Hi, y'all :) Brand new here (& to photography) - getting my first DSLR - need advice!

koofa · Nov 15, 2011

Hi everyone! So, I've been in love with photography for a while now.. I have a Flickr account (flickr.com/koofa) but I seriously have no idea what I'm doing (yet). I want to get there though. I've never used a DSLR - every picture I've taken has either been with a regular point-and-shoot or a more advanced point-and-shoot (Nikon P100 or Canon SX20 IS). So, I have a budget with a max of probably about $850-$900 for a camera, and I want to know what your opinions are.

I know everyone's will differ. I was going to go with the Rebel T3, but with all the reading I've been doing, seeing as how this is pretty much just an entry-level DSLR (a good one though), I don't think that's going to suffice. I mean if it's not going to give me a wider variety of options or whatever I may eventually need, I'd rather just go somewhat more expensive and advanced now, even though I don't know what I'm doing, because I don't want to get used to it and then need to upgrade later.. too much money wasted.

I know pretty much nothing.. I've just gotten a few photography books to study with before I choose my camera, but I'm torn.. I'm looking at the Canon T3i, T2i and T1i, and also the Nikon D5100. I know most of them come with the 18-55mm lens (have no idea what that means yet), but I'm really interested in taking pictures of my daughter and family, some scenery, etc.. most of it will be outdoors since I'm in Colorado and the scenery here is beautiful. What Kind of lens would be good for this type of photography? I also plan on using the video.. more for events (ballet recitals, etc.) What are your opinions on these cameras (especially for a beginner)?

Also, I know nothing about lens-care and whatnot.. is it hard to keep them from scratching? Should I buy a cleaning kit, lens covers, any accessories that you feel would be absolutely necessary when purchasing a camera?

I really appreciate your input! Look forward to eventually sharing my photos & having them critiqued. Everything about this is so exciting to me! Haha.

bazooka · Nov 15, 2011

Welcome to photography! You sound like pretty much where I was 2 years ago. I posted a similar thread and the feedback I got led me to purchase a used Canon 40D ($550, even cheaper now). I also decided not to purchase the kit lens that he was selling with it, but instead went with a Tamron 17-50 2.8 as my general use lens. If I were to do it all over again, I would have taken the exact same path. Total price was right around your budget.

I recommend you find a newbie tutorial on lenses... there should be plenty. As for lens care, scratching them isn't too much of a concern. Some people use a clear UV filter to protect the lens but putting anything between the lens and the scene is going to degrade the image by some, possibly imperceivable amount. I personally do not use any protection other than a lens cap. Having said that, I have shattered a polarizer filter by slipping on a rough part of a trail and tapping the lens on a rock. The filter saved the lens. But if I'd had a cap on the filter, the cap would have saved the filter... so...... use a freakin' cap!

koofa · Nov 15, 2011

Haha, good advice

I'll definitely use a cap! And I'll look into those tutorials too, for sure.

Nikon_Josh · Nov 15, 2011

I recommend the Nikon D5100 and the 18-55mm kit lens to start off with, the 18-55 is NO dream lens. But it really is a nice and sharp lens for the price, it's build quality is lacking. But you won't care about these things, you will just enjoy the amazing quality you will get from this combo. I found the 18-55 was enough me for my first year of owning a DSLR, then I started to see it's limitations. My advice would be to go Nikon, but hey I am biased!

I admire your enthusiasm, it is a special thing to find a new passion and interest. If you really want to have fun though, maybe you should look at a 35 1.8 prime lens? A prime is great at forcing you to compose photos properly instead of just zooming and pressing the button.

saharac · Nov 15, 2011

Hi, I'm from Denver and getting started with DSLR photography and just posted a similar thread too.. Quite a coincidence...

Pretty much in the same boat as you, although I have bought the Canon T3i (body only) and am concidering lens options now...

Deciding on the camera was a big hurdle for me too and was pretty much concidering the same cameras as you are.. From reading all the reviews and research I did on them, the Nikon D5100 and Canon T3i are neck to neck with hardly any major deal breakers.. So I just went with the one that gave me the best price and found a deal online on canon t3i body which was pretty sweet and took it.. Another tip I found interesting was that T2i and T3i are pretty much the same except for the swivel LCD, so to save some $$ one could get the T2i and have the same results..

Cheers..

fjrabon · Nov 15, 2011

If you want to take any significant amount of video, Canon has better video (and I'm a Nikon guy). Nikons are generally a little less noisy with high ISO's, meaning they perform a little bit better in low light. With what you've said, brand wise I'd go Canon.

Protection wise, your hood is the first line of protection. Always shoot with your hood on. I can't count the number of times I have bumped into something with the hood that might have made contact with the lens. As long as your hood is on you will only have to worry about hitting the lens with relatively small and/or sharp objects. Caps are the 2nd line, but I usually leave mine off unless I know I won't be taking a picture for the next few minutes.

I don't really personally care for UV filters as far as protection goes. They're too much to fuss with IMHO for the benefit they give. And unless you spend a good amount of money on a really nice one, they could lower the quality of your pictures.

Nature/outside unfortunately won't really narrow down what length you want. If you want to zoom in close on animals, you probably want a telephoto zoom (from about 50-200 or more). If you want to take landscapes, you probably want a neutral (35-50mm) to wide angle (12-24mm) lens. If you're doing a lot of nature/landscape shooting, you probably want to invest in a good tripod/head.

2WheelPhoto · Nov 15, 2011

penfolderoldo · Nov 15, 2011

Welcome to the amazing world of digital photography, i'm sure you'll have a great journey learning new skills and appreciating so-called 'everyday' scenes with a new perspective

Personally, what i'd do is go into your local photo store and just see how the D5100 and say the T3i feel in your hands. They will both take stunning images, and both have a massive backup system behind them, so you can add pretty much whatever you want to your kit as your knowledge and interests grow.

Nikon_Josh · Nov 15, 2011

penfolderoldo said:
Welcome to the amazing world of digital photography, i'm sure you'll have a great journey learning new skills and appreciating so-called 'everyday' scenes with a new perspective Personally, what i'd do is go into your local photo store and just see how the D5100 and say the T3i feel in your hands. They will both take stunning images, and both have a massive backup system behind them, so you can add pretty much whatever you want to your kit as your knowledge and interests grow.

Hey penfold, just to say I'm glad to see you changed the profile photo, only reason it was annoying me was because it had Mike Tindall in it! Part of the reason England decided to spend the world cup drinking and not playing rugby!

But yes back on topic... Penfolderoldo has the best advice for you, see how they feel in your hands. This is a key way of deciding!

koofa · Nov 15, 2011

Josh - I really loved the Nikon I had, but I think now that maybe a Canon would best suit my needs.. not 100% sure yet, but I'm definitely leaning towards the T3i right now.

saharac - Nice! I just moved to CO Springs a few months ago.. not sure how I like it, but the scenery is beautiful! A great place to start out, I suppose. T3i seems to be at the top of my list for now, but we'll see what happens in the next week or two

fjrabon - Glad you brought up the point about a hood.. I've always wondered if there was something to protect your lens from the elements, and other things.. I won't be able to live without that. Does it affect the lighting of the pictures being taken though? And also, I've been reading a lot & looking at different kits.. I wonder if I should maybe just buy the body and lens separately.. What are the advantages of the 55-250mm lens? And what about the 75-300mm? I see the latter has lower reviews, but I can't seem to find anything on what exactly these lenses DO for the pictures. Landscapes aren't going to be my #1 priority with this right now.. but they'll definitely play a big part since there are mountains everywhere.. I mostly want to take pictures of people right now.. candid photos, stills, etc.. I'm in love with that sharp subject/faded background effect. Also, if I get a Canon, do I have to get Canon lenses? Is that all that will work or are there universal lenses that fit on any camera that might happen to be better? Again, I'm really trying not to go over $900 max. And that's hard as heck with this crappy 7.4% sales tax out here. I'm used to Delaware's, where we had NONE.

2WheelPhoto - Thanks for the welcome

Penfolderoldo - I think I definitely will take your advice before I choose and go check them both out in person. I have a couple weeks before I plan on purchasing anyway, so it definitely wouldn't hurt.

penfolderoldo · Nov 16, 2011

Nikon_Josh said:
Hey penfold, just to say I'm glad to see you changed the profile photo, only reason it was annoying me was because it had Mike Tindall in it! Part of the reason England decided to spend the world cup drinking and not playing rugby!

Very true, tho on the other hand maybe the Scots should've done a bit MORE drinking, we might've played a bit better! :lmao:

KenC · Nov 16, 2011

Not knowing much yet and expecting to buy a camera that will do everything you want to do eventually are inconsistent. It is very difficult to know what you will need in the future. Another factor is that you likely will be buying another camera in the next few years in any event, either because the technology has advanced and there are new features you want, or because you simply need a second camera body as a back up or so you can shoot with two different lenses without having to changes lenses on one body. If you buy a lower-level camera now, that could be a good second body for later on. Something like the T3 or the Nikon equivalent will do pretty much anything you would want to do for quite some time. Cameras at this level have extremely good processors and even the "kit" lenses that come with the cameras are quite good. Oh, you'll be buying a lot of lenses too! If you have a particular type of photography in mind that requires advanced capability, then it may be worth springing for a more advanced camera now, e.g., if you want to do action photography and want a camera with a more advanced autofocus system, but otherwise just go with what is comfortable. The more advanced bodies are bigger and heavier and this may be either a positive or negative factor for you.

bazooka · Nov 16, 2011

There aren't any universal lenses, however there are after-market companies that make lenses compatible with Nikon and Canon (and others I'm sure) mounts. Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina are 3 of the most popular. My first lens was a Tamron 17-50 2.8 which I still own and it is a nice little lens. The focal length isn't ideal for portrait photography though. You might want something a little longer.

fjrabon · Nov 16, 2011

koofa said:
fjrabon - Glad you brought up the point about a hood.. I've always wondered if there was something to protect your lens from the elements, and other things.. I won't be able to live without that. Does it affect the lighting of the pictures being taken though? And also, I've been reading a lot & looking at different kits.. I wonder if I should maybe just buy the body and lens separately.. What are the advantages of the 55-250mm lens? And what about the 75-300mm? I see the latter has lower reviews, but I can't seem to find anything on what exactly these lenses DO for the pictures. Landscapes aren't going to be my #1 priority with this right now.. but they'll definitely play a big part since there are mountains everywhere.. I mostly want to take pictures of people right now.. candid photos, stills, etc.. I'm in love with that sharp subject/faded background effect. Also, if I get a Canon, do I have to get Canon lenses? Is that all that will work or are there universal lenses that fit on any camera that might happen to be better? Again, I'm really trying not to go over $900 max. And that's hard as heck with this crappy 7.4% sales tax out here. I'm used to Delaware's, where we had NONE.

The only way a hood really affects the lighting is by eliminating lens flare, which is usually something you want to eliminate anyway. The hood only stops light from entering into the camera at hard angles, which is generally good, it's actually what the hood was originally designed to do.

If you want to mostly take candids, people, stills, and you like the sharp subject blurred background, you probably want a either a 35mm prime or a 50mm prime with as low of an f/stop number as possible. You definitely don't really need a 75-300mm for the things you have talked about. You won't be able to get a wide enough view for most candids, people, etc.

You don't have to get canon lenses, but you do have to get lenses that work with Canon's mounting system.

I buy most of my expensive gear from amazon after researching what I want. I think the only reason to buy from a brick and mortar store these days and pay sales tax is if they throw in a free class or some other extras you want. I might go to a store to look at stuff, and I do often time buy smaller ticket items from stores, so I don't feel that bad about 'using them', because most of their profit margin comes from the smaller ticket items, since the profit margin for stores on cameras is razor thin. They get you by charging $50 for a polarizing filter, haha. But cameras and lenses, I am buying from Amazon. I'm not paying $70 in sales tax for no good reason. I also pay $79 a year for amazon prime, so I almost feel obligated to use it as much as possible.

kundalini · Nov 16, 2011

Hello and welcome to TPF. Just to throw another log on the fire, have you considered the micro 4/3 cameras? Olympus and Panasonic are power players and Sony has the NEX cameras. The camera bodies aren't much larger than a P&S, but the sensors are. However, the sensors aren't as large as the cameras that have already been recommended, so if your a pixel peeper, this may not suit you, but for prints or FB it will be fine.

To clarify, I am a Nikon shooter and have both DX and FX cameras and a bucket load of lenses. However, I was getting really tired of hauling the heavy gear around, being conspicious and always conscious of having it around. This smaller footprint (m4/3) has relieved that strain and also but fun back into shooting from the hip. I can enjoy events more and be engaged at family/friends get togethers.

Just something else to consider.

fjrabon said:
I buy most of my expensive gear from amazon after researching what I want. I think the only reason to buy from a brick and mortar store these days and pay sales tax is if they throw in a free class or some other extras you want.

My local brick and mortar will price match B&H and Adorama. Even if they were 10-15% higher, I'll gladly pay the sales tax to help out the local economy.