Camera discussion

[Vash01]

I didn't mean this to be a poll. Somehow the board is forcing me to do it and I don't know how to get out of it.

What kind of camera(s) do you have? What level photographer are you? Is photography your hobby or profession?

The only way to get out of this is to create a pseudo poll and make it expire in one hour. That's what I am doing, so please don't get frustrated if you cannot participate. I may create a regular thread later, or I may not.

ETA: Once this 'poll' has expired, I will create a regular thread on this topic.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I took my first photography class in high school, over 20 years ago and have loved photography since. I took lots of community recreational classes over the years and continue to read books and are in several online photography communities that offer fun, support, and amazing classes/tips. I'm by no means a professional but it's a serious hobby for me, serious enough where I make sure to budget in $$$$ for classes and glass. I currently own Nikon DSLR, Canon DSLR, Nikon CoolPix baby SLR, and Canon Elph.

I have had Nikons and Canon. I think Nikon might possibly take better pictures than Canons but to me it's negligble, like say out of 1 to 10 with 1 being not noticable to 10 as a dead person will notice, I'd say it's at 1.5. I like how Canon pictures come out "creamier", smoother, I guess would be a better word. I used a beginner Nikon DSLR for several years and then bought a Canon and love it even more. The Canon is a bit smaller so it fits my hands better. Both are pretty intuitive but again, for some reason the Canon flows quicker for my mind and fingers. The overall feel of the Canon just seemed like a better fit.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one. Study it and practice practice practice. Glass can get super expensive, even more than the body, but nothing will beat a photographer with excellent composition/exposure/timing skills.

 

[Reuven]

I've been shooting since I could hold my parents' Brownie box camera in the antideluvian days. Been shooting Nikon for about three decades now. Currently using a D7100. Some of my stuff can be seen here. For glass I use a Sigma 17-70mm most of the time. Also use a Tamron 70-300mm, Nikon 35mm 1.8 and a Nikon 50mm 1.8.

 

[Vash01]

Checking to see if this thread is still alive. I had placed a one hour lifetime on it

Looks like the lifetime is for the poll only but the discussion is still active so carry on

 

[Vash01]

I have been using point and shoot cameras for quite sometime, after digital cameras entered the market. In the old days I had a Minolta with two lenses which I used to interchange depending on what I wanted to photograph. Currently I have a Nikon Coolpix which serves me well but I would like to enter the world of DSLR. From discussions on Amazon.com it seems Nikon DSLR 3300 is a good camera for a beginner. So I am thinking of buying it. However, I have an Alaska trip coming up in a month now, and I may not be able to master the camera in such a short time. So I am considering buying a plug gap Nikon with 38x zoom, which is much easier to learn.

When my schedule allows it, I would like to take a class in digital photography to learn all the intricacies, using just the DSLR 3300. I may never want to buy a fancier camera because I am not a very hands on person.

Interestingly, as a photolithography engineer early in my career I worked on steppers, which are like HUGE cameras that print circuits on a silicon wafer. They automated though, so it was easy to get large amount of focus and exposure data for best results. Working with a hand held camera could be much more challenging.

 

[sk8pics]

I have a Nikon DSLR, with an 80-200 mm/ 2.8 lens and a 300 mm lens / 4 (I think). And a small lens that is pretty average. Photography is a hobby for me though I have sold a few photos in my day. I did their engagement photo for friends of mine but I don't usually like to do portrait type shots.

My iPhone6 takes amazingly good pictures and most of the pictures from my recent trip to Israel were shot with that. I got a couple of pictures that are really beautiful, and had people practically gasping at them, LOL. For one of them, our guide kept telling me for the next 2 days that I had to do something with that photo. Haven't figured out what yet. Maybe I'll save it for a contest or something.

 

[Vash01]

I went ahead and bought the Nikon Coolpix L840 as a stop gap camera. I have a trip coming up at the end of May, and I don't feel that I have enough time to master the DSLR 3300, even though it's considered good for beginners. Also the DSLR is about twice the price of the L840, so I am going to wait for a few months to buy it, and allow myself plenty of time to learn it, instead of rushing. When traveling I like to have two cameras with me. In case one fails I don't have a HUGE disappointment. I definitely want to buy the DSLR though, and fairly soon. I am also planning to pick up an inexpensive waterproof camera because there could be rain at this time in Alaska.

 

[orientalplane]

My iPhone6 takes amazingly good pictures and most of the pictures from my recent trip to Israel were shot with that. I got a couple of pictures that are really beautiful, and had people practically gasping at them, LOL. For one of them, our guide kept telling me for the next 2 days that I had to do something with that photo. Haven't figured out what yet. Maybe I'll save it for a contest or something.

Is it the pink rose picture, or the one of the young man in front of the sea? In fact I noticed how good they all were, even though I didn't see them until the middle of the night.

 

[quartz]

I thought this thread said Camel discussion.......

 

[Vash01]

My i4s has taken really good closeup pictures but for long distance it is inadequate. In St. Petersburg my regular (Olympus) camera died and I couldn't bear being with just my i4s camera. I went to a local shop and bought a Nikon Coolpix 2700. I love the camera but it has only a 6x zoom, so now it will be my secondary camera. After I buy the DSLR, it may drop to #3, but that's in the future.

 

[Reuven]

Nikon makes excellent bridge cameras. The L840 should do well.

 

[Jay42]

I went ahead and bought the Nikon Coolpix L840 as a stop gap camera. I have a trip coming up at the end of May, and I don't feel that I have enough time to master the DSLR 3300, even though it's considered good for beginners. Also the DSLR is about twice the price of the L840, so I am going to wait for a few months to buy it, and allow myself plenty of time to learn it, instead of rushing. When traveling I like to have two cameras with me. In case one fails I don't have a HUGE disappointment. I definitely want to buy the DSLR though, and fairly soon. I am also planning to pick up an inexpensive waterproof camera because there could be rain at this time in Alaska.

For smaller waterproof cameras, take a look at Fuji's more recent XP models. The XP 60 or later for sure. They are under $200 but still good quality. If you can find one of the Nikon AW models those are good too but the AW130 is brand new and over $300. If you can find the AW110 or 120 for a good price it's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

 

[Vash01]

For smaller waterproof cameras, take a look at Fuji's more recent XP models. The XP 60 or later for sure. They are under $200 but still good quality. If you can find one of the Nikon AW models those are good too but the AW130 is brand new and over $300. If you can find the AW110 or 120 for a good price it's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

Our Costco has a nice looking Fuji waterproof camera with 5x for $200 ( I don't remember if it's XP 60 or not), but I have seen lower prices on Amazon.com. I will look up the Nikon AW models you suggested. I may even take a look at Walmart or Target, just in case they have something good for a lower price.

 

[sk8pics]

Is it the pink rose picture, or the one of the young man in front of the sea? In fact I noticed how good they all were, even though I didn't see them until the middle of the night.

The one of the young (actually, he is in his 40's) man by the Sea of Galilee is of our guide, and he did like that picture. But I didn't send you the one he was going on about yet. I'll do that now.

 

[Jay42]

Our Costco has a nice looking Fuji waterproof camera with 5x for $200 ( I don't remember if it's XP 60 or not), but I have seen lower prices on Amazon.com. I will look up the Nikon AW models you suggested. I may even take a look at Walmart or Target, just in case they have something good for a lower price.

It might even be the XP80 which is the newest one. I just wanted to make sure you didn't somehow end up with an XP50 which was widely acknowledged by all my co-workers to be one of the worst waterproof cameras we had ever seen. It's colour quality was so bad. The XP60 fixed all those problems and Fuji's waterproof cameras have been been good since then.

 

[Vash01]

It seems I could get a Fuji XP70 for around $100 on Amazon.com. So quite possibly the one in Costco was XP80. I will need to take a look next time I go there.

The Nikon AW120 cameras were too expensive ($250- $300). I didn't want to spend that much on the waterproof camera because it's not going to be my primary or even secondary camera.

 

[orbitz]

I've own a couple of different canon DSLRs since 2005. I've enjoyed my canon but I do often find the weight of the camera and lenses to be too much for my back to carry. I'm looking to buy the next model of Sony full-frame mirrorless that comes out and use that for my travels.

 

[Vash01]

I've own a couple of different canon DSLRs since 2005. I've enjoyed my canon but I do often find the weight of the camera and lenses to be too much for my back to carry. I'm looking to buy the next model of Sony full-frame mirrorless that comes out and use that for my travels.

The weight of the DSLR plus lenses was a concern for me too, since for my Northern Alaska trip I will be limited to 10-15 pounds total. It's different when I am traveling by car.

 

[Jay42]

It seems I could get a Fuji XP70 for around $100 on Amazon.com. So quite possibly the one in Costco was XP80. I will need to take a look next time I go there.

The Nikon AW120 cameras were too expensive ($250- $300). I didn't want to spend that much on the waterproof camera because it's not going to be my primary or even secondary camera.

I see. Our AW120's had dropped to about $199 before we sold out of them so I wasn't sure. I'm in Canada so our prices are different.

 

[Vash01]

I see. Our AW120's had dropped to about $199 before we sold out of them so I wasn't sure. I'm in Canada so our prices are different.

Which one is a better camera in your opinion- XP70 or AW120?

 

[Jay42]

The AW120 is a bit more advanced. It has a few more settings and it can go a bit deeper in the water and it's probably 1 foot more shockproof. The XP70 has slightly better clarity though because Fuji uses octagonal shaped pixels that fit together better than the standard circular pixels. Colour is fairly equal though and they both only zoom to about 5x optical.

 

[Quintuple]

You probably already know this, but dpreview.com is the bible of digital camera info.

I jumped straight from toy, instant, and 110 cameras in my childhood (including a spy camera) where I had to compromise for the position of the flip-up viewfinder, to a clunky Minolta SLR from the '80s I bought in a thrift store. Never took lessons, never learned from my mom's excellent skills with her Nikon, but somehow I just figured it out. I've never handled a DSLR for more than 3 minutes and for some reason feel like I can't figure them out. It disappointments me when i'm out and about and I see tourists using super expensive DSLRs on auto taking the most boring snapshots ever.

Digitally, I've only ever owned simple Canon point and shoots and have loved them. I have what's considered to be an amazing smartphone camera for an Android, and I hate the photo quality. I read for almost a year tons of reviews before finally deciding on a phone, and I'm disappointed. I think the sweet spot of digital cameras is compacts with a lot of optical zoom, for portability and quality.

 

[Jay42]

People who shoot auto on DLSRs is one of our biggest pet peeves at work. Whenever we come across that we try to suggest to our customers that they shoot in program. It gives more control if you want it but you can still just point the camera and shoot it if you want to. It also keeps the camera from switching into night mode when you are in a low light situation, which is what auto does when you're in lower light.

For DSLRs being tricky to figure out, they definitely can be. That's where the starters come in handy. The Canon Rebel line or the Nikon d3200,3300,5200,5300,5500 are all in that range. I personally find the Nikon cameras are a bit more user friendly. Canon tends to put stuff under 3 different menus and it can get confusing if you don't read the manual.

Smartphone cameras are a tricky beast. The fact that they don't have optical zoom is a huge issue. The sensor size is also an issue. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and the camera is a huge improvement over the S3 and I find my pictures are easily just as good as the iPhone cameras. However my preference is still my DSLR. I can't afford a good point and shoot camera but my phone does alright.

 

[Artemis@BC]

Am I the only Pentax-er here?

I chose Pentax for my first film SLR mostly because the guy I was dating at the time was Pentax, and we could trade lenses. When I moved over to digital, I again went for a Pentax because I could still use the same lenses for manual modes -- though I did invest in a nice new one that would be compatible with the automatic features of the new digital body. The guy is loooong gone, but my love of photography lives on.

Like others, I find size & weight the biggest disadvantage, so tend to only use it for "special event" photo activities. I have a nice Nikon Coolpix for compact point&shoot stuff.

 

[Vash01]

You probably already know this, but dpreview.com is the bible of digital camera info.

I jumped straight from toy, instant, and 110 cameras in my childhood (including a spy camera) where I had to compromise for the position of the flip-up viewfinder, to a clunky Minolta SLR from the '80s I bought in a thrift store. Never took lessons, never learned from my mom's excellent skills with her Nikon, but somehow I just figured it out. I've never handled a DSLR for more than 3 minutes and for some reason feel like I can't figure them out. It disappointments me when i'm out and about and I see tourists using super expensive DSLRs on auto taking the most boring snapshots ever.

Digitally, I've only ever owned simple Canon point and shoots and have loved them. I have what's considered to be an amazing smartphone camera for an Android, and I hate the photo quality. I read for almost a year tons of reviews before finally deciding on a phone, and I'm disappointed. I think the sweet spot of digital cameras is compacts with a lot of optical zoom, for portability and quality.

Thanks for the website. I had never heard of it.

 

[Jay42]

Am I the only Pentax-er here?

I chose Pentax for my first film SLR mostly because the guy I was dating at the time was Pentax, and we could trade lenses. When I moved over to digital, I again went for a Pentax because I could still use the same lenses for manual modes -- though I did invest in a nice new one that would be compatible with the automatic features of the new digital body. The guy is loooong gone, but my love of photography lives on.

Like others, I find size & weight the biggest disadvantage, so tend to only use it for "special event" photo activities. I have a nice Nikon Coolpix for compact point&shoot stuff.

I actually plan on getting the Pentax K3 (or K3 2) when I have the money. It has way more power and capability than the equivalent Nikon but I don't have the money, my brother got me my Nikon as a Christmas gift and he won't spend that much on me again. Not that I blame him. When I do get a Pentax I have a cousin who has some old Pentax lenses that she hasn't been using so I'm going to see if she'll give or sell them to me.

 

[sk8pics]

Interesting discussion. I do still love my Nikon D70 (I had the N70 beforehand so it was a very easy transition) but now for everyday stuff I use my iPhone6. And the pictures I got from it on my recent trip to Israel are really amazing and even the 8x10 I printed of one particularly good shot looks great.

 

[Reuven]

The nice thing about Nikon is that with very few exceptions, every lens made since 1977 will fit on a modern Nikon (with the caveat that some will only work in full manual, or at least, manual focus, depending on the camera model). Older lenses can have adapters installed so they do work.

 

[Vash01]

I unpacked my new Nikon camera this weekend, and took a few pics around the house. It's working! I am excited. It's not as small as the Coolpix 2700 but still OK to handle.

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

I thought this thread said Camel discussion.......

Oh, I'd walk a mile for a discussion....let's see, went through 110 and 126 Instamatics in my teens, had fun with a 120 roll film camera, my first serious one was a Minolta SLR for which I went nuts! Had a fish eye converter attachment, wide angle, regular and telephoto zoom lens, stereo converter for slides, took experimental photos with Infrared Slide and B&W film. Later in my 20s bought a Yashicamat 120 roll film TLR, got a wide-angle and telephoto auxiliary lens set. Then when I finally tossed in the towel and went digital, it was for a Canon Powershot Elph 135. Has 'burst' mode, where I can take 3.3 pictures per second, perfect for sporting events such as when Stars On Ice come to town!