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Cool. Worth at least a look, I'd say. I haven't been inside a Costco in years, do they let you get hands-on with any cameras? That bag is nothing special, and the memory card is middle-of-the-road. If the image file size from a K-50 is similar to that from my K-5, you can expect to fit around 500 pictures on that card if you shoot RAW; the highest-quality JPEG output will be around 1/4 the file size so you might get 2000. But you can shoot video on that camera, too, which obviously eats up memory space depending on the length of the videos. In any case, you can pick up another memory card pretty much anywhere. Get a more-interesting colour than black, because you can.
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Jul 8, 2014 19:46
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Pham Nuwen posted:Costco hosed me over, I drove an hour and then found out their inventory system has shown 2 cameras that were recently returned... None actually in stock. Awesome - about the Amazon Red Goodness, not the Costco-sucks part. Musket posted:It doesnt make it go faster. RangerScum posted:I guess that's one way to protect your gear from being stolen.
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Jul 9, 2014 21:37
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SoundMonkey posted:Now "lighters with pictures of buff dudes without shirts" is the new way to not get your lighter stolen (by dudes who aren't into that, at least). Not so much an option for cameras I guess. And stoners will steal anything, so there's not much point worrying about that.
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Jul 9, 2014 22:07
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Go fondle some cameras at a store, first off. You had a good experience with a Nikon, so that's good - a Canon will handle a bit differently (lens mounts / dismounts the other way, for one thing). Weight is unavoidable for a DSLR. You can reduce it a bit by choosing particuarly small & light bodies and lenses (pancake lenses come to mind) but there's no real comparison with a tiny mirrorless or a P&S you can stuff into a pocket and forget about. That's why there's so much discussion about straps and bags and so forth around here (e.g. Straps thread). Mostly, you just get used to it. I walk around with my camera in my hand and a couple of lenses in a shoulder bag, and it's fine for me. A big part of that is just doing it enough times that it doesn't feel like a big deal anymore. I'm not sure there's a big difference between a good mirrorless system and a similar-price DSLR for any subject, there are plenty of trade-offs between those two options. Lots and lots of people buy mirrorless systems to shoot their kids running around, I don't think they really fall down when it comes to moving subjects. Full manual control seems to be what you're after (and to that I say: good!) and you can get that on any DSLR and most above-entry-level mirrorless cameras.
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Jul 14, 2014 00:58
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Pham Nuwen posted:I've been very pleased with my Pentax so far, but one thing I've not yet figured out. If I shoot someone against a backdrop of the overcast sky, the subject will be too dark. This is even if I aim directly at the subject when focusing/metering. I'm using auto mode because it's easy. It can absolutely be solved. Use exposure compensation. Push it up to +1.0 or so and try it. What that does is tells the camera to deliberately overexpose the image compared to the recommendation from the light meter, in this example by one full stop. This will blow out the bright sky - you'll get what's called "clipped highlights", or white areas that stay white no matter what you do in post-processing. But it's the sky, and the subject of your photo is not the sky, it's that person's face. Play around with different combinations of ISO/Shutter speed/Aperture and exposure compensation, because not all overcast skies are the same brightness. But you should be able to work out a reasonable starting point for any given situation. I like to shoot in Aperture Priority (Av), but exposure comp should work in any mode except full manual.
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Jul 14, 2014 17:17
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What is your current DSLR setup? And yeah, mirrorless thread is over here
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Jul 15, 2014 02:15
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Welcome to Pentax. You've just fallen for the usual post-hoc rationalizations that most new-Pentax-DSLR owners use - weathersealing, legacy glass, pretty, pretty numbers. Don't forget to talk about the dual control wheels and practice waving your hand dismissively every time somebody says "full frame". Now shoot pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.
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Jul 17, 2014 16:52
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Seems like you'd be betting £60 on "My camera will suffer from a problem that is covered under this slightly vague descriptive list". If you win that bet, you get a £240 camera replaced or repaired for £60; if you lose that bet you either get a £240 camera that just keeps working (because no "mishaps" happened in 5 years) or you have a £240 shelf decoration. That's a quarter of the The big risks to a camera, as far as I can tell, are things covered by tenant's or home insurance (theft, fire) or not covered by any insurance ever (being a dumbass). None of those things are covered by this policy. You might, if something happened, be able to argue that the camera should not have been rendered non-functional by whatever apparently minor thing happened, but is spending hours and hours on the phone with some insurance company minion worth £180 to you? Put another way, do you want to spend £300 on a £240 camera?
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Jul 18, 2014 16:57
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quote:85mm f/1.8 manual focus, digitally-optimized fisheye lens with Canon mount "for Canon" does not mean "Canon". It means "Third party". Quality of third-party lenses ranges from very good (Sigma, Tamron) to hilariously bad (Phoenix, modern Vivitar). I don't know about that particular lens or manufacturer, but that's a pretty picture of some horses.
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Jul 18, 2014 17:52
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evil_bunnY posted:You guys taping poo poo to your flash heads are loving fire hazard. A nice big 500 or 600 series external flash (aka "speedlight" aka "flashgun") can burn stuff pretty nicely, but a pop-up on a DSLR has a guide number of like 13, no? Do they typically get hot enough to light paper on fire? I'm not talking singe, or leave a brown quasi-burn-mark on the business card or whatever, I mean flames.
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Aug 27, 2014 21:28
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There's much more to the comparison of D5300 vs. T5i than just a list of features and prices. Go to a camera store (for those specific cameras, Best Buy or other Big Box retailer will do) and physically handle the cameras. You might just decide, for some unknowable "gut feeling" reason, that you love or hate one of those options, thus making your decision-making that much easier. EDIT: I'm gonna be that guy again. PENTAX! $500 gets you the K-50, kit 18-55, and an Eye-Fi card that will send photos to your smartphone. ExecuDork fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Oct 25, 2014 |
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Oct 25, 2014 21:41
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How to camera: 1. Pick up camera. 2. Go for a walk. Wild EEPROM posted:shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot
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Nov 3, 2014 15:06
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EL BROMANCE posted:Actually, got a query too so lets put it here. I have the D50 at the moment, planning on the D7100 (or maybe 7200 if it's released) next year. I have a few lenses but my current go-to is the 35mm/1.8 I picked up recently and really like. I spotted a 50mm/1.8 here in the UK for around $100 which is cheaper than our KEH equivalent ($160). Is it worth me picking it up or is it too close to the 35 to bother with and I should concentrate on getting something like an 85mm prime instead? Get the nifty-fifty. You won't regret it, certainly not at that price.
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Nov 16, 2014 06:22
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torgeaux posted:Good job. Start shooting. Don't buy "protective" filters. Read Understanding Exposure. Don't use watermarks. Don't talk about fight club. All of this. The 18-135 is a great choice for your next lens, I'm betting you can pick one up from KEH for $300 or less. And get shooting.
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Nov 19, 2014 18:58
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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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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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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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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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I dunno about that Tamron, but I'm glad to see you're happy with the camera. I'm also jealous of your car (my e36 died early this year, and was never that good-looking). The thing at the bottom of your second picture is flare, and is caused by shooting towards the sun. Different lenses have very different flare characteristics, multi-coating on the glass takes care of most of it (so old glass without modern coating tends to flare more) but the biggest difference comes from a lens hood (and not shooting into the sun in the first place). If your lens doesn't have a hood, pick up a no-name knockoff hood that will fit it on eBay. Hoods that screw onto the filter ring can be pretty useful, I've got a soft rubber one that can collapse against a glass window for a good-enough seal, shooting through glass can also result in flare, glare, shadows, ghosts, and other weirdness on photos. The filter diameter of your lens will be written on the rim of the front element (the glass closest to your subject, and furthest from the camera), typical values are 49mm, 52mm, or 55mm. A polarizer might help with flare but it also does other good things, especially when shooting cars - position the polarizer right and you wipe out the glare and reflection from glass and can see the interior more clearly. It also does good things to water, ice (not that I think you see much of that in Phoenix), and clouds.
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Nov 27, 2014 00:35
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Here is fine - basic questions about aperture, shutter speed, minimum focus distance, ISO, depth of field, capturing motion, etc. are all issues that many newbies (and others) would benefit from seeing discussed.
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Nov 30, 2014 21:48
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There are about a hundred DSLRs and mirrorless-interchangeables on the market right now. The T5 is, for some reason (I know nothing about it) regarded around here as the absolute worst camera that you can buy new today. The Nikon you mentioned - a D3200 - seems like a good place to start. What's your budget? Are you 100% set on new, or would you consider used? How about for lenses - a new body plus one or two second-hand lenses is a great way to get good gear for a reasonable budget. At the entry-level, every camera manufacturer competes hard for your money. Go to a camera store and fondle the offerings. Find a camera you like, for a price you can afford, and buy it. If it's a T5, you'll probably be happy regardless. If it's anything else, opinion around here is that you'll be happier.
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Dec 2, 2014 05:22
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Elliotw2 posted:Take your pick of ~$500 new cameras, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Nikon, or Fuji. You forgot Pentax. I'll assume that was an accident (I know it was on purpose, you jerks all hate Glorious Takumar Asahi Pentax Ricoh for no good reason at all!)
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Dec 2, 2014 05:28
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Mightaswell posted:Did you see the cyber Monday prices on the k5-2? $500 for the body. That's a hell of a camera for $500 bucks. Absolutely. If this is the kind of thing we can expect every year around Yanqui Thanksgiving (and the retail-hellscape trend seems to be going strong), I'll be seriously considering an upgrade to my K-5 next year. My plan is to eventually pick up a K-3 whenever the next Pentax flagship comes out and the price on the K-3 falls.
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Dec 2, 2014 06:04
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Often the pile of goodies in my-first-DSLR bundles are a mix of crap, crappy crap, and mildly useful. The memory card will be useful, though bigger and faster cards will be available for the same money. Don't let them snow you on a battery charger or a cable to transfer images to a computer - the camera body comes with that stuff (unless it's stolen). Everything else - tripod, filters, bag, blower/brush, etc. - is utter shyte and should be thrown at the nearest commissioned salesperson. Feeling cramped when fondling a camera is exactly the kind of thing to look for when considering cameras - eliminate the SL1 from your consideration, you won't enjoy using it, which is a big hit against that versatility quality you're looking for. Versatility is one of the main reasons to buy a DSLR rather than a P&S - lens options, lighting options, low-light sensitivity, autofocus speed & accuracy, all of these things count highly towards being able to use the camera in lots and lots of different situations.
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Dec 6, 2014 21:25
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Get a camera, one lens (18-55mm -or thereabouts), and nothing else. Buy a memory card on-line for 1/10th the price of any bricks-and-mortar store. Yes, get a class 10 card.
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Dec 6, 2014 22:11
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codo27 posted:Anddd the T5i is now in my possession, along with a 32gb class 10 card. codo27 posted:first photo I'm gonna take is her waking up and seeing the camera
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Dec 6, 2014 22:44
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Get a Canon body that has a name that ends in i T3i, T4i, T5i These are the most-recommended Canon DSLRs in the Dorkroom. You haven't mentioned budget. If you can swing it - a camera body alone will be around $400 - you can get the much-loved 70-200/4L for around $700 and then plan on spending your kid's college fund on further examples of L-glass.
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Dec 8, 2014 16:47
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If you're open to any brand - you mentioned the 30D so I thought you might want to keep using the lens(es) you have - then your first step should be to go to a camera store and fondle the offerings. You'll probably find the current Canons the most comfortable because you're used to shooting one (I gather) and most manufacturers don't change the ergonomics very much over time; they keep a consistent "style" and general layout of controls. The big brands are Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus. All make good cameras with good lenses that can be found for your budget. Any current-generation or a-few-years-old DSLR can be expected to last for many years; most cameras are rated for 100 000 shutter actuations which is enough for a casual shooter to spend 3-5 years (at least) working through. Once you figure out which brand is most comfortable in your hands and squashed against your face, browse on-line for second-hand deals. KEH.com is a good guide for price, Amazon and other on-line retailers frequently offer rather drastic discounts, and eBay is, as always, a crapshoot. You could also toss your local camera store a bone and buy from them, some bricks-and-mortar stores actually compete reasonably well against the internet, and can throw in some useful extras like prints or generous warranties. Obviously, don't get a pointless warranty for too much money from some big-box faceless corp. I'm most familiar with Pentax. For a budget of $700-ish for a camera body plus one walkaround, general-purpose lens I'd consider something like a K-5 ($400) and a Pentax 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR ($350). You might be able to get that combination for a few dollars less, the used market includes lots of plus-or-minus on pricing. Prices from a quick look on KEH Nobody makes a bad DSLR anymore, but some are better value than others and some have features that will be very appealing to some people but pointless to others. Spending a solid chunk of time getting confused at a camera store is a good way to form some fuzzy, vague first impressions that will seriously reduce the long and confusing list of options you face. You've said you'll be taking pictures of your stuff - big or small? cars or model cars? coins or furniture? - and of your child. Any DSLR from the past few years will be excellent in these roles, though you'll want to get a macro lens or at least some screw-on diopter magnifying filters if you're shooting small stuff. If your child plays team sports, a medium telephoto zoom, something around 70-200mm and with a constant maximum aperture of f/4 or f/2.8 will be very useful; many such lenses come with a kind-of macro setting that works for things the approximate size of model airplanes.
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Dec 8, 2014 17:11
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Each manufacturer uses their own, proprietary lens mount, and lenses built for one system will not fit a camera from a different system without an adaptor. Adaptors are difficult, rare, expensive, typically degrade image quality, and are only at all possible for some combinations of lens <-> camera. I've seen a few Dorkroom Goons talk about using Nikon lenses on Canon cameras, so I guess that specific combination is a bit more feasible than most. For most mirrorless systems, this changes dramatically because most mirrorless systems use a registration distance (the distance from the back of the lens to the image sensor) that is much smaller than most DSLRs - that mirror takes up space and the lenses are designed accordingly. So most mirrorless cameras can take pretty much any SLR lens if the right adaptor is available, and those adaptors are typically cheap and abundant. They also allow you to mount old "orphan-mount" lenses on your new mirrorless camera, such as Contax/Yashica, Minolta, Konica, and Canon FD-mount lenses that no longer have current-production cameras to fit - these are all manual-focus lenses from the 70's and 80's, and in some cases can be bought for a song. There are some problems within manufacturers, too, because some companies have changed their lens mounts over the years. Canon, for example, abandoned their FD-mount when they started making autofocus cameras in the late 80s / early 90s. Sony bought their camera business as a single complete piece from Minolta about 20 years ago, when Minolta had already switched to a different mount for autofocus much like what Canon did. Nikon didn't completely revamp their mount, so many modern Nikons can mount old Nikon lenses going back to the 70s; Pentax didn't change their mount at all except add some electrical contacts so all modern Pentax DSLRs can mount any Pentax K-mount lens going back to the 70s, and they kept the registration distance the same back in the 70s when the previous round of new tech developments happened - the switch from screw-mount and non-automatic-aperture lenses to bayonet-mount* lenses that stay wide open until the shutter is tripped; this means it's easy to put a screw-mount lens from the 60's on a modern Pentax camera. I confess I don't know enough about Olympus to say anything about their lens-mounts. * Canon FD and a few other manual-focus lens mounts are breech-mount, not bayonet-mount, a distinction that makes no difference in a discussion of modern DSLR capabilities and compatibilities. Then there are the third-party manufacturers. Sigma and Tamron are the big guys these day, though back in the 80s and 90s everybody and their dog was cranking out cloned lenses on any mount spec. they could get their hands on - fuckin' JC-Penny produced a line of lenses! Tamron makes only lenses (and probably some obscure accessories I've never heard of), Sigma makes a few cameras and their own proprietary lens-mount but nobody uses those cameras **. Sigma and Tamron make nearly all of their lenses in mounts to fit Canon, Nikon, or Sony (this is why when somebody says they're selling a Tamron in the Buy/Sell thread the next post will almost always be "for what camera?"), and with some exceptions for Pentax (  ). This means you can get a modern-tech lens from Sigma or Tamron for less than the price of a similar lens from the manufacturer of your camera. There are many, many complexities I'm simplifying in how this works.** Mr. Despair bought a second-hand Sigma camera and converted it to IR. I like his pictures. I should get back to work and stop postin' on teh intarwub, but instead I'll talk about megapickles. I had this photo printed at 18 x 24 inches and 300dpi to give as a gift about a month ago, the largest print I've yet made. I took the picture on my K10D, a camera with a resolution of 10.2 megapixels, and post-processing included a bit of cropping, reducing the size by a bit. The print was fine, that size did not overstretch the resolution of the image.  SD 120 Ice Crossing Riverhurst 33 by Execudork, on FlickrMegapickels don't matter nearly as much as the marketing would have you believe. You've already got experience printing at 8x10, and I can assure you that significantly larger than that is just fine from any DSLR of the last 8 years or so. And yes, shoot RAW.
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Dec 8, 2014 20:24
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The differences in quality among current-gen cameras across manufacturers are too small to matter. One might have *slightly* less noise at a given ISO, while another might accurately autofocus on the model's eyes in a studio 99.9% of the time rather than 99.8%. These comparisons are meaningless. There is ZERO risk that you'll be disappointed in your camera in 6 months because the other option you're looking at TODAY is secretly, magically a million times better. There are no differences among current cameras that really matter. Actual differences among cameras: Layout of controls. Size and weight (within fairly narrow ranges). Cost of accessories like batteries. Availability and average price of a particular lens used for a particular purpose (this ONLY applies to fairly specialized pro-level lenses, not walk-around zooms that most people use most of the time, and what I mean by "availability" is NOT yes or no, it's Get It Today vs. Order It and Wait 2 Days). Nikon, in their infinite wisdom, uses a lens mount that turns "backwards" compared to the other manufacturers (somebody please confirm re: Sony). That makes switching from, say, Canon to Nikon a little weird for the first day or two of shooting, then you get used to it and it no longer matters. If your goal is snapshots on facebook, use your phone. And stop using your phone to post here. If your goal is "good" pictures (your own personal definition) on your website / blog / flickr / whatever, get a DSLR or a mirrorless. If your goal is big prints (8x10, 11x14, etc.) to hang on your cousin's wall, get a DSLR. If your goal is really big prints, get a DSLR and a high-limit credit card and the phone number of a loan shark. If your goal is ART, shoot large format, throw out your back, and sneer dismissively at the dabbling digerati. Live in a trailer in the desert.
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Dec 10, 2014 16:37
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Primo Itch posted:Get a fast prime, around 35mm, besides the kit and she is set quite nicely. I wouldn't bother with cases, just a generic "brand name" strap. If she feels the need for this kind of thing she can get later on. Acessories in general are the kind of things you buy as your personal necessities arise. What Primo Itch said. As for brand, either is fine. Pentax is a bit easier to get cheap old lenses for than Nikon, but not by a huge margin and that only matters if she (or you) decide to go glass shopping at a flea market or pawn shop with a sub-$100 budget. The Pentax will be weathersealed, meaning she can shoot in the rain / snow / dust / whatever without worrying about it. By reputation, it's not as good at video. Each camera will feel a little different in her hands, but if you want to surprise her taking her to a camera shop and asking her to hold those cameras and tell you what you think is going to ruin it, obviously. And yes, definitely open the box, charge the battery, and slip a memory card - 32GB Class 10 - inside the box where she'll find it. Batteries take twice as long to charge when you're eagerly waiting to use them. EDIT: If you're set on a bag, buy a LowePro, Kata, Crumpler X Million Dollar Home (where X is a number that corresponds to size - 1 is small, 7 is huge), or some other brand of camera bag. Make sure it's big enough for the camera, additional lens (buy that ~35mm prime), and enough spare room for either another lens or a flash unit (those two things are roughly the same size, typically). Cost breakdown (very rough) $500 Pentax K-50 plus 18-55mm WR kit zoom lens $150 Pentax DA-35mm f/2.4 lens $20 Memory card $100 A good bag $770 Total Save the bag money and deal with that later. ExecuDork fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Dec 14, 2014 |
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Dec 14, 2014 07:02
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Seaniqua posted:preferred the feel of the Canon Seaniqua posted:For what it's worth, my dad has a few decent lenses for his Yashica that he said I can have whenever I buy a DSLR. The Yashica, being a Pentax ripoff, uses the M42 mount so I'll buy an adapter to make them work with whatever I buy. The K-50 is in about the same market segment (features / price) as the T5i. There are differences between those cameras, of course, but for a given budget they're a pair to cross-shop. Elliotw2 posted:go dig through a pawn shop's camera section. Bazanga posted:That's it. I'll talk with him more at Christmas to see what his setup was. He's a semiprofessional photographer so I'm sure I was using some high end poo poo. I'm embarrassed I don't know more about the gear, but I'm slowly learning. Also, any DSLR wearing any lens can be put into manual focus mode. How to do it varies by camera, but it's always possible. Especially for close-up shots, manual focus is much less irritating than autofocus (with the possible exception of really good - really expensive - gear). I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here and guess your uncle has a 70-210 macro telezoom of some kind. Everybody made one back in the day, and it was very popular to add something like a macro or close-focusing function to those lenses. They're good fun on modern APS-C DSLRs (such as the Canon T5i, Nikon D5300, or any current Pentax) even if the focal length range doesn't make as much sense on a crop sensor as on 35mm film. Whatever, I have a couple such lenses and I enjoy them, and they're cheap and plentiful. Don't be embarrassed by ignorance, enthusiastic learning is a good thing. Go talk to your uncle and take some pictures (on your phone if you have to) of the lenses.
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Dec 24, 2014 20:39
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hatesfreedom posted:I tried using lightroom, and it's really slick but is there anything kind of as good that isn't so expensive/require a subscription? It's not like I ever do anything too complex.
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Dec 30, 2014 23:27
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Yup, nothing beats some direct experience. I find that f/8 gets a whole face in focus most of the time, as well as 90% of what's in the frame in a typical landscape shot. If I absolutely need everything to be in focus, f/16 or f/22. In Understanding Exposure, Bryan Peterson suggests using f/22 every chance you get.
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Jan 7, 2015 19:22
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I've never taken a picture that was diffraction limited. I've taken around 100 000 (seriously) that were not completely in focus, had a too-slow shutter speed, or were simply very poorly exposed (blown highlights are much less common than muddy, ugly shadows that turn into colourful noise when pushed up in LR). What I'm saying is I've got way too many problems to deal with before I start worrying about circles of confusion.
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Jan 8, 2015 06:46
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Nuclear Pogostick posted:I have a budget of like $450 all told, what would be the best setup I could get? I'm willing to buy used. I'll speak for Pentax here. KEH.com has a K-30 in "Like New" condition with the kit zoom for $350, or with the 2-lens kit (18-55 + 50-200) for $450, or a K-5 with the 18-55 kit zoom for $500. They have a few K-30 packages at that price, differing in colour. The "best setup" is pretty subjective. Nearly all DSLRs from the last 4-5 years have video capability, though they differ widely in quality for that feature. The K-30, for example, doesn't have a way to attach an external microphone, but the K-5 does. If you get serious about video, that feature won't matter because you'll have dedicated audio equipment. What else do you think you'll use a camera for? Pictures of kids / pets? Vacation snaps? Your nerdy, nerdy hobbies in extreme close-up? Birds and wildlife? First, go to a camera store and handle as many different DSLRs as they'll let you - fondle at least one from each major brand (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus if you're feeling charitable  ). Control layouts and other ergonomic features tend to be pretty consistent within a brand, so mashing a new Canon T5i against your face will tell you a lot about how a used T3i would feel.
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Mar 7, 2015 05:57
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Absolutely look into mirrorless cameras, too. It's pretty hard to buy a bad camera these days, just one that isn't as great *for you* as something else. Fondle all the cameras!
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Mar 13, 2015 17:56
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  Now go out and shoot a bunch of photos and post the good, the bad, and the ugly all here in the Dorkroom.
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Mar 14, 2015 22:46
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Not new. But there are a ton of used DSLRs that are quite good that can be picked up for those kinds of prices. Or you could get a very good point-and-shoot that will probably do at least as well for you on your honeymoon.
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Apr 5, 2015 03:52
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 08:47 |
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I'm very happy to proseletize about Pentax, so that's what you'll hear from me. There are good options from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus, but I know very little about those. If you have the time to wait for a shipment from KEH, they're pretty good. Their customer service is really top-notch and their prices are solid. In decreasing reliability, Amazon, local Craigslist/Kijiji/Gumtree, eBay. If you're pressed for time, a local pawn shop is probably slightly less shady than a random Craigslist. Pentax on KEH: K-R with kit zoom $300. K-10 body only $150 K-20 body only $200 That kit zoom - I have one - goes for about $40 on KEH and works nicely with any Pentax DSLR. Other entry-level general-purpose lenses can be found for less than $100. You can look up reviews on every Pentax camera and every lens that can be put on a Pentax at PentaxForums.com. You don't even need to register on the site to see the reviews. I have a K-10 that's old and worn out, it was my first DSLR - though I'd had a film SLR for years - and it served me quite well. The K-20 is an upgrade from the K-10, basically the same camera with some tweaked and improved features; both spent some time as the "Flagship" camera from Pentax and can be considered "prosumer". The K-R comes from Pentax's line of "consumer" grade cameras, and lacks a few features compared to the K-10/K-20 - things like weathersealing and a second control wheel, but it's a bit newer and the sensor might be better as a result. Tiny differences in sensors from one year to the next rarely have a big impact on actual real-world photography, other things like the software to deal with high-ISO noise or the autofocus system are a bigger deal. And don't get lost in megapixel counting, it's really, REALLY not going to be a limitation you're going to run into, ever.
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Apr 5, 2015 20:29
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