The PhotoForum And Me : A Perfect Late-Night Hookup

[GoM]

Greetings, all

My name is Stuart and I am, incase my location surpasses your geographical knowledge, from Canada. I'm 19, a student at the University of Western Ontario (conveniently called Western) and over the past few years have been putting up with my first camera, a very effective paperweight by the name of a Kodak EasyShare CX6200. Top class camera, right there. Anyway, as time went on and my interest in the hobby grew, it became more and more painfully obvious that a 2 megapixel point-and-click, without optical zoom, aperture, shutter, or hell even a focus selection is simply not good enough for anything more than memories with your friends. So, I'm in the market for a new, entry-level SLR-type digital camera, and my eye has caught quite a hold of the Fujifilm Finepix S5200. Now, I start working again tommorrow (actually day...actually, in about 10 and a half hours...hmm, bed? naah), so it'll take a month or so to build up the cash reserve for it, but it'll all be worth it.

So somewhere in the vicinity of 3AM I was browsing the internet for a photography forum where I could join up as I really begin to get into the hobby, and lo and behold, the stars led me here. Here's to them not leading me away running and screaming for my life within the week.

Cheers,
Stu

 

[GoM]

Now that I have the formal introduction out of the way, it's time for the fun one, in the style of V.

Somewhere between the sacred silence of suffering and the slithering stutter of solace, there sits a sombre sapien, sorrowful yet satisfied. Despite his simple style and slowly-changing spirit, the sweetest song of sympathy was salient in its 'sans'. While shining, the sparkling silhouette simply shouldn't resist the sudden chance arising to snap a short, a shifting of times he shouldn't regret. Now, his sudden semblance shaking, he decides to stand and slowly, vaguely, sits upon his seat so swiftly, someone saw it, not. To cease this simple, shallow, spurious and pseudo presupposition of a soothful man, you may simply sing the song of story, or you may call me Stu.

 

[LaFoto]

Hey Stu, you sound like a fun guy. Not that I understood much of your second introduction post, but what the heck - does it matter?
You found us, you are here now, you will begin to share your pics, you'll get hooked and this is the end of your life outside ThePhotoForum! Which welcomes you!
So where are your pics? Will go find them.

No pics so far?
Only another reply in the World Cup 2006 thread.
Hmph :scratch:

 

[Mitica100]

Hey Stu, welcome to TPF.

 

[Antarctican]

Hi Stu. Welcome to the forum. And as Lafoto indicated, prepare to become addicted. Bwahahahahaaaa

 

[danalec99]

Welcome!

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum...always nice to see some Canadians here...as long as you are not a Leafs fan.

I agree with your instincts about wanting a Digital SLR...they really are heads and shoulders above a point & shoot digi-cam. However, the one you specified (Fuji S5200) is not a DSLR...it's "SLR-like"...and there is a big difference.

The most important difference is the size of the sensor. All but one model (Sony R1) of non-SLR digital cameras have very small sensors. I'm talking about physical size, not mega pixel count. A bigger sensor means better image quality and much better images at higher ISO settings. Any of the DLSR cameras will have a fair sized sensor.

Another factor is interchangeable lenses. The S5200 (and all other digi-cams AFAIK) do not have interchangeable lenses. If you think of your photography gear as an investment...SLR lenses are the most secure thing you can buy. A camera with an attached lens will loose it's value rather quickly as the technology evolves.

There are other advantages...but I'll let you look that up. Sure a DSLR can be expensive...and the lenses are expensive as well...but most people will tell you that it's worth it to spend the money now, rather than buying a digi-cam and then finding out later that what you really needed was an SLR.

I suggest looking at the Canon Rebel XT or the Nikon D50...those are the best entry level models.

 

[GoM]

Thanks for all the welcomes guys, but unfortunately due to the neccessity of sleep, I couldn't upload anything last night...all in good time, though the quality's lacking due to the camera I have.

Big Mike...cheers for all the advice. What I'm looking for is a camera that is simple enough that I can get use right away, has enough options that as I get better and more used to it I can get more control, and can last me a couple years and basically get into the hobby...I am a student at Western, so while it would be amazing if I could shell out $500+ for a camera, ultimately, I can't...and while I wish that wasn't a factor in my decision, it basically is, and from what research I have done for SLR-types, the S5200 leads the way...now, it's not set in stone, and until I walk into the downtown TO Henry's my decision isn't set in stone, but from browsing various websites (Henry's, dpreview, etc.), that seems to be the one that has most of the options I'm looking for (no image stablisation is a drag), at a price I'm looking for.

As for the Leafs bit..well, yes I am, but you can bet your ass I'm rooting for the right team this Finals ...only problem is I can't catch tonight's game, as I'm at work...GAH