NEW!!! GOLFMK5 MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST

Turbo said:

Those putting down point-n-shoot cameras should read Ken Rockwell's article A $150 Camera vs. a $5,000 Camera. Be sure to read the "recommendations" section of the article.

Anyway, all the camera in the world will not buy you any talent. So, those of you with point-n-shoot cameras better bring it in this contest. :fighting0030:

Click to expand...

Everyone here should know that Ken Rockwell is largely considered by the professional photography community as a comedian more than an authority on photography, his reviews are largely based on satire - not real world tests, so take what you read there with a grain of salt!

BTW .. a capable photographer with the right equipment ( pro equipment ) will blow away anything that comes from a point and shoot - dont kid yourselves.

Could you - a shadetree mechanic fix a car with a screwdriver and duct tape better than a fully stocked garage and a mechanic with training and years of experience? not a chance.

Same analogy

Doesnt mean you cant have fun though, just saying ...be realistic.

TOE_FAST said:

Everyone here should know that Ken Rockwell is largely considered by the professional photography community as a comedian more than an authority on photography, his reviews are largely based on satire - not real world tests, so take what you read there with a grain of salt!

BTW .. a capable photographer with the right equipment ( pro equipment ) will blow away anything that comes from a point and shoot - dont kid yourselves.

Could you - a shadetree mechanic fix a car with a screwdriver and duct tape better than a fully stocked garage and a mechanic with training and years of experience? not a chance.

Same analogy

Doesnt mean you cant have fun though, just saying ...be realistic.

Click to expand...

And its not so much the body as the lenses and the processing. but for flexibility and low light work, a point and shoot is not going to do the same.

good point mate

ShadowGLI said:

And its not so much the body as the lenses and the processing. but for flexibility and low light work, a point and shoot is not going to do the same.

Click to expand...

The ultimate reality in this is not the tool that is used, but the experienced hand guiding the tool.

all the technology in the world wont replace skill and experience when searching for quality.

I think guidelines should be in place regarding the amount of post-processing allowed

it would be hard to control that. plus im assuming there is gonna be alot of HDR entries so no pp is kind of out of the questions.

heftylefty said:

it would be hard to control that. plus im assuming there is gonna be alot of HDR entries so no pp is kind of out of the questions.

Click to expand...

I'm just not a fan of HDR and cars...but that's me. Oh well

With guidelines, it can sort out the heavily processed stuff so everyone's on a level playing field with just simple photos, IMO

i hate HDR. its a cool program but makes pictures look CGed...atleast 95% of the people that use the program make their pics look that way.

heftylefty said:

i hate HDR. its a cool program but makes pictures look CGed...atleast 95% of the people that use the program make their pics look that way.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear we're on the same page :w00t:

yeah im not an HDR fan either. ;/ its just TOO much.

TOE_FAST said:

Everyone here should know that Ken Rockwell is largely considered by the professional photography community as a comedian more than an authority on photography, his reviews are largely based on satire - not real world tests, so take what you read there with a grain of salt!

BTW .. a capable photographer with the right equipment ( pro equipment ) will blow away anything that comes from a point and shoot - dont kid yourselves.

Could you - a shadetree mechanic fix a car with a screwdriver and duct tape better than a fully stocked garage and a mechanic with training and years of experience? not a chance.

Same analogy

Doesnt mean you cant have fun though, just saying ...be realistic.

Click to expand...

I was trying to encourage people to be a part of this. I was trying to be constructive and motivate people to participate. I used the Ken Rockwell article because it made the point that I was trying encourage--nothing more. Ken Rockwell is not my authority for things photographic. I agree that he can be a bit of a wanker at times. On the other hand, THIS is not a pro photography site.

Talent trumps gear any day. I own over $10K worth of professional grade photo gear. Having that gear improves image quality, but doesn't make me (or anyone else) a better photographer. Better optics will render sharper images with better contrast and saturation. Higher quality sensors with low noise (or larger format film) will get you better quality enlargements. That said, the sharpest, best exposed lame photograph is no match for a dynamic subject and composition shot with a point-n-shoot. That is realistic.

To be fair, there are a lot of talented photographers with quality equipment on this site. So someone with a PnS camera will have an uphill battle, but not impossible--hence my statement that they better bring it.

No...it isnt a pro photography website, but pro's do post here so it is relevant to those who are interested in learning real skill as opposed to those who will be misled by reading Rockwells diatribe.

I encourage anyone to try, creativity is not limited to the camera you choose, but to mislead the folks into thinking a P&S is sufficient for a photography contest that doesnt have a P&S category is unfair.

The only way to do that fairly is have category's and have the participants submit accordingly

HDR
Photoshopped
Untouched pro DSLR
P&S

Opanda exif viewer can determine what camera the image came from in the "untouched" category - Photoshopped can accept any entry because this is akin to the "open" class ... and the very best images will be submitted here.

Opanda will weed out cheaters in the P&S class as well because it reveals camera exif info. this way nobody has any complaints about sandbagging or cheaters.

Also...to be honest ... 10 grand is nothing in terms of "pro gear" I own one lens that cost 8k ... my entire equipment list is close to 100k in value. nowadays the budding amateur can easily have 10k in his equipment.

More often a P&S yields a "lame photo" when compared to one taken by a high end pro setup. the reason for this is because the pro photographer has not only invested his money in his equipment, but his life and soul - he is a "photographer" those who do not wish to make this investment still like to take "pictures" and they invest in P&S cameras.

It does not mean they cant take a nice photo but to imagine a pro who has skill and experience using a P&S to win a photography contest just doesnt fly...sorry.

but like you said...encouraging everyone to submit is what this is all about and thats the real beauty of photography, taking photos and seeing others photos. I agree that everyone should try and have fun with it no matter what gear they use.

if everyone is voting, i don't really see the need for different categories; the best photo will win, be it hdr or photoshopped or w/e

i say as long as shit isn't cloned in, no big deal

Let the best man win...thats it!

omegach said:

if everyone is voting, i don't really see the need for different categories; the best photo will win, be it hdr or photoshopped or w/e

i say as long as shit isn't cloned in, no big deal

Click to expand...

x2 :word: