I am interested in buying a camera for MR photography. Mostly on my own layout. I realize that the more money you spend the better the camera… BUT…lets not get crazy here. I will spend enough but I don’t want to spend too much. Twenty years ago I had a Minolta with several lenses and was fairly satisfied with it for general picture taking. Have things changed so much in the digital age? My wife has a Kodak digital for general snapshot pics and I have been using it for the construction phase of the layout but it will not be good for model photos or close ups…no depth of field. Help me please with ideas about what I need. I am not interested in becoming a pro, just taking good pics of my RR.
Both Pentax and Canon produce digital versions of their autofocus film SLR’s, using the same AF lenses. I think the Canon Digital Rebel (“dRebel”) is lower in price than the Pentax istD, although I haven’t compared the specs.
I have a Canon EOS Elan 6 SLR. It is a fantastic camera - but of course it is film. I also have an old Canon AE1 (circa 1980) that still takes fantastic pictures as does my Dad’s old Konica SLR (circa 1970). Those old SLR’s still take great pics and I’m sure your Minolta is no different. The Canon Digital Rebel looks like a fantastic camera and of course it can use all my lenses but the price is still a little out of reach for me given the functions available.
Perhaps what you can do is to use a digital camera to set up the scene and check out the composition and then use your SLR to take the final picture - making sure you properly bracket the f-stops.
davekelly
I’m sorry that I did not make myself clear…I no longer have the Minolta camera or the lenses. I need to purchase a new camera and am having trouble deciding what to buy. I guess the basic functions have not changed…only the technology.
The Canon Digital Rebel is probably the best deal in ‘consumer’ digital SLRs out right now. It has most of the fetures of canon’s higher end DSLRs, and I beleive there are ways to unlock some of the features the DRebel doesn’t have.
The camera’s not what’s expensive - it’s the lenses!
First of all, I want to thank everone for their input!. Secondly would be to ask for opinions on which would be the most versatile lens to purchase for MR photography. Keep in mind I have access to a “snapshot” type digital camera.
I think you’ll be surprised on the advances made. I think my AE1 weighs about 25 percent less than my dad’s Konica, and my new EOS Elan weighs about 1/2 of the AE1. It’s amazing!! Perhaps you might want to check out some camera stores in your area for a used SLR. Gives you something to play with at a relatively cheap price.
I think I spent about 3 months researching before deciding on my Canon Elan! I’ve been totally happy with it - even if it is a film camera!
I don’t know if this is true for digitals, but when checking out prices for film SLR’s you’ll see that there is quite a difference for the same model. It is my understanding that many of the retailers that have really cheap prices sell cameras that are imported by them and can sell them less than the U.S. version of the same model. It is my understanding that the warranty on those cameras are not good in the U.S. - you have to ship the thing overseas. At least this is my understanding - maybe someone more in the know can tell me if this is correct or not.
(Of course in over 20 years I had not one problem with my AE1 so perhaps it isn’t a big deal - but then you never know).
Nikon has the D70 digital slr. It was rated camera of the year by Popular Photography if I remember correctly. It’s around $1000 with lens. The Nikon flash system is awesome and the lenses are excellent. I’ve shot with most brands of 35mm cameras over the years . The Pentax and Minoltas are fairly nice usually for less money than the Nikons and Canons. I wouldn’t own a Canon film camera.(AE-1 or F1the exceptions) They are however producing the leading edge of price and features in the digital slr market. The digital rebel is nice featured and well priced. The thing that bothers me is it is cheap feeling and flimsy. The early ones had problems. Figure out what you want as important features. Then figure out the price range that fits. Look at the lines rather than the camera. When you buy an SLR accessories are important. I love my Nikon F100 for it’s features but the Canon lens line fits the way I work better. They have a little better selection as opposed to quality. I just hate the Canon camera bodies.
RMax brings up some excellent points that I discovered when I bought my SLR three years ago. Every line has its tradeoffs. When researching you should also check out what lenses are available from third parties - while arguably not as good as the Canons, Nikons etc, they can be quite a bit cheaper.
Given the dollar amount your talking about spending - be it a film or digital SLR - I would highly suggest spending a good amount of time researching - both in print, on the web and anyone that you know that owns such cameras. Although they can be pricey - they last forever - my AE1 is hitting 25 years and my dad’s Konica probably about 33 or so - both are running strong and still taking excellent pictures.
While the point and click cameras have a place in the market - I own a few and love them - once you start taking pics with an SLR - there’s no turning back!
I purchased a Nikon D-70. SWEET SLR!! Very easy to get great results from this camera. It has a lot more features than I’ll ever use. The camera is very lightweight, and has a lot of goodies out there for it too!!
lens
go with 28 -70 short zoom
70 -210 long zoom
camera go with the better canon or the nikon d70 or new d50
stay away from rebel I have been to it doen’nt hold up as well ( Plastic)
Go to dpreveiw.com and compare features
also buy a flash for darker times ( when pop up flash is to small )when you have funds
remember to use the red reduction feature when using pop up flash
I’ve been using Nikon digitals since 1999, starting with the 990, the 5700 and now the D100. You mentioned depth of field was important, and it surely is for layout shots. The ‘prosumer’ grade camera have more depth of field than the dslr group due to the size of the ccd. One of the best cameras I have for depth of field is one of my oldest, the 990. You can, of course, get the dof required by using wide angle lenses and the smallest lens opening you can.
As mentioned earlier, I would look at the D70 and the new D50 in the Nikon line and the Rebel in the Canon line. Just be prepared to lay out some major money for the lenses… :}
Jarrell
One thing to look at is the cameras ability to adapt to changes available light in a room. The Nikon D70 takes it in stride. Lesser quality has a noticable time lag which may be overcome by using movie clip mode. Froogle and Pricewatchers are too good sites when looking for best deal.
The nice thing about digital cameras is that you can try them out at the store and see some level of immediate results. Using the camera for MR is somewhat of a specialized use (e.g., closeup capabilities may be more important than fast action shots). Most of the cameras mentioned are higher end. It is possible now to get less expensive 5 megapixel cameras for around $300. Some of the discriminators are the quality of the fixed lens and whether the camera has both digital and physical zoom capabilities. A time lag may not be a big issue if you are only shooting fixed scenes. Setting up a digital camera for quality shots is different than a SLR standard film carmera. PC magazine has excellent articles in their archives about this (e.g., setting white point). There are both expensive (e.g, Photoshop) and inexpensive applications (e.g., Picasa2 (free from Google)) for working with and cataloging digital images. Another factor to consider is how you are going to publi***he photos - printing on inkjet or color laser printers and/or publishing on the web. If you are publishing on the web, high megapixel cameras are overkill. Quality web photos can be generated with even 3 or 4 megapixel cameras. If you have a laptop computer I’d take it to the camera store when you look at cameras. The picture may look different on the laptop screen than on the small camera display. A lot of lighting issues can be overcome with the image manipulation applications. The one big advantage the high end digital cameras with separate lenses have is better control over depth of field.
Keep in mind, with a digital cam, taking pictures doesn’t cost anything. I bought my first digital camera 6 years ago. It is still my primary digital camer, although it is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth.
When my family went to disneyworld on vacation, I took the digicam and a few memory cards. I could take up to about 200 or so pictures per day. Changing memory cards took less time than reloading a film camera. When I got back to the hotel room, I plugged the camera into the hotel room TV and flipped though the pics, discarding any that were bad. Then I downloaded them to my laptop, wiped the memory card, put the batteries on charge, and I was ready to go the next day.
I was MUCH freer in taking pictures, and taking multiple pictures of the same thing, hoping for one good shot. I ended up getting lots of really good pics.
It is possible to make a pin-hole attachment for some digital cams, and the higher end ones can use the nicer lenses.
Nikon has just announced a omewhat less expensive model in its prosumer line, the D50. I own the D70 and love it, though i could see how the cost is enough to scare many away. For a review fo the D-50, and many others chekc out http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm
Guys, help out a photography newbie, wha does SLR mean? I’m taking pics with a $150 Sony CyberShot and can see where a nice camera would come in handy. I’d like to get something better but don’t want to spend a grand on it. Thanks.
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. The lens you are taking a picture with is the same one you are viewing thru. Things to look for when buying an slr. Plastic is not always bad. Even the legendary Canon AE-1 has a plastic shell! It is embedded with a metal powder but still plastic. Plenty of those things still running around. A stainless steel lens mount is better than a polycard or plastic one. I have never seen a plastic lens mount break. I have seen plastic body shells crack. Minolta aluminum body shell at one time had a splitting problem. but plastic shells shatter or crumble. The real money you will spend is in lenses. Make sure you can live with the lens line. Canon and Nikon both have at least 2 levels of lens lines. Third party lens while most of the time are ok they are still hit and miss. Be careful of manufacture kit lenses some are cheap, some are good and some are cheap and good. Then again some are bad. I have a cheap Quanttaray fla***hat kicks butt. The lenses are ehhh??? Do your homework.