Any Camera Savvy Know A Lot of Cameras?

A

Ang

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I have to take photography for one of my courses at University for a prerequisite to other classes.

Basically they are saying we need a DSLR for the class, but there are some point and shoots that can get you by in the class. The main features it needs to have are adjusting the Shutterspeed and F-stop.

I don't really know the price range that these point-and shoots come in with those features.. but I see some of the DSLR's for about $500. Don't have a lot of money so I'm kinda of stuck what to do.

My mom had a Canon Rebel XT, but she lost it :confused:... So horrible. So if anyone could help me out and see if the benefits of buying a DSLR compared to a point and shoot with adjusting Shutterspeed and F-Stop, maybe I can figure out what camera to buy.
 
DSLR cameras generally feature significantly larger light-sensitive chips, which means greater sharpness and less noise. A high-resolution compact camera often has 30-40 million pixels per square centimeter, while high-resolution DSLRs are in the 2-5 million pixels per square centimeter. In other words, a ten megapixel DSLR can have picture element fully ten times larger than the ones in a ten megapixel compact. This does make a difference to quality. I would argue that it make a bigger difference than the actual number of pixels. My old 6 megapixel Pentax K100D had 1.7 million pixels per square centimeter, and generally had greater sharpness and less noise than pretty much any compact on the market, even the ones with twice the resolution.

Then there's the obvious difference of having swappable lenses, external flash connections, more on-body controls which means less fussing about inside menu systems, faster shooting speed, and so on and so forth.

Basically, DSLRs are better than compact cameras in almost every way. The only disadvantages I can think of is that they're bigger and heavier, more expensive and if you're shooting with flash you're limited to how short you can have the shutter open.

There are plenty of compact cameras that offer full manual control, except for focus. Have a look at the higher-end cameras and I'm sure you'll find something to your liking. I think the Samsung NV-series have full manual control.
 
For once you aren't forced to learn to shoot with a fully manual ONLY camera. :) The class requires a DSLR. I don't think a point and shoot camera is going to cut it. You will learn about various exposure metering modes. How to achieve a shallow depth of view. Maybe even learn how to shoot under high ISO setting and how to read the histogram. I am wonder if any rich kids would show up in the class with a 1dmarkIII.....:) Or better yet, 1dsmarkIII....:)
 
Ah, yeah, I forgot the most important bit:

If the point of the class is learning, then I'd suggest buying a cheap DSLR system off Ebay or something, or hell, maybe even an analogue camera. Use it only in manual mode. It will teach you a lot more about how the whole F-stop/shutter speed/film speed thing works than just aiming and shooting.

It won't necessarily teach you more about photography, though. Knowing how photography works, from a technical point of view, certainly helps when actually doing it, but it's not as important as more loosely defined things like "artistry" and what have you. Knowing which F-stop to use and will not enable you to take good photos unless you were able to do so anyway. It will, however, make it EASIER.
 
you can pick up a used DSLR for $200-$300 from KEH.com along with a cheap lens and be good to go. and like people have said already, try to stay away from the P&S for this class. it's a requirement for a reason. and who knows, you might enjoy it more then you think.
 
Definitely go with a DSLR, you'll learn much better with that. As a simple, practical matter, most p&s with manual controls are a bit fiddly to actually use the controls and the tiny sensor will just not pick up the detail of a large sensor. Then there's issues with noise, esp at high iso and many p&s cams can't do long exposures which is something you may end up doing in class.

If it were me I'd shop for something like a canon 20D - should be pretty cheap, but takes good pics and has a prosumer level body. The rebel XT is a fine camera as well, but its consumer body makes actually using full manual controls a bit more fiddly than they should be imho. Another excelent option is the pentax k10d.

good luck!
 
I am all for DSLR, but if you want to go the advanced point and shoot route look at the Canon G9 or G10. They are more compact cameras that have a lot more features than your typical point and shoot and can do all the manual adjustments like a DSLR. They even support external flash.
 
what are the requirements? Lens focal length, aperture range, why digital are you doing post processing in the class as well? Have they given you any examples of what would be considered a good fit? Usually they do that to give you an idea. You can get almost ANY body and it will do the job. You will want to know what kind of lens, as that makes the picture. The control on the aperture is where you are going to see your self, along with shutter speed. Well all bodies can do a good range of shutter speeds, but lenses no all are created equal.

I'll blindly suggest any DSLR body 4-6 mega pixels minimum with a shutter that can hit 1/2000 (1/4000 preferred) and has decent ISO performance from 100-800 ISO. For a lens, at least a 50mm 1.8 or equivalent.

So Canon XT, XTi, XS, XSI, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 5D (you can get anything really)
Nikon - Get something that has a focus motor in the body, anything else is not what you are looking for.
Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax check some reviews, but they are all a little less in the Image Quality. Personally I'd stick with Nikon and Canon, as their systems are very well rounded, and their sensors tend to produce better results.

Let me know your answers if you can.

Cheers,
 
As stated get yourself a good quality SLR. That doesn't mean it has to be expensive.
I would recommend around a:
- K10D on Pentax's side
- D30 on Canon's side
- D80 on Nikon's side
...so on and so forth.

I'm a strong believer in having a solid QUALITY body in which to hold. If you don't like the way the camera feels your not going to want to use it.
In regards to that, I would avoid the xti/ xsi line from Canon and D40/ D60 line from Nikon (of course that is imo). Pentax's lower end offerings aren't bad actually. However you have more controls at your finger tips with the K10D and above, plus better features overall.

BikePilot said:
Another excellent option is the Pentax k10d.

good luck!
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A man after my own heart :cool:
Sean said:
Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax check some reviews, but they are all a little less in the Image Quality.
Click to expand...
I would beg to differ. However in all honesty he wouldn't see the difference even if there was one.
 
Any modern DSLR should be fine for your purposes. I typically recommend Canon and Nikon simply because they are common and you can often get good used deals and sell your used equipment if needed. On the Canon side, you can get a used XT, XTi, or 30D off the buy-sell boards at Fred Miranda pretty cheaply.

I agree body feel is important, but the Rebel line from Canon is perfectly fine for your purposes (contrary to Vroom Skies opinion). [Generalizations follow] The Canon xxD models get you a slightly better user interface and a faster frame rate, but those aren't necessary for good photography. They also get you better ISO performance and slightly better focusing. When all is said and done, however, the current xsi will give you as good or better image quality than the xxd series in most shooting situations. Since you are on a budget, I recommend that you look at used rebel bodies, where you will find many great deals.
 
Most of the cameras everyone mentioned on here are ones he had on the list of ones to buy. Unfortunately I can't find the list right now.

As far as features it needs, basically he said the 2 BIGGEST ones are full adjustment of shutterspeed and aperture. We learned depth of field, and I see why lots of point and shoots and obtain a large depth of field. One day I was using a Nikon D60 the teacher let me borrow, and comparing pictures from a Point and Shoot SD1000, and it was very hard to replicate what it could do, especially since on you can only adjust the "exposure" and make the shutter speed longer and not shorter.

The class last semester wasn't Digital, the school (University of Illinois in Chicago) just changed the ciriculum to switch from film to digital. And there is this guy hounding us from one of the stores http://www.helixphoto.com/ to buy cameras from there, and if we don't we are either

a) getting ripped off
b) getting ripped off

But when I looked around the prices are kind of high at helix, granted we get a student discount, many classmates said they regret buying from there.

My hope was that someone I knew had one that I could borrow. Other than my mom, which she lost... but has to borrow my point and shoot now when she wants to take pictures. I just find it hard to justify spending so much on a camera for one class and might never use the camera again (doubtful, but using it for things I couldn't use a point and shoot for).

In the end, I guess I knew I needed to buy one, but just my money situation right now is trying to convince me otherwise. Thanks for all the suggestions friends :).

Edit: As far as budget let me put it this way.. everyday I goto slickdeals and type in DSLR in the search bar and try to find the cheapest :(
 
Ang said:
Most of the cameras everyone mentioned on here are ones he had on the list of ones to buy. Unfortunately I can't find the list right now.

As far as features it needs, basically he said the 2 BIGGEST ones are full adjustment of shutterspeed and aperture. We learned depth of field, and I see why lots of point and shoots and obtain a large depth of field. One day I was using a Nikon D60 the teacher let me borrow, and comparing pictures from a Point and Shoot SD1000, and it was very hard to replicate what it could do, especially since on you can only adjust the "exposure" and make the shutter speed longer and not shorter.

The class last semester wasn't Digital, the school (University of Illinois in Chicago) just changed the ciriculum to switch from film to digital. And there is this guy hounding us from one of the stores http://www.helixphoto.com/ to buy cameras from there, and if we don't we are either

a) getting ripped off
b) getting ripped off

But when I looked around the prices are kind of high at helix, granted we get a student discount, many classmates said they regret buying from there.

My hope was that someone I knew had one that I could borrow. Other than my mom, which she lost... but has to borrow my point and shoot now when she wants to take pictures. I just find it hard to justify spending so much on a camera for one class and might never use the camera again (doubtful, but using it for things I couldn't use a point and shoot for).

In the end, I guess I knew I needed to buy one, but just my money situation right now is trying to convince me otherwise. Thanks for all the suggestions friends :).

Edit: As far as budget let me put it this way.. everyday I goto slickdeals and type in DSLR in the search bar and try to find the cheapest :(
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Buy an used one here. An used digital rebel for under $300. Get a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 for around $80.

http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/Prod...=&BC=DC&BCC=3&ID=60&CC=2&CCC=1&BCL=&GBC=&GCC=
 
Kadath said:
I'd say a used 20D would be 10x better than a G9/G10 at half the price...
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The 20D is a better camera, but the G9/G10 are very capable and feature all the manual controls like a DSLR.

The nice thing is that they are much more portable.
 
used 30D and 18-55..

if you are in the US.. there are 3 places I look for that I suggest you look up too..

potn
fredmiranda
craigslist
 
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