Results Of My Three Month Experiment Using Only My Full Frame Digital SLR Gear

Red Corn, Farmer's Market, Albuquerque, New Mexico (click to enlarge)

Back on October 8, 2014, I wrote a post outlining my intent to use only my full frame Nikon D810 and lenses for the rest of that year.  You can read the post here.  Since I had largely been happy with the quality of my images with my M4/3 gear, I was toying with the idea of selling all of my full frame gear.  But before I did, I wanted again to exclusively use that gear for a sufficient time and fully reacquaint myself with it as I had used M4/3 for the majority of my image making over the past 2 years.  This little test made sense to me before making a final decision on whether or not to sell.

First, I wanted to assess just how much of a "pain" it really is to lug a bag around loaded with a full frame digital SLR and four or five lenses for several hours or a full day.  I wanted to remember why I started using smaller format digital cameras and see if it was as much trouble as my memory was telling me it was.

Second, I wanted to assess usability of the sophisticated focusing system for successfully capturing moving objects or for high speed photography and compare it with my E-M1 and lenses.  Did faster, more accurate focus really make a difference in my way of working?

Additionally, I wanted to assess the "look" of my images with full frame versus M4/3.  I wanted to understand if I thought there were differences in the quality of the images when it comes to dynamic range, color fidelity, noise, micro contrast and fine detail.  I wanted to find out if I saw any differences, did they exist in most images or only ones that were made under what types of circumstances.

So that is what I did.  I used only my Nikon D810 and Nikon lenses for the last three months of 2014.  What did I conclude?  

Well, I won't be selling my full frame Nikon D810 or my lenses.  M4/3 cannot fully substitute for larger and more versatile sensors, at least for me and my types of photography.  I found it is worthwhile to have the immense advantage of full frame gear for several situations in which I may find myself. The D810 and Nikon lenses produced outstanding results in every conceivable circumstance in which I found myself.  They never let me down.  

Dried Red Peppers (click to enlarge)

However...

I found that it still is a pain to lug all that weight around and I don't think I will do much of that. When at the Grand Canyon in mid-October, I started out lugging my old reliable 1970s vintage canvas Domke bag full of all my gear.  That lasted about an hour.  Yes, it was unreasonably heavy to carry around all day, at least at my age (63) and desire.  After an hour, I headed back to the car to get rid of everything I didn't think I would need when photographing the Canyon. Twenty years ago, I wouldn't have blinked at the weight, but I do now.  I ended up with the camera around my neck with the 24-120mm lens attached.  I also carried in my hand (I don't recommend this but I had no other choice at the time) my Nikon 70-200 f/4 lens.  In a pocket of my cargo pants, I put the Nikon TC-14II 1.4X converter.  Not a good situation, but it worked for that day.  If I do that again, I need to think things through better and have a backup plan to carry only what I need in a small auxiliary bag.

Also, I found the faster, more accurate focus was important to some of my photography. It is not much faster than my M4/3 gear, but the ratio of hits versus misses is higher in any particular fast moving circumstance makes a difference. M4/3 is just not quite there yet but they are getting closer with each new camera introduction.  That can make a difference.  Additionally, I found Nikon's new "Group" focusing a wonderful addition.  I used that new feature repeatedly and it locked on my moving subjects fast and allowed me to more easily pan with a flying swan or goose and keep the sensors on the lead bird without problem.  Another plus for the Nikon.

Third, there is a difference in image quality.  Generally, the image quality of my M4/3 satisfies me 95% of the time, but there are times when the full frame gear gives me that little extra I need on certain occasions.  There is more dynamic range and more fine detail.  Also, at high ISOs the full frame does a better job of keeping noise absent or to a minimum.

So here are the situations when I think I will pick up my full frame gear versus my M4/3 gear.

a) when the situation calls for ISOs at or above 1600.
b) when the subject has extremely fine detail that is important to capture.
c) when there will be excessive cropping necessary due to being a long distance away and the lens is not quite long enough or I want to crop something specific and small out of the image.
d) when the dynamic range of the subject matter is extreme.
e) when I need to photograph fast moving objects or need to keep focus with high frame rates.
f) when I need to use a sophisticated flash system.
g) when I am working out of my vehicle and don't have to carry heavy gear for a long time.

In those situations, I will use my full frame gear.  In other situations, I will continue to pick up a mirrorless system for size, weight and high image quality under "normal" circumstances.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


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