A letter to my friends....

Here is a letter i just wrote to 2 of my friends. I will be ditching out this advice to all my friends.


Hi,

Try not to assume anything and read until finish as much as some content here is nothing new.

I wrote this with one intention in mind. Help my buddies save money and get the best camera.
As you all know i have acquired some cameras and finalize on the Foveon which i deemed as providing the sharpest
and most satisfactory image. But as some of you are also aware, it have some limitations on low light scenarios although i find
them not such an issue.

On the other hand having a great sensor is just 30% of the real story. That is what this writeup is about.
Yes, sensors are only 30% of the equation to a great camera, not even 50%.
What are the other factors that i find very important?

First of all, let us agree on one thing, none of us here are professional photographers and most likely will never be one. This writeup
is not for professional of which u have no choice but to use a full frame dslr.

- sensor
30%. As mentioned having dslr quality sensor is important as "physics" make things like "bokeh" and other qualities impossible if you use a
small sensor. There is an exception to this though...which i will mention later.

- lens
Yup this is another 30% of the equation. No matter how good your sensor or camera seems to be, the Lens will be your limiting
factor. How important is this? If your lens is not meant for macro for eg, u will have crap macro shots no matter how good your camera is.
If your lens have no zoom capability you can forget about taking certain shots that a crap sensor with longer reach optical zoom could take.
And a slow lens makes low light usage sucks, a fast lens eg 1.8 or 1.4 makes low light usage much better.
This means if u got an DSLR sensor but a lousy lens, ur image will end up looking like a compact camera with a moderate lens.

- mobility
30%
This is where ilyas can smile all day long for sticking to this. As much as i hate to admit, carrying a DLSR around is not really productive
especially if the trip you have is on a same place (Eg a beach or a fix location). It is much better used if you move around diff locations which makes
the shot worthy of the dslr. On the other hand, shooting models or family portraits using dslr is a bliss but that is more like "shooting session" instead
of short trips or vacation. So Cy is right on this, carrying a dslr around if you go to Sg or some not so exotic place isn't really fun.

Now for the conclusion. If any of you jokers ever plan to get a camera. Get a 4/3 camera. Ilyas, u may argue that if u get something like 4/3 u might
as well get dlsr, well, that is not an accurate reasoning. This year alone, all the major glass makers, Carl Weiss, Sigma, M.Sch, Leica all pledge to support
4/3 lenses. 4/3 uses a sensor that is at least 3-4 times bigger than the best compact but smaller that a dslr, but since its smaller, smaller lenses can also
be made to fit it. I would say the output of a 4/3 is perfect for non-professional and the mobility factor is not much diff than a compact at all, minus
the limitations of any compact.

4/3 pledges : Sigma
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020915sigmacsclenses.asp

4/3 pledges : Carl Zeiss
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020718zeissjoinsmicrfourthirds.asp

4/3 pledges : Schneider
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020405schneiderkreuznachmicrofourthirds.asp

These cameras are now known as EVIL. I believe there are rumors that Nikon and Canon will be joining in soon.

So, if u ever going to get another camera, get a 4/3. As for me, its going to be a LONG wait since i Sigma won't be releasing
a 4/3 camera....maybe GXR might have hope for a 4/3 mount....

- cheers