Seize the Light
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2015
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 0
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
I'm new here so first of all, Hello!
I am looking to buy a camera (as well as lighting and lenses, buy I'll save that for another thread).
I have some experience with a compact camera, but I'm looking to get into photography seriously, as in a profession. At first I was positive I was going to get a Canon or, maybe, Nikon (because that's what nearly all my favorite photographers on Flickr use and because I know these brands have a long history). But upon closer inspection, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. But let me start with what I want the camera to do:
1. Obviously, it needs to take professional quality pictures, good enough for magazines and also for fine art prints (I'm interested in doing a lot of "art", non-commercial portraits). For commercial work, I'm mostly interested in food and outdoor pet, child, fashion photography.
2. I want a camera that has fantastic low-light capabilities. I love natural, low light photography, and I am tired of having my crummy compact camera tell me "you don't have enough light" and suffering from ugly unacceptable noise when I go above ISO 400.
3. I want to make short films and music videos (I don't have the budget to buy a still camera AND a camcorder). Again, I need the best quality a still camera can give me. But for now, my videos will be seen mostly on websites like YouTube; it's not like they're gonna be projected on an IMAX 3D screen any time soon.
............ So within my price range, I was originally looking at cameras like the Nikon D90 and the Canon 70D, mostly because I've seen some very professional short films made with them. Maybe the Rebel cameras. But I have to admit, the amount of options in these brands alone is overwhelming, especially for someone who has a limited understanding of all the jargon.
However, when I went on YouTube and looked up tutorials on these cameras, to see what they were like in action, I was pretty much appalled at the design on these professional DSLRs. It seems like Canon and Nikon's theory is that professionals want a lot of options, and I can understand that, but it seems like their solution is to clutter the camera with more buttons than fleas in a dog's ear. And then when you get into the digital screen menu area, nothing is clearly designated and it is all very confusing (even the people making the tutorial videos were frequently pressing the wrong options and saying "Oops, sorry" all the time. One person with experience with DSLRs had to confess that he had trouble figuring out how to focus!).
Please understand I'm not trying to trash talk any of these models. I have never even tried one myself, so I am merely making assumptions from observation. But the point is that I think I would prefer something more basic/simple in terms of design. I love to fidget with options in post-production (Photoshop, After Effects), but when I'm on the street shooting and I don't want to miss that shot, less is better!
This got me looking at the Fuji X cameras, which seem to be a simplified "retro" reaction against the complexity of DSLRs. But I'm nervous because, based on the fact that I don't see those cameras being used on Flickr nearly as much as Canon and Nikon, nor have I found as of yet any professional, creative movies done with them to prove their worth in video (feel free to prove me wrong!). Ultimately, it is image/video quality that is more important than design.
Are the Nikons and Canons actually easy to use once you get the hang of it? Do the Fuji cameras have the power I need? Are there any other cameras you would suggest me looking into?
Thank you!
I am looking to buy a camera (as well as lighting and lenses, buy I'll save that for another thread).
I have some experience with a compact camera, but I'm looking to get into photography seriously, as in a profession. At first I was positive I was going to get a Canon or, maybe, Nikon (because that's what nearly all my favorite photographers on Flickr use and because I know these brands have a long history). But upon closer inspection, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. But let me start with what I want the camera to do:
1. Obviously, it needs to take professional quality pictures, good enough for magazines and also for fine art prints (I'm interested in doing a lot of "art", non-commercial portraits). For commercial work, I'm mostly interested in food and outdoor pet, child, fashion photography.
2. I want a camera that has fantastic low-light capabilities. I love natural, low light photography, and I am tired of having my crummy compact camera tell me "you don't have enough light" and suffering from ugly unacceptable noise when I go above ISO 400.
3. I want to make short films and music videos (I don't have the budget to buy a still camera AND a camcorder). Again, I need the best quality a still camera can give me. But for now, my videos will be seen mostly on websites like YouTube; it's not like they're gonna be projected on an IMAX 3D screen any time soon.
............ So within my price range, I was originally looking at cameras like the Nikon D90 and the Canon 70D, mostly because I've seen some very professional short films made with them. Maybe the Rebel cameras. But I have to admit, the amount of options in these brands alone is overwhelming, especially for someone who has a limited understanding of all the jargon.
However, when I went on YouTube and looked up tutorials on these cameras, to see what they were like in action, I was pretty much appalled at the design on these professional DSLRs. It seems like Canon and Nikon's theory is that professionals want a lot of options, and I can understand that, but it seems like their solution is to clutter the camera with more buttons than fleas in a dog's ear. And then when you get into the digital screen menu area, nothing is clearly designated and it is all very confusing (even the people making the tutorial videos were frequently pressing the wrong options and saying "Oops, sorry" all the time. One person with experience with DSLRs had to confess that he had trouble figuring out how to focus!).
Please understand I'm not trying to trash talk any of these models. I have never even tried one myself, so I am merely making assumptions from observation. But the point is that I think I would prefer something more basic/simple in terms of design. I love to fidget with options in post-production (Photoshop, After Effects), but when I'm on the street shooting and I don't want to miss that shot, less is better!
This got me looking at the Fuji X cameras, which seem to be a simplified "retro" reaction against the complexity of DSLRs. But I'm nervous because, based on the fact that I don't see those cameras being used on Flickr nearly as much as Canon and Nikon, nor have I found as of yet any professional, creative movies done with them to prove their worth in video (feel free to prove me wrong!). Ultimately, it is image/video quality that is more important than design.
Are the Nikons and Canons actually easy to use once you get the hang of it? Do the Fuji cameras have the power I need? Are there any other cameras you would suggest me looking into?
Thank you!