So, here's my story. I've been an avid photographer for a long time. It's a small but important part of my job, and I love to spend any free time shooting and editing, both for myself and as a volunteer for local non profit organizations. I guess shooting for work technically makes me a pro, but I'm nowhere near that skill level. But shooting for work has the advantage of work keeping me supplied with very nice cameras I'd never be able to afford on my own. My current work camera is a Nikon D7200. Last weekend my uncle gave me his Canon EOS XSi, saying he never uses it and wanted it to have a good home. I was grateful of course, especially for the amazing 150-600 lens he threw in. But I wasn't terribly excited because the EOS isn't as good a camera as my work camera. Then I had an epiphany. For years I've been relying on an expensive camera and slightly better than the average person talent rather than doing the work to improve my skills or be more thoughtful and attentive during shoots. And I haven't even been making full use of those cameras. My D7200 is too much camera for me, and I've relied more and more on automatic settings which it's not really built for. Using the EOS has forced me to confront this and admit it to myself. It's much more closely aligned with my skill level and so far I've gotten pretty good photos that compare to the D7200 because I am more in control. And I'm enjoying it more. Now that isn't to say I - or anyone - should just give up on trying to improve, but I was holding on to a vastly inflated sense of my talent and the camera picked up just enough of the slack for me to mostly get away with it. I'm looking forward to real improvement with the EOS. On a side note, I've always been Switzerland in the Canon vs. Nikon debate. My first camera was a used first generation digital Rebel, back when I bought my own stuff. When it died I switched to Nikon based purely on cost. But my photos with the Nikon just weren't the same, I can't explain why. So I'm glad to be shooting with a Canon again. Thank you all for listening.
Hello John, and welcome to the forum. Feel free to ask away with those questions. Post some images, and someone will chip in with their thoughts. Gary
