Got My DSLR...

Off Topic
41

[quote]Tech9 wrote:
I did it part time for a bit and still dabble with it as a hobby. Some great points by everyone.

In particular:
HG Thrower - I second what he said. Learn to shoot manually as quick as you can. You’ll find out there’s times when you’ll have the camera on “auto” and it’ll tell you it can’t make the shot when you actually could.

Turiel - Lots of good pointers. Get a UV filter as well as a polarized lens. If you’re shooting a bright, sunny day, a polarizer is a must. (IMHO) Another CF card would be a good idea. I tend to use 512 or 1 gig cards because CF cards can go bad and it sucks to be on a job, have a corrupted card and not have a backup. Might want to think about a portable storage unit to download your card into occasionally. Extra battery grip and/or extra batteries? Yes!

A 50 mm lens is a good idea. My primary lens is a 24-85 mm and I also have a long range lens.

RAW vs JPG - Hahaha. Nice to see the debate continues. Like Cheeky said, RAW is proprietary which can be a headache. I find it’s also easier to correct really harsh setting mistakes in RAW vs in JPG. That being said, I’ve always shot in JPG and have JPG files from the mid-90’s which still have no visible loss to them after all this time. Play around with both and see what you like.

You’ll find everyone has an opinion about pics. Some get anal because the pic doesn’t follow a specified set of rules and because of that it’s trash. Other times something will be so random I’ll wonder WTF the photographer was thinking. Sometimes you can follow the rules, other times you can throw them out. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

And depending on how far you want to go with this, like MaximusB said, you never know when an opportunity will present itself and where you’ll end up. I’ve helped shoot a hair/fashion show at a local hair salon, a wedding, covered MMA seminars and met (and hung out with) Bas Rutten, Randy Couture and Rich Franklin, and was hired to help assist shots at a powerlifting competition at the Arnold Classic, among other things. When they had the “DC Test Fest” in 2006, Shugart used my pics for the main article (which seems to be taken off the site now. Boo.)

One great resource is the Canon Digital Photography Forums: Photography-on-the.net Digital Photography Forums

They cover pretty much everything there is about photography and you could easily spend the day reading through it.

[/quote]

Best advice in this thread.

42

[quote]jake_j_m wrote:

This is actually really all a big buildup for my two-pronged entry into photography that will start with a trip with my family to Japan and Thailand (in august) where I hope to be at a stage where i could produce some very good photographs and start me on my journey a little. Then of course, university, where I hope to be at the stage where I am very confident with my Photography already.

[/quote]

Nice, if you come to japan try to visit Kyoto and/or Okinawa, there are a lot of amazing locations where you can take awsome photographs…

43

There seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people in this thread. so i hope the OP doesnt mind me hijacking it slightly.

I have had a small windfall and have been looking to get a good camera for agggess… Ive got an 8mp Samsung Pixxon phone which i got primarily for the camera, but ive pretty much outgrown it and it is starting to piss me off with slow shutter speeds and stuff… Im always the guy at festivals/sports events taking loads of pics on my phone. I would like to get “into” it a little bit further.

I have about £300-400 that I could spend on a dslr. I want something that is decent quality and i wont “outgrow” quickly. It is simply going to be a hobby.

Was hoping someone could recommend a model to me to consider?

I have found these deals in a store near me…

Sony Alpha A300 + 18-70mm lens for £299
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Sony/Alpha%20A300%20%2018-70mm%20Lens%20-74276/Show.html

Nikon D60 + AF-S DX Nikkor VR 18-55mm Lens £350
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Nikon/D60%20%20AF-S%20DX%20Nikkor%20VR%2018-55mm%20Lens-73580/Show.html

Any advice or suggestions would be great

Scott

44

[quote]thosebananas wrote:
There seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people in this thread. so i hope the OP doesnt mind me hijacking it slightly.

I have had a small windfall and have been looking to get a good camera for agggess… Ive got an 8mp Samsung Pixxon phone which i got primarily for the camera, but ive pretty much outgrown it and it is starting to piss me off with slow shutter speeds and stuff… Im always the guy at festivals/sports events taking loads of pics on my phone. I would like to get “into” it a little bit further.

I have about Ã?£300-400 that I could spend on a dslr. I want something that is decent quality and i wont “outgrow” quickly. It is simply going to be a hobby.

Was hoping someone could recommend a model to me to consider?

I have found these deals in a store near me…

Sony Alpha A300 + 18-70mm lens for �£299
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Sony/Alpha%20A300%20%2018-70mm%20Lens%20-74276/Show.html

Nikon D60 + AF-S DX Nikkor VR 18-55mm Lens �£350
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Nikon/D60%20%20AF-S%20DX%20Nikkor%20VR%2018-55mm%20Lens-73580/Show.html

Any advice or suggestions would be great

Scott[/quote]

I am a nikon user, so D60 FTW.

45

[quote]thosebananas wrote:
There seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people in this thread. so i hope the OP doesnt mind me hijacking it slightly.

I have had a small windfall and have been looking to get a good camera for agggess… Ive got an 8mp Samsung Pixxon phone which i got primarily for the camera, but ive pretty much outgrown it and it is starting to piss me off with slow shutter speeds and stuff… Im always the guy at festivals/sports events taking loads of pics on my phone. I would like to get “into” it a little bit further.

I have about Ã??Ã?£300-400 that I could spend on a dslr. I want something that is decent quality and i wont “outgrow” quickly. It is simply going to be a hobby.

Was hoping someone could recommend a model to me to consider?

I have found these deals in a store near me…

Sony Alpha A300 + 18-70mm lens for �?�£299
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Sony/Alpha%20A300%20%2018-70mm%20Lens%20-74276/Show.html

Nikon D60 + AF-S DX Nikkor VR 18-55mm Lens �?�£350
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/Digital%20SLRs/products/Nikon/D60%20%20AF-S%20DX%20Nikkor%20VR%2018-55mm%20Lens-73580/Show.html

Any advice or suggestions would be great

Scott[/quote]

I would suggest, if you only have those 2 options, to go with Nikon, Sony cams are not very good.

You might want to look for de D40 or D40x and a good lens. They are very cheap and have a very good image quality. The D40 has less megapixels, but you wont notice that unless you print very large photos.

46

Im sure there is more options, thats just the two i found after a quick search through my local camera shop.

But i have read that the d60 is basically the same as the d40 with a few meaningless upgrades?

If i was to find a cheap d40, d40x, what would be a good lens to go for?

Thanks
Scott

47

Did some research on ken rockwell, cnet and similiar web sites. They are all saying that the d60 is basically a d40 with added megapixels (not important) and an added stop motion movie function. They are all slightly outdated reviews as at the time the d60 was about double the price of the d40.

The cheapest d40 i can find is £300 including lense, for 60 quid extra i can get the d60 and not have to pay for delivery, and have the shop i bought it from around the corner from me if anything goes wrong… so i am going to buy the d60. Hope i dont regret it :smiley:

Scott

48

[quote]thosebananas wrote:
Did some research on ken rockwell, cnet and similiar web sites. They are all saying that the d60 is basically a d40 with added megapixels (not important) and an added stop motion movie function. They are all slightly outdated reviews as at the time the d60 was about double the price of the d40.

The cheapest d40 i can find is Ã?£300 including lense, for 60 quid extra i can get the d60 and not have to pay for delivery, and have the shop i bought it from around the corner from me if anything goes wrong… so i am going to buy the d60. Hope i dont regret it :smiley:

Scott[/quote]

You wont regret it, Nikon makes very fine cameras.

If you can save some cash i recommend a 18-200 lens, its excellent for general photography. It may be a lil expensive, but it is a good investment, a lens can last for decades and it wont lose its value unlike camera bodies.

49

[quote]Turiel wrote:
thosebananas wrote:
Did some research on ken rockwell, cnet and similiar web sites. They are all saying that the d60 is basically a d40 with added megapixels (not important) and an added stop motion movie function. They are all slightly outdated reviews as at the time the d60 was about double the price of the d40.

The cheapest d40 i can find is Ã??Ã?£300 including lense, for 60 quid extra i can get the d60 and not have to pay for delivery, and have the shop i bought it from around the corner from me if anything goes wrong… so i am going to buy the d60. Hope i dont regret it :smiley:

Scott

You wont regret it, Nikon makes very fine cameras.

If you can save some cash i recommend a 18-200 lens, its excellent for general photography. It may be a lil expensive, but it is a good investment, a lens can last for decades and it wont lose its value unlike camera bodies.[/quote]

Cheers.

If any of you guys are on flickr… add me or have a look at some of my photos to date. All pretty crap. Mostly on camera phones apart from a few ones i added today from messing around with my D60.

Imgur

cheers
Scott

50

[quote]thosebananas wrote:
Turiel wrote:
thosebananas wrote:
Did some research on ken rockwell, cnet and similiar web sites. They are all saying that the d60 is basically a d40 with added megapixels (not important) and an added stop motion movie function. They are all slightly outdated reviews as at the time the d60 was about double the price of the d40.

The cheapest d40 i can find is Ã???Ã??Ã?£300 including lense, for 60 quid extra i can get the d60 and not have to pay for delivery, and have the shop i bought it from around the corner from me if anything goes wrong… so i am going to buy the d60. Hope i dont regret it :smiley:

Scott

You wont regret it, Nikon makes very fine cameras.

If you can save some cash i recommend a 18-200 lens, its excellent for general photography. It may be a lil expensive, but it is a good investment, a lens can last for decades and it wont lose its value unlike camera bodies.

Cheers.

If any of you guys are on flickr… add me or have a look at some of my photos to date. All pretty crap. Mostly on camera phones apart from a few ones i added today from messing around with my D60.

Imgur

cheers
Scott[/quote]

I quite like that Amsterdam pic in the square with the long late evening shadows.
D60 will see you proud mate…and I agree with Turiel about the lense choice–really worth the extra money with a versatile focal range.

Here is my flickr page if you want a quick look for a laugh.

Imgur

51

Cheeky_Kea-

I like your work. I’ve got so much to learh and as a part of that I bookmark a lot of websites/pages of different photogs. Thanks!

52

Man, I know you can do a lot in post but I’d rather just have the color saturation and contrast from the original shot, as a virtue of the badass lens on the camera.

Someone said to get the 17-35mm FX lens, but whatever I get, I will make sure it is a high contrast and FAST lens. I want the D700 but it’s $1000 more than the D300, and even though the 300 is now discontinued, I’ll look for a good used one next year.

I am a sucker for low light stuff so I want the wide open aperture sharpness.

Looks like the 24-70mm 2.8 is a winning formula, because both the Canon and Nikon versions of that lens are quickly becoming legendary; I bet their formulas are identical, too (# elements/ groups, aperture blades).

I do need a badass portrait lens, though, maybe the 105 DC but I do have the 105 2.5 AIS (ridiculously nice).

53

Cheeky_kea… your stuff blows my camera phone antics out the water. And you’ve travelled. im jealous

I just got of the phone with my mum, she has 3 lens that she used on an olympus film slr about 15 years ago… any chance they would fit mine?

Scott

54

Scott,

To my knowledge, unless the ‘mount’ for the camera has changed, the lens should fit…HOWEVER, go to www.dpreview.com and do some research in the appropriate camera forum.

If you are talking about using an Olympus lens on an Olympus DSLR, it may work, but there is a chance the lens will extend too far into the camera, thereby damaging the sensor. You have to be careful.

It’s possible that Olympus has redone their DSLR lenses to a certain specification that makes them structurally different from all other Olympus film SLR lenses.

For instance, you can use most Nikon F mount lenses, even the older, manual ones, on pretty much every DSLR (but not all DSLRs will meter properly, even though the lens WILL work).

55

[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Scott,

To my knowledge, unless the ‘mount’ for the camera has changed, the lens should fit…HOWEVER, go to www.dpreview.com and do some research in the appropriate camera forum.

If you are talking about using an Olympus lens on an Olympus DSLR, it may work, but there is a chance the lens will extend too far into the camera, thereby damaging the sensor. You have to be careful.

It’s possible that Olympus has redone their DSLR lenses to a certain specification that makes them structurally different from all other Olympus film SLR lenses.

For instance, you can use most Nikon F mount lenses, even the older, manual ones, on pretty much every DSLR (but not all DSLRs will meter properly, even though the lens WILL work).[/quote]

ok i shall research them… im getting my mum to email me the “numbers/codes” etc of the lens…

Im using a nikon d60 thou… i am kind of assuming olympuc lens wont fit on my nikon… especially from 15 or so years ago?

Scott

56

Some lenses that are NOT made by a certain camera manufacturer - and are essentially made be a “lens mfgr,” only way I can explain it - are available for various camera bodies via an adapter.

For instance, you can buy Carl Zeiss lenses or Voigtlander lenses but with a Nikon Mount or Canon Mount adapter, to fit those respective cameras.

I am pretty sure you can’t do that for your Olympus lenses; although, you are probably not the first person to this of this so it may have been done as a custom solution in the past.

Look for “Olympus SLR lens adapter for Nikon mount” or something like that.

57

Thanks man.

Love just messing about in manual. Been reading about the rule of thirds, exposure traingle etc etc… its good stuff.

Scott

58

[quote]thosebananas wrote:
Cheeky_kea… your stuff blows my camera phone antics out the water. And you’ve travelled. im jealous

I just got of the phone with my mum, she has 3 lens that she used on an olympus film slr about 15 years ago… any chance they would fit mine?

Scott[/quote]

Yes you can, I use 2 Oly lenses with my canon. Try searching ebay for some adapters, I think it the M42 but im not sure. They also sell them in Sofmap.

59

[quote] wrote:
[/quote]

Cool cheers… I will look into it once she gets them out of the attic and dusts them off… think she has the kit lens, a 18-200mm lens and big gigantic zoom lens. :smiley:

Scott

60

[quote]jake_j_m wrote:
johnnytang24 wrote:
I don’t know Canons, but I recommend only buying full frame lenses. They’re more expensive, but lenses last forever, the technology doesn’t really change, and they hold their value. The most important part is that if you ever upgrade your body, all your lenses will still work. If you buy digital lenses, if you upgrade your body, you’ll have to buy all new lenses.

Interesting, i never really thought about this but i just know the standard 1000D is a good starting point when it comes to camera’s with lenses included.

nvh95 wrote:
I’d get a decent flash with diffuser and this: Canon 77mm 500D Close-Up Lens - it’ll help with close up photography without you having to spring for a macro lens. It’s a recommendation from Scott Kelby the author of The Digital Photography Book. I like both volumes and he has plenty of other gear recommendations.

Thanks, i’ve been told by a friend some kind of extension tubes might be the cheapest option for macro on the cheap, still around Ã?£100 though, so i might have to live with what i have for now.

No pro’s on here or anything?
[/quote]

Hey there! I’m a full time wedding and portrait photographer. If you need advice on where to buy your gear, etc. I love B&H Photo. You can order online and they are very good. I don’t know if I’d get a macro lens just yet. You probably won’t end up using it too much unless you decide you really want to be a nature photographer or something.

I’d go with the basic lenses (L series if you can afford them and if you can’t afford them save your money until you can) a 50mm, 24-70mm, and perhaps the 85mm 1.2 just for kicks. I also have the 70-200 1.4 L series lens with stabilization and it’s my most favorite lens ever. I have a couple of 5D’s and it’s plastered to one all night.

Photography today is more about being able to manage and sell (as in getting people to hire you) your business. If you haven’t looked into them I would take as many business/management classes as I could take. It won’t matter how good you are if no one is hiring you. :slight_smile:

Have fun and let me know if you have anymore questions! Oh - and my favorite photography forum is OFFLINE Board Message. There are a lot of the elite in the wedding industry (at least) who hang out on there and it’s a great place for help. You have to be nice though. For real. :slight_smile: And a lot of the beginners hang out on photo.net, but they ask the same questions over and over so I don’t hang out there quite so much anymore. Have fun with your new camera!!