Camera?

A good place to look for used is teh buy/sell forum at fredmiranda.com: Specialized in Canon - Nikon SLR Cameras, Forum, Photoshop Plugins, Actions, Reviews, Hosting and Digital Darkroom

many of the folks who sell there are professionals who buy gear (often lenses, for this aspect of it), use it for a project, then sell it.

it's free to register and read/buy, you have to buy a $25/year subscription to list products for sale.

From what it sounds like you are looking to use it for, I'd echo the Canon S95/S100 advice. I have one to use when I don't want to pull out the DSLR and it's quite nice. If you want to go DSLR, I'd suggest a T2i from canon or the similar model from Nikon (not a Nikon guy, so don't relaly know their models). Lenses for Nikon and Canon will be easier to find.
 
TS656577 said:
Pff wait till you start deciding to buy another lens. holy crap.
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I'm on that boat now..... Selling my t2i with lots of other stuff on ebay now. Thinking about selling my 15-85mm to get 24-70.


If you have a budget, get the S95 or S100. Read very good reviews for them, but if you get a dslr you might get the bug. And start looking for better body and lens.
 
slickooz said:
If you have a budget, get the S95 or S100. Read very good reviews for them, but if you get a dslr you might get the bug. And start looking for better body and lens.
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Yea i looked around for weeks figuring out what wide angle lens I wanted. And it can be just as addicting as detailing stuff but oooooooooo so much more expensive. The s100 is really good for the money btw. S95 is also a solid choice
 
24-70mm is 1100 now dropped 100. About to pull trigger....... Someone take my CC away.
 
S95 on Amazon today is a SMOKIN deal. I've never seen it this cheap. Arguably the best P&S on the market.
 
Another tip for Canon shooters - look into the refurbished items on the Canon web site. Great discounts, and they also have a loyalty program that knocks (IIRC) another 20% off the price if you send them ANY old canon camera (working or not, film or digital).

BTW, 24-70 is an awesome lens (especially on full frame), but there is a reason it's referred to as "the brick".

35/1.4L is fun, too.
 
Yeah I went to a store and tried it out yesterday. I should of pulled the trigger but my sense kicked in. But if a deal like that comes up again I'm buying it.
 
I got my girlfriend a new Nikon D5100 kit for Christmas. I can't wait to start using that!
 
Kristopher1129 said:
I think I'd like to take a photography class before I make any choices on a camera that costs a grand, ha.
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That'll be key. You can buy the most expensive camera in the world and still take pictures that look like a $3 drug store disposable camera if you don't know how to use it effectively.
 
C. Charles Hahn said:
That'll be key. You can buy the most expensive camera in the world and still take pictures that look like a $3 drug store disposable camera if you don't know how to use it effectively.
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Absolutely, but, many of the photography classes require you to have your own camera. I know all of the ones that my college offers require you to have one. OP, I have a HUGE list of reading material if you'd like (PM me if you want anything). Adorama.com has a lot of how to videos including many video "basics" about using your camera Adorama Learning Center (this has how to videos, what equipment you need/want, buying guides, just a TON of info). Additionally, Canon Digital Photography Forums - Powered by vBulletin is a never ending wealth of knowledge. If you'd like to go to the store and buy a book, I highly recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's probably the #1 recommended book out there. Lastly, even after a class, you'll need to practice. Plain and simple. I've come leaps and bounds. I'd like to share this link as well. It explains the basic terminology of photography. (this is a post I made on another forum).

GReddy_Civic said:
Bryan Peterson has written a book titled Understanding Exposure which is a highly recommended read if you’re wanting to venture out of the Auto mode on your digital camera and experiment with it’s manual settings.
In it Bryan illustrates the three main elements that need to be considered when playing around with exposure by calling them ‘the exposure triangle’.
Each of the three aspects of the triangle relate to light and how it enters and interacts with the camera.
The three elements are:
1. written a post on ISO – the measure of a digital camera sensor’s sensitivity to light
2. Aperture – the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken
3. Shutter Speed – the amount of time that the shutter is open
It is at the intersection of these three elements that an image’s exposure is worked out.
Most importantly – a change in one of the elements will impact the others. This means that you can never really isolate just one of the elements alone but always need to have the others in the back of your mind.
3 Metaphors for understanding the digital photography exposure triangle:
Many people describe the relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed using different metaphors to help us get our heads around it. Let me share three. A quick word of warning first though – like most metaphors – these are far from perfect and are just for illustrative purposes:

The Window
Imagine your camera is like a window with shutters that open and close.
Aperture is the size of the window. If it’s bigger more light gets through and the room is brighter.
Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the shutters of the window are open. The longer you leave them open the more that comes in.
Now imagine that you’re inside the room and are wearing sunglasses (hopefully this isn’t too much of a stretch). Your eyes become desensitized to the light that comes in (it’s like a low ISO).
There are a number of ways of increasing the amount of light in the room (or at least how much it seems that there is. You could increase the time that the shutters are open (decrease shutter speed), you could increase the size of the window (increase aperture) or you could take off your sunglasses (make the ISO larger).
Ok – it’s not the perfect illustration – but you get the idea.

Sunbaking
Another way that a friend recently shared with me is to think about digital camera exposure as being like getting a sun tan.
Now getting a suntan is something I always wanted growing up – but unfortunately being very fair skinned it was something that I never really achieved. All I did was get burnt when I went out into the sun. In a sense your skin type is like an ISO rating. Some people are more sensitive to the sun than others.
Shutter speed in this metaphor is like the length of time you spend out in the sun. The longer you spend in the sun the increased chances of you getting a tan (of course spending too long in the sun can mean being over exposed).
Aperture is like sunscreen which you apply to your skin. Sunscreen blocks the sun at different rates depending upon it’s strength. Apply a high strength sunscreen and you decrease the amount of sunlight that gets through – and as a result even a person with highly sensitive skin can spend more time in the sun (ie decrease the Aperture and you can slow down shutter speed and/or decrease ISO).
As I’ve said – neither metaphor is perfect but both illustrate the interconnectedness of shutter speed, aperture and ISO on your digital camera.
Update: A third metaphor that I’ve heard used is the Garden Hose (the width of the hose is aperture, the length that the hose is left on is shutter speed and the pressure of the water (the speed it gets through) is ISO.

Bringing It All Together
Mastering the art of exposure is something that takes a lot of practice. In many ways it’s a juggling act and even the most experienced photographers experiment and tweak their settings as they go. Keep in mind that changing each element not only impacts the exposure of the image but each one also has an impact upon other aspects of it (ie changing aperture changes depth of field, changing ISO changes the graininess of a shot and changing shutter speed impacts how motion is captured).
The great thing about digital cameras is that they are the ideal testing bed for learning about exposure. You can take as many shots as you like at no cost and they not only allow you to shoot in Auto mode and Manual mode – but also generally have semi-automatic modes like aperture priority and shutter priority modes which allow you to make decisions about one or two elements of the triangle and let the camera handle the other elements.

Taken from:
Learning about Exposure – The Exposure Triangle
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Kristopher1129,

Id suggest a Nikon D5100 kit from Costco. Its $1050 but you get two lenses, a bag, memory card etc. Its a good bargain to start. I bought one and am very happy with it, it was 950 when I bought it though. Either that or go to Hunts in Manchester NH, they are great to deal with and very knowledgeable. You might pay a couple dollars more but I think the service you get with them is worth it. They also have classes but I think they are only in their Melrose MA location.
 
I got a buddy who's trying to sell a Canon T1i and he's taken really good care of it. PM me if you're interested and I'll get some more information for you.
 
TS656577 said:
Absolutely, but, many of the photography classes require you to have your own camera. I know all of the ones that my college offers require you to have one.
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Right, but any cheap used DSLR with the ability to use full manual settings would work in that instance. If you can get really good at taking pictures with something like that, investing in better equipment later on will only make you that much better.

It all depends on how much of a budget you have to work with at the outset.
 
andrew b said:
Another tip for Canon shooters - look into the refurbished items on the Canon web site. Great discounts, and they also have a loyalty program that knocks (IIRC) another 20% off the price if you send them ANY old canon camera (working or not, film or digital).

BTW, 24-70 is an awesome lens (especially on full frame), but there is a reason it's referred to as "the brick".

35/1.4L is fun, too.
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Canon have dropped the price on some of their L lenses. Really looking hard at the 70-200 F2.8 IS II and a 135L F2.0 right now. Even might pick up a 100mm macro for product photography work.
 
Didn't anyone read the original post from Chris ? He stated he didn't want to spend anywher near $1,000.00 and then members bombard him with Digital SLR's that are way over a grand. Go figure.
 
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