First DSLR…
- This topic has 15 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated Aug 26, 2008 at 1:29 am by
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I am looking to make the plunge into the DSLR world, and I’m looking for a little advise from some of you guys with a bit of experience.
I own an Olympus E500… love it, even if it is a bit crude… but at the price, it does what it needs to…
The E520 has all the features and depending on whom you buy from, you can get multiple lenses, also price adjusted… however, at the price you can go made and if at a later date, you want to go large, then upgrade… however, with all the features, you will battle to let it out of your hands…
Just my 2 Zimbabwean Cents…
I promise, this is the last time I will say this !
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I am looking to make the plunge into the DSLR world, and I’m looking for a little advise from some of you guys with a bit of experience. I have looked at the Nikon D40, but I’m not sure that’s a great choice since it does not have the auto-focus motor in the body. I really don’t want to drop the coin on the D80 which seems to be the next logical choice, so I was thinking about trying to pick up a D70 or D70s. Any thoughts? I would really like to keep my initial purchase low and then plan to spend $$ on glass in the future. Tell me what you guys think.
-Mark L.
D70s is a GREAT body… and it has a remote release.. which is the primary reason IMHO to purchase over the D70…
You’ve got to spend some time with it but the d40/d40x/d60 isn’t that bad. You can change the quality/size, white balance, iso, shooting modes, auto focus modes, metering modes, and flash modes from the rear screen without opening the menus. Not as nice as having dedicated switches or buttons (you do get one custom function button) but if a small camera is what you want it’s more than workable.
In the menus themselves you can strip them down in your own custom views where only the things you need are visible unless you switch back to full view.
I think it’s a good tool. You might find the lack of an auto focus motor to not be as big of a deal as you first think it’ll be, especially if you plan on using mostly newer lenses. Considering I mostly mate mine with either a 12-24 or 24-85 AFS for general use it’s kind of nice to not have to lug the weight of TWO auto focus motors around on the water…
I’m not afraid to use the d40x with older manual focus primes either which can make for a really slick/light set up. You’ve got no metering at all that way but I’d use the histogram more than the actual meter for that kind of photography and with a understanding of the “sunny 16” rule I find it pretty easy to get correct exposures from the start anyway.
Non AFS auto focus lenses meter but do not auto focus.
They aren’t weather sealed but they feel a lot sturdier than the bottom of the line offerings from the competition.
You’ve got to spend some time with it but the d40/d40x/d60 isn’t that bad. You can change the quality/size, white balance, iso, shooting modes, auto focus modes, metering modes, and flash modes from the rear screen without opening the menus. Not as nice as having dedicated switches or buttons (you do get one custom function button) but if a small camera is what you want it’s more than workable.
In the menus themselves you can strip them down in your own custom views where only the things you need are visible unless you switch back to full view.
I think it’s a good tool. You might find the lack of an auto focus motor to not be as big of a deal as you first think it’ll be, especially if you plan on using mostly newer lenses. Considering I mostly mate mine with either a 12-24 or 24-85 AFS for general use it’s kind of nice to not have to lug the weight of TWO auto focus motors around on the water…
I’m not afraid to use the d40x with older manual focus primes either which can make for a really slick/light set up. You’ve got no metering at all that way but I’d use the histogram more than the actual meter for that kind of photography and with a understanding of the “sunny 16” rule I find it pretty easy to get correct exposures from the start anyway.
Non AFS auto focus lenses meter but do not auto focus.
They aren’t weather sealed but they feel a lot sturdier than the bottom of the line offerings from the competition.
Yeah, I’m probably biased.. if I can’t operate a SLR/DSLR within a couple of minutes I get frustrated.. I guess I expect everything to be approximately where it was on a FF SLR… if I have to change a setting I want to do it someplace on the body (preferably NOT where my face is while I’m composing).. I do not like to take the camera away from my eye… Those darn command dials are the best thing since autofocus…
Regarding metering of F mount lenses on Nikon Bodies… you want to BE SURE that you look up the lens in one of NIKON’s tables before you make any metering assumptions…
I’ve gone back and forth a few times on my opinion of that camera, I’m with you on how nice it is to have a switch for everything, I’ve finally gotten to were I can work quickly with it though and the size is awesome when you’re hauling it around somewhere.
I’ve gone back and forth a few times on my opinion of that camera, I’m with you on how nice it is to have a switch for everything, I’ve finally gotten to were I can work quickly with it though and the size is awesome when you’re hauling it around somewhere. I’ll probably get a d300 when they start going for cheap, I’d get a d200 right now but the battery life just seems terrible and I’m bad about keeping stuff charged up.. I’ll probably keep the 40x too though; it’s just so nice for taking on a hike or whatever.
Agreed on the size.. even with a kit lens it’s small and light.. and I was VERY VERY impressed with image quality and functionality… if you were going to pick that or a P & S.. the D40 wins by miles and miles…
My Mother-in-Law has one.. and except for one of us confusing her by mounting an 18-200 VR on it.. she took some of the best shots.. good action shots.. etc.. Nikon for sure has a winner there.. if you want a well priced capture device and want to let the camera do it’s thing.. it works well…
I wish they hadn’t ever stopped putting aperture rings on the lenses but I guess that’s a different story.
I wish they hadn’t ever stopped putting aperture rings on the lenses but I guess that’s a different story.
Embrace the Command Dial.. Embrace it…
I agree with the reply that Carter made at 10:30 a.m. I would also add that far to much emphasis is put on the body and lens, yes, I said lens as well. Bottom line, museums, galleries, private collections and so on are full of collectable photographs, including Pulitzer prize photographs, that were taken with what we would consider to be inferior to today’s equipment. Don’t get me wrong, good glass is very important but it is not the one thing that makes an average photograph great, it is 100% the user/photographer, good glass just makes it more consistent and easier in a lot of different conditions. I have seen, in other places on the Internet, where the photograph was judged completely on how sharp the image was. In a lot of those cases, it was not the camera or lens as much as it was the fact that the photographer got a good capture and simply slid the clarity way up in post edit and hit it with and unsharpen mask layer, the final images are sharper than what the naked eye could see at the shoot but for some reason, many consider that the defining quality of an image.
If I went out and purchased a pair of “Air Jordan shoes”, I know that the NBA would still turn me down. Goes to prove that the skill is much more important than the equipment. Everything has an application and has a more practical use, dependent upon the needs and demands from the equipment. If you want to force yourself into learning how to become a good photographer and learn how to use a camera properly, get the D40x. If you want to increase your learning curve about the technical end of photography get the D40x. If your goal is to have some of your photographs published, get the D40x. If you want to capture some amazing shots, get the D40x but study more about lighting and how to control it. If you want the bells and whistles, upgrade to another body. The bells and whistles are great and for professional assignments, they save the photographer a great deal of time and increase the potential of getting the shot when timing is imperative. By going straight to the most convenient and automated type of equipment, a great amount of skill and knowledge may not be acquired, the same tolls that allows one to maximize the potential of great photographs. Main thing, don’t let the bells and whistles force the photographer to become lazy in setting up the shot or in taking a shot.
I can promise you this: If you go for the D40 with decent glass, then learn more about photography than just how a camera is made. The images from that camera would blow many from the upper end cameras away. Again, it is the photographers acquired skill and knowledge of more than just their equipment, the equipment has no soul.
You may want to upgrade later but it is not something that you would have to do.
Hey Carter, It is kind of hard to answer the question completely because almost everything in digital can be proven correct or wrong. The main thing is the fact that more mp does provide more data. For large poster size commercial applications and larger 28-50mp is more logical and also justifies the $39,000.00 price tags. As you know, 10mp is going to provide more data than 6mp but not to long ago, many cover shots, full page spreads and even double truckers were shot with 4mp (They looked great!). In the case of 6-10mp, very little to no stretching is required. Both would have to be stretched to reach a 20X30” print though and dependent upon the bicubic softening tool used, little to no difference would be noticed. A plugin tool like “Genuine Fractals” is great for this purpose and even an enlargement up to 700% is most often very clean and crisp. Laying the 2 20X30” prints, side by side, it would be very hard to notice any difference between the 2. The bad thing about all of the reviews and analysis by many on the internet is the fact that they will blow an image up by 700-1000% and then compare them to each other, with out any use of bicubic softeners so, of course there will be a huge variance but to the naked eye, I don’t think anyone would be able to tell which camera shot which print.
The other thing about prints is the fact that printers only print up to 300dpi or ppi. You are absolutely correct that your cousin would not notice any difference in normal sized prints and if the Internet images were in SRGB, again, no difference would be noticed. Take a look at the new pictures that Neal Osborn posted in the Macro thread, I think they were shot with a D40 (my mistake, it is a D50) but instead of upgrading the camera, he invested in much better off camera lighting, made all of the difference in the world and that is where the art of photography really is, in the use and understanding of lighting. I strongly recommend to anyone new to photography: A decent entry-level body, good to prime lenses and most definitely off camera lighting and intense study of lighting before ever thinking of up grading, which would not be necessary.
I also agree with the sensor cleaning feature, just more that can go wrong with the camera and it actually functions from a vibration caused by an introduce low frequency.
Caveat to all of this: For professional use, the mp and size of the individual mp’s are very important, as they store more real data and less interpreted data when stretched beyond 100%. Fashion photography is very demanding for very sharp, crisp and true data so, more mp is very important for several reasons. Currently; Getty, Almay and several of the larger publishers have a 12mp minimum but keep in mind that many of these images may be used in very large print and some are even used in derivatives (which demands even more true data to be present), the other thing is that the Art Directors and GA’s desire more data as it makes it easier for them in post edit and design applications. I would submit this though: If one photographer took the exact same shots with any of the DX format cameras and was allowed typical digital darkroom post processing, then printed all of the shots at normal magazine full page size, I don’t think any person would be able to tell which print had the less mp’s and which had the most.
IMHO Carter, your advice is very sound and also allows your cousin the leverage of both purchasing and learning lights to capture some amazing shots of the newborn[ch9786].
In reference to the “Genuine Fractals” plugin. I got a D80 for a girlfriend in the Baltic and decided to test it here first, before taking it to her. An authorized Adobe Training center was interested in it and it now hangs on their wall @ 17” x 35” with no distortion. The different light sources created different Kelvin, hence the title of the photograph [ch9786]
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