advice

Printable View

  • 03-31-2006, 10:45 PM
    tacit
    need advice
    Hi all.

    I know this 'can you tell me what to get' question has been done to death... However, Id really apreciate some advice/sugestions. Thanks in advance :)

    Where Im at: I guess Youd call me a beginner. Though Ive played around with traditional photography some, but more with development. Im an intermediate in art studies. In that I'm very familier with the artistic concepts behind painting drawing and photography (composition,lighting,colour etc) Im aware that its not a smart idea to go out and buy a super expensive camera because theres no point in having professional equipment if one doesnt know how to use it heh:p

    What I want from my camera
    I need something thats In my budget of between $1000 and $2000 Australian $$. I will be doing a fair bit of travelling in a few months so it needs to be hardy. I realise that the quality of photo depends also on the lenses. Ones Im keen on getting include something that has a very narrow depth of feild, but also ones that have a longer one. I need to be able to shoot things very close up, but also ladscapes as well. Portraite/studio photography is also on the 'to do'.

    So...many have suggested the canon 20D. Though its only just in my budget. I just want to make double certain if that the best choice at this time, or if theres a better option to suit the budget. Lenses of course can be picked up along the way.

    Thanks again if you can help :)

    P.S Also, the technical side of things, ie. f/stops etc is still a little vague for me, if you could recomend a read or two??
  • 04-01-2006, 05:38 AM
    payn817
    Re: advice
    I'd suggest going to a store and taking some cameras in hand. Get the one that feels good to you. I personally (just my opinion) don't see the real need for "pro" cameras unsless you are shooting sports, or certain weather situations, such as in a rainforest, or need more than 6mp res. Most of the entry levels have just about everything you would need, and if it doesn't, there's likely a workaround.

    So, I would look at entry-level or one step up, and get some good glass with the extra money you have. Bad glass on a "pro" system still won't necessarily beat top glass on an entry level...

    Just my $.02, go ahead gearheads, and beat me! I love it!!
  • 04-01-2006, 06:32 AM
    another view
    Re: advice
    There's a new 30D coming out, so the 20D should come down in price - maybe to the range in your budget. For books, John Shaw has some good ones like this one. I haven't had it for awhile and can't remember about how it goes over basics, but it is a very good book. Here's another good one on exposure. It may seem like a boring topic to read a book on, but it's really important to learn as much as you can about it so you can get the results that you want.

    If you want shallow depth of field, you'll really need to look at an SLR type camera. Compact cameras with smaller sensors use shorter focal length lenses for the same angle of view. For example, a 28-85mm equivalent on a 35mm camera might really be about a 7-21mm lens. Using a 7-21mm lens at apertures of even around f4 or f5.6 will give you tons of DOF. With an SLR, you can get a fast lens of a longer focal length - such as a 50mm f1.8 which is very inexpensive.
  • 04-01-2006, 07:01 AM
    SmartWombat
    Re: advice
    I've only read two books!
    The Ilford Manual of Photography ... for the chemistry recipes - I used to make my own developer and fixer for B&W. The rest of it I devoured in the evenings as a teenager, good bedtime reading.
    The other was Hedgecoe & Langford: Photography ... back in college on my biology degree this was the course book for a module in photography.

    As to what you're buying, as the owner of a 20D I'm a lttle biased you understand !
    Is your budget just for the body ?
    You wanted very close up, landscape, portrait and studio. I guess you won't be shooting in the studio on your trip but will you want lenses for everything else?

    Make sure you take good cleaning kit with you, if you change lenses then there is a good chance you'll get dust in the camera and you will need to clean off the filter in front of the sensor.
  • 04-03-2006, 03:42 AM
    tacit
    Re: advice
    FIrstly, sory about the delay in response

    Payn817> Thanks for the sugestion, soon as I have a spare afternoon from work I'll be at the store having a handle of the cameras rather than just an oggle lol.

    Another view > I didnt know about the 30D comming out. Definatly worth the wait I think to watch the prices go down. Thanks for the heads up and info on the lens. Will check out those books too :)

    SmartWombat
    > The budget would ideally be for the body and standard lens(something I can use and have fun and learn with). Getting other lenses though inportant woulld come after the initial purchase. The studio stuff will of course be for here at home, but also I guess when Im overseas if I get the opurtunity to do some work wherever Im staying. But yes, mostly outside photography on the trip (if all goes to plan *cross fingers* heh). Thanks for the sugestion about cleaning kit, kinda sliped my mind that heh

    Ultimatly what Im looking for is versatility. Somethign that will accomodate my interest and growth in experience. time will tell :)

    Thank you all again for your help :)