To say that we’ve been a bit distracted or overwhelmed in the past four months is an understatement. I think we can all admit that no one’s crystal ball has been working correctly and the roller coaster has been crazier than an E ticket promises! Many of us seem to be waffling between facing deep, dark realities and escaping for an adventure, jumping with joy in gratitude, problem solving, and remaining positive. Although the worry and concern of our current times reaches all of us differently, I am quite sure we are all riding the same big wave! Nevertheless, capturing beautiful images is always in the back of my mind!
Being grounded makes this the absolute perfect time to think about and research gear, take inventory, and plan for the future. Those who have followed my path know that I switched to Nikon after 15 years with Canon. This decision was not a quick one, and I wrote a detailed post about the process.
Most of us have spent the last few years traveling extensively, improving our skills in workshops, and also juggling life. When we are on the go we tend to jump into a decision too quickly. I think most of us can plead “guilty” to seeing the launch of new product whirl through our social media sites and inboxes and clicking the BUY button!
As the world came to halt, the field of photography was again in a huge transition—this time from digital DSLR to mirrorless. The advantage of live view exposure is groundbreaking. I believe mirrorless technology is finally at the stage where it fits every genre’s needs, including wildlife photography. I also believe we will all be shooting with mirrorless in only a few years. Even if you are not considering a big change or upgrade soon, this is still the perfect time to research any gear you are considering.
Give these topics some thought:
Mirrorless
If you have not yet changed to mirrorless, are you going to do it on your next camera body upgrade? Even Nikon and Canon are in the game now. Are you going to stay with your current brand for familiarity’s sake, or make the jump to a completely different system, such as Sony, where there will be a longer learning curve?
Most photographers are heavily invested in their lenses, especially if you are a wildlife photographer with big, fast glass. Therefore, you need to think about whether it would be better to stay with your current system and purchase a mirrorless body and adapter to use the lenses you already own, or switch tech systems for your long game. The market currently has some great deals, and now is a perfect time to ask yourself these questions.
If you have already switched to mirrorless or have switched systems, I am sure we would love to get your insights in the comments below!
Software/Hardware Upgrades
Regardless of whether you are switching systems, if you are buying the latest technology, you need to make sure your software is up-to-date, or that your old software will support your new technology. How many of you have bought a new camera, gone out to shoot, come home, downloaded your images, and opened your editing software, only to discover it no longer supports your files? Now you need to upgrade your software, but then you remember that the laptop you travel with is so old that the operating system doesn’t support the new software you need to install. So you buy a new laptop, but then you learn that they have changed all the ports, and you can no longer plug any of your portable travel drives into your laptop!
I think you all know where I’m going with this. Whether you are changing systems or simply upgrading a camera body, you must think through your software and hardware before you buy the camera body!
Accessories
If you are planning to buy a new camera body, have you considered the accessories? Will it require new memory cards? Are you going to need a new card reader? If you have a second body, are the cards going to work in that body? Is it going to need different batteries and a charger? If you have a second body, are the batteries going to work in that body? If not, when you travel with limited electricity you’ll need one more socket or a compromise. Also, many times you’ll face travel weight restrictions. Have you considered this before adding more stuff to your kit? Therefore, is it better to wait and upgrade both camera bodies at the same time so that they can use the same accessories?
Be Honest
How many of you think through all these variables before you make that purchase? Yes, some days it’s hard to focus, but while you’re grounded, try to use this gift of time to get ready to hit the ground running when that opportunity comes. You don’t want to finally get back to an exotic place you have been dreaming about and land with outdated gear, outdated software/hardware, and rusty skills.
Infrared
If you are interested in this creative process, we recently announced that we are moving the first and second series of our IR workshops ONLINE! Therefore, you can discover this exciting, creative process and tool and join us from anywhere in the world! I am excited to about this opportunity, because my passion is live, in-person, hands-on teaching and generally I only teach in the field.
The impact of the Nikon Z7 on the quality of my IR work was a big deciding factor in my system change. I will be discussing this change in these online workshops. If you are considering IR, have you thought through all the above topics and questions? We will discuss these technical aspects as part of the online workshops.
I get a kick out of your emails. I didn’t think you are old enough to remember E tickets
THank you – yep, I remember using E-tickets!
Changed from Canon to Sony a year ago. Thought about it for a good 6 months, after I drowned my 1DX Mk2.
It was a heavy camera, and I wanted something lighter, and the SonyA9 with the Sony A7R3 as a back up, fitted my needs with nature photography. I looked at the new canon mirrorless, but it was not up to the standard needed for bird photography. Granted it has been a difficult learning curve, but I feel it has been worth it.
Thanks for sharing Kerry. The good thing is there is a converter that will let you use canon lenses on the mirror-less Sony bodies. This way you can test it before completely switching your systems. With the new mirror-less that Canon just released they are committed, but I believe sony is still the leader in mirror-less
Love your articles. I just added the Z-7 to my Nikon lineup. I will have to get used to the total change of the left side buttons to the right. Since I shoot with the D750 and D810 it will take a bit more adjustment time. Now to add a lens that will work for all three!
Thank you. I only shot with the D850 so after getting use to switching from Canon using the Z7 was a pretty smooth transition. I immediately converted to IR. I am sure when I am ready to update my D850’s I will probably updating them with mirror-less bodies. At the moment I am just using the converter so I can use all my glass on all bodies.
My situation is a little different. In June someone broke into my condo and stole all of my camera equipment. All I had left was 2 sony lenses – 7 cameras and 24 lenses were taken (I definitely have Gear Acquisition Syndrome) along with tripods, filters, cards etc. I get to start over mostly on the insurance company. Since I have been quarantined I had already started reviewing every photo I’ve taken since I started being a photographer – 240000 photos. I finished today. One of the advantages was I was able to look at my photos the last two years and see what did I really shoot. Landscape, wildlife and nudes, much of all of them in low light. Since all modern cameras are going to produce excellent photos, landscape and nudes – only thing that matters is availability of proper lenses, and all systems have those as well. That left wildlife – the ability to track a moving subject and lightweight long lenses and low noise at high ISO as the most important factors.
I have waited anxiously for real world reviews of the Canon R5, especially its wildlife tracking capabilities. Obviously the idea of having a lightweight 800 mm lens and 8 stops of IS is pretty extraordinary. So far reviews have been pretty positive, though not all, but its clear that it doesn’t match the Sony A9ii for tracking. Yet, its low light looks pretty awesome. I don’t think Nikon has anything that matches at this point, so its really Sony v Canon. Haven’t taken a picture since March, but I am going to remain in quarantine until probably December (or whenever a good vaccine is available), so I have some time. guidance is appreciated.
Thank for all the valuable information you publish. Tamma Hunt Marcell