To invest in MFD is an oxymoron! Whatever system one purchases, the camera will depreciate considerably.
I think most people refer to "investing" in this context (hobby spending) taking into account returns on investment beyond straight resale value of the equipment later on.
It's like saying you're going to train to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and you're investing in a good pair (or 6) of shoes and a personal trainer.
If you're going to put considerable time (the most valuable asset we have), effort, and emotion into a hobby it makes sense to place a similar (monetary) investment in equipment and training that will increase your enjoyment of the hobby either by
- increasing the maximum performance you can achieve (e.g. coming as close to that max still being on you and your skills/effort/hard-work)
- making the activity more pure/true/tactile/viscerally enjoyable (e.g. a scuba diver buying the best dive-mask for the clearest view of the wild-life)
- allowing you to spend more of your time doing the part of the activity you enjoy rather than the part of the activity you don't enjoy (e.g. renting a golf cart so you spend more time hitting balls and drinking and less time going from point A to point B)
Of course that financial investment has to be relative to your overall disposable income.
To me part of the joy of shooting landscape with a tech camera is the WAY you shoot. The slower, more methodical, more mechanical, older school, precise and tactile shooting that comes with a tech camera is part of the fun for me. As a profession it would be a point-of-question: you can't produce as many shots/day with a tech camera as a dSLR - so is the increased quality and flexibility and decreased time in front of the computer later worth it to your business? But as a hobby it's a very different question - in many ways who cares how many shots you can accomplish per day. The greater question is how good will those shots be (to you) and how much will you enjoy creating them at the time, and viewing/sharing them after the fact.
Another way of saying this is that in professional photography the capture of the image is often reduced to a means to an end - the delivery of an image to a client who will pay for it. In hobby photography the journey - the process of capturing the image - is just as important as the process.
Some hobbyists will prefer a camera which is the easiest to get an ok image. But to me that's like saying a hobby runner should forgo actually running the miles and just jump in their car and drive to the finish line. I prefer a camera which is more an extension of my body and allows me to interact with the landscape rather than just frame it up and snap a shot. I feel more involved in the making of the image with a tech camera than I do looking through a live-view on a 5DII and doing things like pan-and-stitch and focus stacking on the computer later on. Getting a great image on a tech camera is more challenging, more engaging, and is slower than with more automatic and general-purpose cameras, but that makes it very satisfying to me - the fact that it produces the best possible quality is just a bonus.
It's the same reason that when I print cyanotypes using a 160 year old recipe of chemistry and sun-power rather than use photoshop and an inkjet. It's just more enjoyable to me.
Now to be clear I am openly biased as we (Capture Integration) make our living by selling the equipment you're talking about as solutions including training/support/advice for photographers both professional and hobbyists. But my bottom line is if you have your basic needs met, have a reserve for the unforeseen, cared for your family, contributed toward the well-being of your community, and you still have money to spare then you should spend your excess in whatever way you think will bring you the most enjoyment (assuming it isn't harming others) and not worry too much about what other people think or what other people can afford.
Doug Peterson
(e-mail Me)
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Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
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