Avid Photo Taker wants SLR Camera

[lordson]

Gday

Now I have alot of whims to go and buy stuff and usually i act on them and regret it later. My computer broke one day and I had nothing to do and felt like revisiting my childhood and playing with my toy soldiers, only to discover i've lost them all so i went out and bought a whole heap for a whole lot of money and kinda regret it now. Also one day i felt like reading an Asterix comic so i went on ebay and bought the whole set for roughly $12 a book, theres about 26 books. I've read about 2 or 3 of them. Not regretting that purchase too much, but I could have done without it. I recently had the urge to go buy all the Transformers toys, 10 of them for about $30 each. I sat on it for a week and now i'm so soo glad i didn't go out and buy them.

Anyway, backstory aside, I've always like taking pictures with my gf's digital camera. And thinking about investing in an SLR camera. I'm a pretty good photographer, as in, i know which angles, what kind of shot, what color scheme, what positions would look best. I have a 6th sense with photography. I went on holiday with my gf overseas, and its pretty much the first time i ever help a camera in my hands. I couldn't put down that camera. I just wanted to takes pictures, I see a scene or a group of people or a doorway and I know exactly what shot i want and how the lighting should be. I only used my gf's camera on manual, its an i70 or something like that, i didn't like the automatic settings and wanted to dictate the shot myself. But I couldn't get the right shot alot of the times because of its limitations. Especially movement and split second scene shots, because i press the button and it takes 4 seconds to take a shot and then the shot comes out blurry.

I'm looking for a fully functional dSLR, with all the options. I've been doing a bit of reading and one guide briefly said that lower-end to medium ones are often automatic, which worries me.

I'm hearing alot on photography forums about buying a "first-camera" and upgrading and buying a whole new camera down the track, and i'd rather not do this. My budget, including addiotnal lenses if nessesary, is absolutely $1000AUD (approx 900USD). i cannot by any means go higher. I'm not made of money and this is a very big purchase for me, but I think the investment will be worth it. Just wondering if i should or if its just going to wind up becoming an expensive toy. Any thoughts?

Been reading all those other threads that say "first time camera" as well, and the consensus seems to be split between the Canon Xti and the Nikon D40. And its seems the canon is about 20% more expensive than the Nikon, from my research so far. I'm basically looking for a long-term camera will full manual control and functionality.

Been hearing bad things about 18-55mm lenses, I probably wouldn't want to change lenses often, thinking of a 18-200mm

I've had a recommendation for the Pentax K100D, he said that reviewers compare this camera to those above its price bracket. Its 250-300 dollars cheaper than the other two, but my experience with technology has shown me that you get what you pay for

Whats a spot meter?

So many choices!! really doing me head it

I'm open to suggestions, hoping to be a contributer to this forum in the future. I'll post up some of my shots later today, when i get them of my gf's comp. I think they're really good, hoping to hear some feedback. I'm a big fan of B&W and Sepia and Dulling the colour. And i'm not a fan of flash, it makes the picture look weird.

Cheers fellas

 

[Buszaj]

Well, go to stores and try the cameras out in your hands. Try out other companies such as Pentax, Olympus and Sony. They are slightly less expensive solutions, but also decent SLRs. When choosing a lens, figure out what you want to shoot mostly, and then chose an appropriate one. And don't worry about the "lower to medium end cameras" being too automatic, they all offer full manual shooting, full auto, and everything in between. There are often kits with one or two decent lenses with it. I've heard a lot of people using the Nikons with the kit lens. I think thats the 55-200? Make sure to factor in memory cards and any other accessories you'd need. Take a look at Adorama and B&H. Use the link at top of page.

 

[nossie]

If you're like me looking for studio lights at the moment you'll probably learn a lot first and then just have to take the plunge based on what people here tell you.
Going back a few years I went for the 350d which is now the 400d/XTi and I've never regretted it. The 18-55mm lens is a good choice by Canon to get you off the ground. If people ***** about it then what do they want for $50? Still though many people think this camera is small, light and feels plasticy which is a very valid point but I see it as an advantage, kit always ends up being heavy and bulky and I don't know why that's good.

You need to factor in the cost of memory cards (2x1GB fast cards) $60, a small kit bag $25, lens cloth & blower $15, spare battery $25, lots and lots of Hard Drive space $100+. However it's all very very quickly offset by the money saved on film and only the having only the good shots exposed.

It's a good starter lens and a great camera but do as Buszaj wrote and try a few out in the store to see what you feel for.

Ray.

 

[lordson]

Thanks for your help

I'm giong to a camera shop today and having a hold of them, but I've pretty much come to a decision:

Pentax K100D it is! K100D Super if opportunity arrises

Its going to be $800AUD but comes with a Sigma 18-200mm DC OS. which is a pretty good deal because the 18-200mm is $600AUD alone

I'll look into that lens, i saw a comparison of every lens on earth, and the Sigma 18-200mm had a poor/bad in every column. and alot of the 18-50mm from Pentax did too

but the 18-50mm from Canon had goods in every column

but they must have been really scrupulous because every user review of the 18-200 got 10/10

I'll also look into a sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5 down the track. that will probably suit my needs more

I'll be taking mainly landscapes, city/street shot, and indoor portraits

Going to take the plunge!

 

[NateOntario]

You might want to consider buying a lightly used camera from an eBay store, they're a LOT cheaper.

 

[ThePup]

Lordson, I'm by no means a photography expert, I got a K10D with the sigma 17-70 2 weeks or so ago, and it's a lovely lens, in my opinion! Down the track I'd like a little more reach, so I'll get something around the 200 - 300 mark, but the little extra I paid for the 17-70 I believe is well worth it.

I'd expect you should be able to get a K100 super, plus the 17-70 for around your $1000 mark. Digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au has the K100D Super for $647, with the sigma 17-70 for $452. I'm told by my local camera store that CR Kennedy (Pentax suppliers in australia) are pretty good for price matching, and will help local dealers come as close as possible to an internet price... My camera store came to within about $60 for my K10D. If you're going to go the 17-70 "Down the track" because it'll suit your needs more, then you might as well scrimp and save for another couple of weeks and get it straight up - That was my theory when I saved a little longer for mine anyway. It'll cost $100 or 200 extra to do it right now, or $450 later on.

Oh, the specs on the lens say minimum focusing distance of 20cm... I've had mine focused down to about 5cm at 70mm! Good fun.

 

[lordson]

I've worked out a deal and will get a new Pentax K100D (non-super) plus a Sigma 18-200mm DC 2.8-4.5 for $700AUD, which is about $600USD

i think thats a brilliant deal, the 18-200mm suits my needs well for the moment, apparently at the 35mm-50mm range its really good.

the 200mm will come in handy for a bit of astrophotography, i know its not ideal, but form what i've seen, 200mm astrophotography was sitll quite good

its about a saving of 30% on an already discounted price, and 40% off a store price, and like 60% off RRP.

very happy, can't wait to get it on tuesday and start snapping away

i'm going to Queensland soon, which is like a beach resort here in Australia, so be posting up pictures of that, hopefully good ones