Sigma 8mm fisheye / tripod & panohead / 4 shots at 90 / -2-0-+2 brackets

[MetroRuss]

Good morning,

I hope to get some advice in regards to which apsc camera body will give me the best value for shooting my bracketed panos. Forced to penny pinch in order to get all the other items on the list and the dang software.
Been looking at Canon and Nikon only. Budget is $350.00

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[480sparky42 41]

The Sigma 8 mm is a full-frame circular fish eye. If you want a circular fish eye for a crop sensor, you need the 4.5mm.

 

[MetroRuss]

Hi 480sparky,
Thanks for your reply. From what I have been told this apsc and ff lens combo works very well.
Im hoping to get feedback on a canon or nikon body in the $350 range.

 

[TCampbell]

For panoramic shots (and I presume you're doing landscapes), I'd probably go with the Nikon D3xxx body (e.g. D3300, D3200, or D3100).
These are Nikon's least expensive entry-level DSLR bodies (with the D3300 being the most recent and most expensive of the bunch). Check to see if you can pick up a "refurbished" body from the Nikon store here: Refurbished Cameras from Nikon | Used DSLR Cameras

I noticed the D3100 is only sold with two lenses included (driving up the price to the $700 range) and even though the D3200 is a newer camera, they'll sell that with just one lens at $399 (a $50 stretch beyond your current budget.)

The reason I'd probably avoid the Canon is because their entry-level bodies in this price range (and they do have them) do NOT include a "spot" metering mode.

Spot metering is important for landscapes because ideally you look (with your eyes) and finding the brightest white highlight in the scene that you can find (perhaps a white puffy cloud or a white snow-capped mountain top -- btw, never meter the sun if that's in the scene even though it's the brightest thing... there's no such thing as an exposure that will tame the direct sun. It will always be blown out. Just ignore it.) Meter that "brightest highlight" object. Next find the darkest blackest shadow region you can find (probably something dark and located in the shade). Spot meter that object as well. Those two metering samples (this is all before you shoot) give you your exposure range. That's what you need to capture to get a good shot. You need to capture the middle exposure (halfway between the two) plus an exposure that grabs the highlights and shadows without blowing out or clipping them off.

On the D3200, the "spot" metering mode is an area in the center of frame occupying (according to Nikon) about 2.5% of the frame (3.5mm circle). The actual size of that metered spot in real life depends on the focal length of the lens attached. I own a hand-held light meter which, in addition to "incident" metering, can also provide a 1º spot metering mode -- that's what I use to meter a landscape (in which case the camera metering capabilities just don't matter... but the light meter costs more than these cameras so that's probably not an option for you.)

Could you use the Canon anyway? Sure you could... but you'd have to meter, then check the histograms after shooting to make sure you're not blowing out or clipping highlights and shadows. Basically you'll take a number of shots and check the histograms for the sole purpose of finding the right exposures... THEN you'll set up the camera to take the bracketed exposures (and you can trash all those test shots.)

Image quality, lens selection, and all the other tech details won't be much different between the two cameras (they are different... but not so different as to create noticeable and meaningful differences in your results). BUT... the ability to do spot metering for landscape photography is important and I think you'll be better equipped with the Nikon body (and I'm a Canon shooter -- for what that's worth.)

 

[MetroRuss]

Hi TC,

Thanks for the detailed reply.
I have found a couple of candidates here in my area. A D90 and D5100 Thoughts?
The main use for this camera will be to shoot panos so it will be attached to a panohead and tripod. Set at aperture priority and AEB -2-0-+2 brackets.
I will be using my sony with a sigma 10-20 for the stills.

For panoramic shots (and I presume you're doing landscapes), I'd probably go with the Nikon D3xxx body (e.g. D3300, D3200, or D3100).
These are Nikon's least expensive entry-level DSLR bodies (with the D3300 being the most recent and most expensive of the bunch). Check to see if you can pick up a "refurbished" body from the Nikon store here: Refurbished Cameras from Nikon | Used DSLR Cameras

I noticed the D3100 is only sold with two lenses included (driving up the price to the $700 range) and even though the D3200 is a newer camera, they'll sell that with just one lens at $399 (a $50 stretch beyond your current budget.)

The reason I'd probably avoid the Canon is because their entry-level bodies in this price range (and they do have them) do NOT include a "spot" metering mode.

Spot metering is important for landscapes because ideally you look (with your eyes) and finding the brightest white highlight in the scene that you can find (perhaps a white puffy cloud or a white snow-capped mountain top -- btw, never meter the sun if that's in the scene even though it's the brightest thing... there's no such thing as an exposure that will tame the direct sun. It will always be blown out. Just ignore it.) Meter that "brightest highlight" object. Next find the darkest blackest shadow region you can find (probably something dark and located in the shade). Spot meter that object as well. Those two metering samples (this is all before you shoot) give you your exposure range. That's what you need to capture to get a good shot. You need to capture the middle exposure (halfway between the two) plus an exposure that grabs the highlights and shadows without blowing out or clipping them off.

On the D3200, the "spot" metering mode is an area in the center of frame occupying (according to Nikon) about 2.5% of the frame (3.5mm circle). The actual size of that metered spot in real life depends on the focal length of the lens attached. I own a hand-held light meter which, in addition to "incident" metering, can also provide a 1º spot metering mode -- that's what I use to meter a landscape (in which case the camera metering capabilities just don't matter... but the light meter costs more than these cameras so that's probably not an option for you.)

Could you use the Canon anyway? Sure you could... but you'd have to meter, then check the histograms after shooting to make sure you're not blowing out or clipping highlights and shadows. Basically you'll take a number of shots and check the histograms for the sole purpose of finding the right exposures... THEN you'll set up the camera to take the bracketed exposures (and you can trash all those test shots.)

Image quality, lens selection, and all the other tech details won't be much different between the two cameras (they are different... but not so different as to create noticeable and meaningful differences in your results). BUT... the ability to do spot metering for landscape photography is important and I think you'll be better equipped with the Nikon body (and I'm a Canon shooter -- for what that's worth.)

 

[thomash2]

You can use a Canon 550D. It's basically got the same pixel resolution as all the newer Canon APS-C models (except maybe the newest one). I don't think there really is much difference, perhaps a bit more dynamic range and faster shooting and recording with the new ones.
But you can get used 550D bodies for $200-250 on eBay.

The Nikon D3000 and D3100 do not come with bracketing.
You would have to go for the D5000 or D5100, but the D5000 is only 12MP and has a horrible LCD resolution, while the D5100 is quite expensive.

1.5x is better than 1.6x for shooting panoramas, but if you're going for a DSLR and you already have the Sigma 8mm lens, then get the 550D.

Side by Side Comparison: Digital Photography Review

If you haven't got the lens yet, you can go for mirrorless cameras. Get a Sony E-Mount, like the A6000 1.5x APS-C. If you take the Samyang 7.5mm MFT lens, shave the hood and attach an adapter, you get almost the same view angle as the Sigma 8mm on a 1.5x. You can find cheap older models, although you'll have to get at least the NEX 5N and newer to get bracketing. They don't have remote bracketing though, but I built my own cable release attaching to the flash hotshoe. I believe the newer models like the A6000 has built in release with the data port.

The image sharpness and CA is also much better on the Samyang 7.5mm MFT but it does have flares.

What you get with the mirrorless camera is a package less than 500g. If you go for the DSLR and Sigma 8mm then it's about 1.2-1.5kg, 2-3 times the weight and size.

You can then look at compact ring panoheads, like these ones here: Ultralight Panorama Photography TOM SHOT 360

 

[D-B-J]

I would never use a fisheye for a panorama. If you want real DETAIL, use a longer length and take more photo's. I've done Panorama's at 11mm (crop, so 16.5mm ff), and then ones with a 50. I needed more images for the 50mil, but got much better detail.

Jake

 

[480sparky42 41]

I would never use a fisheye for a panorama. If you want real DETAIL, use a longer length and take more photo's. I've done Panorama's at 11mm (crop, so 16.5mm ff), and then ones with a 50. I needed more images for the 50mil, but got much better detail.

Jake

Hard to do a spherical pano with a million photos.

And if you want DETAIL, shoot with a telephoto (the longer the better) and create a gigapan.

 

[thomash2]

I think the OP wants to shoot panos in 4 shots in a single row.
With a fisheye and 4 shots using a monopod, you could setup, shoot and put away in 2 minutes.
It's perfect for travel or hiking.

If you use a 11mm lens, you'd need 13 shots with multiple rows and a tripod.
With 50mm, you'd need 158 shots in 8 rows.