| Author | Message | ||
     Damnut |
So tell me if you think this would be a good starter kit for an amateur. I think I might go with the Nikon D90 over the D80 just because of the CMOS sensor. I found a bundle that has a Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX, Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF Zoom-Nikkor and a Nikon 50 mm f/1.8D Nikkor AF Lens. Some of the D90 specs. Lens mount: Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts) Effective picture angle: Approx. 1.5 x lens focal length (Nikon DX format) Effective pixels: 12.3 million Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS sensor Total pixels: 12.9 million Dust-reduction system: Image Sensor Cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 required) I'll also be getting an external flash & backpack. Should this be sufficient for a noob? | ||
| Dynasport |
Oh, one more piece of advise. If you chose to buy mail order/internet, please be careful who you buy from. The photography business has more than its fair share of liars/cheats/frauds. Their are a couple of reputable mail/order dealers out there though that I have bought from with happy results. I would be happy to share their names with you via PM or in this thread if that is not a violation of site policy. I have no affiliation with them other than being a satisfied customer. Otherwise, if the price is substantially cheaper than most other places, there is likely a reason and it is not one you will like. It is not uncommon for the unscrupulous dealer to take items out of the box, such as batteries and chargers, and attempt to sell them to you for an additional charge. Buyer beware. | ||
| Brinnutz |
I suggest getting just a body, and reading up on decent glass. The bundled lenses are just that, "ok." You'll find yourself wanting to get a faster lens, especially if you start doing some dusk/dark lit area shots. Just a thought. Also, check out fredmiranda.com and you can buy used gear. I would buy a used camera, and get used lenses...To heck with buying new, these things hold value fairly well. | ||
| Dynasport |
The cheapest are still able to take decent photos. My old original Rebel with the cheapest of the cheap kit lenses. Actually not a very good photo, but I don't have many around taken with the old kit. http://k53.pbase.com/o4/56/683956/1/64575940.DhW7q 5k6.IMG_6181W.jpg My old Rebel with the cheap 50 1.8 http://k43.pbase.com/o4/56/683956/1/64566525.LEPPn ov3.IMG_6094W.jpg My 20D with a Tamron 28-75 2.8, a nice but still inexpensive lens http://i.pbase.com/o6/56/683956/1/77157593.p4EmUHY X.IMG_0011W.jpg Something the kit lens won't do and a reason higher FPS is nice. http://i.pbase.com/o6/56/683956/1/76001591.XqH7Wt8 7.IMG_9694W.jpg It just depends on what your goal is. | ||
| Court |
>>>>The photography business has more than its fair share of liars/cheats/frauds. The business has FAR MORE than it's fair share. Check EVERYTHING against www.adorama.com If you find ANY price significantly different you are getting taken somewhere . . . there are LOTS of games in the business. If you need something checked out my office is within about 200 yards of some of the biggest and best camera stores in the WORLD, just let me know. Buy used with great caution . . . camera stuff lasts a long time and GOOD stuff is tough (not saying it can't be done, just that it's tough) to find. I agree with Bill . . . always keep your camera handy . . . never know what kind of strange stuff you may see!  | ||
| Brinnutz |
Court, are you that close to a B&H or Adorama... I envy you. Though I have had to sell almost all of my camera gear. Only thing I have left is my XTi with grip, 580exII flash and my 10-22mm. If you need a gear bag, I am going to be selling my Lowepro Fastpack 250 in great condition! | ||
| Court |
B&H, Adorama, J&R, Broadway Photo, Cameta and about 15 others. Work provides a 10-22% discount and in NYC you can rent ANYTHING. I took a lens back the other day and was behind a guy in line . . his rental tab was $67,000. Check out the Adorama rental site. I use the "weekend is a day" deal a lot for real high end lens. The rent truck, soundstage stuff . . you name it. Not a day goes by in NYC that you don't see 20 Haddad's semi's on the street shooting a movie and I pass fashion and magazine shoots all the time. HINT: If you need park your Buell, there seems to ALWAYS be at least one Buell fanatic on every movie crew. . .and, . . don't ask me why . . . but most often it's a chick with a clipboard and a walkie-talkie . . go figure. They always let me chain my bike up in their secure area. Shhhhh | ||
| Thesmaz |
Be careful of those bundles on ebay, a lot of them sell grey market gear and you won't be able to get it fixed under warranty by the US repair centers. That was one of the reasons I went with Cameta Camera, even though I'm in Europe right now (military). | ||
| Davegess |
So tell me if you think this would be a good starter kit for an amateur Don't forget a tripod. Makes your shots much sharper and allows very low light shooting. | ||
| Rkc00 |
I have gotten most of my equipment from Cameta Camera. There store is here on Long Island. I have never had an issue with them. The only problem is I have to pay the NYS sales tax. I have also puchased from B&H and Ritz camera on line when Cameta did not have what I wanted in stock. | ||
| Damnut |
Work provides a 10-22% discount Would that apply to buying a camera for someone as well??  | ||
| Damnut |
Oh Dave..... a tripod was one of my first purchases after buying my Panasonic. I'm trying, I swear I'm trying. Please keep the advise coming, I will never grow tired of it. | ||
| Court |
Would that apply to buying a camera for someone as well?? Tough to say, frankly I doubt they'd ever have anyway of knowing. The trick would be to find an idiot (generally defined as someone like myself who works for a company with about the #1 benefit package in America and is willing to place their job at risk in these turbulent times) to pull it off. That may be tough. It's like trying to apply for employee discounts for buying 5 Buells a year. The tripod is a must have. I always keep a little $15 pocket tripod in my briefcase. Don't got crazy spending much on a tripod. Later you'll find that a good one is worth the price, but don't worry about it at this point. I've used them to shoot some of those spectacular pics of Manhattan and the lights at the World Trade Center site. | ||
| Danger_dave |
let's see 'em. | ||
| Damnut |
As Momma would say...... It doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks Court. | ||
| Thesmaz |
Look at one of these tripods, they work really well and very versatile http://www.amazon.com/Joby-GP2-00EN-Gorillapod-Fle xible-Digital/dp/B000NI971C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=p hoto&qid=1227042199&sr=1-3 | ||
| Reepicheep |
Those were good cigars! | ||
| Court |
Hehehehe . . . asking never hurts. It's kind of fun . . I get Apple and Dell discounts from Columbia University as a student and my employer is consistently among the top 5 in the country in bennies . . . so I like to get them bidding against each other. The fun part is that they are paying for me to go to school (and have approved Columbia Law school after I graduate next June if want) so I don't beat up on them too hard and the last thing I'd do is get crossways with them! | ||
| Court |
Hey . . . just walking into class and I'll share another trick . . . if you don't have a tripod just set your camera on the ground and stuff a book (actually I used a loafer) to hold it steady . . . . . what the heck?  Wish me luck . . . . here I go to be Socratically assaulted at 6:10PM! . . . and in the sunset of my life .. who needs this? ? | ||
| Danger_dave |
'As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.' - Socrates & Schultz. (Message edited by danger_dave on November 18, 2008) | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
Damnut , when digi slr's got to be affordable for us normal folk , mine had to be a nikon because of all my older film stuff . all those lenses i'd be able to use on it . i bought my d50 3?yrs ago with the kit 18-55 dx and 55-200 dx and other than a few occassions playing with my other lenses , for an amateur they'll fulfill 99% of any of your needs . i know "the glass" is the most important part of the camera , but don't be mislead , these lenses are far from crap . you'll be amazed at the quality of your shots . i'd say buy a good body , a couple of reasonbly priced lenses and get a feel for it . read back to danger dave's post (have you seen the shot's he's posted !!!!) "I use a basic $1200 Canon kit - including lenses. Won major prizes with it and knock out tons of publication quality shots. Much to the absolute horror of my camera store. Like DG says: It ain't the meat it's the motion . " it ain't the meat it's the composition is more like it . | ||
| Danger_dave |
True - and the more you spend on the doohickeys the easier it is to get the killer shots. No denying My boss asks why I don't get 'lens envy'? Simply because I ever only travel by motorcycle. Take all my ramblings with a two-wheeled only grain of salt. Sure I'd love some uber-lenses that turn the background to toothpastes - but I ain't gunna lug 25lbs of glass - or risk throwing a mega body up whatever road, track, creek river or beach I often find myself riding in/on. 'Whole life (white) balance Danial-San' | ||
| Danger_dave |
Speaking of which: How rude of me - but we're friends and this is what I would do with that file.  here. give it heaps of blue and cyan and then remove some of the resulting green.  Then a very light unsharp mask to highlight the patterns. Convert to 300dpi and cmyk and it's good to go in the layout, from where it will be post scripted and distilled and eventually etched onto plates. Easy. | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
Thanks from me too for all the advice and thoughts. I particularly liked DaveG's analogy to modern sports bikes. Damnut - I'll check out the FZ50, sounds like what I'm looking for, a friend has an earlier model (FZ30?) and he raves about it... However that Canon G10 sounds mighty cool, compact but with ability to go manual, which is just what I'm after. These are the kind of pics I try to take, this is one I fluked on the little Kodak of my friend Vinny (sorry it's a low-res copy):  Strange parallels between motorcycles, music and photography (and many other passions)... Being able to "see" photo's... At the moment I'm learning to "hear" things while I'm recording... | ||
| Hexangler |
I shoot Nikon. But I don't own a dSLR yet. My work (http://www.aboveandbeyondphotography.com) gives me the cameras to shoot wedding, school, church portraits. We shoot D70, D70s, D100, and D300. All make sell-able 8x10 enlargements from jpeg. The nice thing about Nikon is that all the old manual lenses still fit and work on the dSLR bodies. I have a considerable number of good old glass, and when I buy my first dSLR, it will be a used D70 or D70s. The other nice thing about Nikon is NX2 (Nikon Capture software). LCH (Luminosity, Chroma, Hue) correction curves means you can adjust just the contrast of an image without touching the color. Photoshop doesn't even allow this. LinoColor Heidelberg's scanning software pioneered LCH curves correction, and guess what, I am a certified drum scanner with LinoColor, so Nikon NX2 is very logical to me. That's all for now. Digital is great. Film is still king in resolution. Can't touch my home-brewed 4x5, 8x10, and Hasselblad black and white prints with digital no matter how colorful. | ||
| Damnut |
Almost bought a D90 this afternoon but got cold feet at the last minute. I'm feeling like I will regret not getting the D300 if I do get the D90 for some reason. I spoke with my better half's brother last night about his and he couldn't say anything bad about it. I also spoke with a co-worker today that has one as well. He moved up from a D70 and showed me some of his pictures of his family vacation in Costa Rica. Lots of low light stuff in the jungle. Damn I'm confused again.  Well at least I have made the choice to go with a Nikon over Canon. Now it's either the D90 or D300. I thought that I was set on the D90 but after talking with these guys I'm second guessing myself. I was going to make a purchase this week but I think that it may be better to wait a week or so to mull it over. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Just buy one - there is no wrong answer with either brand or model. | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
http://shopdigitaldirect.com/catalog/product_info. php?products_id=6537&osCsid=b5a0b50b37e08ecd084de1 3d4304f486 damn thats what i paid for my d50 a couple years ago and it didn't come with any of the other stuff in that package . | ||
| Rkc00 |
Damnut, Just get the D300 and you will be set. I just sold one to get the D3. Have you thought about the D700? Mike Long Island, NY 06 XB12X Red/Black | ||
| Damnut |
LOL Mike. Don't get me looking at the D700 now. Woody, have you bought from that site before? That's the best price for a D300 that I have seen anywhere. |
