Ditched my DSLR: Why Did I do it?

My Cameras as of 2014

DSLRs are fun, take crisp photos and are always the best way to capture what you want to display. I am not writing for the poople who want to take photography as a profession. Even I ain't suggesting anyone or else I would give the title, ''why You should ditch your DSLR?''. I just found my way a bit cooler and easier to take photographs of the things and people I love around myself.

I've used DSLRs form Canon and Nikon before. I was carrying a bulky chunk of piece everywhere I thought I might find something interesting. There's been a lot of days, I didn't feel like shooting or didn't find anything even if I was carrying my Camera with me. Regarding the situation there were so many days, I was forced not to carry it but I actually found something interesting and I yelled on myself, why don't I have my camera with me today? When you shoot for you'r own happiness out of only passion for photographing, you can become more relaxed about what do you want to capture and when do you want to do it. As long I am not working for a client who pays me to do the job, I am free from meeting someone else's requirements. That's why I don't claim myself a photographer rather I prefer to tag myself as a photography hobbiest. But there's this thing inside me that makes me desperate to capture when I find something really capture-worthy. I needed cameras that I can always carry becuase I never know, when I'll be facing the magic moment. That's my style, being ready all the time!

Last year, I started reseraching on the output samples of compact cameras from Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic & Samsung. It's not that hard to Imagine that, there are lot of people like me around and the manufacturers are actually thinking of us deeply. Now, we've a lot of compact system cameras which can take Good quality photos like an entry lever DSLRs. First I wanted to try some Old models which was bit cheap as 2ndhand on ebay. Obviously, I didn't want to spend my hard earned money on something that I don't want to earn anyting from.

My first Pick was a 90£ Samsung NX100 released in 2010. It has a decen't crop sensor which is exactly the size of a crop sensor DSLR. But since its arrival, I still don't think its pockatable anyway even if its half thin than the smallest DSLR. Few Days later, I got my hands on a 70£ Lumix DMC-LX3. Even though its from 2008, for the first time In my life I was happy to carry a camera with me. The output was better than any of the bridge cameras I've had from fuji and Canon. The latest Lumix DMC-LX7 should provide much better quality photos than this for sure. If I was ready to Spend more, I would definitely go for a Fujifilm X100s or Sony RX100 ii. These seems to be few of the best cameras as of today that you can use for day-to-day shoots and take anywhre in your pocket.

There's a new trend of Using Gopro for a variety of wide angle, underwater, sports photography/videography and Timelapse these days. I needed this for experiemts and after a bit of reseach I went for SJ4000 Novatek worth 70£ which is kind of a copy of Gopro Hero 3 but with a Display on the back. Though I was able to save 60% of the cost not buying the Gopro but the outputs aren't much good as I would have from a gopro. Even though, I now have the power to take pictures of the same angle as if I had a 11-12mm lens on a crop sensor DSLR.

You'd probably think if I am so lazy to carry a DSLR, why don't I stick to a Mobile phone instead! You're actually right, the camera I always carry is my cameraphone. I don't have a Lumia 1020/ Xperia Z2/ Iphone 5s/ Galaxy s5; not even the Nexus 5! I simply use the 130£ Moto G for most of my photos these days. I love it and it serves my purpose for Instagram. Though I've been planning for a Lumia 1020, but I am still not ready for going to windows platform on my phone.

I've mentioned the price so that you can calculate now. Below 400£ I've managed to make my gears able to shoot almost anything I like to (Sorry I don't like wildlife photography)! As the Picture qualities are not that professional quality or I don't have much options available while shooting, I've to spend a lot of time editing them on Photoshop lightroom or on Picsart to get the output I wanted. But I don't mind doing it as I've always edited my photos even if they were taken with a DSLR.