It's definitely been a while since last post - more than one year! What happened? mmmmh, PhD life got in the way ;) Had overall less time for photography, a the motivation dropped all together. I felt particularly un-inspired, never took up the camera anywhere. When I thought I needed a new boost, I did what many might not necessarily consider the best move - I bought a new camera! Hell yeah!
I've always dreamed of moving up to a FX (full-frame) camera, a tier above my beloved D90 (a so called DX). A full frame camera implies a larger sensor, etc. etc. - not the place here to make the case for it, but it's more "professional". I've felt I wanted more in terms of technology than what my original DSLR could offer, especially in terms of low-light capabilities. Moreover, as the quality of a picture comes primarily from the lenses and not the camera itself, I was ready to invest something in that area. Well, actually the quality of a picture comes from the eye of the photographer, as this very funny series of videos with pro photographers with cheap lenses clearly shows. Still, I felt that it was time to upgrade my gear. Lenses are expensive, and you can either buy those for FXs or DXs - but they might not be interchangeable. Therefore, after years of procrastination and savings, I made the jump into the FX world, and invested in good lenses - look at how much beauty on a single picture!!!
This is my new set-up: a Nikon D750, and three prime lenses: 20mm, 35mm and 85mm (actually I also have a 50mm that I used already in my trips). By prime lenses I mean lenses with a fixed focal length, with which you cannot zoom. The quality of the picture is higher due to fewer "glasses" within the lens itself, which decreases distortion and other effects more common of zoom lenses. Moreover, as you cannot zoom in/out, you gotta move much more! And this is fun, more engaging, leads you to think exactly what you want to capture and to understand the difference between a 20mm or a 35mm. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase, and believe I can become a better amateur photographer. But what's most important for me now is the regained motivation to shoot pictures!
In the following two posts I'll tell you about two recent trips in the US and Japan, and my first experiments with the new set up - looking forward to write about them ;)