Camera help!

[1.0reef]

My mom has always wanted one of those bad ass cameras, like the big DSLR's with huge lenses. Now she's looking to buy one, probably going to take photos of:

Large landscapes, cities, mountains, forests, etc large areas

Macro, flowers, corals, plants, insects, etc

action, high movement, running animals, etc

So a camera that's able to adapt to tee situation, probably going to want a simpler camera. Dunno about price, the page she pulled up had $400+ cameras lolz

I know a lot of people like the Canon T3i, T4i, Etc, So I like the T3i as an option.

http://www.target.com/p/canon-eos-rebel-t3i-18mp-digital-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-75-300mm-lens-black/-/A-13875142#prodSlot=medium_1_9

This one seems good http://www.target.com/p/nikon-d3200-24-2mp-digital-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-vr-lens-black-25492/-/A-14129489#guest-reviews More of the price of a T3

I've heard good things about Fugifilm cameras, I think Seabass likes them

Before I end, does anyone know if Quibids is a scam? The cameras there are going pretty cheap....

 

[farkwar]

Im pretty sure the Fuji DSLRs are Nikons. They can use Nikon F mounts and Zeiss ZF.2s if she likes, the Fuji F mounts that is.

 

Make sure the site she was looking at was not a scam site or scam vendor.

 

Adorama or B&H are reputable vendors, and no sales tax, thats like a 9% savings right there.

 

For the Nikon low end kits like you linked to, Costco usually has them for a good price, But youre going to pay Jerry, as you will at Target.

 

Oh, and remind her that if she does buy her camera from New York, it is ethical to declare her purchases as use tax on next Aprils Return.

 

Quibids is a scam site. Any site where you buy your bids is a scam site. They have shill bidders that bid against you to make it cost more than retail, and they get paid by your purchased bids, when the item sells to the shill bidder. Let me ask it this way, can you post an item on Quibids for sale, Like EBay?

[Withers]

Anything from Canon or Nikon is good. Costco has decent packages if you don't want to do any research. You'll get the kit lens and a subpar telephoto lens to get started.

 

The lenses are what will make or break the pictures, not the body.

[namxas]

Anything from Canon or Nikon is good. Costco has decent packages if you don't want to do any research. You'll get the kit lens and a subpar telephoto lens to get started.

 

The lenses are what will make or break the pictures, not the body.

 

Absolutely...it's all about getting good glass.

 

FWIW, we're a "Canon house"...Renee shoots with a 5D Mk II, and I've been using an old 3xxD digital rebel (I forget if it's a 300 or 350)...the old silver body one. It's the lenses that add up tho...Renee loves the L-series glass.

[Kiwi]

if you are not aware of Manual focus lenses… try a pentax.. (there are many good lenses for just a few dollars

[Veng]

My mom has always wanted one of those bad ass cameras, like the big DSLR's with huge lenses. Now she's looking to buy one, probably going to take photos of:

Large landscapes, cities, mountains, forests, etc large areas

Macro, flowers, corals, plants, insects, etc

action, high movement, running animals, etc

So a camera that's able to adapt to tee situation, probably going to want a simpler camera. Dunno about price, the page she pulled up had $400+ cameras lolz

I know a lot of people like the Canon T3i, T4i, Etc, So I like the T3i as an option.

http://www.target.com/p/canon-eos-rebel-t3i-18mp-digital-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-75-300mm-lens-black/-/A-13875142#prodSlot=medium_1_9

This one seems good http://www.target.com/p/nikon-d3200-24-2mp-digital-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-vr-lens-black-25492/-/A-14129489#guest-reviews More of the price of a T3

I've heard good things about Fugifilm cameras, I think Seabass likes them

Target is over priced. b&h Photo has a much better deal on the t3i, they're also a major name online retailer.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/753762-REG/Canon_5169B003_EOS_Rebel_T3i_Digital.html?sub=cpw&sid=cpw-12927998

 

Also, this website is great for shopping camera prices. There is a mirror site for nikon's stuff.

 

The t4i to t3i had some upgrades, the t5i to t4i had very little to no upgrades on the body. The major difference between the t4i and t5i is the kit lens, 18-55 was much improved. With that being said, a copy of lightroom would probably be a much better investment than the t5i given the current 300$ difference in pricing.

 

Note on the canonpricewatch site, you can click the item link (not the link to the seller) to bring up a price history like this: which can be very handy.

 

The t3i w/ a 18-55 kit lens should be able to do 90% of what she wants to do. It's not a telephoto lens, but you can pick up a 50-250 for <150$ later.

 

There's no question you can buy more expensive gear, but there's not much of a point until she figures out that 1) she likes it, 2) she'll spend time with it, and 3) she can identify what she doesn't like about it.

Before I end, does anyone know if Quibids is a scam? The cameras there are going pretty cheap....

Scam? Things generally sell for 90% off. However, generally people pay 1000% or retail after you figure in the price of the bids. 100$ item, sells for 10$, at a 1$ per penny per bid, that's 1,000$ people have paid in bids. It's possible to come out ahead if you are lucky, it's also possible to win the lotto. That doesn't mean you are coming out ahead by doing it.

[supermarvin76]

Any low end Canon or Nikon will do just fine. It's all about 2 things though, getting good glass, and knowing what to do with it. For example, I could tell my friend to go out and buy Radions, MP10s, the best skimmer and dosers, but unless he knows about tanks and what to do he will be quite frustrated. Maybe not that great of an analogy, but to get good photos, you need a basic understanding of photography, ie the exposure triangle.

 

Back to cameras. What about used? KEH is very reputable. I've bought a Mamiya RB67 off there a couple years back. KEH has a used Canon 10D, which will still make killer photos for $105. I paid $1,500 for mine back in 2004. I used a Canon 10D for this:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/5454636142/'>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/5454636142/'>Frog in the weeds by http://www.flickr.com/people/bpatrickphotography/'>Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

and this:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/3486444254/'>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/3486444254/'>Need for Speed by http://www.flickr.com/people/bpatrickphotography/'>Brian Noneya, on Flickr

and this

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/3478138941/'>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/3478138941/'>Stare by http://www.flickr.com/people/bpatrickphotography/'>Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

But then I shot this on a iPhone 4S:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/7936456950/'>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/7936456950/'>Wind in the Hair by http://www.flickr.com/people/bpatrickphotography/'>Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

and I used a GoPro for this:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/9329567717/'>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpatrickphotography/9329567717/'>Chill by http://www.flickr.com/people/bpatrickphotography/'>Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

Sorry for the rant. I just want to emphasize that it's more important to know how to use the camera you have, whichever that may end up being, and that really any camera will work well- even used 6 year old ones.

[ninjamyst]

Quibids is a scam. Don't go to Target or Best Buy. Amazon, adorama, B & H are good vendors. Has she looked into micro 4/3rds? Olympus EPL-5 is niiiiiiice.

[1.0reef]

Quibids is a scam. Don't go to Target or Best Buy. Amazon, adorama, B & H are good vendors. Has she looked into micro 4/3rds? Olympus EPL-5 is niiiiiiice.

 

I'm doing all the 'boring" work, she wants a good camera lol, that one definitely looks nice.

Any low end Canon or Nikon will do just fine. It's all about 2 things though, getting good glass, and knowing what to do with it. For example, I could tell my friend to go out and buy Radions, MP10s, the best skimmer and dosers, but unless he knows about tanks and what to do he will be quite frustrated. Maybe not that great of an analogy, but to get good photos, you need a basic understanding of photography, ie the exposure triangle.

 

Back to cameras. What about used? KEH is very reputable. I've bought a Mamiya RB67 off there a couple years back. KEH has a used Canon 10D, which will still make killer photos for $105. I paid $1,500 for mine back in 2004. I used a Canon 10D for this:

 

Frog in the weeds by Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

and this:

 

Need for Speed by Brian Noneya, on Flickr

and this

 

Stare by Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

But then I shot this on a iPhone 4S:

 

Wind in the Hair by Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

and I used a GoPro for this:

 

Chill by Brian Noneya, on Flickr

 

Sorry for the rant. I just want to emphasize that it's more important to know how to use the camera you have, whichever that may end up being, and that really any camera will work well- even used 6 year old ones.

 

 

Target is over priced. b&h Photo has a much better deal on the t3i, they're also a major name online retailer.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/753762-REG/Canon_5169B003_EOS_Rebel_T3i_Digital.html?sub=cpw&sid=cpw-12927998

 

Also, this website is great for shopping camera prices. There is a mirror site for nikon's stuff.

 

The t4i to t3i had some upgrades, the t5i to t4i had very little to no upgrades on the body. The major difference between the t4i and t5i is the kit lens, 18-55 was much improved. With that being said, a copy of lightroom would probably be a much better investment than the t5i given the current 300$ difference in pricing.

 

Note on the canonpricewatch site, you can click the item link (not the link to the seller) to bring up a price history like this: which can be very handy.

 

The t3i w/ a 18-55 kit lens should be able to do 90% of what she wants to do. It's not a telephoto lens, but you can pick up a 50-250 for <150$ later.

 

There's no question you can buy more expensive gear, but there's not much of a point until she figures out that 1) she likes it, 2) she'll spend time with it, and 3) she can identify what she doesn't like about it.

Scam? Things generally sell for 90% off. However, generally people pay 1000% or retail after you figure in the price of the bids. 100$ item, sells for 10$, at a 1$ per penny per bid, that's 1,000$ people have paid in bids. It's possible to come out ahead if you are lucky, it's also possible to win the lotto. That doesn't mean you are coming out ahead by doing it.

Thanks! My brother says to look into older cameras, amazing pictures!

 

Absolutely...it's all about getting good glass.

 

FWIW, we're a "Canon house"...Renee shoots with a 5D Mk Iand I've been using an old 3xxD digital rebel (I forget if it's a 300 or 350)...the old silver body one. It's the lenses that add up tho...Renee loves th

I,

e L-series glass.

 

Thanks!

Anything from Canon or Nikon is good. Costco has decent packages if you don't want to do any research. You'll get the kit lens and a subpar telephoto lens to get started.

 

The lenses are what will make or break the pictures, not the body.

 

Will they have them in anything under 12 packs? I'll tell her that lenses make or break the pics, thanks

Im pretty sure the Fuji DSLRs are Nikons. They can use Nikon F mounts and Zeiss ZF.2s if she likes, the Fuji F mounts that is.

 

Make sure the site she was looking at was not a scam site or scam vendor.

 

Adorama or B&H are reputable vendors, and no sales tax, thats like a 9% savings right there.

 

For the Nikon low end kits like you linked to, Costco usually has them for a good price, But youre going to pay Jerry, as you will at Target.

 

Oh, and remind her that if she does buy her camera from New York, it is ethical to declare her purchases as use tax on next Aprils Return.

 

Quibids is a scam site. Any site where you buy your bids is a scam site. They have shill bidders that bid against you to make it cost more than retail, and they get paid by your purchased bids, when the item sells to the shill bidder. Let me ask it this way, can you post an item on Quibids for sale, Like EBay?

Thanks!

[seabass]

I've heard good things about Fugifilm cameras, I think Seabass likes them

Never used one, don't know much about them. However, I just got a Canon S120 this week (basically a high end compact point and shoot with decent manual controls). I really like it so far. It's definitely not a DSLR (with its smallish sensor and a fixed lens); however, it is a definite step up from a typical P&S. The Canon G16 is a larger, (slightly) better version of the S120. I think the Canon G16 would do a competent job for macro pics and typical photos; however, it only has a 5x optical zoom (if zoom is important).

 

Another option is a larger sensor compact like the Sony RX100. Some say it's the best in class. Again, not a DSLR, but the larger sensor will provide good image quality. The nice thing about point and shoots are that they are familiar to most people (have a fast learning curve), and are convenient to travel with.

 

Then again, there are mirrorless system cameras. They are compact but still have interchangeable lenses and large sensors. That might be a good compromise and their prices are becoming more reasonable too. This really might be the best fit if she really doesn't want a true point and shoot. It's really about what she will be comfortable using, carrying, and buying.

 

Yes, I'm discussing everything but what she says that she actually wants. Partially because I'm not that familiar with DSLRs, and partially because I know people that got them and didn't take to them (they were either too bulky to carry around, or they never learned how to best use them). Turns out they just wanted to take better pictures in a way that was familiar to them. Sometimes JPEG files from a P&S are good enough. That said, (if you know what you're doing) you can't beat the quality of a good DSLR with a quality lens.

 

/middleofthenightramble

[Cameron6796]

Mega pixels aren't everything my sis just got an amazing nikon its great it has 24.6 active pixels ... However her friend is a professional and his camera is on12.6 mega pixels and a lot of his pics look just as good if not better . Another example just like above is my sisters camera against my iphone or ipad. Iphone with 8mp and ipad 5mp but still I can pull of some crazy shots... There are other factors like aperture and lenses

[Veng]

Mega pixels aren't everything my sis just got an amazing nikon its great it has 24.6 active pixels ... However her friend is a professional and his camera is on12.6 mega pixels and a lot of his pics look just as good if not better . Another example just like above is my sisters camera against my iphone or ipad. Iphone with 8mp and ipad 5mp but still I can pull of some crazy shots... There are other factors like aperture and lenses

You can put 100MP of a fuzzy image and it's still a fuzzy image. Your 1080p HD TV only has 2mp, let that sink in a little bit.