Newbie Gear - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

04/28/2002 05:03:26 PM · #4

If I read your post right you already own the camera?

If that is the case then just spend some time learning how to handle the camera.

Many elements that go into good photography can be done with a pinhole camera made from an oatmeal box.

Composition..The arrangement can make a boring shot great by just getting the right elements grouped together..You can learn compostion with any camera.

Contrast...Digital cameras of all ilk can get great contrast because they have fantastic light sensitivity and depth of field. No need for fancy digital to get this right.

Color. Certain colors just work and make an image pop. As you have found out digital really helps here as well even on your 1.3 megapixel camera.

Compelling...Does the image tell a story. Once again..no fancy camera will help you here.

To enter content here you are limited to 640x480 pixels which is usually best preserved at 100 dpi meaning a 6.4 inch x 4.8 inch picture is what you are taking. That is very low resolution in picture in photography terms but very common on the net. Your camera will be fine for that kind of image size.

I say that if you get a couple months down the line and find yourself compelled by this new hobby then go out and buy a new 5 megapixel wondercamera for about $700.

Is you new camera limiting? Yes but only to people who really KNOW what they need and feel comfortable working with the controls. And as you mentioned..photoshop will allow you to make enough modifications to your images to offset the limititations in the majority of your pictures.

I have owned film SLR's for over 20 years and knew I wanted about 300 x 300 dpi at 5 x 7 at least so I needed about 3.5 million pixels to get this output.

With a 1.5 million pixel camera a 5 x 7 will go at about 200 dpi or a 3 x 5 at about 300 dpi. Enough to spend all your free time photographing the world..:-)

vin rigby

Panasonic DMC-FZ30

04/28/2002 05:21:20 PM · #5

Sorry if these posts are confusing you bullseye, just read them and take what you want and dump the rest, I still think you are going to be limited with your present equipment if you want to give yourself a chance in the challenges.

mykoleary

Nikon D3300

04/28/2002 05:50:52 PM · #6

Originally posted by vin rigby:
Sorry if these posts are confusing you bullseye, just read them and take what you want and dump the rest, I still think you are going to be limited with your present equipment if you want to give yourself a chance in the challenges.

I disagree. I think the only challenge limitng those with lower end cameras was the outdoor macro. If you nail what Hokie said (composition, compellingnes, etc...) you have just as much a shot to win here as anyone else. Just hope that you don't enter your best shot ever in the same challenge that Joshua Li enters... =)

04/28/2002 06:00:23 PM · #7

I'm not sure I got the impression this fella is talking about being competitive in the challenge area. At least it didn't seem that was foremost in his mind for the moment.

I got the idea he was a newbie to photography with a newly aquired digicam.

I agree 100% that cracking the top rungs in the challenge around here will be helped immensely by top gear.

Macro and Telephoto options and the greater resolution of higher end gear will help a lot.....but....

I have seen some incredible shots like the beautiful water drop (3rd place) was taken with a 1.9 meg fuji and the great roller coaster shot was done with a 2 meg Oly.

But I got the impression he already owned the camera and just needed some friendly support for his new hobby :-)

If he were buying all new gear I agree that a more advanced camera will pay big dividends as he gains confidence.

A Canon G2 offers the choice to add supplemental lenses, easy menu's and has wonderful picture quality. The Sony F707 has incredible clarity and a nice fast zoom. The Nikon 9xx's are impressive in the macro. And on and on.

Maybe a cheap (meaning lower end, under $200) camera lets someone figure out if they have the interest in photography to justify spending more money and what brand/features meets their particular interest best. Especially that prices will dive down in the next couple months as new prosumer 5 megapixel cameras hit the streets in force.

I suggest visiting the Digital Photography review forums..

...//www.dpreview.com/..

For more extensive discussions about camera gear.

And as Vin suggested take what you need and don't take any of it as gospel.

i3ullseye

Olympus Brio D-150

04/28/2002 06:03:59 PM · #8

Thanks, all good info so far. I did not expect this camera to be a do-all-end-all. The wife will likely Inheret it this coming fall as I move of to a 4Meg or higher. This is one of those hobbies I have always wanted to get into, but never had the money. Now that I actually have some cash from time to time (and taking Pics of kids justifies it to the wife) I am certain this will become one of my more engrossing passtimes.

So please keep the good info coming in. I can already sense that basic control is what I want. Shutter, ISO, etc....

And if i get too frustrated, I will just register under the name Joshua Li and gloat! :)

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

04/28/2002 06:25:01 PM · #9

Never underestimate the power of having the significant other fooled into ...errmm..I mean ...confident that your new hobby can help THEM as well..:-)

I have a nice film rig but the prospect of having the wife being able to see the photos instantaneously (plus having many film images ruined by one hour photo shops she visited) helped to soften the impact of a new digicam.

Plus, My Canon G2 is idiot proof compared to my mainly manual film Nikon rig. My wife had no interest at all in learning the myriad of controls needed to take the occasional photo.

Now..she can grab the camera, point and click and have a nice photo in minutes AND I can get into the cool features a higher end digicam has to offer.

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

04/28/2002 07:04:01 PM · #10

Originally posted by magnetic9999:
how much do u wanna spend?

....??????

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

04/28/2002 07:30:03 PM · #11

I recommend the Sony DSC-S75 or S85 depending on how much you want to spend... My general rule of thumb is just like a suggestion for a new computer... Buy as much as you can afford and it will be that much longer until you have to upgrade again... I'm not too experienced with brands other than Sony and I'm sure you will get some suggestion for lots of brands... These two models (3mp and 4mp) have all the functionality you need...

Originally posted by i3ullseye:
Ok, i am new to photography, but an old hat to computers and digital imaging, so i may be coming at this a bit backward than many others here. Just recently got a decent point and shoot camera and I am loving it. i have always wanted to get into photography, and now that I have the camera I carry it wherever I go. Never had so many Pics of my kids before....

But heres the real question.

The camera is our basic 1.3 Megapixel. It has a decent 3X zoom, and the colors come through very nice (it is an Olympus D150), but there are many more control options I woudl like to have. Coming from the computer side first, I still think I can compensate for MANY camera shortcomings in Photoshop. Cranking out a couble of hundred snaps a day, and actually trying to compose 15 to 50 photos (see, i can learn the difference :) ) I think the 1.3 will be great for family events and actually learning more.

But is it enough?

So what i want is reccommendations. Is this good enough gear to learn with? Will i be limiting myself? What should I try to aquire?

So to sum up... for all your experience photographers out there....

In todays market, what would you reccomend as a goopd starter rig?

i3ullseye

Olympus Brio D-150

04/28/2002 08:14:39 PM · #12

Right now I spent about 220, and I have a decent little 1.3 meg camera, the * meg card that came with it, a mini tripod, an extra 128 Meg card.... and a little USB Card reader (these are a must have for battery life!).

I expect I will put about $600 or so in at a later date, and probably pick a camera that will use the same memory cards.

Current magazines list my camera at $400 MSRP, and I paid $150. Can't wait to see how low prices are this fall.

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

04/29/2002 06:19:13 AM · #13

oh yeah, for that much money you will definitely be able to get something good, with the features that vin and others have recommended. but specific models change so much, and there is so much personal preference in there too, that I'd be hesitant to recommend anything until the time frame you're ready to act. The suggestions about the sites for researching are good ones, esp dpreview.com, and I'd also check cnet.com and see what their editor's choice cameras are. Probably the most successful most lauded cameras of this past year, though, have been the canon powershot G2 and the sony f707. However, last I checked, the f707 was retailing for around $900. Last year, the Sony DSC70 got top pic on pcphotoreview.com, with the sharpest lens of any digital camera, and that was significantly less expensive, and it's been superceded by the 75 and 85. The only thing I don't like about the sony's are the small size of their proprietary media, and don't work with a lot of pro 3rd party gear, if you ever want to expand in that direction. Which is too bad because their image quality is incredible. Ah, to be searching for a new camera again ..

Originally posted by i3ullseye:
Right now I spent about 220, and I have a decent little 1.3 meg camera, the * meg card that came with it, a mini tripod, an extra 128 Meg card.... and a little USB Card reader (these are a must have for battery life!).

I expect I will put about $600 or so in at a later date, and probably pick a camera that will use the same memory cards.

Current magazines list my camera at $400 MSRP, and I paid $150. Can't wait to see how low prices are this fall.