Need a professional camera!!!

[Gabriel_T]

hello,

I need to take pictures of the damages with my house and my point and shoot 10mp camera is not capturing the damage.

Which camera and accessories (lens, tripod, etc..) should I purchase? I need to get this as quick as possible so I am going to probably buy from costco.

Here is a link to there digital slr cameras. Which one should I buy and what lens should I get? http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|79|83&N=4001462&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=1236&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&topnav=

 

[Gabriel_T]

I will also be going to the Long Beach Aquraium later today so keep that in mind in your reccomendations.

 

[TIMMYE]

If you are looking at DSLR you could look at any of the Canons or Mikons. If you need it now that may depend on whats in stock. Also your price range. You really cant go wrong with wither setup. I have heard people talk about the stock lens on the Nikon being a little better than Canon, but both compaines make great DSLR in all price ranges.

 

[Gabriel_T]

I am looking at the Canon 5D and 30D. I dont know which lens to choose though.

 

[gregr]

Both are excellent cameras and the differences would probably take too long to explain given your time crunch. If you have the budget for L lenses (Canon's pro line) I'd suggest either the 24-70 or 24-105 for "walking around" lenses. Both will be good for the Long Beach Aquarium though I'd recommend a real macro lens for that (preferably the 100mm macro lens).

 

[gregr]

Forgot to mention that for a camera of the quality that you're looking at Costco won't carry a worthy tripod. But you can't really use one at the Aquarium and if the house damage is outside you can shoot those handheld.

 

[Gabriel_T]

I bought an xti and a 30D. I could not find the macro lens but I got a 28-135mm lens. I also got a Velbon CX 690 tripod. I will go to the Aquarium tomorrow and hopefully take some memorable pictures.

Should I get anything else?

Thanks

 

[gregr]

I used to own that lens and even used it at the Aquarium once, and got some decent shots of the sharks. You may have to go to 800 iso to get enough speed though.
As long as you have enough memory the only other thing I'd recommend is a spare battery.

 

[Gabriel_T]

Thanks!!! I took a lot of pictures last night and some of them came out pretty good. The only problem was I couldn't take any detailed crisp pictures of an entire room or stairwell. I even got construction lights to increase the lighting. Any suggestions?

The pictures I took were in Macro mode with the lens set to MF and stabilizer off. Any tricks to this camera?

 

[gregr]

Any tricks to this camera?

Yeah- I've spent the last ten years learning them
For the interior shots: tripod, mirror lock-up, 2 second self-timer, aperture priority, small aperture (f16 or so, as a starting point), focus on a point one third of the way into the shot. For the house stuff you may need a wider lens-- you can rent a lens cheaply, or borrow one if you know somebody nearby who's got something wider than your 28mm.

 

[Gabriel_T]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10384950#post10384950 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gregr
Yeah- I've spent the last ten years learning them
For the interior shots: tripod, mirror lock-up, 2 second self-timer, aperture priority, small aperture (f16 or so, as a starting point), focus on a point one third of the way into the shot. For the house stuff you may need a wider lens-- you can rent a lens cheaply, or borrow one if you know somebody nearby who's got something wider than your 28mm.

I have been reading the instruction manual and I am learning the names for everything. Now I just have to learn how and when to use everything.

Thanks