Is This Sensible? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

02/21/2006 04:25:13 AM · #1

Since buying my Panasonic FZ-20 I have gotten into digital photography with a vengence, due in no small part to this site. However, I am a gear head and a tech head, as well being a compulsive/obsessive (but I am a nice guy, really - ask my shrink - just kidding about the shrink) and I am constantly having internal battles with myself over what gear to get.

So I made a set of decisions about my gear and would welcome any comments you may have as to the validaity of the choices or ideas.

1. Stick with the FZ-20 until I have realised all of its limitations and *really* need to upgrade to something else
2. Buy a decent tripod as it can only help
3. Buy a decent flashgun (e.g. Sunpak 383) as this *will* help
4. Buy some filters over and above the UV on the lens now - thinking Cokin P series here as I have used them before and thinking ND, polariser and probably some colour filters?
5. *Possibly* buy a monitor calibration kit - e.g. Huey - as I use a Tablet PC in the fiels and a 17" LCD at home
6. Buy some form of diffuser kit for the flash - I really hate direct flash and some form of bounce kit would work wonders - but what?
7. Stick to *one* (OK - maybe two) main software packages for image manipulation - probably PSE 4 and The Gimp as I cannot afford PS CS2!
8. Attend some of the DPC GTGs to learn and meet folk (after what I just admitted I am not sure folk will want to meet me!)
9. Keep submitting to the challenges
and finally and most importantly
10. Take pictures!!!!

Advice always welcome.

Carl

adyus

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

02/21/2006 05:19:51 AM · #2

Ok, I'll jump, I hope I'm not late in replying, these are my two cents:

1. After checking out pics on this site taken with the Panasonic you have, I think you should stick with what you have until you are completely sure it's holding you back. Remember, a true artist can make artwork using anything, even a pinhole camera.

2. Not only buy it, but use it too. I recommend getting a quick release plate, as it makes it a lot easier to experiment with angles without having to move the whole tripod or unscrewing the camera.

3. You might consider saving up and getting a full-fledged strobe, like an Alien Bee. It's a little more versatile and you'll be trained for when you can afford a better camera and more strobes.

4. Colour filters are a little outdated if you're shooting digital, unless somebody specifically forces you not to post-process your images. Investing in a good digital photography book might be more helpful. ND and polariser, on the other hand I strongly recommend.

5. Unless you want to sell your work to huge (think Getty, Alamy) companies, manual calibration should be fine. Besides, those kits are expensive ;)

6. Either go with the Alien Bee and available accessories, or improvise :) I've seen many plans for easy-to-make diffusers and reflectors floating around the net.

7. My advice is to stick to what you're best at now, as it's easier to improve without worrying about learning interfaces, etc. That said, I have nothing against GIMP, it's a very robust package if you have the time for it.

8. Definite yes. We all have a lot to learn from our masters here at DPC ;)

9. and 10. I wish I could stick to these two ideas, since I put them on my list almost a year ago :(

Good luck with your photography from now on! May your shutter be swift and your colours accurate!

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/21/2006 05:40:46 AM · #3

Andrei

Advice much appreciated, especially re the filters and the flash. I must admit that playing with PSE and some free plug-ins made me question colour filters.

As for the Alien Bee - need to check it out for sure.

Thanks again

Carl

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

02/21/2006 08:05:46 AM · #4

Hey, I think this is a great idea... as I've said here more than a few times, I would happily still be using my FZ10 if I hadn't made the decision to go professional. I really got a blast out of pushing it to it's limits here.
About the flash... you know it already bounces and swivels, right? But what you can do is buy a small fold-up reflector, point the flash up, and bounce the light off the reflector which you hold with your other hand.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I took for DPChallenge with my FZ10:

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/21/2006 08:09:24 AM · #5

Just read the prvious post... I loved playing about with the Cokin system on my FZ10, but I got it just before I upgraded to a DSLR and haven't had a chance to play with them since.
There are LOADS of filters you can use that you can't replicate in Photoshop. A couple of the most useful ones:
A graduated ND filter is one of the most useful filters... keeps detail in your sky and ground.
Starburst filters are great for night-scapes.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

02/21/2006 12:29:55 PM · #6

Hmm...

Having seen what you did with the FZ-10, Bob, has made me appreciate even more how I need to push the FZ-20 to the limits. Your pictures are simply awesome!

What is slightly funny is that I spent about 18 months working on and off in Leeds up to the middle of last year and never had a camera with me! The opportunities I missed...

Thanks for the feedback, Bob

Carl

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

02/21/2006 01:19:41 PM · #7

Concentrate on #10 and then buy what you realize you need most.

robs

Canon EOS R6 Mk II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/21/2006 01:52:41 PM · #8

While the advice to stick with the current camera until your skills need more hardware is seriously sound advice, there is the hobby part about this as well for most.

If it's a hobby and you have the cash & desire to upgrade, I would not necessarily wait until you know all the features of the current camera.

Would getting some new hardware......

- Make you want to go out shooting more?
- What do you shoot now that is hard and how better would this be with new hardware?
- How annoying are the limitations you are against now (just in an area or two not everything)?

To be honest, there are a lot of things that my old film camera does in other people hands that are far better than my skill but is that a reason to stick with my old film camera? :-)

Just jumping on the other side for no real reason, so you can blame me when your other half sees the bill :-)

KiwiShotz

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

02/21/2006 02:00:22 PM · #9

Originally posted by obsidian:

I made a set of decisions about my gear and would welcome any comments you may have as to the validaity of the choices or ideas.
1. Stick with the FZ-20 until I have realised all of its limitations and *really* need to upgrade to something else

Carl, I'm going to be shamelessly biased here and back you holding onto your FZ-20 too. My partner has just bought the FZ-30, while I lust after the great new controls on her camera, photographically I wouldn't upgrade mine for it (dpreview agrees).

The reason of course is the lens. There's nothing else you can buy anywhere at any price that gives you f2.8 at 432mm. You and I don't have to swap lenses, we don't have sensor dust, we can shoot wide angle & super-zoom in the same breath and we can do it in low light fast lens territory that others are spending many thousands of dollars to try and achieve.

Sure, it's not the perfect camera but to me it's close. The boundaries that will probably force me to change eventually are still a long way off yet. They're probably, being forced to submit larger than 5mpix files to stock sites, needing more than 8sec shutter and being able to stop down more than f8.0.

At the moment, I believe this camera allows me to take better photos and be a better photographer than anything else I could buy. It's abilities still far outweigh mine.

Brett

Message edited by author 2006-02-21 14:02:33.

02/21/2006 02:03:04 PM · #10

Originally posted by LoudDog:

Concentrate on #10 and then buy what you realize you need most.

Ah! The proof of the pudding is really in the eating. I am a little surprised that I put taking pictures last now I look back at the post...