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08/28/2005 09:45:17 PM · #1 |
Right now I'm using a Minolta Dimage Z1 but I want to go to a D-SLR. I have looked and looked, studied and researched all different types of cameras but I can't seem to find the one I want. I want to make the jump to a better camera where I can change lenses for different situations. Please, I could realllllly use some guidance on this.
Gayle
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08/28/2005 09:50:25 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by gayle43103:
Right now I'm using a Minolta Dimage Z1 but I want to go to a D-SLR. I have looked and looked, studied and researched all different types of cameras but I can't seem to find the one I want. I want to make the jump to a better camera where I can change lenses for different situations. Please, I could realllllly use some guidance on this.
Gayle |
DO you have a budget in mind? Any particular manufacturer that you would like to go with? What kind of pictures do you regularly take, portraits, landscape, etc.? |
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08/28/2005 09:54:56 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by gayle43103:
Right now I'm using a Minolta Dimage Z1 but I want to go to a D-SLR. I have looked and looked, studied and researched all different types of cameras but I can't seem to find the one I want. I want to make the jump to a better camera where I can change lenses for different situations. Please, I could realllllly use some guidance on this.
Gayle |
Why do you want to make the jump? It's abig move moneywise. What characteristics of your DiMage do you feel are holding back your photography? What are you going to do with a DSLR that you can't do with the Z1?
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08/28/2005 10:01:08 PM · #4 |
Gail - it will be difficult for any of us to honestly advice you on which DSLR camera. First you need to decide what your needs are in terms of the type of photographs you normally take, what you want to do with them (for sale of not), how big you want to eventually print them, etc.
Once it is decided that these needs require a DSLR then you need to actually go out and try all the entry level and next up models from each manufacturer, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, etc. Go with what fits you the best, the one you find comfortable and intuitive to operate. You will get all kinds of advice like "buy the one I have" but that is disingenuous as all manufactures have their strong points and all make very good cameras at this level.
Make the search an adventure and take your time. It can be fun. |
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08/28/2005 10:07:31 PM · #5 |
You'll find that you're really buying into a system, as opposed to buying a camera. As such, the body becomes a little bit seondary. As coolhar posted, it's a really big investment, and you will almost certanly spend much more on lenses eventualy than on the body. After you've narrowed the field to those manufacturers who offer what you want/need in lenses, then decide between bodies.
Nikon & Canon have the most extensive lens systems for their bodies. Start with those two, do a month or so of lurking on the DPReview Nikon & Canon "Lens Talk" forums. See what folks like and don't like, and remember the folks over there tend to be very picky equipment-wise. Look at samples posted with lenses you're interested in, and research prices and availability. When you start to get some comfor level sithlens choices, explore then start looking at bodies. If you have no SLR experience, I strongly suggest getting a book that covers the basics of shooting with SLRs (there are few differences between shooting film and digital) then visit a good local camera shop and get you hands on the bodies you're interested in. Take along you own memory card, and shoot some frames. Take notes.
Above all, don't make the decision to dive into DSLR territory lightly.
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08/28/2005 10:14:16 PM · #6 |
| Fritz offers great advice and articulated it much more clearly than I. As an example my body (D70) cost about $1,000 last Novemeber. I now own about $4k in lenses alone. It pays to do your homework. |
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08/28/2005 11:54:42 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by jbsmithana:
Fritz offers great advice and articulated it much more clearly than I. As an example my body (D70) cost about $1,000 last Novemeber. I now own about $4k in lenses alone. It pays to do your homework. |
Ditto that; when I swapped over from my Coolpix 5700 to the Canon 20D, I shelled out $1,300 for the body and $2,700 for lenses and miscellaneous stuff. And I agonized over my lens choices within my budget after deciding to go witht he 20D body. Plus I'm well aware this is just the beginning: I'm already planning for future acquisitions, LOL.
It IS important to analyze just what you wish to accomplish with this move up the equipment ladder. If it helps any, I had several specific concerns:
1. Coolpix 5700 is very difficult to use well in macro mode; its so-called "manual focus" is actually a focus-by-wire system and very imprecise; couple that with the electronic (not optical) viewfinder and it was almost impossible to properly isolate a plane of focus in macrophotography.
2. Low-light performance on the 5700 is distinctly marginal; noise levels increase dramatically at anything over ISO 100, and the lens isn't very fast either.
3. 5700 noise level in general on large, even-colored areas such as sky was beginning to bug the heck out of me. I wanted a richer, smoother print than I was able to get, even with neat image. The neat image, when used at a high enough level to smooth out the skies, was making the detailed parts of the images look to smooth and plastic.
4. The 5700, and my Fuji 4900Z before that, showed an unacceptable level of barrel distortion (straight lines at the edge of the frame became curved) even when zoomed, let alone at the widest range.
5. The widest setting on the 5700 is not very wide at all, and this was crippling my "seeing" in landscape work, which I do a lot of.
All of these concerns were resolved by acquiring the 20D and the Canon 10-22mm super wide zoom.
Now I'm back in heaven where I belong, albeit at a steep price. I can manual focus to my heart's content (and I grew up on manual focus), I can set higher ISOs without worrying about noise, I have a couple nice, fast lenses, and the overall, technical quality of my images has vastly improved.
On the negative side:
1. I kind of miss the raw, spontaneous aspect of carrying a single, light camera/lens combo with me everywhere; I'm schlepping a LOT of stuff around. That situation is ameliorated now that I have my 28-75mm f/2.8 Tamron lens, which is a pretty decent range of zoom with macro capabilities in a fast package. I expect to be doing a fair amount of walking around with just that body/lens combo in hand, maybe the 10-22mm in a fanny pack also.
2. Gotta get used to dramatically more critical DOF issues; I was getting sloppy with the 5700, it was hard NOT to have everything in focus with that camera.
3. Changing lenses in the field introduces fears of sensor contamination. I am learning to live once more with the need to "guard" my camera from dust etc, something I didn't worry about with the 5700.
4. I feel like more of a "target" with this gear. I have to keep an eye on it all the time, it's obviously expensive and desirable. In a related vein, I was able to work in much more of a stealth mode with the 5700, especially with the wonderful little tilt-and-swivel LCD screen.
Regarding #3, incidentally, the Olympus dSLRs were very tempting because of their "dust repellent" design. If you expect to be content with a relatively small arsenal of lenses (theyhave fewer of them and they are pretty expensive), this might be an excellent choice to consider.
Hope these ruminations are of some help.
Robt.
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08/29/2005 10:36:25 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
Originally posted by gayle43103:
Right now I'm using a Minolta Dimage Z1 but I want to go to a D-SLR. I have looked and looked, studied and researched all different types of cameras but I can't seem to find the one I want. I want to make the jump to a better camera where I can change lenses for different situations. Please, I could realllllly use some guidance on this.
Gayle |
Why do you want to make the jump? It's abig move moneywise. What characteristics of your DiMage do you feel are holding back your photography? What are you going to do with a DSLR that you can't do with the Z1? |
I just don't feel that the Z1 is giving me what I really want as far as pictures go plus I don't like the macro on it and I need a more wide variety of lighting options. I think if I go to a higher pixel rate, my photos will come out better. Maybe what I really need is a photo class.
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