Buying an SLR camera and need advice

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Stunning photos, CT64 ... absolutely beautiful and so full of colour and detail.
You truly live in a beautiful place.
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Sydney is a stunning beautiful city. And thanks, I enjoy photography, and now I've got a half decent camera my enjoyment is manifold.

My tip: if it's overcast, don't bother taking photos, blue sky: perfect.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
CT64,

Great to hear that you enjoy photography ... I've shot lots of color transparency film over the years (many years ago at that). Always had fun doing that and creating different effects, "framing" picturesque spots with branches and leaves of a bush.
One can be as creative as they want ... and these days we no longer have to wait the week for development time. Pretty cool ...

I've picked the DSLR I want ... and can afford ... Nikon D40 with 18-55mm lens and adding the 55-200mm lens too. That one will suit my needs fairly well ... and it has great reviews ... But I'll certainly check out the Olympus line, too.
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
I went Olympus because it's the most compact SLR to date. Meaning you don't need to lug around a midget sized monster. Simple. Also, being SLR and Olympus I can, later add on lenses up to super zoom, "capturing the nipple on a supermodel a mile away" will be no problem.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Ya better get an expensive tripod for that ... :lol:

I don't mind lugging around monsters ... whenever I go on vacation trips or scenic ventures, I always take my 35mm (film) camera, my Sony Hi8 Handycam, my tall tripod, extra film, extra blank vid tape, batteries and such. Hell, before I had the Sony Handycam, I used a full sized VHS Vid cam with two lenses.

Soon enough, I'll add a DSLR to the mix - probably will dispense with the 35mm film unit then, although the shooting of color transparencies of long distance scenery is hard to beat when projected on a large screen. Something about that "depth of field" that's missing in a two dimensional print, although viewing photos on my PC's 19" Flat panel LCD screen is pretty terrific, too.
 

marval

New member
Hi CT

Some lovely photos there, well done.

A good camera and a beautiful place.


Margaret
 

greatcyber

New member
CT,
The clarity is amazing! Can't wait to see more as time goes by.

I took a 30 minute video of South Korea's fireworks exhibit on Saturday but since we were so close, there is too much flare at the ground level. I'm trying to see if I can use digital filtering to clean it up and post a link to it. This Saturday I'll use the filter on the lens. If that doesn't work out well then next week we'll try from farther away.

Stephen
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
More Pics

As promised, some more photos, including "Trim" my favourite bronze statue of Matthew Flinder's cat, poor thing got left behind and (as the legend goes) died of sadness at his master's absence ...

1) a gorgeous little bridge in the Botanical Gardens 2) "Trim" and 3) Sydney Tower peeking through some trees in Hyde Park
 

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
Contra, have you taken any photos with a circular polariser yet?
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Mat - no not yet - I'm still very much grappling with my new technology. I must do more research and find out the "ideal" situation to use it. I did have the U.V. filter on at the time.
 

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
It'd be nice to see the diffrence between a picture taken with and without the polariser. So, the next time you've got opportunity...
 

James McFadyen

New member
I work for a major high street retailer and I specialize in the photographic section.

If budget is an issue you should consider the Olympus e-410. It's gone clearance now but is a great DSLR and very decent quality lens.

Going for something a little more current, you've got the Olympus e-420 and e-520, although I would recommend the Canon 450D. This is new and Canon currently has a £50 cashback it. It comes with a standard 18-55mm image stabalizing lens.

Then you've got the Sony alpha range, eg the a200 and a300 are good mid range DSLR's that are packed full of features, surprising good lens.

The Nikon range (D40 and D60) are worth considering, but TBH, go for the D60 as it is 10 megapixels. The D40 is only 6.

If going for the D60, go for the VR option (Vibration Reduction). Unlike compact digital's, most DSLR's have the vibration reduction (anti-shake) in the lens (not the body like the Sony's). the VR being in the lens means you get a faster and sharper focus - great for those action shots. On Canon DSLR's it is called "Image Stabalizer". There is also cashback on the Nikon's(£40 for the D40 and £60 for the D60)

Hope this helps a bit.
 
Top