I have been debating for quite some time to write this article. On one hand, I feel like I have an overwhelming responsibility to tell our readers the truth about the camera industry and the economics of running a website, and on the other hand, I know that such a provocative article would probably earn me plenty of hate from the publishing industry. But after seeing a few of the past events related to the launching of a few cameras, the same thoughts kept on creeping up and I finally decided to do it. I decided to write on a topic that nobody wants to talk about – how camera companies and everyone else involved in the camera industry are banking on people, AKA the consumers. I wrote this article primarily because of the sense of guilt I have had for years now and also because I do not want our readers to fall into the traps of consumerism. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and get ready for some entertainment – I assure you that it is coming!
The Nikon D850 is sold out everywhere. Even if you try hard, the likelihood of you finding a sample unit at the retail price is close to zero. It is crazy to think that a camera that has just been announced was already sold out within hours after the announcement. In fact, I would argue that the D850 was sold out long before its announcement, thanks to all the Internet hype – and everyone benefits from such hype. Websites thrive on rumors, because it drives a lot of traffic that they bank on through advertising. Once the announced camera ships, they double-bank because of the profits associated with the pre-orders. Retailers love the Internet hype, because those pre-orders result in thousands of cameras being sold without much advertising effort on their sides. Camera manufacturers cash in on the hype the most, as they struggle to make enough cameras to ship – the demand is so strong that they don’t have to move their butts to create awareness and spend out of their marketing budgets on advertising. Everyone involved gets a share – the bigger they are, the bigger the share. Welcome to Marketing 2.0: The Hype.
The Death of Traditional Media and the Rise of Social Media Influencers
Everyone has funny stories to tell from their early days in photography. Let me tell you mine. When I got my first Nikon DSLR with an 18-135mm zoom lens, I always blamed my gear for bad pictures. One day, after doing some online research, I came across a website on the first page of Google, with what it seemed like a very knowledgeable photographer, who guided me via an article on how to set up my camera. He said that JPEG small was the way to go, and that all lenses out there are junk except for the most versatile lens ever made in the history of mankind: the Nikon 18-200mm. He said that photographers were dumping all of their lenses from their camera bags and downsizing their gear to just this one lens, because it was so good. After reading this very convincing article, I decided that every bad picture I had was a result of the bad 18-135mm lens I owned, so I started my quest on purchasing this new amazing gem, the Nikon 18-200mm. The problem was, the damn lens was nowhere to be found! Later on I found out that this one photographer was so successful in convincing many Nikon idiots shooters like me, that he alone created a demand for this lens that Nikon could not even keep up with. Who knew that one person who could outrank NikonUSA in search engine rankings could have such a powerful influence over other photographers. It took me 6 months to finally receive the 18-200mm and after just a few days with the lens, I realized how stupid I was for falling into this trap. Here was the lens that was supposed to make beautiful images for me and yet it was no better than the 18-135mm I already owned. I felt cheated and lied to, but it was a good lesson to be learned.
The idea of a social media influencer spread like a disease all over the corporate world. Companies quickly realized that they were getting very sluggish sales by advertising their products in newspaper and online ads of large publishing companies. Instead, concentrating on smaller niche publishers and social media influencers proved to be much more fruitful. Instead of going after the mass market, why not target the loyal fans of a niche market or a successful individual? Websites that attract like-minded people are far more successful at what they do compared to a large publication that has to cover everything. It did not take long for traditional media to die off and disappear, with new heroes on the block – the social media influencers.
It is nice to be one for sure, since you get all kinds of benefits. The higher you stand in your status and following, the bigger the privileges. Better yet, if you can be a combination of a celebrity and a social media influencer, you are guaranteed to have every door open for you. You don’t even need to show off your millions of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat followers – companies will come flocking your way, asking you to promote their products in exchange for money. Some climb up so high that some retailers even fight over who gets to be the “exclusive”. This was another funny story I heard a few years back…
What’s the big deal about these niche websites and social media influencers, you might think? Loyal followers. And that’s exactly what the sales teams are after. The problem is, many followers have no idea that the products their idols praise so much are actually fed by someone else – be it a watch, an energy drink or an expensive camera.
Website Economics 101
Have you ever wondered about how much money a photography website can generate on a newly announced camera? Let’s take a look at the primary sources of revenue for any website (including PL):
- Advertising Revenue (Banner Ads)
- Affiliate Revenue
- Sponsored Content
- Email Marketing
Keep in mind that there are many other sources of potential revenue for a website, but I am just listing the main ones. In fact, if we were to concentrate on the highest revenue-generating sources of income, the first two would be the most significant – Advertising Revenue and Affiliate Revenue. Those two sources alone typically generate over 90% of the revenue on a new product announcement.
Let’s take a look at the details, shall we? This is the part that many publishers rarely ever disclose, but I personally don’t care, as I feel that it is too important to skip.
1. Advertising Revenue
Banner ads. Who knew that anyone clicks on those stupid things? But that’s what most of the advertising revenue comes from for any website. The more traffic, the better. In fact, websites do everything they can to create tons of click-bait content for the sole purpose of driving advertising revenue. As someone who has been operating a website for a number of years, I have a confession to make – photography articles rarely ever create good website traffic. Gear reviews and any content related to camera gear create far more traffic and it is a fact. I have far more views on a review on the day it is published than on an educational photography article. Case in point: my “Five Easy Steps to Improve Your Photos via Post-Processing” got a total of 17 thousand views ever since it was published over a month ago, whereas I got the same number of views on the Nikon D850 Announcement the day it was published! Sad, but true. Camera-related articles drive tons of traffic to websites, because everyone is obsessed about camera gear.
Another proof of camera gear obsession lies in our email distribution lists. Take a close look at the following screenshot:
Out of 35+ thousand people that receive our emails, most people prefer checking out gear-related articles, as the above shows. As you can see, close to 30% of readers opened the Nikon D850 announcement article, and almost 10% of them clicked on the article to read it, whereas other articles did not get nearly as much attention. This is another proof that many of us are obsessed about camera gear more than any other topic.
So how much money would banner advertising bring to a website? Well, that’s all a matter of traffic and banner ads – the more traffic and banner ads displayed, the higher the revenue. As simple as that. Let’s take a look at a sample 2016 advertising revenue report for PL:
On average in 2016, advertising revenue for PL was roughly $175-250 per day – and that’s with minimal and less obtrusive 3 ads per page. In November and December, I experimented with more ads and I was able to get up to $500 per day of advertising revenue. I backed out of the idea at the end of December, because I did not like what it did to user experience, so the number of ads were dropped back to the minimum in 2017. So on average I made between $5K to $7K per month, but I was able to get as high as $12K at the end of the year. If I was primarily focused on revenue, I could easily get $10-$15K a month for the small amount of traffic I receive when compared to some other much bigger websites. For a comparison, a site like PetaPixel could easily bank $50K a month on purely advertising revenue.
2. Affiliate Revenue
Let’s now take a look at “affiliate marketing”, a term that has made companies like Amazon and B&H Photo Video highly successful. It is crazy to think how successful affiliate marketing has been for many companies out there, including photography websites. Here is how it works – a seller (for example Amazon) wants to sell more products. It recruits many niche websites to write about products and gives them a percentage of the revenue they help generate. The website publishes an article or a review, then posts a link to the seller’s website with tracking information. If their reader buys a product through that link, the website owner gets a share, typically based on a percentage.
Now here is how the actual math works. For cameras specifically (which are considered part of electronics), the retailer gets roughly 10% cut on camera sales. For example, the Nikon D850 is a $3,300 camera, so Amazon would get $330 for every D850 it can sell. Since retailers have to spend a lot of money on advertising to promote sales and push more cameras out, they figured out that if they partner up with other niche, but powerful websites and influential individuals, they can generate a lot more money. The 10% cut has to be split between them and the affiliates, but the long term benefits are incredible. In fact, they double-bank on the affiliate system: not only are they able to drive more sales this way, but each and every link that goes to them through their affiliate program also generates a long-term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) benefit, since it is a permanent backlink (URL link) to the retailer. That is why when you Google for something like “Nikon D850”, retailers such as Amazon and B&H Photo Video pop on the first page. The more links to the retailer’s camera page, the higher their SEO rankings.
So what kind of percentage share can a website expect from online retailers? Depending on how big a website is, that percentage share can vary from 3% to 5%. That money goes from the 10% cut that the retailer gets, so if an affiliate earns say 3%, the retailer would only be able to make 7% from the camera sale. Let’s now put things in perspective. Say on average an affiliate earns 3% from the MSRP. In the case of the Nikon D850, that’s basically $100 per camera. If an affiliate is influential enough to push 100 cameras to its readers, that’s 10 grand right there. Why do you think you see those “Pre-order the Nikon D850 Today” articles and advertisements floating all over? Rumor websites bank on affiliate sales like crazy, because people pre-order their cameras through them, since they are probably going to be the first ones to post those links.
Affiliate marketing does not stop there – 3%-5% is the bare minimum and it is only relevant to hardware. If a website promotes software, the commissions are far higher in comparison. For example, if I were to promote Adobe Creative Cloud at PL, I could get up to 85% commission from the first month and up to 8.33% from the first year on a pre-paid plan. I have received a number of emails about this but, since I have no plans for promoting Adobe products, I never bothered responding to any of those inquiries. Here is a screenshot from one of the emails:
If you find these numbers hard to believe, head on over to Adobe’s Affiliate Program page, where you will find all of the above information right on the first page. Next time someone tells you about the glory of Adobe Creative Cloud, perhaps you should take a look at their links and see if they really believe in the product, or they are saying it in order to drive more affiliate revenue.
Summary: websites and blogs do not just post information about cameras because they want to post news or create awareness among their readers – they have direct monetary gains from them, including PL.
Marketing 2.0: Leaky Leaks
As I have said earlier, the Nikon D850 was sold out before it was even announced, thanks to all the hype that was created by rumor websites. But what are rumor websites really? We have some mysterious people behind them that want to stay underground and provide nicknames like “Admin”, who claim to have legitimate sources that provide leaked information. But let’s get one fact straight – rumors are very beneficial for manufacturers.
Rumor sources are not some people who breach NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) who do not want to get in trouble and hide their real names. Surely they will try to stay anonymous for a rumor website by creating a fake email address and writing from it (after-all, it would be bad if others found out that the company was directly involved in rumors), but who cares at the end of the day, since they provide fairly accurate information way before the announcement. How is it possible that we already knew everything about the Nikon D850 way before it was even announced? Specifications leaked out months in advance and pictures of the camera were already posted on rumor websites before the official announcement. Some might argue that a camera would have to be touched, tested and manufactured somewhere, so someone might leak some information about it along the way. Trust me, companies like Nikon do make sure that nobody spreads any unauthorized information on an unlaunched product – everything is kept secret under very strict NDA rules. If anyone breaches their NDA, Nikon would definitely take them to court. That’s how serious NDA documents are.
However, I have a big suspicion that these leaks do not originate from photographers and third party vendors. Considering how much benefit they bring to the manufacturer, it only makes sense to suspect the manufacturer to be responsible for information leaks. In fact, there is one piece of now-forgotten evidence that points us to this. Remember the Nikon D500 launch? Someone at Nikon screwed up big time on it. Do you know what their mistake was? They failed to leak out any information related to the D500! If you back-track your memory, that camera announcement caught everyone by surprise. Not a single rumor site said a word before the camera was announced, because their sources were “silent”. Whoops. I am not sure if it was an experiment on their side, but I am sure the sales numbers did not look as good when compared to other previously leaked releases.
The rumor mill was an interesting playground for me personally – at the time, I used to write about rumors (and got tons of traffic as a result). I would get occasional emails from different people who claimed to have some information about upcoming Nikon products. One even assured me that a “Nikon D400” type camera was definitely coming. I had my reasons to suspect who those people were and there was always a pattern to each and every one of them – their English and their writing skills were terrible, as if someone intentionally made those look bad. It did not take me long to suspect that those who leak information had something to do with the product in the first place. The traffic generated by rumors was very appealing, but I made a decision not to ever post rumors again, because I did not want to be a part of the “hype”.
If you think manufacturers leak information about their products by accident, or that rumors only do harm to them, think again! Rumors are great for everyone, since they all translate to one thing: sales. Those leaky leaks are highly intentional and successful marketing techniques. And if you have been participating on rumor-related articles with “Shut Up and Take My Money” memes, their mission is accomplished.
The Nikon D850 Over-Hype
The Nikon D850 is the best DSLR Nikon has ever made – it is a game changer. But wait a second, didn’t we hear that already before? What about the D500, D800 and the D700? Those also claimed to have the “best” and “game changer” titles. It seems like every few years we get the new “best”, the new “do it all”, amazing camera. Guess what, when Nikon releases a mirrorless camera next year, it will again be a game changer. A beautifully crafted pattern, isn’t it?
The Nikon D850 is the most over-hyped camera since the Nikon D800. But remember what happened with the D800 hype? So many people ended up disappointed, especially when all the focusing issues started to surface. One would think that photographers would learn from being scapegoats once, but here we go again! Tens of thousands of people are sitting pissed off in their chairs reading about the Nikon D850, since their pre-order has not shipped yet. It is 2012 revisited, literally. Once again, Nikon fails to meet its customer demand. Tons of cameras are rushed to the market, mostly claimed by the NPS (Nikon Professional Services) members. There will be months of waiting, thanks to all those folks who have placed pre-orders at 5 places at once (yay to Guinea Pig Pre-Orderers). Those who received a few extras because they clicked on a pre-order link first are already doing what’s best for them – selling them for a profit on eBay (looks like the last D850 sold for $4783!). Others are teasing the crowds with their unboxing videos and “first impressions” previews. Nikon will not be able to fulfill D850 orders for months to come, again, exactly same as we had seen with the D800. All thanks to The Hype the Internet has created for this camera.
Sadly, Nikon is not the only company that does it – look at Canon, Sony, Fuji and many others. Everyone is in the hype game, because it sells. The Fuji X-T2 is the best Fuji camera ever made. Sure, until the X-T2S with image stabilization comes out – that will be a real game changer. The Sony A9 is the best Sony has to offer, until Sony A9R comes out that will beat the Nikon D850 in every spec; that surely will be a game changer. Aren’t you tired of this garbage getting shoved down your throat?
Are You a Consumer?
Now the question is, are you a smart buyer or a consumer? If you get excited reading about camera rumors and buying every new iteration of a camera, you are not a smart buyer – you are a consumer. The bigger question is, can you actually afford the gear you are buying? If the answer is “yes” and if buying a new camera makes you happy, then by all means, go for it. However, if the answer is “no”, then you are a consumer, plain and simple. It really boils my blood when a reader emails me, asking if they should be buying a camera on a loan, because they cannot afford it. When I ask a few questions, it typically turns out to be camera lust more than anything else. Want vs need. Their existing gear is more than adequate and yet they think they need something else. A newer camera cannot magically make you a better photographer, just like a newer knife cannot make better-tasting food. I can understand if one was shooting with their grandpa’s film camera and wanted to invest in a digital camera for the first time. But even then, I would never recommend to finance a camera. That’s just not right…
As I looked at myself a few months ago, I realized that I also take part in the never-ending cycle of camera announcements and reviews. Yes, they do generate traffic and revenue, but if I am the reason behind someone else’s misery, I have as much guilt as everyone else in the chain. There have been times when I thought about stopping any gear-related articles and reviews completely, but others persuaded me to continue doing it, arguing that those technical articles and reviews also provide a wealth of information and knowledge. On one hand, I cannot be held responsible for other people’s decisions on buying camera gear. On the other hand, I look at the state of the industry and the constant want of people to get the latest and greatest and I feel the need to do something about it. The least I can do is create awareness among my readers by writing an article on the topic.
Summary
As I am getting ready to start writing my Nikon D850 review (which has been sitting on my desk for a few days now), I have been already thinking that it will be another glowing review of yet another new Nikon DSLR. Looking back at the Nikon D810 that earned a 5-star rating, I am already running out of stars to give. When another Nikon DSLR rolls out with even better features and an integrated EVF, it will be the same, all over again. In short, there will always be a better camera. As I look back at some of my favorite pictures I captured with my Nikon D700 almost ten years ago, I see light, color, subject and its beauty. I don’t see a tilting LCD or electronic front curtain. I don’t see automatic focus stacking or 45 Megapixels. Those are my favorite shots because I was able to concentrate on what really matters – photography.
Don’t be a victim of The Hype. Don’t be a cameraholic and a brainless consumer. Stop yourself from the Internet hysteria that surrounds cameras, lenses and other gear. Instead, spend time learning about photography techniques and improving your skills. Travel more, see more, shoot more. And when I review a piece of camera gear, don’t buy it because I praised it. Only buy what you truly need, not what you want. That’s all I have to say for today.
And in the spirit of this marketing BS ‘expose’ article (I mean, I was totally clueless. Really) I’m actually hanging out for the Nikon FF mirrorless which I’m sure is on its way. Not because it will turn me into a magic photographer, but because it’s a camera I actually want.
Stephen, many are clueless about how things work on the Internet, especially when it comes to camera announcements. I decided to write this article after talking several people out of upgrading to the D850 (they surely did not need it). The hype is very strong and it pushes consumers to make wrong choices.
As for the upcoming mirrorless camera, Nikon has one shot at it – I hope they get it right this time.
Nah, good article Nasim. No need to explain yourself.
Every penny you spend makes you poorer and somebody else richer !! remember that. spend wisely. !!!
Nicely said, Darrell!
Many people disregard the basics when it comes to camera purchases. The increase in resolution is trying to make 35mm into what it isn’t. 35mm is great for portability and handheld. What is essential to me then is small lenses and reasonably-sized bodies combination I want to carry all day. If I want to go large format, a large format lens delivers a much better image at 50MP than any lens on 35mm at 45MP in an admittedly much larger package. The facts of the film days remain that the 35mm optical limitations makes it optimized for smaller prints and found it’s ideal sensor resolution at around 12MP in a CMOS sensor. Everything afterwards is trying to stay as good with better in-camera processing. At 12MP You could expect film days behaviors: 1/focal length slowest speed, overall sharpness at f/2.8 and noticeable diffraction from f/11 from small simple natural looking lenses from 1980 forward.
With the current resolution, you need huge unnaturally sharp lenses to get as good an image at f/2.8 and acceptable diffraction at f/8 with speeds up to 1/4xfocal lenght. This makes the D8xx series a tripod camera or a VR zoom camera. Without in-camera stabilization, you cannot expect this to be a photo-journalism, documentary or travel camera and it simply won’t work for prime lens shooters out of a studio setting unless you always shoot in sunlight and for highlights only.
So for me D700/D750 combination it remains.
Well, you are somehow right but otherwise I do not agree. I got a 16MP (D4) and a 36MP (D800E) camera. As for what you said, 12MP is perfect, well then 16MP is not much more (horizontally and vertically resolution). And you are right about this, 12MP is quite enough for regular prints and screen resolution. But clearly I see if I pixel peep a difference in sharpness between 16MP and 36MP. I use the 36MP camera a lot hand hold at lower light (towards evening) without VR and have no difficulties to get sharp pictures. And my lenses, starting from older manual lenses to modern lenses they almost all deliver great sharp 36MP photos. As the camera has no low pass filter I can zoom in until I see the single pixels of the sensor (processed of course) and no blurring at all.
I do not know about 45MP resolution but I guess if my lenses resolve 36MP than they will probably do resolve 45MP as well. So for this part I do not agree with you.
Absolutely! Travel Photography with a D810 and 24-70 lens is a fine combination.
No, it is not. You loose a lot of the details those megapixels could actually generates
just by your shaking hands, and it it quite normal. Than, it all depends on the final purpose of your photo. Pixel peep on a USD5000 monitor (like the wonderful Eizo) or a print on a wall or in a book that people -who wouldn’t care about technique and tools- would very much like to see and marvel about the emotion the photo they are seeing actually generates in them?
Would you mind explaining to me what may be a basic concept to many? I love photographing in natural, low-light (without flash, of course), and have been wanting to upgrade my D7000 to the D500, for sharper, hand-held, low-light images. Does the higher resolution of the D500 mean that minimum shutter speed goes up significantly to something like 1/200s…or more?
I love my D500’s. Your pictures won’t improve over the D7000. The potential image quality of the D7000 is crazy good, the D500, hardly better. You will be able to focus in lower light and the auto-focus is much better, especially for moving subjects. As for the change in shutter speed, there really won’t be any. There isn’t that much difference between 16mp and 20mp.
It is so refreshing to finally see someone who is both honest and willing to speak openly about the industry that generates their income even at the potential risk of shooting themselves in the foot financially. Well done. You must sleep very well at night.
Very good article. I know that the article will get criticized by certain people but the basic fact is that for 95% of the purchasers of the d850 the images will not be better. To concentrate on the equipment and not the subjects considering light, composition, images that tell a story or not having a knowledge of photographic lesson 101 will not lead to better images.
Larry
Agreed, Camera manufacturer’s job to create hype about new launches of their camera and writing a glowing review.
No camera takes a good photograph, This is you who understand everything and capture the photograph
I am having two camera bodies Nikon D7100 and Nikon D810
(I don’t see a tilting LCD or electronic front curtain. I don’t see automatic focus stacking or 45 Megapixels.) and I love my all the shots.
Thanks
Actually I purchased the Nikon V3 and it paired with the 6.7-13mm lens remains one of my favorite cameras of all time.
The raw files it produces have a true film like quality that lend themselves wonderfully to film emulation software such as SilverEfex.
I love its rendering even more than my Sony A7II.
So Hype is ignored by me, what matters is the files the camera spits out and if it is a tool that allows me to acheivet my artistic vision.
You can see my stream with the V3 here:
www.flickr.com/photo…3029810049
i dont understand, how can you photograph a completely black sky in the high rise photo? theres no way these are straight out of camera pictures.. or how do you introduce the patches of blacks and darks in the wasteland photo? i was never able to take a picture like that even when i tried very hard. it must be some kind of postprocessing that is missing from my typical adjusting exposure or bring up shadows.
It’s like buying a new car. You only live once.
A nice and obviously heartfelt rant on modern consumerism. Your points are real but this is a widespread problem that fuels our entire economy. Want not need is a “business creed” that needs to be addressed (you`ve done that) but it will take years or an economic collapse to make that change. In the meantime a lot of us love Cameras and Photography and we are affected by popular photographers who make the most appealing photographs. Mansurov, Ratcliffe, Locardi or Colby Brown move on to the next best technology and seem to continually make better Photos.
Your stuff continues to look better and better and I`ve got to think technology is part of that success. Hence I`m influenced to make my best photos with the best gear “that I can afford”! Yeah I know modern consumerism and debt are real problems that I also want addressed as well, but in the meantime I am stoked about my new D850 and 24-70 2.8VR lens. I know I need to get a lot better at the “craft of photography” but I sure love this gear!
Another excellent article and thanks so much for having the integrity and being brave enough to state things as they are.
There need to be more people with your values to make the world a better place.
Well done Nasim!
Henri, I hope it clarifies the state of affairs for many of our readers – I want to be as transparent as possible when it comes to camera announcements, reviews and advertising.
It appears money does not do any good here as well – it can take away pleasure from photography and make you a gear geek. I am fortunate to not have this problem (money) and take pleasure from an old second-hand D7000 :)
Mark, enjoy your D7000, it is a wonderful camera!
Hey Nasim,
Great article! I have some experience with advertisements, affiliate links, etc. so what you wrote is not a surprise for me. I praise you for your bravery to write about this!
I saw your “Enjoy your D7000, it is a wonderful camera!” line and thought about it – I had that camera years ago and I have some of my best pictures with it. I did have almost all Nikon after it – D800, D800E, D810, and I’ll get the D850 some day (after the hype is over), but you are correct – the camera is the tool. If you don’t need IQ for some professional shoots it’s all about in your head – the need vs. the desire to have certain product.
You are and stay my favorite reviewer, as I know you are honest and have dignity!
Congrats again!
I have a D7000 was planning to replace it with the D7500 but looking at the reviews nicer camera? yes. Will my pictures be significantly better using it….maybe some. Not sure its enough.
keep the D7000 unless you get the full frame. Not much difference going up to D7500.
Hi Nasim
You have spoken the truth.Well done.
Cheers
I started photography with an 8X10 view camera, eventually working down to a Graphic 4X5 camera that I used for the next 27 years. When in college in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s I though the equipment was what made the photographer. Then we had a portrait photographer from Kodak put on a demonstration at the college. His portraits were wonderful, better than any thing I had ever seen. I was expecting him to be using an 8X10 studio camera or a Linhif Technika 4X5 at least. He was using a Kodak Brownie box camera, and some hardware store flood lights any one could buy or get for practically nothing. He set up, using a string to set the distance to his lights, which were mounted on wood poles like we mounted our Christmas tree on. He draped an old cloth background behind the shooting area, and shined a light on it. Then he took photo’s that were better than any studio of the day turned out. Equipment? No… Skill and understanding how to shoot what he wanted made the photographer. Every time something like the Nikon 850 comes out, I remember that day where knowledge was more important than the equipment, and stick with what I have that works.
Well said! I’m trying to remember…I think,…. when I was about 17 or 18, I had a Practica 35mm camera (it was the cheapest one I could find) and then a photographer working for some car dealerships was retiring, he was selling his Graflex Speed Graphic – so my best friend and I each contributed some money, we bought that camera and then we would rotate using it every other week. It made marvelous pictures. Now I find a DSLR a little heavy to carry around so I have a micro 4/3s Olympus camera that I like. My sister emailed me a picture that her boyfriend took last week, the colors were fantastic, I thought to myself, wow, I didn’t know he was into photography, I wonder what kind of camera he is using? So I opened up the image in my software and discovered the image was taken with a point and shoot that sells for less than $100. At this stage in my life photography is just for fun and whatever camera is fun to use, then that’s all I need.
Ron, did your Graflex Speed Graphic have the flash handle? If you’ve still got that, you’ve got a piece of Star Wars history now. The Graflex flash handle went on to be the first and still most iconic “lightsaber” prop.
Well said,
I really liked this article. This happen with every single product from camera to cellphone etc. All give the best output if you know how to operate it.
One more example. People mostly beginner go with two kit lens thinking it will do their job. What my experience says save money in 55-250mm zoom lens during learning period and spend on 50mm or 85mm prime lens for portrait with one kit lens.
Hi Nasim,
It’s the same gimmick of yesterday’s iPhone release. I am so happy that at least one person in the whole world who thinks straight, have integrity and think beyond selfish motives. Almost all your articles are enlightening. This one is beats everything else. Now that your wrote this article, I consider you more than a Messiah. I have D750. I was thinking to upgrade like any consumer would do. But I had decided to wait for another year or so. Your article bolstered my stand. Truly thank you.
Thank you, Vidhyacharan, for putting down in words my thoughts about Nasim.
Ha, ha, I also have a D750, but will buy the D850 when it’s selling for $2,000.
Best regards.
I thought I was smarter as I long stopped buying the latest and greatest and instead enjoyed “obsolete” cameras (think D700 and Leica M9) but if I really was smart, I guess I would run a rumour site ;-)
Interesting peek behind the scenes, a good reminder in these days of hypes announcements (D850, iPhone X, etc.). Thanks for being honest also, both on your past errands as well as on the way PL is run.
I first read PL for the photography articles, and learn a lot about the process of photography without ever being enticed to buy a new piece of equipment. I am now an happy reader with no magical lens, but a good reference website that I enjoy to read daily. Keep up the good work Nasim, you and others contributors are making this website unique :)
Nasim
I’m impressed by your openness and integrity.
Your site is always the “go to” site for in depth and intellegent photography based articles.
I am most grateful to you and your team.
Well done Nasim. Your integrity has always been reflected in your website along side your admirable editorial control. Keep it up.
Hi Nasim
This is true in every other field as well. look at iPhone and the hype that is created. Phone is for talking. Keep it Simple Stupid.
I first bought my Nikon D5000 and still works great with my lenses 55mm-200mm dx including the recently bought Nikon 200-500 … and used it with that camera. I think the shots were pretty impressive. Only after 9 years i bought the D500 for action photography and i am enjoying the photos as i have more experience now to take advantages of the new features that it offers. Some people ask meaningless questions like which camera should i buy and so on….
This is a cartel and industries which are forced to survive have realized that this is the only way….The problem is identifying what you need and that’s where many people gets confused over wants and needs….. Unless people realize that they have to shoot , compose , shoot , compose ,shoot….lot more and begin to understand their creative ability ….these companies will survive…..and perhaps make money …..
Great article. Unfortunately, it’s not only camera BUYERS that fall for the hype – clients read these things too – with the result that jobbing pros – ie those who rely on taking pictures, rather than hits on their YouTube channel or overpriced personal workshops to earn a living – fail to get jobs purely because they don’t have the latest hyped up monster in their kit. I recently retired after over forty years in the industry, not that I’ll refuse work if offered, but my gear has always had to justify its existence financially, along with most of my colleagues. Full frame and megapixels are also hyped up to ridiculous levels too, but that’s another story…….
Jason Lanier, are you listening?
Hi Nasim,
It was again with great interest that I read your latest article and I praise your integrity and honest openness on the subject. It takes some guts to go against the stream, especially if the stream is a billion $ industry! On the other hand, I expect nothing less from PL, reason why I became a loyal follower ever since I made the switch to digital photography. In a world where everyone wants his say and wants to be heard/read and where the one screaming the loudest gets heard, I have always appreciated and respected the high quality of the articles on PL. A combination of passion, news, teaching, discussion, technicalities and techniques, information etc, all topics of photography have always had a sound, well balanced and honest quality to them. With this excellent article, I am glad to see that you bring back this balance after the many articles related on new gear, like using an “antidote” to a poison! Obviously, we all want to continue reading your great (and complete) reviews on cameras, lenses and other gear, so don’t refrain in doing that, but it’s as great to once in a while step back from the “noise” and contemplate where all this is going and above all to (re)focus on the core, the art of photography itself! Thanks and happy clicks! Best regards, Christian
I love the gear reviews, because I like knowing what’s out there and the reviews on PL are some of the best, so please don’t stop writing them Nasim. However, I’m not tempted to buy a ton of the latest gear from it. When I do carefully fit new gear into my budget however, it’s good to have reviews from a knowledgeable and careful person like yourself.
I think the real problem though is the small subset of people who become truly addicted to online shopping and buying the latest gear; in other words, those people who develop a dependency on it. In fact data presented in a 2013 paper by Kuss et al. suggests that online shopping is one of the strongest predictors of internet addiction. The same problem exists with social media sites that take advantage of our social nature by creating an unnaturally quick-updating venue, which is again especially bad for those prone to internet addiction.
So there are definitely sites that overdo this, but I don’t think PL is one of them. In fact, I think it would be interesting and useful if in gear reviews, authors would more often include a few paragraphs of “you might benefit from this product over this cheaper alternative if…”. I think some people might look at an expensive camera like the Nikon D850, and forget that for their needs the D610 might suffice. Just a thought, but I think that for some the emotional hype might take over their comparative analytical ability and it is the responsibility of the more knowledgeable and rational of us to help these people out.
Thank you so much for these really honest words around the Hype of whatever it is. It suits very well to many, many things, like the iPhone 8, X, XX, and whatever.
Imagine what one could spend on travel by not spending $3500 on a D850 and still using his very old fashioned D810 not even speaking of the D700 and getting awesome pics of whatever he decides to go for.
And so it will go on forever. You will write a review about some “T1000” model within ten years from now with integrated Lightroom XXX, automated postprocessing that might print out before you shoot.
Your article is really worth reading and switching ones brain back on.
Greetings from Old Germany, Dirk
Hi Nasim,
Great, frankly written article. Thank you! My motto for every purchase I need to make: Do not but anything newly released. Wait until every problem is solved and every bug is fixed. Buy 2nd hand in good condition if you can. Be it a camera, a car or a coffe machine. :)
One of your best and most useful articles Nasim! I am often critical here (especially when it is about gear) just because of the always “better, newer, sharper, less noise, sharper corners” and more of that blablabla articles but you are a respectful person. I hope this article will open the eyes of a lot of people and I have to admit that I learned a lot of your educational articles.
Let’s focus on art instead of technique!
It’s official, PL is my favourite photo website, full stop. No clickbait, honest reviews, transparency, skilled writers who know how to shoot (not like the guys over at the Phoblographer), and an active presence in the comments.
I am so happy you decided to reveal the intricacies of the hype business, as it might open the eyes of heavy GAS sufferers.
Like you said, gear should be all about need VS want. There is nothing wrong in spending $$$ on a lens you have been contemplating for a while, if you know it performs just like you need it to, and is the only option you have to get that shot you have been missing for some time.
However, never buy the new stuff, and especially in pre order. I find it staggering that people jump on their computers and spend $3,000 on something that hasn’t been tried and tested. The gaming world has set an example here: “remember, NO PRE-ORDERS”.
Anyway, thank you very much for this, now I am off to read Five Easy Steps to Improve Your Photos via Post-Processing
Cheers,
Felix
“It’s official, PL is my favourite photo website, full stop. No clickbait, honest reviews, transparency, skilled writers who know how to shoot (not like the guys over at the Phoblographer), and an active presence in the comments.”
Amen!
Big cheers from Denmark
Søren
I like the gear reviews, because I like knowing what’s out there and the reviews on PL are some of the best, so please don’t stop writing them Nasim. However, I’m not tempted to buy a ton of the latest gear from it. When I do carefully fit new gear into my budget however, it’s good to have reviews from a knowledgeable and careful person like yourself.
I think the real problem though is the small subset of people who become truly addicted to online shopping and buying the latest gear; in other words, those people who develop a dependency on it. In fact data presented in a 2013 paper by Kuss et al. suggests that online shopping is one of the strongest predictors of internet addiction. The same problem exists with social media sites that take advantage of our social nature by creating an unnaturally quick-updating venue, which is again especially bad for those prone to internet addiction.
So there are definitely sites that overdo this, but I don’t think PL is one of them. In fact, I think it would be interesting and useful if in gear reviews, authors would more often include a few paragraphs of “you might benefit from this product over this cheaper alternative if…”. I think some people might look at an expensive camera like the Nikon D850, and forget that for their needs the D610 might suffice. Just a thought, but I think that for some the emotional hype might take over their comparative analytical ability and it is the responsibility of the more knowledgeable and rational of us to help these people out.
(For some reason this comment didn’t work the first time…)
I agree, I like the PL reviews in particular (and no offense intended Nasim but I prefer Verm’s irreverant style) because they’re full of real world use and reasonable points, rather than breathless hype. Please keep doing the reviews you’re doing!
Very informative and beautifully written article. There are cameras and lenses and other accessories for them launched every six months. With the promise of improving the quality of the photograph. Pro Photographers can invest in new gear as they are the means of their livelihood. But as an amature or beginner we should concentrate on improving our skill.
I couldn’t agree more with the positive comments above. Thank you so very much for this article. Kind of sad that is has to be written though…
It’s all to easy to fall victim to the hysteria.
If only more websites were run with the integrity, professionalism, humanity and kindness that are the hallmarks of PL…
Nasim,
Very nice and informative article. In your last line, you say buy what you need, but in some sense the camera companies are not giving us what we need. I shot a convention yesterday, and as always, had difficulty framing my quick shots, as I wear glasses and am a left eye shooter. Where is my F3 high eyepoint? The Df has a 15mm eyepoint, while the D1h had a wonderful 22 mm, neither of which were as good as film camera’s.
I love the APS-C format for it’s compromise between quality and weight, but why can’t I have a 8 mp D7200S for low light shooting?
Well done Nasim!
I’ve been following your website for a long time and appreciate your candour. Not that I was unaware of the marketing tactics but it is always good to get an insider perspective with some real details and numbers.
Regards,
Paulo
Ain’t capitalism great!?
You know of a better system?
I lived in a better system till 1991. It was named Yugoslavia. Then somebody decided to to help it to disintegrate.
Good article that I read in a while.. it makes a lot of sense
Let me change subject of comments a bit. I am led in that direction by analysis of site revenues. If typical income is in order of first hundreds of $ per day it may be feasible to create a version without adds for minor subscription fee. It may actually even lessen the compulsive behaviour of camera buyers. And I will be there to buy it in exchange for no adds,
Nasim,
Why didn’t you write this article 10 years earlier? (LOL) I fell into the hype trap shortly after buying my first Nikon DSLR in 2007 – the 6 MP D50 with that “horrible” 18-135mm and 70-300mm lens set. Like you, I often look back at some of those pictures and love them. BUT… I got caught up in the megapixel hype and when it was announced, “upgraded” to the 16 MP D5100 – giving up the in-body motor.
The features of the D5100 were a benefit, but I strayed from the Nikon lenses to a Tamron (18-270 PZD) and a Sigma (150-500 OS). My results were “OK” with this gear, but….Finally I convinced myself (with some help from the on-line reviews) that “Nikon-all-the-way” was the only way to go! So today I have become a Nikon purist:
– D5100 & D7100 bodies
– Lenses: 18-70; 18-200; 35; 70-300VR; 200-500VR
I must admit that Nikon’s build quality is superior, but the quality of my pictures is still a function of “The Indian… Not the Arrow”!!! The jury is still out!
Hi Nasim,
thank you very much for this honest and insightful article! There’s a huge need for such kind of content in the online world.
> Don’t be a victim of The Hype. Don’t be a cameraholic and a brainless consumer.
I’m trying…
Best wishes from Berlin, Germany,
Andreas
I’d go further and say there may be a connection between companies.
I finally forked over the money for a shiny new Canon 5D mark IV just to find out I’d have to upgrade to Adobes new rent to own software to process it’s raw files.
Hi Nasim,
Another great, insightful article for readers – Bravo! I think it is very important for readers to understand how the costs of a photography site are covered by various revenue sources. Each of us that have a photography blog, or has plans to create one, need to make some very fundamental decisions about how to ‘go to market’. The fact that revenues of some sort can be generated through a photography blog is not a bad thing. After all, there are hard costs involved not to mention the many hours it takes to create content.
Hopefully this will not be seen as too commercial or too self-serving, but I also wrote an article on this topic as well: tomstirrphotography.com/why-t…raphy-blog
Tom
Excellent article, and exactly on the mark.
Proof of this concept is the line of lemmings willing to spend $1,000 for the new Apple phone.
I read the D850 article with mild interest to see what changed.
I have just purchased a new D810, and have no desire for the 850.
Excelent article!
Really needed in order to counterbalance our present over-induced desire for Instant Gratification (which, by definition, cannot stand in the long run).
Quote from 1969: “Nothing he’s got he really needs” (King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” lyrics).
Thank you and I agree. And I know exactly who you’re speaking about re: the 18-200mm. I fell for it as well. That website that still exists, filled with pleas to support the reviewer’s growing family. Your site is where I come to get real info.
Yes, hype isn’t going anywhere.
Yes, there will always be a ‘best’ camera.
Yes, social media influence is big.
And yes, there are always going to be people that follow it.
Thank you for cutting thru it all with your honest article.
Excellent article! Thanks for taking the time and effort to write it.
Great Article. Keep telling the Truth even when its and Inconvenient Truth.
I keep thinking I may upgrade. I gotta have it gotta have it, gotta have it….
When I look at what I shoot – landscapes- Reality comes crashing back and I think about what I learned when first shooting 4X5 B&W film. Show up at dawn, use a heavy tripod, remote cable release, use low ISO for image quality, and pray for no wind.
The hype on the internet for gear trumps best practices. I see glimpses of knowledge referring to better image quality and dynamic range noise at low ISO! This seems to go against the internet hype! There is nothing wrong with making a dollar, it keeps the economy going, and I just pass on the latest and greatest. My Sigma Merrills do create remarkable images given their low ISO limitations!
Now if I did upgrade it would require a new lens set and another round of spending on new gear…. Gotta have it, Gotta have it, Gotta have it….
Nasim, love your articles, I just started getting into photography 2 years ago for a new hobby interest. Got a Canon Rebel T5i bundle on Amazon for christmas as I wanted to see how I liked it before spending much more. Of course, I immediately got hooked on it and got Light room and immediately found that maybe the bundle was not the best choice. Rented a 17-55 f 2.8 for trip to NOLA and ended up buying it due to much improved light gain from the kit lens and how the shots looked. Next, after playing around with the kit zoom, I ended up purchasing the Tamron 150-600 since I was enjoying taking shots of birds and sports. After about a year, I pulled the trigger on the 7D mark II and I very much enjoy this camera but I do see how I am forever wondering what I need to buy next! Full frame? I have bought a macro lens and also a 50 f.1.4 as well. I feel like I have so much to learn- Photoshop, Lightroom- different software for textures; HDR on and on . I love the fact that photography gets me out and about and I find myself going to events and places I did not before photography but I am not rich and it is baffling the whole thing with camera shame. I just can’t see dumping everything I have and spending so much to convert to Nikon because of one camera! But I see people constantly talking about it that way. I do feel that maybe a full frame camera would be next investment and my question is if I choose to spend the extra 1k to get the 5D mark IV instead of the lowly touted new 6D Mark II would that be wise as I do look at it as more of a 10 year investment just as I hope I can continue to use my 7D mark II for sports macro and wildlife I hope for the next 10 years as well or am I just being naive? I just want to get a little more into portraits for kids and pets. I for one, realize I have so much to learn still and find myself constantly making errors while shooting. My wife supports my new interest but I am sure is a little irked at the money being spent as we are not rich by any stretch of the imagination.
Nasim, I would say in addition to reviews and previews, comparison articles between cameras bring tons of traffic. The more cameras thrown in comparison, the better. So it is latest gear review plus comparisons.
The overhype with D850 is in overdrive. You could see certain youtubers record videos of them being so PISSED OFF when they did not get their D850 first. Because the first out gets the most views. The first to make a review gets the most views.
Also there is a lot of jealousy toward those reviewers who get free review units on Day one from Nikon, and keep keep these for months for review, while others have to spend $$$$.
Finally, I wanted to point out, as one of the people that fell into a trap of consumerism long time ago, that there are online rental places where you can at least rent the gear before buying it. Lensrentals will let you rent D850 for $180+ fees (I’d say that is a total of $250) for a week. Rather than spending $3300 one does not have, rent D850 for $250 for a week. Like a drug, a week of use typically can calm down a druggie. One will figure out that it is just like the previous camera he/she had. Or if he/she loves it, at least one can have an informed decision. That’s what I did with Sony A9. It was not a cheap camera, so I rented it first for a week, shot it in every possible condition, determined it was amazing, and later bought it when I saw the best deal I could find on it.
By the way, you are 100% sure that Sony will bring out a camera that will beat D850 in every spec, plus you get EVF and IBIS. No need to keep your shutter speed at 1/4X focal length :) And Fuji will bring XT2s with IBIS.
Subscribed finally after lurking around the website for the past few years,
Just a little worried … sometimes good guys come last … so fingers crossed!
Wishing PL (I still redirect from mansurovs.com) all the very best for a very bright future!
Last paragraph says it all.
I down-sized from my Nikon equipment (sold it all) to Olympus (OMD E-M5ii) a couple of years ago. Because….more than anything else (not to mention an incredible stabilization system) I loved the ‘feel’ ….reminds me of my first SLR purchased in 1970, a Honey Pentax Spotmatic,
The painting brush….even the paint… used by cavemen hasn’t changed much over the eons. It’s the expression of the human imagination that ends up on the canvas….the11x17 satin printing paper….that matters. And it always will.
Hello Nassim,
I’ve read all your article.
And I agree with you.
The thing I admire about you, your site & all your wonderful contributors over all these years, is that you balance the gear ‘hype’ with well crafted ways for us all to become better photographers.
This is what sets you apart, your ‘point of difference’ & why I recommend PL to everyone that wants to learn more about this craft.
This article comes very apt. These past two weeks I’ve been opening PL every morning yearning to see a nice meaty tutorial on any subject, one that might just happen to be something that I need to learn. For me the new camera articles are usually a yawn, especially anything to do with mirrorless, except when it is a camera I might contemplate like the D850. Then a camera review article makes good reading :) . Lately it felt as if PL has strayed a bit far from its core topic – taking good pictures – as it got caught up in the new-gear mania of this rather fevered industry. I appreciate this article very much, as it may be an indicator of a return to basics here at PL. Gear articles are necessary and I wouldn’t want to do without them, and equipment articles are always useful and educational, but the photography articles are always the best and most interesting. I’d like to see more of them, making them the primary focus of PL like they used to be. Good job, Nasim. Your website is the best!
A most timely piece Naism – technology obsession well captured! I have owned or own nearly every Nikon DSLR since 1996. I think for me the compulsion for the latest and greatest (i.e., the 850) is the feeling that I believe I have over the exposure even if I don’t use but 50% of the sensor/exposure technology. Admittedly, the instant the B&H or Amazon package is delivered – the endorphinergic euphoric thrill plays a central role in the addiction. I guess I speak for myself here. Again – thank you for your insight.
Great revealing article, Nasim. Why do I constantly seek the latest and ‘greatest’? Am I filling a void that is meant for something else to fill? Don’t want to get too philosophical here but it’s interesting that we are rarely satisfied these daze. I bought my D810 replacing my Canon system because Nikon was doing better at dynamic range and I wanted that for my photography. Now the D850 is another incremental improvement, but not enough for me to take the plunge. For a similar reason I have only one lens, the Nikon 24-120 f4. It does 99% of everything I want to image and is plenty sharp enough for my printed enlargements. Simple kit, simple seeing, focused on the beauty… davewaldrup.smugmug.com/Point…/n-VMDBpg/
Thank you for publishing this article. I wonder if there isnt another consequence of reviewers/affliates making money from hype. They need more products, more features, more “material” to hype. When the material isn’t provided, the story becomes how that manufacturer is going down the tubes, can no longer innovate, how photographers are switching systems en masse. We are perhaps one month removed from the “Nikon is dying” stories and now we have the “Nikon has the best DSLR” stories. How long until the euphoria evaporates, we go from amazed at the focusing system to complaining about the mirror, to the inevitable boredom with what we have. And the story that Nikon is dead almost seems to write itself.
Hi Nasim. I feel fortunate to have landed on PL website about 2 years ago and continue to be amazed about the education it provides. I admire your honesty and dedication. I wonder where do you find time to create such exhaustive reviews and do some real time photography?
For the 1st time I have learned about the economics of photo sites and their revenue stream. It requires a lot of courage to openly discuss and critique it, even though there is a risk of antagonizing your sponsors.
Introduction of new camera gear and lenses is inevitable, just like any product, as the technology advances. However, as a consumer we have to balance the need Vs greed.
Nasim, Fantastic article!!!! I love your website and have learned a lot from you. I really appreciate your transparency. I will gladly click a few random banner ads with zero intent on buying anything just to try and increase your well deserved paycheck.
^^this. Great article (as always). If revenue was dependent on quality content, this would be the richest photography site on the internet…
Thank you for putting it all together. I have hated the hype for some time, but I didn’t see how far it reached nor how it worked. This was an excellent article — one for the ages. Mad kudos!
Nasim, very well written. Is it me or has Nikon created this among their users to a greater extent than other gear manufacturers? Among my circle of photography friends it is the Nikon users who are the gear junkies. The Fuji and Sony users seem to be content with models that have been replaced a while back. I still use my XT-1 and A7 ii and have no intention of replacing them.
In medicine we refer to two renowned institutions as marketing companies with attached hospitals. Is Nikon a marketing/advertising company that makes cameras?
Nasim,
I think that learning does occur. My plan is to wait about four months to see what quality problems the D850 has before even thinking about a purchase. The feature of the D850 that has appeal to me is focus peaking because I use manual focus lenses. But I suspect that rear screen focus peaking will turn out to be useless in hand held photography in strong daylight. Reviews will help form an opinion. If reviews suggest that focus peaking works well, I’ll rent before buying, which is my standard approach for Nikon products. I suspect that there are a lot of people like me. Nonetheless, thanks a lot for quantifying the payoffs to hype. That’s very useful. Your article may increase my wait time to six months.
Ron
Nasim, Bravo! Such a fantastic article! So many times, I nearly fell into the “gear acquisition trap” before catching myself and trying to improve my skill rather than buy the latest thing. Always a pleasure to read your pieces. Keep up the good work!
Great article and it re-enforces something I felt was just unique to me. My primary “serious” DSLR camera has been a Nikon D300s with a D200 as “back-up. When I was photographing my son , a competitive cyclist, it was all about speed – how fast was the fps rate, how fast could it focus and how accurate was that focus. My D300s delivered the goods although I yearned for the mythical D400 replacement. But he stopped racing and now my “need for speed” is gone and I found it hard to justify the amazing performance of the D500 – which in my case would also require upgrading my PC to handle new post processing software, new data cards, new RRS L bracket – you get the idea. I WANTED a D500 but didn’t really NEED it. And so, I am now selling off my ancient D200 and have already purchased a second D300s, BECAUSE IT MEETS MY NEEDS.
Sure – I’ll probably always lust after the D500 but until I need incredible focus speed, greater fps, or better high ISO/low light capability I will stick with my D300s. And keep reading about all the cool new technology rolling out of Japan….
I always buy one gen late to gain some savings and assure me the camera will perform. Not an early adopter.
I have ‘passed this on’ to readers at a rumor site. It might get bumped! so what…
Hi Nasim – Thanks for your honest and insightful article. Having been in marketing (and sales) for more years than I can count (and now devoting my time to building a photography business), I just have to chuckle a bit around all the hype. This is marketing 101 – “New and Improved Tide makes your clothes cleaner, whiter than ever before” – really, I hadn’t noticed that old Tide was so bad….but yet people are influenced and will run out and buy it anyway. For people who have GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), your comments can perhaps help them work thru their issues – HOWEVER, it’s their responsibility not yours. When reading a review (and with an engineering background), I like reading about facts (to quote a show that shows my age – “just the facts ma’am”) vs hyperbole or emotion. Will an extra f-stop in sensitivity with less noise make any difference in one’s photography? Will 7fps vs. 5fps? Is the noise floor measurably better?
You can’t blame the camera makers – their job is to generate revenue, and that’s how they’re able to improve their products to come up with the next latest and greatest – that’s progress (imagine if they didn’t advertise or create demand – we may not have the D8xx at all). As far as keeping supply low – as mentioned in other posts, making something desirable by leaking (hello Apple!), constraining demand at first, etc. are all very common tactics. The reality is that bringing out a new product involves manufacturing ramp up – you start with small quantities and eventually ramp up production. There is a delicate balance between creating too much demand such that people get frustrated waiting (which eventually can damage your brand and cause people to go to a competitor) and not creating enough. And sometimes manufacturing has issues and can’t ramp up as fast as they’d like, even though advertising has been placed months in advance – making matters potentially worse.
Of course rumors are leaked – that’s what creates hype – the iPhone X has been rumored for over 6 mos, with more and more details emerging as time went on – there were few if any surprises on announcement day.
Sorry to ramble a bit but here’s my takewaways:
*Nikon is doing nothing different than most manufacturers (which you mentioned)
Whether or not to buy something new is ultimately the responsibility of whomever has the credit card – and if buying a new camera helps the psyche of a photographer and they wind up taking better pictures then maybe it was a good investment – that’s no one’s responsibility but their own. And frankly, perhaps it’s a learning/maturing process. Only they can be the judge of whether it was a wise move or not
As somewhat of a geek, I love having new toys – however, I try to remain practical (and don’t always succeed….) – I opted for the D800E shortly after it came out and have made many great photographs with it, issues notwithstanding. I skipped the 810 as it seemed to be an incremental upgrade that didn’t have a great ROI, and instead invested in new glass and lighting gear. My 800 is now 5 years old and could probably go for several more years, but am likely to get the 850 for a number of reasons (which may also be known as justifications….). Everyone has to decide for themselves – but ultimately it’s not about the gear, it’s about the photographer (but sometimes the gear can help, either technically or otherwise).
One other comment regarding websites – there are good ones and not so good ones – I always look forward to reading yours (check it every nite), along with several others. Many people don’t understand the level of effort it takes to keep a website full of good, interesting, and relevant content, in addition to your “day job” – so congrats on doing a great job. Your hard work has paid off with an impressive following – keep up the great work!
Well said Barry.
I Have a 5 year old D800 I am satisfied .
I have 2 D800’S and they are great tools.
I too am also satisfied but I may take advantage of all the “Hype” with the D850 and purchase a D810. If not, I’m still satisfied with what I have.
Thank you for your honesty, Nassim. This article makes me trust you all the more. BTW, I clicked through on your Five Easy Steps link, but not on the ads.
I’m sorry! I meant to check the spelling of your name before hitting Post Comment!
Excellent article! Yes, I understand much of what you wrote but happy to see it written again. When i was shooting film, I used a Nikon FM from roughly 1976 or so through 1990 or so then shot a Leica in addition till my conversion to digital in the early 2000s, 2 camera’s over 25 years. Digital in 15 years Ive used 4, 2 I still use regularly, 1 that was sold, and 1 rarely used. My upgrades were certainly driven by tech improvements, D100 (bought new, later sold) to D2x (bought new, still have) to D700 (bought new, still use often) to D810 (bought used, still use often) (larger sensor, better high iso performance, etc) but still, 4 camera’s in 15 years vs 2 in 27…hmmmm… very easy to succumb to the “tech” improvements. Now as to lenses, Ive increased the number I have but have not purchased newer versions as they come out, so Ive resisted much better.
The other side to this is that a better camera can render higher quality images in terms of the rendered data, but it is of course pointless if the photographer takes bad shots. Just felt like saying it.
A well written, and relevant, article addressed to all of the gear heads out there. The number of photographers on YouTube, for example, who push gear on their followers is a big part of the problem. In the process, not only do they draw traffic, and associated advertising revenue, to their channel but they also profit from the links for buying gear. Further, some are sponsored by the companies which they are promoting. For myself, it is difficult to take their recommendations seriously, considering the profit motive of these advertisers, posing as photographers.
By the way, something tells me that it was Ken Rockwell who pushed that Nikkor 18-200 mm lens. Just a hunch, based on what I know about him.
Great article.
Demonstrates the INTEGRITY for which you are known and respected, which puts your name and website at the top of an ever-increasing number of people’s photo website favorites lists.
Keep it coming!
I am a what they call a ‘Prosumer’. I used to be a full-time working professional photographer (college major, then staffer for one of the world’s largest technology companies, preceded by working for one of the big three broadcast networks), but I changed careers alone the way. I now do it for the love of it, and for decent profit on the side – enough profit that it pays for all my gear and more. I have a full studio, have a dedicated brick and mortar gallery space where I sell large landscape work, and do occasional contract work with the US Army Corp (e.g. visitor centers). I don’t think I’m alone doing these things. I do enjoy gear, but am not a gear head. I don’t want my gear holding me back – I know how to use and apply every last bit of technology I have at my finger tips, know the science behind it, and come at it as a die-hard art major. I’ve been doing this since I was 12 when I started doing wet darkroom work (which I still do today on the side for fun and has sadly, become a rare specialty). I am not in the NPS ‘club’, as I am no longer a full time pro, but I can run circles around many current practitioners who wouldn’t know a lighting ratio from diffraction and circle them in confusion (excuse the pub for those of you that got that LOL).
I skip at least every other generation of DSLR, sometimes two. I’ve been with Nikon since I bought my first one, and F2as at age 18; I love the build, design, ergonomics, reliability, and features – so call be a boy if you will, but you’ll be hard-pressed to take my Pentax 67II or view camera from my cold, dead hands anytime soon. I’ve had many cameras – from large format view cameras to medium and small format – they are all just tools. True, there are many ‘idiots’ out there that have (or worse, don’t have) the deep pockets to afford the latest and greatest, everyone from clueless amateurs to pros not watching their P&L close enough, but don’t lump everyone into the same bucket either. Can I continue without replacing my D800? Sure, but the new feature set will remove a series of barriers I often face when shooting for profit and pleasure. Personally, I can afford it even if I wasn’t earning extra income from it on the side, but I’d likely upgrade even if I wasn’t as I take my craft seriously and derive great pleasure from it.
While this article rings true to an extent, it smacks of elitism too. Who is the author to judge the buyers in categorical terms? I see that the article and its author as being rather arrogant, but, nonetheless, it’s a free press. Buyer beware, and reader beware of the BS on both ends.
Michael, I definitely did not want to show any signs of elitism or arrogance in the article – that was not my intent. Buying gear on loan, especially when one does not actually need that gear is not the smartest decision and perhaps I was too harsh on calling such people idiots, so I removed that reference from the article. I apologize to anyone who I might have offended with that.
Another excellent article, thanks Nasim. In our forever accelerating treadmill naïve consumers get tricked into a) parting with their money for something they probably don’t need nor can afford and b) conducting QC for manufacturers. Short product life cycles hardly allow for proper QC – given product complexity. If I want a laugh, I read reviews from prior generation products then check the second-hand prices of those same super cameras! Keep up the good work at PL!
I certainly was aware of most of that but thanks for filling in the gaps and having some integrity. I laugh at some of the camera web pages that state “if you like this website, buy via this link.” If they provide me good content maybe I will.
Many manufacturers keep playing “consumers” with their incremental improvements and just given us enough to get us to upgrade and then 2 or 3 years later there is the next incremental upgrade. Apple is great at that and they have managed to develop a base of loyal “consumers” that would give anything for the next great Apply product. Nikon, on the other hand, could have included more things with the D850 like better internet connectivity, some way to make the flash commander mode work for older flashes, GPS, etc, but then what would be in the next iteration?
I certainly try to not be a consumer. My last upgrade was from the D300 to the D800 and part of me reason there was to go to full frame. I skipped the D810 and am likely to get a D850 because of the improvements it has over the D800. I’m not that excited about more megapixels and larger files but the improvements like electronic shutter, better live view, tilt screen, focus stacking, auto fine tune, etc. seem like good upgrades. Although I’m not that excited that my SB-200 and 900 will no longer work off camera without additional equipment.
Thanks for your honesty. This is one of the basic reasons that I follow your website. I can expect honesty in all your articles. I have a D500 and it’s the latest in a long progression of Nikon bodies. It does for me what I want in a camera. So, while the desire is strong to have the latest and greatest, there’s not $3,300 sitting in my bank account ready to pay for it. I’m keeping my D500.
A peak behind the curtain at the ugly underbelly of some of our favorite sites. I appreciate PL and all the articles, even if some are of no use to me (I don’t use Adobe products, for example), because I believe you guys are trying your best to help us, not sell us.
As much as D850 gear lust has affected me (I was really high on the pre-order list from a very nice retailer in NE but I cancelled the pre-order when I found out my wife’s pregnant with our second baby), and as much as I love the idea of more MP when I crop in for animal photos, I’m glad my wife’s gentle prodding overcame my gear lust. I still want the D850 and I think it’d be fun to have on my Colorado trip in a little over a week, but nope, I’ll wait until I can afford it straight up, no borrowing against the family required.
I’d rather go on next year’s PL Colorado trip in SW Colorado than have a D850! Good news is the PL trip is a lot less than the D850 and all the ancillaries too (memory card, card reader, new L-bracket, battery grip and on and on and on).
Dear Nasim:
Thank you very much for the wonderful information you provide to the public. I’m a retired scientist, but my favorite hobby since childhood has been photography. I have learned much from your web site, and I expect to keep on learning. I’ve always felt that should know more when you go to sleep at night than you did when you woke up that morning. You have helped to make that true. Best of luck in your future and God bless.
Thanks for the great article. I got caught up in the hype. I rationalized that I buy the D850 for what I could sell my D810 and D500 for. So I put in a “preorder.” Then I realized I was using my A7R2 far more than the Nikon gear (mirror seemed to get in the way, front and back focusing issues, having to chimp, no pre-shot histogram), and that it made more sense to just sell all of the Nikon gear, so I did–sold cameras, lenses, etc–and cancelled the preorder. The check should arrive today. I expect to continue to use the A7R2 for landscape photography for several years. Am I tempted by the Fujifilm GFX system? Yeah! Will I be tempted by the Sony A7R3 or A9R? Probably! My name is Jack, and I’m a gear-a-holic. Today I’ve been able to resist temptation. I’m taking it one day at a time.
Jack, As a fellow gear-a-holic, very well said, I applaud your struggle to resist temptation!
Jack, I am very proud of you sir :)
Talk to you soon!
I have been a Nikon shooter throughout my career as photographer starting with F3 F4 D1 D2H D700 and I currently shooting with a D610 which I truly love but I did a check on my shutter and it has 209000 shutter actuations on it and I starting the process of looking for my next camera. I am a NPS member and have been for many years, but have been recently down graded because my cameras are too old My D700 which has been setting in my bag has well over 300000 so it hasn’t gotten used a lot sense I purchased my D610. For me the camera reviews are helping me make that decision I like to know what other think and how the camera feels to them. I’m leaning towards the D500 both for cost and speed. I’m not sure about the D850 yet. My needs have really change over the past couple of years. I was a working photojournalist at a local newspaper in south east Kansas but after being laid off I shoot mostly for myself and when ever anyone calls with an assignment. I do have a big event coming up in October I’m probable going to rent a D500 for this event so I can judge how it preforms for my shooting.
Nasim, wow! Great article. Well said and so dead honest! Chapeau! (French for I bow in front of you).
Appreciate your honesty and integrity. Sincerely. Rare to see these days (or any days, for that matter.)
Everything you say about photography applies to virtually all other aspects of our consumer society. This is what capitalism is all about. Somewhere along the line (sooner rather than later, I suspect) capitalism and the bottomless pit of demand that it strives to create is going to run head on into the reality that mindless consumption is destroying the planet we live on.
Truth be told, people like equipment related articles because they aren’t really interested in photography as a creative medium but as a technical hobby. There are remarkably few “artists” in the world. And they don’t need fancy equipment to make their art.
Thank you for your insight of marketing entities that maintain the appearance of keeping us up to date/informed about the latest and greatest products. I am holding onto my D800e bodies, no D850 for me; I should not even look at those new Nikon “e” lenses…but I have read so much about them.
I was just introduced to the photography a few months back, following the fun of a friend. It is incredible the amount of hours I spend reading reviews (never been that obsessed with something in my life), comparing cameras in different websites (cameradecision, bh, etc)…. and it is all because in the minds of so many people like me: it’s all about the camera!!! I know, you keep saying it and we all know it’s absolutely true: it’s all about the camera you have (+ your skills with any camera you could have).
I consider myself as not a consumer… trying my bests to read the lies beneath articles. Nevertheless many times I fail, of course. But because of this I was amazed by the amount of websites that had reviews and such that clearly where pushing sales for their cut.
But Marketing is there for a reason, whether you like it or not. And they know that people, eventually, get sick and tired with what they have, and want to change that feeling. Because, as you also said, how can we be so naive in preordering something that was not exhaustly tested? The most intelligent thing to do would be to sit and wait a bit to see its flaws, or even long enough for the price to fall, unless the “new feature” to be a real game changer for you.
After all, I ended buying a Sony A6000 for 450 usd because the newer versions (A6300 $750 and A6500 $1250) where not meant for me. Even if I get tired later on by this gear, there is so much room for me to buy newer models that would be actually old at that time, so still I won’t be paying those insane prices for few more features.
Having said this, just wanted to say that I am one of those few people that do read all your articles educational articles!! Haven’t paid a dime so far on live courses. This website is so full of information. And even if I do buy a course, would only do it with the ones listed here.
Keep up the good work!
It’s business pure and simple. All business’s need an income stream to survive. Don’t fret were not all daft.Your articles are informative and interesting.
Here’s a small excerpt from Paul Simon’s lyrics “Kodachrome”.
–
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
–
For me its an antidote to every day life in an office …..My thoughts on Nikon….Actually they give me the hump every now and again. Some of their products are great others are disappointing. Overall between my Nikon equipment and my Olympus equipment. The Olympus has been a much better purchase and a more satisfying product to use.
A Winston Churchill quote – Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.
Have a good day.
Naism,
Thanks for your honesty, it is nice of you to admit that you are part of the viral marketing chain, how it works and you benefit from it. I was surprised you shared revenue number, and I am glad to know that you make money from this sight. As you and others have mentioned, technology is constantly changing, and some folks feel like they need the latest and greatest. I feel like I am usually a generation behind. I can’t imaging needing more pixels than I have now on my D810, my main reason for the upgrade was for the use of video.
I think it is important for potential camera buyers to really think about what they currently have, and if a new camera is really going to be better. I can’t remember the last time I said, “Gee if only I had more, _____,” (fill in the blank). If you can afford it, good for you. It is not about the camera you use, it is about what you do with it.
“Don’t be a victim of The Hype. Don’t be a cameraholic and a brainless consumer. Stop yourself from the Internet hysteria that surrounds cameras, lenses and other gear. Instead, spend time learning about photography techniques and improving your skills. Travel more, see more, shoot more”.
Thanks for this article. So very true, so very relevant, and so well-targeted, since those of us reading it are probably disproportionately representative of the shooters who spend more time online than out shooting or learning how to take better pictures.
Glad you have discussed “the elephant in the room.” The hype machines have really gone to the extreme (tho maybe we haven’t seen anything yet). Sony and Fuji (full disclousre-I have one of those) are probably even more into this than Nikon. After a while, you figure out that all these social influencers/websites juts might be influenced by all the manufacturer junkets they go on when new product is introduced. You see them showing images from the same exotic locations, glowing reviews, etc. How many more junkets will be provided to any of them not overwhelmed by the new baubles? Not to pick on Nikon, but is seemed that all the glowing posts about the 850 were made after a brief “hands-on” experience with no real-world use- all based on specs and a brief first impression. It seems to work. As the old saying goes, “Fools and their money are soon parted”. Of course this scene is prevalent all over the internet for all types of products.
Thanks for providing a website which has a sense of balance and proportion.
Nasim,
Integrity is in short supply these days (but I suspect that has always been the case). I admire and appreciate yours, as well as your technical expertise and clear explanations.
What a great article! We can thank Apple for hype marketing –a new “top secret” enhancement every six months! I learned many years ago not to trust vested-interest advisors – a well-known wild life photographer – of the “what is in my bag” type – convinced me (already lusted after it) that I needed a Nikon F5. Two weeks later, just after I bought it, I was looking on his site for confirmation that I did right, he announced that he had just gone 100% digital, and sold his F5’s while they still had some value. I loved that F5 and used a very expensive camera for two years and then went digital myself. I have never looked at his web site since, even though he is a “Nikon Ambassador.” I use a D810 now – an upgrade from my D300 – but had to go back to my D300 while the D810 was in for repair. Surprise, surprise, I still like the photographs I take with it. I think I will pass on the D850, but it is hard not to read all the hype. So many “influencers” have fallen by the wayside. We hear them say, “I have never done this before, but you are all asking for it and I am so excited by this camera,” that I am going to compromise my principles to give you what you want (and also make some money). Apparently they are selling their redundant D500’s, which they just bought, and which have less than 20,000 shutter actualizations. Perhaps they are so busy selling cameras that they do very little photography anymore. Thanks for stating plainly what is really going on. There is a lot of innovation, but we are paying big bucks for small bite-size changes. Long-winded – I know.
Sounds like you ran into a Moose on the F5 :)
Hmmm. Sounds just like capitalism.
Sorry, I don’t get it. Canon is selling under-powered cameras and people are buying in droves. Nikon has a winner in their hands and you are killing the demand. How can they survive without selling? This is true for each of the industry we work on. No matter what company we are working we are essentially selling our products.
I think the gist of his article was that the manner of promotion is masquerading as independent opinion by authorities in the field.
Gudda, who is killing the demand? Why are you so worried about Nikon surviving? I am a Nikon shooter, always have been, and the points I raise in this article can be related to any camera, including cameras from Canon or any other brand.
Why should anyone be worried about keeping a company afloat by buying their products? If a company is doing poorly, it is not the customers’ responsibility to save them. I shoot with Nikon, because it is a system of choice for me, not because I am loyal to the company or want to save it from collapsing by buying more of its products.
Thank you for this article. We all knew it worked this way, we just didn’t know the details. My pet peeve is anoouncement of a forthcoming announcement. So they announce that next week they will announce a camera/lens/bag that will not be available to order the three months. Hype of forthcoming hype.
I love capitalism and acknowledge my gear acquisition syndrome. But knowing how it works, will make me a more informed, better reader/consumer.
Your colleagues in the web business may throw stones–don’t listen.
Nasim,
Thank you for yet another excellent post.
Bill
This was your best-ever article… until we read your next one! ;)) Seriously, I love your honesty and thanks for the specifics of the internet’s hype-reality mechanics. Great stuff! As are soooo many of your articles and images! Thank you!
Nasim- Great read. I appreciate your candor and integrity in writing this article… you hit the nail on the head.
Hi Nasim,
A very timely and great article. I have an old D70s and it has provided me with a lot of fun and good pictures. Then I purchased the D7100 and wow that was a big upgrade. I am very happy with what I have for years to come. Better techniques have made me improve from a novice to novice plus.
Thanks again.
Life in the brain versus life in the real world. Imagination plus desire equals hype vulnerability. What I do with my camera in real life (shoot photos at school, sangha, community for the Web) has nothing to do with the fantasies I can invent in my brain regarding my “needs.” I’m making do very well, thank you very much, with a FF camera and a couple lenses.
Nasim,
Great article. I remember the hype around the Sony cameras and it was about that time I was in the market for an upgrade in pixels etc. I went to a local camera store to look at the new Canon 5DSR since I had already had seen files from the Sony. The staff was happy to show me the Canon, but kept pushing the Sony. It was clear to me the Sony was the big hype and Sony must have been pushing incentives to retailers. Everyone I know was raving about the Sony and for whatever reason there wasn’t as much hype around the Canon, rightfully or wrongly. Anyway fast forward a year and my friends that bought the Sony were now selling their Sony’s and going back to Canon and the 5DSR because of the glass, metabones issues and the lack of professional features like dual card slots.
Keep up the great work!
Ethan
Thanks for a great article and a reminder that older cameras can still produce. The photos “Kite Launcher” that you posted was taken with a D700. In your opinion, how much better would it be with any of the D8xx series?
Thanks again!
The article reminds me of the Mission Statement in the Jerry Maguire movie.
“Show me the money!”
Of course he gets the money by putting in hard work and sacrifice.
By the way, “You had me at Hello” – well in this case, Camera Hype… lol
Nasim,
Thank you for an excellent article. I have only used Nikon since digital started. Used Minolta way back and then stopped to raise a family. I currently have a D3 which I love. On some shots with much detail it actually records at 15 MP! It does everything I want or need. At one time I used a D800 and while it captured more in theory, the photographs were only as good as my skill level. If you are a pixel peeper I suppose the new 850 is a dream, but for sheer photographic beauty 10-12 megapixels are more than enough.
Michael
Bravo. What else is there to say?
Great article Nasim! Some sanity in this world of consumerism and marketing hype!!!
A good article and than you. Here are a some of my thoughts. (1) American consumers are not stupid, were used to the marketing. If you were to believe marketing, every new product is so completely superior to the older product that the consumer must run out an buy one. (2) We understand that web sites make money off of advertising. (3) Sometimes a product comes out with a new feature or function that makes it worth buying but in general changes are incremental. After several design cycles, there can be an advantage to buying a new camera body, nw skis, new car, new computer, (4) The Nikon D850 is a paradise shift as it is the first DSLR camera using a BSI sensor. This is a significant technical advantage, which enables smaller, higher quality pixels than the current technology. Personally I am waiting for the M43 people to adopt BSI sensors. That is when I will buy a new M43 body.
Note: My spell checker got me, it changed ‘paradigm’ to paradise.
Nasim,
Two words.. Well done
Me too! I just sent 10 lenses and 5 bodies to KEH so I could afford the latest camera. I’ve had NAS since digital was born. I wanted the D850 so I ordered one. It was backordered. I order a second one from another store. Then I ordered a third. PayPal, credit cards, trades; I did it all.
Done… I’m cancelling them all. Thank you. I’ll just keep my one wife and my D750. I still have four Nikkors. Enough!
I’m an amateur photographer, more of a hobbyist, and I have a “beginner’s” camera, the Nikon d3200 and I completely agree that gear doesn’t make anyone a better photographer, studying techniques and practicing make a better photographer. I good photographer doesn’t need fancy equipment to capture artistic beautiful photos.
Missey,
I agree! I just came across this guys flickr photo stream the other day.
He has the newer version of the D3200. Perfectly illustrates that you don’t need fancy equipment to capture beautiful photos. I have the same camera and some of the same lenses he used. It has challenged me to see what I can get with my D3300 now that my D750 is at Nikon having the shutter replaced.
Chris
Ahh! The link didn’t show up so hopefully it’ll work now: www.flickr.com/photo…otostream/
Thank you very much for these interesting insights. I have to confess, that I already was such a voluntary victim 2 times.
My first DSLR was Canon EOS 1000D. In fact I was very happy with this very cheap camera, but after 3 years I decided that I needed a better camera to take better pictures. My first idea was to get an EOS 7D or a 60D. But just at this time the Nikon D7000 was released, the best APS-C DSLR of all times. The D7000 was indeed a very nice camera, but I was not very happy with it. I encountered focus problems, learned via the internet that Canon DSLRs produce better colors ;-) and the camera was just too big for hiking. I realized that I always used my Nikon P7700. For this reason I replaced the D7000 with a D5500, which I really, really liked. Unfortunately I had problems with Sigma and Tamron lenses, so I wanted to go mirrorless in order to avoid AF problems. Just at this time I participated in a photography excursion in the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart. The photographer, who led the excursion is a really nice and cool guy and showed us a lot of cool stuff. This photographer is also an Olympus ambassador and so I used an OM-D E-M1 during the excursion and guess what camera I purchased next? Correct, the E-M1. And although I was not completely conviced by the micro four third system I bought a lot of lenses in the hope to get happy with it. During this time I still had my Nikon D5500, because I did not fully believe in the Olympus.
In the end I sold all my Olympus and Nikon stuff and purchased a Fuji X-T20 with some basic lenses (18-55mm 2.8-4.0, 35mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.8 and a Samyang 12mm). I think this time I made the decision on my own and I am very happy with the camera so far. I see only two drawbacks: The lenses are rather expensive and I have to abandon Lightroom ;-)
Really a first rate piece of journalism backed up by plenty of empirical fact.
Great article! I knew that the hype existed for a the reason of greater profits but didn’t realize how convoluted and pre-calculated the process was. I’ve been happy for the most part to purchase used equipment from reputable sources. Recently I purchased a Pentax K-3 with the optional grip and battery and some older film era prime lenses (adapted) to use with it. Got an amazing camera and some stellar glass for a fraction of the cost of new equipment. I can’t say I’m immune to the hype though! After reading a few reviews on the D850 I have to admit to lusting for it, LOL!
Great article and to think this marketing strategy applies to so much more then just cameras.
Nasim, I just want to say thank you for your openness, and state very clearly that I keep on coming back to PL for the refreshing articles on photography, not for the reviews! (I could find those elsewhere as well).
Wow
What an eye opener!
You really did pull back the curtain on the photography industry and internet marketing. I especially appreciate your willingness to provide numbers. Knowledge is power and I thank you for the knowledge.
You make good points. But they aren’t limited to cameras, I suspect all products are subjected to these practices. I don’t know that they are intrinsically “bad,” we just need to be aware of the source and methodology of those breathless accolades.
Nasim, an Indian scripture, the Vivekachudamani (Crest Jewel of Wisdom) talks about the “glamorizing power of the mind.” It’s a power that I’m sure camera manufacturers give thanks for daily.
The solution is simple but hardly easy. We can work out our desires by fulfilling them and seeing how they become boring and don’t satisfy us, or we can find that inner part of our consciousness that satisfies every desire – the drawback being that it takes even longer than waiting for a pre-ordered D850.
It is all just a matter of controling yourself and not be controlled by others. When I see those lines of people standing in front of Apple-shops for the latest piece of tech , I feel sorry for them because it shows that people are just plain stupid .
People tend to forget also : Nikon D600 oil problems , Nikon D750 lot of recalls , Nikon Df miss .
I still shoot with my D700 – though lately some rubbers tend to get loose and the shutter has now over 250000 clicks – but it still works and does not fail.
D850 : yes I will buy it for reason of the flipping screen which will be handy for my macro-photography , the obvious serious upgrade in resolution from 12 to 45 and so more reasons . However : I will wait for at least 1 year untill I’m sure that no problems surface like with some previous models. And if the production of the D850 is rushed than chances are high for such faillures.
This post led me to scout around on the internet re. the 850 (for which Imhave no interest). One thing which struck me was the “rogues gallery” of 35 pros Nikon apparently brought to Japan to go out and make glorious images of a quality never before seen by man. Aside from the fact I did not recognize even one of them, the most striking thing which came to me was that all 35 were men! I don’t go looking for this, it just hit me in looking at the gallery. I guess this “beast of a camera” is too much for women to handle?
Thanks for a very insightful article. I could feel your introspection and conflicts in this article. If you ever run out of ideas for content, an interesting follow up to this article would be “When it is time to upgrade.” It would be interesting to hear when the gear does matter, from someone that shoots many different genres of photography. I think many people find it hard to determine if upgrading would benefit their photography, or if they are in gear lust. I fell prey to that when the D800 was announced. My pictures from the D800 weren’t suddenly better than the pictures from the D80 I was using before.
I agree with your summary, “As I look back at some of my favorite pictures I captured with my Nikon D700 almost ten years ago, I see light, color, subject and its beauty. I don’t see a tilting LCD or electronic front curtain. I don’t see automatic focus stacking or 45 Megapixels. Those are my favorite shots because I was able to concentrate on what really matters – photography.” Also, just because those images were captured on older equipment doesn’t mean they are suddenly less meaningful or good. It is especially apparent when the finalist shots of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 show images captured with a Nikon D200, Nikon D300s, and Canon 5D.
Again, thank you for the content you put out. I enjoy reading your gear reviews as well, but the articles about photography are more fulfilling to me. Sometimes the numbers don’t show the true impact of an article.
Nasim,
Thanks so much for a really great article. It really made me think about being a smart buyer or a consumer. Before the announcement of the D850 I was thinking that I have the perfect setup for myself (just an enthusiast photographer). I have a D750 (which I just sent off to Nikon yesterday to have shutter replaced due the service recall) and a D3300. I use my D750 mostly in combination with the Nikon 14-24mm lens for landscape and astrophotography and my D3300 with its 18-55 and 55-200 for family shots, travel, skiing and biking where I want something small and light and can just throw in any backpack. This setup has worked well for me. When the D850 was announced I read your article and others with excitement and all of the hype and positive reviews made me at least think about upgrading my D750 as it had everything the D750 has and more (flip out screen and low sensor noise being very important to star photography). And now with my D750 having shutter problems (shutter has locked up on me 3 times recently), I thought maybe its time to update. But other than the shutter problem, my D750 has been rock solid and I love everything about it from its design to quality of images I can get from it. Then along comes your article and it was a reality check, so now I am no longer drooling over the D850 (although I admit it does look like a great camera). For my needs I, don’t need anything the D850 offers over my D750, so thanks for such an honest and informative article. I appreciate your time and effort to write such an article.
Chris
Good article, bringing awareness and being honest is a mark of a true character. When I need some serious know how of any products in relation to photography I have used this site. It is here where I was convinced of the Nikon D810 after reading the article that was posted.
I use the Nikon D810 with great joy.
Thank you for your honesty Maksim.
Thanks Nasim,
Very coherent and precise article.
We must just remember that you are referring to
a camera as a tool for creating art.
I think the market is different.
I see more and more top end gear used by hobbies
and more professional photographers using
Couple generations old gear.
just think if Sony thought the professionals are
The market we would have seen 300 2.8 and 400 4
years ago. They are not un informed we are.
I think for most of the consumers it is a
Consumer electronic devices just like IPhone ,
Streamers and OLED TV.
In the eye of the amateur photographer this is a tool that is creating entertainment and documentation for Them and their families.
Just like other product it’s life cycle is short and
people are all the time look for improvement.
Otherwise Apple wouldn’t be the what it is.
I don’t see anything wrong with gear reviews yet I do see a big issue with affiliate links.
How can i trust a reviewer who gains from me buying the gear he reviews?
Thanks again !
Yair
That took guts! Like you I still look back at my D700 images with a bit of awe. Whatever was I thinking when I sold it? Hype for the D800. Too bad for me. Thank you.
Hi Nasim, I shoot predominantly sports and was thinking of trading my D3S for the D850, mainly due to the high megapixels. However, I love my D3S and, after reading your article, I think I will stay put with what I have.
Thanks Nasim for your openness! In fact the only new pieces of information were some numbers (revenue from different sources) – which is pretty interesting even without a blog or website.
I totally agree with you and keep happy shooting with my trusty D800 nearing the 300.000 shutter actuations mark :)
I have a photo hanging over my mantle that I took many years ago on Kodachrome 25 with an FE2 and a 400mm lens. Is it tack sharp? No. Is it noise free? No, the grain is visible. Do I still want it on my wall? Yes. It’s a beautiful scene of dwarf conifers on the slope of a ridge in the mountains surrounded by plants turning red in the fall. I returned a year later thinking I would try to rephotograph the same scene, but the conifers had been crushed over the previous winter by a deep, heavy snow pack, and the surrounding plants were pale in comparison to the previous year. The photo is precious and invaluable because it’s a memory of that fabulous trip I had, and the beautiful scene is probably even no longer there. (However, I will be re-photographing this old slide with my D750, and reprinting because the old print was on way-too contrasty Cibachrome, and the D750 can reproduce the slide with much better color and dynamic range than my scanner can.)
I was just looking in a book at a lot of old photographs from early in the twentieth century, and most were not sharp or very unsharp, were very grainy, and had very limited dynamic range, and the lack of detail left lots to the imagination. But many of these were very eye catching due to the subject matter and the way objects were modeled by the light. Light, after all, is the first principle of photography, not sharpness and extreme detail. Just look at all those beautiful old landscape and portrait paintings in museums. It was all about light. When you look closely, detail in the trees and the fabrics in the portraits tend to break down.
I will join the other readers in congratulating you for your honesty and openness. I especially appreciated the production of hard evidence with actual figures.
As for want vs. need, I wonder. I am not a professional photographer, so I cannot say I need anything, and after all I lived decades without a camera. So it’s all about want. But if I dig a little further, it’s about the satisfaction that I derive from photography. Gear is one part of the photographic experience, but not the only one. It’s also about learning from famous photographers, the history of photography, trying techniques, developing film, etc.
But as time goes on, I realize that I am getting more and more demanding in terms of quality. If I take pictures e.g. for corporate events that will end up on a website, a decent APS-C will do. But when it comes to large prints, it just doesn’t cut it. And I do not buy the argument that looking from ten feet away it makes no difference. I like to print large, look closely and I do not like soft corners. This is what fuels my demand for higher quality gear (sensor and lenses, the latter being probably the most important and expensive part).
Thanks again for this thought-provoking article.
Great post and I appreciate your honesty. Also, the point about difference between consumer and buyer (or PHOTOGRAPHER, even) is an important one. The way I look at gear (at least at the moment) is that the D750 and D7200 that we own are absolutely amazing. Most of what I can or cannot do with these cameras has related to my skills as a photographer developing. And I should note that the reason I have both is mainly because my girlfriend and I both needed a camera, and it made sense to get one full- and one crop-frame camera.
I already have been thinking “if something ever happens to either of these cameras that goes beyond justifiable repair costs, I’ll bet it will be really easy to find a used D7200 or D750 at an amazing price!” The newest great camera is always going to have a price tag over $2000. But the best camera from 2 years ago will cost half that amount, or less.
The main things that a fancier camera can do are to give you more pixels, shoot faster, take better video, or shoot in lower light. If one’s needs in that realm are not “professional-level” or overly ambitious, both the D7200 and the D750 already excel.
Furthermore, do I really want more pixels “just because I can?” 32MB is already pretty big for a RAW file. Do I want bigger files? The only reason why you’d want it is so you crop even more and still have pixels. But if you’re gonna crop that much then… your lenses aren’t good enough to have the sharpness! It’s a vicious circle.
I feel like 99% of what I want to do as a hobbyist photographer rides on my skills and patience, now that I have competent gear.
Appreciate your honesty. I for one am less interested in the new camera reviews. The most valuable things I picked up on this site are the “how to build a PC” article, dealing with adobe, raw, and other items. I used to suffer from SAS (sharpness acquisition syndrome) until I changed my goal from sharper macros to better macros. The question I always ask about a camera is, “Why do I need this now?
Thanks, Nasim!
Outstanding article. And yes, we could apply the same marketing technique to some other products like Cellular Phones or Computers in general.
And about the romours webs: right on the money!
Since I have had previous experiences in brand new cameras, if I buy something new I will convert myself in some sort of “beta tester”. The manufacturer will use me to check for failures and then to publish some improvements and firmware updates.
So I prefer to wait about 2 years or so, and the product will be almost fixed of bugs… And cheaper.
Thanks again.
Juan.
Nasim’s excellent article, plus most of the comments thus far, is a sobering reminder of two well-established fundamental principles:
caveat emptor (Latin): let the buyer beware;
caveat lector (Latin): let the reader beware.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/…eat_emptor
Nasim,
Are you going to publish the stats on the number of people who clicked and opened THIS article?
What an article. Very very good and thanks for your honesty. I agree that most of the time we should look from the “need” point of view without using it as a “want” excuse. When you reach the likits of your gear, technical reviews can come in handy. But in many cases it’s not the gear which is limiting but the man behind the viewfinder. I like PL very much because of its very informative articles givong inspiration. Succes and greetings from Holland
Thanks very much, Nasim. It’s especially timely as we Apple fans grapple with the same issues around the new iPhone launches!
Some (many?) are into photography because they are into the equipment or processing (or both) and others are just into the art form that happens AT the camera.
I love my Nikon d7000 and have taken many great pictures with it, but honestly, I have also taken some great pictures with a Nikon Coolpix 7900, with no tripod.
It’s not always about the equipment.
I have been following your articles for quite some time now; I adore them.
With this article, you are almost my idol.
Taking photographs now for 54 years, I think what you bravely wrote cannot be more true.
Keep up the good work!
nothing worse than a golfer; fly fisherman or photographer with a valid credit card.
I get the intent of the article and as a DX shooter, I’m really trying to internalize it, but I couldn’t help but notice that many people who are quick to agree with the article are already FX shooters. The lack of desire to go from a D810 to a D850 is understandable to me, but I think it might be a little different for those of us thinking about going from a D7200 (or other DX format camera) to a D850 if only for the low light capabilities, shallower depth of field, and other advantages FX holds over DX.
Great article. I’m quite sure the photographer you googled was KR.
I did too and was really sorry that I shot jpegs for years and not raw/NEF.
I upgraded from d80 to d700 to d800 to d810 and while the d810 is an amazing piece of equipment I still got some great images with the d80 which I really like.
On my last holiday I brought my Coolpix A from 2013, and what a great small travel camera that just delivers very nice images.
I have been reading PL for years and your older d700 images are really great.
Unfortunately it is very easy to get tempted by the latest and greatest camera equipment. In the film days everything seemed so much easier and much more focused on shooting.
I just can’t believe someone fell for Rockwell’s ‘Pro’s only shoot jpeg’ bs.
Well, the D850 is a very nice camera, hype or no hype. But I agree with you that many of us fall into the gear trap all to often.
I too have drooled over the D850 but I didn’t fall in the trap yet and I don’t think I will. My D800 is still doing well and I told myself I rather need to go out more and shoot more instead of buying a new camera that won’t lift my photography to a higher level. Going out more and shooting more will !
As always, great article Nasim !
A moral and noble article, kudos to you Nassim.
But don’t forget that no good deed goes unpunished.
One’s punishment is another’s grace.
Thumbs up Nassim.
Absolutely fantastic article. Thank you for the candor and for pulling back the curtain on the marketing game just a bit.
Thanks a million for such honesty. You opened my eyes and made me think a little more clearly.
Look forward to your articles, make a lot of sense.
Keep up your good work!
Great article. A future Part II of this article might include how to take advantage of consumers like me to get a near mint, used D810 or outstanding used lens.
Good to see such a large discussion after a very fine article by Nassim. We are all affected by hype. Although I’m not a fear-of-missing-out person, I do enjoy gawking at all that nice gear. But as has been said: the most important gear by far is located between the two ears behind the camera.
Hi Nasim,
Thanks. I am Canon user (6D) and I have to be honest: I learn photography thanks to Photography Life. I really enjoy reading your articles. The last one especially.
Greetings from Germany
Big thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.
Just a few more things to add to the article – I wrote this article for general awareness about any camera. This is not a direct attack on the D850, which is a fine camera for sure. I had this article in my head for a while now and the events simply coincided with the release of the D850 specifically. You could replace the D850 words with any other camera or phone when it is released and the facts will remain the same.
Also, I did not intend to write this article to show that I am better off than someone else. It is a word of warning and it turns out that many don’t know how websites and blogs work when it comes to advertising and affiliate revenue. I did not do this to show off arrogance, although as some thought, perhaps it came down this way from the way the article was worded – I apologize if I offended anyone.
Good luck to all and thank you for being loyal readers. Your feedback is greatly appreciated by our entire team at PL.
Hi Nasim
I am one of those, who took time to respond. My response did not show up, which invites the question, if there are any rules at PL concerning which commentary “makes it” and which does not. Those rules should be clear and public. Could you please answer my question?
Thank you in advance.i
Hyper hype to be sure, but the D850 is likely to be an excellent camera.
Nasim
Thank you very much for writing this article. You are an honest person and that is the reason I rely upon your reviews before buying any camera gear. You tell the truth minus the hype. You earned my trust and of many others.
I am thankful to have found your website years ago!
God bless..
Well written article.
I am not sure what’s going on with people these days, always wanting the best tools for the job at any price, may be a sign of social status…?
As a pro I can understand, as an amateur it’s silly.
I thing the problem is evaluating your real needs.
If you shoot wildlife once every 2 years you don’t need 10 or 7 Fps and a sport camera.
If you shoot family pictures only you don’t need a SLR and 10 lenses
I was fortunate enough to own a Canon A1 film SLR in 79 with MA drive.
I kept the camera 15 years, did all sort of shooting with it. It was matching my requirements at the time perfectly. I was reading photo magazine back then but did not need to buy any more gears.
But it was a different time, technology was not a part of life like it is today.
A camera is treated like a new piece of digital hardware which can become obsolete in 6 month for most people, same for mobile phone. People are more interested in the power of technology rather than the art itself.
Great article Nasim but my only gripe is that people would get the wrong notion from this and will stay away from D850. Nikon developed a great product and deserved to sell it in huge numbers to make a profit. They have been working hard for a very long time and churning one great camera after another but unfortunately not able to sell as many cameras as they should be. Canon on the other hand has a large army of very loyal customers who keep on buying their incremental improved products. This must end and Nikon should reap rewards.
I am an IT profession and photography is my hobby. Nikon is one of my favorite companies and I want them to prosper.
“Great article Nasim but my only gripe is that people would get the wrong notion from this and will stay away from D850.”
Nah. If anything, it will simply help folks to pause, take a deep breath and let the hype pass before they make a decision about upgrading. The wise and patient folks will wait a bit and let the users play with it for a while first.
Why ?
Jump in the wayback machine a bit and travel back to the D800 launch.
” Amazing “, ” Groundbreaking “, ” Best camera Nikon has ever produced “, said all of the marketing during and prior to launch. Sound familiar ? It should. It’s the same thing that is said every time a new body or lens is released. That’s their JOB. To get folks all excited about a product.
Now, what happened with the D800* that is noteworthy ? ( Tip: Google it :D )
*Or other bodies over the years.
Of the folks who drank the marketing Kool-Aid and instantly ordered five bodies to ensure they could get one asap, how many of those do you believe regretted that decision and wished they had waited just a bit longer before making that purchase ? ( My guess: Probably all of them )
Nikon makes good cameras, but they’re not perfect.
Simply let the hype come and go. If the body / lens in question is worthy of legendary fame, the end users will let you know soon enough. I don’t know about you, but I trust the end users opinions far more than I do corporate marketing ones :D
This makes sure Nikon keeps producing outstanding hardware. If your end users are happy, your gear will practically sell itself.
Gudda, trust me, no Nikon shooter, including myself wants to see Nikon fail. After-all, Nikon makes some great products, including the D850. But that was not the point of this article. Perhaps you did not read it well, but the main idea was to openly show how hype around a product is created. Do I blame Nikon for creating a hype around the D850? Absolutely, just like I blame ALL other companies for doing the same thing. Canon, Fuji, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and many other tech companies like Apple purposefully leak out information about their products to create hype and expectations. They do what they can to sell and they use every channel they can, including the Internet.
I wrote this article to show the reality of what happens behind the scenes, because I believe our readers have to know this. I do not want anyone to make wrong choices without understanding how it all works at the end of the day. Based on the feedback that I have gotten so far, it looks like most people have no idea about the revenue motivation, advertising and affiliate marketing that takes place on the Internet and why so many products get so much coverage.
I hope you understand that my article is not a direct attack on the D850, which is a wonderful camera, probably one of Nikon’s best. Hope this clarifies things a bit more.
Hi Nasim,
As you know I’m a strong supporter of your work. You have earned the trust of thousands over the years based on your perceptive, honest and accurate research and writing.
Unfortunately most people new to serious photography (including myself and many intelligent friends) find “that other site” first and buy lots of equipment before eventually finding your site or other more trustworthy information sources.
Many “pure artists” are so concerned with the perception of their integrity that they have a hard time clearly admitting that they actually need money to survive. In photography as with all other businesses it is “hustle” that usually determines who survives in the long run.
Over time many of the great people or products I have supported have disappeared for business reasons – really painful and clearly wrong. Meanwhile the crap keeps winning and the black souls producing it laugh all the way to the bank.
I hope you can find the balance between integrity and success because if you ever got fed up with this whole effort and gave up or moved on to something else it would be a tragedy for those of us who trust your guidance when making difficult decisions and improving our skills.
In my opinion it’s okay to openly and ruthlessly chase SEO, ask for people to buy through your links and support you if they want to see more of your work. It costs me zero extra dollars to support PL using your links – I’m more than happy to do so. I want you to keep doing this for a long time.
The bottom line is that part of your mission to help photographers is to reach those new buyers before “the other site” does. Which is hard, because he’s fast, ruthless and already king of the hill. He knows how to get people to buy stuff – the ultimate salesman. He actually has written very honestly about many of these subjects but that is buried very deep and few ever see it. Other than the “sales” aspect of that site there is a lot of great information and hard work behind it. Not to mention absolute mastery of SEO. I admire the hustle – if only it could be done with integrity.
The bottom line is if you’ve got the cash great equipment is the easy way to improve your photography. Going from an iPhone to a good DSLR instantly makes a difference. If people could buy talent and expertise they would. If you could compress your 8 hour advanced courses into 15 minutes or chop them up into bite-sized pieces I’m sure they would be insanely popular. Time and simplicity is paramount for most people – they want a quick sure thing – new gear. It’s the doping of photography.
So PLEASE keep reviewing equipment – who else can we trust?
Personally I think you should start naming names – a flame war with you know who would be awesome. How about a column where you walk through all the terrible advice given over the years and how it has affected people. Money wasted, dreams dashed. Imagine the traffic!
I personally value KR and he’s actually been very helpful a number of times. He works really hard and gets the facts right on specs. He takes a lot of unfair and uninformed flack for some of his controversial statements – although I have no doubt that is part of his marketing strategy.
Once I learned about Photography Life there was no going back. There is no comparison.
Thanks and keep it up Nasim – you are a brave man!
Hi, Nasim,
Thank you for the good article. I think this concept applies to more than just cameras. iPhone X falls into the same category! Cell phone madness is another pandemic process.
Nasir-Congratulations on a great article, and a wonderful blog.
I have read every comment up to now and what strikes me is the range of your followers. There is everyone from the novice amateur, to the budding professionals, to the seasoned pros. As for myself, I am now an amateur “enthusiast” (to use the appropriate marketing lingo) who is trying to develop technical and artistic skills for my own enjoyment and that of my family and friends. I came to digital about three years ago when I bought the D7100 with the 18-200mm lens from a friend and supplemented it with Nikon’s 35mm dx and 85mm dx lenses. I have had a ball with the equipment.
I have two comments on the points made in the article. First, the idea of moving to newer and better equipment has been with us since the beginning. I am the proud owner through my grandfather of Eastman Kodak’s No. 2 Bulls-Eye model of 1898. I’m not sure how many pixels it has but I’m sure it was at the very height of the technology available at the time and that it took the best pictures of any camera outside the massive ones used by the Matthew Brady’s of the world and certainly better than the No. 1 Bulls-Eye.
Second, a move up to better equipment can be a spur to developing as a photographer. Just learning about the new features can lead to experiments and projects that would be out of reach with current equipment. I had been considering moving to full frame with a better general lens and I confess that the hoopla surrounding the D850 has made me absolutely giddy. I know the a new camera and lens by themselves won’t make me a better photographer, but they will encourage me to continue improving both technically and artistically.
Great article, thanks! I’ve been lucky in that I can avoid “the latest and greatest” most of the time; bought my D-200 for $400 less when the D-300 came out, a maybe-used Df after a bunch of folks bought it not understanding its target audience, and my D-500 after it’d been out a year or so during a Father’s/Graduation Day sale. While I use Mac computers (worth the $$ to me) I don’t see the need for a $1000 iPhone, my Tracfone $40 LG works just fine, thankyouverymuch.
It’s okay to splurge once in awhile, as said in the KC quote above, but I can be happy with the utilitarian.
Nasim, I’m not afraid to admit it, I’m such a rube. I’d been visiting the websites you describe a couple times per week for the last couple of years. Then I started reading PL about a month ago. Your instructional articles are the reason I got here. Your incredible integrity is why I’ll be staying with PL from now on. I had no clue that so much income was being earned simply by referring consumers to online retailers. It’s a strange coincidence that I just posted a review of my two D610 cameras at Nikon’s website. It’s not a good review, because I had auto focus problems from the day I opened those boxes. Convinced it was my technique, I drove my self crazy analyzing every shooting decision I made and every piece of gear I use. I bought those FX Nikon bodies because of the “social media influencers”. I had a perfectly wonderful pair of D7100’s that made amazing accurate images (the creativity is mine). I bought mainly gold-ring FX glass, so the FF upgrade was justified in my mind, but I didn’t need them. I bought them due to those websites. I’m deeply invested in FX gear now and just paid $400 to have the AF calibration correctly set on both bodies at the authorized Nikon repair shop in San Diego, CA. Both cameras now make astoundingly sharp images (when used properly). I just deleted the rumor website and the “help my family” website from my favorites lists. Your integrity has earned my respect. I’ll be a better photographer due to your instructional work. I can’t thank you enough.
~Frank
” I just deleted the rumor website and the “help my family” website from my favorites lists. ”
This absolutely cracks me up.
To keep things civil, ( and rightfully so ) no one will say the name aloud but everyone knows exactly of whom we speak. To each their own for sure, but they certainly have strong opinions when it comes to photography, how it should be done, who is / isn’t a professional, etc.
I think we’ve all followed advice from this particular individual in the past ( or at least considered it ) and, ultimately, have all decided against continuing to do so :D I wish him the best of luck, but it’s funny to see so many others who share similar experiences.
This concept doesn’t apply to DSLRs as nobody is buying DSLRs these days. Articles like this will further depress their sales especially Nikon DSLRs because of the wrong timing. Nobody talks about the hype when Canon releases there minor incremental upgrade cameras after 5 years.
“This concept doesn’t apply to DSLRs as nobody is buying DSLRs these days.”
“Articles like this will further depress their sales especially Nikon DSLRs because of the wrong timing.”
I think you would benefit from a course in critical thinking skills, starting with Epistemic Logic 101.
Hi Gudda & Pete A
I think you both are right, though not quite. The core of the essay is true, though the phenomenon is not bad in itself, it is economy and marketing and common to all products, internet sites too. Taking D850 as example is not very sensitive, Nikon being bashed all over internet by many, even by Bythom, who on the other hand is covering his bets by starting to talk about Canon and others. This leads to the logic-argument, which is true in itself, but postulated isolated without taking into account currently between various brands unevenly spread bashing not quite on target.
Thanks Nassim, so true of so many industries – I worked for many years in Pro Audio, It is so easy to get caught up in the hype. For me, I think one of the best comments I ever read was “cameras do not take good photographs, photographers take good photographs” I go back to that phrase before investing in new gear – do I really need it – or just want it. I’m an enthusiastic newcomer to the hobby & have only been reading PL for a few weeks (after finding the answers to most of my on line researches came up from PL) keep up the good work.
Thank you for a most insightful article. Very revealing. It seems to say: “buy what you really need and enjoy.” I just sold a D810 to go to a D750. I don’t need more than 24 megs. I’m an “old dog” and still frame and shoot like I was using slide film (I never need 10 frames per second; I shoot 10 frames in five minutes….maybe). I like the 750’s movable screen, lighter weight, and smaller files to work with in the computer (I want to make photographs, not sit at a computer). I don’t print large enough, or crop sufficiently enough, that the AA filter matters. I’m guessing the D750 will work very well for me for a good while to come….maybe for the duration. I have some nice equipment, and using it is enjoyable for me. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Great article.
This probably did more good this week for photography than all of last year’s camera reviews.
Great article, and just what I needed to hear as I’m starting my portrait business. I drool over full-frame but deep down know I need to work on technique, lighting, and connection with my subject much more than I need to start a business by going into debt. You earned a new loyal reader, thank you!
I remember my first camera, a plastic box Ansco. I remember learning while processing countless rolls of 35mm film, untiI got it almost right. Today I own 2 cameras, D7100 and D810 and both serve different purposes. I must say that I too, was chewing my fingernails off reading, while drooling all over my keyboard in anticipation of holding the D850 in my hands. In the end, I have shot enough to know a camera does not a photographer make! Art is truly where you find and reinterpret it with with a camera, tool by any name.
Thank you for the truth for artists and consumers. This was with SMARTEST camera equipment column I have ever read! It just makes sense. Learn the craft, meld with the art, and the need and justification for a $3.2k camera for work will manifest itself!! Great article!!!
I really respect that you wrote this Nasim.
Peter.
Nasim, Thank you very much for another excellent article. I agree with most of what you have said. But, I do have a different opinion about the D800. I don’t think it was over-hyped at all. To the contrary, I think the D800 marked a watershed in image quality for digital cameras that still stands today – five and a half years after it was introduced. To be sure, the D800 had lots of operational quirks, shortcomings and deficiencies. But, for the first time, we had a digital camera that unquestionably equaled or surpassed 35mm film image quality in every respect: resolution, color depth and dynamic range. That standard still stands today as the Sony a7R and Nikon D850 are only very marginally better. It was and is a seminal digital camera that fully deserved all the hype it got. IMHO, of course.
Thank you for an outstanding web site and the opportunity to express my opinion.
John W
Austin, Texas
Dear Nasim,
At the outset, a wonderful, well written and meaningful article! Having been a follower of you since the time of ‘Nasim Mansurov’ website, I must say that this is the best article till date! It’s very enlightening and makes you realise how you get caught in the marketing trap!!!
Warm wishes from India!
Regards,
Gautham
Most of the people who appreciated this article don’t even own Nikon cameras. They must be happy that somebody is killing the hype.
Nikon didn’t hype the product and did very average marketing for such a class leading product.
Mucho respect, Nasim. It’s refreshing to see people put other interests ahead of profit, especially when there is financial risk in telling the truth.
THANK YOU NASIM !
I don’t think you need to feel guilty about anything. If the manufacturers want to revenue share to get the word out, let them. Consumers who buy these high end cameras pretty much know what they are getting. Hey, in your review, the feature that I am most attracted to with the D850 is its ability to shoot with a ProPhoto wireless controller in the hot shoe and shooting wirelessly with the new Nikon flashes at the same time. The D500 and the D5 can do it and I am guessing it will be true with the D850 as well. I can control two independent flash systems right from the camera. For me, that is a game changer and now I can do it without having to buy a D5.
Thank you very much for posting this article, Nasim. There really is too much hype nowadays, not just about camera gear. We need more people like you who have the information and are willing to be transparent and reveal the darker side of business practices.
This D850 hype will actually HURT Nikon. By the time late September orders are pushed to Christmas and beyond, Sony will have another body out there, and it will actually be available!
Some will think right now, this September, “45 mp and wait forever or 42mp Sony available now at the store, with image stabilization on the sensor! … I’ll have a stabilized Zeiss!” (the fedora is optional). Jokes aside, more users will take better pics with the 7rII in this day and age, unless they are very experienced Nikon pro-body users and love carrying tripods and VR lenses.
A slight shake will make the D850 worse than the D810. Users will thus increase speed and ISO, partially canceling the resolution advantage.
And then you have diffraction above f8 and a shutter noisier than the D810, with suspiciously similar sound to the D750 defective shutter units.
I will switch my YouTube channels to political ones. They are a far cheaper source of stress.
Hello
It seems you have more comments on this article than any of your previous ones!
Let me say the same thing all these people have said before me in the comments.
Congratulations and thank you for your honesty. Honesty is one of the rarest things in today’s world when everyone is trying sell something to everyone and nobody knows what the truth is.
Let me tell you my experience with gear greed. I purchased Nikon D80 in 2007 with the infamous 18-200 lens as my first ever DSLR (I probably referred to the same photographer/reviewer that you talked about in the article . When D300s was launched, I purchased it in 2009 along with the very expensive 200-400 f4 lens. I expected myself taking great wildlife photographs, much better than the ones that I was taking with D80.
I proudly took my new possessions on a trip to South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Instead of coming home with great pictures of African wildlife, I came home with blurry, poorly exposed and poorly composed pictures!
I had one of the best equipment for wildlife photography, yet here I was, with horrendous photographs. That’s when I realised the simple truth that I was not good enough for my gear.
For the next 8 years, I did not purchase a single photographic equipment. Instead, I worked on myself. I rented equipment whenever needed but never bought anything.
It was only in March 2017, that I finally sold off my 200-400 and D300s and invested in a D500 along with 70-200 2.8 and 500 f4 lenses.
Now that D850 is launched, I hope there are enough D810 owners who would be selling off their sparingly used D810s at rock bottom prices so that I can pick one up at a fraction of the current selling price! Or even buy second D500 or even D7200 if Nikon comes up with a series of good wide angle, lightweight DX lenses!
Thank you again for your honesty and integrity.
I know I can trust PL more than any other site for everything related to photography!
PS: I did see an Adobe CC advert luring me with their monthly plan (which I already have)
We all are with you!
Cheers
Vikram
So what! Nothing is going to change. If you are just finding all this out then what hole have you been living it. It’s called capitalism!
👍🏻 Some people hate capitalism… 🤷🏻♂️
Haha. You have a crapload of comments here, good job! You got burned on that 18-200, that the guy who shan’t be named loved/loves so much! That’s funny too (sorry:) The 18-135mm lens was quite good for what it was. I think you could have been quite harder hitting in this article actually. I have learned more than a few things from you and your site over the years, so keep it up, and post your rumors without guilt, I’m happy you’re making some money for your hard work, experience and research. I always fish through the hype to get the gems on your site, no prob!
“I can understand if one was shooting with their grandpa’s film camera and wanted to invest in a digital camera for the first time.”
Yeah that garbage film photographers like Ansel Adams produced. Heaven forbid we should have any more of that! Truth is that equipment freaks are always chasing the “best” because a lot of them are not very good photographers and they are compensating. Like people who are carrying the biggest gun but never learned to shoot straight. The author is right, if you don’t have that inner eye (which you can’t buy) the most super duper camera in the universe will not make you a good photographer.
Some people have the money to spend and simply want the best, even if it doesn’t make them any better. People spend way too much money on fast cars all the time, but it doesn’t mean they automatically become a race car driver. I had a friend years ago that used to ask me, “Which camera do I need to get to make me a good photographer?” Well… it doesn’t exactly work that way, but if he wants to spend the money he earned on a super fancy camera, who am I to tell him he can’t?
This is a very important article Nasim. Thanks for writing it.
It may be a good time to extol the virtues of renting vs purchasing gear. I was surprised many years ago by one of my instructors at photography school who stated that he owned very little gear. He would listen to what his client needed then would rent the gear required to fulfil his client’s specifications and would bill the rental as part of his fees. This helped keep costs down for his business and he could use the latest and greatest version of whatever gear was needed to accomplish his assignments. This was a game changer for me. I realized that I could easily shoot with whatever gear I needed at a fraction of the cost and really nullified many of the arguments I had in my brain for buying any new gear. This is why all my personal full frame Nikon glass is from the film era and I have not replaced my 80-200 f2.8 zoom that stopped working properly several years ago.
Fortunately I live in a market (Vancouver BC) where most current photographic gear can be easily rented locally. Renting in smaller urban markets and rural areas of Canada is harder to do and is not always an option. If you live in the USA, online rental outfits make renting the latest gear relatively easy no matter where you live on the continental USA.
When you rent, that new special piece of kit can be yours for a couple of days – when you actually need it – at a fraction of the retail price. I enjoy shooting medium format film gear and the idea of shooting MF digital is really appealing. I really want a GFX… but I don’t really need it and at CAD$10K as a basic cost of entry I won’t be buying one – and neither will my employer (a publicly listed multi-billion dollar company). But when I had a need at work for a high megapixel camera I rented a GFX. A couple of months earlier when I had a need to use the CAD$2,700 Nikon 105 f1.4 for a specific portrait related project at work – I rented it. When I shoot event based work on location for my employer I will bring our basic corporate camera kit and I will rent a backup body (D750) and lenses (14-24 and 70-200 f2.8) to flesh out what I need for the specific assignment; meanwhile our D800 and 24-70 zoom has long since been amortized.
Every once in a while I’ll treat myself and rent a lens just to see what all the hype is about and will either have a moment of elation or disappointment but with a bill that is in the order of 1/100th of the retail price. Either way I won’t purchase it but I’ll have a first hand experience with which to evaluate it’s usefulness as a tool for a time that I might actually need it for a job or a personal project.
I too have rented gear for last 8 years. I have rented both Canon and Nikon and a wide variety of different bodies from 1DX/D5 to 7D Mark II and D500. I rented when I was going on a trip. But when the trips started becoming frequent affairs, I bought the piece of equipment that I used the most and still continue renting top end bodies like D5 and D850 in future!
Superb article Nassim. A real eye opener to the murky world of web marketing. Thanks!!
Nasim,
Before retirement I was one of those ‘idiots’, or consumers who acquired every new camera, lens release from Nikon. Of course new equipment did not help me to make better pictures but I had got lots of pleasures to have ‘latest and greatest’ equipment on the market. Today, thanks and because of retirement I stopped ‘acquiring’ latest and greatest and will concentrate to use what I have got today: D810, D4S, Rolleipro 6008 and lots of lenses. I think I am equipped in great gear better than most and what I need to do is still to …..make great pictures.
On the other hand I do believe that Nikon, Canon…etc MUST MAKE GOOD PROFIT to be able to put money into R&D to make further improvement to the current gear and without US, CONSUMERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS they will eventually go BUST!!! Do we want them to go BUST?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Cheers,
Waldemar
Thanks Nasim. All should read this article and place greater emphasis on it than any article on a new model announcement or review.
An interesting article, thank you for taking the time to write down all this words.
Must admit that I have been a photographer who has been brand loyal for over forty years now, and totaly crazy about gears. We live in a world where people has the power to wipe out all life from our planet. Through the social media, the consumer has taken the power to lift special brands to be better than others, or wipe some brands out from de global market.
The competition between those who want to reach larger public is deadly hard and everyone desperately wants to be in the game to make influence on others. I have now read this blog for nearly a year and have got the feeling that this bog is not much different from the others (about to make influence). Every word is not the whole truth. However, here I got my eyes open for Fujifilm and bought my first own Fujifilm camera last week :-)
This is one of the best blogs about photography, but as a consumer, I ultimately make the choice of what’s best for me.
Regards
Carl
Hands up
Hi Nasim
Congratulations on your in-depth and informative article on the hysteria and hype together with all the rumours that precede a product launch.
Very interesting how the various photography sites cover their costs and generate income/revenue in a deceptive and misleading way.
Cunning marketing tactics are nothing new and have been used for many years by all companies whether they be car, camera, lens, cosmetic, phone, computer or any other. Marketing has and always will exist but to what degree and extent. Naturally around each new product there will be the exaggerated “hype” together preceding leaked “rumors” and on many occasions “false and exaggerated rumors”. What’s new!! It’s the information we receive and evaluate and consider to be accurate and correct.
Having said that Nazim I do congratulate you on your expose of the ruthless nature of the Internet and the exaggerated “hype” together with all the “rumors” that many indulge, whether they be the actual brand or manufacturer or other vested interests. All pry on the gullible and uninformed plus working very hard on the weaknesses of human nature – greed, vanity and stupidity.
No doubt amongst the retailers, brand manufacturers and involved parties plus some of your professional photography colleagues you will not be their favourite son or flavour of the month nor liked for exposing the industry and the Internet.
In the meantime we’re all back perusing the rumour sites waiting for the next “hype” or definite rumour from a “trusted source”. I’m actually hanging out for the Nikon FF mirrorless (when ever), plus the Nikon Medium Format camera, plus the 100MP Sensor Nikon D8xx series, the 60MP Nikon D5 or D6 or D7 series, and etc. etc.
And whilst I keep waiting I’m getting older and missing out on my photography and all those great shots.
Life goes on for the gullible, the naïve, the stupid and the easily fooled. What’s new!!
Many thanks Nazim for all your interesting photography articles and PL
Keep up the good work and articles. Look forward to the next interesting and formative article.
Wish you, PL and all your followers and readers the very best
It’s possible to take excellent pictures with primitive equipment. Advances in cameras allow us reliably to take pictures which we used to miss. The SLR with its TTL focusing was a game changer, and autofocus allowed us to catch an active child more often. I’m an enthusiastic amateur, but pre-ordered and have a D850 because I think the autofocus, as used in the D 5, will raise my proportion of “keepers” significantly, especially with its ability to find the “front eye” in people pictures, and in very dim light. One day that technology will be available in much cheaper cameras, without a lot of bells and whistles that I will never use, but by then I’ll be older, and who knows what I would have missed along the way.
Exactly! This is the point I am trying to make here in a sea of Nikon haters and bad wishers.
First, let me say I enjoy the photography articles. I’ve been shooting for a long time, but don’t put the time and effort into it as a full-time pro would, so it’s nice to read up on things I’m unfamiliar with as well as getting pointers and ideas from other people. Yes, the gear reviews are nice, but I enjoy seeing other people’s photos and hearing how they captured them. It’s usually pretty inspiring and motivates me to get out and shoot more!
Second, thank you SO MUCH for keeping your website fairly free of banner ads. Nothing is more irritating than clicking on an article or story online just to be inundated with pop-ups and banner ads, to the extent you can’t even read the article because the words keep bouncing around on the screen as they load.
Thank you Nasim for peeling away the layers of B-S on all this marketing and sales hype…I find myself at times ‘wanting’ some of these new gadgets, but then my ‘needs’ usually takes over and sanity, plus the pocketbook, rules most of the time thankfully. Keep with the photography articles…..personal ability and competence are as, important if not more so, than gear, the learning curve is ongoing. I just enjoy the hobby
“Truth percolates”.
Thanks for the honest article and the courage to post it even though it could affect your revenue.
The ” Hype ” really only impacts those who have never been burned by it.
It’s in the companies best interests to create nothing short of hysteria when a new piece of gear launches as it creates very high demand for months. ( See any line outside of an Apple store upon release of a new version )
The issues begin if / when we inject a problem variable into the equation.
Hardware failures, focusing problems, firmware glitches, QA issues, etc. etc.
Those who snapped the hardware up for the simple satisfaction of being the ” first ” to have it, are also the ones who will suffer the greatest disappointment when their shiny new toy has to be sent in to be fixed.
If nothing else, I’ve learned over the years not to be the unpaid beta tester. Exercise some patience, let the guinea pigs get their hands on it and wait for the real world reviews / reports to start coming in. Give it at least six months to identify all the issues and THEN decide if the upgrade will be worth it for you or not.
I’m happy with the gear I have because, while no longer the shiniest toys in the box, they are still more than capable of taking outstanding photos ( D700, D4s, D810 ) and will serve me well for many years as long as I take care of them.
Call me a pessimist if you want, but I don’t get excited by the hype anymore. Been burned too many times by it.
This article assumed that people who buy cameras are stupid. Not, they are not.
Nikon did something wrong by developing a class leading camera. No, they didn’t.
Nobody needs D850. Yes we do. What’s wrong with having better auto focus, speed and resolution. These are very important features for every type of photography.
My question to you guys why you are not using Windows XP on a 15 year old computer?
Way to miss the point
For goodness’ sake, Gudda, you continue to miss the essence of Nasim’s article.
Please read, and try really hard to comprehend, Nasim’s comment number 138.
photographylife.com/the-c…ent-247473
I repeat my previous reply to you:
I think you would benefit from a course in critical thinking skills, starting with Epistemic Logic 101.
Thank you Nasim Mansurov.
I can’t really say I follow your blog because as a full time professional for many years Colorado, I don’t have time to write one and I have to question those who assign themselves with the label “Professional Photographer” who do.
The reason I am writing is this statement: “The Death of Traditional Media and the Rise of Social Media Influencers.” First of all, you will have to dig well past the internet hype but if you get out of your comfort zone and poke around, you will see that print media has actually seen an uptick in the past 3-5 years. And even though working for magazines and newspapers like the New York Times is only part of my income as a full time commercial, editiorial and fine art shooter, I have seen an encouraging increase in day and space rates. The NYT alone has doubled their assignment rate in the past year.
On to the second part of your statement which is basically the rise of the Internet Gear Review Hero as I coin them. Aside from your hobby being mostly about gear, what gear is going to be a Canon or a Nikon XXXX killer, etc. we now see yet another sect of camera enthusiasm manifesting into broad occurrence. What we have is the rampant need for people to put their not-so-unique stake in he ground as a camera gear reviewer. So I have to ask, would anyone know who these internet stars are without the internet? Because for as long as I have been in this business, and especially in my early years, I chose my equipment based on the mentorship and endorsements of talented and successful shooters, you know, those who’s work speaks volumes on behalf of them.
Should you really be taking such a self assigned high order position as to say “The Death of Traditional Media and the Rise of Social Media Influencers.” when I have never seen your work in print, galleries, etc and I have actually helped to convince someone to buy a certain camera while on ad and editorial shoots all over Colorado?
Social Media Influencers are self ordained and live to one celebrated. Burt what do they *really* add to the true nobility of the craft and serving for image excellence in the grand scheme of things. You can’t change the facts that the greats are the greats and they earned in a way that most were not willing to make the sacrifice for. That is still very much alive in photography, that is what will stand the test of time. So is it really worth it to make a mark as a social media influencer when that is about a fleeting as a card house in a tornado?
This too, shall pass.
Wee said!
Nikon did nothing wrong by developing a class leading camera and have all the right to reap benefits by selling them to people who are willing to buy such a wonderful camera.
Always great to hear from a fellow Coloradan! Thanks for dropping a comment!
If you are referring to me in terms of the “professional photographer” label, I believe that if I sell my work (which I do) or my photography services, I am qualified to be called a professional photographer. I might not be a full time pro like you, but I am still considered to be one, according to generally accepted standards among photographers for use of this term / title. I don’t think I have to have an active gallery or a museum exhibition to be qualified as a pro, but if I do, please clarify.
As for traditional media dying off, I am not the one who is claiming this. Chicago Sun-Times and Sports Illustrated and a number of other publications laid off their staff photographers, because they can no longer afford them. Others like Time magazine are publishing iPhone pictures as their covers. I could go on and on. Perhaps you see rise in what traditional media publications are offering you, but others are seeing the exact opposite. Magazine front page covers for some traditional media have gone down from $3-5K to $500, which is crazy…
Photography overall has been devalued greatly when compared to the past. Recently, I was contacted by a hotel chain that wanted to buy my images. After I told them my rates, they openly admitted that they were going with another photographer who was selling them prints for $150 each, including printing. That’s when my friends with 300K on followers on Instagram can get paid $10K for a single image of an advertised product. How is this not death of traditional media?
Sure, some photographers are still well off, but I am talking about the majority of the market.
Also, I could not find any links to your work online – would love to check out your work and perhaps meet one day for a lunch or coffee!
Very well said. I am daily choosing to be content with what I have. I too enjoy newer and better, but usually don’t need it. I want to be thankful for what I have and live within my means when making purchasing choices.
Nasim, my kudos to you for this wonderful article (and I’m in the web industry myself so I didn’t need your education, but I really like your attitude and you educating normal customers). You are right with every word.
But please don’t stop your reviews, they are a valuable source for me!
Soooooo true! Look at any magazine or TV ad, and think — this is how someone is making their paycheck. They have no interest in the consumer – just their own bottom line. Ok, there are some good people out there. But it is a business – whatever the product.
Case in point. I still have a flip phone, which gets laughed at all the time. Does it make and receive calls? yes. Do I get another monthly bill? no. I buy the minutes I need. I have all those other services on my computer – at home, and I don’t want to be tied to that phone!
Buy what you need. Save your money and sail around the world. (That’s actually in the planning stage!)
Nasim, thank you for your integrity. That’s why I come back to your website first every time. Yes, I, like many read your gear reviews; although, I appreciate your honesty in also reviewing what doesn’t work using actual tests, not hype. Although, I knew the marketing hype is real, I didn’t know the depth of the financial carrot involved. For me, being a Nikon shooter and photography teacher since just before the digital age, a photographer’s skill always outranks the gear. My current D750, with D7000 as back-up, along with the best lenses I can afford for my purposes work just fine for me. Thank you and the PL team for being genuine, honest and a pleasure to follow, be inspired and learn from.
By the way, I have had the D850 for a week and I find it to be a fantastic upgrade from the 810. But I don’t use hype to make these choices and I certainly never listen to gear bloggers to make that call either. Generally speaking and in having used Nikon equipment professionally for 30 years, I put my trust in them in that they only come out with a new major model like the 850 when a number of things come together to make it worthwhile. The 850 thus far has proven to be exactly that camera and with 810’s I own each being close to 200,000 frames on each, it is time to replace them anyway.
And finally, I am not loyal to only Nikon, I also use Leica, Hasselblad and a couple different 4×5’s to make imagery that serves amazing niche markets in Colorado. So I am not what amateurs like to say, a Nikon fanboy or loyalist. I am a photographer, IE I actually make a living shooting photographs.
All those who are praising this article are not Nikon shooters. I have a feeling that Nasim also shorted Nikon stock and wants their stock to go down in price.
Last time I looked, most of our readers were Nikon shooters, so you are definitely wrong there. I’m still a Nikon shooter and I don’t own Nikon stock to short it. This article is not directed at the D850 specifically – see my comment in this article for a more detailed explanation.
Don’t worry, my article won’t put a dent on the sales of the D850 or make Nikon fail.
I am Nikon shooter since 1989. when i acquire my first Nikon. It was F3 along with odd dedicated flash and 3 lenses (50/1.8, 28/2.8 and 105/2.5). That kit is still with me and i am using it regularly. Some Mamiyas too. The ratio against digital photography is perhaps 35:65.
I still use, occasionally my D70s along with newer bodies and lenses. It qualify me as Nikon shooter. DX shooter precisely. No FX yet and perhaps never will be. So far i somehow managed to limit my G.A.S.
With that being said dear Gudda i highly appreciate Nasim’s article and his intention.
There are few people who don’t appreciate it but you are the only one without real arguments. I hope that you know the real reasons. Cheers
Along with the development of camera performance, I would like to see progress in photo printing technology. I do not know how it is in the US, but in my country it is impossible to order a photo print with a quality of over 300 dpi (photochemical method). So updating the camera is not visible on the finished photos! I would rather choose 600 dpi in the picture 8 * 10 in than 300 dpi on 16* 20 in! It’s interesting whether some of the readers were printing better than 300 dpi, which are impressions? IMHO D850 can be realized on hi-density printing…
Sorry for bad English
After lurking here on this site for over a year I finally took the plunge and registered. I found it interesting that I was not alone in taking a certain someone’s advise to shoot .jpg instead of RAW. I was new to digital at the time. What did I know? I didn’t pursue the 18-200 mm lens, but I hope he’s doing well supporting his family.
I try to steer away from the hype for everything, not just camera’s. I’m a film shooter from the late 60’s when I was high school. Back then hype covered everything from the newest emulsion to the latest hot to trot developer. Camera’s and lens’s too. I purchased my first Nikon, an F Photomic, simply because it felt good in my big hands. As many have stated hype has been around for a long time. It generates revenue. All of the talk about the next big thing reminds me of the old folk tune by Aztec Two Step – Faster Gun.
They’ll always be a faster gun…
Great article Nasim.
Under FTC rules, it is a CRIME to hype a product without conspicuously disclosing you are compensated.
Sam, it would be wonderful if every website openly disclosed this when they hype on a product. Last time I checked, nobody does this.
Nasim,
My hats off to you. Great article. There is life lesson too in this article!
In this materialistic world, an article to wake all photographic consumers up.
Enjoying all your articles for a while. Good Luck to you.
Jana
Nasim
Perfect article. Its explaining why I’m reading PL and relying on your words. Thanks
Hi Nasim,
Before your today’s article I considered you a good photographer and a human being for quite some time now. But this article shows the ethics, sincerity and care those are beyond good, and I appreciate that.
It’s about time when I’m getting out of GAS and timing of your article could have never been better than this. It helped me clearly see a never ending lust of having the best and keep ignoring the “REAL BEST” that I already have. Today after a long time I bought couple of books instead of buying a gear or gadget. I’m also watching the videos from Level 1 Bundle I just bought from your offer on Labor Day and it is really helping.
I live in Saudi Arabia and really wished to join you on Jordan Trip but my schedule missed your trip by a couple of weeks as I can take off only start of November. May be in your article to Jordan trip you may leave some additional info on the locations and timings of pics you share. Have a nice trip there and happy shooting.
Shahzad
I have a D800E. I use it for landscapes. I use it slowly and methodically on a tripod, typically with the mirror locked up and either a polarizer or ND grad used. I can’t imagine needing a faster frame rate, better AF or a bigger/better sensor than the fantastic sensor that is on that camera. I also have a Nikon D 500, I use it for my second passion, bird and dragonfly photography. I have never missed a beautiful bird photo because of my camera or lenses. I will take care of them and will use them until they fail from sheer age and use and can’t be fixed, then I’ll buy a used replacement of the same model. I did pay attention to the rumor pages until the D 500 came out because I kept hoping that it would so that I could replace my aging D 300 purchased in 2008 (used). I can’t imagine any camera feature that would improve my bird photography more than say, taking the Audubon Society Master Birding Class or improving my birding by ear or getting out to some more birding locations. I haven’t looked at a rumor site since I bought my D 500 (which I admit, I ordered on the first day it was available for pre-order). Take my post with a grain of salt, however, I still use my IPhone 5s. Tom Wilson www.tom-wilson-photography.com
You and I are so on the same page. The D500 is the only camera I have been excited about in a very long time.
Your comment regarding birding is spot on. The more you know about wildlife subjects, the more it helps your photography. You can start to anticipate how some species will move before it even happens! That even beats super fast auto-focus.
I might also note that a few dollars spent on an ebook on landscape photography (thanks Nasim) certainly helped my landscape photos more than a D850 would.
Excellent article! None of this is really news to me, but it was still a good read and I’m sure will benefit a large percentage of your readers. Like others have said, good on you for exposing the murky world of online advertising.
Hype or not… I use a D800 to copy slides. Using a bellow, a 55 f3.5 nikkor lens, a 600 flash remote, I can see the grain in Kodachrome slides. I agree don’t chase the hype, meet your needs. I picked the D500 over my D7000 because I wanted to catch my grandsons in baseball in the air, the ball frozen, football in the air, and not miss the action. After years using my F2 and FE, we are even up, and moving on. Now instead of following the action with my camera, I need to follow the focus to catch the action. Things have changed, and remained the same.
There is a poetic justice here. Based on the number of comments this must be one of the most read articles on the site, in the shortest period of time, which probably means it is one of the best income generators for PL… all that to expose the income generating system. I love it! And with that if we all click on some of the ads we can really ring the cash register for you. Considering the amount of free content and knowledge shared here I have no issue doing my part in the revenue generation department.
Nice to know, Thank you very much !
… anyway, are you going to review Sony’s G-Master lenses?
It is a decision already taken but I really want to know your thoughts.
Top draw article with complete honesty Sir, thank you, Nick (Australia)
Hi Nasim, great in depth analysis for what going on in the industry and internet marketing. I feel you with that “KR” Nikon 18-200 lens throw out all my lenses story!
I am confused by ‘Colorado Confused’!
I am not sure of the position of the publishing industry in the US but here in Europe, virtually every printed magazine and most newspapers, are in decline, according to my friends who work in publishing. The constantly heard mantra is that the whole traditional picture of advertising revenue is changing and being moved out of paper publishing and into digital media in various forms, much of it in social media. The effect on newspapers and magazines is dramatic with obvious effects on revenue and viability.
So when Colorado Confused says that ‘but if you get out of your comfort zone and poke around, you will see that print media has actually seen an uptick in the past 3-5 years. And even though working for magazines and newspapers like the New York Times is only part of my income as a full time commercial, editiorial and fine art shooter, I have seen an encouraging increase in day and space rates. The NYT alone has doubled their assignment rate in the past year.’ , I am very glad to hear it! can only conclude that the US printed media scene is very different from that in Europe and the UK in particular. Perhaps someone can put me right on this?
I would question whether or not CC’s quoted status as a professional photographer qualifies him to denigrate the hard work and achievements of honourable and genuinely knowledgable website authors such as Nasim (and I would say Thom Hogan). There are other sites where I would agree with him, both about the authors and the correspondents but some discrimination is needed here I would suggest. I have made my living from photography all my life and am very happy to admit that I have learned much from PLs website and would encourage Nasim to continue to inform and educate. I for one am very grateful and whilst appreciating his honesty in declaring the truth of his (and others) income base, I do not begrudge him one penny of it.
More than 250 comments. I’d better get one in too!
Now, having had some fun, I’d just like to concur with what many here have already said – A timely article by a talented and decent auther.
Hi. Many thanks for the frank and honest article. It certainly opens your eyes to some ‘tricks of the trade’ of the advertising industry. I don’t click on advertising banners as I suspected something like that was happening but didn’t know the extent of it!! Thank you for the insight and the warning.
Hi. Thank you for the frank and informative article. I guessed there was something like that happening but didn’t know the extent of it! So nice to see honesty and on the internet.
Thank you.
Nasim,
i like your article at the same time we all know you are going to buy one and so do I.
this camera is again s tep forwards and i will be using all the new technique in it for sure. And yes it helps me to get that shot that was before impossible because of:
silent shutter- i can make photos during violin concerts now
better autofocus in dark situations- sharp photographs.
ans more.
Also my d810 has worked very well over 220.000 images..
An interesting, honest and may I say brave article. Your synopsis of the industry has been clearly demonstrated on a very high profile photography website over the last couple of years where no DSLR’s have been mentioned. I can only conclude that the website has been bought.
I see your narrative as aimed at the amateur or the so-called serious amateur. I have alaways maintained photography as an incremental ( technological) process where each advance is a further link in a chain toward further excellence.
Myself, as a photographic gallery owner and lifelong landscape photographer is always looking for that increment in order to capture and print large detailed images. I have investigated medium format and dismissed the upgrade simply because of cost and my current investment. The Nikon 800 series was a significant upgrade – as mentioned above provided digital camera technique is properly understood – and I have shot some of my best ever work on these cameras.
I myself am looking forward to the D850 – when I get one, there is no mad rush – after all it’s a tool, a means to an end, not a piece of jewelry to impress. If it gives me an increment that I can explore, then the cost is (almost) irrelevant, it’s a planned upgrade in the capital cost of my business.
But at the end of the day it may just augment my art. And to be honest (this is an honest discussion) I also love technology and find using new “gear” inspires me !
Nasim,
I really appreciated your recent article on Camera Hype. I really related to the piece as someone who is prone to that never ending drive to acquire what’s new. Age and priorities have helped me reign the hypemonster in. I no longer upgrade my phone every cycle. I try to hold on to my gear as long as possible now or at least until the user experience becomes frustrating or until the hardware no longer meets my needs. Maybe strong desire is a better term than need. I cancelled my D850 preorder but I still continue to ponder a potential purchase.
I’ve been very fortunate to have lived overseas for the last 4.5 years (3 in Northern Italy, 1.5 in England). My time in Europe with its many beautiful landscapes has provided me with endless photographic inspiration and has helped propel my photography to new heights. Shortly after moving to Italy I upgraded from the D7000 w/the Nikkor 10-24mm to the D610 w/the Nikkor 16-35mm. I’ve been quite impressed with the camera and as someone who shoots almost entirely landscapes I have felt it was definitely a worthwhile upgrade. My D610 has propelled me to new levels of quality with my landscape photography.
This brings me to my current dilemma. I have felt for sometime that there is still a better system out there for me. I often wonder if I should have sprung for the D810 at the time I bought my D610 but the price differential was hard to justify. Three and half years on, I feel like when I look at my images I leaving some “money on the table” with regards to image quality and have often wondered if the extra MP and the absence of OLPF would make a noticeable difference (at my current skill level). In addition to the quality and the flexibility the D850’s sensor could add to my armamentarium, it also has features that I’ve been badly wanting for some time: Tilt/Touch Screen, WiFi, the ability to easily bracket more than three shots, focus stacking, and focus peaking.
Whether one is able to plunk down cash or has to finance to buy, the D850 is an expensive proposition. For a non-pro that doesn’t require photography to create income a purchase like this is mostly impossible to justify. At best one can only weigh the the pros and cons of the purchase and determine if ultimately the purchase is worth the price in terms of the amount of enjoyment one might extract from the device. I’m not a pro. At this stage, I’m not even actively marketing my work. I’d like to, but for now I simply enjoy photography and experiencing the magic that happens when I manipulate pixels on my screen and the satisfaction when I post the final image.
I feel like its reasonable to think that the features/capabilities of the D850 would net me noticeably higher IQ and a more enjoyable user experience than my D610. I’ve considered the D750 but feel like while it might be a more enjoyable platform the improvement in IQ is too incremental to justify the expense of upgrade. Similarly I’ve considered the D810 but at only $500 less than the D850 and minus a whole of host of the features I was really hoping to have, the D810 doesn’t really seem like such a bargain.
I greatly look forward to your real world review of this new camera. For a guy like me, it’s the only practical way to inform my decision.
500px.com/seanbancroft
Nassim, excellent article. I am currently struggling for real change in my life, just to calm down what I really like. Photography. Today because of the speed of information we all only think about tomorrow and today is being forgotten. I think this is reflected a lot in the way we use our equipment. Sincerely!
Well said.
Let me say now that if someone gave me a D850 then, unless the gift had emotional significance, I’d either hand it straight back to them or sell it. Why? Because it would be liability to me.
All those pixels on a 6+ year old Macbook that already runs so slow on Lightroom 6 (I should’ve stuck with 3) that I’m put off using it. Cost of replacing that – £1,500.
My 2nd hand 300/4D + 1.4TC is my birding lens. The D850 could only behave like a D500 with that and I’m not in the market for £5,000 worth of 300/2.8 plus a 2x TC. My D7100 isn’t that far behind a D500.
Then I’d have to buy a 20/1.8 and 35/1.8 (can’t see that a 24-120 is up to the D850).
And then I only print to A3, and the D7100 copes with that easily (even my D50 was pretty decent).
The 2 most expensive things I’ve bought (apart from a house and car) are a 80-400G and a Martin 000-28. Both will be sold The Martin isn’t as good as my cheaper Taylor 512 and the 80-400 can’t match the IQ of the 70-200/4 or 300/4. So money doesn’t do it all.
And technology hasn’t done much useful for me since about 2007 – in fact it makes life worse: you go backwards to stand still because every new iteration of what you don’t want (Office 2013 for e.g.) requires you to re-learn what you already knew (on Office 2003).
But there is the other hand. As JK Galbraith so presciently wrote in The Affluent Society all those years ago, all this development, production and selling provides economic security. People need jobs, and the better the jobs the better the satisfaction for the worker.
But JKG wrote before we knew about climate change. I for one would feel better if all those talented people were working on improving solar panels, energy storage and lossless transmission. Without plentiful energy our societies are well and truly … stuffed. Not least the Googles and Facebooks and all those data centres.
I do like this website because unlike others there is plenty of focus on knowledge and technique and not just gear.
PS We never watch commercial TV live – we only ever record it and fast forward past the ads. One of life’s small satisfactions. A problem for the ad industry. Plus I can’t name a single ad that’s been on this webpage. And the cost of the UK TV licence to have no ads is about the same price as Adobe CC, I believe. No contest.
Well said.
Let me say now that if someone gave me a D850 then, unless the gift had emotional significance, I’d either hand it straight back to them or sell it. Why? Because it would be liability.
All those pixels on a 6+ year old Macbook that already runs so slow on Lightroom 6 (I should’ve stuck with 3) that I’m put off using it. £1,500 to replace that.
My 2nd hand 300/4D + 1.4TC is my birding lens. The D850 could only behave like a D500 with that and I’m not in the market for £5,000 worth of 300/2.8 plus a 2x TC. My D7100 isn’t that far behind a D500.
Then I’d have to buy a 20/1.8 and 35/1.8 (can’t see that a 24-120 is up to the D850).
I only print to A3, and the D7100 copes with that easily (even my D50 was pretty decent).
The 2 most expensive things I’ve bought (apart from a house and car) are a 80-400G and a Martin 000-28. Both will be sold The Martin isn’t as good as my cheaper Taylor 512 and the 80-400 can’t match the IQ of the 70-200/4 or 300/4. So money doesn’t do it all.
Technology hasn’t done much useful for me since about 2007 – it can make life worse: you go backwards to stand still because every new iteration of what you don’t want (Office 2013 for e.g.) requires you to re-learn what you already knew (on Office 2003).
But there is the other hand. As JK Galbraith so presciently wrote in The Affluent Society all those years ago, all this development, production and selling provides economic security. People need jobs, and the better the jobs the better the satisfaction for the worker.
But JKG wrote before we knew about climate change. I for one would feel better if all those talented people were working on improving solar panels, energy storage and lossless transmission. Without plentiful energy our societies are well and truly … stuffed. Not least the Googles and Facebooks and all those data centres.
I do like this website because unlike others there is plenty of focus on knowledge and technique and not just gear.
PS We never watch commercial TV live – we only ever record it and fast forward past the ads. One of life’s small satisfactions. A problem for the ad industry. Plus I can’t name a single ad that’s been on this webpage. And the cost of the UK TV licence to have no ads is about the same price as Adobe CC, I believe. No contest.
I like the article, I’m not a pro and I have a Canon 5D mk III, I also have the mk II which I don’t use very often.
I have 5 Canon L lenses which cover the range but I realized I was doubling up on things and I drew a list.
examples of doubling up
reason comment
iphones improvement later tethering is big improvement
70-300mm lens improvement barely noticable, L lens
Canon 5D improvement significant improvement
ipad improvement barely noticable
50mm lens improvement noticable, lot of research
laptops improvement different OS, better GPU
cameras small camera for work different purpose
With the 70-300 I had the 70-300mm f/3.5 DO and replaced it with the white L lens that came out later.
In reality I probably couldn’t tell the lenses apart if I look at the photos.
GAS sneaks up on you, now when I get the urge, I ask myself something.
“have I hit the wall?” meaning what can I do with the new product?
The last item, the camera for work was decing the 5D mk III is too bulky to put in the daily commute so I bought the Sony RX100 mk IV which got rave reviews at the time. I don’t regret it as it fills a niche.
I’d love a TS lens as that shows more dimensions in DoF and wide angle photography, but they are expensive.
I did some fascinating research in the 50mm f/1.2L and read about focus shift and silent upgrades as mine is a more recent make and I cannot reproduce the issue. I read the Fredmiranda forums but take what they say with a grain of salt.
Sorry I lost the list formatting when I posted it
Nasim:
Thank you for this very informative article. I am very grateful for your camera gear reviews and as long as they are honest and objective, there is absolutely nothing to be guilty about in publishing them. At the end of the day, no one is pointing a gun to our heads forcing us to purchase new camera gear. We all make decisions on our own and ultimately we need to live with the consequences of those decisions. I agree with you that there are too many photo enthusiasts who spend way too much time focusing on camera bodies and lenses and little on taking great images. The reality is that for amateur photographers like myself we spend the majority of our time at our day-to-day jobs and to kill time we end up browsing through the internet going from one photography based website to another. Let’s be honest, amateur photographers like myself easily get caught up on rumor sites and new camera gear announcements. Trying to avoid the “camera hype” is easier said than done. Nonetheless I would encourage to keep posting your reviews, they do very much indeed come in handy.
This is, off course, the way of business and consumerism. Always has been in some form or other in my experience. I’m 73 years old and remember the hype for the Nikon F4 when I was a working pro using Nikon FAs. How I Jones’d for that beautiful camera. Didn’t buy it until three years ago when I finally bought a mint condition one off Ebay for $300.
It’s a great camera but wouldn’t really have made a difference to my business one way or the other.
These things are known knowns but it’s good to be reminded of them from time to time,
Thanks for the reminder…
Harry
Great article, as always. For those who use a camera as a tool, and this has the features they need in that tool, then go for it. I must admit that as soon as I saw this was coming out I had decided to buy it. I bought the D810 a year ago and i LOVE it. This was a major upgrade for me from the D300. I don’t need it to earn an income but I do feel my photos are better because I do love to make very large prints and the 36 MP helps me do that.
As others have stated, the hype is in every field. My day job is that of a residential remodeling contractor so I fully understand the hype driven by the media. Thank you to HGTV and others for getting people lusting after newer and bigger kitchens, bathrooms, master bedrooms, etc. The people I work for do not NEED these upgrades; their toilets flush, their sinks drain and their fridges keep stuff cool. BUT people want it, so they get it. I don’t and won’t gripe about it because that is how I make my living. And as others have stated, I don’t create the hype I am just one in the chain that benefits from it.
Thanks again for your article!!
I have followed the D850 hype on the internet and social media and “studied” some trends and saw the hype explode. I have seen professional photographers starting to claim that they have not used their D5’s for months using the D500 for its crop factor and now going to sell the D5 and D500 as the D850 is both in one, but buying 2 as the High ISO is so good will not need the D5 and can shoot in DX crop so don’t need the D500. All good points. However, the massive financial loss to dispose of the D5/D500and even some D810’s is just mind blowing. But then the pictures start to surface, pictures of the D850, not pictures taken with the camera, then some test images and I was blown away what people bought the camera for, from people who used D3200 upgraded to D850’s, and complete “novices” by their own submission. I was always taught to invest in glass and get the best before you invest in a camera, I know in film days mp was not an issue and today the 150-600 and other low cost lenses offer great value for the results but many of these lenses do not have the resolving power to optimise the massive 46mp sensor and do justice to the sensor. My point being that rational purchase of equipment has gone out the window, equipment has become a status item, commenting on fb posts as an expert because I own a D850 or D5 entitles people opinionated uninformed statements. Trying to have and give constructive advice is shot down with such fierce rejection reflecting and attitude of rejection of any logic or experience that might help to develop as a photographer. People spend $3300 on a camera or even $6000 in the case of a D5 and shoot with a $900 superzoom and claim that the lens outresolve the $7500 prime lenses. Photography has gone the full cycle, now dominated not by artist but by the informed camera owner. Far less information about photography that equipment. But thanks to the hype, I could now buy a D5 with less than 3000 actuations for 35% less than new as the seller was desperate to pay a deposit to secure one of the first D850 to come into our country and have the bragging rights that he owned the first sold in the country.
I have to admit, I do love buying used now. Even though I purchased my last 2 Nikon cameras new, several previous cameras were used. I haven’t regretted that for 1 second.
Once again Nasim thumbs up for this article! I agree with you almost in everything written.
Yet i have slightly different attitude for some other things.
I would not go harsh on Ken Rockwell (presuming that everyone recognized who you were talking about) and his thoughts related to photography. One must read carefully his articles. Concerning that 18-200 zoom… Well i never considered acquisition of that lens nor i will ever consider any other zoom of that or greater ratio. Two zoom of much narrow range always would be better than one of this type. That advice targeted only occasional shooters. I never needed Ken Rockwell to explain me that.
On the other hand…lol… thanks God on consumer and hype people. In old days, 80′ or 70′ i never considered acquisition of the second hand ‘pro’ body knowing that was used by professionals in harsh and not forgiving conditions.
These days we have so many consumer or people of the great vanity who will be selling their ‘pro’ bodies in one or two years for significantly lower prices.
Stay well
Well written in all conscience.
Thank you very much!
Great article, Nasim–thank you. In the end, it’s about the person behind the camera.
Hi Nasim,…
This is probably one of your best pieces…Here you have proved your credibility and upheld ethical values to your work. Bravo for putting your readers first and foremost.
There is also a great way to exploit other people’s hunger for the newest cameras and lenses. Just try to buy as much second hand stuff as you can. For instance, D600 with replaced shutter can be found all day along between 800-900 $. For a hobbyist, this is definitely better bang for buck than buying brand new D850 with 3000 $. Not that I wouldn’t want to have D850 if I could afford one. :P
Hi Nasim
Thanks for a very honest and informative blog.
I’ve followed your blog for many years now and I love your posts. Both the technically, those about experiences, and the gear ones.
I’m very interested in the development of cameras and always keeping an eye on what’s going on. But only once did I buy a newly announced product… The Nikon 200-500. It was announced the day that I after long thoughts had decided to go for the Tamron 150-600. The Nikon was the lens I had been waiting for fore year and it came as sent from heaven ;o)
I hope you’ll never stop reviewing gear as I think your reviews are the most honest and fair found on the internet. You’re not afraid of telling the pros and cons on any piece of gear. Lots of sites only flash the pros about their favorite brand and only the cons about the other brands. Especially the Nikon vs Canon battle. When I read your reviews they are clearly different as they reflects the daily use of the gear as the gear was intended to be used.
Your Canon 7D MKII review is a clear example. You’re reviewing a specialist camera as a specialist camera. Not just taking a stand in the line of others criticizing the camera for something it’s not made to be.
I have made more of my buying decisions based on your honest reviews. Knowing that no camera or lens is the best at everything. Your reviews have helped me find the right tool for my needs.
Keep on reviewing – please
Best Regards
Jesper Durup, Denmark
www.DurupFoto.dk
Thanks for the great article. As a small manufacturer I am amazed when I am asked to buy my spot on a “Best _____ of ____” list or asked to pay for a review. I always knew the auto awards were paid for but I didn’t realize it extended out to so many other products. I have lost all respect for magazine review, “Best Of” lists, and awards.
Not that you didn’t add to the hype yourself. The monster has arrived, eh? ;)
But seriously. Many words of wisdom have been already written, in both your article and the comments. I just wanted to add one remark which was already hinted, but probably not flat out spoken.
Love it or hate it, the social media influencer hype is going to become even more prominent in the future. Why is that? Well. What do you do with the regular marketing scheme? You go to make coffee or perform… sort of recycling (still very important) during the ad break on TV. You arrive late to the cinema to avoid the ad block served right before the proper movie show (at least that’s what is done where I live, in Europe). And, who does not use an ad blocker?
One way or another, we’ve learnt to be at least somewhat wary, if not outright suspicious towards the marketing industry. But the social media influencers… that’s a whole different story. We actually *want* to see their content, *trust* in their opinions, *actively seek* their more or less passive advice. We are just craving to swallow the bait. :) No wonder there is tendency to monetize this. And since people are prone to trust “someone like me, only with more knowledge” as opposed to some distant marketing specialist, I don’t really see any reason for this to change.
All in all, a great article. Thanks a lot!
an. (no GAS symptoms, but a strong tendency to outrageous RAW edits to make people get almost blind with popping image colors)
Hi Nasim,
Congrats Nasim, this is probably the best article I have read about camera gear on this site. You have written some great tech articles about computers and NAS devices that really helped me make better decisions, but they were not about cameras. When I was reading this article I started doing an inventory of Nikon cameras I have owned. I stopped buying their highest end cameras years ago. I had the D3s and D700 and literally replaced them with the D7000, then D7100, heaven forbid, prosumer cameras. I literally wore out the D3s and saw little reason to spend the money for a new D4/D4s because I couldn’t see a difference in image quality. I simply didn’t like how heavy these old full frame cameras were, didn’t like their high price and couldn’t see how they penciled out economically. I also was very used to crop cameras and thought they offered considerable advantage for much of what I was doing. After all, my first Nikon DSLR’s used crop sensors. So my foray into full frame ended with the D7000. I upgraded to the D7100 slowly (and partly because I dropped a D7000. Sadly, I also accidentally destroyed a D7100 about 18 months later). So I was quite content with these cameras and decided the only upgrade I really wanted would have to have a significantly better AF to get me to jump from the D7xxx series. When the D500 came out, I knew it was my last DSLR. The 20mp files are amazingly clean, the focusing system is better then anything I’ve used, the extra buffer (which I practically never use, mostly 3 shot bursts) is nice on rare occasion and the bigger viewfinder is great. So, I have tried very hard not to upgrade just because and to economically justify these cameras.
In spite of that, I can’t say I don’t have a bit of GAS. I just love love new tech even if it doesn’t get better pictures. I try very hard to resist and mostly I succeed. Despite how tempting it is to look at the D850 (or the D500s or whatever they call it) I think I will wait for quite sometime before I get new cameras. Thanks for reminding us why that is such a good idea.
Thank you Nasim – straight-forward and honest.
Nassim, good on you. Nikon’s tagline for the D850 is, “Extreme resolution meets extreme speed.” Mazel tov to those who need one or both.
Although I am getting around to reading this article later than most who commented above, I cannot resist the temptation to jump in and add my own thoughts. This is an excellent, thought provoking article! Much appreciation is due to you for having the courage and honesty to publish a thorough going, frank article on this important issue. That said, I continue to count on you and this website for publishing some of the best gear reviews and thoughtful educational pieces on photography available in the Internet cybersphere. You continue to develop Photography Life and make it more valuable as the months go by. I also want to compliment you and John Bosley on your outstanding video series on photography in general and on Lightroom. Thank you for your intellectual integrity!
Well written with good information and all of it a big part of why I left traditional
DSLR’s several years ago. The Nikon D850 sounds like a great camera but it is after all the same old design with a few minor upgrades. What I love about the smaller cameras I shoot today, Panasonic Lumix, is the massive savings in cost, the smaller lenses and the fabulous quality that equals or betters what I used to capture with the big, bulky traditional DSLR’s. If you really want to take the hype down another notch, try shooting what many consider “play cameras” and be prepared to be surprised.
Nassim, thanks for being honest. I takes a lot of guts to reveal in formation like this and maybe someone else has already made similar statements but I am not surprised to hear about this in the web media. Like it was said in the Mafia, “its just business”. However I believe you are correct in the assumption that manufactures could very well be feeding the rumor mill.
What a phenomenal article, Nasim! I especially love the summary. Look at Henri Cartier-Bresson’s shots with that old Leica. It’s the eye and techniques that are the true crafts, not the hype in consumerism.
Great article! We live in a consumer global neighborhood that wants us to consume and be dissatisfied with what we have (not only cameras, cars, phones, houses, etc). I cannot afford the d850 and I don t need it. Photographers like you might need it, I do not. I can wait 3 years and buy it for 30% of the initial price used from ebay or some other place with a few thousand shots only, it is basically like new. Thank you for having a work ethic in a world in which the only ethic is money.
Thank you for the honesty. We need this information to turn from frenzied shopaholic consumers to smart citizens of this world. This is politics run by companies behind our backs, with our money as their prize. And they use consumer and mass psychology to create the craving insatiable beasts we -willingly, albeit blindly- become.
how do I buy a product in a way for you to get a cut?
I am reading the Nikon 24mm f1.8 review and I can not figure out how to buy at b&h via a link from your site.
I found it in the “Where to Buy” section, just a bit above the bottom of the review. I missed it before because I was expecting it at the top or bottom. Your articles don’t use separate pages so the scroll is very long, so I scrolled too fast to bottom.
Best article of the year!!
BTW, I like the author to suggest – should I buy the D850 now or wait for that A9000R you have mentioned? My banker says the interest rate is only 0.85%
Another thought.
Photography is not only job but hobby.
As hobby, it’s not different from Golf, Bicycle or (wrist) Watch collection. You play with it. The poor plays with the cheap toy, the rich plays with the more expensive one.
In my life, never see anyone satisfies with only ONE toy. Even though you can wear one watch (or TWO ???) at a time, that doesn’t mean you can not have 20 in your boxes (and never being used even once!).
New enthusiast emerges everyday. Old poor becomes rich everyday too. That’s life :)
Apart from this male-oriented (D850) camera, you’d take a look at your better half. How many handbags, purses, dresses, jewelry, etc, etc, she has?
Lot of cameras (model) are a LOT cheaper than the microscopic size diamond ring.
While you can use this (relatively) cheap toy to make art work and get praise, what’s the functionality of those ring?
Pheeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww … please not mention me when you discuss my comment with your better half :)
Nasim, there is no question that you are a professional.
I have been accused of spending a lot on gear. I don’t understand those statements, since they don’t know my life or my budget. We all have different budgets and different hobbies. I used to fly a lot. That hobby is far more expensive, yet not one person accused me of spending too much on it. I worked out that I spend less on my gear than someone who smokes 2 packs a day. But I will get most of it back when I sell, and all you get is yellow fingers, bad breath, a scratchy voice, and cancer. I am debt free, and I give far more money to charities and ministries than I spend on my gear. Still, I am criticized for spending too much on it. Photography is a hobby for me, even a passion. I have been shooting since my first F3 camera. I even had a darkroom for a season. I sell photos from my website, and have been published in magazines, advertisements, and billboards. Pilots from airshows/air races have contacted me to use my photos for their publications.
Camera bodies are just tools that get replaced regularly. The real investment is in the glass. Whenever someone asks me if they should get a new camera, my question to them is always the same: What lenses do you own? In every case, I have recommended upgrading their lenses first. I took (and sold) amazing shots with pro glass on DX bodies, and when I went to FF, the lenses were already in my bag. Plus, I have sold some pro glass for more than I paid for them, after using them for a few years. That is why I call it an investment. Plus, if I ever decide to switch hobbies, or platforms, I will be able to get almost all of what I paid for the pro glass. What is nice, is having the glass available that the newer bodies can take full advantage of. There are far more skilled shooters than I, that can put me to shame with inferior gear. But the great thing is, that with every outing I learn something new. I enjoy learning and growing and improving. This hobby is great for that.
I don’t go running out to buy the latest body. When I bought the D810 it was after all the “gotta have it” people paid full price. I waited until the Christmas sales that first year and grabbed one for $600 off. It still sells today for more than I paid for it back then.
I was all set to grab the D500 when it was announced (after the sale prices appeared), but when I saw the loss of the AE-L button, I was wondering how I would be able to change my shooting method. I only use the AF-ON button to focus, and I use the AE-L to lock the metering. Easy to do on the D810. So, I would then have the D500 for reach and speed, and the D810 for quality and low ISO. In the meantime, I saw the specs for the D850. Now it is possible to get almost the same speed with higher resolution, eliminating both the speed and reach advantages. Plus, get the native 64 ISO that was my main reason for getting the D810. However, again I lose the AE-L button. Nikon what were you thinking?
So, due to the higher MP sensor on the D850, there is no reach or speed advantage to getting the D500. In other words, cropping the D850 image will give you about the same resolution as the D500. The D850 can be used for speed, reach, and quality. The D810 will be relegated to a backup or 2nd mounted body, but not until I get a deal on the D850. I don’t mind waiting, since I have great gear already. So, thank you to all those who “gotta have it” that are paying full price so that I will be able to pay less for mine! Just because I can afford it, doesn’t mean I won’t wait for a deal!
I saw a photograph taken with a lens I owned and realized that the lens can take outstanding photographs that I just need to practice more and learn the proper setting to use.
Interesting thoughts and I would like to see them carried through onto the website.
When I read a gear review the thought with new kits is how am I going to use xxx to take better pictures, or improve my ROI. Or with older reviews, what is the best xxx that I should buy. Recently reviews have read more like an expanded spec sheet with little or no comparison based on real world results.
Coming back to the D850, how about considering it in context for example when you talk about greater resolution:
The recent article from Spencer Cox on hyperlocal distances. Rather than telling us that it has more pixels, why not help us by saying the impact of the greater density, how much additional foreground am I going to lose as a result?
If considering extra resolution instead of a zoom, which lenses am I going to have to dump because they don’t resolve clearly enough?
How much harder is hand-holding going to be, am I going to need faster shutter speeds in most conditions?
As I look back over the other recent reviews, they exhibit similar problems. Personally my biggest issues with heads, isn’t droop (i don’t tend to do time lapses) but vibration with a long heavy lens attached. The FLM ball head review gushes that about the high weight limits – though the exclusion of the tilt adjustment from those limits is only a small mention. The summary, only includes positive statements. I don’t have any understanding as to which one of the three is the best for my needs.
It won’t stop me reading the articles, but it does mean I’ll be looking at others to make a purchasing decision, and that means probably following their affiliate links.
Nasim—If it would help diminish the guilt you’ve felt all these years for making money from ad revenue on your website feel free to send me the D850 on your desk once you’ve reviewed it. Guilt is such a burden—let the healing begin.
Hi Nasim,
In case you read comments for your published articles after 2-3 days, which I doubt, but in any case it is a great and honest article! Practically most of your work is with personal touch, and I admire it deeply.
While reading your article about the 18-200mm lens experience I as well had to think about Ken Rockwell’s page and his way of preaching for products. I think, the majority of newbies “falls for it” and uses as a first “adviser”. Me too. But we grow with the time, and distance our selfs from this source of technology. Nevertheless you did greatly disclose his name. Well done!
First thing first: it must be welcome an industry vision from within like this. It is healthy and is a great help in order to undestand what manufacturers are doing and in what position we the consumers are. Secondly, it is not bad to analyze the new launches, the bad thing is to do it constantly without trying them thoroughly and without providing real and sincere value, putting the focus on the brand more than the user, so please continue doing your valuable articles. Regarding Ken Rockwell, in reference to 18-200, for me it is a good resource site in relation to the characteristics of the lenses (its always identical organization, its comparative tables, graphics of the lenses and its historic evolution…). However, without me being an expert in photography, I do not share his assessments that are always too enthusiastic, but as another commentary tells us, it’s a question of time to become aware of that. What your article reveal us is the mechanism that moves everything. It is not a bad thing, it is simply so and it is important to know how to discern. Thanks for this kind of article.
Excellent article Nasim. I enjoy all the articles on this site, and I do read gear articles here and elsewhere because I think it’s fun. I might wish I could have camera xyz in the moment, but then it passes. I have a Nikon D5100 and figure that at some point I will have to purchase a newer one and hope by the time that comes, someone will have a mirrorless option that will be good for my use.
A lot of people would do well to remember this adage when it comes to any type of electronics:
“Never be an early adopter.” I have discovered time and again this adage always proves true. This is why on my Ipad I never willingly update to the latest software. By waiting until it automatically updates a week or so later, I no longer have to deal with all the bugs. I have seen with cameras the same thing happen over and over again.
Very interesting article. Thanks for your honesty!
Nasim,
much respect to you for writing this article. It was much needed in the photography world.
Apparently there was little to no hype for the newly announced Sony A7R III mirrorless camera, which may explain the lackluster response from the public.
Sorry to be late to the party but I just saw this article today (ironically, the day after Black Friday). It is not just informative, well written and thoughtful but also courageous. I put it in the category of quality journalism. How often does you say that about a photography website? Among other things it opened my eyes to the economics of the affiliate links. I don’t think I have ever used one because: a) I often buy used equipment; and b) I prefer buying in person at a bricks and mortar specialist photo equipment retailer, even though it obviously costs more. I prefer being able to talk to a knowledgable salesperson and actually handling the product before I buy. But I just do not know how these stores will survive against the Amazon juggernaut, the unequal playing field in term of who collects sales taxes and who doesn’t along with, as you explained so well, the heavy influence of social media driven by hype and the economics of affiliate links and web advertising.
On a related note, as a gearhead, when I first came across your website I saw reviews of mainly Nikon products and windows based computers. For better or worse, I shoot mainly Canon and use a MAC computer. So initially I lost interest even though I did read a couple of interesting articles. But I occasionally came back to browse and soon I realized that this is actually an ideal situation. Without the distraction of gear reviews, I would actually read about photography!
Dear Nasim,
I stumbled upon your article quite late, but you have really pointed out the facts. The hype is always there to create that want, be a cellphone or a dslr, and reviews are written such that these are the last best things to be created on earth. I used to shoot films(Nikon F80), but later migrated to a Canon point and shoot which served my purpose quite well for personal use. Have witnessed people spending a lot to buy photographic gears (I am from Mumbai ) simply based on the number crunching game that the media and the glossies dish out. I wish people would try to understand the basics and concentrate on the creative aspect rather than the hardware. Thanks for your wonderful and enlightening article. Regards