So I have a camera but it's nothing professional. I'm really considering getting a professional camera, but I don't have any idea what to get. My friend keeps telling me to get and SLR cam. Is that what I'm looking for, and if so, what kind of models should I get?? I'm looking for something more on the cheaper side but still is a good quality.
This is what I've been having my eye on for awhile now. It's relatively cheap compared to the other ones and its one of the more popular ones on Amazon. So I assume its the one of the best "professional" beginner's Digital SLRs. Otherwise, take a look around here.
Thanks. Stupid question: Is there anything I need to know/buy if I get a camera. Like do I have to buy lens or anything, or does it come with it or is that extra?? How 'bout memory card???
I always go for the best or he could start with the semi-pro S5IS The reason I say the S5IS is that you never should "jump" from a P&S to a pro your going to regret it if you have not read up a pro is alot different then a P&S
If you know a little bit about photography (enough to understand the basic jargon) this site http://www.dpreview.com/ is one of the best I have found for info. You can browse the new stuff, look by manufacturer, type, specific models or search by keying in the criteria you are looking for. A lot of the models come with professional reviews - or, if not, often with user ratings & comments which could give you a useful guide. A bit irrelevant but in the 'old' (ie pre digital/film) days I used to like Pentax. Had an SLR with a couple of lenses and a compact zoom. In the current 'digital' age I have so far found Canon the best mix of quality for price and user friendliness.
I am now wiping the sweat off my forehead the zoom lense would not close on my S5 then I figured out I need to change the batteries in it:rolleyes:
I have a Nikon D70S.. couple of years old, but it is a fantastic camera! I think it's around $1500 now.. and that will get you the body, a good lens and a 1G memory card. I'd think that since you used the word "professional" you are probably looking in that $1K - $2K range.. I'd highly recommend Nikon myself!
Ebay has a listing of them and the prices look pretty good in my book http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=Nikon+D70S&_sacat=See-All-Categories ---------- Post added 4th Sep 2010 at 09:30 AM ---------- Found this and might be useful http://photographycourse.net/what-is-iso
Firstly, thanks everyone for the help. Secondly, holy sh*t!!! Cameras are so expensive!!! Since I'm very new to photography, and it's more of a hobby, I'd rather not spend more then like $500 or $600 on a camera.
Then you might want to start out with a used dslr some camera shops sell "reconditioned" kits depending on the make and brand etc the other option is to stick with the point and shoot while you save up money for the new camera you might also look into classes as a "student" you might get a discount also watch out for "Off Brand Names" some companys will throw any thing out there to make a buck at the expense of the customer
I've only got a Sony Cybershot, and I've thought about upgrading to a pro camera. But the thing is - I haven't mastered the Cybershot yet. I still haven't learned everything it can do. And I still haven't really mastered such things as framing, and settings, and all the things I can do in post-production. Given that, I decided that I'll stick with this one until I've wrung everything out of it I possibly can. Then I'll decide if I want to upgrade. My musician friends have said "You don't need a $3000 guitar to rock." And I think that sort of applies here, at least to me. Some people can make that guitar sound amazing. But I'm still learning the chords. Lex
The techniques used in dSLR cameras produce larger and bulkier cameras than most alternative technologies (such as viewfinder-less cameras that rely on digital displays, or entirely separate viewfinder systems), but they're much more capable and usually have better sensors and lenses (as well as interchangeable lenses). The standards for current sensors mean that a dSLR will usually have less noise and better sensitivity than smaller cameras. Some photography techniques rely on large aperture settings that are difficult to achieve with most point-and-shoots. The downside is that dSLR cameras are bulkier and much more expensive: a low-price dSLR will typically start at around 500 USD with a single lens, and getting a variety of lenses can easily exceed that price again. You can get a very high-end point-and-shoot for 300-400 USD, it'll fit in a pocket, and the only big expenses past that are some memory cards and spare batteries. If you need interchangeable lenses, plan to work in very-high-brightness or very-low-brightness situations, or take a lot of pictures of a high-motion situation in a short period of time, or take very macro pictures, or work in an environment where you are paid to take pictures of a one-time event, there are serious benefits to a dSLR. If you're working in a studio environment, mostly taking posed pictures, or simply don't take real situational-sensitive photos, as a beginner, a point-and-shoot camera will leave more in the wallet for things like light boxes, studio lights, diffusers, and other tools. Within the point-and-shoot field, there's a lot of difference in quality depending on what price range you look at. Some relatively basic imaging and post-processing techniques can be performed by users with very little experience, but benefit from features not always found on less expensive cameras. Photoshop and GIMP can do histogram equalization, for example, but that technique causes much greater perceptible noise on images that have already gone through JPEG compression's chrominance conversion. As a result, many professional photographers take most pictures in RAW format, and while an increasing number of consumer and most "prosumer" cameras can do that today, it's still not common in the entry level. Few on-camera flashes are anything to write home about, but higher-end cameras tend to have better color intensity and avoid the timing problems some point-and-shoots have with basic tricks to diffuse the flash. Most Nikon and Canon dSLRs, and an increasing number of high-end point-and-shoot cameras, have wireless remotes or an interface for a fairly cheap wireless remote -- there are a number of things this is extraordinarily useful for. On the other hand, don't go buying much more camera than you need. A hundred-dollar camera you're willing to actually take with you and not fear it'll spontaneously combust will take much better pictures than the one that sits in a foam-lined container all the time. Many of the big advantages of the high-end "prosumer" range and professional range aren't that visible to normal people, even if the sum of their parts are, so trying to work with these effects will be simply frustrating. And the very high-end dSLRs and assorted lenses are an investment; buying one before you know what your needs are risks being a bad investment. In the sub-600 USD range: The Canon Rebel XSi is functional and workable, if limited in spare features, while the Canon Rebel T1i buys you extra resolution but will probably set you over that limit with a first lens -- note that Canon lenses are often more expensive than their competitors, although they're usually very high-quality. Nikon's D3000 is more bare-bones (exceptionally so, in fact) and lower-resolution, but it's also got a number of electronic guides to help new photographers learn the features on the dSLR. Sony's A500 is useful middle-ground, and plays an interesting opposite to point-and-shoots: it's awkward to learn and use, but has some exceptional high-sensitivity settings. You're just in the right range for "bridge" point-and-shoot models, though: non-dSLR cameras with features more intended for real enthusiasts or as spare cameras for professionals. I'll recommend the Canon PowerShot G11 (or, if you're willing to sacrifice some noise for the extra resolution, a G10) simply because I've gotten a lot of very successful results from a PowerShot G9: the entire series is a very nice level of camera for new photographers. The PowerShot S90 has a few less features (most notably, losing the viewfinder) at a lower cost, and is another good option, while the SX1 IS is supposed to have an exceptional featureset, albeit at a price that's putting you well into dSLR range. Sony's got a number of options here, with the most notable being the Cybershot DSC-h20 -- note that many Sony cameras work only with the proprietary Memory Stick format, which can be a source of frustration. Panasonic's Lumix DMC-ZS7 and Nikon's CoolPix P100 are more specialist tools, with image quality issues that'd normally disqualify them from their price ranges, but very useful or unusual features on the side.
