Well ... this is getting expensive

[BenjaminF]

Are you my ex-wife?

Keep family squabbles where they belong - in full view of the world, with subtitles for those of us too far away to hear

 

[Schwob]

...My A7iii will not be a dive camera, and will remain above the surface....

I am curious as to why you know this at this point?
A financial consideration (housing, correct lens/es and port/s, amount of $s destroyed if the thing floods)?
Or a weight and pack volume consideration?***
Or something you have to say to appease a significant other?
Or?
...
***If it is this point, I wonder if you have an idea about the difference , e.g. in the weight of the to you complet UW travel system for each camera. Just how you look in practical terms ar those doffetences...
...I am wondering because some day I will need to look at a new camera and the smaller and better these increasingly excellent full frame sensor murrorless cameras get the harder a decision on the sensor size gets...
... Well, lens cost, size and weight (as well as being a little, invested in APS-C) helps keeping that in a pretty clear "champagne taste but beer budget" kind of perspective, but the desire for great low light capability wants to keep fighting that perspective...

 

[Hoag]

I am curious as to why you know this at this point?
A financial consideration (housing, correct lens/es and port/s, amount of $s destroyed if the thing floods)?
Or a weight and pack volume consideration?***
Or something you have to say to appease a significant other?
Or?
...
***If it is this point, I wonder if you have an idea about the difference , e.g. in the weight of the to you complet UW travel system for each camera. Just how you look in practical terms ar those doffetences...
...I am wondering because some day I will need to look at a new camera and the smaller and better these increasingly excellent full frame sensor murrorless cameras get the harder a decision on the sensor size gets...
... Well, lens cost, size and weight (as well as being a little, invested in APS-C) helps keeping that in a pretty clear "champagne taste but beer budget" kind of perspective, but the desire for great low light capability wants to keep fighting that perspective...

@Schwob there are a couple reasons why the A7iii will not be my dive camera.

1. I just replaced my previous dive camera with a Sony A6000 with Nauticam Housing & ports last year. I don't want or see a need to replace my A6000.

2. Despite my best efforts, accidents can happen. I never take my "good camera" underwater "just in case". (And yes I am meticulous about o-rings and the maintenance of my housings, but sometimes stuff happens.)

3. I like the form factor that the small size of the A6000 (& housing) gives me both in my luggage and in the water.

4. Although there are significant improvements in the A7iii, in an underwater setting, I don't think that there is enough "value added" to switch to the A7iii for underwater.

Those are the big reasons why I will continue to use my A6000 as my underwater camera and my A7iii and my above the surface primary camera.

As to the champagne taste on a beer budget, I was so impressed by the A6000 that I sold all of my Canon gear (including a 6D and a bunch of L Series lenses) and made a switch to Sony. I am blown away by the A6xxx series of cameras, and they just keep getting better.

 

[Hoag]

In my mind the difference is that a great chef could probably cook a great meal in a crappy oven but it's not so easy to take a great picture with a crappy camera

Granted, bad optics (more a factor of a crappy lens than a crappy camera) will result in a less than ideal image no matter what, but much like the "great chef" will be able to understand the nuances of seasoning and different types sauces and garnishes, a great photographer will understand light, composition and location and will still be able to capture a great image. Having said that, a sophisticated camera will make it less work to capture that image.

 

[Bubblesong]

Are you my ex-wife?

While I would make extraodinarily outrageous ex-wife material, my hubby is a miracle of patience, so, no, cannot claim that honor.

 

[Hoag]

Well, I am back from my trip (and given the spring that I had, I really needed this trip) and I have my pics edited. In the short to medium term, I think I can get by without having to upgrade my computer, but realistically, it is a 2009 iMac, so it will need to be upgraded before too long. (My computer was able to run Capture One Express for Sony.)

I flew into Vegas and after picking up my rental car, I drove straight to Page AZ to shoot sunset at Horseshoe Bend. Then up early the next morning to shoot Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons and Rattlesnake Canyon. It was cloudy, so I didn't get a single pic of the Light Beams that Upper Antelope Cyn is famous for. Then, off to Monument Valley to shoot the valley from the parking lot at sunset.

The next morning, I was up "at the crack of stupid" to meet my guide for a back country guided sunrise tour of Monument Valley, but, again the light was horrible and I didn't get what I was looking for. After that, back to the hotel for breakfast where to my surprise there was a Navajo Code Talker (one of only 9 remaining) giving a presentation at the dining room in the hotel. After that was over, I was off to Moab to shoot sunset at the Green River Overlook followed by the Milky Way at the Grandview Overlook.

Shot sunset and then sunrise at Dead Horse Overlook in Dead Horse State Park and then off to Vegas.

Overall, I would have t say that I am very impressed with the Sony A7iii.

Sunset at Horseshoe Bend (Page AZ)

"The Eagle" Lower Antelope Canyon (Page AZ)

"The Mittens" Monument Valley at sunset (taken from the parking lot)

Sunset at Green River Overlook Canyonlands National Park

Milky Way at Grandview Overlook (Canyon is lit by the moon) in Canyonlands National Park

 

[BenjaminF]

Wow!

 

[Hoag]

Well, depending on which metaphor you prefer, either the last domino just toppled, or the last piece of the puzzle just fell into place. Oh, and as I suspected when I started this thread, the jouney was not a cheap one.
(Actually, there is one more domino to topple, but it is a choice, not a requirement so I am not counting it in this journey. I just sold my 70-300mm lens and will soon be upgrading to a 100-400mm G Master lens.)

A few minutes ago, I ordered a "new" computer off of the Apple Refurbish page. OK, it is a refurb and it is the previous generation (2017) iMac, but it will be such a leap forward compared to what I currently have (a 2009 iMac).

My new one is a 2017 iMac with 3.4GHz quad-core i5, 32Gigs of RAM and a 512SSD. It should be here later this week (ETA Wednesday).

Now, when I make adjustments in Capture One Pro, I will have a computer that won't give me a dirty look and say "You're kidding right!" like my current computer does.