John J Gold
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2019
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 6
- Location
- Buffalo, NY USA
- Website
- www.villageofsloan.org
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
I'm looking for my first DSLR and having read countless reviews, comparisons, and other well-intentioned (I think) buying guides I noticed there's a stream of what I think is melted solder running out of both of my ears.
First and foremost, I'm trying to stay around $500US. I'm disabled and the bulk of my photography is done on a volunteer basis. I have a couple of paying gigs every year but they're pretty limited and I'm really not able to physically do more than that.
Anyway, here are my primary needs for a camera. (Sorry if I get long-winded - it's a bit of a curse)
Most of the shots I take are outdoors. I photograph our municipality's events: concerts in the park and picnics, etc. During the colder months we have indoor shindigs like the Halloween candy giveaway (which includes a parade with the Village fire trucks, too, so it's both categories). Then there's the Christmas party with pictures of the crowd and families plus photos of the kids with Santa & Mrs. Claus; our biggest fundraiser of the year, Soup On Sunday; and the Easter Party & magic show.
So I take a mix of posed and action shots; some wider angle group shots and/or panoramas for web page headers; as well as some video. For the concerts mainly I take quite a few pics of people dancing near the bands which also runs into low light issues.
I've been using a FujiFilm S3500 for about 5 years after retiring my first FujiFilm P&S. "Ole Faithful" has become "Ole Unreliable" over the last year. The settings started arbitrarily changing at the worst possible time - Hmmm is there a good time?
Besides my obligations, I really want to start taking photos of the beautiful city of Buffalo, which has been my home for the last 14 years. So I don't want to skimp even though I'm trying to not break the bank.
Many of the aforementioned articles I've read say "avoid kit lenses like the plague" (more or less) but I've noticed quite a few folks here say they're not so bad. So advice here is needed.
I've been primarily looking at Nikon D3400/3500 bundles with the 18-55mm VR and the 70-300mm telephoto lenses which come with a variety of filters and accoutrements, most of which I probably don't need.
I have a relatively good tripod which has served me very well for the last few years. I'd really like to get an extra battery and a good "external" flash (auxiliary?).
Because I take some video at the concerts I'm waffling a little about an external mic. However, I can't remember which model has that port.
That's the bulk of what I'm looking for. I'm most likely going to making the purchase within the next week or so. Any deals you can share will be deeply appreciated! I'm incredibly grateful for any help you can share!
Thanks!
First and foremost, I'm trying to stay around $500US. I'm disabled and the bulk of my photography is done on a volunteer basis. I have a couple of paying gigs every year but they're pretty limited and I'm really not able to physically do more than that.
Anyway, here are my primary needs for a camera. (Sorry if I get long-winded - it's a bit of a curse)
Most of the shots I take are outdoors. I photograph our municipality's events: concerts in the park and picnics, etc. During the colder months we have indoor shindigs like the Halloween candy giveaway (which includes a parade with the Village fire trucks, too, so it's both categories). Then there's the Christmas party with pictures of the crowd and families plus photos of the kids with Santa & Mrs. Claus; our biggest fundraiser of the year, Soup On Sunday; and the Easter Party & magic show.
So I take a mix of posed and action shots; some wider angle group shots and/or panoramas for web page headers; as well as some video. For the concerts mainly I take quite a few pics of people dancing near the bands which also runs into low light issues.
I've been using a FujiFilm S3500 for about 5 years after retiring my first FujiFilm P&S. "Ole Faithful" has become "Ole Unreliable" over the last year. The settings started arbitrarily changing at the worst possible time - Hmmm is there a good time?
Besides my obligations, I really want to start taking photos of the beautiful city of Buffalo, which has been my home for the last 14 years. So I don't want to skimp even though I'm trying to not break the bank.
Many of the aforementioned articles I've read say "avoid kit lenses like the plague" (more or less) but I've noticed quite a few folks here say they're not so bad. So advice here is needed.
I've been primarily looking at Nikon D3400/3500 bundles with the 18-55mm VR and the 70-300mm telephoto lenses which come with a variety of filters and accoutrements, most of which I probably don't need.
I have a relatively good tripod which has served me very well for the last few years. I'd really like to get an extra battery and a good "external" flash (auxiliary?).
Because I take some video at the concerts I'm waffling a little about an external mic. However, I can't remember which model has that port.
That's the bulk of what I'm looking for. I'm most likely going to making the purchase within the next week or so. Any deals you can share will be deeply appreciated! I'm incredibly grateful for any help you can share!
Thanks!