I’ve been thinking recently about upgrading my 7 year old camera. The continuous auto-focus is not good by today’s standards (nor was it great when it was released). The 16 megapixel sensor is dated. The buffer for RAW images is less than great. There are more things that I could do with the newer model.
The newer model has a 20 megapixel sensor. It has phase-detect auto focus. It is lighter-weight. It has bluetooth connectivity. The buffer is nearly twice as large. It has Pro Capture mode. It would be a tremendous upgrade.
It wouldn’t be my last camera purchase, though. The new Olympus flagship specs were just leaked and the features that will likely trickle down the next iteration of the EM5 make it too enticing to not eventually purchase. Specifically, the autofocus is much improved above with a new sensor. It features a handheld high resolution mode so that the user can double the image size when photographing without a tripod. There is a Live ND filter. All of these features can be reasonably expected to be featured in the next mid-level camera release a year or so from now.
But … life is short. I could buy the next level up now, enjoy it, and then upgrade in a year. If I were to do that, reselling or trading-in the intermediate body, I would be out approx $700 over the 18 months (a $40 monthly rental). And while I would like to have the improved autofocus and some more resolution, I still haven’t mastered the high resolution tripod capture on the camera that I already have. Nor have I mastered the focus-stacking that is available to me with my current camera body. Going into the weekend, I had made up my mind: I was going to wait until next year and get the camera that I will ultimately want.
Then, of course, I starting missing shots.We went to Caz to go sledding and the camera was slow to track moving subjects. Painfully slow. I wanted to capture 5-10 images per run, but usually only captured 2 (if I was lucky). In the past, I stood off to the side a little more and pre-focused so that they would move into my focus … and while that works, I was hoping for more. I left a bit dismayed, feeling like I had captured too few images that I would be happy with. I was thinking of opening up my wallet for the new camera now.
Then I got home, plugged in the memory card, and – to my surprise – there were a lot of nice images in there. Probably some of the nicest images that I have captured in the last few years since we started sledding in Caz. And don’t get me wrong, the weather was warmer and the light was better, so that helps, but there were others improvements from last year too.
There are more layers that I am seeing in the moment.
There is framing that I am moving for that I hadn’t before.
I am learning to see my frame differently.
I am growing and my images reflect those improvements. I’m still not an excellent photographer and I’ll probably never be, but I see progress, in spite of my using a 7 year old camera. And while I recognize the limitations of my camera, I recognize that it is my own limitations that continue to hold-back my imagery, not the camera body itself.
So its been decided. When the next model mid-tier Olympus/OM Digital Systems camera is released, I’ll almost certainly buy it. But I’ll find something else to spend that extra $700 on in the meantime.