[beerguy0]

7D, 70-200/4 L

7D, 17-40/4 L

7D, 70-200/4 L w/500D closeup lens

 

[Towert7]

My main setup:


Kitty Rests:

 

[dj_mocok]

Look at this cute little thing:
He had this I-just-woke-up kind of grumpy look.

 

[dfkt]

The mommy's foot looks quite impressive. She sure can be pleased with the first baby photo of her young one. I bet she's going to show it off to all friends and relatives.

 

[dj_mocok]

I thought birds usually have a few chicks at least? I saw only 1. Maybe the rest didn't make it.

 

[krmathis]

Waiting for the spring...

 

[Baines93]

Hey guys,

Not posted here in a while, still following though. Not shooting much these days, tired of the C770UZ, even though I can take better pictures with it still i'm sure, I think a DSLR would get me improving faster with more to play with, and more enjoyment of use... Main thing in a camera!

Was looking at the D50 with inbuilt focus motor, unlike the D40, and using some older AF focus lenses to give a cheap setup, with AF option if required at any time. Budget has grown a bit now, and i'd be happy to spend a maximum of £450 on a body and a lens, preferably two, used. Anyway, while researching again it seems the Pentax K-x would be ideal, with 720p HD video, reasonably fast etc. and seems to take some nice pics. Largeish screen, good autofocus, auto-bracketing, dust managment, not too large, in-built focus motor, wide range of older Pentax lenses can be used without adapters etc. - Seems like a very good all rounder, and comes in way under budget, with the option of getting one from Canada (shipped on to me by a relative) for just £370 with an 18-55 kit lens...

A website I looked at went through stages with me, the first and most important being what you shoot. Well, I like the occasional action, love portrait/people photography, but also love landscape, as well as macro, and I often will shoot spontaneously.

So according to that, it says my main priorities should be:
Live view
image stabilisation
high dynamice range (landscape)
Compatible with macro lenses
Color control (especially flesh and earth tones)
Dust control
Fast multi-point autofocus
Small-ish

I also personally require the auto-focus motor and image stabilization stuff to be in the camera, not the lenses, as I want to use older lenses too, and want the AF option available always... I know I know, you never AF with some lenses, but it's nice the option is always there, or will be with most lenses hopefully.

The K-x seems highly ideal, and worth more than the price, and under budget. Also, I often have lighting problems when i'm messing about with cat's etc. spontaneously indoors, and apparently it is GREAT in low light conditions. Better than it's big brother, the K-7! (in a few other ways too!) (Just for note, the K-7 is out of budget.)

But i'm wondering, is it worth spending my whole budget when this seems ideal for everything I do? It seems to be very good all round... It may not be a jack of all trades, but it seems to be a good all rounder, and master a few trades, especially considering the price.

Any recommendations? Any K-x owners want to post some pictures/impressions/advice?

(HUGE review here)

Thanks in advance,

Please contribute if you can

(ASAP! Found one at £240 with a day to go in the UK, on ebay! If I could snag it for under £370 it'd be worth it. The Canadian one at £360 is likely to cost a lot to ship to me insured, even marked as a gift by my relative, and not incurring taxes, but the next cheapest By It Now on ebay is £460, which is in the UK!)

Matt

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks in advance, Matt

That pentax looks like a toy.
Whereas the D50 was a midrange camera back 3-4 years ago, the pentax is entry level cheap rubbish (my apologies to anyone who owns it).
The pentax will have more fluff features, but will also lack features that I, as a photographer, would miss dearly.

I wouldn't want it.
I'd much rather have a D50 with a good lens.

 

[Baines93]

I know what you mean, it does look like a toy... but it seems like it has most of the mid-range camera features?

What's missing then that i've missed?

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know what you mean, it does look like a toy... but it seems like it has most of the mid-range camera features? What's missing then that i've missed?

Ergonomically it looks painful to hold.
It uses 4 AA batteries.... that is shameful! (One of the biggest reasons to upgrade to a DSLR is to have significantly better battery life than a digital P&S)
It has no top view LED display for critical information, meaning you have to use the back LCD (even worse for battery life).
Button placement is less than ideal.
Bad placement of LCD.
No visible AF points in viewfinder....................

These are the deal breakers for me.

Plus, I'm not a fan of the Pentax DSLR range of lenses, but I didn't factor that in with my previous post.

 

[Baines93]

The 500d would also be an option, but is right at the top of the budget...

The review i'm reading here says "Limited exposure compensation range (+/- 2.0 EV)" - does that impact HDR much? Because that's something I really would like to practice.

Also, not sure if it has the AF motor inbuilt into the body? It seems to, but information on this is always tricky to find it seems?!

The review also says it's slightly more expensive compared to the competition... I'm not sure how the model numbers for Canon, Nikon or Olympus really work to be honest. Which camera's are close in price, generally good all rounders, and have the stabilization and AF motor built into the body?

I know i'm being lazy, there's just too much to choose from, too much information, and I don't know where to even start! I read a review for a Canon on Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ - only to find it's a $5000 body

- model number understanding would help I guess.

Canon EOS 500D / Digital Rebel T1i Review: 29. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review

The Olympus E620 has very few cons according to dpreview's review, and it's slightly cheaper than the Canon too... I'm struggling to find whether the E620 has an inbuilt AF motor though, and IS in body. I was concerned that it's a four-thirds camera, but the review seems to show that it doesn't suffer from the normal four-thirds problems with high ISO, and little control over DOF?

Olympus E-620 Review: 31. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review
Anyone with an E620 or 500D?

Any opinions? Any views over these compared to the Pentax?

Matt

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any opinions? Matt

My recommendations are:

1) Don't put much importance on digital image stabalization. No where near as nice as optical IS/VR.

2) Consider the LENSES. Pentax, canon, olympus, nikon, etc...... The big reason to buy into an SLR type of camera is the array of lenses available. You should spend some time researching the lenses that each company offers. See how easy it is to get older used ones, see how cheap their new ones are and how good they are, what types of lenses they have, etc etc.
There is nothing sadder than buying into an SLR company because of the 'features' of the camera body, only to find out it lacks SO MANY lenses that you wish you had!!!
My poor friend purchased a Pentax DSLR a while ago. He liked the 'features' the camera had, but now he is so sad because there are so few nice lenses offered within his price range.

3) You really want a camera that CAN work with older lenses that make use of an AF motor. These lenses, though sometimes older, can be phenomenal. That's a problem with the budget Nikon DSLR's, they don't work fully with some of the older ones, much less the real gems (AI-S, AI, etc).

4) The camera body should not be chosen simply based on features. Go to your local store and try them out (another reason to support your local camera shops). See how large the viewfinders are, see how comfortable they are to hold, how they sound, how cheap/sturdy they feel, etc etc.

These are 4 main points that most reviews will not focus much on, and which you need to sometimes try out yourself to see what YOU think. Some of these points are VERY important.

If it were me, I'd consider only Nikon or Canon because of the fantastic range of lenses they have. Nikon's cool because they have SO MANY old lenses that still work fantastic with their new cameras.
Both will take fantastic pictures, it's simply how easy and enjoyable the camera makes taking pictures. ^_^

 

[beerguy0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 500d would also be an option, but is right at the top of the budget... The review i'm reading here says "Limited exposure compensation range (+/- 2.0 EV)" - does that impact HDR much? Because that's something I really would like to practice. Also, not sure if it has the AF motor inbuilt into the body? It seems to, but information on this is always tricky to find it seems?! The review also says it's slightly more expensive compared to the competition... I'm not sure how the model numbers for Canon, Nikon or Olympus really work to be honest. Which camera's are close in price, generally good all rounders, and have the stabilization and AF motor built into the body? I know i'm being lazy, there's just too much to choose from, too much information, and I don't know where to even start! I read a review for a Canon on Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ - only to find it's a $5000 body - model number understanding would help I guess. Canon EOS 500D / Digital Rebel T1i Review: 29. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review The Olympus E620 has very few cons according to dpreview's review, and it's slightly cheaper than the Canon too... I'm struggling to find whether the E620 has an inbuilt AF motor though, and IS in body. I was concerned that it's a four-thirds camera, but the review seems to show that it doesn't suffer from the normal four-thirds problems with high ISO, and little control over DOF? Olympus E-620 Review: 31. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review Anyone with an E620 or 500D? Any opinions? Any views over these compared to the Pentax? Matt

No Canon DSLRs have AF motors in the body. All Canon EF and EF-S lenses have the AF motors built in. The better Canon lenses have ring USM. IS is also a lens function.

In the Canon series, the xxxD bodies are consumer grade. (Smaller, lighter, more compact, mostly plastic.) The xxD bodies are a step up, kind of prosumer/semi-pro. (Magnesium frames with plastic exterior and more features, bigger body, heavier.) The xD bodies are pro level, with magnesium frames, weather sealing, bigger viewfinders, higher frames per second, etc.)

Canon cameras will only shoot 3 exposures in auto bracket mode, until you get to the xD series, which will shoot five frames. +/- 2 stops should be adequate for HDR. (Disclaimer: I do very little HDR, and dislike thoroughly most of the overbaked HDR I see.) I've not found much value in more than three frames for HDR, but YMMV.

Hope this helps your search.

 

[cruizin caleb]

as you can see, i have an obsession with odd, abstract, unfocused photography... with lots of odd processing...

 

[cruizin caleb]

**