Any photographers in the house?

Ok, thanks for the input guys. I went ahead and got the Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 III USM from Amazon (through GWJ referral link of course). I'd have preferred the version with both IS and USM, but the extra $350 decided me against it - at least for now. I'm working under the assumption that most of my shots should hopefully be in pretty decent light, so I should be able to shoot pretty fast. With the savings I'm going to take Paleo's advice and rent a high quality prime lens for the week.

Picked up a weather resistant camera backpack as well, and will hopefully be picking up a netbook this afternoon to use for offloading of the photos while on the cruise. Alaska here I come (in a few months, but still )!

Another wanna-be in the house! So I just inherited a Canon Rebel XSi, mine is a black body though. I also have the I believe stock 18-55mm lens. It also came with a nice backpack, a Lowepro Flipside 300, and also a very nice tripod, a Manfrotto 190XPROB. I had some money owing to me from our small family company, and they don't need it much anymore, so... score for me.

I'm a complete noob with photography though. My wife used to do it quite a bit with an original SLR in high school and some afterwords. My brother has shown me a few things, but still a lot to learn. We went hiking the other day and took quite a few pictures though. I'm enjoying this whole photography thing. Photoshop and graphics design been a hobby of mine for a while now, using it for more than at work. Photography seems to follow close behind.

Here's my flickr account, I've uploaded a few choice pictures we took. You all have to check out the spider thing. I don't think it actually is a spider, but it was in a web, and it's really strange looking... unfortunately we're both not amazing with the camera yet so this is the best shot we could manage. Most photos have been slightly sharpened.

So, I need some feedback, Goodjers. I'm not much of a photographer. I've only ever really played with film on my Dad's old Nikon and tinkered with the settings on my friends' SLRs. So I've been considering an SLR for a couple of years, but I'm pretty sure that it is way too much camera for me.

Only problem is, I've been at the stage for a while where the wife's little canon powershot is underpowered and disappointing. I need a camera for shooting on our walks, so I want one that will really capture the sky and landscape. With the cricket season starting, I want a good zoom and good high-speed. And my brother's having a baby in July, so I'd like to capture some family events with decent video capability for posterity's sake.

In the end, after a couple years of ignoring that itch and after one of those 'Electronics Clearance' emails, I found myself on Amazon this morning having a look at cameras. I think the micro 4/3 bodies are going to be the solution for me, but I'm not sure if any of them have a good reputation or whether I'd be paying too much for the form factor and ease of use.

The ones that jump out at me are:
the Olympus offerings, the Pen E-P1, and the EP2 looks really good, but man is it expensive.
or the Panasonic models, Lumix GF1 or G2 that's coming out in June.

I wouldn't want to go over £600, realistically, but I do want something that's going to last me a good 15 years. Are there any micro 4/3's that I am missing that I should consider? And what should my starting kit (body+lenses) look like? I want a viewfinder, but do I go with an optic or electronic?

I'm tempted by the EP2, but I've heard it suffers from the same shutter lag that regular P&S camera. It looks like image quality is terrific for static scenes, but if you want to photograph people in motion, kids, animals, anything that's moving- a DSLR sounds like a better bet. Is the size of the camera important to you?

I'd recommend a Nikon D40. I own one and love it. You can use it on Auto or fiddle around with the other settings. Good camera and easy to use.

Just get an entry level DSLR. Both Canon's and Nikon's kitted offerings start at around 500 USD < £600. I went with a Nikon D40X (The newest revision is now the D3000). There's no going back now. Yes, they are a little bigger, but when you want something small just bring a point and shoot or use a phone. With a DSLR you will always be able to easily upgrade to other/better lenses. If you want it to last you 15 years, I fear with the custom sizes you will not have the lens selection you desire down the road.

Also, the entry-level DSLRs may lack a few of the features of their bigger brothers, but if you aren't getting super serious, they'll have everything you need and more. Plus, they're smaller and simpler.

Just made a major upgrade on Friday. We had purchased a Canon Powershot SX10 IS a few years ago - just before our honeymoon. I had so much fun shooting with it, that I wished I had gotten a DSLR. Fast forward to now: we have a 3-month old and we're moving to Ireland. Time for an upgrade.

We bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2I (550D) - great mid-range DSLR with HD video capabilities. So far I really like it, but I'm looking forward to actually learning how to use it. I plan on getting a EF f/1.8 lens for it, and eventually a telephoto lens of some kind. Aside from that, a good tripod for video is in order, as is an external stereo microphone for better quality audio recordings. The noise of the autofocus + zoom from the lens is audible with the built-in mic.

Biggest drawback so far with the T2I is that the body feels rather cheap. Even compared to my Powershot, the T2I feels a bit on the plastic-y side.

Symbiotic wrote:

Just made a major upgrade on Friday. We had purchased a Canon Powershot SX10 IS a few years ago - just before our honeymoon. I had so much fun shooting with it, that I wished I had gotten a DSLR. Fast forward to now: we have a 3-month old and we're moving to Ireland. Time for an upgrade.

We bought a Canon EOS Rebel T2I (550D) - great mid-range DSLR with HD video capabilities. So far I really like it, but I'm looking forward to actually learning how to use it. I plan on getting a EF f/1.8 lens for it, and eventually a telephoto lens of some kind. Aside from that, a good tripod for video is in order, as is an external stereo microphone for better quality audio recordings. The noise of the autofocus + zoom from the lens is audible with the built-in mic...

Nice! My brother ended up with a 500D just before he had a kid. It's a very nice camera and I loved playing around with it. The 550D must be really nice.

I just bought a T2i as well. I have an Olympus E-510 and have really enjoyed it but I shoot a lot of indoor sports and felt the 510 needed upgrading. The T2i is great in low light. I also bought the Canon 1.8 50mm. The 1.8 feels cheap (and it is) but is good for the price. I don't care for the focus ring being at the end of the lens on either the 1.8 or the 18-55 kit lens.

The video quality of the T2i is fantastic. One of the reasons I bought it was for the video capabilities. Even for shooting basic kid stuff it works very well. The autofocus is pretty bad and noisy but I manually focus and don't have much trouble. I have not tried recording any sports type stuff, though.

Overall I like it but if Olympus announced a new camera tomorrow with the same specs I'd probably upgrade to that and sell the Rebel.

Me 3 on the T2i! I had actually bought an Olympus E-PL1 (the cheaper version of the E-P1 and E-P2), but was dissatisfied with it because of the autofocus speed, and the high ISO noise performance (Its better than most point and shoots owing to the larger sensor, but still lacking compared with even entry level DSLRs these days). I was just using the kit 14-42 3.5-5.6 zoom, which performed ok, but I was used to using a prime lens on my old Canon 10d, so that was also frustrating. It might be a better experience with the 17/2.8 or 20/1.7 pancake lenses, but thats another $3-400.

I'm pretty happy with the T2i, even with the kit lens. My old 10D gave ok performance at ISO 800, but you had to remember to set the ISO that high. With DSLRs these days, ISO 3200 is perfectly usable for many purposes, plus the cameras now can auto adjust ISO. I'm eyeing the 50/1.4 lenses.

I have heard that the autofocus performance of the Panasonics are much better than the olympus pens.

I ended up getting the Pentax Kx myself and love it.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I can see the appeal of a DSLR, particularly on shutter speed and the ISO levels, but my experience of them has been that they're too big and bulky for everyday use. I guess my cut-off point would be that I don't particularly want to lug an individual bag around for just the camera.

I think the solution for me will be to go into a camera shop and start handling some different models to see how they feel. (I've got my eye on Adriana Lima.) Might be that a micro 4/3 will feel too small.

Thanks for the feedback on the PEN, Indy. I've seen a couple videos demonstrating the autofocus speed between the EP1 and the GF1, so I know what you're saying. The things leaning me toward the Olympus are the internal image stabilization and color quality, though. Not sure where to draw the lines on these things in terms of the trade-off.

I searched but didn't see this thread before. I recently finally upgraded to the Canon t2i and man is it a huge step from my XT.

with the kit 18-55IS
http://vimeo.com/11089821

All shot with a cheap tamron 75-300.
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EvilHomer3k wrote:

The video quality of the T2i is fantastic. One of the reasons I bought it was for the video capabilities. Even for shooting basic kid stuff it works very well. The autofocus is pretty bad and noisy but I manually focus and don't have much trouble. I have not tried recording any sports type stuff, though.

Change the AF from live view, to quick mode in the video settings, this helped me (but yes the AF is still loud without an external mic), best bet is to get good at manually focusing.

That being said, I am terrible with it so far.

indy wrote:

Me 3 on the T2i! I had actually bought an Olympus E-PL1 (the cheaper version of the E-P1 and E-P2), but was dissatisfied with it because of the autofocus speed, and the high ISO noise performance (Its better than most point and shoots owing to the larger sensor, but still lacking compared with even entry level DSLRs these days). I was just using the kit 14-42 3.5-5.6 zoom, which performed ok, but I was used to using a prime lens on my old Canon 10d, so that was also frustrating. It might be a better experience with the 17/2.8 or 20/1.7 pancake lenses, but thats another $3-400.

I'm pretty happy with the T2i, even with the kit lens. My old 10D gave ok performance at ISO 800, but you had to remember to set the ISO that high. With DSLRs these days, ISO 3200 is perfectly usable for many purposes, plus the cameras now can auto adjust ISO. I'm eyeing the 50/1.4 lenses.

I have heard that the autofocus performance of the Panasonics are much better than the olympus pens.

Not sure if it will help you but the review of the EP-2 mentions that the 1.1 firmware for the EP-2 improved the focus speed significantly on the EP-2. If there is a firmware update for the EPL-1 you should give it a try.

The biggest change to the camera is one introduced with the latest firmware (version 1.1) and addresses the biggest concern we had about the E-P1 - its focus speed. In our testing, the E-P2 is a great improvement over the E-P1 when originally launched and is now able to focus lenses as quickly as the best mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. However, the design of the Olympus 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens, with its comparatively heavy front focusing element continues to hold the camera back. Like all the mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras we've seen so far, it's not ideal for fast moving subjects (continuous autofocus is a particular problem for cameras of this type), but can be improved greatly by moving away from the kit lens or pancake prime.

- http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olym...

How about a pro-point & shoot?

I just finished watching Shutter and thought this might be the one you're looking for:

IMAGE(http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/25/leica_m8_zoom1.jpg)

But first you need to find a crazy, obsessive Japanese girlfriend.

Edwin wrote:

How about a pro-point & shoot?

I did consider the G11 or Panasonic's LX3, and haven't really ruled them out, but I'd like something that I could grow into more than what we've got now (even if it is more advanced.) And honestly, who doesn't like buying lenses and other assorted accessories?

But I don't know. Do anyone have one? Do they feel particularly limited? How is the shutter lag?

Paleocon wrote:

I just finished watching Shutter and thought this might be the one you're looking for:

IMAGE(http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/25/leica_m8_zoom1.jpg)

But first you need to find a crazy, obsessive Japanese girlfriend.

If you are going to post a leica camera it might as well be an m9 :P. they cost 7000ish for the body alone and defiantly are not a point and shoot as they do not feature a single automatic function, they are pure manual. Leica does sell a point and shoot variant but they are still rather pricey. Note sure what you mean by the Japanese comment as they are German made.

Blotto The Clown wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I just finished watching Shutter and thought this might be the one you're looking for:

IMAGE(http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/25/leica_m8_zoom1.jpg)

But first you need to find a crazy, obsessive Japanese girlfriend.

If you are going to post a leica camera it might as well be an m9 :P. they cost 7000ish for the body alone and defiantly are not a point and shoot as they do not feature a single automatic function, they are pure manual. Leica does sell a point and shoot variant but they are still rather pricey. Note sure what you mean by the Japanese comment as they are German made.

Leica's are incredibly popular in Japan. It was also the gift that the crazy, obsessive Japanese girl gave the male lead in the movie Shutter.

If I had f-u money to toss around, this would easily be one of the first things I'd go out and get. I still shoot with my Canon F1 and hand meter everything, so a fully manual camera is where I'm most comfortable, but I really like the idea of divorcing myself from film.

Paleocon wrote:
Blotto The Clown wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I just finished watching Shutter and thought this might be the one you're looking for:

IMAGE(http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/25/leica_m8_zoom1.jpg)

But first you need to find a crazy, obsessive Japanese girlfriend.

If you are going to post a leica camera it might as well be an m9 :P. they cost 7000ish for the body alone and defiantly are not a point and shoot as they do not feature a single automatic function, they are pure manual. Leica does sell a point and shoot variant but they are still rather pricey. Note sure what you mean by the Japanese comment as they are German made.

Leica's are incredibly popular in Japan. It was also the gift that the crazy, obsessive Japanese girl gave the male lead in the movie Shutter.

If I had f-u money to toss around, this would easily be one of the first things I'd go out and get. I still shoot with my Canon F1 and hand meter everything, so a fully manual camera is where I'm most comfortable, but I really like the idea of divorcing myself from film.

I decided to step back to the dark side:
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I've had an AE-1 that all the light seals had corroded on and I just got around to getting them replace. Today I just started playing around with it and WOW I miss the feel of these camera. NO automatic options... well aperture can be automated... This AE-1 just makes me want to get a m9 and makes my dslr feel inadequate. I extolled and lamented it here. I think my blog is going to become a photography one for a while now that school is done. Film photography will become my new creative outlet.

If you truly want to go to the dark side, turn the clock back just a few ticks to the FTb or F1. No shutter priority, no electronic shutter timers. Just a basic spot lightmeter that you'll probably not trust anyway. Pick up a Seconic hand meter and/or a gray card and you're good to go.

edit: Oh, and also.... prime lenses. The quality and speed bump you get from going full prime is amazing. Get three good primes for the price of a moderate zoom and learn to walk.

I do have one prime lens so far, a 1.8 at its lowest. I do admit to not really understanding how to use the light meter if I go out of A.

Here is how you use a light meter, in A or otherwise. Apologies for linking to "my" web site

http://tleaves.com/2007/04/02/expose...

A film scanner or negative scanner should take care of that for you. I have no idea what models but I know that's what you need.

So for comparisons sake I have been shooting some of the same shots with both my ae-1 and my e300 and I have run into a road block I 'should' have foreseen. How to go from film to digital with my pictures. I haven't brought the role of film any where yet, and I dont really want the physical pictures, just a nice high res digital copy. Whats the best way to go about this? Is there some sort of process where they can go from the negatives to digital? or should I get them printed and scan them at a really high dpi?

And thanks for the link to your website, I found that quite helpful.

Blotto The Clown wrote:

So for comparisons sake I have been shooting some of the same shots with both my ae-1 and my e300 and I have run into a road block I 'should' have foreseen. How to go from film to digital with my pictures. I haven't brought the role of film any where yet, and I dont really want the physical pictures, just a nice high res digital copy. Whats the best way to go about this? Is there some sort of process where they can go from the negatives to digital? or should I get them printed and scan them at a really high dpi?

And thanks for the link to your website, I found that quite helpful.

Most modern developers will give you the option to take your pictures in the form of a DVD.

Also. Hand metering rocks. The best that a TTL meter can do is either guess at what you're trying to get out of a picture or try to spot meter the spot you want to reference off of. Hand metering off the actual spot gives you the ability to tell the film or digital sensor exactly what sort of light you're looking to get.

Modern "smart" cameras are pretty good at hitting that bulgy middle of the bell curve and do a pretty good job of giving you the options to tell the camera how you want the picture taken (eg: A or S priority or "smart" settings like sports, portrait, landscape.... are programmed to move the bulge of the bell curve toward different assumptions), but I still feel like it is the camera driving and I'm just telling it where to go. A fully manual film camera that you hand meter has more of the feel of a vintage Vincent Black Shadow.

Time to learn what this hand metering can do for me!

I was about to create a new thread, then remembered this one was running around. We had a short conversation over in Tech & Help re: lenses, which turned into a critique request discussion. I'm afraid it's somewhat buried in Tech & Help though, so wanted to bring it over here to Everything Else. Rather than create a whole new "Post a Critique" thread I figured I'd cut and paste into this one, if anyone thinks a dedicated critique thread would be better we can start that up instead.

Anyway, here's my post about the portfolio I'm trying to build, and my request for comments.

Teneman wrote:

As I mentioned I'm building a portfolio from my shots over the last year or so. I was going to wait a bit before putting it out there since I'm still tweaking the shot selection. But the Mrs. suggested I need to either fish or cut bait, and get what I've selected so far out there for you guys to see and comment on.

Bowing to her wisdom here's my initial selection. Any comments or feedback, either on the inclusion of a particular image or on the image itself, would be greatly appreciated. I've tried to group them into general categories, but they do cover a lot of ground, from landscape to portrait to abstract.

DF7 made a similar request for comments on his Flickr stream that I'm guessing he won't mind me pasting here too (if I'm wrong DF7 let me know and I'll edit it out):

DF7 wrote:

I just caved and bought a 50mm f/1.4. This will be my first lens after my kit lens and I am really excited to play with it. Feel free to follow or friend me on flickr (I have no idea if that is a thing you can do on flickr), I'd love some feedback.

what are people's views on water marking and open access to photos? I just found a picture I took on about 4 different websites... its a bit annoying. I didn't water mark it cause I know I find that frustrating, but when you use a photo that either makes you money or drives significant traffic I feel used