Let's talk photography...

J

jmkarcz

New member
Aberg keeps making me jealous with all his great pictures... I'm seriously whining now... I've had this 2 mega pixel Kodak - point and shoot for about 5 years. I noticed that the latest batch of photos are names stamped at DCP_7865.jpg. Which means that, on the night I brought the camera home - I changed it to assigh each photo with a successive number. I have shot over 8000 photos with this camera. At the 560$ I originally spent that comes to .07 cents per pic. WOW.

I was looking at some of abergs photos in old posts and a Christmas card a serious friend sent, (serious about photography that is...) and realize I need a new camera.

I looked back to the last time I asked Al about cameras and he said this:

"And some day if you want to get together and talk reef tank photography, I'd be game for that. (Although I'm really only familliar with SLR cameras.) Point and shoot's tend to confuse me as I prefer shooting full manual, as such I'm not as familiar with auto modes, and how they judge exposures. I prefer using the analog style meter and adjusting exposures from there based on the scene's lighting conditions instead of letting the camera decide what the scene is, and how to expose."

Which now makes sence to me.

My question is this. I want to buy a good camera, assuming to be an SLR - preferrably something more reef friendly than the one I own, does anyone have any suggestions? and I heard some distant rumor that AMY(that friend) could buy something to allow her to take her camera diving??? That sounds more like me.
 
Jason,

Stigmatic and myself both have the Canon Digital Rebel XT.

canon-eos-350d-digital-rebel-XT.jpg


This camera is in the same class as Abergs camera, except his is a Nikon. I recently talked Stigmatic into buying the Digital Rebel XT and it seems like he couldn't be happier. DSLR requires a steep learning curve but the payoff is a big one.

Here is the review for the Digital Rebel XT
Canon Digital Rebel XT Review at Dpreview.com

and here is my flash based slideshow displaying some of the pictures I have taken with my Rebel XT.

My Photography
 
TJ,
I enjoyed your slideshow, all my photos turn out like crap. see below. I know DSLR is the way to go, but where does a guy (or gal) get started to lear what, and how?


<img src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/DCP_4771.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

Sure miss this guy, lived in a coffee cup. It would defend that cup to the end. My first maroon pair. The photo does not do it justice, And this was the better of the pix.

Jason
 
the best thing you can do is buy the camera and read the manual a few times. The manual does a really good job of explaining how the different modes work. There are auto modes, but I NEVER use these. The modes you want to use are Av(Aperture priority mode aka F-stop) Tv(Shutter priority mode) and M(manual mode).

Here is a very tedious but very good website about how the F-stop works. Learning the F-stop is probably one of the most important things when it comes to SLR photography. Your F-stop can be controlled in Av mode or Manual mode. Read here for more information

A Tedious Explanation of the f/stop
 
I use this website alot for asking questions. You can also email me or PM me or Aberg questions and we can help you out.

I am a member on this forum. You basically choose what forum you want based on what camera you have. You will get answers FAST here.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/
 
Ok, what about add on lenses, I start getting confused looking at all those #'s. How do I make sence of that?

I was looking at these starting about 550 or so says no lens - or should I just read the manual (it'll be in there)

Rebel says 8.2 megapixel, if so, what is the average data size of the pic?

Jaosn
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6467274#post6467274 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmkarcz
Ok, what about add on lenses, I start getting confused looking at all those #'s. How do I make sence of that?

I was looking at these starting about 550 or so says no lens - or should I just read the manual (it'll be in there)

Rebel says 8.2 megapixel, if so, what is the average data size of the pic?

Jaosn
Click to expand...

The average file size is about 3mb on a Digital Rebel XT at 8.2MP


Well, if you would buy the Digital Rebel, I would recommend getting the Kit Lens with it. The kit lens is a 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 lens. That usually tacks on another $100. I could sell you mine cheaper since I don't use it anymore, but its a nice cheap lens to learn on. What #s are you confused about? LOL..theres alot to be confused about.

numbers like 18-55mm are your focal length in millimeters
numbers like F1.8, 2.8, 3.5, 4, 5.6 are FSTOPs. In the case of the kit lens, which is labeled 3.5-5.6, this means that at 18mm you can set the Fstop as low as 3.5, but at full zoom(55mm) you can only set it to 5.6. The lower the Fstop number, usually the more expensive the lens is. Lenses with low Fstops are considered "fast" lenses. They allow more light in. Think of a lens like the pupil of your eye. Lenses are the same, except you would think a higher Fstop # would let in more light, but its the exact opposite of that.

For instance, I have a 50mm 1.8 lens. It's fixed at 50mm, so it doesn't zoom at all(also known as a prime lens). It has an FSTOP(aka maximum aperture) of 1.8, which means i can turn the dial on my camera and set the Fstop to 1.8, which lets in a lot of light(very useful for indoor pictures).

I also have a Canon 70-200 F4 L lens. Note that it only says F4 (not F4-5.6 or something like that). This means my lens can go as low as F4 at any focal length from 70-200mm. The L basically means that its professional grade. You don't really need an L lens until you really get into it.

Also note that Nikon has its own lenses, and they do not work on a Canon....vice versa. There are also 3rd party lenses(Tamron, Sigma) but I prefer Canon lenses for the most part.

Theres so much to explain..gosh, let me look for a good intro to photography website. It would be so much easier to sit down with you and show you.


TJ
 
Last edited:
Does this camera allow you to buy one of those Magnum PI style zoom lenses to bring things far away up very close without degrading the photo quality. - My point and shoot, when you zoom all the way in including the digital, it pixelizes the subject mater.

And that standard additional lense you are recomending, will that be sufficient for photos of the fish tank, or should I build an additional $ amount into my buying price.

Did I read that it takes standard Compact flash cards? Oh and standard battery, like AA or are we talking camera specific rechargeable, I looked briefly but the sites were vague. (an lastly, did you buy local, or net?

Jason (Sorry for all the questions.)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6484236#post6484236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmkarcz
Does this camera allow you to buy one of those Magnum PI style zoom lenses to bring things far away up very close without degrading the photo quality. - My point and shoot, when you zoom all the way in including the digital, it pixelizes the subject mater.

And that standard additional lense you are recomending, will that be sufficient for photos of the fish tank, or should I build an additional $ amount into my buying price.

Did I read that it takes standard Compact flash cards? Oh and standard battery, like AA or are we talking camera specific rechargeable, I looked briefly but the sites were vague. (an lastly, did you buy local, or net?

Jason (Sorry for all the questions.)
Click to expand...

Is this the Magnum PI lens you wanted? Its only $5800
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=44&sort=7&cat=2&page=3


The lens that comes with it is "ok" for photographing your fish tank, but what you really want is a Macro lens. Thats going to cost about $350.

Yes, it takes standard Compact Flash cards. I bought the Sandisk Ultra III card, its the fastest one they make at the moment. I think the earlier versions of compact flash cards would be a little slower writing the images to disk.

The camera takes a proprietary Canon battery. This battery is AWESOME. It takes about 45 minutes to charge, and it lasts for about 300 shots, atleast it lasts that long for me.

-TJ
 
ok, anything more afordable to bring images closer? Like, let's say I went to a packer game and was up about 1/2 way one the 50....?

Oh yeah,, and did you buy local or net...?

Jason
 
HEY TJ,
My money tree has come into bloom. And I am about to harvest it. (I have the money now) I've been looking and have a question or 2.

When you recommended the Digital Rebel XT, you were referring to the 350D - correct? I have also been looking, and wonder the difference between the 20D and the 350D. I read both descriptions... ref: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/eos_digital_rebel_xt_vs_20d.html

I am pretty well sold on the 350D. (8mp) but question weather or not a novice like me should wait for the 2nd milking of the tree and don't buy anything reef for 2-3 months and look at the Canon EOS 5D 12.8 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera, Or do you think I will already be over whelmed with the 350D?

Jason
 
Hi Jason,

Yes the Rebel XT is aka the 350D. If you do get one, I recommend getting the black as it looks more professional.

I highly recommend the XT/350D for you since you are just starting DSLR like I did. The 20D has a couple nicer features but it's nothing major. The XT/350D can be had for $800-850, the 20D goes for about $1400. I guess if you wanted to throw your money around right away, you could get the 5D, which isn't going to come down in price anytime soon.

The 5D is a full frame digital camera, where as the 20D and XT/350D are not. Basically if you have a 18-55mm lens on the 20D or the XT/350D, you must multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.6. So a 18-55mm lens on those two cameras is truly 28.8-88mm.

The 5D is an amazing camera and it will be my next camera, in a year or two of course. It sells for $3300 without a lens. Since you don't even know if you will like SLR photography, you should probably wait on this bad boy.
 
Ok, it's done then, I will be getting a 350D. If I were to plan on lenses, for a nice package, which add on lenses would you recommend?

Maybe I don't need that Magnum PI telephoto zoom lens. But I do want to take great photos of my reef. So is there a great macro that I should look at? and a great zoom that will cover about 75% of a normal persons needs?

(that was way too wordy. if you buy your first DSLR, and you needed to plan for a good batch of add on lenses, how many should I plan for and about how many $)

Like 3?
one for this, at $
and one for that at $
and a balh blah for $


Just curious how many lenses you have found you have needed.

Jason.
 
It all depends on what you want to spend. You should probably start with the Kit Lens, and just start shooting. Take note on if you photograph more landscapes or more closeups. You need to determine what focal range you will be spending most of your time. Lenses are basically "you get what you pay for." You can read up on Lens reviews here
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=27

these are all of canons ZOOM lenses, both wide angle and telephoto.

there isn't "one" lens that you can buy which will fullfill all of your needs. This is one downside to SLR, you will need alteast 2 lenses to cover a decent focal range. For example.

I have the Kit lens (18-55mm) the (28-135mm) and the (70-200mm). So I have 18-200mm covered with 3 lenses. I am buying the Sigma 10-20mm lens this week. The 10-20mm will allow me to take wonderful wide angle landscapes.

My 28-135mm IS lens is for sale by the way!!! IS stands for image stabilization and it basically is a motor in the lens which stabilizes the lens when you take pictures handheld. I think it calculates your hand shakiness. This was my "first" real lens purchase after I got the Rebel XT. PM me if you are interested. Here is a gallery of photos i have taken with this lens My Canon 28-135 IS Gallery

This is a VERY popular new lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM


Updated 1/30/2006 at 2:03 PM
 
Please don't be offended, I stare blankly at the numbers, the way I did 6 months ago when Davis started talking chemistry and whozie Whats it's and ppm and pascels.... well maybe not that bad, I can see I need a book.

I partially understand the the 70 to 300mm, dose this, covering a larger span, make it a better all around lens? and this one, perhaps coupled with the 18-55mm would cover everything you have 3 for?

Is there any end to the possibuilities.

and... is that why no one has heard from aberg?

just kidding.


Thank you for your help.

Jason
 
yeah I'm not sure why Alan hasn't chimed in. Anyways, your best bet is to get the camera with the kit lens, and just snap away. There's really no sense in blowing money on additional lenses if you don't quite know what you want. The Kit lens is a nice lens for the price, and I have seen some incredible pictures taken with it. Once you get your camera and you join a photography forum website like dpreview.com, you will find yourself asking questions every single day. It will most likely consume you like your aquariums did back when you first got in to them.

Go order the Rebel XT with the kit lens. Stigmatic and myself bought ours on www.bhphotovideo.com which is a very reputible website. You could also get it at best buy, but I'm pretty sure they only carry the silver cameras. Again, black or silver, its your personal preference.
 
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