Briefly comment on what criteria you would use to consider upgrading your gear in the coming year.

Briefly comment on what criteria you would use to consider upgrading your gear in the coming year.
A) Yes, photography for me is more than discretionary spending.
39% (129 votes)
B) Maybe, although I will research it carefully and am watching my spending.
54% (180 votes)
C) No, even though I’d like to I’d hold off until the economy improves.
7% (25 votes)
Total votes: 334

COMMENTS
Stanley Kessler's picture

I have been saying for about 30 years, that we no longer have a manufacturing base in this country. Now that it's come back to bite us maybe this will be a wake-up call for the US to do something about it.

Bob Pfrimmer's picture

I still have too much film equipment (that I like). Several digital point & shoot cameras decorate my computer room, from 1.98 mp thru 7.2 mp. A 12 power 5 mp gets the most use. I'm not that interested in spending more, except that my printer & computer just stopped communicating; this is where I will have to focus most attention in the neat future.

Al Currie's picture

Made In America still means something. Especially when the alternative is Made in China (buyer be ware). Hecho en Mexico (How hi tech is that? Which neighbor lost their job?). However, every product must stand on its own for performance, reliability, features and price. This is like the question, do you buy on the web or a store front? I do both. When I buy on the web, or out of the country, I pay attention to the quality of that supplier, shipping, tax, service, total cost of ownership. You should expand this to include all photo gear. Novatron Stuido Flash gear in Dallas Texas was sold recently. I purchase other bits n pieces that are made in America. American can innovate to create unique products. American can manufacture to build quality gear at the right price. I work for Abbott who manufactures Medical Diagnostic Equipment in Dallas TX. Guess why? Uncompromised Quality, Hi-Tech Work Force, Competitive Prices.

Lee Gupton's picture

Going to full frame +MP sensor on existing Nikon camera system.

Dan's picture

As my eyes are failing and I'm becoming shakier, I feel that I need a vibration reduction lens.

Bill Zanieski's picture

Substantial rebates or manufacturers packages could be an incentive to buy depending on the "real" price.

Alton Marsh's picture

You're actually asking if I would consider running up the balance on my credit card. In a recession, my thoughts favor bringing the balance down.

David Lambert's picture

Since I live in Canada, I do my research carefully. Sometimes our prices are numerically the same as yours in the US, yet there is a 25% difference in the value of the dollar. In Ontario the sales tax is 13% so there are many factors in considering pricing. Unless the price difference is significant, I try to support our local camera stores, since they are the ones I go to for advice.

Nevada Chuck's picture

I have reached a stage in life where I can indulge only one interest, both physically and financially, and for me that has for the last fifty years always been photography.

Colin J.  Schmidt's picture

I was needing a dSLR. I'd had a Canon S3 IS and had taken it to it's limits. I looked for a new one and found no bargains, especially on eBay. Instead, I found a good buy on a used Nikon D70s and two (originally) inexpensive lenses. This will last me for some time.

Gene Sellier's picture

I am always looking for ways to improve my work but I do look for a rate of return for the expenditure. I don't buy the latest just because its new.

Jonathan Tate's picture

The economy prevents consideration of all the items I might want or desire. However, certain gear (lenses, flashes, scanners, printers, etc.) which would assist in capturing or printing better photos will always be considered.

Bruce Hatch's picture

If a product that facilitates my workflow as much as DxO comes around I would me tempted.

Rick's picture

Dilemma between FX (D3x) format high pixel sensor and 645 format 30+ pixel sensor for max quality.

Chuck Wilson's picture

Demand for freelance photography will determine whether I can upgrade to the Canon 5D Mark II this year.

John A.  Garcia's picture

Love the reviews by professionals. Helps me to make a wise decision.

WSKPICS's picture

An advanced point and shoot that is better than the Canon G10, Full Size SLR like CMOS sensor with very low digital noise that that still has noise free photos at ISO 800 to 1600. Also, with L lens quality with great color, sharpness, UD glass, and abberation free images. Raw mode and no noticable jpeg fragmentation. Easy to use menus and functions with exterior controls for exposure compensation and IS0 like on the G10 Canon camera. Picture quality maintained even when view at full size. A 10 to 12 megapixel sensor that has the best light gathering and the least low light noise. A f2.8 to f11 or f16 aperture with 1/4000 shutter speed. A non distorted 28mm focal length wide angle to 200mm tele lens that takes very sharp images. An accurate exposure meter and sensors that correctly set white balance, exposure, and color for the best possible detail in images. An affordable, reasonable price for the consumer.

Randy Roy's picture

I'd love to see a Nikon "D700x", or similar named, that would have all the features of the D700 but with a 24 mpix sensor, and price lower than the D3x.

Judith Buck's picture

My digital camera is probably older than it should be. My finances are a little tight right now.

Hal Lakin's picture

I will be in the market for an upgrade to my existing DSLR this coming year. I have prioritised my desires to lowest noise, very low light sensitivity and 12 to 14 MegaPixels.

Joe O'Sullivan's picture

Economic uncertainty is a significant factor.

James Humberg's picture

Nowhere in the world of cameras is there going to be a limit to how many megapixel they can stuff into them! Now we have a 37mp Leica, and a 24mp sony, and for how much? Why don't we all go back to Kodachrome! Look Mom, no noise! At $37,000.00 a person will have to get a 40 Terabyte hard drive just to process the photos from their 64gig chips, that can only hold five shots at full power in RAW...Where besides Hum-Vee's excess can a 65 pound housewife rationalize the ownership of that beast just to run to Wally-World to pick up toilet paper. So here we are John Q. Public with our little HP printers trying to convince ourselves of the need for 37mps. just to make an 8x10 for granny. No! Even if the economy improves and Sony/Leica starts throwing hookers at us to buy their over priced cameras, that will crash the likes of my computer, and just try to send one of those 37mp images over the internet! It would crash the server, and if it doesn't, it would take a year and a half to download. Now there is progress in a great big excessive way! Y'know what I mean Vern? Let's all go out and kill flys with Gattling Guns! Only the O.C. Pros will ever need these cameras. Good luck Leica/Sony/Nikon/Canon, and all the Pros and Snobs at Sea!

Skip's picture

Went digital 2 years ago with a Canon Digital Rebel and four lenses. Need to learn how to use what I have to make better photographs. Not looking for new playtoys.

Elizabeth Beers's picture

I'm waiting for Nikon to produce a prosumer full-frame (20+ megapixels) sensor DSLR with live view and HD video.

J.  H.  Cowen's picture

I'm the guy with the 47-year marriage to Nikon who got a divorce and married Canon about a month before Nikon had finally gone full-frame. Through a tight "inside" Canon hotshot I was able to grab the first EOS-1 Ds and also the first EOS 5D MK II available. Worse, possibly, than a divorce in which I'd remember the kids' names, I'll never get comfortable with Canon's nomenclature. I was "brought up" with the simple "F" that served so wonderfully. Now I chase megapixels like flies seek picnics. I shall keep throwing money at Canon until the top model has so many megapixels it has to be tethered to NSA's monster crypto cruncher to operate. Or, when it gets so that nobody can tell my 8x10 from one shot by Ansel Adams on an 8x10 Sinar, I'll be content. Maybe. It's great now, really, but not quite......Oh, hell, I'll never be an Ansel Adams, so I should give up. When Doc Severensen already had his doctorate in trumpet, he heard Rafael Mendez. He said, literally, it was a difficult decision to continue because he could not (and no one can ever) be a miracle like Rafael Mendez on trumpet (or Ansel Adams with a view camera and a chemical darkroom.)White, Weston and a few have pushed the envelope, alright, but who has ever even come close with a digicam? I dunno. I haven't seen Hasselblad's 30mp+ stuff. My question is: Has anyone seen a perfect digital print? If you're like me you'll toss money to the maker of your choice until you see detail in the blackest blacks and the whitest whites. Adams did.

Gerald Gerace's picture

I'm considering an upgrade to my D70. The D90 or the D700. Staying in the Nikon brand that has servrd me well for ocver 35 years.

John Bellows's picture

When there is a significant enough upgrade in the technology I'll buy but you can't get caught up in every tweak of megapixels.

Bill Flaherty's picture

I would like to see an addition to the Nikon DSLR family that is midline between 12.3 mp and the new high end D3x, 24.5 mp. Speculation of a new D400 with 14.1 mp is not enough MP to warrant an upgrade over the D300 unless it was fullframe and in the $1,500 to $1,700 range. Nikon seems to be lagging behind Canon in price where cost and pixels are concerned. A new Nikon in the 16 mp range, fullframe, and under $1,800 would be a killer on the market. Most people would not need to go farther with pixels for great 16 x 20's and still use older superb Nikon fullframe lenses. The D700 is too steep dollar wise for having stayed in the 12 mp range.

Joni's picture

I would wait until it is tested and recomended.

Ken Porter's picture

Technology is evolving rapidly and I'm waiting to see what camera manufacturers are going to do to reduce digital noise. Photography is a hobby for me so the total package price is very important, not just the sum of the parts.

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