I am leaving for Iceland for a two-week Luminous-Landscape and Rockhopper photography workshop with Daniel Bergmann. I’ve been going to Iceland for years and it is one of the most remarkable places for photography, especially if you get off the tourist paths. Daniel Bergmann is one of the most knowledgeable leaders to get you to the best spots for shooting photographs.
If you are a regular reader of Luminous-Landscape, you know that over the last year I have become a big fan of mirrorless cameras. I own the Olympus system with 3 bodies and a full set of lenses. My favorite go-to camera has been the Fuji X-T1 because it is so easy to work with and the image quality is great. Then, not too long ago I bought into the Sony A7 II camera and a stable of lenses. I use the Sony a lot these days and I’m very excited about the NEW Sony A7r II announcement. I had the Sony A7 II on the last Antarctica trip; it performed as expected and my images were great.
During this time I have neglected my now dusty Nikon system sitting on the shelf. Every time I go into my camera closet I look at the Nikons and have a moment of sadness. as if it’s a forgotten friend. My Nikon system of a D800e and D7100 with 14-24mm, 24-70mm. 70-200mm 80-400 and a 8mm fisheye were one of my most trusted camera systems and yielded some excellent images over the last few years. They have visited both Polar Regions as well as many spots in between. The cameras took a beating, yet the files were excellent and there were no problems. After a quick check, I found images on the card from the Svalbard trip last August. Has it really been that long since I used my Nikons?
Normally Michael and I are trading in our equipment for new gear every few months so we can report on what’s new and stay up to date. I have been holding onto the Nikons and wasn’t sure why. Maybe deep down inside I thought that Nikon might surprise us with a super new camera. Maybe they would go full frame mirrorless and would use the existing lens. Maybe they would get a bigger chip and put the whole system into a smaller body. Nope, none of this happened.
So, I looked at my Nikons sitting there on the shelf and decided I would take them on one last trip. I’d experience a few weeks with an optical viewfinder and the heft and weight of the old system I had come to love. I know, maybe I am just trying to give myself a chance to fall in love with this system again. But I don’t think so. I have so totally moved onto mirrorless. I think I am just looking for a proper closure.
The weight and size factor alone is enough to make me change. I can literally put the Sony system into a small shoulder bag and have a four-lens kit covering a full range of focal lengths. The same goes for the Fuji X-T1. None of this matters today as my Nikon cameras and I are excited about our one last journey together. It’s time to move on but not without saying a proper good-bye. Sensors are cleaned, batteries charged and lenses have been checked. We’re set to go.
I know I am not the only photographer thinking of moving away from traditional DSLR to mirrorless. Based on the chatter on the Luminous-Landscape forum, as well as what I hear from my favorite camera store (Robert’s Photo) and a number of photographer friends, the move is on. If you are making the move you owe it to yourself and your old trusty full DSLR system to take it out for one last go. Give it a proper good-bye and enjoy the images that is has so faithfully produced over the years.
Elevate Your Vision
Read this story and all the best stories on The Luminous Landscape
The author has made this story available to Luminous Landscape members only. Upgrade to get instant access to this story and other benefits available only to members.
Why choose us?
Luminous-Landscape is a membership site. Our website contains over 5300 articles on almost every topic, camera, lens and printer you can imagine. Our membership model is simple, just $2 a month ($24.00 USD a year). This $24 gains you access to a wealth of information including all our past and future video tutorials on such topics as Lightroom, Capture One, Printing, file management and dozens of interviews and travel videos.
- New Articles every few days
- All original content found nowhere else on the web
- No Pop Up Google Sense ads – Our advertisers are photo related
- Download/stream video to any device
- NEW videos monthly
- Top well-known photographer contributors
- Posts from industry leaders
- Speciality Photography Workshops
- Mobile device scalable
- Exclusive video interviews
- Special vendor offers for members
- Hands On Product reviews
- FREE – User Forum. One of the most read user forums on the internet
- Access to our community Buy and Sell pages; for members only.
You may also like
