Any amateur photographers here?

[john]

The Minolta SLR I have was a hand-me-down from my Grandad who was a very keen photographer so I haven't added to it yet, but I know a friend who has an A100 has bought some nice lenses off eBay for stupidly cheap money at times, but I would say the same for any 2nd user kit if you hit it right you get a bargain.

[capncrunch]

Olympus E-520

 

You will find very little difference between picture quality amongst most DSLR's and there are very few "bad" DSLR's. You have to go to pixel level to see the difference more often than not.

 

What ever you do make sure you research all the different cameras within your budget and go try them out before you buy, don't go on just the word of others because all you will be told is Canon and Nikon are the best. This is neither useful or necessarily true.

 

Personally I use my E-520 with Original OM Lenses. Using OM Lenses means manual focus and aperture control but that is half the fun

[cookie_monster]

I'm going to take a look at a couple of Cannons and the Sony that john mentioned, i'll take a look at the Olympus as well if I come accross one.

 

Cheers.

[westleya]

Olympus E-520

 

You will find very little difference between picture quality amongst most DSLR's and there are very few "bad" DSLR's. You have to go to pixel level to see the difference more often than not.

 

What ever you do make sure you research all the different cameras within your budget and go try them out before you buy, don't go on just the word of others because all you will be told is Canon and Nikon are the best. This is neither useful or necessarily true.

 

Personally I use my E-520 with Original OM Lenses. Using OM Lenses means manual focus and aperture control but that is half the fun

 

Quite agree. I'm a Pentax man myself. You might want to look at either the K-m or K20. Good kit.

 

Olympus stuff is lovely, but I went for Pentax as I can fit 50 year old lenses onto it and didn't want to be in the Canikon camp

 

For something totally different, look for a Sigma SD14 or Fujifilm S5 Pro (takes Nikon lenses, flash, etc). Both cheap now.

[Hacksawbob]

I have personally the 5D MK1 but I have had the 350d and the 400d I would definately go for the 400d over the 350 for the dust reduction. One reason to use canons is the large number of manual focus lenses that fit it with an adapter (including nikon!). using a lens that is fully manual really makes you stop and think what you are doing not just firing of 4 gigs worth and sifting through it.Manual Focus Forum | Lens, Very, Color, Zeiss, Sharp | Manual Focus Lenses - Manual Focus Lenses there is some lovely prime lenses out there for a fraction of the price of the auto plastic junk that get sold these days. Try a zeiss flektogon mounted to your DSLR and you will be hooked! Certainly at the wide end Canon struggle to make a decent lens without going into eye waternig price territory, at the long end Canon make some fabulous glass. Dont forget the 3rd party stuff from Sigma and tamron they make pretty good stuff too these days. I have also had t he Pentax K20 for a while at work and really liked it but coming from canon i found the layout a little confusing, I am sure i'd get used to it though.

[cookie_monster]

While we're on the subject anyone know if most camera and tripods have a standard thread.

 

I have a Sony DSC-W120 and I wanted to get a tripod that would fit it but the Sony one is £40, just wondered if I could get a budget one for less.

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-VCT-TK1-Super-Compact-Tripod/dp/B00005K4LL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247514558&sr=8-1]Sony VCT-TK1 Super Compact Tripod: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo[/ame]

 

 

 

Ahhh Haaa this might fit the bill

 

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-VCT-R100-Tripod-General-Use/dp/B000EYADSG/ref=pd_cp_ce_1]Sony VCT-R100 Tripod For General Use: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo[/ame]

Edited July 13, 2009 by cookie_monster

[mossj]

I have used my tripod (generic jessops one) on canons/olympus/sony's and im 99.9% sure most (if not all) have the same thread.

 

p.s consider a gorrilla pod, if your in the market for a tripod. There a useful bit of kit.

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joby-GP1-E1EN-Gorillapod-Original-Black/dp/B000EVSLRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247515369&sr=8-1]Joby Gorillapod Original - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo[/ame]

 

or for SLR's (added bulk and stiffness, not diffrent fittings)

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joby-GP2-01P-Gorillapod-SLR/dp/B000HAVVFG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247515369&sr=8-2]Joby Gorillapod - SLR: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo[/ame]

Edited July 13, 2009 by mossj

[SteveBentley]

The thread is generic I think. The advice I was given on tripods is that you want a metal head and something fairly substantial, otherwise it will wobble and be a waste of time. Calumet do some nice own brand ones.

[danrhodes]

I've always used Velbon Video Tripods as they are very stable, made well and have excellent fluid heads if you go for the higher up models!

 

D

Edited July 14, 2009 by danrhodes

[tom_newton]

FWIW, you can get some good deals on new kit these days - picked up a Canon 40D + 17-85 kit lens for £700 the other day, in PC world, no less. Took >1hr of haggling mind. Didn't really want the kit lens, but it is not a bad old thing for someone on a strict "no lenses or meat, or things that cost money/taste nice" diet (wedding coming up!).

 

Edit: The reason I was allowed to drop 700 notes on a camera so close to my wedding? Insurance job. 300D got banged a bit after a few too many Tuskers somewhere in the middle of the Kenyan bush near Nakuru

[john]

Agreed on the Velbon, and spend a good few quid on it, I think mine cost about £45 and its very nice and smooth

[mikeglover]

I've been into Photography for a while and only been using Digital SLR for the last couple of years. I use a Nikon D40x and looking to upgrade to a D90 when I have some spare money.

For anyone starting out, I recommend either Nikon or Canon. You don't have to have a pro model to get great photos. It's about having a good eye, composition and learning how to use manual settings, depth of field etc.

As well, experiment with different kinds of photography, it's a great way to learn how your camera works.

 

I use this site quite a bit. It has weekly assignments and guides on all kinds of photography.

Digital Photography School - Digital Photography Tips for You

[tech_guy]

As an ex-pro photographer, it's got to be Nikon every time for me. I've used Canon, Olympus, Hasselblad, and Mamiya film cameras over the years, but always found Nikon to give me the edge in performance. The same is true now for DSLR and I'm very happy with my Nikons. Their VR lenses are amazing.

 

Don't cut corners by buying the cheaper lenses or filters, and buy the most expensive tripod you can afford.

 

And get it all insured!

[ICT_GUY]

One thing that bugs the hell out of me is people who insist on comparing their £250 point and shoot camera with my £2500 kit and saying that the pictures are kind of the same.

 

These are the same people who just don't notice iso noise.

 

Who just don't understand the relationship between f-stops, focal length & depth of field. Nor the way a lens will distort perspective at different focal lengths.

 

They rarely even notice the type of light they are shooting.

 

They really have no Idea why I wasted £200 on a dedicated flash and £20 on a defuser.

 

I can go on. But I feel better now.

[westleya]

One thing that bugs the hell out of me is people who insist on comparing their £250 point and shoot camera with my £2500 kit and saying that the pictures are kind of the same.

 

These are the same people who just don't notice iso noise.

 

Who just don't understand the relationship between f-stops, focal length & depth of field. Nor the way a lens will distort perspective at different focal lengths.

 

They rarely even notice the type of light they are shooting.

 

They really have no Idea why I wasted £200 on a dedicated flash and £20 on a defuser.

 

I can go on. But I feel better now.

 

All very true.

 

Most people who use point and shooters, though, are more than happy with the results and therefore won't understand why we hulk around massive SLRs.

 

And if they're printing pictures taken in good light at 10 x 15cm from a good compact there simply won't be much noticeable difference.

 

The SLRs advantage is in it's flexibility, low-light performance and ability to produce massive prints from reletively low pixel counts.

[cookie_monster]

@ ICT_GUY - err no I promise not to compare my £100 Sony point and shoot to your light collecting cannon

[ICT_GUY]

All very true.

 

Most people who use point and shooters, though, are more than happy with the results and therefore won't understand why we hulk around massive SLRs.

 

And if they're printing pictures taken in good light at 10 x 15cm from a good compact there simply won't be much noticeable difference.

 

The SLRs advantage is in it's flexibility, low-light performance and ability to produce massive prints from reletively low pixel counts.

 

And the creative options, the control over how the shot is taken, ability to take instant photos, the ability to take 6fps @ 15MP, the fine tuning, the ability to shoot in raw, the ability of tuning the image in adobe image raw before it even gets near photoshop. And loads more

[westleya]

And the creative options, the control over how the shot is taken, ability to take instant photos, the ability to take 6fps @ 15MP, the fine tuning, the ability to shoot in raw, the ability of tuning the image in adobe image raw before it even gets near photoshop. And loads more

 

Yes, that too