***SW&D Photography Thread***

[el Bert]

Some random recent stuff, mainly just from a couple hikes and cruising through Northern California.

 

[ManofKent]



I am doing research on my own, but I figured I would ask here as well:

I recently moved to a rural-ish town in the Northeast and I thought it was high time I get a DSLR and experiment/learn the basics of photography. I only need a basic beginner camera to learn the ins-and-outs of camerawork. I don't have aspirations of upgrading to top-of-the-line equipment, I probably won't do much (if any) post-processing, and the camera I buy will probably be the camera I keep for a long time. But I figured that it might be nice to learn the basics of a DSLR in the NE during the summer because there are a lot of beautiful landscapes around. Does anyone have suggestions on a solid beginner DSLR? Thanks.

The Nikon D3300 is a solid basic DSLR, and I'm sure the entry-level Canon is fine (I prefer Nikon's handling and the kit lens is marginally better but there's little to choose between them).

Don't rule out Compact System camera's 'mirrorless' either - the Olympus OMD E-M10 mk II is a nice little camera (and if you can pick one up cheap the older mk 1 is perfectly decent). Similarly the Panasonic GX7 is being discounted with the GX80 coming out and is still a very good camera. Fuji and Sony also do decent CSCs.

I'd try and get to a proper camera shop (not a general technology store) and spend some time handling them to see which you like most. Unless you have very specialized needs, handling is a bigger consideration than image quality these days.

 

[Best Budz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll def stop by a shop around here when I get a chance

But can you explain what you mean by this?

Unless you have very specialized needs, handling is a bigger consideration than image quality these days.

 

[LonerMatt]

They all make good images so it matters more what you like. There is very little (if any) major differences between output in beginner gear.


IMO:
1. Why set on a DSLR? They are heavily, larger and make very little sense for someone who doesn't aspire to do a lot of PP or do anything particularly involved
2. For out of the camera .jpgs that are great the Ricoh GR or the Fuji x70/x100s are MUCH better - small, light, simple to use, give you almost every feature you could want (except inter-changeable lenses, which isn't really that useful for generalist photography anyway).

Sometimes people look at smaller cameras and think that they are not really capable of great images, but that's a pretty silly assumption at the moment.

If I were in your shoes I'd pick up a secondhand Sony or Fuji mirrorless camera (a6000 Sony or x100 or x100s Fuji) and you could easily make images for 2-3-4 years before out-growing the camera (if indeed you ever do). And it's so much lighter than a DSLR.

 

[ManofKent]



Thanks for the suggestions. I'll def stop by a shop around here when I get a chance

But can you explain what you mean by this?

Basically unless you are regularly making prints greater than A3 under normal shooting conditions it is extremely difficult to tell which camera within even a vaguely similar price bracket has been used. In low light some cameras are better than others, and if you want to take a crop from a small part of the frame a higher resolution sensor will give a better image. Metering systems on all modern cameras are very good and under average conditions they'll all produce reasonable results. Lens quality is still pretty variable, but modern kit lenses aren't bad.

How the camera handles - do you like the way the controls are situated, how the menus are structured, is it comfortable etc. can make a big difference.

 

[Best Budz]



Basically unless you are regularly making prints greater than A3 under normal shooting conditions it is extremely difficult to tell which camera within even a vaguely similar price bracket has been used. In low light some cameras are better than others, and if you want to take a crop from a small part of the frame a higher resolution sensor will give a better image. Metering systems on all modern cameras are very good and under average conditions they'll all produce reasonable results. Lens quality is still pretty variable, but modern kit lenses aren't bad.

How the camera handles - do you like the way the controls are situated, how the menus are structured, is it comfortable etc. can make a big difference.

Ok makes sense

They all make good images so it matters more what you like. There is very little (if any) major differences between output in beginner gear.


IMO:
1. Why set on a DSLR? They are heavily, larger and make very little sense for someone who doesn't aspire to do a lot of PP or do anything particularly involved
2. For out of the camera .jpgs that are great the Ricoh GR or the Fuji x70/x100s are MUCH better - small, light, simple to use, give you almost every feature you could want (except inter-changeable lenses, which isn't really that useful for generalist photography anyway). 

Sometimes people look at smaller cameras and think that they are not really capable of great images, but that's a pretty silly assumption at the moment.

If I were in your shoes I'd pick up a secondhand Sony or Fuji mirrorless camera (a6000 Sony or x100 or x100s Fuji) and you could easily make images for 2-3-4 years before out-growing the camera (if indeed you ever do). And it's so much lighter than a DSLR.

I guess I'm not super set on a DSLR. I just wanted to learn to adjust ISO, f-stop, etc on a higher quality camera than a point and shoot that I've been using previously. Basically, I wanna learn the basics of using a decent camera. But yeah you're right I'm not going to be doing anything super involved. Do you think those mirrorless cameras you recommended secondhand would fit the bill?

Thanks for the input

 

[ManofKent]



Ok makes sense
I guess I'm not super set on a DSLR. I just wanted to learn to adjust ISO, f-stop, etc on a higher quality camera than a point and shoot that I've been using previously. Basically, I wanna learn the basics of using a decent camera. But yeah you're right I'm not going to be doing anything super involved. Do you think those mirrorless cameras you recommended secondhand would fit the bill?

Thanks for the input

I wouldn't want to be without interchangeable lenses, but that's largely because I like shooting at wide apertures and doing some macro stuff. The higher end fixed lens cameras are very nice though.

The size and weight thing is a big issue - I've got multiple cameras. My least used digital camera is my Nikon DSLR (admittedly it's full-frame so heavier than an entry level DSLR). My most used is a tiny Panasonic Lumix GM1, generally paired with an Olympus 45mm and the 12-32mm kit tucked in the same tiny bag. It's so light and compact I carry it with me most of the time. The slightly larger GX7 gets a fair bit of use, but I tend to carry that if photography is the principal aim for the day, and I'll carry a few more lenses.

 

[zxcvbn]

@el Bert really like the last photo

 

[Fred G. Unn]



The size and weight thing is a big issue - I've got multiple cameras. My least used digital camera is my Nikon DSLR (admittedly it's full-frame so heavier than an entry level DSLR). My most used is a tiny Panasonic Lumix GM1, generally paired with an Olympus 45mm and the 12-32mm kit tucked in the same tiny bag. It's so light and compact I carry it with me most of the time. The slightly larger GX7 gets a fair bit of use, but I tend to carry that if photography is the principal aim for the day, and I'll carry a few more lenses.

Different brands, but I'm sort of in the same boat. My Fuji X-T1 is by far my most used camera, and the Fuji primes are terrific. My full-frame Canon 6D is probably least used right now, although with the 70-200 f/2.8 IS lens it definitely is superior to the Fuji when it comes to shooting my kids' sports. It just weighs literally twice as much as an equivalent Fuji setup. The gripped 6D + 1.4x extender + 70-200 is over 7 lbs while the Fuji X-T1 with a hand grip + 1.4x + 50-140 f/2.8 is half that, and that's a gigantic configuration for Fuji. The X-T1 with the 35mm f/1.4 is sort of my default setup and at 1 lb 7oz, that's less than the weight of a Canon 24-105 f/4 lens alone.

 

[LonerMatt]

I went to Iceland recently:

 

[KingJulien]

 

[zxcvbn]

@LonerMatt

how were these shot?

 

[Mesta]

Great shots LonerMatt and KingJulien!

I will post a few recent film shots I did.

And a few digital.

 

[LonerMatt]

Stick film in my Olympus OM1 from the 80s and fire away. Get scans back and add a little blue, drop highlights and add a bit more contrast.

 

[globobock]

Great pics, guys! Especially the B/W Waterfall.

BTW... Leica just brought out a displayless M which doesn't make sense to me. But hey... all power to them.