Joanne
Adventurer
Scott,
You have gotten a lot of good input and I'm going to throw in my .02¢ worth as well. I think that TerriAnn was spot on about the difference in photographic philosophy between SLR and large format photography.
If your goal right now is to develop your skills, I would go with the DSLR and treat it like a large format camera. What I mean is, every shot should be shot from a tripod. Spend time on composition. Wait for proper lighting. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just buy the 4x5 and be done?" Well, the advantage to the DSLR is you can review your results on the spot rather than waiting until you get home to develop your film.
Before DSLRs were available, underwater photography classes would develop film between dives so they could discuss what was good and what could use improvement. Then the divers could go right back into the water with a better understanding of how to improve their photography.
In a sense you can do the same thing. Take a photograph (or even a series of photographs of the same subject) take some notes in your photographic journal (you are keeping notes right?) then download the photos to your laptop and critically evaluate your results.
After spending some time with your DSLR you can go forward and purchase a 4x5, but your improved skills will immediately be reflected in your photographs. And of course, there will be times when you don't want to lug the view camera around so you can just grab the DSLR and go.
I've always wanted an RB67 and they are pretty cheap on E-bay. I still may jump on one of those in the future. But for now it's the Nikon DSLR.
Have fun!
Joanne
You have gotten a lot of good input and I'm going to throw in my .02¢ worth as well. I think that TerriAnn was spot on about the difference in photographic philosophy between SLR and large format photography.
If your goal right now is to develop your skills, I would go with the DSLR and treat it like a large format camera. What I mean is, every shot should be shot from a tripod. Spend time on composition. Wait for proper lighting. Now, you are probably asking, "Why not just buy the 4x5 and be done?" Well, the advantage to the DSLR is you can review your results on the spot rather than waiting until you get home to develop your film.
Before DSLRs were available, underwater photography classes would develop film between dives so they could discuss what was good and what could use improvement. Then the divers could go right back into the water with a better understanding of how to improve their photography.
In a sense you can do the same thing. Take a photograph (or even a series of photographs of the same subject) take some notes in your photographic journal (you are keeping notes right?) then download the photos to your laptop and critically evaluate your results.
After spending some time with your DSLR you can go forward and purchase a 4x5, but your improved skills will immediately be reflected in your photographs. And of course, there will be times when you don't want to lug the view camera around so you can just grab the DSLR and go.
I've always wanted an RB67 and they are pretty cheap on E-bay. I still may jump on one of those in the future. But for now it's the Nikon DSLR.
Have fun!
Joanne
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