Which camera for Portraiture in Studio??

[xposure]

Hi,

Back into Photography after a break and looking to buy a new SLR and 1 or 2 lenses for portraiture in a studio environment. I have my own 3 head lighting kit and the SLR i plan to buy will solely be used for the studio.

Well , everybody i speak to keeps saying "Get full frame" but are they really that important?

Ive seen pics taken with a Sony A900 and yes they are mega detailed but then again ive seen pics taken with an Olympus E420 and yes they aint as detailed but i would say in ways they are nicer to look at.

My question is , which out of the following would you say is the best for a photographer who is wanting to possibly open his own studio up in the next 12 months but has no desire/need to go into magazine photography, commercial.

It will just be portraits for the general public and my only concern at going for an APS-C or 4/3 is the megapixel count will be around 10-12mp and if a customer asked me for a big canvas , id be hard pushed to offer a big size wouldnt i?

So, heres the list(any cameras ive omitted out of the mainstream is because ive handled them and didnt feel right)....

1: Sony A900
2: Sony A850
3: Nikon D700
4: Nikon D300s
5: Sony A700
6: Olympus E30
7: Olympus E3


Any advice welcomed.

Thanks

Matt :thumbup:

 

[IgsEMT]

I don't see any Canons on there
But since I'm a Nikon guy, I'll recommend 300s or 700, depending on your budget.
Since you already have lighting gear, 300s with 18-200 is MORE then enough. You won't be needing to shoot at 2.8 (so lighting isn't an issue) you'll have one lens that will cover you for a close up and 15ppl family shot
Personally, as much as I enjoyed working with d700, I'll be looking into d300s as my next body b/c it has dual cards (I'm paranoid, just like everyone else out there, about loosing images).

In Canons, 50d, 7d, 5d (if you can find a decent used model) 5dm2.

I'm not a big fan of bricks (1dm2 and such on Canons) or in Nikons D2, D3, etc. Nonetheless, they are great bodies and when people say they are TANKS, THEY REALLY ARE TANKS

 

[xposure]

I don't see any Canons on there
But since I'm a Nikon guy, I'll recommend 300s or 700, depending on your budget.
Since you already have lighting gear, 300s with 18-200 is MORE then enough. You won't be needing to shoot at 2.8 (so lighting isn't an issue) you'll have one lens that will cover you for a close up and 15ppl family shot
Personally, as much as I enjoyed working with d700, I'll be looking into d300s as my next body b/c it has dual cards (I'm paranoid, just like everyone else out there, about loosing images).

In Canons, 50d, 7d, 5d (if you can find a decent used model) 5dm2.

I'm not a big fan of bricks (1dm2 and such on Canons) or in Nikons D2, D3, etc. Nonetheless, they are great bodies and when people say they are TANKS, THEY REALLY ARE TANKS

Hi,

Your right no Canon's. Every Canon i have held has just felt horrid in my hands. So an 18-200VR lens would be sharp enough for portraiture??

Also , the dual cards on the D300s , does that mean i could have it set to save the image to each card incase of a card failure? If so thats pretty neat!!

Matt

 

[xposure]

Also , i could afford to get the D300s , 18-200VR and a nifty fifty just incase i did want to go f2.8 or lower.

Matt

 

[xposure]

Ive just actually read a review on the 18-200VR and it says upto 70mm its IQ is fine but it drops alarmingly at 135mm and it only gets ok again at 200mm

Id want something a bit sharper all through than that.

Anybody have any expereince in using an Olympus in the studio?

Matt

 

[Iron Flatline]

Sync speed? That should drive your decision...

 

[Montana]

YOu are wanting to do portraiture with the 18-200? Could you possibly pick a worse lens if you are doing nothing but portraiture?

 

[Derrel]

First off, I am one of those who feels that crop-body cameras are a poor choice for a dedicated studio camera. I used to be a full-time studio portrait shooter,and I honestly think that 35FF is an excellent format because it gives the "right" depth of field and the "right" background control at the normal camera-to-subject distances you'll likely encounter in a studio's camera room. APS-C forces you to use short focal length lenses to do full-length shots of couples, or larger groups, so you'll have an in-focus group AND an in-focus background at typical flash apertures. You'll also have wide angles of a view behind the subject, meaning background width quickly becomes an issue on APS-C, where on FF it's not an issue. APS-C is much harder to work with than FF if you want background control indoors.

As for the 18-200 lens....uhh...no. Forget that lens entirely. First off, it is a DX lens, not suitable for a FF Nikon. Depending on how much room you have to back up, you will want a lens focal length from 70 to 180mm on most days, and the newest Nikon 70-200 VR-II would be the lens of choice on a D700. I am suggesting D700 over the Sony cameras due to lens availability. The newest 70-200 has the best image quality over FF.

 

[gsgary]

Sony A900 only if you buy the 85mm F1.4 Zeiss Welcome to Carl Zeiss Camera Lenses

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Food for thought:

If all you want to do is studio type portraits, have you thought about something like a Hasselblad 500CM. You will get better IQ at a lower cost than with a full frame body. All you have to do is find a good pro lab to handle the films.

And all the time you do not spend working on your shots on the computer, you can spend shooting. Shooting pays better than PP work.

 

[gsgary]

Food for thought:

If all you want to do is studio type portraits, have you thought about something like a Hasselblad 500CM. You will get better IQ at a lower cost than with a full frame body. All you have to do is find a good pro lab to handle the films.

And all the time you do not spend working on your shots on the computer, you can spend shooting. Shooting pays better than PP work.

Or get one like this

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Or get one like this

Sweet but that might be a bit over budget.

 

[Iron Flatline]

You can rent backs. But yeah, the nice thing about a DSLR is that you can still take it to the ball game.

 

[gsgary]

You can rent backs. But yeah, the nice thing about a DSLR is that you can still take it to the ball game.

Only if you have nice fast long lenses

 

[xposure]

Hi,

After much soul searching and price scanning i have decided to go with.....(drum roll)......



Sony A700 with Carl Zeiss 16-80 f3.5-4.5 Lens

Seen some brilliant reviews of it and i do like the Sony gear!

Matt