How about some more ... ed-ja-macation

[Elisha]

Nobody is asking you to defect.
But there are things non-Sony bodies can do better in comparison occasionally and that should not be dismissed!

I loved my a700 for everything except the local availability and prices of good used Minolta glass and third party glass.
High ISO did not bother me much since I learned to live with it or use remote flashes.
Build was amazing and the VG was awesome.

Would I ditch my 7D and go back? Hell no. I'm liking my High ISO and the used market is filled with every good glass I want.

[dr4gon]

Hey, I have some SERIOUS NEWS for those of you who do not seem to get it ...

I AM NOT CHANGING BRANDS!

Get over yourselves. You all may run off, charging into the "I'm going buy all NEW glass this Christmas for my new non-SONY brand DSLR", but the "Big D" is not as ... well, you can fill in the blank and way you please. Traitor's choice.

If I were running the school ... I would not have posters of Ashton Kutcher anywhere in sight. Sorry, go SONY ... or go home.

Nobody is asking you to defect.
But there are things non-Sony bodies can do better in comparison occasionally and that should not be dismissed!

I loved my a700 for everything except the local availability and prices of good used Minolta glass and third party glass.
High ISO did not bother me much since I learned to live with it or use remote flashes.
Build was amazing and the VG was awesome.

Would I ditch my 7D and go back? Hell no. I'm liking my High ISO and the used market is filled with every good glass I want.

Did I miss something? We weren't asking you to change systems. ...

So you're really spending all this money to get a year bachelor's degree in photography? I don't see why you would need such a thing.

[DonSchap]

Look, I know you came late to the party, Elisha ... and your investment is ... negotiable.

Have fun rig-hopping. I mean what the heck?

Personally, I'm happy with most of my results ... see no advantage in "the movies" and am willing to see where SONY goes. Yeah, will I get out and kick the car, as we go along. Darn tootin'! There are aspects to these cameras that NO ONE has gotten right, yet.

I hear SONY is workin' on it.

Guess we shall see ...

Enjoy that Canon, buddy. Interested in a film version? LOL

[Elisha]

My wife is loving the video so what can I say!
I already have an Oly film SLR with a 50mm f/1.8 prime that I play with occasionally.
Kinda miss my old Ricoh KR-10 Super!

[DonSchap]

Did I miss something? We weren't asking you to change systems. ...

So you're really spending all this money to get a year bachelor's degree in photography? I don't see why you would need such a thing.

Well, I figure I have access to cutting-edge studio set-ups; active exchanges with other students and interested photographers; business connections to the real world, here in the Chicago advertising district; fashion photography; a beautiful green-screen studio ... and also an inside track on my own experimentation as a student.

With the Bachelor's degree, I have the final piece of "serious consideration" for employment here in Illinois. Almost all resumes are "circular-filed" by the Human Resources Department if you do not have the necessary education level on it. They do not care how many jobs or OJT you have had, no BA/BS degree ... keep lookin'. I was doing engineering level studies in the US Navy, several years of training couple to several years of real world experience, but the Navy does not confer degrees or allow you readily convert all that training into "zee paper." So you are SOL. I mean I thought my Associates Degree and Photography Certificate would at least crack the door, but I was WRONG! The Obama-Nation is education driven ... and those people who are not retired ... are going to need this "ticket" to ride when they begin job search. Thirty years of a career, with no paper ... you are at the beginning, again. Game over?

Other areas of the country may be less stringent when it comes to this aspect of reviewing prospective employees, but not here. The paradigm is in place ... and only "the paper" will get you in the door to the interview. Ten years ago, the hiring manager got all the submitted resumes, directly, and he forwarded his selections to HR for subsequent interview. Not today. HR scans them first ... weeds out the non-paper from the right-paper ... then submits the "reduced stack" of the "right stuff" to the hiring manager. God help you if you had a life and skipped a college degree. The doorman just got a lot uglier.

I also see the opportunities this represents. You can actually witness the impressive output, both pre-magazine and web-based work, these students are producing. Basically, they are rubbing shoulders with industry and seizing opportunities to get involved in the "real world." Chicago is tremendous point of entry. What the heck ... I have the time.

[dr4gon]

Well, I figure I have access to cutting-edge studio set-ups; active exchanges with other students and interested photographers; business connections to the real world, here in the Chicago advertising district; fashion photography; a beautiful green-screen studio ... and also an inside track on my own experimentation as a student.

With the Bachelor's degree, I have the final piece of "serious consideration" for employment here in Illinois. Almost all resumes are "circular-filed" by the Human Resources Department if you do not have the necessary education level on it. They do not care how many jobs or OJT you have had, no BA/BS degree ... keep lookin'. I was doing engineering level studies in the US Navy, several years of training couple to several years of real world experience, but the Navy does not confer degrees or allow you readily convert all that training into "zee paper." So you are SOL. I mean I thought my Associates Degree and Photography Certificate would at least crack the door, but I was WRONG! The Obama-Nation is education driven ... and those people who are not retired ... are going to need this "ticket" to ride when they begin job search.

Other areas of the country may be less stringent when it comes to this aspect of reviewing prospective employees, but not here. The paradigm is in place ... and only "the paper" will get you in the door to the interview. Ten years ago, the hiring manager got all the submitted resumes, directly, and he forwarded his selections to HR for subsequent interview. Not today. HR scans them first ... weeds out the non-paper from the right-paper ... then submits the "reduced stack" of the "right stuff" to the hiring manager. God help you if you had a life and skipped a college degree. The doorman just got a lot uglier.

I also see the opportunities this represents. You can actually witness the impressive output, both pre-magazine and web-based work, these students are producing. Basically, they are rubbing shoulders with industry and seizing opportunities to get involved in the "real world." Chicago is tremendous point of entry. What the heck ... I have the time.

I see. Best of luck then. I had no idea you wanted to get so serious and look for a job and future career path. Have fun then!

[DonSchap]

Yeah, hanging around with you guys has been a blast, but life goes on ... and, besides, I need the bucks for the HEAVY-DUTY glass. Your "contributions" have been rather ... well, meager to non-existent. In fact, I, personally, have given away more glass than any that has been purchased for me. (I know, I know, America's Great Benefactor.) Heck, even TAMRON is only giving away one lens in their contest ... times are tough, huh? (EDIT: This changed, recently, and TAMRON has given several lenses away in the past few months.)

I mean, right at the end of my GEAR LIST ... is a nice invitation to "contribute to the cause ..."

So, it's off to work I go ... starting in January ... spend some to get some, I figure. Most of the class I have to go through to acquire the Bachelor's Degree deal less with the actual process aspects and more with the business aspect of Photography. That is precisely where I had avoided study ... and it is catching up. The hobby aspect of all this is disappearing and I guess it is time to focus the skills into useful and usable work. The cost of doing business.

[jekostas]

I still have no idea why you're doing this, but, uh, good luck Don.

Oh, and drop the whole Obama-nation schtick. The US (and by extension Canada) have always placed a high value on expertise and education. It's nothing new, and nothing bad.

[dr4gon]

Yeah, hanging around with you guys has been a blast, but life goes on ... and, besides, I need the bucks for the HEAVY-DUTY glass. Your "contributions" have been rather ... well, meager to non-existent. In fact, I, personally, have given away more glass than any that has been purchased for me. (I know, I know, America's Great Benefactor.) Heck, even TAMRON is only giving away one lens in their contest ... times are tough, huh?

I mean, right at the end of my GEAR LIST ... is a nice invitation to "contribute to the cause ..."

So, it's off to work I go ... starting in January ... spend some to get some, I figure.

My contributions?

$35k can sure by a whole lot of "heavy-duty glass" and then some .... like a car.

[DonSchap]

Ryan, for goodness sake, I am driving a Chevy Avalanche ... that gets a ripe ol' 17mph ... on a good day.

A car? Hah!

No, this is an opportunity ... one that most younger students would probably not appreciate, but having been around the block a few times ... I know I might be able to ingratiate myself to someone looking for a new angle or with a kindred spirit of trying something out of the ordinary, with the added insulation of an institution of higher learning. Also, the education aspect is on a "quarter" by "quarter" climb ... so it can stop or go for quite a while, depending on need and/or opportunity.

The standard cost , and I kid you not, of a BAF (Bachelor of Fine Arts) is over $90,000 (4-year program/same institution). Doing it the way I have ... I think it will top out at less than $43,000. That savings bought my truck! Plus, student loans for Bachelor Degrees are over a twenty-year pay back schedule. That's less than $1500 a year. C'mon ... viva la ed-ja-macation, eh?