Author Topic: Basic beginers camera? (Read 28616 times)

puravida · « **Reply #75 on:** July 11, 2009, 15:15 »

Quote from: neversaynever on July 11, 2009, 13:57

yes, yes I'm sorry, appears that I'm misinformed. It's probably my unconscious interpolating a canon problem to all others. However, yes if not values inserted, nikon offers limited metering, but if you enter lens info, nikon dslr's can meter fully. I can happily accept such compromise if it allows me to use any lens nikon made.

Also, I still think that Nikon and Canon offers most variety of lenses. Since canon is not so backwards friendly, this leaves nikon. Am I wrong? While pentax and minolta do have some pretty decent lenses when it comes to quantity and quality, the big two triumphs.

Is it only Canon and Nikon lens that rule? If you believe that, I am sure many Sigma users will laugh at you; many who use Canon and Nikon bodies.

Not quite really. While Nikon and Canon do the most advertising and most salesman , me included get spiffs for selling these two names, no optically informed technician in his right mind is going to dare say that only Canon and Nikon make the best optics.
Pentax , Olympus (Zuiko) , Lumix (Zeiss, Leica), lenses have been making equally good optics.
There is also the Summicron made by Leica that is far superiror to any of the Canon and Nikon glasses. Yet how many ads do you see , or how many Nikon and Canon proponents even know that lense exist?

only you don't see as much marketing in magazines. Also, writers also get paid to write good things about the products that advertise the most with their magazines. This any marketing consutlant will politely reveal.
It only appears that Canon and Nikon make the best glasses, but that is a marketing perception.
Is a Porsche not as good as a Mercedez or a Volvo? HAs anyone heard of Aston Martin?
You would be laughed out of the debate if you think that one brand makes the universe. Same thing that happened a long time ago when some American dude thinks that his TransAm is better than his friend's Camaro, and never knew that the CooperS and LotusElan existed, simply because he didn't see the ads on either of these much better British cars.
Or touching much closer, in the old days, how often did you see an ad of Sinar ? or Rolleiflex or Leica? You still only saw Nikon and Canon. But we all knew we didn't have to rely on ads to tell us about Symmar lenses, or Leica , even though all we read about and carried were our Nikon Fs. We still also used the Leica as much.

It's all a perception, you paid a lot of money for it, you'd better believe it's the best. That's why it cost more, you paid for the ads. As for Summicron, you pay for the glass alone, and not forthe ads or the spiff Nikon and Canon pay the camera sales people.

willie · « **Reply #76 on:** July 11, 2009, 15:38 »

It's like this in any art form. Like music, the best musicians talk about music, the rest keeps writing about how many pedals and sound effect gadget they used. Real drummers talk about rhythm and syncopation, the rest talk about what brands they have and which snare rules. when it all comes down to rhythm, the best drummers were the african tribes and baiano percussionists that bang on archaic and no name boxes, even tin cans.
The instruments and the brands are irrelevant.

nehbitski · « **Reply #77 on:** July 11, 2009, 15:52 »

@puravida actually what you say is true, but I did not say anything about that pentax's or sony's lenses were worse than nikon or canon's. In bold, I said that canon and nikon have more lenses to choose from. I said nothing more. I also agree perseus in saying " a bad sculptor who blames his tools."

Squat · « **Reply #78 on:** July 12, 2009, 09:46 »

How about this unique camera for out of the box images. If you consider that this camera can be used with gloves in winter, and underwater to 10m, shockproof for the amazing clut who is used to dropping SLR.
its 12 MP 28-102 mm zoom (35 mm equiv), much heavier than the usual P&S, for obvious reasons.
Olympus Stylus Tough 8000

Imagine the unique shot of snorkeling, and underwater shots you can get for micro . Definitely could put you into the niche class, which could mean more dls and less competition. It's a bit pricey for 400 US MFL.

skipper · « **Reply #79 on:** July 13, 2009, 06:03 »

Quote from: puravida on July 04, 2009, 13:29

Quote from: Booggie on July 03, 2009, 20:58
hi guys,
need some advice, my sony cam powershot dsc 650 has a problem with lenses, a lot of green pixels
I'm thinking now of a canon 1000 D , any advice regarding this one ?

Not sure what you mean by green pixels. Can you put a shot here to demonstrate? Are you sure it's not the sensor, rather than the lense? Did you contact Sony Support on this? Perharps there is already a firmware to correct this.

hi Puravida,
sorry
my cam is Sony Cybershot DSC 650 S.
I'm having already two lenses from my Canon film camera EOS REBEL X S
one is Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-80 mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 II
second is Sigma Zoom 100-300 mm 1:4.5 - 6.7 DL
and I would go for a Canon to buy, given I'm already having lenses, just don't know what to start with.
Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

puravida · « **Reply #80 on:** July 13, 2009, 09:46 »

Quote from: Booggie on July 13, 2009, 06:03

hi Puravida,
sorry
my cam is Sony Cybershot DSC 650 S.
I'm having already two lenses from my Canon film camera EOS REBEL X S
one is Canon Zoom Lens EF 28-80 mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 II
second is Sigma Zoom 100-300 mm 1:4.5 - 6.7 DL
and I would go for a Canon to buy, given I'm already having lenses, just don't know what to start with.
Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

There are many Canon users here, so putting this comment will draw some good first hand advice from them.
As for which lens you need , this is what I personally suggest:
1)Make a note of the lenses that whoever comes in here say are awesome.
2) get one of your old memory cards, one that you don't need, or just buy a cheap one.
3) visit your camera stores, and ask to try those lenses.
Let the sales person know you are serious about building up your equipment, if you have a business card better still, give it to that person. Say you brought a memory card so you can use the XS there, or whatever camera you intend to buy, and use those lenses to shoot around the shop.
Once, I even had the salesperson let me stand outside to shoot a few shots with each lens.
Of course, I am already known to that person, and he knows where to send the cops if I ran away, lol.
But that's my advice. You can then take the card home to view it with your computer.
Then you can decide which lens you want to buy next.
Any review you read is highly subjective. The proof is in your own eye and your own preference.
Many times, some experts tell me xxx lense or xxx body rules, only for me to go to the shop to find out how much I hate them. Not because they are lousy cameras or lenses, but because they don't feel good shooting in my own hands.
It's like finding a partner. Your friends can tell you xxx is hot, or xxx is hotter, but only you know which person is best for you. Cameras and equipment are the same, especially when you consider we probably changed partners more often than we change our camera equipment.

So choose your camera / lenses as carefully as you choose your life partner

Advantage is you can try your cameras and lenses the method I suggested.
Unfortunately, I am not so sure if you can apply that to selecting your future partner , lol..

Squat · « **Reply #81 on:** July 13, 2009, 10:04 »

Also, Booggie, re: what puravida said, here's some additional hints from me as someone who sells pro equip as seasonal :
-don't try this at the mall or large departmental stores. the security will come down hard on you. go to the pro stores , they are used to having pros do this.
- even if the pro stores are more expensive, just do the test.
- check around for the prices, get quotes, and then go back to the pro store to let the salesperson know you had a better price. we always price match.

I like to buy from one person or one store. It builds confidence and many times, we exchange ideas and even get to hear of horror stories about equipment, even some of the top names have lemons.
We all work on commissions, so it is in our mutual interest to be good to our regulars. As a photographer, I do this even when I travel, I have certain stores I favor, and most times, I end up with the cheapest price because I get them to price match my best offer.

In return, I use that extra savings to buy extra stuff from the salesperson ie. mem card, card reader, filters,etc. or simply put that savings into my next purchase, from the same store and the same sales person.

P.S.
and don't neglect the savings you get from trade in to upgrade.
My fave pro store (which just opened here in my lovely city) is always advertising on trade ins values and even if you can't find the used equipment in this branch, they can get it from another across the country.

skipper · « **Reply #82 on:** July 13, 2009, 11:16 »

Thanks guys,
well I do have an offer for trade in my old cam for

canon 1000 D body only -aprox 500 USD
canon 450 D body only - aprox 745 USD
canon 500 D body only - aprox 1100 USD

best prices OTC in the whole country w/warranty online and best prices in Bucharest as pro stores go, not too much offer here
there would be some stuff on black market but no warranties

unfortunately I can't afford 500D

I do already have lenses, presumably it fit
I'm not good with all this stuff so can't figure it out what's better to start with
1000 D or 450 D

Thanks again

Squat · « **Reply #83 on:** July 14, 2009, 09:56 »

Quote from: Booggie on July 13, 2009, 11:16

Thanks guys,
well I do have an offer for trade in my old cam for

canon 1000 D body only -aprox 500 USD
canon 450 D body only - aprox 745 USD
canon 500 D body only - aprox 1100 USD

best prices OTC in the whole country w/warranty online and best prices in Bucharest as pro stores go, not too much offer here
there would be some stuff on black market but no warranties

unfortunately I can't afford 500D

I do already have lenses, presumably it fit
I'm not good with all this stuff so can't figure it out what's better to start with
1000 D or 450 D

Thanks again

Instead of getting yet another Canon, why not get the Lumix GH1
the first DSLR camera that will video better than any other DSLR . 1080p 24fps , 720p 60fps, in HDTV Stereo , with continuous focusing. Lumix uses Leica lenses so it blows away the competition in that optical grounds too. The other DSLR that can do videos even the top names cannot do even close to this bugger.

I do not subscribe to the problem of not so many lenses to select. Any professional will tell you he/she only uses a selection not buy all 60 or 200 different lenses . So the argument that XXX camera has less lenses than Nikon and Canon or Pentax or Sony, is moot.

Why I suggested this, is that you already have all you need for still stock photos. With Lumix GH1 you have the edge over any one else to do video for stock.
Just an out of the box idea .

basti · « **Reply #84 on:** July 14, 2009, 10:47 »

In fact there is NONE really good and reasonably priced basic zoom on APS-C Canon but psst - everyone knows they are the best

I have crappy Olympus so Im completely mad when I have tiny noisy sensor and everyone knows that Oly has no really good lenses and even those "not-good" are only few

willie · « **Reply #85 on:** July 14, 2009, 10:56 »

Quote from: basti on July 14, 2009, 10:47

In fact there is NONE really good and reasonably priced basic zoom on APS-C Canon but psst - everyone knows they are the best I have crappy Olympus so Im completely mad when I have tiny noisy sensor and everyone knows that Oly has no really good lenses and even those "not-good" are only few

touche !

Well, look on the bright side, basti. You can travel all over the world with your Olympus, and won't get robbed. Nobody wants a "lousy cheap" Olympus.

Seriously, Olympus has been making some of the best and lowest priced cameras and lenses.
Even the dedicated flashes are underpriced compared to the Big 2, or even Pentax.
We all pay for the advertising, or the symbol. Zuiko has been producing optics for scientific instruments long time. I guess it's not good enough for photography

FWIW, somehow Canon cameras have the most trade-ins, even with cameras that are hardly used. The owners tend to keep looking for next year's model, much like xbox or ps,etc.. enthusiasts look for the next game.
The users of other makes tend to hang on to their camera longer regardless of next year's model. not sure if there is a significance or not.

skipper · « **Reply #86 on:** July 14, 2009, 15:16 »

Quote from: tan510jomast on July 14, 2009, 09:56

Quote from: Booggie on July 13, 2009, 11:16
Thanks guys,
well I do have an offer for trade in my old cam for

canon 1000 D body only -aprox 500 USD
canon 450 D body only - aprox 745 USD
canon 500 D body only - aprox 1100 USD

best prices OTC in the whole country w/warranty online and best prices in Bucharest as pro stores go, not too much offer here
there would be some stuff on black market but no warranties

unfortunately I can't afford 500D

I do already have lenses, presumably it fit
I'm not good with all this stuff so can't figure it out what's better to start with
1000 D or 450 D

Thanks again

Instead of getting yet another Canon, why not get the Lumix GH1
the first DSLR camera that will video better than any other DSLR . 1080p 24fps , 720p 60fps, in HDTV Stereo , with continuous focusing. Lumix uses Leica lenses so it blows away the competition in that optical grounds too. The other DSLR that can do videos even the top names cannot do even close to this bugger.

I do not subscribe to the problem of not so many lenses to select. Any professional will tell you he/she only uses a selection not buy all 60 or 200 different lenses . So the argument that XXX camera has less lenses than Nikon and Canon or Pentax or Sony, is moot.

Why I suggested this, is that you already have all you need for still stock photos. With Lumix GH1 you have the edge over any one else to do video for stock.
Just an out of the box idea .

Thank you,
it's a good idea surely not for me
1. I can't make good movies , I don't have the patience for it, I get annoyed
2. I just checked prices, it seems over my budget.

Buz · « **Reply #87 on:** September 12, 2009, 19:00 »

OK.....so you've decided on your camera and lens kit, but that's not all of it. You also need to consider your computer and software, and internet access, all of which need to be built into the initial setup costs.
Good luck, its worth it for the fun.
BUZ