Sorry, but another "which camera to get?" thread

_nyy_ · Oct 23, 2004

Allright, i just recently got into photography and i have to say its a lot of fun. So far ive been using my family Sony Digi Camera and its not horrible, but not that great either.
Here are some shots i have taken
http://nyy.deviantart.com/gallery/

Well im not a huge fan of digital cameras, and ive been more impressed with the quality of film shots more.

I know many of you will ask "well what kind of shots do you want to take?" but im not really sure. I like taking landscape type shots, but i also enjoy closeups. Something i havent been able to do yet but really want to is sports shots, so i guess i need something with a high shutter speed? So i guess i need a good all around camera.

My price range is anything up to maybe $180. I know that isnt much but im not looking for anything proffessional quality. I just want to have this as a hobby, but also get nice quality photos.

I was considering this deal here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15238&item=3847334445&rd=1

Anyway, any help is appreciated, so thanks

Karalee · Oct 23, 2004

Nikon and Canon both have a lot of kit cameras that might be suitable for your situation at the moment, and you can always add to them later on down the road with filters, lenses, flash and tripod.

I would personally stay with them, in case you want to upgrade to one of the better dslrs in future.

Big Mike · Oct 23, 2004

You are on a pretty tight budget but you can't go wrong with either a Canon Rebel or the Nikon you are looking at.

Another option would be to look for a used camera. You could get a used auto focus camera like or you could even look for an older camera from the days before auto focus. An old Canon AE-1 could be a great camera...the bad part is that the old lenses are not compatible with a new camera...if you should ever get one.

Like Kara said, it might be a good idea to get a modern Canon or Nikon because you will have the best selection for future upgrades & accessories.

_nyy_ · Oct 23, 2004

thanks for the responses

as for my budget, im just not sure i am going to get committed enough into photography to go out and spend over 200 on a camera

fadingaway1986 · Oct 24, 2004

I have a canon rebel (3000N in australia)... It cost me around $300 australian... I'm not sure where you are - but if you are in america, I would say that equates to around $200. That comes with a 28 - 80mm lens... Enough to get you started...

Shutter speed is 30sec - 1/2000th...

And as said before - if you decide you like photography, you can invest in lenses, etc, and later on, if you want to get a higher end camera, the majority of your accessories should still work with your new camera. (If it's an EOS)

ahelg · Oct 24, 2004

Jessops sells some cheap Manual Focus cameras called Centon. I've got a Centon K-100 and I am very pleased with it.

_nyy_ · Oct 24, 2004

what is an EOS?

and what is the difference between a rangefinder and an slr?

ahelg · Oct 24, 2004

With an SLR you see through the lens. With a rangefinder you dont.

EOS is (if I have not misunderstood completely) simply the name Canon has given to a serries of their SLR cameras.

mygrain · Oct 24, 2004

ahelg said:
With an SLR you see through the lens. With a rangefinder you dont.

The advantage being that with the slr it's pretty much "what you see is what you get" unless of course you tinker with speeds, films, filters, etc...

A ranger finder has a set eyepiece off center usually and non focusing(the viewing lense) meaning it's a bit of a guessing game unless you know yer camera. another problem with range finders is at short distances there is "parallax error", which it the differrence of what is not seen from what you see and what the lense sees. Range finders are handheld cameras fashioned after a make created many many years ago. It was fixed with the TLR(Twin Lens Relfex) which has two lenses- a viewing and a taking lense, one above the other and on the same focusing path so that you mostly get what you see. After that the SLR came into being.

_nny_ canon eos systems are great!! I primarily use the rebel series (film and digital). If you want a great camera it's the more economically freindly camera series I think. You also say that you're not interested in photography enough to invest alot into...JUST WAIT!!!! I thought the same thing about a year ago- now it's completely consumed my art!!! It's addictive and liberating.

_nyy_ · Oct 24, 2004

another newbie question: do you adjust your iso settings to whatever your film you buy?

Big Mike · Oct 24, 2004

Any modern camera will automatically read the code on the film to set the ISO.

Also, many cameras allow you to manually adjust the ISO setting away from what the film reads. This way you can trick the camera's meter to adjust exposure.

The Nikon you are looking at...N65. I think it is lacking the manual ISO control. The next model up, N75 does have it. It's up to you.

Some people will never use the manual override but some people use it all the time.

CHW · Oct 25, 2004

N55 is what your looking at mnius a cable release & a Manual ISO setting
It is a very nice camera for the $$$

_nyy_ · Oct 31, 2004

if i were to buy a manual focus camera, how do you focus with it

ahelg · Oct 31, 2004

Your turn a small ring on the lens lef - > right and right - > left to adjust the focus untill it is sharp. The advantage of MF is that you can (after a little practice) easily focus on what you want without having the focus system confused in low light which can happen with AF. When I first used MF I was a real slow focuser but I've now been using it for a little over a month and I'm much better at it.

ksmattfish · Oct 31, 2004

_nyy_ said:
as for my budget, im just not sure i am going to get committed enough into photography to go out and spend over 200 on a camera

Look at a Ricoh KR-5 or KR-5 Super with a 50mm lens. You can probably find a very nice one for $30 used, or even less. It's a standard manual focus, mostly made of metal, 35mm SLR from the 80s, and it'll do a great job getting you started. I used one when I started getting into shooting film (but back then they cost $200). Save your money for film and processing.

I'm sure that other folks can give similar recommedations. I know there are a large fanbase of Canon AE-1s and Pentax K-1000s here; they would be a little more expensive, but still under $100.