Camera

Discussion in 'Photography Talk' started by kazzawazza, Sep 11, 2018.

  1. kazzawazza

    kazzawazza Total Gardener

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    I’m considering buying an entry level DLSR camera, possibly a Canon. I have been looking at new and second hand, with WiFi and without WiFi but not sure which way to go :scratch:
     
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    • Fat Controller

      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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      When I was needing help on cameras and lenses, our @ARMANDII and @wiseowl came to my rescue, and I am sure they will be able to give you some good advice.

      Regarding wi-fi, it generally makes it easier to transfer images from the camera to your PC, but tread carefully as some cameras only allow you to view the files via an app and not actually transfer them
       
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      • ARMANDII

        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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        Hi Kazzawazza,

        Well, you've not mentioned your budget or how, or low, you're thinking of the cameras megapixel resolution.

        You could consider these

        Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / EOS 200D + EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

        Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,040,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

        Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / EOS 200D + EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

        Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,040,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

        Canon EOS 1300D + EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II

        Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 18MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in fixed, 920,000 dots | Max burst speed: 3fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner


        . Nikon D5600 + AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR


        Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Nikon F (DX) | Screen: 3.2in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,037,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

        5. Pentax K-70 + HD DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE

        Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Pentax KAF2 | Screen: 3in tilting, 921,000 dots | Max burst speed: 6fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

        I'm a Pentax fan and have been so as far back as the 1960's. There is a vast range of K Mount (Pentax) lenses, second hand and new, going back to the 1950's which the older lenses (glass) being legendary for their quality. So you can have a top class camera with the ability to fit top class lenses going back from macro lenses to large telephoto lenses over several decades. Pentax are also renown for building tough, weather proof, dust proof cameras.

        This was taken with my Pentax K5 DSLR while sitting on a river bank using a 35 year old secondhand Pentax 80mm-320mm telephoto lens....handheld.
        [​IMG]

        Taken with the Pentax K5 and a Tamron 90mm (macro) 25 year old second hand lens in shade by
        my Wildlife pond.......handheld.
        [​IMG]

        You might, eventually, also want to buy different lenses for whatever camera you buy so there are two main independent lens manufacturers, Tamron and Sigma, who both make quality lenses. In fact Nikon and Canon don't make their own lenses but get them from Tamron and Sigma.
        I would, if you can, buy a new camera which will come with at least one kit lens and then if you want to pick up a decent second hand macro and/or telephoto lens.
         
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        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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          In my opinion WiFi is, at the very least, secondary. What you need to consider in a camera is reliability. it's resolution (megapixels)....that has basically nothing to do with your lenses but the sensor in the camera, it's quality and ability to take knocks and are supplementary lenses easily and cheaply available either secondhand or new. I have 22 lenses altogether (:doh:....I know, I know:dunno::heehee:, and they're a mixture of of Pentax, Tamron and Sigma.:coffee:
           
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          • kazzawazza

            kazzawazza Total Gardener

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            Wow ! Fab pics !

            I have had Canon compact cameras in the past and have always been happy with them hence opting for a Canon as opposed to a Nikon DLSR. I went into Jessops last week to look at the 4000D. One of the assistants said that if it was my first camera, I should consider second hand and go with a 1200D (2014) which is only slightly different to a 4000D (2018) and without WiFi. However, following a conversation with London Camera Exchange, they suggested the 1300D (2016) as its newer and with WiFi. They said the 4000D was only made for the likes of John Lewis, Jessops etc.

            I have never had a DLSR before so it’s all new to me. Budget wise, around £300 if it were new.

            LCE had a 1200D body and lens for £199.

            Used Canon EOS 1200D + 18-55mm III| London Camera Exchange -Derby
             
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            • kazzawazza

              kazzawazza Total Gardener

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              I took this image a few years ago through the windscreen of a helicopter of the Hoover Dam with my compact camera. It would have been so much clearer and a better quality image with a DLSR
              9950E3A0-B8EF-4882-8502-92FF2C2FF4CF.jpeg
               
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                Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
              • ARMANDII

                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                Not true, Kazzawazza, that is just sales talk. Nikon don't make cameras directed to "
                " They're a vast manufacturer whose camera are directed to photographers on a global scale. To be honest, that sort of sales hype would put me off buying from any photo shop that came out with that sort of stuff in order to get you to buy a different model. To be frank, if I was going to buy either a Canon or a Nikon, (which I would never do:heehee:), I would go for the Nikon.

                It's still just a camera, basically the same as a Box Brownie:dunno::heehee:....well, maybe slightly more sophisticated:dunno:. I tend to walk around the garden, etc, with the camera in my hand and after a while it feels like it's part of me instead of just a lump of metal/plastic, glass. Whatever you buy, hold it, get to know it, how it handles and how it works...........if a Village Idiot like me can do then you most certainly will.:love30::snorky:
                 
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                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                  Oh, I wish that was true, Kazz, but I have seen images taken with really basic, cheap, point and shoot cameras that truly outshone and outclassed those taken with a DSLR. A DSLR does not guarantee clearer, sharper shots.........that is up to the photographer:dunno: A DSLR, once you understand how it works, what apertures, depth of field, etc, there are for you to use to get a good image, will help you to compose a shot and, on auto do most of the work for you. I never use auto but from experience chose my film speed, aperture, exposure speed, etc, but that comes from just understanding what a camera is actually doing when the controls are set. When you get the camera, walk around with it in your hand and you'll soon find you've forgotten it's there and it become more natural to use it..........and take plenty of shots to get familiar with it.:coffee:
                   
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                  • Mike Allen

                    Mike Allen Total Gardener

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                    Once I was in my then local/regular camera shop in Woolwich. I forget the actual camera I had with me at the time. I'd been chatting with the guy behind the counter, mentioning that however much I tried, all my shots came out slightly blurred. The camera was a roll film type. Another chap in the shop chipped in. Excuse me...blah blah. Couldn't help overhearing your conversation. He related how most important it was for you and the camera to 'marry'. Never mind if the camera is a Brownie Box or some expensive item. When you hold it. Does it feel comfortable? is it part of YOU. He emphasised this point over and over. Later at police driving school I heard a similar statement. Never mind the car, what it can or can't do. How do you feel about it. Has it become part of you? The chap in the camera shop that Saturday morning took a look at my camera. Sorry matey, but the lens is flawed and you will never get a good picture. Turns out he was a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

                    I have an olympus dslr camera. Truthfully I can't be bothered with manual settings. My pics, some good, some, don't ask. My take on todays cameras. OK. DSLR. No film. Seeing the result. No waiting for film processing etc. From a coputer chip/card your image has been recorded. Now by whatever means, either playback on the camera or as an upload on the PC. What you are now looking at is much like,m come along and see our holiday snaps on the screen. DSLR's and computers, the images are reproduced in brilliant back lighting.
                     
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                    • kazzawazza

                      kazzawazza Total Gardener

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                      A number of years ago I bought a Canon compact camera and I loved it. I think it cost me £450 and I took some good pictures with it. I then decided to learn a bit about Photoshop, so I did an evening course at College. I was now able to make the not so good and good pictures look much better. Over time, something must have happened to the camera because one day it wouldn’t work so I took it into Jessops. One of the assistants said that to repair it would cost more than a new camera. I couldn’t believe it. Since then I have bought 2 cameras and I don’t like any of them. I just can’t get on with them and the pictures have never been as good as the Canon camera.
                       
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                      • Loofah

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                        I have a Nikon D5500 and it's a great snapper! Definitely ignore wi-fi as although later models make it simple to transfer the images over wi-fi, the earlier ones (such as mine) its a complete faff and frankly if all you have to do is pop the card out and into the pc then the process is easier and faster by manually doing it. Windows actually enables you to automate this process too so you dont even have to click!
                        If its your first DSLR then i'd opt for the D5300 as it also has gps which I quite like so it tags where the pic was taken and you can pick these up for peanuts now and spend the difference on an extra lens. I use Sigma lenses (F mount) over Tamron but its personal choice again. Sigma have a gizmo that lets you fine tune and make adjustments to the lens itself, something I don't think anyone else does. Why? Because lenses aren't all manufactured perfectly and people like to fiddle in any event! Lenses also come with firmware these days so the gizmo lets you update that too which can bring improvements to, for example, image stabilisation.
                         
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                        • wiseowl

                          wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                          Good morning @kazzawazza my friend I have owned and tested every make of DSLR on the market,we all have our own preferences mine is the Cannon as the screen suits me better than all the other's but they are all much of the same,its a personal preference ,I am not going to blind you with science,or bells and whistles,as for your question on Wi Fi yes it is very useful at the moment I use the Panasonic F1000 which is a bridge camera but has the largest sensor on the market and also has 4K video,it does everything that my DSLR's do and more,and I don't have to keep changing lens when I am out and about,every time you change a lens ,no matter how careful you are dust will find a way onto the sensor after a while,so there you have it my friend,if you need any more advice just ask:smile:
                           
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                          • ARMANDII

                            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                            I have to confess that although I have had the K5 for around 10 years and swapped lens many times, indoors and out, my K5 sensor hasn't got a speck of dust on it. I always carry my spare lenses in use in an individual plastic bag and in a pocket while always, when removing a lens, pointing the front of the camera downwards while changing onto the new lens. I do have the cleaning kits and blowers but never used them "in anger" yet, maybe I've been lucky:dunno:
                             
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                            • Mike Allen

                              Mike Allen Total Gardener

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                              Over the years I've had an assortment of cameras from a Coronet Rapide, folding camera to my present Olympus DSLR. I was so pleased with it that I bought a S/H one for each of my daughter Amanda and granddaughter Chloee. Chloee is starting at university next month doing photography, so I treated her to a Nikon that has more pixels. She really is great at photography.
                              I still have my favourite 35mm cameras. Two Exakter Varex 1000. At the time, not being able to afford a new one at around £100 I waited and eventually bought a S/H for £89 Then one Saturday I was in my local camera shop, 'Percivals'. A chap came in with a shopping bag on wheels, full of camera stuff. Without the manager looking, he offered the chap £25 for the lot. I'd noticed a Exacter Vx. Following him outside, I asked to have a closer look. I handed over £25 and was now the owner of my second Exacter. Until a bout a year ago, both cameras were in use. I am trying to find a good repairer to completely overhaul them. In their day, they were used in the medical and scientific fields.

                              Buying my Olympus dslr. I saw an offer on EBay. Contacted the seller and paid the price into the sellers bank account. No camera was forthcoming. A police pal from West Midlands Police, had a word with CID. Turned out, the woman seller, never even had the camera to sell. I did get my money back. I finally bought the Olympus along with two lens, brand new and guaranteed etc for around £400 Having tried it out and decided to keep it, I contacted an insurance company. I listed the camera body with full details and also the two lens, and asked for a quote. All risks etc. The camera is insured for £800 Each year the renewal premium attracts a no claims discount plus I can add odds and ends to the policy without any extra cost.

                              I no longer have to worry about fixing a camera to any of my microscopes as digital camers are fitted.

                              Friends, when photographing plants etc in close-up or macro, do you use a ring flash. It really does make such a difference.
                               
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                              • ARMANDII

                                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                                I have a Ring Flash, Mike, but found, in certain instances, it gave flat colours, one of the other things is that I tend to take macro images "on the hooF" and found a Ring Flash a bit awkward when having to stick a lens into "undergrowth". I have found I prefer taking images in the soft light of the morning or the evening, but it's all down to personal tastes, experience, etc:dunno::snorky:
                                 
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