The studio is a pretty different world. Art Directors seem to want the best of both worlds, always saying “shoot looser, leave more room around the subject so there’s plenty of bleed and I can move it around in the layout”. Then, two days later, they point to some little detail and say, “now, I can blow that part up to full page, can’t I?”. Uh, yeah, right…

I will often capture an image that looks much better when cropping serves to change the aspect ratio - get to pretend I own one of those high end medium format digital backs. That may never happen, but a nice square photo does the trick from time to time. The additional MPs help preserve a good sized print.

Firstly I look for Ease of use. I have big hands and some buttons are just in the wrong place on some cameras. even the Digital rebel is not perfectly laid out for my fingers but I am getting there!

Next I look for versatility. I still shoot every day with a point and shoot but it has a superb range of settings that when you get to know lets you create simply stunning photos. but it really peeves me that I forgot to check if it had a viewfinder even though it was definitely on my wish list so low light work is hit and miss. It is lucky I like surprises!

I have grown to love the Richness of colour and the relatively low noise of the Canon Digital Rebel compared to my previous cameras but I didn’t even consider that till I bought it and discovered it for myself.

in the future I’d look for Bluetooth tethering, built in remote flash syncronisation(multi channel, improved Dynamic range, improved noise reduction, improved resolution (not necessarily more MP) and faster memory chip uploads and downloads.

in the software dept it would be nice if we couled upload software packs to the camera…. eg If i want to develop my skills with the ZONE system it would be nice if the camera had a tutorial mode and s ZONE system assist mode.

THis could be incorporated with a more advanced in viewfinder HUD.

Maybe I should work for canon and teach those guys about how creativity starts in the head!

thanks for a fab blog and tutorials

In the perfect world, I agree with you 100%. But as we all know, when you finally identify that “primo shot” of the 200 you to put on a card, a bit of cropping may be needed. Within the last few weeks Jim put up some great pre-cropped shots of an actor in a variety of costumes. So if that one great expression was otherwise in need of cropping, you trash the shot? I like the extra MPs if I need to crop a bit. “Hope for the best; plan for the worst.”

So yes, megapixels or lack thereof are very important to me. But 10 or 12 would work nicely…I don’t need 25 or anything crazy like that. Just enough to crop and sell a large print, that’s all I ask. But there’s no new digital in my future for awhile. And then it probably wouldn’t look as nice as the Fuji. Just bigger.

Being new to DSLR’s (and photography in general), I chose not to fall for the oft quoted ‘megapixel myth’ and picked up a Nikon D40 (6MP). Given its large photosensors, 1/500 flash sync and great usability, I am having a ball learning to shoot. It is really a fantastic (beginner) camera. However, I tend to crop aggressively and, just a couple of months in, I am already feeling constrained by the low pixel count. So much so, that I’m already considering upgrading to a higher MP sensor … fully aware that I’m likely to lose that fantastic 1/500 sync.

… bring on that D90! …