[quote=“bob_honest”]
Ah yes, wife wants a small video camera, as the Sony Alpha 850 does not have video… :p[/quote]
Ohh check out the Sanyo Xacti. LOVE this camera…http://sanyo.com/xacti/english/products/vpc_hd2000/index.html
Thank you! She was nagging I wouldn’t search one for her. Me and MY camera, searching for days.
HER camera, and I am doing nothing. Now I can pretend I searched it for her.
:discodance:
[quote=“bob_honest”]Thank you! She was nagging I wouldn’t search one for her. Me and MY camera, searching for days.
HER camera, and I am doing nothing. Now I can pretend I searched it for her.
:discodance:[/quote]
You’re welcome.
Look, I’m frustrated with my research for a DSLR. :s I guess I kinda of want someone to give me a definitive “get this camera” advice but also
all this stuff on DSLRs is confusing. Why would I need settings for sports, landscape and etc? None of that comes with 35mm cameras.
So what’s a girl to do? I’m looking for a user/beginner-friendly camera. One that will grow with me but not have me confused when
I use it. I want to be able to control the settings like I would on a regular film camera so that I learn how to eventually become self-reliant
photog. I don’t want to pay $699 for point and shoot camera. Capice?
If anyone can weigh in and help me thru the confusion of understanding what to consider when starting on this road I would be OOOH
to grateful.
Thanks
[quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“bob_honest”]Thank you! She was nagging I wouldn’t search one for her. Me and MY camera, searching for days.
HER camera, and I am doing nothing. Now I can pretend I searched it for her.
:discodance:[/quote]
You’re welcome.
Look, I’m frustrated with my research for a DSLR. :s I guess I kinda of want someone to give me a definitive “get this camera” advice but also
all this stuff on DSLRs is confusing. Why would I need settings for sports, landscape and etc? None of that comes with 35mm cameras.
So what’s a girl to do? I’m looking for a user/beginner-friendly camera. One that will grow with me but not have me confused when
I use it. I want to be able to control the settings like I would on a regular film camera so that I learn how to eventually become self-reliant
photog. I don’t want to pay $699 for point and shoot camera. Capice?
If anyone can weigh in and help me thru the confusion of understanding what to consider when starting on this road I would be OOOH
to grateful.
Thanks[/quote]
Just about any DSLR these days will be more than enough, I think, as you can use any of them on M (manual) mode and just choose your shutter speed and aperture as you would with a film camera. The only differences, really, as size of the camera and size of the sensor. Choose your price limit and size limit, go to the camera shop and handle a few, see which one feels the best in your hands, and you can’t really go wrong.
[quote=“Poagao”][quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“bob_honest”]Thank you! She was nagging I wouldn’t search one for her. Me and MY camera, searching for days.
HER camera, and I am doing nothing. Now I can pretend I searched it for her.
:discodance:[/quote]
You’re welcome.
Look, I’m frustrated with my research for a DSLR. :s I guess I kinda of want someone to give me a definitive “get this camera” advice but also
all this stuff on DSLRs is confusing. Why would I need settings for sports, landscape and etc? None of that comes with 35mm cameras.
So what’s a girl to do? I’m looking for a user/beginner-friendly camera. One that will grow with me but not have me confused when
I use it. I want to be able to control the settings like I would on a regular film camera so that I learn how to eventually become self-reliant
photog. I don’t want to pay $699 for point and shoot camera. Capice?
If anyone can weigh in and help me thru the confusion of understanding what to consider when starting on this road I would be OOOH
to grateful.
Thanks[/quote]
Just about any DSLR these days will be more than enough, I think, as you can use any of them on M (manual) mode and just choose your shutter speed and aperture as you would with a film camera. The only differences, really, as size of the camera and size of the sensor. Choose your price limit and size limit, go to the camera shop and handle a few, see which one feels the best in your hands, and you can’t really go wrong.[/quote]
Camera size I get. But why does the sensor need to make a difference when I’m noob? :ohreally: 
Did sensors in 35 mm make a difference? I got the price limit (not a Mark II D range) but I’m reading about AF and spot metering and lenses and all of that. Where’s that “yay” smilie when you need to express confusion…
[quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“Poagao”][quote=“Namahottie”][quote=“bob_honest”]Thank you! She was nagging I wouldn’t search one for her. Me and MY camera, searching for days.
HER camera, and I am doing nothing. Now I can pretend I searched it for her.
:discodance:[/quote]
You’re welcome.
Look, I’m frustrated with my research for a DSLR. :s I guess I kinda of want someone to give me a definitive “get this camera” advice but also
all this stuff on DSLRs is confusing. Why would I need settings for sports, landscape and etc? None of that comes with 35mm cameras.
So what’s a girl to do? I’m looking for a user/beginner-friendly camera. One that will grow with me but not have me confused when
I use it. I want to be able to control the settings like I would on a regular film camera so that I learn how to eventually become self-reliant
photog. I don’t want to pay $699 for point and shoot camera. Capice?
If anyone can weigh in and help me thru the confusion of understanding what to consider when starting on this road I would be OOOH
to grateful.
Thanks[/quote]
Just about any DSLR these days will be more than enough, I think, as you can use any of them on M (manual) mode and just choose your shutter speed and aperture as you would with a film camera. The only differences, really, as size of the camera and size of the sensor. Choose your price limit and size limit, go to the camera shop and handle a few, see which one feels the best in your hands, and you can’t really go wrong.[/quote]
Camera size I get. But why does the sensor need to make a difference when I’m noob? :ohreally: Did sensors in 35 mm make a difference? I got the price limit (not a Mark II D range) but I’m reading about AF and spot metering and lenses and all of that. Where’s that “yay” smilie when you need to express confusion…[/quote]
It makes a difference because if you get less than full frame sensor, all the lenses you use won’t be their proper length. Full frame=35mm frame size, so a 35mm lens will still be a 35mm lens on a full frame DSLR. On a cropped sensor such as the 7D or 550D, you would multiply it by 1.6. So you’d need to get a 10-16mm lens to get the same coverage as a 16-35mm lens on a full-frame camera.
This probably doesn’t matter much to you, and a little less low-light performance and more depth of field probably won’t either. So any crop-sensored DSLR would do you fine, I’d expect. As I said, go to the camera shop and handle some models in your range, see which feels best, and you’d good to go. I hear the Canon 550D is very nice, but I’m also sure similar cameras from Nikon, Sony, Pentax etc. are very nice as well. You really can’t go wrong: “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” - Ansel Adams
[quote=“Poagao”]
This probably doesn’t matter much to you, and a little less low-light performance and more depth of field probably won’t either. So any crop-sensored DSLR would do you fine, I’d expect. As I said, go to the camera shop and handle some models in your range, see which feels best, and you’d good to go. I hear the Canon 550D is very nice, but I’m also sure similar cameras from Nikon, Sony, Pentax etc. are very nice as well. You really can’t go wrong: “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” - Ansel Adams[/quote]
No DOF does matter very much for me, the low light thingy maybe…I’ve been to the camera store and hounded everyone I see with a DSLR. I get the “comes down to personal taste” line and my eyes roll into the back of my head…Okay thanks for taking the time out to skool me. I’ll figure it out someday. 
A comparison diagram of sensor sizes can be found here, it’s obviously not to actual scale, but it gives you an idea of the difference between the various sensors
blog.tylerginter.com/wp-content/ … ize-11.gif
Any DSLR will have a massively bigger sensor than point and shoots, but sensor size alone doesn’t make for a great camera. I bought myself a Canon 500D last year, as I needed a camera for work, but looking at the kind of things I’m being asked to do now, I wish I’d gone for the Panasonic GH1.
The new micro 4/3 cameras are very convenient to carry around with you, although some people complain about the image quality, but a lot of this seems to be done to personal preference. The Canon 550D as well as the Nikon D5000 are meant to be good for low noise pictures, unless you’re looking at something much more professional. Sony has very affordable DSLR’s both in terms of cost and features. Their new NEX cameras are interesting, although the lenses are huge in comparison to the camera bodies.
The choice of lenses might also matter, but again, it depends what you want to do and what you’re shooting. For my needs the kit lenses have been good enough so far and I invested in a flash gun that seems to help a lot.
Anyhow, it’s not an easy choice to buy something this expensive, as it’s a big outlay and it’s something that’s going to have to last you a few years. I guess any of the big brands are safe bets, but some of the other brands offer some interesting features that the bigger brands lack.
There is no clear advice to say take that camera as long as you don’t know what you want to do and where you want to go with it in the future. A lot of the features of the more expensive models just help you as soon as you actually understand all this parameters, fullfram or croped, focal lenght depanding on if you shoot sports with closeups over further distance or landscape as a panorama, the pre-sets are usefull if you don’t want to think and learn too much but rather have a rought quick setting for that, etc.
My bet is that you should go with one of the cheaper models first, stick with a kit lense and learn the basics. Than upgrad the lenses to what you really need (wide-angle, tele-zoom, maybe a quick 50mm prime, etc.) and maybe some accessorie, learn to use it and than, when you reach the limits upgrade the body to something higher if you really need.
The advantages of them will just than come to use for you, like full frame sensor with less noise and higher resolution, quick access to settings from white balance, iso speed and stuff like that.
All of the bigger brands are fine, they all have a full option on lenses and it’s up to you which one of them you prefer on handling, etc. but usually if you are once sold to one brand you stick with it as you build up your lens sets and they are usually far more expensive than the bodies so changing the whole system is always rather a big pain.
What I like about the Sony Alpha 850 is the program shift. That’s traditionally a professional camera feature but very useful.
Imagine the Automatic (P) gives you 1/200s at f:4 but you take a photograph of a standing object where depth of field is important (like small structure 3m in front of big structure, you are close and both should be sharp).
Then with program shift you just turn the wheel and you can change to f:8 or whatever and the camera adjusts the shutter speed (1/60s or whatever) so you have the same amount of light on the photo.
You can also switch to A (aperture priority) setting, but that takes more work.
And damned, I missed a real bargain. Wanted to have the Minolta RD-175 digi cam in 1995, but couldn’t afford it. Now the price is down from $10.000 USD to almost nothing. :neutral:
1.75 mega pixel, that’s not so long ago…
As a professional photographer I consider myself limited to two systems, Canon or Nikon. This is for various reasons including high ISO performance, lens quality and selection, professional programs, etc. Therefore I can’t really comment on other brands, I’m sure they have some OK choices. For years Canon has reigned supreme with their dSLR’s. It wasn’t that long ago I honestly thought Nikon would go the way of the Dodo. Then along came their professional D3 body and that changed everything. Nikon is back in a big way.
There are pros and cons to crop vs full frame. Many sports and wildlife shooters swear by crop because their lenses give them more ‘reach’, 1.6x for Canon and 1.5x for Nikon (pro Canon 1Ds4 is 1.3x). Full frame most often has the advantage of better high ISO performance. Simply put, 12 megapixels are denser and smaller on a crop sensor than full frame. This translates to better signal to noise ratios; better high ISO on the full frame sensor.
Wide angle lenses also perform better on a full frame camera. To get a 16mm focal length on a crop camera you must use a 10mm lens. Wider focal lengths are more demanding on the glass and barrel distortion, vignetting, flare, are all more difficult to control in the lens design.
Nikon may have better wide angle lens lineup, maybe. Canon is easier on the wallet if you’re investing in super telephoto lenses. Or at least $7100USD for a Canon 400 f/2.8 lens is cheaper than $8900USD for the Nikon equivalent.
That said, you really can’t go wrong with Nikon or Canon. If you get serious about photography your allegiance to either brand after a while will largely depend on your investment in lenses. Both brands have better than acceptable high iso performance with the edge going to to Nikon D3 professional bodies. Canon absolutely reigns supreme with video capability, if that matters to you.
Build quality is excellent in either brand. Some will say the Canon 5D is ‘plasticky’ but I have no idea why. It’s got a magnesium chassis just like the Nikon cameras and my 4+ year old 5D has never missed a beat, though it’s been well beaten during multiple trips to India, Thailand, Cambodia, and my own home state of Oregon with it’s temperate rainforests.
Don’t worry about ‘sports’ mode or ‘portrait’ mode or any of those gimicky features. All dSLRs have the standard aperture and shutter priority modes as well as manual. Use one for a week and you won’t even know those other program modes exist. There are other useful features on modern dSLRs that you can grow into as you develop your skills.
And finally, your best and most lasting investment in photography equipment will be the lenses. Good glass is good glass and will last for years, far longer than a body.
[quote=“Shaktipalooza”]As a professional photographer I consider myself limited to two systems, Canon or Nikon. This is for various reasons including high ISO performance, lens quality and selection, professional programs, etc. Therefore I can’t really comment on other brands, I’m sure they have some OK choices. For years Canon has reigned supreme with their dSLR’s. It wasn’t that long ago I honestly thought Nikon would go the way of the Dodo. Then along came their professional D3 body and that changed everything. Nikon is back in a big way.
There are pros and cons to crop vs full frame. Many sports and wildlife shooters swear by crop because their lenses give them more ‘reach’, 1.6x for Canon and 1.5x for Nikon (pro Canon 1Ds4 is 1.3x). Full frame most often has the advantage of better high ISO performance. Simply put, 12 megapixels are denser and smaller on a crop sensor than full frame. This translates to better signal to noise ratios; better high ISO on the full frame sensor.
Wide angle lenses also perform better on a full frame camera. To get a 16mm focal length on a crop camera you must use a 10mm lens. Wider focal lengths are more demanding on the glass and barrel distortion, vignetting, flare, are all more difficult to control in the lens design.
Nikon may have better wide angle lens lineup, maybe. Canon is easier on the wallet if you’re investing in super telephoto lenses. Or at least $7100USD for a Canon 400 f/2.8 lens is cheaper than $8900USD for the Nikon equivalent.
That said, you really can’t go wrong with Nikon or Canon. If you get serious about photography your allegiance to either brand after a while will largely depend on your investment in lenses. Both brands have better than acceptable high iso performance with the edge going to to Nikon D3 professional bodies. Canon absolutely reigns supreme with video capability, if that matters to you.
Build quality is excellent in either brand. Some will say the Canon 5D is ‘plasticky’ but I have no idea why. It’s got a magnesium chassis just like the Nikon cameras and my 4+ year old 5D has never missed a beat, though it’s been well beaten during multiple trips to India, Thailand, Cambodia, and my own home state of Oregon with it’s temperate rainforests.
Don’t worry about ‘sports’ mode or ‘portrait’ mode or any of those gimicky features. All dSLRs have the standard aperture and shutter priority modes as well as manual. Use one for a week and you won’t even know those other program modes exist. There are other useful features on modern dSLRs that you can grow into as you develop your skills.
And finally, your best and most lasting investment in photography equipment will be the lenses. Good glass is good glass and will last for years, far longer than a body.
[/quote]
On your blog, is that the actress in “Treme”? Love that show!!