Your Own Photography

loudgas said:

I did the film processing/and print as well. At the time I was more happy something showed up and less concerned about quality

Any suggestions on an entry level DSLR?

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A lot to choose from. If you want to go the Canon route, maybe start with a Canon Rebel. The newer versions even have built-in wifi. These camera will do everything for you, or nothing. Pretty versatile....gets your feet wet before getting something more pricey.

Not sure the Nikon path, but a few of my friends shoot with Nikon and they are quite good as well.

Just remember, once you start going down a brand path, its always easier to stay with that brand since the lens investments can get quite costly.

Any opinion on mirrorless? I just scooped a Fuji xt10 for a fucking steal. 500$ w/ 2 kit lenses(16-50, 50-230). Might have got a xt20, but figured fuck it if I can get a decent >35mm lens or pancake. I really hated my Nikon and the brickfeel. I found my most fun in shooting film, esp night. I was pointing in the direction of mirrorless, aside from weight, was the amazing shots at high iso.

Picked that, and prob about 25 canisters of various color film. I'll try to post em whenever I return from Japan. I'd post some of my old shots, but its in picture of a picture and would just be shameful.

I bought me a Sony A6000 and loved it so much I sold all my Nikon gear and went full mirrorless. After I sold my D800E I got me a Sony A7Rm2 and a few lenses. I just started playing with some of my old Pentax DSL lenses and got an adapter to use on my mirrorless camera's, very cool and fun. You can pick up some really good glass for hardly no money and it might be 30 years old but kick ass glass. The thing I really liked about the mirrorless and seeing in real-time what the image is going to look like, ie, changing the exposure comp or shutter speed, etc, the EVF or screen on the back shows it real time.

Really good site for old glass for use on Sony is this guys site, Phillip .

The A7x is a wet dream. An old friend of mine has it, got into photography shortly after I departed. Shooting at 100,000 iso with little to no noise is fucking intense. Makes night photos look daylike. I'm assuming 4k@60fps?

As much as I want an alpha series, price is steep and I still really want a good 120 camera. The chemical print paper is just far superior which just isn't offered from digital, at least that I don't know of.

loudgas said:

I did the film processing/and print as well. At the time I was more happy something showed up and less concerned about quality
Any suggestions on an entry level DSLR?

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Hehehe know exactly what you mean
As for entry level DSLR, Subotai's advice is spot on : pick a brand, get something cheap. You could even get a used/refurbished one.

No need to buy a whole bunch of lenses, just start with a versatile one (like a 16-50, or 24-70 ; I'd avoid fixed focal length and strong zooms, or more specialized optics till you know precisely why you would want one)
(and keep in mind that with a non full frame camera, you have to multiply the value of the focal by roughly 1.5, so a 24-70 is not a 24-70 on APS-C, it's more like a 36-105)
It's main purpose will be to help you figure out what you want out of a camera, the style of photography you are into (street, sports, macro, portraits, etc...) and also more importantly, if you are going to use it.
In fact, do not even worry too much about the brand, as your APS-C optics will most likely not be of any use on a full frame if you ever choose to upgrade (unless you find a really good deal on a used full frame lens from the beginning).

Personally I end up using the same optic all the time : a CZ24-70 F2.8 on a A99 (Sony, A-Mount). Went the Sony route mainly because before that I had a A77, which I had bought because my father gave me some old Minolta optics
If I had no gear, and had to choose a camera now, I'd most likely go for :

Moonball said:

Sony A7Rm2

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( with a Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 T* , because that's what would suit my usage the most, as well as maybe a fixed and luminous 85 or 100mm for portraits)

Most of the pics in this thread look like they were pulled off National Geographic or some professional studio, they were likely taken by a wide spectrum of cameras and lenses too. Which factors produce the most optimal results, ie megapixels or the sensor (or the sensor size, if I'm getting that right), or is this more about lens strength/quality?

loudgas said:

Most of the pics in this thread look like they were pulled off National Geographic or some professional studio, they were likely taken by a wide spectrum of cameras and lenses too. Which factors produce the most optimal results, ie megapixels or the sensor (or the sensor size, if I'm getting that right), or is this more about lens strength/quality?

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I think with todays cameras, you'll have no problem with quality. Getting higher end, you will probably shoot RAW photos so it uses the most megapixels and gives you the most flexibility for editing. For lenses, again your basic ones work well, but higher quality glass gives you higher quality images.
I mainly shoot sports and nature, so my glass is usually longer lenses and I shoot really fast (this Canon 7D mark 2 shoots 10 frames a sec)
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Woot!'s photos are some of the best i've seen for city shots...so i'm sure they are using wider lens and lean more toward slower speed but wider aperture. Quite impressive to say the least.
Seriously, just play with the intro level camera....and over time you will see what feels good. Hell, you can even RENT out cameras and lenses before you buy if you like.....it's what I would do.

Oh, and the mirrorless cameras are freaking incredible. I'm looking at the Sony one myself right now.

Been out a camera for a bit my T3 died a while back, it won't turn on regardless of what battery I put in. However after some saving I now have a canon refurbished EOS 6D w/ a 24-70mm f/4L and Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 on the way. Just in time for my first trip north this season in June, hoping the weather doesn't screw me over again like last year it'd be nice to use it at night up there.

It has arrived, haven't had a chance to take any photos with it since the battery is charging and i'm stuck working but here's a photo of a camera

Couldn't get a solid focus with the branches swaying around but all things considered I like it. Caught this cardinal taking shelter from the rain outside my patio this afternoon:

Hex said:

Couldn't get a solid focus with the branches swaying around but all things considered I like it. Caught this cardinal taking shelter from the rain outside my patio this afternoon:

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Yeah its hard to get autofocus to nail it when so many things in the way. Either spot focus or just switch to manual. Nice shot though. I just saw a cardinal on my way from work this morning. I just moved to Texas (Austin) and see all kinds of cool looking birds way better than what I always saw in New Mexico.

I keep my camera with spot AF. It has an even smaller area of focus than single point mode. I basically set my spot to the center dot, point that directly on my subject I want in focus, half press shutter button to activate the AF, then frame the shot I want and finish full shutter press.

Jysin said:

I keep my camera with spot AF. It has an even smaller area of focus than single point mode. I basically set my spot to the center dot, point that directly on my subject I want in focus, half press shutter button to activate the AF, then frame the shot I want and finish full shutter press.

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Will have to check that out, I started with manual focus prior to swapping to auto but with the wind bouncing the branches around (including the cardinals branch) I decided to set it to auto and hoped for the best. It took forever just to get out onto the patio without spooking him, the first two attempts he took off so I ended up just leaving the door/screen open so i could silently slip out and get the shot when he returned.

Moonball said:

Yeah its hard to get autofocus to nail it when so many things in the way. Either spot focus or just switch to manual. Nice shot though. I just saw a cardinal on my way from work this morning. I just moved to Texas (Austin) and see all kinds of cool looking birds way better than what I always saw in New Mexico.

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Nice! I just realized while the 24-70mm is a damn solid lens I could use a better telephoto especially considering the amount of eagles and hawks in the areas I like to hike. Been hoping for a Peregrine to make an appearance while i'm in the north woods, they're supposed to live up there according to the DNR but they're rare to see.

Wish I had the cash for this lens. It has rave reviews all around!

Amazon.com : Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens : Camera & Photo

Jysin said:

I keep my camera with spot AF. It has an even smaller area of focus than single point mode. I basically set my spot to the center dot, point that directly on my subject I want in focus, half press shutter button to activate the AF, then frame the shot I want and finish full shutter press.

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Back button autofocus is nice once you get use to it. I used it all the time on my Nikon, I haven't set it up on my Sony. Lazy I guess. When I wanted to get more reach than the 70-200mm I had I bought a 3rd party lens, Tamron 150-600 the new G2 version is suppose to be even sharper. I've been happy with it.

Jysin said:

Wish I had the cash for this lens. It has rave reviews all around!

Amazon.com : Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens : Camera & Photo

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That's a nice lens

Moonball said:

Back button autofocus is nice once you get use to it. I used it all the time on my Nikon, I haven't set it up on my Sony. Lazy I guess. When I wanted to get more reach than the 70-200mm I had I bought a 3rd party lens, Tamron 150-600 the new G2 version is suppose to be even sharper. I've been happy with it.

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Do you have any stability issues with that lens, even on a tripod? Always been a little leery of lenses longer than 400mm....but have seen some great photos too.

Subotai said:

Do you have any stability issues with that lens, even on a tripod? Always been a little leery of lenses longer than 400mm....but have seen some great photos too.

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Not really, I use it with a monopod most of the time. It has stability (VC) built in and my Sony has in body stability also and that works with lenses that don't have VC built in.