Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

I'm thinking of buying a decent camera and have no idea where to start. I fancy a proper digital bad boy with a decent lens.

Maybe something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MakeTrack=true

I dont have anything in particular that i want to photograph but i guess the main things would be my kids and any sporting events mainly.

Is any particular brand better than the rest? I've heard of canon but are they worth the money? Anything similar/better?

Does the megapixel figure really matter?

Do canon only use certain memory cards which are more expensive?

Are other zoom lenses much and such the same price from camera to camera?

Where is the best place to buy gear from?


The main photographer here i know is Phil (NOT ima ) so hope you can reply please

BTW budget perhaps £3-500??


cheers

chop

foreigneRS

can't help but would also be interested in some replies

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Ive got a fujifilm S7000 and it's been a cracking camera, mainly used for Rallying and Motorsport pics.

Danja is the best person to ask mate...he helped me out on what camera to get.

Just a few pics of the quality.....

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Paul
Now we're talking
Pics 3 and 5 are awesome!

So what lens is on there then and what did the camera skin you?

Im thinking i should get this done before th trip to germany....

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Ive got tonnes of pics mate...i'll post a few more up. Camera was on offer in Makro at the time and payed £200 plus VAT. BARGAIN IMO.

Thats what ive got....got no big lense on, just an awesome ZOOM
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fuji-FinePix-S...QQcmdZViewItem

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

89xr2

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Few more i found....

LEGEND...R.I.P RB








Hope it all helps matey

rstoughy

iTrader: (5)

Chops,

I bought myself a Nikon D80 in Jan

Seems a nice bit of kit

89xr2

You can find a few of my pictures here, i've got loads more but can never be bothered to upload them.

www.flickr.com/photos/black-light

All taken with my Canon EOS 20D and Sigma 12-24mm lens.

Muska

After researching this very much recently I have decided to go for the Nikon D50. read this review that is very comprehensive, and there are no doubt others if you wish to compare...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/

If i could afford to stretch to the D80 i would as its such an improvement for the extra.

I will be buying the camera with the kit lens supplied (18mm-55mm) which i have seen some excellent pictures taken from and i will treat myself to different/better lens's when i have learned more about the use of the camera and i can draw the best from it.

I found kellkoo.co.uk to be very helpfull with finding prices (you'll be amazed how much they differ!) For the D50 with kit lens i will be looking at about £380. Add on a 2gb SDcard and i'm at £400.

excellent value for a camera that is rated top of its class.

I hope that is of some help to you,

Matt.

Muska

there is also this...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read...dkey=nikon_d50

88odd reviews from people who actually bought this camera.

Matt.

Charlie Chalk

iTrader: (1)

Paul - Top Pics

frog

Here goes... be prepared for a few words...

You're not a seasoned photographer, just getting into the scene, you have two choices imo.

-Prosumer, not a digital SLR, but pretty much similar levels of quality at a similar price point, possibly easier to use, but in my experience, not quite as responsive as an SLR. That means that when you press the button to take the picture, the time it takes for the camera to actually take the picture is longer than an SLR. I say typically since I haven't tried them all, some may be better than others.

-Digital SLR, huge variety of models, etc..., but by far the most flexible option if you find photography is a hobby you want to take further. Prosumer cameras tend not to be very upgradeable, you can't buy additional or better lenses for them as an example.

Megapixel isn't a sign of quality unless you pay mega money, by which point, again, the electronics, etc... inside the camera count more towards the picture quality than mere pixels.

A number of reviews recently found that 6MP was about as far as you need to go, anything more and quality suffers (again, in the £400 to £700 price range).

6MP will easily print to A3 and more if you're not too picky. Some may say that A4 is about max, but again, we're talking professional opinion rather than joe bloggs.

The significant advantage an 8 or 10MP camera has, is that you can crop the picture using something like photoshop and still end up with a 6MP picture. Do the same with a 6MP to start with, and you'll be down to 4 or 5.

The 300D, 350D, 400D from canon, D40, D50, D80 from Nikon, Sony's Alpha range, Pentax and Olympus all have had very good reviews, and you'd be hard pressed to see a difference between them unless you are a professional with an eye for the sort of detail that makes or breaks a picture. Again, joe average probably wouldn't notice any difference between them.
Note: Sony have recently bought minolta and haven't really shown any progress in terms of new models, etc... I wonder what sony will be doing in the future, Canon and Nikon are strong brands on the other hand.

I have a Minolta 7D (now sony) which is a very very good camera by all accounts, but the whole sony thing has got me a little worried, if I was to buy a new camera today, it would probably wouldn't be a sony.

Best advice I can give you is to have a play in a shop with a few of the above, figure out which feels best, how navigating menus, etc... works for you and take it from there.
Don't (and I mean don't) just buy off eBay without a cop and a feel in a shop first

Now, whatever camera you buy, you should treat the camera as an item which you will eventually replace, gone are the days where cameras last 10+ years. Lenses however can last forever, particularly good ones.
What I am saying is that imo you should buy a relatively cheap camera (body), ideally from anyone above with what is called a kit lens (cheap lens or lenses bundled with the camera), then keep a little money aside to buy better lenses as your skills improve. Lenses really is where your investment should be, and always has been in photography.
A good lens will make a camera, a bad one will destroy (not physically ) the best camera in the world.

Lastly, much like a race car, the one with the most BHP doesn't necessarily win races, a quality picture starts and always will start with a quality photographer with an eye for movement, location, detail, etc... The best camera in the world will not take the best photographs if you are unable to take a good picture in the first place.

Hope this helps, apologies for the long prose, but answering YES NO YES YES NO, or whatever combination just wouldn't have done this subject justice

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

I like Nikon, i have a d70 with a couple of lenses, canons also do a good job, i prefere the feel of a nikon, bit chunkir.
Digital SLR is the way to go in my eyes.
I want to get a good lens with 2,8 but it will cost, on a budget i take pics like these, I paid £500 second hand but got a D70, Nikon lens, a Nikon 70-300 Lens, Nikon Flashlight, Tripod, andf case, also a 3 gb card

frog

Jasesapphy
Glad you're getting on fine with the camera Jase Remember talking to you about your prospective purchase this summer

Jasesapphy

iTrader: (1)

Cheers chuck

Advice from you pointed me right, have won couple of competitions for landscapes.

Love the nikon, friends selling a d200 so maybe having that off him

foreigneRS

frog thanks a lot greg, i appreciate the time and effor t that you took to make the post.

it's definitely a hobby that i have been inerested in for a long time but have never felt that i had suitable equipment to take it further. i'm told that i take a reasonable picture, even with basic equipment, so i hope that with some better lenses i could get some nice shots.

i fully understand what you are saying, and will definitely be going into some proper independant camera shops for advice and try outs. i will buy from the shop that i like best, as i firmly believe that for many products this is the way it should be done. the experts need to be supported, not just use them to try something and buy it online somewhere because it saves you a fiver.

frog

Nice one.



Indeed, just bought a little compact to carry around and got it from an independent shop in town, cost me a little more, but when I need to go and see something, they're there to chat to

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Cheers to all that have replied its very helpful and interesting.

A workmate here at work has the Nikon D50 which i've had a wee look at and it seems to be an excellent piece of kit. He has an extra 70-300mm lens. It seems to be along the lines of what i'd like myself. He says the batteries last for ages too.


Jasesapphy
If you're serious about buying your friend scamera then i might be interested in yours? I want something pretty soon though.....



chop

pa_sjo

I have a Nikon D50.. with a Tamron 28-75 F/2.8 Lens and a Nikon SB-800 Flash.. That little lot comes to about a grand.. it's a bottomless pit.. I do want to get a 70-200 F/2.8 lens though - a little more versatile than the 75 for portrait type shots..

These were taken with a Tokina 30-300mm slow lens






And these with the Tamron 28-75..





..bearing in mind I have no idea what i'm doing really, only been playing around with photography since Christmas..

However, if you do jump into the dSLR world, be sure it's going to cost you a fortune. To get a similar zoom that you'd get on a £100 Canon powershot, you'd spend a grand on a proper dSLR lens to do the same..

Fast Guy

I bought a Canon EOS 350D in feb, but changed it in March as it was faulty and got a 400D in it's place. There is ver little noticable picture quality betwen the two. (350=8meg, 400=10meg)

I'd get the 350D as it's now come down to £350 on the high street and the 400D probably isn't worth the extra ££.

Buy your compact flash over the net as it'll be a damn site cheaper.

Have a look here for some Canon reviews/pictures etc

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php?

And here for compact flash

http://www.picstop.co.uk/Compact-Fla...Order_1/Page_2

I ordered a card from them at 4.10pm one day and it was in my house (N Yorks) when I got home from work by 2pm the next day

frog

It doesn't have to, best thing about it is that you can build on what you've got.

That's like comparing zirconium to diamonds

You can get good quality lenses for a lot less than £1K that will piss all over the little piece of glass (often plastic) that you find on a £100 camera that some people call a lens.
£1K will then piss on the middle of the range lens

pa_sjo

I didn't say quality of lens, I said 'zoom'. And with regards to it costing a fortune, I didn't say from day 1.

frog

Fair point

jasonp

I bought an olmpus as ive tried quite a few cameras and im well chuffed with it. Got an anti shake thing which is really good. Good quality moving shots snowboarding which other cameras have been shit on. Was about £320 from john lewis.

It also does panoramic pics which is cool.

foreigneRS

Matt J that is a wicked pic

i also think that it seems to make most sense to not spend too much on the body so that you have enough money for lense(s).

i really don't understand lenses yet though, need to read up more

Matt Evans

I am in the process of trying to upgrade from a decent digital compact (canon powershot G5) to an EOS 350/400D model.

For gods sake dont buy anything like this off ebay, the prices that say a 2 year old eos300d fetch, you can buy a brand new 350d off the shelf in jessops.

My g5 takes very good photos for what it is, but its the lack of adaptability, ie better quality longer lenses that hold back the compacts, hence the reason for upgrading.

It can be a bit of a minefield once you start looking around, my house is full of digital photography buying guides/magazines etc at the mo.

Fast Guy

Check else where before you go to Jessops. I was in there earlier and an 8Gig compact flash card was about £370, I bought the 12Gig version of the same card for £130 off the net brand new. Fecking 2Gig one in Jessops was £120

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Jason
That panoramic shot is


I fairly opened a can of worms here eh! Now im really confused

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Brillinat topic and great info from everyone.

I currently use a Canon EOS 300D with a nifty fifty and a 70-200MM Is F4 Ultrasonic which ive just upgraded to and really enjoy.

I also have the Canon Is 1.4x convertor.

My UV filters are HOYA SUPER HMC PRO1 58mm.

I am really struggling at the moment to stop myself upgrading the body for teh ring trip, and i know for a fact it wont help my photography. But its newer and better... and i fancy a new toy.

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Right i've been looking here
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/
Great site btw and interest free option!

Anyways the canon 350D is £339 with an 18-55mm lens which seems like an ok price? Its 10megapixels.

My mate at work has a 70-300mm lens on his Nikon D50. Is that a decent size for closeup's at say motorsport? I want something with a pretty decent zoom

On that site lenses for the 350D are
EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM at £369
EF 75-300mm f4.0-5.6 111 £129
EF 75-300mm f4.0-5.6 111 USM(58mm) £175

Can anyone explain what the differences here are? Is it pricier the better??




Nikon D40 is £369 with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II lens. I take it this is new version of D50? Its 6.1megapixels.

Not sure exactly on lens options for the Nikon.



So the Canon seems cheaper. Is it any better/worse than the Nikon?

Should i consider anything else or are these 2 a good option?


chop

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Stu
Hos clsoe up can you shoot with the 70-200mm lens? What does the IS and F4 mean?
Is it a case of a 70-300mm lens will give closer zoom aye?

Can you tell me what the converter does please?

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Ah ok justb read that the converter gives you further zoom withoout changing lens? Now my mate maybe said something about less light getting in with one of these? ie not so quick a picture taken?

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

Fuck me i read on...

What about the Sony (alpha) DSLR-A100?
10.3megapixel and can get an 18-70mm lens and also a 75-300mm lens for £590!!

frog

Less light means there is less light for the camera to capture the image, the optics in the converter absorb some of the light.

What that means, is that the camera will need to expose the sensor to the image you are taking for a longer period of time.

In practical terms, you are taking a picture of a car in motion, without the converter, the camera selects a shutter (exposure) speed which matches current light conditions so that enough light hits the sensor for it to record a good picture.
Now that speed may be sufficient to effectively freeeze the car in the picture because it hasn't physically moved while the camera shutter was open.

If, however, you put a converter, less light will hit the sensor for a given period of time, so, the camera will remain open for a little longer, that could be enough for the car to appear blurred, it moved while the camera was open.

It's a little simplistic in terms of answer, there are many more factors that come into it.

frog

Stu,

just thinking out loud, it's been mentionned before, but maybe a photography forum should be added to PF, there are forums out there dedicated to photography, but why not share our experiences, etc... on the subject amongst ourselves ?

I am off on holiday for a week, but when I return, I'll be more than willing to write up a few "essays" on the subject to try and cover the basics for everyone

Lambchop

iTrader: (1)

frog
so you're telling me you chose to answer the one Q that i was close to knowing exactly what the answer was yet left all the others?


Any recommendations on lenses? IS? F4? is 70-300mm a good size spread?