Photography Discussion Thread

yes ill keep the thread alive .. im on a steep learning curve at the moment and is always looking for information to help me improve my self,

i think if you moving to a longer lens like a 75-300 then maybe a nikon/canon is the better option. i have played with a 4/3rds and i like them but i much prefer the dslr cameras.. i would say go canon as im not a fan of nikon lenses but seen as ur miss had a d3000 then it would be the better choice cus you can buy her a lens for xmas and use it as well

i have used a few of them mate... i find that their all the same or their abouts.. i have used the circular ones only their are a few types.. i have a hoya and a cheep £8.99 ebay no banded one and their exactly the same interms of performance so i would say ebay a cheapish one... BUT if you intend to buy ND filters then i would highly recommend buying good brands as ive tried alot of types and some are awful and leave green/colour tingers to the images

 

Well ive invested in the wifes nikon more so than me...Im just getting started and I expect to use a mid range before I get the pro $1k+ camera bodies. Whats funny is I bought me e-410 and the 2 stock lenses for a whopping 250 bucks last year...I practically have nothing invested and could easily get that back out of it (thanks craigslist)....in fact the $400 75-300 lens would be 150% more than my camera costs me...and when I compared the nikon equivalent it was about 100 bucks cheaper so thats why Im more prepared to switch. A little over a year ago I was about to buy a sony alpha or a d3000\d5000 when the craigslist deal came up that I couldnt pass.

I do like the olympus colors are more accurate and natural but the AF is not the smartest and in low light it hates me and the lens are $$$$ with very little selection..
I guess if I go nikon and cost is a factor...should I go with an older used model with less MP and higher end vs a mid entry like a d5000?

Thanks,

 

if you go Nikon, get a used D90. there's no other camera that's matches it for price/performance. it has built in focusing, so you can use other lenses like the 50mm 1.8 wich wont autofocus
on entry level dslr's like your wife's D3000, and it's an all around GREAT camera. trust me, there is no point in buying a anything less than a D90 because soon you'll be wanting more.
i went from a D40 to a D5000 and now im on a D300.


if you do go nikon, i recommend the 18-55mm VR(yes it's a kit lens, but its pretty sharp) 50mm 1.8/1.4(depends on wich you like better) and 70-300mm VR.

 

On amazon the body is 660 used and 379 for the 70-300VR used...grand total of 1039 dollars. Not too bad at all.

 

if you're going to buy used, i suggest you either buy locally from craigslist or from these sites:

usedcameras.com
adorama.com
www.keh.com


here's a D90 for $617
http://www.usedcameras.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=163409


and if you dont mind spending a bit more, here's a D300:
http://www.usedcameras.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=159806

 

lol we need to be on page 2 asap this is getting hella big to load on a phone browser...

VICTORY!!!

 

i turn pictures off on the phone browser unless someone comments on one then i reload with them

ps ive been looking at alot of my studio work and now people have pointed it out i have been going for the low key lighting side of thing but been failing as ive been using light backgrounds.. so it looks like i have alot of black shadows ect.. im going to take aload of studio shots and try to eliminate all shadows for the next few attempt's

 

any thoughts on cheap studio lighting? here is a kit with 3 180W monolights with stands, softboxes, umbrellas, barndoor and filters, wireless trigger, all for $270!

Obviously this wouldn't rival high end equipment, but would it work to get started?

 

This is a great little kit and VERY similar to the one i started out with (still got it in fact) before getting my Bowens set up.
You will get some great shots and have fun with that kit.

 

i have a kit very similar mate they will do you great to learn with and advance ur skills... god luck

 

Just wanted to put up a mini review here
I bought myself a 17-70 OS from sigma the other day as an upgrade from my kit lens which I wasn't using because I hate the build quality, and I have to say that for a $450 lens, the sigma is definitely worth it. Anyone looking for a general walkabout lens and is considering something along the lines of a 17-50 or the 15-85 should definitely factor the sigma into their decision.
It may not be the sharpest lens around, in fact at some focals wide open the 18-55 IS beats it (though that might be user error or my copy, since I only did 1 quick, very unscientific test), but when stopping down even by 2/3rds of a stop, this thing is pretty darned sharp. It also has a good compromise between the constant 2.8 aperture of the 17-50's and the range of the 15-85, since it goes from f2.8-4, and it can focus down to about 4cm from the front element at 70mm which gives you a lot of creative options, with a 1:2.7 macro capability
It has rounded aperture blades, which is an often overlooked feature, so you can get nice round bokeh balls even when stopped down, but it has "fake" HSM in that the focus ring turns when using AF, which is a bit of a disappointment, but something I can easily live with. On the subject of the autofocus, it is still HSM, so its decently quick, and quiet, definitely faster than regular AF motors, though this cheaper version is not as quiet nor as quick as true HSM. It is however, VERY accurate, even where light is lacking, I've never had it miss focus (well, once, but I was trying to focus on a black subject against a black background, in low light, so any lens would have missed)
The build quality is very nice, as I've come to expect from sigma, much nicer than any EF-s lens I've tried (come on canon, up your game). And it comes with a nice hood as with all sigma lenses.
The OS works pretty well, though on my copy I've noticed that it tends to make my viewfinder meander a little bit, most noticeably when I'm using some type of support e.g. leaning against a wall to steady myself, not that this affects my shooting in any way, but it will have to be turned off when on a tripod.
My copy doesn't exhibit any zoom creep, but some people have had that, and sigma provides a zoom lock in case of creep, so thats all good.

Why did I pick this over the 17-50 2.8 and the 15-85?
I didn't like the range of my 18-55 very much, I often found I wanted more reach, so the 17-50 was out, and I have my 30 1.4 if I need a low light/fast aperture lens. The 15-85 was tempting, especially on the wide end, but at almost double the price of the sigma, and with a 3.5-5.6 aperture, without a lens hood included, and with EF-s build quality, I decided I'd rather get the cheaper sigma which is not quite, but almost as good, and more than good enough for what I intend to use it for, and to sum up, it was the best compromise between price, build quality, aperture, image quality, and range.
And here are a few sample pics (just a couple because this is a discussion thread) neither of the images has been edited in any way save exposure/cropping/noise reduction. No sharpening has been applied.:

IMG_5226 by noobographer, on Flickr


82of365 by noobographer, on Flickr

 

Very nice review, Sirrith. I'm glad you posted because I thought your shots looked great in the "I'm proud" thread. I'm a noob to the world of dslrs, having just picked up a t3i/600d, an EF-S 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 and EF 50mm f/1.8 prime lens.

I've been on an info deep-dive as of late, reading books and forums, watching countless videos, and most importantly practicing every day just to get a handle on exposure fundamentals and good control over my shots.

Keep up the discussion, fellas - my ears are open.

 

good stuff keep it up...lego jones has a long journey ahead.

 

Thanks The 15-85 is a great lens no doubt, especially for a 5.7x zoom, lots of stuff you can learn by using it. Practice is IMO the most important thing, much more important than equipment, so keep it up!

haha yeah, almost at 100 now though! hopefully I won't give up before the end.

 

@sirrith
i really like ur creativity mate. good job love the pics


been pissing about and i kinda like these wbu?

 

im not a fan of black and white with selective color haha.

 

i got the idea from those newyork taxi prints every ones has now days lol

 

raaaaah, I was so ready to get a Nikon D5100 body later, but now I find that the video function doesn't have manual controls...wtf. So I really want to get into DSLR short film and now Nikon doesn't have anything else that can do 1080P at 30FPS. Now some would say thats no big deal but I think action scenes where I want to slow down the speed of a scene, the extra frames would add to the smoothness of the video.
Now I might switch to Canon. Their cameras can even do 60FPS at 720P. I guess I would be looking at a T3i?
I was set on a D7000 a while back, but honestly I don't need all those extra functions. It's like how I don't like cars with all these fancy electronic interiors and buttons. I'm perfectly fine with roll up windows and I don't even need leather seats, sun roof, or fancy gauges. The D5100 was almost perfect for what I needed. I basically need a Kalashnikov equivalent of a camera.

 

If you want a kalashnikov for a camera mine probably is comparable to sasha gray...(small,nasty, gets the job done on the cheap) lol.

 

FULMTL:

Here's a link to some excellent tips and tutorials: http://vimeo.com/videoschool/archive/dslr