Advice on new camera for trip to Ireland, budget ~ 500.00 (CAD :) )

[seanpatrick]

With respect, seanpatrick, I'm assuming you've got the Eire voltage/plug thing sorted for your D3200 battery charger? Aden might be able to help; otherwise, Nikon.ca might have some answers.

No, I am of course aware I'll need a different charger for it, thought I'd deal with that over the next couple months. Thanks for reminding me though!

 

[cgw]

I pulled the trigger and picked up the D3200 from Aden's. The sales guy wasn't the best though... He was pushing this SD card on me at the time (I understand guys have to make commission) but was getting pretty frustrated with me when I pulled out my phone and started googling card prices. He was saying ' but this is the extreme version!' ... I asked him what extreme actually did and he couldn't give me a straight answer so he ended up kind of petulantly saying ' fine than, order from Amazon then or wherever'. .. I told him I wasn't trying to Nickel and dime him and would take the card anyways as I figured the camera was such a good deal. I then told him about the UV filters I saw online and asked if he had any there around the prices I was looking at, and he said ' this is a professional store, not a beginner store, so we don't have
those kind of filters'. Anyways turns out after all that the guy forgot to charge me for the ' extreme sdcard ' so I got the camera new with lens and a 32 GB card with tax for 536. Happy ending

Sweet. You owe me a pint!

BTW, this place often has decent prices on memory cards and other stuff:

http://www.dvshop.ca/

 

[seanpatrick]

Very nice! You will love the camera. Hope you have plenty of time to play with it and get accustomed with it before the big trip!

Thanks man - Yeah I'm off in August so it gives me lots of time to amass a bit of knowledge! Can't wait to play with it :mrgreen:

I pulled the trigger and picked up the D3200 from Aden's. The sales guy wasn't the best though... He was pushing this SD card on me at the time (I understand guys have to make commission) but was getting pretty frustrated with me when I pulled out my phone and started googling card prices. He was saying ' but this is the extreme version!' ... I asked him what extreme actually did and he couldn't give me a straight answer so he ended up kind of petulantly saying ' fine than, order from Amazon then or wherever'. .. I told him I wasn't trying to Nickel and dime him and would take the card anyways as I figured the camera was such a good deal. I then told him about the UV filters I saw online and asked if he had any there around the prices I was looking at, and he said ' this is a professional store, not a beginner store, so we don't have
those kind of filters'. Anyways turns out after all that the guy forgot to charge me for the ' extreme sdcard ' so I got the camera new with lens and a 32 GB card with tax for 536. Happy ending

Sweet. You owe me a pint!

BTW, this place often has decent prices on memory cards and other stuff:

Canadian Camera Store For Video and Photography, Black Magic, DSLR Filmmaking, Lighting Equipment, Audio Gear and Post-Production Video Editing Computer Parts Accessories Peripherals

Awesome. I really appreciate the guidance from everyone, and think I've got a great camera here! ... Just out of curiosity - when getting a UV filter for the camera ( to protect the lens ), I've got two questions. What size would I order? They seem to go in size of MM - so as this lens is 18 to 55 mm would I buy a 55mm sized filter? or does that have nothing to do with it. Also, should I just buy a cheap one (preferable at this point given my recent expenditure) or would you guys recommend I get a more expensive UV filter to keep on when I take shots? UV Filters for Lenses

Cheers!

EDIT: Well I'm just looking at the camera and since it comes with a lens cap there's probably no use in getting a cheap filter just to protect the lens when I'm not using it (that's what the lens caps for).. I wonder if it's worth getting some sort of screen protector for the LCD though.. like this: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/GGS-III-Opti...414?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258c478d46 .. I found out I needed a Wifi dongle (didn't read the fine print) that I just ordered for the camera, so anything fancier is out atm.

 

[goodguy]

I dont believe in UV filters its another piece of glass in front of your lens which potentially can soften picture.
As for LCD screen, dont have one either.
Mind what you do, be careful and enjoy your trip.

 

[seanpatrick]

I dont believe in UV filters its another piece of glass in front of your lens which potentially can soften picture.
As for LCD screen, dont have one either.
Mind what you do, be careful and enjoy your trip.

Fair enough, I won't bother with the filter. I did pick up some screen protectors as they're dirt cheap and do a pretty good job with my smartphone, also a camera holster to protect it when it's in my saddlebag during the trip: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00A9YWB4K/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think that will about do it for camera expenditures. Just have to get a cheap voltage adapter (the charger will accept eire voltage) to plug into their sockets and I'm all set!

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Your picture will only be as good as the glass in front of it, so don't skimp out on filters. No sense in ruining the good camera and lens with a crap filter. The cap will be fine for protecting it. If you want extra protection while using the camera, a hood will help keep it from getting knocked into things.
I don't see anything wrong with the LCD protectors. I don't use them personally, but nothing really is wrong with using them either.
The only other thing I would suggest is some cleaning equipment. A brush, a blower, some cleaning solution, and some wipes. If you are uber-cheap like me, you can use a soft make up brush, and an ear bulb from the pharmacy. You can get both of those together for under three bucks instead of using a lens pen or lens brush and a rocket blower. Then just get some good cleaning solution and some disposable lens wipes and you'll be set.

The only other thing I would suggest is keeping the holster in the other bags if it has camera equipment logos on it. Nothing screams steal me like logos stating I have expensive camera equipment inside, specially while traveling.

 

[seanpatrick]

Your picture will only be as good as the glass in front of it, so don't skimp out on filters. No sense in ruining the good camera and lens with a crap filter. The cap will be fine for protecting it. If you want extra protection while using the camera, a hood will help keep it from getting knocked into things.
I don't see anything wrong with the LCD protectors. I don't use them personally, but nothing really is wrong with using them either.
The only other thing I would suggest is some cleaning equipment. A brush, a blower, some cleaning solution, and some wipes. If you are uber-cheap like me, you can use a soft make up brush, and an ear bulb from the pharmacy. You can get both of those together for under three bucks instead of using a lens pen or lens brush and a rocket blower. Then just get some good cleaning solution and some disposable lens wipes and you'll be set.



The only other thing I would suggest is keeping the holster in the other bags if it has camera equipment logos on it. Nothing screams steal me like logos stating I have expensive camera equipment inside, specially while traveling.

Awesome, I like the cheap option (well, after dropping $600+ for the camera) .. Thanks for the tips, I'll pick these up on the weekend. As far as branding goes on the case, I don't think it has anything on it, but it CLEARLY looks like a camera... In any case it'll be in the top rack pack, which detaches easily and has a shoulder strap - so it will be coming with me everywhere ( my passport will be in there too )... I'll just hope that the actual panniers with cloths in them don't get nicked if I pop up to a touristy location and lock the bike up.. but who wants to steal used cloths anyways. I'll just hope for the best with those.

BTW, I checked out your Facebook page with your wildlife shots - Great stuff! were those done with the d3200?

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Your picture will only be as good as the glass in front of it, so don't skimp out on filters. No sense in ruining the good camera and lens with a crap filter. The cap will be fine for protecting it. If you want extra protection while using the camera, a hood will help keep it from getting knocked into things.
I don't see anything wrong with the LCD protectors. I don't use them personally, but nothing really is wrong with using them either.
The only other thing I would suggest is some cleaning equipment. A brush, a blower, some cleaning solution, and some wipes. If you are uber-cheap like me, you can use a soft make up brush, and an ear bulb from the pharmacy. You can get both of those together for under three bucks instead of using a lens pen or lens brush and a rocket blower. Then just get some good cleaning solution and some disposable lens wipes and you'll be set.



The only other thing I would suggest is keeping the holster in the other bags if it has camera equipment logos on it. Nothing screams steal me like logos stating I have expensive camera equipment inside, specially while traveling.

Awesome, I like the cheap option (well, after dropping $600+ for the camera) .. Thanks for the tips, I'll pick these up on the weekend. As far as branding goes on the case, I don't think it has anything on it, but it CLEARLY looks like a camera... In any case it'll be in the top rack pack, which detaches easily and has a shoulder strap - so it will be coming with me everywhere ( my passport will be in there too )... I'll just hope that the actual panniers with cloths in them don't get nicked if I pop up to a touristy location and lock the bike up.. but who wants to steal used cloths anyways. I'll just hope for the best with those.

BTW, I checked out your Facebook page with your wildlife shots - Great stuff! were those done with the d3200?

Thank you! Yes all done with the D3200, with a sigma 70-300MM lens.

 

[seanpatrick]

I was able to get out for a few hours today and take some shots with the new camera. Some turned out pretty good, others pretty bad, and one shot I think I totally outdid myself. I thought I'd share the decent ones ( and my favorite one ) with you guys since you helped me pick the camera. I'll post the bad ones in the beginners forum and try to get some help with them. Anyways, I had a ton of fun! Here they are:



And this one is my absolute favorite:



What ya think?