***SW&D Photography Thread***

[sikeee]

 

[thewho13]

I think I've finally figured out what to get in terms of starter equipment and such. Since a new mirrorless system with a decent lens will unavoidably cost north of $1,000, I've decided to focus on getting a used DSLR body instead in order to afford for good glass. The most readily available body out there seems to be the old models of the Canon Rebel (notably the xti and xsi), which may not be as sexy as a Sony nex although it is totally adequate in terms of performance. And as for a lens, I'll probably get a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 used or refurbished (if possible). Any words of caution/advice regarding the body or lens? I know that neither of these are top of the line stuff, but the lens at least has a fast (and fixed) aperture, and I figure that it ought to be enough to push an old Rebel to good enough performance.

 

[zapatiste]



I think I've finally figured out what to get in terms of starter equipment and such. Since a new mirrorless system with a decent lens will unavoidably cost north of $1,000, I've decided to focus on getting a used DSLR body instead in order to afford for good glass. The most readily available body out there seems to be the old models of the Canon Rebel (notably the xti and xsi), which may not be as sexy as a Sony nex although it is totally adequate in terms of performance. And as for a lens, I'll probably get a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 used or refurbished (if possible). Any words of caution/advice regarding the body or lens? I know that neither of these are top of the line stuff, but the lens at least has a fast (and fixed) aperture, and I figure that it ought to be enough to push an old Rebel to good enough performance.

Great to hear, definitely very good systems if you're looking at the 3or 4ti, you probably don't wanna go too far below so 12mp sensor is good cutoff but I think those have greater resolution. Sigma puts out great lenses, I know wedding photographer and a part time sports shower and enthusiast/model portraits guy who all use sigma whenever possible with their nikon or Canon bodies. Canon has in body auto focus so that's a plus. The performance is in your hands, people with top of the line equipment can produce bad images and others with cheap cameras can make art.

Personally I prefer primes, and sigma has wonderful 35mm and 50mm fast ones, but certainly a zoom will be convenient and offer good starting point.

Only thing left is for you to go out and shoot as much as you can

 

[shoreman1782]

I don't know anything about Canon (So canon users feel free to step on me) but I tried a similar approach with Nikon before I really did my homework and some of the newer, less expensive Nikon lenses are designed for DX/smaller sensor cameras and won't work well with their higher end stuff. I.e., my 35mm lens is great on my D3000 but if I were to trade up to a D800 the lens would crop the image. Plus, a lot of decent, older model autofocus lenses (which are cheap) won't autofocus on my lower-end, newer camera. That's not to say I don't like the results from the kit I use, but keep an eye on compatibility of the gear you buy.

 

[zapatiste]

Rarely is there a need to trade up to full sensor, the aps-c is perfectly fine for 99% of people but yeah that issue does exist. I'm fairly certain about Canon's autofocus in body which isn't the case for Nikon, so that shouldn't pose a problem.

But you make a valid point in that this is essentially an investment into a specific system from here on out.

 

[Fred G. Unn]



The most readily available body out there seems to be the old models of the Canon Rebel (notably the xti and xsi), which may not be as sexy as a Sony nex although it is totally adequate in terms of performance. And as for a lens, I'll probably get a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 used or refurbished (if possible).

I had the XSi for years and it was a great camera! I basically only upgraded to the 60D because I needed video for my kids' swim meets and ice skating. I also have the Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 and it is my default indoor lens. Tamron's version is supposed to be pretty good too. My other Sigma is a 30mm f/1.4 which is really fantastic, but a bit tricky to use on a moving target like kids (especially nailing the focus when shooting fairly open).

 

[artishard116]

Also used a rebel for years, you can't really go wrong. Canon makes a 50mm 1.8 that you can find for 50-60$ that looks crappy and plastic but actually takes some fantastic pictures. A good #2 lens (and may become your #1 once you get used to it).

 

[thewho13]

Thanks for all of the comments fellas.

The Sigma & Tamron lenses definitely seem like a good option according to all of the reviews I've read and the advice I've gotten, so I'm pretty set on those. And everyone has told me that Canon Rebels have been great starter DSLRs for some time, so I'm fairly confident I can stick with one of those guys no problem.

 

[snowboardpunk]

Thanks for all of the comments fellas.

The Sigma & Tamron lenses definitely seem like a good option according to all of the reviews I've read and the advice I've gotten, so I'm pretty set on those. And everyone has told me that Canon Rebels have been great starter DSLRs for some time, so I'm fairly confident I can stick with one of those guys no problem.

you could probably find t3i for around 400 on canons website. They have the refurbished kit for 480 and usually have 15-20% off. http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras#
Or if you go find a super old film camera call up that number and tell them you want to do the trade in program and tell them the sku number on the camera and get 20% off. I bought several refurbished t2i's and most of them had shutter counts under 500.
I used that for a year before I moved to the fuji x-e1.

and as for a lens it really depends on what you want. Sigma just released a 35 1.4 or you can find an older version which is the 30mm 1.4 but I feel both are a little too wide for me. If you want to go zoom I recommend the sigma 17-50 with ois. its alot cheaper than canons 17-55 and about 90% of the iq.

If your looking for budget lens the 50 1.8 is amazing for the money or sometimes you can even find the 35 f/2 from canon around 200 if the 50 was too long for you. I had the 50 for a while but it was just too long.

But with the t3i +17-50 your looking around 1000 anyways so might as well get the camera your really want unless you just want to practice with the kit lens + 50 1.8. I'd also recommend the fuji x-e1 over the sony nex. The colors are amazing and even though it comes with a kit lens, it is one amazing lens. It really is just fantastic and is one the sharpest zoom lens ive tried.

 

[thewho13]

So thanks to our neighborhood shah, I ought to be getting a Sony Nex-5 in the mail sometime soon! I had put an order through on Amazon for an old, used Rebel and a Tamron lens, but he managed to float a super generous offer my way early enough that I could go back and cancel the other delivery. Now I just need to pick out which lens to get. Thinking about a Sony 16mm f/2.8 to complement the kit lens.

 

[artishard116]

the 16mm is not great fyi. 50 1.8 OSS is supposed to be good. or check out the sigma primes, 19mm and 30mm i believe.

 

[Zinar45]

A few i'm fond of.

 

[thewho13]



the 16mm is not great fyi. 50 1.8 OSS is supposed to be good. or check out the sigma primes, 19mm and 30mm i believe.

Hm, that's disappointing to hear. I was hoping to get something with a fast aperture, and more suited to wide-angle shots. Do you think the Sony 20mm 2.8 or Sigma 19mm 2.8 would be better choices?

 

[artishard116]

I don't know a lot about the 20mm but the form factor is nice. The sigma is def sharper than the sony 16. Also 2.8 is not gonna feel suuuper fast but it will be a little better than the kit.

 

[zapatiste]

2.8 should be fine, even with poor lighting you can take the iso up, the lower pixel count actually performs better in terms of noise than the nex7 at higher iso. If you don't need wider angle Sony has some good primes with image stabilization below f2.0 ...

If you feel like spending a lot, Zeiss 24mm f1.8 or Zeiss Touit Planar T* 1.8/32mm are a good option. There are also other third party options like the SLR Magic HyperPrime 23mm F1.7 which have supposedly unique characteristics though I'm not too familiar with them