Calling all photographers on NICO!

[TurboSauce]

I've been doing some research on a suitable camera for a couple different settings.
Currently I'm in college for Culinary arts, and I've been searching day in and day out for a camera that is able to take excellent quality photos of the food I will be making.

I'm talking shots like these;






So I figured that a DSLR would be the way to go, without question.
But is it really?

Now as a college student my budget is around $500 and with that in mind I jumped over to amazon and went surfing of what's currently available.

Was looking at a Cannon Eos Rebel T3 and T3i, as well as a Nikon d3100 but the thing is I do want a bit more practicality out of my purchase.

I really want to be able to go to car shows and capture stunning images as well
like this for example


Really and truly I want a camera to document my travels and anything I may end up doing while I'm exploring.

So I really want a well rounded camera with breathtaking image quality.

I know for $500 this may seem like trying to take a midnight shot with no ambient lighting, flash, or any other light source (aka nearly impossible)

But I feel as if someone out there may have a decent recommendation that could at least point me in the right direction as I don't want to end up spending this much money and not getting the use out of my camera (or totally hating it)
So if anyone out there can it would be greatly appreciated

[TurboSauce]

are there no photographers on NICO?

[Razi]

By practicality, do you mean you want something smaller?

[TurboSauce]

By practicality i meant more like i wouldn't be afraid to use my camera in every day situations. I feel like if i buy a 500$ camera i'll use it to take a few pictures, hide it keep it safe, take a few more pictures, hide it and keep it safe.

Ehh screw it 4 year accidental warranty here i come.

I'm new to photography, so my skills are basically at 0.

I'm gonna need some time, and a lot of memory to take the shots I want.

I'm willing to sacrifice portability in favor of image quality, yet I'm starting to think that jumping from your average $100 point and shoot to a $500 Dslr would be jumping mountains.

Hell, the most manual editing (White balance, aperture, contrast etc*) I've ever done was with the camera on Forza.

what I want at the end of the day, are breath taking photos.
and no matter how good the camera is, If i'm no good for it why use it.

< this is me getting a little bit discouraged over a higher end camera.

*should learn how to autocross a miata before trying to autocross a corvette*

*but at the same time if you start out with a corvette two things could happen,
you could respect the power it has, take it easy, feel for the car, get used to it, and become good at driving it...
or you could crash*

^ I wonder if that made any sense.

[Razi]

Photography doesn't work like that.
Jumping from a point and shoot to a DSLR would only be like jumping from an automatic to a manual transmission.
The more 'powerful' cameras are pretty much the same except they have a better processor and bigger sensor, nothing changes with it's usage.

Go with a T3i or a D3200. If you don't care about video, D3200 would be a good choice since it's a bit cheaper and the sensor is a bit better.

[TurboSauce]

So, a DSLR wouldn't be bad for a complete novice?

[Razi]

If you want to learn to shoot, you're going to need a camera like a DSLR, since it gives you full control over every setting.
That way, you can understand which settings you can fiddle with to give you the result you want.

Other options are micro four thirds cameras like the Sony NEX or Olympus Pen.
I started off shooting with a film camera since I didn't have money to drop on a DSLR at the time.

Anyways, yes, a DSLR is a great option for a novice.

[TurboSauce]

Thank you :3

Gonna do a quick google search on the differences between the Rebel t3 and T3i

Because the bundle for the t3i is a bit too pricey for my budget, and the bundle for the t3 hits the sweet spot.
But if the t3i is a much better camera i'll go with that and piece stuff together.

again thanks man

[Razi]

No problem!
You should also look into the D3200. Nikon sensors are supposed to have slightly better dynamic range. The D3200 is also a bit cheaper than the T3i from what I see on Amazon.

[nissangirl74]

In my opinion, the Canons are much better cameras than the Nikons. I've had both and they are worlds apart. The Canon is much more acceptable in intense, bright light like we have out here. However, the macro capabilities on the Nikon were superb.

[TurboSauce]

I know both Canon and Nikon both have a very wide selection of lenses.
*as well as their own cult following*


Hmm.. at this point the rebel t3 and Nikon D series are enticing.
I've noticed that people say the Nikon handles low iso amazingly well, which I'd probably be making the most use of.

[TurboSauce]

Alright, Got an itchy trigger finger and i'm ready to pull, which of these two bundles would you guys say is a better deal?

Bundle 1
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-18- ... 76680011_4

or

Bundle 2
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Cam ... 76680011_9

[Xdisaster240sX]

T3i is a much better feeling camera then the T3. I suggest getting that.

[Ace2cool]

And for the price difference, I'd lean that way as well.

[TurboSauce]

aaaand there goes about $600 :p

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I'm a little late to the party, but I'd recommend

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Digital-18- ... ikon+D3200

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-50mm-NIKKOR ... Nikon+50mm

Those together should help you get the good bokeh you're looking for in those first pics.

[TurboSauce]

shoots, looks like i'll have to get creative with the cannon though

[Looneybomber]

Did you already purchase? If not, get a used dSLR. For example Canon 40d and a 50mm f1.8 lens. Can be had for $375 no problem and with the f1.8 aperature, you can get that blurring you're looking for in those first few food shots.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I'm not a photographer, so the only thing I can add is this:

If you're shooting in the 24 MP range, or shooting HD video with the same camera, you will want a Class 10 SD card. Throughput on lesser classes probably won't keep up with HD burst shooting or video recording. Class will probably be okay in most cases, but I'd suspect it'll have trouble keeping up with 24MP burst mode. You can get 32GB Class 10 SD cards for about $30 these days, so there's REALLY no reason to cheap out and get a lower-class card.

More info for non-geeks:
SD card classes reflect their continuous write throughput capability. The classes are equivalent to the continuous throughput in MegaByte per Second. Class 2 (the worst) does 2MB/s. Class 10, 10 MB/s. So you can see where shooting 24MP picture could easily outpace the lower classes' write speeds. Read speeds for digital memory are always much faster than write speeds, so there's really no need to measure that separately. I have a class 4 in my 10MP point-and-shoot and even it has trouble keeping up with rapid shooting.
There's also a newer Class system for SD cards, called UHS (Ultra High Speed). UHS Class 1 is supposedly capable of 100MB/s throughput. UHS Class 2 exists as a standard, but I don't think anyone actually makes any yet.

[Razi]

I highly recommend the SanDisk Extreme cards. Since you're mostly taking pictures of food and stationary cars, you might not need it, but fast cards are so cheap these days, there's no reason you shouldn't buy one.

[TurboSauce]

I'm not a photographer, so the only thing I can add is this:

If you're shooting in the 24 MP range, or shooting HD video with the same camera, you will want a Class 10 SD card. Throughput on lesser classes probably won't keep up with HD burst shooting or video recording. Class will probably be okay in most cases, but I'd suspect it'll have trouble keeping up with 24MP burst mode. You can get 32GB Class 10 SD cards for about $30 these days, so there's REALLY no reason to cheap out and get a lower-class card.

More info for non-geeks:
SD card classes reflect their continuous write throughput capability. The classes are equivalent to the continuous throughput in MegaByte per Second. Class 2 (the worst) does 2MB/s. Class 10, 10 MB/s. So you can see where shooting 24MP picture could easily outpace the lower classes' write speeds. Read speeds for digital memory are always much faster than write speeds, so there's really no need to measure that separately. I have a class 4 in my 10MP point-and-shoot and even it has trouble keeping up with rapid shooting.
There's also a newer Class system for SD cards, called UHS (Ultra High Speed). UHS Class 1 is supposedly capable of 100MB/s throughput. UHS Class 2 exists as a standard, but I don't think anyone actually makes any yet.

Ugh, googled searched this stuff and found a quote on this forum that's throwing my head into a spin. I'll Quote it here to save some people with the research

But the general thing is akin to a flash drive and usb port and data transfer.

aka, Usb 3.0 flash drives are new, faster, and transmit data at far better speeds. so this uhs SD card is like a USB 3.0 flash drive.

I found one on amazon for $60, and it sort of makes me regret buying a bundle with a SD card, but hey.. I'm probably going to dish out the money to get a UHS SD because it makes recording HD video better* I wanna say, I mean I'm probably not going to end up using 1080p recording often, but if you have the ability to do something why not take advantage of it?

[TurboSauce]

Did you already purchase? If not, get a used dSLR. For example Canon 40d and a 50mm f1.8 lens. Can be had for $375 no problem and with the f1.8 aperature, you can get that blurring you're looking for in those first few food shots.

yup ordered it. I hadn't even thought of used.. Like really, I thought you buy and keep your camera.
I certainly don't mind buying used items. which probably would've saved me half the money I spent, but I guess this way I gots me a 4 year warranty.

[MinisterofDOOM]

But the general thing is akin to a flash drive and usb port and data transfer.

aka, Usb 3.0 flash drives are new, faster, and transmit data at far better speeds. so this uhs SD card is like a USB 3.0 flash drive.

For comparative purposes it's a good analogy. Unfortunately, most people who don't know standard SD from UHS SD won't know USB 2.0 from 3.0 either, so it's somewhat self-defeating.

USB 3.0 is MUCH faster than 2.0, because it uses newer tech (it's really different tech for which the ports are backward compatible...usb 2.0 stuff works in USB 3.0 ports, but USB 3.0 stuff doesn't work in USB 2.0 ports). Same with UHS SD cards. They won't work at UHS speeds unless your device can make use of it. It's a controller/bus issue (one of the disadvantages when compared to the older, larger CompactFlash format is that SD cards controller is on the DEVICE, not the card...so you need a device with an up-to-standards controller if you want the best performance from the latest cards). If you have an old camera and throw a USH card in it, it'll only work at Class 10 speeds, not UHS1 speeds.

[TurboSauce]

I highly recommend the SanDisk Extreme cards. Since you're mostly taking pictures of food and stationary cars, you might not need it, but fast cards are so cheap these days, there's no reason you shouldn't buy one.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-F ... pd_sim_e_2 12 bucks for 8 gigs. Don't mind if I do.

[TurboSauce]

Understood.
Went and ordered the Sony 16 gig, class 10 UHS-1 SD card. Which supports up to 94 mb/s write speed.

It's price was under half that of the sandisk 32 gig card (with 95mb/s write speed) so I don't see why I shouldn't have gotten one.

With the bundle I got, I'll use the 16gig standard sd for image taking and the UHS card for Video recording.

I'm wondering If I should drop a in-field review of the camera and the differences in recording.



Why Is spending money more fun than making it?

[finikM35]

Get a 50mm 1.8 lens its cheap - 100$ or you can get it for like 50$ on CL used. Autofocus can be stupid but its worth it.
I usually buy cheaper camera and invest in lenses.

[TurboSauce]

I just took delivery. first few pics soon.

[TurboSauce]

These are my favorite out of the near 200 shots I took today.
unedited, and just me messing about with most of the settings on my camera.

[Bokeh]

Nice couple of shots for your first shots on a DSLR! And I'm glad you went Canon (I'm biased and own a Canon myself :P ) But to get that shallow depth of field (or very little in focus as in the cake shot) you should use the Av Mode on your camera. The lower the F-stop (or aperture) the less that's in focus in your shot. In Av mode, the camera gives you the control over that setting and does the rest (you have the option to change other settings such as ISO and White Balance as well). Just keep messing with your DSLR, the more time you spend with it the more you'll learn.

Taken with an XSi when I wasn't that experienced yet. (I don't mean to thread jack!)

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I actually prefer an F4-5 for food shots... too low and you don't necessarily get to see all the details. For some reason, guns seem to look really good to me with tight focal ranges.




Beers are usually pretty good too