The age old debate

[psreilly]

The reason i'm asking this question is should I look into going back to a canon/nikon full frame DSLR or stick to the medium format? I shoot primarily fashion and some portrait work, and mostly inside at a studio but at times I will shoot outside

I'm completely (and I mean completely) in the dark when it comes to Nikon and Canon in the past 2-3 years though. Outside of the Canon 5D series I don't know much about them. I've been shooting medium format (Mamiya and Hassy) so much that i've wondered how the other half lives I guess. So first question should I give full frame DSLRs a shot again after 3 years? and if so what's a good camera to look at for portrait/fashion work 80% of which is inside. Let's say my budget is 6K

 

[Overread]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

 

[ronlane]

You are in luck. Canon just came out with the 5DS and the 5DSr that are both 50mp full frame camera's that are targeted at your genre. (Even Peter Hurley is shooting with one now instead of or with his Blad)

 

[psreilly]

50mp full frame? Wow, that'd be an upgrade to the Phase one back I have for sure. I'm sure the ISO would be 10x better than the Phase One too. it's been tough having 400 as the highest ISO for the past 3 years, not to mention i'm sure these new canon's are super lightweight. I see they're just above 3500 too, not bad at all

 

[psreilly]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

Well my system while it may sound high end isn't really all that high end. It's a hasselblad H1 and I use a very average Phase one P20.. so not even a P21 or P45. If I had a P45 or P65, i'd probably be very content but that's out of my price range, they can run into the high thousands even breaking 10K sometimes. It will of course be a personal choice, but I just wanted people to throw some models at me and see what they associate for my type of work

 

[psreilly]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

Also to your second point, i'd love to have both, but i'd actually be financing one for the other by selling the medium format.. If that's the path I go down

 

[chuasam]

I'm a portrait photographer. I use a D810 with the 85 f/1.8G and the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII
What do you have in terms of studio lights so far?

 

[Braineack]

Pretty much the 5ds or d810. I'd still lean to the nikon for various of reason.

Or you might want to wait to see who starts using sony's 42mp sensor.

using tapatalk.

 

[table1349]

The definitive answer can be found here. Complete with illistrations.

 

[jake337]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

Well my system while it may sound high end isn't really all that high end. It's a hasselblad H1 and I use a very average Phase one P20.. so not even a P21 or P45. If I had a P45 or P65, i'd probably be very content but that's out of my price range, they can run into the high thousands even breaking 10K sometimes. It will of course be a personal choice, but I just wanted people to throw some models at me and see what they associate for my type of work

Have you looked into mamiya 645d and 645z systems?

 

[table1349]

Pentax 645Z Medium Format DSLR Camera Body Only 16599 B H

 

[psreilly]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

Well my system while it may sound high end isn't really all that high end. It's a hasselblad H1 and I use a very average Phase one P20.. so not even a P21 or P45. If I had a P45 or P65, i'd probably be very content but that's out of my price range, they can run into the high thousands even breaking 10K sometimes. It will of course be a personal choice, but I just wanted people to throw some models at me and see what they associate for my type of work

Have you looked into mamiya 645d and 645z systems?

I have yeah. They'd be easier to handle than what I have now for sure. I have a Mamiya rz67 II, but it's only film right now. I've always wanted to see how Mamiya digitals are, or with a phase one back

 

[jake337]

Why do you rent a high end DSLR - Canon or Nikon and one or two portrait lenses and have a try.

It sounds like you've the budget to and that in the end the choice is really going to be a personal one. I know many here would say that you're already using the top end and most desire system many would love to have - ergo medium format.

I suspect that in the end you might find that a DSLR and medium format combo might be the best of both worlds - letting one support the other with its strengths; or you might find that one is just by far and away better than the other for how you want to do your photography.

It sounds like a personal choice and like the sort of thing only you can make for yourself

Well my system while it may sound high end isn't really all that high end. It's a hasselblad H1 and I use a very average Phase one P20.. so not even a P21 or P45. If I had a P45 or P65, i'd probably be very content but that's out of my price range, they can run into the high thousands even breaking 10K sometimes. It will of course be a personal choice, but I just wanted people to throw some models at me and see what they associate for my type of work

Have you looked into mamiya 645d and 645z systems?

I have yeah. They'd be easier to handle than what I have now for sure. I have a Mamiya rz67 II, but it's only film right now. I've always wanted to see how Mamiya digitals are, or with a phase one back

Not sure if you purchased anything yet but it looks like the 645D just dropped in price considerably!

Pentax 645D Digital SLR Camera Body Only 17971 B H Photo Video

 

[TCampbell]

The Canon 5Ds and 5Ds R are 50MP full-frame cameras. The "R" version has no low-pass filter. Nearly every digital camera has a "low pass" filter to reduce the problem of moiré in caused by shooting some patterns but at the expense of slightly softening the image. (moiré is likely to be a problem with fashion photography... meaning you probably want that low-pass anti-aliasing filter to combat moiré.) The "R" version of the camera is better suited to subjects that aren't likely to present patterns (e.g. natural landscapes).

The ISO performance of the 5Ds and 5Ds R aren't staggering (just ok), but for studio photography you are probably bringing your own lights to the party and may have little need of high ISO.

On the Nikon side of things there's the D810 which is a 36MP full frame body. While the Canon has higher resolution, the Nikon has better ISO and dynamic range.

There's also the question of lenses and this really depends on how you prefer to shoot. The Canon/Nikon debate is a religious war. I think Canon has the better lens selection. Tony Northrup prefers Nikon camera bodies, but prefers Canon lenses.... so there you go!

When buying a high MP sensor full-frame DSLR, you would want good glass that can provide the ability to resolve fine detail.

When I used to shoot with Hasselblads (500 C/M bodies), the 80mm lens was the normal working lens (and the lenses we tended to use for weddings) but the 120mm was the favored portrait lens focal length. On a full-frame DSLR, the portrait focal length lens will be 85mm... and up.

 

[chuasam]

The R version actually has a low pass cancelling filter.