SLR cameras

[beast5680]

which are good ones, what should i be looking for in one, might have something coming up for which i require one, i,m assuming they,re digital and the pics can be emailed etc? would that be right
thanks in advance  ( i,m a photo novice)

[SteveGoodz]

Neal,

What are you planning to shoot with it? I only ask because a DSLR is not always the best camera to use ... and they're pretty damned expensive too.

At the entry level you can get a Nikon D40 kit with an 18-55mm zoom lens for about £250. The kit lens is really nice for close-up stuff but is a bit slow for action shots in anything but sunlight. Getting another decent lens is gonna cost upwards of £100 (and possible several thousands of pounds) no matter what focal length you want. My mid-range 70-300mm telephoto was over £300.

On the other hand, a point&shoot camera (Nikon Coolpix for example) will cost you less and come with a lens capable of higher zoom ratios than a DSLR one and you won't need to buy another to make the camera more versatile. Don't get drawn into the mega-pixel war - more is not always better - the more pixels you have the higher the picture "noise" (seen as speckling in the picture) will be for any given set of shutter speed/aperture/ISO settings. A 6Mp camera will let you print up to 20x14" easily and will have virtually no visible noise in pictures of that size.

No matter what camera you buy one of the picture format options will be .jpg and these can easily be emailed or included into web sites and, of course, printed on your inkjet or laser printer.

Unless you're thinking of taking up photography as a serious hobby (or even profession) then think very carefully before you shell out on a DSLR. If you'd like more thoughts then I'd be happy to share them with you  :D

[beast5680]

thanks for the answer, what i may want it for is to take shots like you see in the landy mags when they chronicle a rebuild or a job on something showing step by step pics of something, i,m thinking of doing an article for a magazine but they recommend using a digital SLR camera to take the pics with

[SteveGoodz]

Hi Neal,

Obviously, the shutterbugs that take pics professionally have VERY (and I do mean very) expensive cameras, tripods, lighting rigs and the like. This would cost you several thousands of pounds to replicate. I can understand why they would prefer you to use a DSLR for image quality the size of the pics they show in magazines doesn't really warrant it ... unless you've already got one.

A DSLR gives you a couple of problems for this type of photography. Firstly, getting the camera really close to the object to be photographed requires a special (spelled E X P E N S I V E) macro lens and even then you probably won't be able to focus closer than 5" (12.5cm). A standard lens - like the 18-55mm sold with the D40 - has a minimum focus distance of about 10" (25cm). Makes life really awkward if crawling underneath to take a shot.

Secondly, the field of view of DSLR lenses is significantly smaller than that of a p&s camera. You can oversome this problem, to a certain extent, by using a wider angle lens (more dosh I'm afraid) but then the object appears smaller and you begin to get distortion around the outside of the lens - straight lines appear curved.

To do what you're proposing with a DSLR I would estimate you'd need to spend about £800 - £1000 on a camera body, 3 lenses (wide angle, zoom and telephoto), tripod and head and flash gun. I hope they're gonna pay you well for this article  :D

A £400 point&shoot camera would do the lot, however, without any extras except a decent flash gun (maybe £100). How can a p&s do all this with a single lens? It's all down to angles and sizes. The pixels in a p&s camera are smaller and crammed together much tighter making the sensor array many time smaller than that of a DSLR - this is not all good by the way - and making the lenses smaller in diameter. A consequence of this is that they can provide wider angle lenses that are smaller in diameter than a DSLR equivalent and have much bigger zoom ratios - typically 24:1 against 4:1 for a DSLR. Be aware that most (if not all) p&s camera manufacturers quote their lens focal lengths as "35mm equivalents" to try to compete with the DSLR. Typically, a 15-400mm p&s lens is actually in the order of 1.4-40mm in reality but, because of the smaller sensor, etc., it looks like a 15-400 would on a 34mm film camera. Clever marketting  :)

Hmm, you might think from the above and my other post that I'm a p&s person but nothing could be further from the truth. I do own a p&s camera but whenever I want a quality photo (which is most of the time) I use a DSLR ~ of which I won more than one  :P My purpose in saying all this is to get you to think before shelling out on a DSLR that might not do what you want without a significant monetary investment.

Hope this all makes some sense  :D

[gamekeeperjames]

canon 450 is an awesome mid range camera. really like mine

[Nick4X4]

simple answer dont go too cheep a good lens not kit lens as most are plastic lens and also get yourself down to a camera shop as some mite suite one person and not another,
i'm a nikon user (got big hands) but some find them too big and heavy

just my 2p worth

p.s. get yourself on a good camera forum where thay use many cameras so it's not all one sided ;)

[muddyoffroader]

argos page, 469, item number 1.

i have got one and its cracking. some guy even offered to swap his digi nikon which is about 800 quids worth for mine.

[SteveGoodz]

Of course, the quality of the picture is ultimately dependent on the ability of the person using it  :dance:

I would endorse Nick4x4's - another Nikon abuser  :clap: - advice to go and check out the options at a camera shop.

There are plenty or independent and unbiased reviews on www.dpreview.com

For Nikon (they're not the world-wide number one camera seller for nothing) try www.nikonians.org

[waveydavey]

I have a Canon EOS 300D - five years old and if it were still available I would buy the same one in a  heartbeat.

Much as the comments made are fair I personally believe that once you get used to it the DSLR does get much better pictures and the flexibility is there to play around a lot more. You learn quickly as you can look straight away and see if you have it right or not.

I also find that with the DSLR the picture quality is so much better that the lack of proper Macro doesn't matter; you step back; zoom in, don't get the same glare and then cut the bit you want out on the PC to get eh close up.

The bit I 100% agree with is pixels - unless you are shooting RAW and really blowing up to huge proportions then after 6 is really little more than marketing.

No offence to anybody but photographers think that nobody else knows how to use an SLR - its really not that difficult if you have a basic understanding. OK I am no photographer and I rarely use it in manual but it certainly gets much better picturs than a  Point and shoot.

[JimP]

I'm shooting with a Sony A350, got to say that for the money it's a awesome bit of kit! adn the fact that old minolta 35mm AF lenses fit saves a hell of a lot of money!

[freeagent]

I'm another long-time Nikon user (been running Nikon SLRs since the 80's!)

I've got a Nikon D50 at the moment, which is brilliant, when its time to replace it, i'll be buying another Nikon DSLR.

As others have said, its not all about pixel count, lenses are very important, whats the point of a 20mp sensor, that is recording images through a crappy plastic lens the size of a finger nail.

My DSLR is 6.1mp, and I'm well pleased with the picture quality, you'll get A3 prints of decent quality out of it.

Next jump for me will be one with a full frame sensor (36x24mm) and more rugged build quality (magnesium chassis, rather than plastic)

[LiftedDisco]

I have both DSLR and a point and shoot - image quality is better with the Nikon (D80) but my view is that I take whichever suits best sizewise...

For my day to day use, the P&S tends to live in the car - if I need it on a site visit or for record purposes, it's OK at 5.4mp - the Nikon is 10.5mp or thereabouts and tends to get used if I need something to go into client presentations etc.

Having said that, the Sony delivers file sizes of around 2mb and will blow up to A3 without too much distortion.

One thought though... when you know what you want, consider a flight somewhere relatively local (or using cheap fares...) as I bought the Nikon duty free in Glasgow airport on a domestic flight back to Birmingham and saved around £130 off high street prices.

[Nick4X4]

I would endorse Nick4x4's - another Nikon abuser  :clap:

LOL you got the abuser right you should see what i put the D100 through :shock: ............ me thinks it time to up grade to a D200 or a D300 :P

Just got to find some money ...............[shout mode on]WIFE YOUR NOT HAVING A NEW WASHING MACHINE I NEED A NEW CAMERA!!! [shout mode off]

[!Expletive Deleted!] that hurt........plan B then wheres my high heels........ :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Blue72]

Try
www.photography-forum.org  or www.toggers.co.uk both very helpful forums.
I wont get into the which camera debate as its all personal preference but my Pentax has paid for itself countless times over.
Get a decent camera spend the money on the lenses.

It really is the person behind the camera more often than not I guarantee that!!

[laser_jock99]

I'm another Nikon user (although Canon make equally fine cameras). The one thing I would agree with is lens choice makes the most difference. Supplied kit lenses are okay for most snap photography but some 'pro quality' glass is nice if you can afford it. The difference is visble at the edges of the frame and on large blow ups or tight crops.

These days a 10 or 12M pixel SLR is the standard to aim for and two zoom lenses will cover most of the stuff you want- the excellent Sigma 10-20mm zoom lens + the hugely versatile Nikon 18-200 ED VR zoom lens. These are the two lenses I use for 95% of my work (despite having loads of other Nikon ED lenses to pick from!).

A high quality compact camera can produce good results (I use a Canon G9) but in no way can this replicate an SLR.

[beast5680]

Guys thanks for all the answers :clap:, i will carry out some research  :-k and let you know

[Nick4X4]

I got to say that pic you entered on the comp i ran (else where) was very good and think a dslr will do you good.... make sure you post some of your pic's when you get your new camera what every it is  ;)

[diggerdog36]

Ive got a Nikon D40 too, really like it when I bought it I got an instructonal DVD thrown in too (along with alot of other stuff) and that shows how to do stuff Id never realised I could do. Go to a small independant camera shop and haggle hard!!

[thermidorthelobster]

I use a Canon 40D (and sometimes a 10D) with a couple of decent L-series lenses (that cost a lot more than the camera body) and I get some great pics.

On the other hand...  I realised that I was missing photos because I didn't always have the SLR with me.  So I also bought a Canon Ixus 750.  It's about the size of a phone and is point-and-shoot with a basic zoom.

I have to say that when I use both, it's not immediately obvious from the shots which camera took which pictures.  Clearly I have a lot more creative control on the SLR, but I'm consistently amazed at what good quality snapshots I get from the Ixus.  And it cost a tiny fraction of the price.

Personally if I were taking photos of the engine bay I'd probably be using the Ixus.  If nothing else, the flash gun is closer to the lens so you don't have to worry so much about shadows in intricate areas!  And do you need to control depth-of-field on that type of shot?  No;  if you want to highlight something you can do it in Photoshop afterwards.

I'll continue using the SLR for portrait, candid travel & wildlife photography but for what you want it for I'd use a good quality point-and-shoot.  The technical quality of the images (resolution etc) will be fine.  I've never had magazines complaining about the quality of images from my Ixus.

[dreadnought110]

I'am not an expert photographer at all and i know my camera isn't strictly an slr but i love it and the quality of the piccies is brill it's a Panasonic DMC-FZ28 with 18X optical zoom i don't struggle normally this is some examples of my fooling about.. :D :D