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I am looking into buying a new digital camera. My decision is between brands. I know I want a camera that different lenses can be used with it and I want something cutting edge. It seems like as soon as I buy one camera, them another comes out that is better. The only cameras I have owned before are Olympus and I loved them all. I was ready to buy a Olympus Evolt-500 but a professional photographer told me he would have nothing but a Nikon. I would love to hear from you guys on what kind of camera you use and what you would buy if you were buying a new camera right now. I do a lot of motion pictures and then put the pictures on shirts (dyesub). Every opinion would be very much appreciated.
-------------------- Cynthia Pack 246 Diamondview Loop Galax, Va. 24333 Posts: 659 | From: Galax, Virginia USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Cis, We're of the same school.. Nikon Only. For our High End Cameras.. I own 3 Nikon Cameras. 1 film and 2 Digitals. And the real nice thing is all my Lens interchange (except the Point and Shoot) with the others. Our High end Nikon is a D100 SLR Digital. I can't say enough about the D100 as it works just like my 35mm so there was no adjustmets for me switching to digital and getting use to the differences. I have been looking at the new D200 (Higher Pixals 10.1 vs our 6.1 now) body and may get it this summer. The D100s are no longer available but I have seen them on Ebay for around $500 to $700. If you get the D100 spend an extra $50 and get the Lower battery pack. It mounts like an automatic winder on the bottom of the camera and it allows us to take around 400 pictures on one charge. If your looking for a D200 they are still around $1200 if I remeber right. As for lenses. Be prepared to spend a few hundred for a good lens. (and if you want a good 3000mm Telephoto plan around 3k) I was lucky enough to have around 5k worth my old lenses around from my old 35mm film systems so We did't have to buy a lens right off. Good Luck and enjoy.
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As far as brand, I really don't think it matters that much as long as it is a quality camera.
A quality digital SLR like a Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, etc will give good results if coupled with a quality lens.
Depending on how high of a quality image you want, and what you plan on doing with the photos is what matters most.
If you plan on making large prints, then a decent mega pixel (8+) is important.
If you plan on shooting action, then look at the drive speed (frames per/second), and how fast it will buffer the images and dump them to the memory card.
If you plan on general photos, and the ability to shoot some great shots, then a Canon 30D, or a Nikon D70 would be a good choice.
Most important of all are the lenses. A $1500 camera coupled to a $100 lens (the kind usually offered as a "kit") will only produce so good of an image. Not a bad image, but not as good an image as the camera is capable of. A quality 50mm (standard lens) should cost about $280.
Look for lenses with a large aperature (1.4, 2.0, or 2.8), and stay away from lenses with small aperatures like 3.5, 4.5 etc. Not only are you getting more aperature (light gathering ability), but you are getting a better constructed lens. (weather tight seals, better optical glass, etc)
Whatever brand you choose, please try to set aside money for quality lenses. That is one part of the investment that you will keep after the bodies get worn-out, or upgraded. Consumer grade lenses (like a $300 70-200mm zoom) will not do the camera justice. Like I said, not bad photos,...just not as good as you could have.
I personally shoot a Canon 20D with a 50mm 1.4 most of the time. (I have other lenses also) The images are remarkable. I do plan on upgrading to a full frame body like a 5D soon.
Sorry so winded, it's a passion.
Peace, Bob
-------------------- "The 3-4 minute mark of "Freewill" by Rush.
Bob Kaschak Artisan Sign And Design Peru New York Posts: 1875 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Jul 2002
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Ok Nikon is the pro way to go for the most part how much money do you really intend to spend should be the question.
-------------------- Steve Eisenreich Dezine Signs PO BOX 6052 Stn Forces Cold Lake, Alberta T9M 2C5 Posts: 774 | From: Cold Lake | Registered: Mar 2000
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As far as cameras with changeable lenses go, Nikon or Canon are going to be your main choices.
Between those two brands, it doesn't matter which one you get. Both have a ton of lenses available because both brands have kept their same lens mounts for a long time and won't be changing any time soon either. The only real differences between Canon and Nikon are the small convenience features that you just have to sort out for yourself.
When you get into the dSLR world, the lenses are more important than the camera body itself. Today's digital image sensors, such as the 8 megapixel sensor in my Canon 20D (which is now a few years old) actually have tighter resolution than the lenses can reproduce! The pixels in the sensors themselves are smaller and packed together tighter than the sharpest optics can focus in on. This means you can get some awesome detail in digital images but if you view one at 100% pixel size on-screen, it actually looks fuzzy and a bit disappointing. They look great when printed though.
You'll have to learn how to do post-processing on the photos now though. Digital SLR cameras don't automatically process images like consumer level point-and-shoot cameras do. You may have to learn some color correction techniques and get familiar with adjusting levels, contrast, color balance and saturation.
Nikon's D80 and D200 and Canon's 400D and 30D (man I wish these guys would get new model numbering!) are prosumer level - ie: not quite consumer, not quite pro. They'll work well and provide a great value at $1400 or less. Nikon's D2 series and Canon's 1D series cameras are pro level but start at $3,000 and go up, not including any lenses. A major benefit to having a pro level camera is a super fast autofocusing system, more autofocus sensors in the camera so the focus is more accurate, and a larger image buffer that allows you to fire off action sequences at 8 frames per second.
I have a Canon 20D and use it to shoot high-speed action/motorsports. I just got a 4'x8' print back made from one of this camera's files that was cropped in close to the subject who didn't even come close to filling the whole frame and it still looks great. This is where a good lens comes in handy though because the lens produced enough sharpness and detail to make up for what's lost through cropping and resizing.
Good lenses are a good investment though. Because they're interchangeable within each brand's product line, they're always in demand and they hold their value. If you buy a new lens for a thousand bucks, decide you want to sell it a year later to get some other lens, you can sell it for $800 or more. You never get stuck with some obsolete piece of trash when it comes to glass - as long as you buy good glass.
If I were in the market for another camera body right now I'd get the 16 Megapixel Canon 1Ds Mark II ($7,000 new) so I'd have that much extra resolution to work with and not to forget a lightning fast autofocus system. Currently nobody offers a camera suited for action photography that even comes close to the resolution of the 1DsMarkII and Canon is introducing a new professional body this year, with even higher resolution! Those 1DsMarkII's are going to drop in price new off the shelf, not to mention the used ones that will hit the market.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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Thanks everyone. You have given me a whole lot to think about. I take drag racing pictures. More of them want the high rise shots coming off the line. One thing I forgot to mention is I need the camera so I can add extra flash to it. Besides the one external on the camera, I want to add one on the starting line. At some of the larger tracks, you have to stand so far away that even the external flash on the camera is too far away to light the car. Also it is nice to be able to cut off the flash attached to the camera but still have the flash coming from the side. Some of the drivers claim that the flash blinds them. Thanks again.
-------------------- Cynthia Pack 246 Diamondview Loop Galax, Va. 24333 Posts: 659 | From: Galax, Virginia USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I think you would be looking at buying a ring flash it is remote controlled or wireless you place the flash unit where you need it and it is controlled from the camera. I would think you should go a night early to setup your camera and flash settings to catch a well lit photo.
-------------------- Steve Eisenreich Dezine Signs PO BOX 6052 Stn Forces Cold Lake, Alberta T9M 2C5 Posts: 774 | From: Cold Lake | Registered: Mar 2000
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It's Nikon for me. I've owned a Cannon, system but Nikon is the way to go.
Mike Jackson pushed me in this direction and glad he did.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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I agree and disagree with the answers given. You absolutely will not go wrong with either a Canon or a Nikon. You can get really good photo's with a lesser camera and good lenses then what a lot of people will say. How do I know this... because I have done it for years shooting motocross and cross country (bikes/atv's) and getting photo's published in magazines and catalogs for product manufacturer's. The reason I was able to do that is some help from some photography friends and I took the time to learn just what I could do and what settings worked for what I did.
Now I have a Canon 20D with a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 that has made my work easier most of the time but ultimately I want a higher end body with the best canon lenses that I can get. Now you can get quality lenses like the Sigma for a lot less then the higher end Nikon or Canon lenses and get very high quality photo's without the most expensive equipment.
I have used a lot of different lenses but do agree that you need at least a f2.8 if you are shooting inside without the best lighting. But also remember that the better your f-stop(lower numbers)the more you will generally pay more for them but they are worth it. As far as your remote flash setup you might want to check with the owners/promoter of the races you want to shoot to see if they will let you do that and what their requirements are. But I would recommend a few different one's or a strobe setup if they will allow it and not a ring flash.
If you want to get a lot of info from a lot of professional photographers go check out this site. www.fredmiranda.com
PS. Forgot to mention that I am shooting a Canon 20D with a 550EX flash and several different lenses.
[ January 22, 2007, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: Brian K. Barker ]
-------------------- Brian K. Barker BK Artworks
Just Paint... Posts: 5 | From: Stonewood, WV | Registered: Jan 2007
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Funny you should ask... I just bought a Kodak Z612 last week. $289.00
Probably lower end than you were looking, but seems to do about anything.
-6 Megapixels (print a 30"x40" picture with little or no pixelation.)
-12x Optical zoom (very nice!)
-HD 2"x3" LCD viewer
-Takes "Nat's ass" close ups (I took a picture of a small 4" diameter weed in Macro, in sunlight & can zoom into a small section of a leave... crystal clear!)
-high quality video
-Li-ion rechargable battery & charger
-got a 512 meg smartcard for it for $12.99
_you cannot change lenses... sorry
It's just a great camera! If you like to set the shutter speeds & exposure & all that stuff... you can go manual on this thing.
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Hi Cynthia, I just joined the "prosumer" crowd with a Nikon D80. I love it. My daughter Jess had the D70 and I found the displays and viewfinder a bit small for my aging eyes - did I just admit that - Oh dear. The D80 is very similar to the D200 as far as the displays and the look but in a lighter plastic body. It has a lot of the same features as the D200 until you get into the more professional end of photography. It also is in a substantially lower price range. I'm still learning, I came into this with very little knowledge, but feel confident I made a good decision. I did my homework as far as checking out reviews and in the end spent a fair chunk extra on a Nikkor 18-200 lens with VR. It also has an active setting on it, but I haven't tried it on any sports yet. My best advice would be to check out the reviews and look for the features you want, there are enough of them out there that with a little searching you should be able to get a fairly unbiased overall idea of what will work best for you.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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and whatever you get, will be superceded sometime, so you can keep on waiting forever, or decide to just get one!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Canon 20D here as well. I did alot of research before I had purchased mine and it seemed at the time that the Canon lenses were considered more high end. This being the higher end glass like "L". Granted Canon has it's line of cheap lenses just like everyone else.
I'm happy with my 20D and my 70-200 IS 2.8L for my dirtbike action shots.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 912 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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quote:Originally posted by Bill Lynch: Will the Sigma lenses I have for my old film SLR (Minolta body) fit any of these digital bodies?
Hmmm.. the lenses themselves use a different mount and as far as I know, there are no adapters allowing a Minolta mount lens to attach to a Canon or Nikon body.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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As for Manual Nikon Lenses on a dSLR body. Yes it works. We do it all the time on mine. (I still have some of my Very old(Pre Autofocus)Lenses that we use.) But you will have to manualy set all your settings. (Old School)
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We have been pleased with Fujis of $300-$400. Browsing complaints.com and such customer-outrage websites, we found Fuji's Customer Service to be the least-hated of the lot. Only 2 things I don't like about Fuji:
Planned Obsolescence. The Boss Lady sent me to fetch a particular model. I liked it so much that I decided to get one too. But they don't make that one anymore! They have a different one for the same price. It's just as good, maybe better, but that does not bode well for replacement parts and long-term service.
The other thing I don't like is the battery-cover door on the bottom of the camera. There's too much breakable plastic in the latch, so I have to be careful not to jiggle the thing too much.
-------------------- Bruce Williams Lexington KY Posts: 945 | From: Lexington, KY, USA | Registered: Mar 1999
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I would love to hear from you guys on what kind of camera you use and what you would buy if you were buying a new camera right now. I do a lot of motion pictures and then put the pictures on shirts (dyesub). Every opinion would be very much appreciated.
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The D80 is very similar to the D200 as far as the displays and the look but in a lighter plastic body. It has a lot of the same features as the D200 until you get into the more professional end of photography. It also is in a substantially lower price range. I'm still learning, I came into this with very little knowledge, but feel confident I made a good decision. I did my homework as far as checking out reviews and in the end spent a fair chunk extra on a Nikkor 18-200 lens with VR. It also has an active setting on it, but I haven't tried it on any sports yet.
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