DSLR Help

[xCoupexAshx]

hey there guys n girls. problem is of this, i bought a Olympus epl1 as it was a good price and i wanted to get more into my photography, (seeing as its my job near enough). mainly, i do car photoshoots and at gigs, although not as much. the first 3 times ive used the Olympus, its struggled or just been crap tbh, especially bad at night!

so last night i borrowed a mates canon 550d and wow, its amazing so much better in ever situation. fair enough its double the price, but its more like 10x the camera, better quality, more control and easier to use i found too.

main problem i have is i dont have 600 quid for a camera. (hence getting the Olympus) so am looking at the 500d instead as its the slightly older model which seems 90% the same camera, just a few differences in the movie mode and metering settings. has anyone got either of these cameras, or compared them that can give any input? i now know i want an proper DSLR over a compact systems. but which one? will say i do have a prefernce of canon over nikon, mainly due to familiarity.

all advice is appreciated =]

 

[AndyC]

I have a Canon 40D, its great for low light and fast shutter speed...

there are a few on the market now for good money,

IMO its a better camera than the 450, or 550...

all the lenses fit etc.

Andy

 

[AndyC]

I have a Canon 40D, its great for low light and fast shutter speed...

there are a few on the market now for good money,

IMO its a better camera than the 450, or 550...

all the lenses fit etc.

Andy

 

[xCoupexAshx]

yeh its a little bit bulkier and has quite got the iso range, although shutter speed is brilliant! only problem ideally i want a new camera rather than second hand. but even getting a new 500d is proving hard. wish i could get one in at work, get my 10% off haha

 

[R55 MRU]

Canon 60d for me... work at jessops so easy for me

 

[xCoupexAshx]

i not got that much to spend =/

 

[FactionOne]

I've been watching this one for a little while, curious to see how it'd develop (no pun intended)...

I'm going to give Russo2k5 the benefit of the doubt on two counts: 1) he probably doesn't come on here to work out-of-hours, 2) he at least threw-up a good all-rounder.

One thing that might be worth clearing up is what I imagine is confusion between shutter speed and burst rate. Saying a camera has a great shutter speed is a bit like saying an engine has great revs. Most (d)SLR cameras will have similar selectable shutter speed ranges; normally from 30 seconds to around 1/8000th second. They may or may not have a bulb exposure mode in which the shutter can remain open indefinitely according to the photographer's preference and command. The point anyway is that cameras have shutter speeds, they don't normally come in crap, mediocre or great. They do have burst rates which differ from model-to-model, which is an entirely different, and possibly relevant kettle of fish... Let's say you're shooting with 1/1000th sec shutter, so if there was no mechanical delay, you could theoretically take 1000 photos each second. The camera you buy may top out at 4fps, or it may top out at 8fps. For the two main types of shooting I do this is immaterial and crucial respectively, which brings me around to the point of my post...

The most pertinent question has not yet been asked...

What do you want to shoot man?

...What you're pointing it at has a lot to do with which camera is most suitable.

All the best,

Rob.

 

[R55 MRU]

I've been watching this one for a little while, curious to see how it'd develop (no pun intended)...

I'm going to give Russo2k5 the benefit of the doubt on two counts: 1) he probably doesn't come on here to work out-of-hours, 2) he at least threw-up a good all-rounder.

One thing that might be worth clearing up is what I imagine is confusion between shutter speed and burst rate. Saying a camera has a great shutter speed is a bit like saying an engine has great revs. Most (d)SLR cameras will have similar selectable shutter speed ranges; normally from 30 seconds to around 1/8000th second. They may or may not have a bulb exposure mode in which the shutter can remain open indefinitely according to the photographer's preference and command. The point anyway is that cameras have shutter speeds, they don't normally come in crap, mediocre or great. They do have burst rates which differ from model-to-model, which is an entirely different, and possibly relevant kettle of fish... Let's say you're shooting with 1/1000th sec shutter, so if there was no mechanical delay, you could theoretically take 1000 photos each second. The camera you buy may top out at 4fps, or it may top out at 8fps. For the two main types of shooting I do this is immaterial and crucial respectively, which brings me around to the point of my post...

The most pertinent question has not yet been asked...

What do you want to shoot man?

...What you're pointing it at has a lot to do with which camera is most suitable.

All the best,

Rob.

Couldn't have put it any better myself.

Honestly in terms of an SLR you do get what you pay for. Good consumer all rounder:

Canon 550d
Nikon D3100

Would not rule out any of the compact system cameras either. Do you really need an SLR. Research your options

 

[xCoupexAshx]

appreciate all the responce guys, as said i was using a olympus epl-1 which is a compact system, and worked ok in the daytime, terrible at night. and after using my mates 500d iwas much more impressed, tbh i do prefer canon as a brand feel n ease of use anyhow.

mainly for hobby, car shoots for me n cars n car groups im in. n general shows. n later a bit of nature photgraphy. my ideal package atm, would be the 500d body, 18-135mm is lens and 50mm F1.8 lens. working out about £820 from my shop. which is a good price but i still dont have that much, so may just go for the camera and 50mm lens as i prefer that for car shoots.
i do wish i could find a 500d for good money tho as its literally 90% the same camera as the 550d but alot cheaper (or was). oh well

i have a few digitals already and their good, you just can be as creative with them. hence an slr. (also makes me look cool haha)

n thanks, fps is not really to important. 4 frames is enough for what i need, n most cameras as u say have a range of 30s to 1/4000th shutter speed which is ample.

 

[warren_S5]

n thanks, fps is not really to important. 4 frames is enough for what i need, n most cameras as u say have a range of 30s to 1/4000th shutter speed which is ample.

4 frames per second is some going for anyone not into sport photography.

To be honest I don't think there are many bad SLR's on the market these days, yes some will be better than others for either outright pace, image resolution, or detailed functions, but there is one further thing I would suggest you do before you buy anything.

For years I used Canon, and as an outfit they are brilliant, probably the best out there to be fair. Then one day someone loaned me a Nikon, and the way the buttons I used regularly were positioned to hand, the menu conventions and the nuances just worked for me. I copped the whole lot in, replaced it with nikon, and whilst no better as eqiuipment goes, I would say my photos have improved as I just gelled better with it.

Feel the weight of the bodies, have a fiddle with the menus, see what functions they have, and how they may support the type of photographs yuo are likely to take, can they be customised to quickly get to the set up yuo need etc... If it's comfortable in the hand you'll work better with it.

Brilliant photographers need competent kit, but most of the skill is in composition, quality of the lens, and stability. You could give them a crap camera and still get a good shot. The only real descernable improvement in the latest kit is low light performance / noise. I've just bought a Nikon D-7000 and whilst it's a bit slow to respond against my D2H, it's way ahead in terms of low light performance (but then it's 5 years newer).

 

[xCoupexAshx]

yeh im lucky enough to have most cameras available to hand all day at work as im the camera specialist in my shop haha. well the 550d is 3.7 fps so 4 essentially and most dslr's start at about 3 fps. n yeh i totally appreciate it. ive played with the nikon d3100 alot too, n dont get me wrong its a brilliant camera, better than the canon equivalent model. does everything very well pictures and movie. but.... i just dont get on with the nikon menu's as well as i do with canon. so id have to say i feel much more comfortable with canons. might see if they will let me borrow a nikon for a night n see how i get on.

thanks for your advice and time btw

 

[bdavbdav]

I have a 400d sitting here which has seen little use if that is of any interest to you?

 

[G26]

It's the lenses that make the difference. Find a camera within your budget that you like the feel of, as warren_cox mentioned, and get on ebay and hunt for a second hand prime 50mm f1.8 - a must have in anyone's kit, in my opinion. As you do gigs it would be preferable to find a camera from the manufacturer you like and look at reviews to see which one in their range and your budget performs best, noise wise, in low light which will be beneficial to your gig photography. You did mention movie mode - you'll be looking at more up to date cameras which will cost more if you are desperate for that function. Buy a body only for the camera and get the lens second hand as you'll get a better one for your money this way. The lenses that come with cameras in the 'kit deals' are, in a nutshell, ****e. In the trade they are referred to as 'lens cap lenses' for that reason.

If its a hobby, and you are looking for pictures just for you, not for selling to maazines etc. Then the new Panasonic G3 looks good. Not exactly a DSLR but has interchangeable lenses and adaptors can be bought to attach Nikon and Canon lenses etc. HD movie is on it too. Body only is about £450 i think. Plus they are about half the size of a DSLR. They do chew the batteries s bit, so I hear, but every camera has a slight drawback somewhere - unless you want to pay about £3k