CHR1S Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Canon 350D here with all the toys, great camera with the right lense(s). You wont see much difference with a Canon or Nikkon, its a matter of preference. Oh and top tip no 1000 - Dodgy chinese accessorie copies are well worth the risk, you will find its prob the same item as the oem without the branding
maniac Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'm quite a keen photographer and base my photography around another one of my hobbies. You can see some of my work on my website; Welcome to Curious Places Most of the pictures on my website were taken with an old Fujifilm Bridge Camera, but I have a Canon 350d now which is ok for what I do, but not outstanding by any means. Mike
Little-Miss Posted October 21, 2008 Author Posted October 21, 2008 I really enjoyed photographing Whitby Abbey. Beautiful building. The weather was bloody awful but it made for a great sky. Got some good photo's just wish i had the experience and a better camera. Maybe another time.
djdohboy Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'm about to buy the canon 450d. Lovely camera. Was going to get the 350d but aparantly the stock 18-55 lens that comes with it is not up to scratch. Although I have been told that the 450d's 18-55 lens is really quite a nice one.
webman Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I really enjoyed photographing Whitby Abbey. Beautiful building. The weather was bloody awful but it made for a great sky. Got some good photo's just wish i had the experience and a better camera. Maybe another time. Remember it's not all about the camera, although it does help Give a toddler a top-of-the-range DSLR and the chances are the results will be pretty poor. Conversely, give a standard digital POS camera to a professional photographer and they will probably get the best out of it. I'm still on the learning curve of photography. I originally had a Kodak DX6440 but didn't care much about the quality of my photos. Later, I start using a Nikon Coolpix L3 when I won it through LXF magazine - it too had very basic features. I submitted several photos taken with it to a Panasonic Lumix competition website, and soon after I won a £150 voucher to spend on a Panasonic camera... I went for the FZ8 which had the manual controls that I wanted to experiment with to help me learn a bit more. I'm still using it now and hope to upgrade to a DSLR when funds allow
john Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'm no photographer but I do have a Sony Alpha 200. Nice little DSLR imho. I couldn't afford a NIKON so I call it a "poor man's nikon" I also have the same one as Joe, but with 3 lenses, external flash gun, filters and nice big rucksack so i can carry my SLR in it as well as the DSLR
Little-Miss Posted October 21, 2008 Author Posted October 21, 2008 I'm really enjoying this thread, have spent ages looking at cameras, but there's nothing better then first hand opinions. Well, while we're at it. Does anyone have any tips and advice for learning. Any books to have a nose through?
crc-ict Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'd grab a Sony at the moment - very competitive mix of price and performance. The Jessops exclusive Alpha 300 is well worth a look - 10mp, with the best Live View system currently on entry-level D-SLRs for £350 including an 18-70m lens. I use an Alpha 700 myself, but that's probably a bit OTT (and expensive) for a first D-SLR.
crc-ict Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'm really enjoying this thread, have spent ages looking at cameras, but there's nothing better then first hand opinions. Well, while we're at it. Does anyone have any tips and advice for learning. Any books to have a nose through? If you really want to learn all about photography, have you thought about doing an evening class at your local college? It's a good way of learning about photography, but experiencing that learning with other people, sharing tips and knowledge, and having a bit of fun. The forum Digital Grin Photography Forum - Powered by vBulletin has lots of experienced people and some good tutorials on there if you prefer online learning
broc Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I have owned & used both Canon and Nikon SLRs, film and digital. My personal preference now is Nikon as I feel they have a better balance for me but both are good brands and I would not criticise one brand vs another. I have a Nikon F100, D200 and D70, as well as a very compact Pentax Optio S5 (fits in a shirt pocket) and I tend to use them in that order depending upon how 'serious' I am about getting the images I want. Digital cameras continue to develop at a frightening pace, with manufacturers leapfrogging their competitors with more & more 'bells & whistles'. Don't get carried away with the specification race, at the end of the day what makes a good photo is more to do with the vision and imagination of the person holding the camera than the specification of the camera itself. If you are really serious, and have deep pockets my advice would be to decide what optics you want first; all-singing all-dancing zoom lenses with incredible focal lengths are all very well & good (and some of them are very good) but they will almost always be optically inferior compared to fast fixed focal length lenses. Don't get carried away with buying too many lenses though, otherwise you will end up being laden down with equipment when you go out Many of the lenses 'bundled' with DSLR bodies are budget jobs, engineered to a price and quite often of mediocre optical performance especially when operating at the extremes of their focal length/apperture ranges; if all you do is take images that will be displayed on a PC screen or TV then they will be fine most of the time, but there again so will most digital cameras. If this worries you, look for reviews of lenses in your target price range first & negotiate a price for your lens(es) of choice with the camera body you want. Local independent camera retailers can be quite competitive. On a 42" plasma TV I cannot tell the difference between an image taken on a bright sunny day with a 2mega-pixel mobile phone or a high resolution scanned image taken on high quality transparency film from an F100 with £1000 lens. Try the same in poor lighting & it's totally different story!
tom_newton Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Lots of good advice here: Digital camera photo galleries, gallery database, info and forums Would avoid Sony unless you are "budget restricted" - the range of lenses is poor compared to Nikon & Canon...
Netman Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I was in the same position as the OP about a year ago. Did loads of research and testing and eventually bought a Nikon D80... I absolutely love it! I'm just about to enrol on a course at my local arts institute so I can take my photography to the next level. The body is just the start though - make sure you've got loads of quids for lenses, tripod, flash gun, remote release, filters, software etc. etc.!! Added a 10.5mm fisheye recently which is great fun. Been playing with HDR too as you can see Nikkor 18-200mm VR next...
Little-Miss Posted October 21, 2008 Author Posted October 21, 2008 that is a fantastic photo.. When i buying my Canon Ixus a Samsung representative was trying his hardest to flog me this camera..apparently it can play movies and i can listen to MP3's... I think i laughed in his face. Why!, i said, do i want to watch movies and play mp3s on my CAMERA!!!!!
Ric_ Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I just flogged my Canon 300D and Canon D5 on Ebay plus 3 of the lenses I no longer needed - the market is still good for these things second hand! I currently have a Canon 10D and am temped with an upgrade... purely because it is getting a little long in the tooth. I have a EF 35-350mm f3.4-5.6 L lens (plus a 1.6x expander) - beautiful lens! - which covers me for most stuff and then a couple of smaller lenses for macro and bits and bats. My best advice is to go for Canon (purely for availability of cheap lenses/accessories) and buy a second hand body and lens. Avoid the kit lenses if possible because they realy are a lot poorer quality - horrible plastic mounts!
maniac Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Been playing with HDR too as you can see I love HDR, something I do far to much of with my photos and I tend to goto extremes as well. Have one from me http://www.curiousplaces.co.uk/images/ForumPhotos/beforeafter/hdr-05.jpg Mike
maniac Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Nice site Mike - thanks for sharing the link! Cheers Webman, there's no thanks button on this forum unfortunitely! Mike.
dhicks Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Give a toddler a top-of-the-range DSLR Hmm. Done that... give a standard digital POS camera to a professional photographer ...and that, too. Maniac: nice HDR image! I've tried that myself - it's one of the things you can do with a digital camera that was completely impossible before. Damned if I can quite get the hang of it, though - I had a go the other week when Battersea Power Station was open to the public, but nothing particularly spectacular came out. To add to the general discussion: I'd still recommend getting a remote shutter release cable, it's just so much more convenient. I tend to take photos by simply hammering away taking loads and hoping at least one comes out okay, no time for timed photos. Also, if you're taking pictures inside, a flash unit that lets you angle the flash up towards the ceiling is a definite bonus. You get a well-lit scene but without all the redeye that a standard flash gives you. Again, both bits can be bought very cheap from Chinese suppliers off eBay for common cameras like the Canon 350/400/450. -- David Hicks
Little-Miss Posted October 21, 2008 Author Posted October 21, 2008 Crackin' photos Mike, love your subjects too...
jcollings Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I'd stick another vote in for Canon kit - I used Canon kit all the way through my college course many years ago including the spectacular T90 (lovely camera).
dhicks Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Has anyone tried using the firmware modification utilities for Canon cameras that let you use DSLR-like facilities on humble compacts? -- David Hicks
Ric_ Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 Has anyone tried using the firmware modification utilities for Canon cameras that let you use DSLR-like facilities on humble compacts? -- David Hicks That must be an interesting update! Changing the lens on a compact camera
Netman Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 I love HDR, something I do far to much of with my photos and I tend to goto extremes as well. Have one from me Mike Very nice Mike - what software is that done with? Photomatix or photoshop?
maniac Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) Very nice Mike - what software is that done with? Photomatix or photoshop? If I told you that, I'd have to kill you! It's actually neither of the above, although I have used photomatix before until I discovered This - It's so much easier than photomatix, with pretty interesting results as you can see. http://www.curiousplaces.co.uk/images/ForumPhotos/beforeafter/hdr-15.jpg I won't post any more, I could fill this thread with them. (And yes that was a massive 10 foot high mirror) Thanks for the kind comments people Mike. Edited October 21, 2008 by maniac 1
dhicks Posted October 21, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 That must be an interesting update! Changing the lens on a compact camera No, for real! You can modify the standard firmware on Canon machines to let you save RAW images on compacts, do other processing, all sorts of fun stuff. I'll have to find the URL now... -- David Hicks
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