[davidmanze]

Here we go guys ....... (it's peeing down with rain here and I'm bored) ........ So .....
 
    With camera technology nearing perfection, with better IQ and AF detection and speed, buffers plus lenses etc. ....... it begs the question as to when the returns will become worthy of yet another new expensive round of buying  ..... and when and where it will ever end ?? (for you personally)

    Sony is the leader in terms of tech, Canon not far behind and of course Nikon has just had a catch up moment ....... in another two or three years, will it will be difficult for camera manufacturers to convince all but the most avid camera nerds that they still need to upgrade ?? ...
  Not to mention the Nikon lead trend to eliminate the mechanical shutter and reduce moving parts to almost zero ......... removing the need for replacement shutters/ mirror assemblies / or whatever, and giving the cameras a much longer life .....
 
   How many more cameras/ lenses do you guys see yourself buying in the oncoming years ?? .......

 I'm confessing that my days of upgrading and lens addiction have waned to minimal proportions ....... 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124690178@N08/

dave's clichés

[stoppingdown]

Well, I'm in a phase in which I don't see any particular need for upgrading, so there are no buy plans in the short term. At the moment my expectations are about having better photo opportunities than better equipment. In particular with the addition of the Tamron 20mm macro (see my previous threads) bought last year I also cover decently the close-up/macro field.

Widening the perspective, these are possible upgrades:

• replacing the Sigma 150-600 with the Sony 200-600, because the latter doesn't extend and it's much better to handle; furthermore it works with a 1.4x extender, so I could expand the range;
  

• replacing the Alpha a6000 with a most recent model (not necessarily the latest) since it has a lo-res viewfinder and a very different UI when compared with the a6300 and the a6600 that I own. The past august I had the chance to casually see a a5000 in a media store for 999€ and was really tempted.
  

• replacing the SEL16-70Z with something better in terms of sharpness at the borders.
  

I probably miss something in the field of "shy" butterflies (or in general when the weather is hot and they are very active): while I have excellent shots for the tame ones taken with 20mm and 50mm lenses, I reckon I'm missing a lot of shots that I could take in the range around 2 meters. The analysis of the problem is postponed to the next butterfly season, but from what concerns focal and focusing range the Sigma 150-600 would be probably ok - its problem, as I wrote above, is that is uneasy to handle. The Sony 200-600 could resolve this problem.

Basically my idea is to concentrate on selling old items (I still have my previous Nikon equipment in a closet!) and as soon as I have filled the gap between the money I could get selling the 150-600mm and the 200-600 price I'd buy it.

[davidmanze]

Well, I'm in a phase in which I don't see any particular need for upgrading, so there are no buy plans in the short term. At the moment my expectations are about having better photo opportunities than better equipment. In particular with the addition of the Tamron 20mm macro (see my previous threads) bought last year I also cover decently the close-up/macro field.

Widening the perspective, these are possible upgrades:

• replacing the Sigma 150-600 with the Sony 200-600, because the latter doesn't extend and it's much better to handle; furthermore it works with a 1.4x extender, so I could expand the range;
  

• replacing the Alpha a6000 with a most recent model (not necessarily the latest) since it has a lo-res viewfinder and a very different UI when compared with the a6300 and the a6600 that I own. The past august I had the chance to casually see a a5000 in a media store for 999€ and was really tempted.
  

• replacing the SEL16-70Z with something better in terms of sharpness at the borders.
  

I probably miss something in the field of "shy" butterflies (or in general when the weather is hot and they are very active): while I have excellent shots for the tame ones taken with 20mm and 50mm lenses, I reckon I'm missing a lot of shots that I could take in the range around 2 meters. The analysis of the problem is postponed to the next butterfly season, but from what concerns focal and focusing range the Sigma 150-600 would be probably ok - its problem, as I wrote above, is that is uneasy to handle. The Sony 200-600 could resolve this problem.

Basically my idea is to concentrate on selling old items (I still have my previous Nikon equipment in a closet!) and as soon as I have filled the gap between the money I could get selling the 150-600mm and the 200-600 price I'd buy it.

  Funnily enough I thought of you when a came across a serious birder/warden who I know and had stepped up from Nikon D7500 to the Sony A6600 plus the Sony 200-600mm .... he seemed very happy .......... a good lens !!........ how are you finding the combination??

   Personally, I'm seriously struggling to see what I would gain from a FF MLC ........ but then I think I'm a bit saturated with the birds around here after six or so years ...... 
   Still exciting times, and MLCs are nearly perfected in the upper price range ........  the last hat trick will be to pass all that tech down to the lower echelon bodies to keep things affordable ........ 
  
daves clichés

[Rover]

Funny, 2021 looks like the first year in a long time when I will be buying no new gear whatsoever (apart from one filter to replace a destroyed one, that is). Before that, I was getting one new lens, or a camera, pretty much every year except maybe 2016, and the absolute high was in 2014 with 2 cameras and 1 lens. Before you ask, there was a new acquisition in 2011, so it's not a 5-year cycle.

I might yet get a monopod, though, before New Year.

[thxbb12]

I just acquired a Fuji X-E4 + Fuji 27mm f2.8 WR for 550 CHF in like new condition except for a slight crack on the screen and still under warranty for 3 more years.

I wanted a very small package with EVF that I can put in my jacket's pocket.

So far, I'm very happy with it. I actually like its simplicity.

For 2022 I'm planning on purchasing a Samyang 12mm f2 to replace my Fuji 14mm f2.8 as I want something a bit wider with the same size.
If Sigma releases their 18-50 f2.8 for Fuji then I'll probably buy it to replace my Fuji 16-80 f4 which is too big and not that great optically.

Also, I think I'll sell my last bit of MFT gear to help finance the gear above: Pany GM5 + Pany 12-32 + Pany 14 f2.5 + Oly 40-150.

[Brightcolours]

I haven't bought a new camera since... well, 2013. And my personal view on photography does not make me need the fastest longest whatever... Of course, often my eclectic gear restricts me too.

Haven't bought anything new the last year... till today. Well, not exactly new. It is a Tokina AF 20-35mm f3.5-4.5, a lens that predates the digital era (introduced in 1990). Why did I buy it? Because the glass looked pristine, and it cost me... €15 euro. In a thrift store.

Haven't had time yet to try a few first shots with it, will see tomorrow what it is like. I do notice that the focus ring is ridiculously easy to move when it is in MF mode... A fly can move it.

[Rover]

So use insect repellent at all times! j/k

Well, I've bought many lenses and sometimes I'm thinking I have too many but all of those I have now have their use, I'm not "collecting" stuff. Being the nerd I am, I'm sometimes digging the process of making "sets" of gear, the most infamous of which are the "gentleman's lesser kit" (16-35 + 100-400) and the "night crawler's kit" (24/1.4 + 45/1.8 + 85/1.8). Overall, even the lowly 24-85/3.5-4.5 gets some mileage, at least proportionate to the comparatively lesser amount of shooting I've been doing lately.

FWIW the 85/1.8 is the latest acquisition, bought sometime in Nov. 2020, and I would not backpedal on the decision to purchase it. Mighty fun and sometimes it can substitute for a heavier (white) tele whenever I'm feeling too lazy and/or feeble to drag that along.

[Klaus]

I reckon many of us are putting question marks on new investments - the pandemic remains exhausting and there aren't really too many tech breakthroughs.

On the camera side, I'm tired of getting told that the previous generation was weak and that the new generation solves everything - only to be told the very same things with the follow-up camera.
Truth is that other than the lack of a sensor, the EOS 1 (film camera) was "good enough" for my kind of stuff. The only new feature (from the traditional manufacturer) that excited me lately is animal eye AF - I never mastered getting reliably sharp wildlife photos.

And yes, there's also the question of where to go from here. I will get myself a Pixel 6 Pro and this will surely have an eroding effect on my desire to carry a system camera. By now the results from high-end smartphones are shockingly good. The camera manufacturers are lagging far behind in terms of image optimizations.

Of course, this won't be the end of it for "real" cameras for me. Namely, the battery life of smartphones just doesn't cut it and every once in a while I'd like to have "extreme" lenses where smartphones just can't go. Still, it's a question of diminishing returns. Do I really want to invest $10K into stuff that I barely use?

In terms of lenses, there are still a few that excite me - like the Sigma 150-600 DN or the Sony 14 GM just to name a few.

[Brightcolours]

For video, big steps have been taken the last few iterations, if we only look at the dual pixel PD AF from Canon and how smooth you can AF now, and the IS (from the R3/5/6) making gimbal-less shooting better possible. Or the quick sensor readout of the Nikon Z9, making for almost no deformation during panning.

For still images, most progress has been made for making shooting easier (face/eye/monkey/motor detect, eye AF-point select, more forgiving sensors so you can totally mess up exposure settings and still get a result to post on your social media, high FPS so you don't have to time your shot, to name a few). It depends on your shooting if this progress makes upgrading a necessity.

[davidmanze]

I haven't bought a new camera since... well, 2013.  And my personal view on photography does not make me need the fastest longest whatever... Of course, often my eclectic gear restricts me too.

Haven't bought anything new the last year... till today. Well, not exactly new. It is a Tokina AF 20-35mm f3.5-4.5, a lens that predates the digital era (introduced in 1990). Why did I buy it? Because the glass looked pristine, and it cost me... €15 euro. In a thrift store.

Haven't had time yet to try a few first shots with it, will see tomorrow what it is like. I do notice that the focus ring is ridiculously easy to move when it is in MF mode... A fly can move it.

 Ken Rockwell does a review of that lens ........

"For still images, most progress has been made for making shooting easier (face/eye/monkey/motor detect, eye AF-point select"

It used to be a skill .........