Quote Originally Posted by HiFiGuy1


Good point about switching between crop factors on the fly, too. That is best left to someone that has much more experience than I, I'm sure.


As mentioned earlier, I rented a 5D1 once as a "complement" to my 1D3. Horrendously different menus, and I felt a need to constantly switch lenses (I had 16-35, 24-70, 70-200). Need to shoot wide? I'd put the 16-35 on the 5D, and 24-70 on the 1D3. Need to shoot tight? I'd put the 70-200 on the 1D3, and the 24-70 on the 5D? Need to shoot wide? You get the idea. Now, try dealing with that while shooting a crowd of 11,000 cyclists anxious to start a 75-mile ride while you're up on a ladder. I'd rather commit the 24-70 to one body, and flip the other body between 16-35 and 70-200 as needed, knowing the bodies are identical. Oh, now hop in a car and drive the 75 miles to catch the action, hiking a mile into a state park to get the shot.


Quote Originally Posted by HiFiGuy1


"Know" is a loose application of the term when it comes to my knowledge of my 40D. I am going to take the advice to REALLY learn my equipment, I promise, but I have been shooting more casually so far.


I used to volunteer as a firefighter. The day I was getting final qualifications to drive the ladder truck, I asked the Chief, "how do you decide who's an instructor for new drivers?" His answer: "When you can drive the truck without waking up, we usually figure you can teach others." Next thing I knew, I was an instructor on everything in the fleet except the ladder truck (and the PT Cruiser medic car...still haven't figured out that one).


You should be able to answer many novice questions about DSLRs, and have 1-3 likely causes for the problem as soon as you hear the novice's question. For example, take a look at the recent post about camera often showing "busy".