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canyoneer posted:Ebay is going to have a T5i with kit lens and US warranty for $500 on Wednesday night. And Canon's store has a bunch of good deals on refurbished cameras. Canon refurbs are fine, and they carry the same warranty as brand new stuff now (1 year)
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Nov 24, 2014 15:38
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timrenzi574 posted:Canon refurbs are fine, and they carry the same warranty as brand new stuff now (1 year) I hope the same is true of Nikon. I just pulled the trigger on an Amazon lightning deal thingie for: code:I already own a good tripod from my photo-bug days in college (I have a Minolta X-570 if that tells you how long ago that was). It comes with: Quick Charger, USB Cable, Body Cap, Strap, Eyepiece, Eyepiece Cap, Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for D5300 and Df Cameras. Other than some sort of lighting/flash, anything else that I need to pick up for this?
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Nov 24, 2014 18:53
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The Locator posted:I hope the same is true of Nikon. I just pulled the trigger on an Amazon lightning deal thingie for: Nikon does a 90day warranty on refurbished stuff
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Nov 24, 2014 18:55
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timrenzi574 posted:Nikon does a 90day warranty on refurbished stuff Right, I read that, I meant more about the 'refurbs are fine' part. 
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Nov 24, 2014 18:59
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The Locator posted:Right, I read that, I meant more about the 'refurbs are fine' part. generally i'm a fan of refurbished electronics if they get a good warranty. they're usually as good as new, they replace anything that needs replacing and get them up to snuff.
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Nov 24, 2014 19:03
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Not a terrible mistake and the D3300 is a great starter DSLR (I'm only just outgrowing my D3200 after taking probably close to 10k pictures with it in the last year) That said I'd highly recommend (if it fits your shooting needs at all) that you pick up the 35mm f/1.8G lens for it sometime soon. You should be able to find it pretty cheap on a deal (maybe next week!)
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Nov 24, 2014 19:51
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Kenshin posted:Not a terrible mistake and the D3300 is a great starter DSLR (I'm only just outgrowing my D3200 after taking probably close to 10k pictures with it in the last year) This $200 one: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8G-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0/?ie=UTF8&qid=1416855797&sr=8-1&keywords=Nikon+35mm+f%2F1.8G or the $600 FX one: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8G-AF-S-NIKKOR/dp/B00HQ4W4XO/?ie=UTF8&qid=1416855797&sr=8-2&keywords=Nikon+35mm+f%2F1.8G How can one letter be worth $400? I know nothing. Edit: Nevermind, different format, my camera will be DX, so pointless to buy the expensive lens. I probably won't be picking up any expensive lenses for it soon at this point, as the A/C repair guy was just here and determined that the condenser coil in my air handler has a leak. So yea.. looks like I'm going to have to replace the A/C in my house (since it's three thousand loving dollars to replace the coil and the system is 10 years old..  ). So much for disposable income for a while I guess.
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Nov 24, 2014 20:07
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The latter one is also compatible (According to Nikon), but regardless, the more expensive lens has much higher quality glass in it (In this case the important part is the "ED" bit). ED stands for Extra Low dispersion (There's a number of names for this across manufacturers), and raises the cost of the overall lens because they're more difficult and thus expensive to make. If you're intending to make large prints or really care about colour accuracy, this might matter, but otherwise you shouldn't notice a difference. Nikon has a decent explanation of what it does, though the bottom picture exaggerates things a bit. There's some who argue it makes little difference other than cost anyways (especially today), and that regardless that it only matters when using a telephoto lens with a large aperture. To dumb down Nikon's thing, light travelling through the lens "splits", and using regular glass manufacturers try to align the different pieces of glass inside to minimize how much splitting occurs, but can't do so perfectly. The failure to have all wavelengths of colour focus on the same point is called chromatic aberration, and results in some of the fuzzy outlining or ghosting that is sometimes seen in photos. This fancy lens is meant to reduce the amount of remaining splitting of light that occurs, though at this point you need to have a very large photo with a relatively poor quality lens to see this effect in any meaningful sense. There's a ton of other poo poo in terms of design and build quality that likely go with the price jump that are not easily quantified by a single thing (marketing such differences without a way to discuss it short of "higher quality" is difficult). Basically, an expensive lens that is probably better but not noticeable to most.
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Nov 24, 2014 21:56
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Coolwhoami posted:Basically, an expensive lens that is probably better but not noticeable to most. The main thing probably being that one covers a full-frame sensor and the other doesn't, though. Additionally the nanocoating on the Nikon ultrawides is literally witchcraft.
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Nov 24, 2014 22:30
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Since you mentioned that your hobby is taking pictures of your model ships you might be interested in macro photography. The point and shoot you have will probably be a better macro camera than your new D3300 unless you get a macro lens. The 18-55 has a maximum reproduction ratio of 0.36x (in manual focus at 55mm), whereas all of the nikon macro lenses have a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1. http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/25559/what-is-the-maximum-reproduction-ratio-of-a-lens posted:The reproduction ratio means the largest that you can make a subject on the film/sensor compared to its real-life size. In the case of your lens, it means that the image on the film plane will be 1/7.4, or 5/37 of the actual size of the object when it is as close as you can possibly focus the lens. Don't rush out and buy a macro lens though, the 18-55 might be good enough as is and you might be able to make due with a reversing ring.
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Nov 24, 2014 22:40
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Dren posted:Don't rush out and buy a macro lens though, the 18-55 might be good enough as is and you might be able to make due with a reversing ring. Don't use a reversing ring with an 18-55 unless you find yourself feeling not as suicidal as you'd like. Also since there's no aperture ring on that you're gonna be holding it open with your finger if it's reverse-mounted. The Nikon 18-55 can get surprisingly close though, like by no means "macro", but it can focus pretty close.
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Nov 24, 2014 23:06
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Thanks for the information on the lense differences. I've not used an SLR since I retired the Minolta (35mm film) from active use, so probably 25 years. Lots of learning to do I'm sure.Dren posted:Don't rush out and buy a macro lens though, the 18-55 might be good enough as is and you might be able to make due with a reversing ring. I'm going to see how the 18-55 does before I do anything. The biggest problem with the point and shoot was that it doesn't have the ability to manual focus, and while in manual mode it would very often get confused while shooting different parts of the project and I could never get a decent focused picture of various parts depending on color and material. If the much newer auto focus system on the 3300 still can't figure it out, I should be able to just manual focus it and get good shots. Also just general picture quality, as the SureShot is so old that the pictures max resolution is only 2816x2112. I can overcome a lot of 'not close enough' with cropping after the shots, as I'll be jumping from 5.9mp to 24.2mp, and the lens/glass quality can't help but be much better. Another guy that does the same hobby is taking amazing photos using no special lenses at all, by simply cropping and post processing, and having a good eye for lighting and composition:   If I can get shots that look even remotely this good I'll be quite happy.
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Nov 24, 2014 23:24
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The Locator posted:Thanks for the information on the lense differences. I've not used an SLR since I retired the Minolta (35mm film) from active use, so probably 25 years. Lots of learning to do I'm sure. It's hard to say because I don't know the actual size of the things that dude is taking pictures of, but that doesn't look like SUPER X-TREEM MACRO or anything. Bear in mind the manual focus ring on the 18-55 is trash, but you can use it, and the manual focus rings on most AF lenses are pretty bad. That said, if you decide later that you want sweet manual focus close-up shots, there's a billion cheap options for Nikon (the old 55mm micro nikkor in its various incarnations, etc). Macro diopters ("close up filters") are also actually pretty useable if you aren't expecting miracles from them (and you won't be, if you're coming from a P&S.)
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Nov 24, 2014 23:29
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On the other hand, a 50mm reverse mounted to an 18-55 can get you decent results. Can get you some halfway decent results with the right software to step the focus motor and focus stack some shots.  12-08-30_202119_M=B_R=8_S=4.jpg by MrDespair, on Flickrand  12-08-31_224757_M=B_R=8_S=4.jpg by MrDespair, on Flickrwere both done that way, using controlmynikon to step the focus motor between each shot. A reverse mounted 50mm lens is still probably my favorite way to macro on a nikon crop body though. Get a flash to control the lighting too!  DSC_0236.jpg by MrDespair, on FlickrAlthough really for model ships like that I'm not sure you really want a true macro lens, rather just something with a decent close working distance.
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Nov 24, 2014 23:36
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SoundMonkey posted:It's hard to say because I don't know the actual size of the things that dude is taking pictures of, but that doesn't look like SUPER X-TREEM MACRO or anything. Fair point on the size. That's a 1/64 scale ship - the deck planks are 1/8" wide. The sled pieces (red painted wood) that the carronades (cannon) are mounted on are 1/16" thick. It isn't super macro at all, but for whatever reason the S3 just doesn't like shooting in close, and the clarity isn't fantastic.
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Nov 24, 2014 23:40
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The Locator posted:Fair point on the size. That's a 1/64 scale ship - the deck planks are 1/8" wide. The sled pieces (red painted wood) that the carronades (cannon) are mounted on are 1/16" thick. Yeah that's not THAT small, you could probably get away with the 18-55 and cropping, or blow a whole $15 on a set of close-up filters on eBay.
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Nov 25, 2014 00:00
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You're going to see a big jump in quality and ease-of-use for your model ships, Locator, with just that 18-55. Have fun with it, post pictures in the Dorkroom, shoot lots and lots and it will be lots of fun.
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Nov 25, 2014 00:05
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ExecuDork posted:You're going to see a big jump in quality and ease-of-use for your model ships, Locator, with just that 18-55. Have fun with it, post pictures in the Dorkroom, shoot lots and lots and it will be lots of fun. Awaiting the Model Sailing Ship Megathread - 1/64 The Size, 1/16th The Fun!
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Nov 25, 2014 01:48
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SoundMonkey posted:Awaiting the Model Sailing Ship Megathread - 1/64 The Size, 1/16th The Fun! Heh. I post semi-regular updates (like every 2 or 3 weeks) on the progress of my current project (which is 1:48 scale) in the "We do it for the inhalants" thread in DIY & Hobbies. Seems somewhat more appropriate than the Dorkroom. Once I get the camera and can actually play with it I may be in here or one of the other threads here, asking for help and then maybe I'll look for an appropriate thread for the occasional photo if I manage to take a really cool one.
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Nov 25, 2014 04:39
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The Locator posted:
I'm not even convinced he's focussed this correctly, my eye wants the wheel to be in focus but it looks like he's missed and caught the canon that sits a little behind it. Maybe his intention, I couldn't say. --- Because I like watching training videos that go back to the beginning and cover things I've learnt over a ton of times (equal parts to drum in the basics for the 100th time as well as picking up tidbits I've passed over before), I've decided to watch the Fundamentals of Photography on Lynda.com. Appropriately, they start with a 3 1/2 hour long Exposure tutorial that's separated into about 13 parts and it's been fun. Nice mix of being in a studio and having a big plasma in live view so you can see what he's explaining, then jumping into the field to show real life examples of what he's been talking about and covering the multiple ways to fix problems. He's a decent enough host who doesn't have an annoying accent (some tutorials I can't watch because of this), and because it's about fundamentals it doesn't matter what brand/quality of camera you have. If you have access to Lynda and are starting out, I'd definitely say it's worth a watch. http://www.lynda.com/Digital-Photography-tutorials/foundations-of-photography-exposure/71923-2.html (There's 7 other tutorials under Fundamentals too, not just exposure, covering B&W, Low Light/Night Shooting, Composition etc. They all look really relevant too, unlike other sets that have 2 sections that are useful then 4 that I have no interest in).
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Nov 25, 2014 15:35
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About a month ago I responded to the periodic reminders that as a grad student here, I have access to eleventybillion tutorial videos on Lynda.com and we had to pay for it and it's really quite good and won't you please log in just once so we can justify our department's budget next time round and oh look there are videos that could really help you it's lovely please log in? Anyway, good stuff on there, I spend about 1.5 hours browsing around and watched a couple of the overview / introduction videos, for basics of Lightroom and Film photography. Getting back to the fundamentals is certainly appealing, if I find myself with the right mix of free time and motivation (i.e. motivation to try to learn something rather than spend my free time on something else) I'll be dropping back into it.
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Nov 25, 2014 16:44
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So if I wanted to buy a camera for someone as a present, would that be a Terrible Idea? My husband is thinking about getting into photography as a hobby, and I'd like him to be good with a camera so that I can get some nice pictures when we travel and eventually when we have a kid. My budget is about $1k and I have no idea what I am doing. From the OP, would something like a Nikon D3200 + Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens be a good starting point, and he can ebay upgrade or switch if he wants to? Am I making any huge mistakes? edit: uh, that second link isn't for a 1.8D, it's 1.8 G DX. Is that bad? Searching for these things with single letters is harder than I thought. moana fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Nov 25, 2014 |
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Nov 25, 2014 20:22
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The 35 1.8 G DX is overwhelmingly recommended in the Nikon thread. It's a prime, which means it's a fixed focal length, but the benefits are a sharper image and a wider aperture (which can help in lower light situations as well as making those nice blurry backgrounds everyone likes). It's pretty awesome value. If he then adds a nice zoom lens down the line, he'll have a good little system.
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Nov 25, 2014 20:32
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Don't get the 1.8D for the D3200. While Nikon's lens mount has remained relatively unchanged for decades, allowing you to use some really old glass, their lower end camera bodies (namely, the D3x00 and D5x000 lines) lack autofocus motors to drive the older autofocus lenses. The 1.8D will mount and work fine with manual focus, but you're going to want the newer 1.8G DX.
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Nov 25, 2014 20:40
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EL BROMANCE posted:Because I like watching training videos that go back to the beginning and cover things I've learnt over a ton of times (equal parts to drum in the basics for the 100th time as well as picking up tidbits I've passed over before), I've decided to watch the Fundamentals of Photography on Lynda.com. Appropriately, they start with a 3 1/2 hour long Exposure tutorial that's separated into about 13 parts and it's been fun. Nice mix of being in a studio and having a big plasma in live view so you can see what he's explaining, then jumping into the field to show real life examples of what he's been talking about and covering the multiple ways to fix problems. He's a decent enough host who doesn't have an annoying accent (some tutorials I can't watch because of this), and because it's about fundamentals it doesn't matter what brand/quality of camera you have. If you have access to Lynda and are starting out, I'd definitely say it's worth a watch. I really enjoy the videos Ben Long has posted up there. They helped me get a great understanding of things pretty quickly. It's a bit more expensive than the Understanding Exposure book for a membership, but I really like the method he uses to teach.
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Nov 25, 2014 20:43
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404notfound posted:Don't get the 1.8D for the D3200. While Nikon's lens mount has remained relatively unchanged for decades, allowing you to use some really old glass, their lower end camera bodies (namely, the D3x00 and D5x000 lines) lack autofocus motors to drive the older autofocus lenses. The 1.8D will mount and work fine with manual focus, but you're going to want the newer 1.8G DX. E: bleary, allergy ridden eyes didn't spot this was the D not the DX. All was ok! EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Nov 26, 2014 |
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Nov 25, 2014 20:57
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moana posted:So if I wanted to buy a camera for someone as a present, would that be a Terrible Idea? On-line is the way to buy memory cards. EBay for the thrills, NewEgg or Amazon for reliability and the joy of posting snarky reviews.
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Nov 25, 2014 21:49
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ExecuDork posted:On-line is the way to buy memory cards. EBay for the thrills, NewEgg or Amazon for reliability and the joy of posting snarky reviews. I'm not entirely sure this is true since even goddamn Amazon themselves have sold counterfeit cards on more than one occasion (and that was just the times someone noticed.) There is still a use for brick & mortar stores, and this is one of them. It's not bad for CF, slightly worse for SD, and a complete loving nightmare for MicroSD.
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Nov 25, 2014 22:41
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I actually got a counterfeit CF card from Amazon a few months ago, at least they were easy about replacing it with a better one.
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Nov 25, 2014 22:49
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Elliotw2 posted:I actually got a counterfeit CF card from Amazon a few months ago, at least they were easy about replacing it with a better one. Also I'm always kinda wary of flash memory companies that don't actually have their own semiconductor fab (or don't have an ironclad agreement to exclusively use one brand of chip) and just buy the excess from other people's production lines (lookin' at you, Kingston), since it's entirely possible their standards may 'slip' a little if none of the good manufacturers have anything to sell them on the cheap.
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Nov 25, 2014 22:52
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Speaking of memory cards, I have a few smallish SD cards here I can use to get used to the camera, but I can't seem to find a 'supported' SD cards list on the Nikon site for the D3300. My assumption is that it would support a 64GB card without any problem, but is that a dumb assumption? I assumed that about my dash card and I was wrong. General recommendations for size/brand of SD card? I can't seem to find anything on this in the general Gear thread or the Nikon thread, and I really have no idea what size of card makes the most sense. 64GB is cheap enough, but then if it's massive overkill and I'd never use more than half of that I suppose I should save 20 bucks and get a 32.
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Nov 25, 2014 23:30
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The D3300 should work with basically any SD card, I use a Sandisk Ultra 32gb card in my camera. It's more than fast and large enough for it, and cheap as hell.
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Nov 25, 2014 23:34
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I've got a 32GB Class 10 whatever-brand card in my K-5 and I can fit around 1000 raw images on it, does me just fine. I bought it online for about $20, local stores wanted upwards of $60 for similar. I've never tested it to see if it has the characteristics specified. Batteries, memory cards, USB devices of any kind - basically, small electronics - always seem to have utterly laughable prices in stores compared to what's available if you're willing to wait for a package from California / Hong Kong / China.
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Nov 25, 2014 23:41
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Thanks to both of you. Went ahead and ordered a 32gb Sandisk Extreme for 20 bucks from Amazon. I've got a number of smaller cards (and older so probably quite a bit slower) cards that I can use to play with the camera when it gets here tomorrow, but figured I should get one 'good' one to use with it long term.
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Nov 25, 2014 23:44
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I have one of these and it is the poo poo http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D6Y0U8E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I didn't look for UHS-II cards though so maybe those exist and are better. edit: yep they exist and are better but they cost a good bit more
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Nov 25, 2014 23:54
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ExecuDork posted:No, not a terrible idea at all! Once you figure out the most important stuff - camera body + lens(es) - make sure you get the accessories you'll need so he can play with it right out of the box. There are often bundles that include things like a memory card but they tend to also include useless things like a crappy tripod. Buy the biggest, fastest card you can afford and the camera can use (again, AFTER you've decided on the camera), and charge up the battery before you wrap up the present. Thank you to everyone for helping me out with this! Ooh, I'm so excited now 
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Nov 26, 2014 00:01
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moana posted:Awesome! Okay, I bought the Nikon D3200 and the lens thing I linked, and a 32GB Sandisk Ultra off Amazon. The camera came with a battery and charger, and the lens came with a case, caps, and hood. Are there any other accessories he'll need right off the bat? Get him a copy of Understanding Exposure as part of the package. Really valuable starter info for budding photographers.
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Nov 26, 2014 00:06
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Also a card reader if you don't have a machine with one. That's all.
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Nov 26, 2014 00:13
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apologies if this has already been covered in the thread. OP is great, just wondering if there are any caveats for news photography. I'm a reporter and like to carry something along with me to shoot my own photos. I'm looking for a good camera but also a decent lens (or, if absolutely necessary, a combination of lenses) that gives me a good range to do both close-ups and distance shots. size isn't a huge factor because I like carrying around a decent sized bag anyway.
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Nov 26, 2014 05:21
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Dren posted:I have one of these and it is the poo poo UHSII has faster write speeds but I'm pretty sure only the X-T1 supports it so far or at least that was the case back when it released
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Nov 26, 2014 07:31
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