One thing that we can agree upon is that those photos posted in my previous write ups are crisp, colourful, vibrant, sharp, and yes, all these photos are taken using DSLR camera.
There are so many brands in the market today, ranging from super high end professional camera like Hasselblad, reputable as the camera used by Neil Armstrong during his landing on the moon.
The latest model of Hasselblad H4D DSLR cost approximately USD42,000! Yup! That's
RM134,618.00.
Who on earth would purchase a camera like that?
Well, serious and professional photographers like Steve McCurry, who captured the "most recognized photograph" in National Geographic magazine, which appeared on the cover of June 1985 issue.
Some of the timeless historical moments in history of mankind were captured with this camera.
Photo of Buzz Aldrin taken by a modified Hasselblad camera strapped onto the suit of Neil Armstrong.
Another photo of Buzz Aldrin. Both these historical photos were taken during the Apollo mission to the moon.
Other notable photographs includes that of Marilyn Monroe,photographed by Bert Stern.
This photo was taken 6 weeks before her death.
It's mind blowing to even imagine someone purchasing this camera! Unless if one thinks they are able to capture timeless moments. But hey, stop kidding yourself.
Sincerely, I simply can't see the logic of purchasing camera with a price tag that is in par with a family sedan.It's INSANE!
Another brand worth mentioning since we're discussing about insanely expensive camera that had captured memorable moments in history includes Leica.
Most of the photos taken during WWII were from Leica:-
The world "Leica" is synonyms to the famous German film director, dancer,and photographer, Helena Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl, who was famous for producing propaganda films for the Nazi Party, and The Third Reich. Her personal relationship with Adolf Hitler gave her access in documenting the Fuhrer's campaign during WWII.
Leni Riefenstahl
Her personal relationship with Adolf Hitler enable her to have access and enable her to capture some of the most memorable photos during the reigning Nazi Party.
...Like the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.....
She often travels in the convoy of Adolf Hitler.
An old model of legendary Leica, used back in the 40s and 50s.
Another famous iconic figure...Che Guevara...
As time pass by, we see the evolution of Leica camera models, however still maintaining their iconic "yester years" design.
Leica M8 boast a 10MP(CCD),ISO range between 160-2500,LCD 2.5',and exchangeable lens even since 1954.
The latest model of Leica DSLR is the LeicaS2
Guess how much this puppy cost? With its staggering USD38,000, it dwarfs Nikon's D3X model by 4 times!
Naaa... those photos are nice, but aren't timeless, and you are right if you had guessed it wasn't taken with either Hasselblad or Leica camera.
Could it be from the most expensive prosumer camera,Nikon D3X?
I am no professional photographer.. Heck,I wouldn't even consider myself a decent amature
photographer, but with a price tag of RM33,000, it is still beyond the budget of normal working class society.
Below are samples of photos taken with Nikon D3 series.
Nice photos! Undoubtedly! But compared to these?
Not much difference, agree??
Could it be taken from , mid range prosumer DSLR, say Nikon D700?
And the photos taken from D700 are these:-
Nice....But is there a marked difference?
What about D90?
For Nikon D90 owners, I bet you would probably think these photos are easy shots, a d90 can produce photos like that. I am not denying it. Lets read on..
Could those photos be taken from Canon's professional EOS 1D Mark IV?
This piece of beauty cost a staggering RM18,000++.
But with all these huge gap in prices between these cameras, does it really makes much difference in the quality of photos at the level of photography just being a hobby?
I seriously doubt so.
With so many brands available in the market today, it's hard for anyone who is considering upgrading themselves from a simple point and shoot camera to DSLR, especially when one who is conscious and compares pros and cons of different brands within the same level.
Many would agree the quality of photos depends upon the brand of camera. The more costly the camera is, the better the photos will turn out..
..... that the quality of photos is markedly differs in between entry level and mid range.
Again I would like to emphasize that I wouldn't even qualify to call myself a decent amature photographer...not yet.
But, so far... from the feedback that I got from various professional photographers who have Flickr account suggest ......
...that the quality of photo, conventionally is determined by clarity, composition,focus, exposure, crop of the photo,dimension of photos,depth,lines,movement and motion, perspective,lighting,etc...
I tried so hard to learn these listed "guidelines" with the hope to achieve a good photo.
After a while searching and studying photos taken by "professionals" who's photos fulfills all the criteria, they don't seem to impress me much.
However, I was very much captivated by photos that depicts spontaneity,emotions, and makes you stop and "feel" the photo, they seemed to be able to tell you a whole story with only a single frame of frozen action.
Photos that brings out an emotional wildfire..Photos like these..
General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a VC publicly in Vietnam.
9 year old Kim Phuc (naked girl) running along with siblings from US napalm attack.
Martin Luther King 1963 addressing the crowd with "I have a dream" speech at Washington.
Period when African American are still being called "black", and are segregated from the "whites"
Landing of Normandy Beach on D-Day...
Jesse Owen's victory in 1939 Olympics held in Berlin was a failure for Hitler's intention to prove the superiority of the Aryans.
Image taken by a renowned Indian photographer of 1984 Bhopal pesticide leak tragedy.
John F Kennedy Jr. saluting to J.F.K during funeral.
Collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989.
2001, September 11.
The "Tank Man". Student's protest at Tienanmen Square.
Last but not least....Mother Theresa.
As you can see, all these pictures aren't exactly clear, crisp, devoid of proper lighting,etc.
It is popular because they captured the raw emotions of humanity.
You certainly don't need a US42,000 camera to take these photos.
Now, for the photos taken from my previous post (
click here) the camera used was....
Sony Alpha 200, a 10.2 MP entry level DSLR.
I am convinced that at a non professional level(where you aren't a photographer to earn a living), irrespective of brand of the DSLR, a good photographer can produce good photos.
While given a Hasselblad camera to an amature photographer, it still wouldn't able to produce a breathtaking, timeless iconic photo.
As a matter of fact, the last two photos from the previous post were taken using 18250mm DT Lens.
Occasionally for Macro shots, I use f2.8100mm Macro Len.
This proves that the photographer is the main factor in determining how beautiful a photo is.
Since we are discussing about DSLR, do you know that the most expensive lens is from Leica?
This bad boy cost more than USD2 million, and weighs a hefty 256kg! It was intended for wild life photography. It was designed to avoid detection by the animals being photographed. But don't you think it beats its purpose judging from the size of the lens, it CAN NEVER be inconspicuous!!
