was using a solar filter, as I might burn the sensor or damage my eyes. I told them that I definitely was. I had purchased one for the annular eclipse and that I was only testing new equipment for the total eclipse.

I did learn at a workshop about shooting the eclipse that ND filters are not the best as they do not block the UV light… even with a UV filter attached, as well. However, with that being said, I was told that since I am not taking video of the event and just doing quick shots every few minutes, I should be fine. Here is the one I bought for the annular eclipse and will be using for the total eclipse:

ICE ND100000 16.5 Stop Filter (need to know your own filter thread size) – https://a.co/d/dEGwxyA

Here is a link to the ones the workshop was recommending:

StarGuy Solar Filters – https://www.mrstarguy.com/https-www-mrstarguy-com-category-s-136-htm-s/136.htm

Happy shooting the dark side of the moon!