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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Then & Now

See how digital has changed the workhorse kits of working pros and what the essential DSLR and lens combinations are today

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Pros who are using APS-C DSLRs are getting a lot of mileage from ultrawide-angle zooms like these from Tokina, Nikon and Sigma.

Versatility
A survey we ran in the summer of 2011 asked working professionals today if they would recommend the profession to students. The results were mixed, but we saw a lot of responses that indicated the significant challenges facing the emerging pros who are looking to make a living as photographers long term. In the more recent survey about how digital is changing fundamental equipment choices, we saw echoes from that earlier survey about the future of the profession. In the vast majority of responses, professionals indicated the need to lighten up their gear with multitalented cameras and lenses. Many responses indicated that they had moved to their current DSLR because it gave them the ability to shoot HD video as well as stills. We've heard mixed responses about how many still shooters are doing video, and how much, or making money at it, but the fact that so many of the pros in our survey specifically chose to have HD video indicates that professional photographers are looking for an edge anywhere they can get it. DSLR models like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D, and the Nikon D300S and D7000 all showed up several times in the survey.

On the lens side, versatility is clearly the direction to which most pros are leaning. A decade ago, zooms were already highly regarded, and yet many pros in the survey indicated they were primarily using fixed-focal-length prime lenses on their film SLRs. Today, there's an unmistakable shift to zooms that can cover a significant range. One photographer in our survey identified himself as a fine-art professional who has migrated from a medium-format camera and prime lens as a main setup to a Nikon D2X and Nikkor 24-120mm VR as his workhorse. He sums up the benefits of his current system, "It's just a great all-around combination. The combo is with me always, so any opportunity can turn into a photo shoot, even if I didn't bring the big bag, tripod and heavy glass."

Another pro who used to use a Sinar film camera with Rodenstock and Schneider large-format lenses now uses a Nikon D3X and a Nikkor 24-70mm zoom. This combination even filled in on a shoot originally planned for a macro lens. He writes, "A few days ago, I was taking pictures of jewelry with my macro, but I needed a wider angle of view." And a photojournalist who was using Canon A1 and F1 SLRs in 2001 with a Canon 50mm lens and now uses a Canon EOS-1D Mark III with a Canon 70-200mm lens declares, "Sharpness and color are unmatched by anything else. I was shooting a dance company at a showboat; it turned out that they allowed no room for photographers up front, so I had to shoot from a balcony. My camera and lens performed flawlessly, even at a distance."
Across the board, these multitalented zooms are becoming the go-to options for professional photography. Lightening up the gear overall while opening up the ability to be ready for anything are necessities for success.

In a very short period of time, photography has undergone a sea change. Digital technology, which had been lagging behind film in usability for professionals, quickly has caught up and surpassed conventional light-sensitive emulsions. Professional photographers who migrated to digital are shifting from using their new tools like they had used their older ones and are now actively breaking free from the film mentality. At the same time, cameras and lenses are coming out with features and capabilities that were impossible in an era of film photography. High-ISO shooting capability has influenced lens choices and altered shooting styles, HD video is giving rise to entire new creative concepts, and versatile image-stabilized zooms have the sharpness and contrast to be mainstays, not backup options. It's certainly not an easy time to make a living as a professional photographer, but as tools continue to evolve, new creative possibilities will emerge.