advice on new dslr

[afi]

I have about 1500.00 to spend and was hoping to put together a package good enough for macros close enough to check trichs for ripeness. I am new to using a manual camera and will likely take some classes to get the most out of it. I will mostly use it for my plants but will also use for normal family photos as well.

I have a point and shoot to use if something with the dslr wouldn`t work out as well for certain situations. I have no experience with dslr`s so I would greatly appreciate all advice as I know there are some great photographers here.

Thank You, Afi

 

[afi]

Here are some of my best shots with a cheap ass point and shoot.

I am looking forward to what I can do with a descent camera.

Peace, Afi

 

[DoobieDuck]

Afi you're doing well with a PnS so I think that will carry forward when you do go DSLR. Good luck..DD

 

[afi]

Few more

 

[afi]

Afi you're doing well with a PnS so I think that will carry forward when you do go DSLR. Good luck..DD

Thanks DoobieDuck!
I think I could be good at photography with some work. I never payed much attention to photography til a couple years ago when I became a legal grower and thats when I started checking out forums and became addicted. You are one of the ones who have inspired my. Thank You,
Peace, Afi

 

[lost in a sea]

everyone says buy nikon,, but i have a brand new canon 600 and its great, couldnt be happier,,

lenses are where alot of the money has to be spent,,

 

[afi]

I was actually thinking Cannon or Nikon. I thought I remember reading some where that Cannon Had more or better options for lenses but I could be wrong. I realize the lenses are the most expensive part but not sure how much I have to spend to get what i want. I seen for Cannon they had 100mm macro lenses for 500 and then 1000.00 and even more. The specs. are confusing for me since I am not familiar with them and I know better than to go into a store shopping and trust a salesperson to help me. lol

Peace, Afi

 

[lost in a sea]

camera sales people are actually quite good usually

has to be canon or nikon really,, its hard to know quite how good something will be until you use it imo so read plenty of peoples reviews on lenses to get a good idea if its right for your applications,, amazon is good for peoples opinions,, you can also ask here before you buy and im sure someone will be able to help,, the lens that comes with the cameras are usually ok but poor comparatively,,

 

[DoobieDuck]

Thanks DoobieDuck!
I think I could be good at photography with some work. I never payed much attention to photography til a couple years ago when I became a legal grower.........Afi

Afi..I was an accomplished Pro photographer all my life. Doing Proms, Senior photos, weddings, portraits..but to be honest, I never shot a cannabis image until I joined here: "Join Date: Dec 2005"..although my previous experiance helped, especially the portrait work, my first cannabis pix were absolutely terrible compared to todays. I'd hate for Peeps to see them now. Keep that in mind buddy..DD

 

[afi]

I hear ya DD. I know photography takes alot of time to be good. Or are you saying taking a class won`t help much?

Peace, Afi

 

[gtgio]

Hey Afi,
Your best bet would be to invest in a relatively bare bones camera body (e.g. Canon 30D) and then spend the majority of your money on a decent macro lens. Having a high end body with a kit lens won't do anything for you, I'd much rather have a crappy body and a great lens.

Photography classes won't really help you, there's so much information available freely on the internet. I'm a freelance commercial photographer and I dropped out of photo college due to the poor instruction quality.

 

[afi]

Hey Afi,
Your best bet would be to invest in a relatively bare bones camera body (e.g. Canon 30D) and then spend the majority of your money on a decent macro lens. Having a high end body with a kit lens won't do anything for you, I'd much rather have a crappy body and a great lens.

Photography classes won't really help you, there's so much information available freely on the internet. I'm a freelance commercial photographer and I dropped out of photo college due to the poor instruction quality.

Thank you! Do you have any suggestions on lenses?

 

[lost in a sea]

tokina and tamron make good lenses,, i had a tamron macro that got stolen this last christmas and it was pretty good for the money,, i dont know if the one i got as a replacement from the insurance company is as good because ive not grown anything since then,, also i cant remember which model the old one was lol

so im pretty useless, but if you pick a macro you think is in your price range based on what body you are buying then we can give you advice as to how that lens will perform,,

also i sometimes look online for images taken with the lens to get an idea of whether its right for me,, but im still learning,,, aren't we all,,

i think its fairly intuitive but i guess since there are many different types of photography you have to grow an eye for some applications,,

i look for presentation and impact so things stand out,, not so great at subtlety yet,,

 

[gtgio]

Thank you! Do you have any suggestions on lenses?

The only one I've used extensively is the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L Macro. I'd recommend that if you can swing it.
Check out your local craigslist for these items:

Canon 30D body w/ kit lens

Canon 17-55mm f/ 3.5-5.6 (stock lens) Its a piece of shit, but if you ever want to take travel/walking-around photos you'll appreciate having a zoom lens

Canon 50mm 1.8 - So underrated, I've made tens of thousands of dollars off this lens and I bought mine for $50. Cheap as fuck, sharp as fuck. Makes an excellent portrait lens on a non full-frame sensor (like the 30D)

Canon 100mm F/2.8 L - Probably gonna run you around $800 used, the non-L version is way cheaper and still pretty good.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to lenses, I've owned almost every lens in Canon's lineup at one point or another and only a handful of them have impressed me enough to keep around on a non-rental basis. Not to say that Canon doesn't make great glass (they do) its just that so many lenses have niche uses, and for 90% of what I do my 50mm and 85mm work great, with my 24-70 to fill in the blanks.

edit: While I recommend against taking classes, self-education rules - This was my favourite book when I first began shooting, the concepts of ISO/film speed vs Shutter Speed vs Aperture vs strobe light vs ambient vs reflective light vs etc etc etc can be kind of confusing at first, but eventually it all clicks - http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003

 

[Skip]

If you just want the macro to check the trichs you can get a workable hand held microscope for like $15-$120 that will do the trick.

Unless you're planning on being a pro photographer and selling your images it's overkill to spend $1500 today on any camera. But of course ppl do, and some take some fantastic pics as shown on this site. I'm just saying that you'll pay as much for a good macro lens as for the camera itself, so why get a macro just to check trichs? You can get an excellent camera for under $500 that can even take images as close as a centimeter and do a decent job on trichs.

If you want to make a hobby of it, then that's another story, cause it can be fun to learn to play with a new camera and show off your shots online.

One thing that always bothered me about digital cameras is the fact that they become nearly obsolete in a few years, like most computer based tech.

I've already had five or six digital cameras since 1995 and always end up upgrading to a better one.

This is also true on the high end cameras as they incorporate more new technology and higher resolutions.

So ppl should remember that when buying a camera. It's not for life anymore. You'll want to replace it in a few years so include that in your budget...

 

[gtgio]

I've already had five or six digital cameras since 1995 and always end up upgrading to a better one.

This is also true on the high end cameras as they incorporate more new technology and higher resolutions.

So ppl should remember that when buying a camera. It's not for life anymore. You'll want to replace it in a few years so include that in your budget...

This part is my favourite part, the camera setup I'm working with right now would've cost me over $20,000+ a few years ago, I got everything for under $4,000. One man's obsolete piece of shit is another man's digital medium format treasure.

 

[afi]

Thanks for all the great advice guys ! I am getting this set up for more that just checking my triches. I just used that as an example of how close of a macro shot I would like to be able to achieve.
So in the next couple days I will pick out a camera and then start looking up lenses. I will post up the camera first to get advice on lenses.

I know I need to get a good tripod. What about flash? Some people swear by flash rings and others use external flash. I know natural sunlight is best but I live in town so it`s not really an option.

Thanks, Afi

 

[lost in a sea]

the flash on the camera should be good (or i dont have a problem anyway) but a proper flash is a good idea if your serious,, id get one that fits on the camera body personally to save you carrying something else in a bag or whatever, because you end up lugging all the stuff around with ya,,,

i dont think ill need to upgrade my body anytime,, the only thing they change anymore really is the megapixels and you dont need crazy high mps unless you're printing off/displaying poster sized pictures,,

also, could be risky, but you could save alot buying second hand off somewhere like ebay, but of course lenses are delicate,,

 

[afrocajun]

I swear by my nikon d7000.... compared to my friends canon t3i.... there is no comparison. The video on nikon has really deep blacks.... canon is grey fuzzyish. Plus the menu and layout. I would recommend the new D7100 because it does 60fps and is awesome. The intervalometer is nice too for time lapse.

 

[supermanlives]

Nikon d70s here . got Nikon and tokina lense along with a few others . 5 in total