What is up in Thom Hogan-land?

BabaGanoush

Last night, while doing my daily rounds of photography Web blogs, I cruised over to the Thom Hogan's site to see what he was up to. When I checked in, I was literally shocked to see his latest post, in which he discussed the POSSIBILITY (and I emphasize it was presented as only a possibility, not the probability) of dumping all of his current gear and starting over completely fresh, not excluding the possibility of going entirely mirrorless. He wrote that he had decided nothing and was merely pondering the question, so what did his readers think? What would they do if they were starting anew?

Since I've been asking myself that same question for awhile (but have moved a bit closer than Hogan to an answer for myself, having disposed of my D800 and pre-ordered a Sony A7RII to add to my A6000 as yet one more experiment), today I went over to Thom's site to see if there was any follow-up. Lo and behold, his shocking post was no longer there. I assume he must have thought better about making his soul-searching column so public, where people might misunderstand what he wrote, and so he must have taken it down. Question is, Did any other NRF members see that column? I''m sure I didn't imagine it. It really was there, perhaps for just a short time before being yanked, honest, cross my heart.

PB_PM

Where did you see that? I don't see any articles on his sites talking about this. :-/

Edit: Ah, just read the part about it being removed.

Frankly I don't care what Thom Hogan chooses to do. Wont affect what cameras I choose to use. I won't be going mirrorless unless either a) Nikon makes one with a native F-mount, or b) someone else makes a decent super telephoto option for their system (without needing mount adapters).

NSXTypeR

I don't check his site as religiously as I used to, but I felt like he was hinting at it for a long time. He always keeps talking about "Last Camera Syndrome", or "what alternate camera would I replace a DSLR in this shooting situation" articles.

He already keeps saying that other than ultra high speed sports and maybe birding, you would do fine without a DSLR, and I agree with that.

If I were to go into enthusiast photography now, I might not even own a Nikon DSLR, I may own a Sony A6000.

heartyfisher

I have just been through a time of rebuilding my kit. Looked at most of the Mirrorless offerings to date. and concluded that mirror-less is definitely on the way but its not here yet. Played with FX got a D610, considered D810 and D750, settled on my D7200. Got a nice set of lenses which I will be happy with for years to come. 70-200 F4 + 24-70 VC keeping some old lenses like my 12-24 DX, 150 Macro, 18-140 dx.
Will be selling the rest of my old cameras and lenses...

If I were to start again right now? I wont .. cos change is in the air, mirrorless supremacy is on the way.

If I were a new photographer starting.. or recommending to a new photographer. I will tell them that mirror-less is on the way but the best and most versatile kit at the moment is a DSLR. Nothing you learn on a DSLR will be wasted.. Your new DSLR kit will last you through a couple of Upgrade cycles. by which Time Mirrorless will be the best option. although it is not right now.

WestEndFoto

If I started over I would buy pretty much what I have now. No regrets.

One change I might make is settling on an 82mm filter size instead of 77mm. I have step up rings for all of my lenses up to 77mm. If 82mm becomes the new Nikon standard as the new 24-70 2.8E hints at, my four Singh Ray ND filters will be costly to replace if needed.

jdb

I read that Thom post too, so you didn't imagine it!

retread

I started with 52mm and have quite a complete set for film. Just a few 77mm for the 24-70g and the 70-200. With the purchase of the 11-20 Tokina have started a 82mm set. Saving for a CPL and then maybe a ND. Just a little at a time.

Not sure my D5100 will work with the 24-70E so maybe a camera up grade first if I decide the new 24-70 is a must have. The 24-70g, 70-200 and the 11-20 fit nicely in my belt system with one camera body but is starting to get heavy after a few hours.

spraynpray

I think I saw that the incompatibility starts older than the D7000 (D90 and back) so your D5100 should be OK.

henrik1963

Because of Nikons insane pricing here in Denmark I have put Nikon on hold when it comes to spending my money.

Summertime = playtime for me. This year I have been playing with my new Fuji X-T1 + 18-55. It was a joy to use. After a few days I picked up my D800 + 24-70 and I was blown away with the speed of operation.

DSLR and mirror less are different ways of taking pictures. With a DSLR you need to take control - and you need to know what you are doing and what you want.

I like to have both options.

ThomasHorton

Well, the announcement seemed to have served its purpose---It brought attention to Thom and his website.

Personally, I am not at all interested in whether anyone is thinking about changing systems. If he wants to dump Nikon, great, best of luck to him... it won't affect me at all.

My opinion about Nikon is not affected by anyone else's opinion.

I think this is just a publicity stunt to get his name up on people's radar so it will be reposted on photographic websites... like this one. )

DaveyJ

I for absolutely CERTAIN will NOT move just to mirrorless. To me it is like trying to race a car with a LCD screen held up in front of you. I want as close to the real scene in front of me to be able to adjust to what is out there and how I should react. We own quite a few mirrorless cameras. Many of them are suited up to big screen real time gadgets that are extremely complex. The cost of the mentioned real time big screens is great. Useful, yes! But it is just another massive complexity to deal with. I myself see MUCH value in a mirror camera. The D7200 and the D7100 and several capable lens, mostly Nikkor lens is what I like and use.

retread

I think I saw that the incompatibility starts older than the D7000 (D90 and back) so your D5100 should be OK.

Thanks spraynpray I have no interest in the new lens now as I have the old one but maybe someday if it proves to be much better.

donaldejose

I love the idea of an electronic viewfinder which lets you see the adjustments as you make them. I love the idea of focus measured at the sensor. I love the idea of no noise from a flipping mirror. I just want almost zero time lag.

kenadams

DaveyJ, the massive complexity you're speaking of is an electronical one, pitted against the mechanical complexity of a moving mirror, the according adjustment of focusing modules and whatnot. As I've never bothered to think about and have learned just today, there's even a mechanical lever for adjusting aperture at shooting time, something that Nikon is only starting to drop in their newest lenses.

Don't get me wrong, I love the mechanical precision of my Leica M3 just as much as the next guy! Produced in the late 50s and still going strong and shiny as new, no battery required! That's so much win in one piece of equipment, no, scratch that, one piece of art, it's ridiculous. But this is the past, not the future.

My personal feeling is that mirrorless cameras are still not on par with DSLRs in certain aspects, but I'm fairly certain they will be within 3-5 years, ten tops. Ease of use and small size will prevail then. The 50 / 2.0 Summicron that sits on my M3 is a nice testimony to that, it's probably just as sharp as today's Sigma 50 Art and not even a 3rd of its size (multiple times its price new, granted, but you take my meaning I hope).

BabaGanoush

"My opinion about Nikon is not affected by anyone else's opinion."

If, in a matter of 3-5 years, say, lots and lots of people other than you switch to mirrorless, while Nikon fails to offer a competitive product in that segment of the market, it most certainly will matter to you (and all of us who have Nikon gear) what others think of Nikon. The reality is, Nikon cannot stay in business out of the loyalty of a small and evidently diminishing number of customers. Once upon a time, Kodak was a dominant force in the industry. Where is it today? What will keep Nikon from becoming another Kodak? Hogan keeps close tabs on the industry and seems to have access to some limited inside information. I think there must be something left unsaid that bothers him about Nikon's long-term future, even if Nikon's most recent Q1 quarterly financial is more upbeat than expected.

BVS

If I were starting anew I'd probably go with the D7200. Maybe the D750. When I decided to go with the D7100 a couple years ago it was because it seemed to be the best balance of image quality, cost, size/weight, and flexibility, and the D7200 seems to continue this trend.

Nikon FX has very nice IQ, but the cost is harder to justify, and it's more weight and bulk than I'd like to carry around for family outings.

Nikon CX is cool for action shots, but the image quality and low light capability is too weak for me.

Canon has a good lens lineup and good video capabilities, but stills IQ isn't as good as Nikon, and I wanted a stills camera.

Sony has some neat cameras, but their lens lineup is limited, and to be honest I just don't 'trust' them. They seem to enjoy producing more newer gadgets and don't stay committed to things, IMO.

Fuji seems to have some nice cameras and lenses with good IQ, but again a more limited lens lineup (and no third parties make lenses for them I think), and it seems like every lens costs $1,000. Also seemed like they were still working out AF issues, but maybe it's better now.

M43 (Olympus/Panasonic) has some nice cameras and ranks high in portability and has a good lens lineup, but IQ (especially low light) is weaker than Nikon DX, weak battery life, and that 16MP sensor is getting long in the tooth.

Samsung seems to have some nice tech, but they're still new to the game and feel kind of like Sony to me - they like their gadgets.

spraynpray

That about sums it up @BVS.

Pistnbroke

Well I always read Tom "for the information" Have e mailed him on some occasions and got very arrogant answers to polite questions ...I worry that Nikon takes note of what he says on some occasions .
I owned the Oly M 10 which was great to use but the picture quality was poor so I dumped it .I dont see how Hogan can use 4/3 as I never got a good sharp picture out of it and could never use it for a wedding... Had it been FX and 56 MP I am sure I would have been happy !!!!
I dont see why they are having so much trouble makeing a good mirrorless . I dont have good vibes on the Sony offerings.. Silence would be the feature I would want ( for churches)

TriShooter

I love the idea of an electronic viewfinder which lets you see the adjustments as you make them. I love the idea of focus measured at the sensor. I love the idea of no noise from a flipping mirror. I just want almost zero time lag.

This comment sums it up beautifully for me. There is a lot to like in terms of accurate focus, and eliminating mirror noise, and shake, but for fast action shots it is still marginal.

BabaGanoush

It's 2015 September 8 and Thom Hogan is not back on the air after taking his annual sojourn away from blogging during the month of August. His last post was dated August 6. In prior years, both 2013 and 2014, he had resumed blogging by August 31. I wonder if he has decided to make those drastic changes to which he alluded in the commentary he posted and then quickly withdrew back in August.

NSXTypeR

Or he could be just taking a longer vacation...?

donaldejose

I think he was hired by Nikon to test the D400 before its release!

heartyfisher

If i remember right in other years there was breaking news...

PB_PM

It's 2015 September 8 and Thom Hogan is not back on the air after taking his annual sojourn away from blogging during the month of August. His last post was dated August 6. In prior years, both 2013 and 2014, he had resumed blogging by August 31. I wonder if he has decided to make those drastic changes to which he alluded in the commentary he posted and then quickly withdrew back in August.

It is noted on his site that he would start catching up after Labour Day, so expect something this week.

Right from his website...

byThom and the other sites will be silent from August 7th through September 8th this year.

Msmoto

A bit late to the party here, but I have certainly entertained the idea of selling most of my current Nikon gear, big lenses and all, going to a camera like a Leica M. I could probably even afford two or three lenses after selling what I own currently....

Please...tongue in cheek..... )

kenadams

MsMoto, have you ever tried an M? I could never afford (rather, justify the expense of) one, but overpriced as it may be, the stuff is simply awesome... the handling alone feels just great. Small, sleek.. unlike my D800 which is anything *but* that :-D