Any photographers in the house?

Duoae wrote:

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Great stuff! This one is particularly great because it has that special something that makes it interesting. I like it because it reminds me of PixelJunk Eden. The cream/brown/black color scheme is awesome. I wish you could have made the stuff in the foreground all in focus. I don't know if a little higher f/stop would have helped or not. Really cool shot at any rate, and I have no idea if there would be a way to have done it. I wonder if you threw it into lightroom or photoshop you could crips up the edges on the foreground stuff.

I instantly start thinking of the PixelJunk Eden music when seeing it and expect new plants to start growing. It's a very cool shot.

Edit: This photograph also makes an amazing phone background. It's especially great if you set it to both the lock screen and the regular screen background.

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Thanks, Tuffalo!

Unfortunately, because of the way the rock face projected towards me and due to the fact that I was essentially shooting macro on a 4.5-5.6/75-300m lens the band of focus is really narrow at that distance and I wasn't able to get everything in the foreground in focus at the same time. Also, i don't think the light spilling in helped things much - probably blurring it more than was necessary. I'm still a total newbie at photography so I'm still shooting on auto in jpegs - though I am mostly using manual focus these days.

I tried playing around with it in photoshop but i wasn't able to get the edge any better without ruining the picture through grain introduction when using the sharp tools. However, I've altered and uploaded a slightly different shot that might be better though it's a little darker (i do have a lighter version if someone wants it).

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I also uploaded both originals if someone wants to play around with them and see about the blur or whatever.

I'll have a go at it in Lightroom or something eventually to goof around with it. Are you familiar with PixelJunk Eden? I hope you know how similar the photo is to that game.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I'll have a go at it in Lightroom or something eventually to goof around with it. Are you familiar with PixelJunk Eden? I hope you know how similar the photo is to that game. :)

I've heard of pixeljunk but i've never seen any pictures or tried it.

Duoae wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I'll have a go at it in Lightroom or something eventually to goof around with it. Are you familiar with PixelJunk Eden? I hope you know how similar the photo is to that game. :)

I've heard of pixeljunk but i've never seen any pictures or tried it.

PixelJunk Eden was a collaboration music/art/game project which released on the PS3 a couple years ago. They released the game on Steam oddly enough a few weeks ago. It has very unique artwork and music.

If you do an image search for "pixeljunk eden", you will get the idea. I've got a few screenshots from the PC version here.

This isn't very representative, but this is what the game can look like:

IMAGE(http://playcame.ru/uploads/posts/2012-02/thumbs/1328355283_skachat-pixeljunk-eden.jpg)

Holy- How wide is your screen?!

I can see the similarities but it was purely coincidence, i assure you, your honour! Please don't send the lawyers after me!

Duoae wrote:

Holy- How wide is your screen?!

I can see the similarities but it was purely coincidence, i assure you, your honour! Please don't send the lawyers after me! :D

I highly recommend buying Eden on Steam. It's $10 at the moment, but it'll get cheap eventually.

Duoae wrote:

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I corrected this one to be a bit more colder than it was in real life (though the original picture is a bit washed out). Again, going for a certain "old" badly/specifically developed look.

I'm gonna tell Certis you're posting c*ck pictures again.

Again?! When did i ever stop?

Oh... wait. I forget you don't have access to the super-happy-fun-fun forum

What's a good/the best prosumer camera to get these days in the $1,000 and under range? If I'm being laughably low in my estimates for what constitutes the proper price range, please feel free to mock me

Tanglebones wrote:

What's a good/the best prosumer camera to get these days in the $1,000 and under range? If I'm being laughably low in my estimates for what constitutes the proper price range, please feel free to mock me :P

That's a surprisingly complicated question, since you first have to ask whether you want to go mirrorless or DSLR before you get to models in both categories. I suggest giving a sense of what you're looking to photograph (family shots around the house, travel, landscapes, wildlife, etc), because that might help narrow your choices a little.

You're going to find fans of almost every camera out there- I mean, they're all pretty good. Sort of like religion.

Funkenpants wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

What's a good/the best prosumer camera to get these days in the $1,000 and under range? If I'm being laughably low in my estimates for what constitutes the proper price range, please feel free to mock me :P

That's a surprisingly complicated question, since you first have to ask whether you want to go mirrorless or DSLR before you get to models in both categories. I suggest giving a sense of what you're looking to photograph (family shots around the house, travel, landscapes, wildlife, etc), because that might help narrow your choices a little.

You're going to find fans of almost every camera out there- I mean, they're all pretty good. Sort of like religion.

Well, first off, it would be for my wife, not me, primarily

Generally she'd be doing a lot of lower-light photographs of food and artwork, though we'd almost certainly take it with us on vacations with landscapes and wildlife

Is light weight/small form factor important to her? If not, I'd probably go DSLR (Nikon, Canon, or Pentax), but I admit that I don't have any experience using the new mirrorless systems from Olympus, Nikon (V1), and Panasonic. The camera manufacturers are coming out with a lot of new models in this category (partly because, I suspect, the DLSR market is technically mature and its harder and harder to get people to upgrade). They are the new exciting shiny thing in the camera markets.

I'd be seriously tempted by something like the Olympus EP family, the Panasonic G3, or the Nikon V1 system if I was traveling more and was starting from scratch.

Funkenpants wrote:

Is light weight/small form factor important to her? If not, I'd probably go DSLR (Nikon, Canon, or Pentax), but I admit that I don't have any experience using the new mirrorless systems from Olympus, Nikon (V1), and Panasonic. The camera manufacturers are coming out with a lot of new models in this category (partly because, I suspect, the DLSR market is technically mature and its harder and harder to get people to upgrade). They are the new exciting shiny thing in the camera markets.

I don't think form factor is as important as picture quality; she's got actual photograph class experience under her belt, from back in college. I get by OK with my cameraphone

Picture quality of any of the modern cameras is very high. Even the Nikon V1, which has a much smaller sensor than the DLSRs or micro-4/3rds camera, can turn out high quality images. These days if there's a problem with my photos, I first assume I'm the problem, not the camera.

Also, a lot of the quality in the photo is derived from the quality of the lens rather than the body. The kit lens that comes with the camera won't be as awful as people online make out, but it won't be anywhere near top image quality. What some people do is buy the body alone, then pick out a good lens to match. You don't save all that much money, however, because manufacturers all but give away the kit lens with the camera.

Can you elaborate a bit more on the "lower-light photographs of food and artwork" comment? Is it commercial at all?

I have a Nikon d7000 after recently upgrading from a d90. I've been very happy with both.

One thing I've noticed in taking a few classes is that most of the instructors are most familiar with Nikon and Canon equipment. This of course is irrelevant to the quality of the other manufacturers but if she's going to try and self train via the web or take classes that might be something to consider.

You might also want to budget for at least one more lens than the camera comes with. I'm not sure for example if she might need macro shots to focus on details in the artwork. Also possibly an external flash. I mention this not because she has to have them but it might help you with the longer term budgeting if she's pursuing it more aggressively.

Rahmen wrote:

Can you elaborate a bit more on the "lower-light photographs of food and artwork" comment? Is it commercial at all?

I have a Nikon d7000 after recently upgrading from a d90. I've been very happy with both.

One thing I've noticed in taking a few classes is that most of the instructors are most familiar with Nikon and Canon equipment. This of course is irrelevant to the quality of the other manufacturers but if she's going to try and self train via the web or take classes that might be something to consider.

You might also want to budget for at least one more lens than the camera comes with. I'm not sure for example if she might need macro shots to focus on details in the artwork. Also possibly an external flash. I mention this not because she has to have them but it might help you with the longer term budgeting if she's pursuing it more aggressively.

Ok, getting beyond my ability to answer questions - she might poke her head into the thread to answer later

My thoughts: Something like this would be a good place to start. What that won't get you, though, is decent low light shooting (I don't know how these newer cameras do at high ISO, my old Canon XT only goes up to 1600 ISO). That's where this comes in handy. Cheap, but decent image quality and good for low light/blurring out messy backgrounds.

I'm sure Nikon has something equivalent in a similar price range, I'm not familiar with their lineup. I really think you can't go wrong with either brand, though. Their lower-end cameras do a hell of a job these days.

I second fleabagmatt's recommendation(s).

And the newer Canon's perform waaaaaaay better in low light than the old XTs. My XTi caps out at the same 1600 ISO as matt's, and the images at that level are quite grainy. The newer T3i goes up to 12,800 with fairly decent grain levels all the way up according to reviews.

I've literally just purchased one of those 50mm lenses for my dad (he has a 550D) after trying one out a bit over the weekend on my friend's camera. They're very versatile and, as he would say, one of the best value lenses for the money ever!

hi guys - been reading what Tanglebones started. thanks for the tips.

what I'm looking for is mostly:
* able to do low light, night shots, candle light
* depth of field
* quick shots (i have fast cats)
* close ups to x-close ups of food/cooking/details
* able to switch lenses
* not really commercial usage. more advanced hobby/pro-sumer grade
* scalable flash (as a rule of thumb - I freakin hate flash)

I just got my bonus, so I'm not afraid to spend a decent amount to grow into this camera. The one I'm using now is the digi cam feature on my cam-corder (Panasonic HDC-SD10, dated now). Been eyeing the Canon Rebel series and drooling like a fool but also saw a couple of Sony cams that were pretty sweet. I love depth of field - I can't stress that enough. When I see every part of the photo in perfect extra sharpness, it bugs me.

thanks for the suggestions so far! I'm gonna check 'em out

kittylexy wrote:

* quick shots (i have fast cats)

I think the Nikon D3100 offers some of the best bang for your buck with the kit at $600. I have one of its predecessors, the D40x. There is a Canon equivalent which would be just as good.

kittylexy wrote:

Been eyeing the Canon Rebel series and drooling like a fool but also saw a couple of Sony cams that were pretty sweet. I love depth of field - I can't stress that enough. When I see every part of the photo in perfect extra sharpness, it bugs me.

What you want is to limit depth of field and enjoy bokeh, so you're right in looking at a higher end camera. Any DLSR will seem like an upgrade over what you're using now.

I think you'd be fine with any DLSR system- Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony. You'd want to keep room in your budget for a external flash and a 35mm or 50mm 1.8 lens (usually $100-$200). I like cameras with external, dedicated controls for things like white balance, aperture, and shutter speed, but they aren't necessary. Really, I think you'll do well with any of the DSLRS out there.

Mirrorless is another option. At year or two ago buying one involved some compromises on focusing speed and high ISO quality from a DSLR to get the smaller size, but from what I read makers like Panasonic, Olympus, and Nikon (with the V1) have closed the gap. If you look at those, what you'll want is a viewfinder (some cameras offer them only as a separate, expensive unit) and quick focusing. Unfortunately, you're probably up at $850 right out of the gate, before you've added any additional lenses. But portability can be useful, particularly when extra lenses are so tiny and small. A lot of people find that carrying a big bag full of SLR lenses around with them can be tiring, so they leave the camera at home. And why get into photography if you're not going to take your camera with you? I don't have any hands-on experience with mirrorless systems, but it's something I'd look into if I was buying a camera for the first time.

Awesome! Thanks for all the advice guys. Me n Tangle are heading out today to test drive a few of these options.

you guys rock! I can't wait to get crackin with the cam.

And why get into photography if you're not going to take your camera with you?

My father was a huge shutter bug. I helped him with his inventory so trucking around equipment is kinda my thing. If i have to carry a purse I'd rather it be filled with camera equipment

I am now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel T3i !!!!!! I took it on a run today, playing with the features and whatnot. I'll be studying the manual that came with the camera to get a better sense of all of the functions and fun stuff. Thank you guys so much for your suggestions.

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Nice!

Congratulations and we'll continue to look forward to seeing the shots. Have fun!

Was down in New Orleans last weekend, took a lot of pictures with my Nikon. Here are a few that I really liked.

St. Louis Cathedral
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Mid-City Parade rider
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Shot my first concert a couple weekends ago and am pretty pleased with how the 50mm handled the crazy light. I was a few rows back with the majority of the shots taken using the live viewfinder tilted down at me with the camera extended over my head. Took quite a few shots with different iso and f-stop to see what the sweet spot would be. Below is a picture of Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove.

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