 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| PhotoKB HomeDiscussion Groups Digital Photography Digital PhotoDSLR CamerasZLR CamerasPoint & Shoot CamerasFilm Photography 35 mmLarge FormatMedium formatDarkroomFilm and LabsOther EquipmentPhoto Technique Nature PhotographyPeople PhotographyTechnique GeneralGeneral Photo Topics General TopicsAustralian PhotographyUK PhotographyDirectoryPhoto Clubs |
Photo Forum / General Photo Topics / General Topics / May 2007Help in selecting camera
Hi, I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind advice for the same? I have used analog camera borrowed from other people ( rather old, 1980's, don't-know-what-model camera, supposed to be quite advanced in its time, with manual speed and aperture control - and the photos came not-too-bad). However comfortable with the maths and physics for manual controls, I have no clue about the terms used in camera- websites. My primary interest is recording interesting moments and expressions on people's faces. In particular I want to do the exact opposite of making people stand stiffly and say "Cheese". I am not sure whether this falls in the category of street photography, but some of the samples from street photography sites match my interest. As far as I could gather from those websites (http://www.luminous- landscape.com/tutorials/street.shtml, http://photo.net/learn/street/intro ), they appear to be talking about film cameras, while the Leica site (http://www.leica-camera.us/photography/) already has some digital cameras in similar categories. I am not sure whether digital camera will give me what I want. Are they too slow for taking quick snaps? Do they allow enough manual control? But regarding the film-cameras, I don't know anything about darkroom techniques, and the shops that used to wash our films seem to be moving to the business of printing digital photos. On the other side I feel allured by the possibility of doing some nature photography. It seems that digital SLR-s are meant for that. Can there be a compromise between quick snap of people and nature photo? Or should I go for two different cameras? I heard of "Canon Digital Rebel XTi" being a small SLR camera. Could that be used for fast snaps at home? I can afford at most $1500 and I have to decide it quick. Please help. Thanks and regards, Ray S. > Hi, > I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks and regards, > Ray S. I personally believe that most of the ' prosumer' DSLR cameras are ' much of a muchness'...to me there seem to be only subtle differences between them all, but the issue of your $1,500 is the key...whatever camera you end up purchasing, you would almost *certainly* be spending it's cost several times over and over in terms of lenses, accesories, etc. I have a canon 400d, but I didn't choose it per say, it was a birthday gift that i am very happy with and have taken as many of the 'candid' type of photos you are looking to take, but the pictures are only as good as the lenses I am using, but more importantly, dependant on how well *I* use the features of my DSLR, the learning curve is steep, but maaan is it fun ( but bloody expensive!) Perhaps you could walk around to the stores and actually * feel* the sorts of Cameras you might be interested in, note the prices and get them cheaper online, or at the least pay caution to the types of lenses, filters, tripods etc you may wish to purchase...yes, it is expensive, but a lens tends to be al ife long companion for the camera, so don't be afraid to go over budget for the *right* purchase as opposed to a shor term measure that isn't as costly. The Canon 400d/rebel xti, Nikon d80 are excellent choces and fall within your budget, but I'd really push the boat out and get some decent lenses to work with too within your $1,500 limit .. good luck and have fun choosing!  SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > Hi, > I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks and regards, > Ray S. I second the nomination of the 400D (Rebel XTi). It fits in your range and leaves a little extra to invest in glass. Might I suggest, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/463428-REG/Sigma_581101_18_50mm_f_2_8_EX_D C.html A step up from the kit lens that comes with XTi and should serve you well in the type of photos you mention. If you want to get a little tighter, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/341918-USA/Sigma_257101_105mm_f_2_8_EX_Mac ro.html Less versatile but a decent portrait lens. Good luck and have fun! Patrick Ziegler www.imagequest.ifp3.com Hello, My two cents worth. I think you will find it is not the camera that makes the difference. I know a good photo when I see one but I can't explain how it was taken. Some people have a natural gift for photography. Some don't. I have seen it said many times, there are many good photos taken with poor cameras and many poor photos taken with very expensive cameras. Also, remember that after the camera there are going to be many expenses like bags, tripods, memory chips, sticks or whatever you call them. Then there will be software, printing, posting on web sites and many other expenses. The first reply to you was great about going to different stores and actually touching the cameras and taking pictures with them. Then shop on the Internet for the best buy. And, you might even want to buy a lower price camera until you get more of a feel of what you want the camera to do for you. I am by no means an expert. I'm the lowest of the lowest amateur. I just love taking pictures of anything. My first digital was a Fuji Film (?? don't even remember what model) then a Canon PowerShot S1 IS and then a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. All within about 18 months. Many will make little of this advice but after you have owned and used a camera for a few months you will know what you (and you alone) will want the camera to do for you. Good luck on whatever you decide. Bill >Hi, > I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks and regards, > Ray S. Billy Boy To reply correct [at] and [dot] <snip> > On the other side I feel allured by the possibility of doing some > nature photography. It seems that digital SLR-s are meant for that. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I can afford at most $1500 and I have to decide it quick. Please > help. *If* you do good calculating and good shoping then $1500 should give you a good start. And I usually spend 2-4+ months on research before I buy some hardware I know I will be using for long time. I don't own Canon XTi but I read and think XTi is a good camera, and I also read that it may start showing some noise at ISO-400+. Other than that it's a good camera for the price. To save some bucks for other stuff I would suggest 1. To spend 1-2 months on researching (www.dpreview.com is a good start), and google around for the price. www.nextag.com www.pricewatch.com etc. are good places to check for lowest price and company rating. Don't fall for too_good_2B_true. $100-200 from the average is possible, but more than that it's pretty much too good to be true. 2. I always suggest to go for good lens, so I would suggest to buy the BODY ONLY (around $660-680 or so) to save around $100, then use that $100 on some better lens. Like Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 is a good lens and it costs somewhere around $370 or so. So, you get a pretty good camera with a good lens for around $1100 3. $400 left you can either spend on a 430EX flash or CF memory card. .. and when you wanna upgrade to more professional then you can always use the XTi as backup camera. And start spend more time mastering Post Processing as it's a very important part of photography. And I would suggest Photoshop, and don't spend money on cheap lens. > Hi, > I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > darkroom techniques, and the shops that used to wash our films seem to > be moving to the business of printing digital photos. *** Modern digital cameras are very fast and ideal for quick snaps, when they first came out there was a definite "lag" seconds on some, but those made today are all instant. There are plenty of them that have complete manual control as well as automatic everything. there are some wonderful point and shoot cameras to be had without spending a fortune on Dslr's and all the extra lenses. Your darkroom is your computer, software can be downloaded free. But you will need a printer. please ask if you'd like more details. Have fun. John. > On the other side I feel allured by the possibility of doing some > nature photography. It seems that digital SLR-s are meant for that. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Thanks and regards, > Ray S. > My primary interest is recording interesting moments and expressions > on people's faces. I have traveled all over the world. I found it very difficult to take photos of faces of people I encountered. People just do not like to have a camera showed into their face, not even mentioning a fill-in flash. It invades their privacy sphere. You may get beaten up or have your camera destroyed. So, be careful. Try to get a person's permission before you photograph their face. You may encounter resistance and may have to pay the person a monetary incentive. Some primitive people believe that, if you take a photo of their face, you are taking their soul away. I found it helpful to use a long telephoto lens and have somebody pose for me close by, while actually pointing the camera in a slightly different direction to capture an interesting face beyond the person posing. You may also run into a copyright problem. You will not have these problems with nature photography. In any case, why not start off with a P/S camera for maybe $ 150. These cameras are very light and usually have an optical plus digital zoom facility, which will give you anything from macro to 10X zoom, without heavy lenses. Only after taking and digesting several hundred photos will you be able to decide on the degree of your involvement with photography. Enjoy SignatureWalter www.rationality.net - > Hi, > I need help for selecting my first camera. May I request your kind [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks and regards, > Ray S. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > > My primary interest is recording interesting moments and expressions > > on people's faces. > > I have traveled all over the world. I found it very difficult to take photos > of faces of people I encountered. People just do not like to have acamera > showed into their face, not even mentioning a fill-in flash. Yes, that's exactly what I am a bit concerned about. But my case right now is not that severe as I shall limit myself to taking snaps of people I know, but avoiding the stiffness of posing in front of a camera. > I found it helpful to use a long telephoto lens and have somebody pose for > me close by, while actually pointing thecamerain a slightly different > direction to capture an interesting face beyond the person posing. I have no idea about the first option ( some street photographers debate on it ) but the second one works. Thanks for the suggestion. > In any case, why not start off with a P/Scamerafor maybe $ 150. These > cameras are very light and usually have an optical plus digital zoom > facility, which will give you anything from macro to 10X zoom, without heavy > lenses. Could you please specify some particular products I should look into (I could not find or perhaps could not recognize them ) ? When you say 10X zoom, is it optical x digital zoom? Most of the P/S cameras I have googled, come with at most 3x optical zoom. And I am not sure which ones are good for capturing details of faces / figures. Some pointers will be very helpful. Another thing is that, they seem to be autofocus systems, and that is slow and not the smartest thing. I have seen my friends focusing on something nearby before taking a snap in order to fool the autofocus syetm and get desired focus. Suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks Ray S. > I am not sure whether digital camera will give me what I want. Are > they too slow for taking quick snaps? Do they allow enough manual > control? Check out these reviews and see: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2078674,00.asp http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz50/ http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/FZ50/FZ50A.HTM http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/PanasonicFZ50/ file:///E:/WinHTTrack/Websites/Panasonic%20FZ50%20Review%203/www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz50-review/index.html http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz50-review/index.shtml I bought one several months ago, and I'm crazy about it. Manual focus ring, BTW... CDX:) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.