Camera Advice

[willedoo]

Hello, all.

 

I'm thinking of moving up from taking happy snaps to learning to use a half decent camera. As there's a few avid photographers on the forum, I was wondering if anyone had any advice or comments on low to mid range digital SLR's available. Any comments would be most appreciated.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

Go with Canon. Yes a little biased :rolleyes: You can get a good one now for around $500

 

 

[dazza 38]

I have a Nikon D5000 and to be quite honest, I use it on the auto setting.I need to learn alot more myself.There is a bit on Youtube about using various camera's.

 

 

[Ignition]

Not biased (maybe a little), Nikon is the way to go ;) I have a D5000 also, generally I use the sport mode coz Im always taking pictures of aircraft flying around... (although I too am learning all the features... got maybe half of it worked out now.. but theres still a couple buttons I havent even pressed yet...)

 

In the end its up to you whether you go with a Canon, Nikon or any other brand... usually it comes down to preference...

 

 

[willedoo]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. I've heard talk of Canons being the way to go. The last good camera I had was in the mid 80's, the days of 35mm SLR's. It was an Olympus OM1s with a 50mm & 105 mm zoom, never learnt to use it that well. Since then I've just had point & click types. Back then Nikon was supposed to be the big thing. Seems like nowdays most people serious about it have either one of those two makes suggested. I'll keep my ears to the ground & see what I can find out. Thanks.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Spin]

Seems you have a good handle on it Willie, the two big brands seem to constantly leapfrog each other in features and quality. When I bought my first SLR, most of the guys that were serious about it were going Canon so I got talked into it and have had no regrets. From my experience, make a realistic assessment of what you are going to do with the camera, set a budget and stick with it. It is all too easy to have the pro's and serious amateurs tell you that the kit lenses are rubbish and you MUST buy fancy grey lenses at several times the cost of the camera body or your photos won't be worth looking at. The truth of matter is no-one becomes an expert overnight and IF you are sufficiently interested and put the time and effort into becoming a good photographer, you'll end up wanting something better, something that would be complete overkill if you are like most of us and only keen to get pretty pictures. Here are a couple I've taken with my Canon 400D and the old kit lens, a 75-300 without image stabilisation. The newer ones have a better lens, a 70-250 with IS, well worth it. I'd love a better lens, say 100-400 with IS, but it will cost me more than my entire camera kit - $1500 odd. One day, until then I'll spend my money hiring aircraft :)

 

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[willedoo]

Thanks, Spin. Good advice & makes a lot of sense. Nice photos, two birds of a different nature.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[willedoo]

Willie ... I was going to jump in and comment , however , it's all been said already .. I'm a Canon man personally , nothing wrong with Nikon mind you , it's just down to personal preference , I've owned Canon since the early 80's , when cameras were made of metal and the lenses weighed you down somewhat . I've had several cameras since , both film and digital . It doesn't really matter how fancy your camera , 90% of taking the shot is seeing the subject in the first place . There is always many ways to take the same shot , angles , lighting , position all come into play ... The main thing is go out and enjoy your photography , it's a great pastime and challenge ..Dave C

Thanks, Dave. At least in the digital age, I can make all the mistakes without paying for development costs. I can remember a lot of times paying good money for bad photographs years ago. Once I take the first step, I'll give it a go & see what happens.

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Pete777]

Willie, thanks for your first question. I've also been thinking the same for awhile, but get confused with the many options out there. and thanks to everyone for the great info. - Pete

 

 

[bas]

Ask not what camera you should buy - they are almost all the same; ask what lenses you need to successfully capture the things you want to photograph.

 

 

[willedoo]

Ask not what camera you should buy - they are almost all the same; ask what lenses you need to successfully capture the things you want to photograph.

Thanks, Bas, good advice.

Cheers, Willie.