Hey, @skiesandsports.
I really enjoyed reading this. Very practical and sound advice, and it's good to hear from someone who has the experience and expertise to know.
I'm not a professional photographer (and I'm only an amateur one now and then), but I did publish weekly newspapers for several years, and we actually used the Olympus DSLRs from the moment we were able to switch from film. That was over 15 years ago, closer to 17 or so.
The last one I bought was the E-3. I think I actually liked the E-1 better, because of that point of diminishing returns you speak of. I found that we ended up spending money in trying to get good lenses more than necessarily worrying about the camera body.
Low light indoors, like in a gymnasium was hard to get action shots without a blur, and outdoor shots under the lights could be too depending on where the action was on the field. The rest of the time, things turned out great.
Thanks for providing this 'non-guide' advice. And congratulations on the curie. :)
Thanks for the kind words! It's always great to know that people really do take the time to read these things!
It's certainly amazing how far we've come since those early days of DSLRs, I think that's the main reason it's so easy to lose track of just how fortunate we are in terms of technology nowadays! Heck, my smartphone has 40 megapixels!
I agree. There are so many amazing advances just in my lifetime. I think those of us who were born in the late 50s to early 70s range are pretty well placed to observe the major leaps forward that have occurred during that period and still appreciate them. Not that younger folks can't—but there needs to be something to contrast against, so if parents have been going oldschool with something, like film, or actual books, or something else, then their children tend to appreciate and recognize the miracles that they're holding in their hands. Otherwise, it seems to be, "Meh." :)