Also need help with camera choice

oleg

I've always loved taking pics just never had the money to buy a dslr. I might have a chance of getting one as a gift so i was wondering if I can get some help. I'm a total noob to this and my budget is around $600 for the camera. I wanted a camera that shoots great quality pics (I'm guessing this has more to do with the lens than a camera?) and is able to shoot good hd video. So far this is the camera that i have narrowed down to its a Sony nex 5. Any suggestion on a different camera or why not to get the nex 5 is welcome. Also lens suggestions would be great. The reason i wanted the nex 5 because i saw some videos on youtube in HD and they looked pretty good, here is an example YouTube - ‪"?" NEX-5 Video "Light & Wind" Valdorcia, Italy ????????????????‬‏

Cmike2780

At $600 I would choose the Nikon D3100. Shoots in 1080p and has just about everything you could ask for in an DSLR. Either that or the Canon EOS Rebel T3. Both really good starter camera's. I prefer the Nikon camera layouts, a little more than the Canon's. The kit lens that come with both of these camera's are pretty good, much better than the Sony's. You also have far more lens choices if you stick with Nikon or Canon when your ready for specialty lenses.

A good lens makes taking great pictures easier, but only if you know how the camera works. If you want better quality pictures, you gotta read up on fundamental techniques of photography. It would be a waste if you purchased a fancy DSLR just to leave it on "Auto."

The Sony is a gizmos and gadget camera. Too big to be a point and shoot and not nearly as good as a DSLR. Its basically a point and shoot on steriods. I'd pass on this. If you want a point and shoot with manual controls, much like a DSLR, take a look at these:

Panasonic DMC LX5K

Nikon P7000

Powershot G12

I would suggest going to a real camera shop and ask a lot of questions. Get a feel for which one your really comfortable with. Don't be intimidated, we were all noobs at one point.

The Nikon and Canon DSLR's also shoot phenomenal HD video's, but sound quality with the built in mic is not all that great (common with almost all cameras that are not dedicated for video).

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oleg

thanks for the help, I'm not really looking for a point and shoot i just watched a few youtube reviews on it and they made it sound like a super camera and it was within my budget. I'm definitely going to go to a few stores tomorrow and look at a few of them.

Cmike2780

No problem.

I was just showing you options similar to the Sony that I have personally tried and loved. The ones I listed are great back-up cameras for those times when you don't want to lug around a big DSLR and still want SLR manual controls. Def go with a true DSLR if camera size isn't an issue.

I would narrow it down to the Nikon D3100 or Canon EOS Rebel T3 if you want to stay in your budget.

Also, B&H usually has great prices, so I would print some of those out before heading out. The big box electronic stores like Best Buy can usually match the price.

D3100

Rebel T3

Don't forget, unlike most point and shoots, DSLR's usually hold their value a lot longer. When your ready to move up, you can always recover some of the cost by selling it towards a better one.

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oleg

Me moving up from this one is going to be in a while so I'm guessing it wont be worth much by then. I'm going to try to learn as much on this one as possible though. i saw that for video on canon d550 you can plug in an external Mic for video. Is there any way to do the same with this? if not would i just have to record the sound separately to get it in good quality? and do you know any good software for picture and video editing that wont brake the bank? sorry for all the questions

oleg

and does this sound like a good deal?
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Nikkor Len [D3100 18-55mm Kit] - $500.00 : madeloplace.com!

Cmike2780

Unfortunalty, video is still relatively new to DSLR's and sound quality is still lagging even for the high end models. Most cinematographers go with DSLR video set-ups because the camera & high end lens quality are alot less expensive than having a dedicated cinema quality video camera. You would need an external recorder and sync up the sound in post if you want really good sound quality. I don't do a whole lot of video.

For Video:
Mac: Final Cut express ($200) is reasonable but still kind of expensive. iMovie is fine if you just want to play around.

I'm not familiar with affordable video editing software with PC's. I've only used Adobe After Effects.

Image Editing:
Mac: Aperture ($200)
PC: Adobe Elements ($80) or Adobe Lightroom ($300)

This hobby can get really expensive, real fast.

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oleg

Ya but so is moddingyour car, btw thanks for all your help, I'm most likely going to go with the D3100. A few more last questions about the lenses. What type of a lens lets you focus manually and what lens for the d3100 help with image quality? Oh and how do I know what size lens to look for?

Cmike2780

lol. We're all just a bunch of addicts.

Image quality, when you enter the world of DSLR, has more to do with technique and controling how much light enters the camera. Lighting is key to any great picture. Controlling that light is what makes a DSLR so different from most point and shoots. There is too much info to really start comparing lenses here, plenty of info on the web.

Some basics:
Focal length: It's that ??mm on the lens. Zoom lenses will have a range like 18-55mm for example. The lower the number, the wider the angle. Fixed lenses, a.k.a. Prime lenses have a fixed focal point.

F-Stop: That's the f/? number on the lens. F-stop controls how big an opening light passes thru the lens. The lower the number, the bigger the opening and vice-versa. Also, the wider the aperture, the smaller the depth of field, and the smaller the aperture, the larger the depth of field.

Shutter speed: Measured in seconds or fractions of a second, controls how long to keep the shutter open. A fast shutter speed freezes movement and low shutter speed blurs it. The longer you leave it open, the more light reaches the sensor.

ISO: It's like film speed. It lets the sensor know how sensitive to light it should be. Higher ISO like 800 or higher will let you take fairly clear pictures in low light without a tri-pod. The only downside is it creates noise in the image the higher you go. Leave the ISO to the lowest possible. Raising it should be a last resort.

Hint: To take really sharp pictures, use a tri-pod, mono-pod or anything to steady the shot when you can. Leave the ISO low and use the timer or a remote trigger.

All SLR Lenses will let you focus manually. For starters, I suggest purchasing the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. It's a "prime" lens, meaning it's fixed (not a zoom). It's really cheap for a sharp lens at about $130 new, even cheaper used. The "fast" f/1.8 f-stop lets you take pictures in low light without a flash or raising the ISO too high. At f/1.8, you can take close-ups of objects/people that leave a nice bokeh (back blurry, but subject is in focus). The D3100 is a DX-format camera, as oppose to the full frame FX-format. The only problem with this lens is that its not the newer DX-format lens with internal autofocus. The Auto-focus will not work for the D3100 but the lens will still work. If you wait a little longer, Nikon will soon bring out a DX-format Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G that will let you have Auto-focus sometime next month. They also have a DX-format Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G that's available now, but its a wider angle. Thoses two will cost around $200 each. 50mm is considered a normal lens, meaning it's seeing roughly the same focal lenght as your eye (not zoomed in or wide angle).

Another Hint: Don't use the built-in flash on any camera! It's a gaurantee for "ordinary" looking pic's.

Here's a pic I took with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D on a D90.

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azn370z

I'm thinking of buying an entry level slr for better pictures. What I don't like about point and shoot cameras is that unless I stand 30 feet back the picture gets distorted. Which lens won't distort the picture if I stand 10 feet away.

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bluenoser

I was shopping around for a dslr last summer but didn't like the idea of carrying around a bunch of lenses. I ended up buying a Fuji HS10. It's what you'd call a bridge camera I guess. The lens is phenomenal on this camera (24-720mm) and the photos turn out great. It's not a dslr but it's a good compromise. You can get them a lot cheaper now too $300-$400

dP3NGU1N

Professional lenses by Nikon and Canon have minimal distortion throughout their zoom range. By professional I mean L-lens and L-lens equivalents for Nikon. If you're using a prime lens by either manufacturer then even the nifty-fifties have little to no distortion. Ofcourse there aren't any lenses with ZERO distortion, however, unless you have a habit of taking pictures of grid boards I wouldn't worry about it.

azn370z

I'm thinking of spending a little more and buying the t3i over the d3100. I want the 50 mm lens which lens do I buy?

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Cmike2780

It depends on what your shooting and how much you want to capture. 50mm (on a d3100 for example) covers about same area as your eyes see. That's why they call them "normal" lenses. We see in perspective and the lens works the same way.

At 10 feet, you will have less distortion at 50mm than you would at 16mm. the more you zoom, the less distortion basically. There's no camera lens available that I know of that can completely avoid this. Perspective control lenses lessen this phenomenan, but that's more usefull for architectural type photography...also very expensive.

A good single 16-85mm or 18-200mm lens just about covers most situations, I do understand what you mean though. Anything more than 200mm, especially with a point and shoot is pretty much useless and will probably use less than 1% of the time, if that. Your camera for example, has a min aperture of f/11 at its maximum zoom. You would have to hold it steady for over a minute in anything other than a really sunny outdoor shot. Either that or boost the ISO so high it creates a lot of noise. Try it indoors and you'll see what I mean. That's the main difference between high zoom point and shoot lenses and those huge zoom lenses you see at sporting events. They have an aperture at around f/2.8.

It pretty much comes down to what you can afford to spend. A fixed prime 50mm prime lens will be sharper, faster aperture at f/1.8 or less (better in low light), cheaper and compact. The draw back is that its fixed at 50mm obviously.

When looking at zoom lenses, they usually trade off maximum aperture (at around f/3.5 for lower end lenses) for zoom capability. Larger aperture zoom lens are available, but they get really pricey. For most people, a good 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens covers 90% of what you would normally shoot. A 18-55mm covers about 75% of what you would normally shoot. I would stick to a Canon brand or Nikon brand lens, but that's just me. As a rule of thumb with zoom lens, I would buy the most expensive lens within my budget that's specific to what I would need. I can usually pick up a better used lens at a camera shop than a lesser "new" lens even if its an older model. Image stabilization like VR for Nikon and IS for Canon have a premium over non IS or VR lenses. They're nice to have, but not critical. They do help a little with hand held low light or high zoom shots, but other techniques will yield better results.

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azn370z

I want to take pictures perhaps 10 to 20 feet away from my z. I know the camera can be bundled with a 18-55 mm lens, will this lens do what I want or am I better off buying just the body and the 50 mm lens? What's the disadvantage of the 50 mm, no zoom? Thanks

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H&R sport springs / Spc rear camber arms / SSR SP1 / Berk cbe / Varis cf lip / Nismo S-Tune side skirts