ORMs are fun to play with, and are probably better for productivity in small apps. However, for anything more significant than such, I find that writing SQL is

ORMs are fun to play with, and are probably better for productivity in small apps. However, for anything more significant than such, I find that writing SQL is not only more performant but also allows for greater productivity (do exactly what you want the way you want it without excessive digging around to see if it can been done/has been done).