Unless you are getting paid for your images, remember, photography is a hobby. You should enjoy it right? Hauling my medium format gear up a sand dune in Mojave National Preserve was not fun. It was early morning so it was still cool out, but in no way did I enjoy carrying all that gear up a sand dune and worrying about getting sand into the camera and ruining it.
(Insert dunes pic here with the coke can and other MF images) Of course you don’t need MF for the web… so really the only application is enlargements starting at 24×36. Why? Full frame is fine up to 24×36 and even larger. APS-C will even make great 24×36 prints, it just depends how critical you are about resolution and sharpness.
I didn’t get better results than my 35mm camera, and I really hated the whole experience. Should I hate doing my hobby?
Luckily, I don’t enlarge images larger than 24″ x 36″ and a full frame 20-36mp camera does fine at that size. APS-C 24mp sensors look great at 12×18 which is the most common enlargement size for me. Medium format and a mega pixel count over 30 isn’t really necessary for my work.
I didn’t enjoy shooting with the Sony A6000 or A7r. The UI on both cameras was terrible. I bought the Sonys after shooting Nikon for 30 years and Canon for 7. If you’re coming from an iPhone only background you may think differently. Finding what I wanted in the menus was a chore and totally user unfriendly. The A7r had a terrible shutter shock vibration that made the images focus soft. The colors were way off, so far off that the sliders on adobe camera raw were maxed out left or right before the colors looked right. I didn’t enjoy this,
Keep in mind that you should enjoy your hobby! If you aren’t, then why do it? I didn’t enjoy carrying MF equipment with me so I sold it. I hated shooting with Sonys so I got rid of them. The weight of my DSLRs, a full suitcase of lenses, bodies, and a tripod with a big head when I traveled got to feel more like a job and a burden than a hobby so…
I now shoot Canon M cameras exclusively and enjoy the act of taking the picture, the post production afterwards, and the viewing of enlargements in my house every day. Sure, I may give up some resolution or lack the sharpness of an L lens, but looking at my enlargements on the wall, you would never know it.
Don’t beat yourself up
Okay, you didn’t get the shot you wanted. You woke up late and missed the sunrise. You got out to your spot but fog came in and obscured the sun and everything else, you’re a failure. No you’re not. Just remember this is a hobby, enjoy it. Nature will often not cooperate and give you the best light. Sometimes you mess up and all your images are out of focus or under or over exposed. This doesn’t happen that much with the latest DSLRs and MILCs but it can still happen. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Be happy about the shots you do nail instead of regretting the ones you missed. You’ll be a lot happier. I know I am.
Canon M Cameras 