So, a while back I started the [I]Digital SLR Camera discussion thread[/I], but at the time, I made the mistake of putting it in Rec.Sport.Uni. So we can let it diminish. But luckily this time, I put it in Just Conversation, and the title is more specific than just DLSR’s. So just general photography.
So you can reply with what gear you have, leave links to your photos, and just talk photography…
My Gear:
-Pentax K10D w/D-BG2 grip
-Pentax DA 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6
-Pentax DA 50-200mm F/4-5.6
-Pentax FA 50mm F/1.4
-Pentax A 35-105mm F/3.5
-Vivitar 55mm F/2.8 1:1 macro
-(2) 4GB SD Cards
1999-April '01, my first digital: Olympus D450 (that one’s close), 1280 x 960 pixels!
April '01 - Nov '04: Casio QV-4000 (I think), 4 MP
Nov '04 - Dec '08: Casio EX-P600, 6 MP and lots of great features
Late '05 - present: Canon 20D SLR (9.2 MP), various lenses
Dec '08 - present: Canon G-10 rangefinder, 14.7 MP! Tons of manual options and special features. Much smarter than the 20D, but still has the compact-sized image sensor.
I currently only own a Nikon Coolpix L12, But am going to soon aquire either a Nikon D90 or D5000.
This is a website which will eventually have photos taken by me, as opposed to just photos of me and my fire: http://xphranque.deviantart.com/
You might want to put a link on the end of the last one so that anyone who discovers it in the ancient future doesnt bring it back and instead comes here?
I’ve been looking to get into the realm of the DSLR for quite a while now. I’ve always loved taking pictures and now I want to step it up and actually learn true photography stuff. I’ve got an eye for angles and I do take good pictures with my little point and shoot. The camera I’m looking at currently is the Sony DSLR 300k. It seems to be a nice, user friendly, inexpensive start for me to get into this. Maybe take a few classes on photography once I get it (hopefully by/for christmas).
Today I got my picture taken for an article in Sacramento Magazine. It’s going to be about interesting cyclists in the Sacramento region and I’m the token unicyclist. There will also be a bike cop at the Capitol, and eight others that I don’t know about. The photographer, Steven Holmes, was obviously very good at what he does.
At one point he had a big strobe with a 5’ umbrella set up in the street in front of my house. Had trouble with that shot so don’t know if it will get used. It’s hard to ride really slow on a Coker in a road tuck position but his shutter speed was 125/sec with the camera stationary on a tripod. Also the bright sunshine was a problem. As you can see on his web site, he likes having a lot of control over his lighting!
After that and some more conventional (non-riding) shots he also took what I’m sure will be some really cool shots of the unicycles on my garage ceiling. All with a new Canon 5D (Mark II, I presume).
I’m currently selling my Pentax gear, and am going to move into Canon.
I plan on getting a Canon EOS 30D or maybe the 20D, probably not the though. The 1.8" screen is a little too small.
But now, the question is what lens am I going to start with.
Canon EF 50mm F/1.8
Canon EF 50mm F/1.4
Canon EF-S 17-85mm F/4-5.6
Canon EF 28-105mm F/3.5-4.5
Which do you think? The 50mm F/1.8 would be nice, and I hear great reviews with how sharp it is, but I’m not very fond on how it’s completely plastic … even the plastic mount. And for me, the build quality of a lens is important…
dude, the 50’s are fine, but they are not good for every-day use due to the locked focal length.
if I were you, I’d go for the 28-135 (I assume this is what you were talking about, if 24-105 even better) for the zoom and superb optics. However, the 50/1.8 is only about 100$… save for some time and buy it anyway… If builbing quality is important, you’d like to have the 1.4, although it’s much more expensive…
anyway, I shoot with a Nikon D200+12-24 F/4 + 50/1.8 and planning on buying a zoom lens soon enouth…
I used to shot with a pentax K100D, however I solled is not long ago (for the D200).
Pentax DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6
Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4
Pentax M 70-210mm f/4
Pentax M 28mm f/2.8
Pentax M 50mm f/1.4
Pentax M 50mm f/1.7
Sigma AF 55-200mm f/4-5.6
Miscellaneous M 135mm f/2.8
As you can tell, I have a lot of second hand manual stuff. I really enjoy working with film.
I haven’t updates my Flickr for a while; I’ll post it here when there’s some new stuff.
Hey Terry, you might want to try the Creative Vado. It’s an iPod Classic-sized HD video cam. It’s great because it’s portable and if you use it with a GorrilaPod, you can attach it to anywhere.
Here’s some footage from some weeks back. I attached the cam to my handlebar.
I concur. The 1.8" LCD is semi-useless for me. To really see anything I have to take several seconds to zoom in on the review. For seeing a rough idea of exposure it’s okay though. I think you get more pixels with the 30D as well, and probably an improved processor. The difference between the 30D and 40D is a lot smaller.
For a lens to start with, I highly recommend the Canon EF-S 17-85mm F/4-5.6. The 28-105 is probably nice as a second lens, but it doesn’t go very wide. Remember to multiply the focal lengths by 1.6 for the 20/30/40D cameras. I have the 17-85 and it’s a great all-around lens. The prime 50mm would also be very useful for low-light situations, like taking pictures in a gym, but once you’ve had the zoom it’s easy to get spoiled.
I read of lots of photography buffs doing this. But don’t you take a big depreciation hit when you sell the gear, even if it’s minimally used? I’d love to upgrade my 20D but its resale value is nothing compared to buying one of the newer ones…
Thanks for those tips. I’m really quite interested in the 17-85mm. I’m guessing that’s what I’ll start out with, and once I save up some money, maybe then I will buy the 50mm F/1.4.
About the value of camera gear depreciating … well it’s always seemed to work out for me. If I get my asking prices from my gear I’m selling, that will mean it cost me $100 in total to get my first DSLR and quite a few lenses in that time. That’s not too bad, because it’s a hobby I really like. Though, moving from Pentax to Canon means I will be moving from my current 5 lenses, to 1, maybe 2. But I’m okay with that.
But I think I will go the 30D route. The price difference from the 20D and 30D are too similar, and I’ll probably get more from the 30D. But then I started thinking the 40D, I noticed that their about $100 more than the 30D, but it’s gotta stop somewhere, because then there’s the 50D. Meh, I wouldn’t want a 3.0" display anyway.
I’d go for the 17-85mm for diversities sake.
Have a look at these two galleries of mine and tell me how I can improve the quality of the pictures. I want pictures that stand out visually as well as tell a story.
