Advice/Questions on buying Cameras & Accessories MkII. **Please read OP first**

PCPhoto

hmmmm .... where to start ?

...... Do you need a DSLR ? Do you want to learn about photography, take photos of yourself, friends or family... on nights out, at family events like weddings, christenings etc.

DSLR's are usually* for people with an interest in photography who want to control the camera settings and have found that a compact camera or bridge camera is just not capable of doing the job.

* = of course there's always some people who want to buy them thinking they will improve their photography and those that purchase simply because they have the money and others because well.. because they have their own reasons.

dinneenp

KierKenn wrote: »

Hi there,

Would be great to get some advice on a camera that I am considering buying. Looking mainly for a camera that will catch family moments (young children growing up fast, etc!).

Saw this one and thought the two lens were good value (could to some landscape stuff for fun):


CANON EOS 1100D Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and 75-300 mm F4-5.6 III lenses

Camera is mainly to catch family moments, holidays, family photos, etc.

Any advice is appreciated

k

Do you want it just to catch family moments as easily as possible? Or do you want to 'get into photogrpahy' as well?
If the former then I'd say get a good 'all rounder', pocketable camera. Loads to choose from. Do you want/need a long zoom?
If the latter then I'd say an enthusiast compact-

• Canon Powershot S100 (or any earlier model)
• Canon G1X (newer version of G12)
• Panasonic Lumix LX5 (or any earlier model)
• Samsung EX1
• Fujifilm X10

broadbanddub

Hi I want the camera to take pictures of family, friends, but mostly landscapes, buildings.

I have been using a normal camera but always seems to be lacking something, would like to be able to adjust it, to look more amazing, to be able to zoom in more.

Might go down the second hand route, 600D is very expensive

Placebo

you cant zoom with SLR cameras, by that i mean, theres no digital zoom. You will need a specific zoom lens, or a mutli focal lens, they themselves have different aperture rates and their prices vary vastly.

broadbanddub

yeah I know you need a lens to focus, I thought 18-55 standard lens, would be good enough just for doing landscapes, and maybe close up of a bird or anything right beside me. I just want starter camera, my last camera only *3 opitcal zoom was not great

PCPhoto

to adjust it ?? if you want to adjust the image you use post processing tools like photoshop or GIMP (Free)...or similar.

and as has been mentioned to get better "zoom" with a DSLR you need to purchase different lenses.....if you have spare money ...invest in a secondhand one and if its not what you expected...sell it on (hopefully at a slight loss or no loss)

Doing landscapes usually involves other purchases ...filters, tripod, remote releases .... now that I think of it ... most aspects of photography involve extra purchases !! (best of luck with it)

zero19

broadbanddub wrote: »

yeah I know you need a lens to focus, I thought 18-55 standard lens, would be good enough just for doing landscapes, and maybe close up of a bird or anything right beside me. I just want starter camera, my last camera only *3 opitcal zoom was not great

A bridge camera might suit you? Cheaper than a DSLR and fairly versatile, image quality won't be as good but you can still get great photos. I guess it all depends on how serious you want to get into photography/how much money you're willing to spend.

Kenny Logins

broadbanddub wrote: »

yeah I know you need a lens to focus, I thought 18-55 standard lens, would be good enough just for doing landscapes, and maybe close up of a bird or anything right beside me. I just want starter camera, my last camera only *3 opitcal zoom was not great

You might find that buying a DSLR is just the beginning, you can keep adding to that initial budget indefinitely.

broadbanddub

Hi What would be a good bridge camera? I just want versatile camera, which is better than a compact camera

Effects

Panasonic LX5

dinneenp

broadbanddub wrote: »

Hi What would be a good bridge camera? I just want versatile camera, which is better than a compact camera

this is a bit old, end 2010 but it's a good, detailed Super Zoom group test by DPreview.com
Joint winners: Panasonic FZ35 (FZ38) and Canon SX20 IS, full details in link above

youcancallmeal

I've been looking to get a half decent camera because I'm getting sick of the quality on my old Canon pas. I'm also getting married and going on honeymoon soon so would like have some nice photos of my own to remember it. I've had my eye on the Sony nex-c3 since reading good reviews. Seems a little more portable than a full size DSLR which helps. I'm going to be in Dusseldorf soon and its fairly reasonably priced at fotokoch for the two lense package?

Anyone think this is a good or bad idea? Would there be a better choice for the price maybe?

Liquor Out

Hi all.
I'm looking for advice on buying a second hand video camera.

I need it to record football matches so it needs to be better than your standard hand held cameras but obviously not as good as a broadcast camera.

I'm looking on advise on what I should be buying on e-bay or if anybody has one to sell Id be interested.

This is the type of quality that I'm interested in. Audio is not important.

I've no idea what camera was used above.

Would appreciate any assistance.

Ballyman

What kind of budget are you looking at? That footage you linked to has at least two camera setups if not more. I presume you are mor interested in the wide angle footage of the game rather than the close in shots of the players??

A Canon 550D or 600D will get you HD broadcast quality images for about €500. Stick a Sigma 24-70mm lens on the front of it for another €500 and you have a camera capable of the quality of a hollywood movie Seriously!

However it's all manual mode so you can't just press record and expect that kind of quality without knowing what you are doing. It also can't autofocus but if you use a reasonably small aperture and you are videoing from the top of the roof of the stand then everything will be in focus anyway.

Liquor Out

Many thanks for the reply.
I'm pretty sure the video above was shot using only 1 camera however it could have been top of the range cam.
€1000 is a bit out of my budget. Was more looking at half that.

I would need a video out put, which I presume all cameras would have, as ths live match will be displayed direct onto a screen.

Would appreciate more suggestions.

Ballyman

You're probably right, i only watched a few seconds of it and there were different camera zooms but the sound was consistent so it's been edited in.

For €500 you'll do well to get a camera never mind a lens. You might be able to get some kind of camcorder that would be of use but I have no idea of model or quality. You'll also need a tripod and fluid head to get smooth coverage which will set you back another €100 minimum.

Are you familiar with video cameras and their workings etc?? If you want footage similar to above then you need to understand that it's not a case of "here is a camera and press record". There is a lot of equipment and knowledge required to get it right.

Liquor Out

Thanks Ballyman, appreciate the replies.

thegalavanter

Hi All,

I'm looking for the best camera I can get for travel photography. Obviously the smaller the better but I want quality too. Therefore, I'm looking at micro 4/3" cameras. Video is more important to me than picture for several reasons, but I do want a good stills camera too.

With no particular budget other than an approach of spend as little as possible (hopefully under €600) thats what I'm aiming for. I love the Panasonic GH2 on paper, but I was advised against the basic 14-42mm lens with people saying "it doesn't do it justice". Therefore I looked at the 14-140mm, but the price is crazy at £949 from Amazon.co.uk. I even had a look at the GH1 with the same lens for about £700. I'm thinking that might be a better deal, but still expensive.

I even considered the Canon 600D, but I don't want a big and heavy DSLR when traveling. I do love the fact it records in .mov though. Panasonics cameras record in AVCHD with is terrible for editing with. I have also looked at the cheaper model 4/3" cameras, but the only so called Full HD modes they have are 1080i and not '1080p' and from experience I really hate the way a 1080i image looks.

What I want (need?) is simple. I want 1080p at 24fps or 25fps and it must have manual focus. I'm almost resigned to the fact I'll have to buy a camera with AVCHD, but .mov would be the business. Has anyone any suggestions because I'm thinking theres nothing out there at the moment and maybe I should wait for the GH3 so the GH2 comes down in price. Thanks for any suggestions.

PCPhoto

canon g12 or Gx ..... might do (maybe)

Billyum

Hey guys, just looking for a bit of advice here, always had an interest in photography, have a digital camera which is now broken, so i want to buy my first shutter camera and i need a few suggestions cuz iv no clue what im lookin for....iv no more than €400 to spend, ill need one because im joining tho photography soc when uni starts back!:-)

Cheers!!

pixbyjohn

Have a look on www.adverts.ie for secondhand.
This camera is there now, I have no connection with seller
http://www.adverts.ie/digital-cameras/canon-eos-300d-28-90mm-ef-lens/1253429

MiskyBoyy

thegalavanter wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm looking for the best camera I can get for travel photography. Obviously the smaller the better but I want quality too. Therefore, I'm looking at micro 4/3" cameras. Video is more important to me than picture for several reasons, but I do want a good stills camera too.

With no particular budget other than an approach of spend as little as possible (hopefully under €600) thats what I'm aiming for. I love the Panasonic GH2 on paper, but I was advised against the basic 14-42mm lens with people saying "it doesn't do it justice". Therefore I looked at the 14-140mm, but the price is crazy at £949 from Amazon.co.uk. I even had a look at the GH1 with the same lens for about £700. I'm thinking that might be a better deal, but still expensive.

I even considered the Canon 600D, but I don't want a big and heavy DSLR when traveling. I do love the fact it records in .mov though. Panasonics cameras record in AVCHD with is terrible for editing with. I have also looked at the cheaper model 4/3" cameras, but the only so called Full HD modes they have are 1080i and not '1080p' and from experience I really hate the way a 1080i image looks.

What I want (need?) is simple. I want 1080p at 24fps or 25fps and it must have manual focus. I'm almost resigned to the fact I'll have to buy a camera with AVCHD, but .mov would be the business. Has anyone any suggestions because I'm thinking theres nothing out there at the moment and maybe I should wait for the GH3 so the GH2 comes down in price. Thanks for any suggestions.

How about this?

http://www.buy4now.ie/sammccauley/aspx/productdetail.aspx?pid=7071&loc=P&catid=62.17.2

*Not sure there is manual focus on this camera though*

M5

Hi,

does anyone know of a point and shoot that will continuously shoot on a timer(either internal or external)

Im need something for a project. I need the camera to shoot unattended every 10 seconds of so for about an hour

Oh and as cheap as possible

Cheers
M5

hbr

M5 wrote: »

Hi,

does anyone know of a point and shoot that will continuously shoot on a timer(either internal or external)

Im need something for a project. I need the camera to shoot unattended every 10 seconds of so for about an hour

Oh and as cheap as possible

Cheers
M5

Any Canon P&S supported by CHDK should be able to do it.

http://timelapseblog.com/2009/07/06/install-a-chdk-intervalometer-on-your-powershot/

Roomic Cube

Howya lads and ladies,

I've been shooting for a good long time with my 30d, and I've used many different lenses, but they were never my own.

I've still only got the crappy little kit lens and I'm sick of it, so I ask of you, what is a decent all rounder of a lens?

sebphoto

Roomic Cube wrote: »

Howya lads and ladies,

I've been shooting for a good long time with my 30d, and I've used many different lenses, but they were never my own.

I've still only got the crappy little kit lens and I'm sick of it, so I ask of you, what is a decent all rounder of a lens?

Actually it depends from your personal preferences and type of photography you like. Some ppl love 35mm, some other 24mm, but you'll also find those who won't go out without 70-200mm.

MiskyBoyy

Hello all,
I'm pretty new to SLR photography.
Currently, I have a Nikon D5000 with only the stock Nikkor 18mm - 105mm lens.
What would be the next lens purchase I should make?
My main interest is landscape/seascape photography so what lens would be best for this, keeping in mind I'm not the most well off and would prefer a budget lens but I would also like to hear suggestions to a more expensive lens & why I should splash out the extra bit for that if that's the case.
Also, I see people's favourite lens are 24mm & 35mm a lot of the time so what would you mainly use these for/what are they best for?

pixbyjohn

Have a look at this
http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-landscape-lens.html

MiskyBoyy

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Have a look at this
http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-landscape-lens.html

Thanks John, I checked out the 'Tokina AF12-24mm F/4 AT-X PRO DX' lens they said was best for Nikon landscape photography.

That gives me an idea where to start but I am also interested in what everyone else suggests if they could give me their insight, thanks

Hogzy

DaLad wrote: »

Thanks John, I checked out the 'Tokina AF12-24mm F/4 AT-X PRO DX' lens they said was best for Nikon landscape photography.

That gives me an idea where to start but I am also interested in what everyone else suggests if they could give me their insight, thanks

Also consider the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6
Its cheaper than the Tokina and is very highly regarded given its price.

Ken ROckwell does a good comparison