mister crabs Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 just wondering what you guys use to take pictures of your tanks? and for those of you more esriously into photography what kind of cameras have you tried and/or found to be the best bang for the buck? I want to buy a good camera but my wife wants to make sure that its good enough for her new side business of photographing weddings. we were looking at the canon rebel xt. anyone use this? how is it if so? any better buys out there for under $1000.00? (scratch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 just wondering what you guys use to take pictures of your tanks? and for those of you more esriously into photography what kind of cameras have you tried and/or found to be the best bang for the buck? I want to buy a good camera but my wife wants to make sure that its good enough for her new side business of photographing weddings. we were looking at the canon rebel xt. anyone use this? how is it if so? any better buys out there for under $1000.00? (scratch) I would do much research online, get magazines from library for reviews and would suggest buying a more advanced camera than the basic if you're going to use it for wedding photos as well! I have a DX70 Nikon and have done a few weddings and wish I had a better one than that, but I have done it as favors. Camera was basically for personal use and people like what I've done. You'll want to get some extremely decent lenses for low light and better flashes. Make sure the camera will work for those, otherwise you'll be selling it and just buying a better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 CANON XTi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 canon xti is what i was looking at....have looked at a few nikons.....but dont see any real advantages of them over the canon. still researching though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 there have been some really good buys on them, with extra lens to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 XTi...be wary.... http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=713715&up=713225 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 There are a couple of threads in here talking about camera selection, from back when Stacey was looking to replace hers. Worth a look... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 why be wary vanz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 why be wary vanz? Price seem too good to be true?? i dunno. I heard B&H had a problem with the XTi...they made a pricing mistake and thousands of people tried to capitalize on it, it was just a few days ago that this happened. It was priced below 500 i think. They didn't honor the mistake though. I'm sure someone got fired for it. Do some research...never ordered from the link I posted. So look around and see if it's legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 The ads i saw where local a week ago, with extra 75-300 lens Great camera around $900- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 You might get a personal side by side comparison. Go to an actual camera shop and setup different brand/cameras you like identically, and shoot some pictures. Shoot a friend, shoot objects out the door away from fluorescence etc. I think most digital SLRs are using Compact Flash, so take one of your own to shoot with. (might need 2? Don't know if a card formatted in a Nikon will work in a Canon). Take note on picture numbers for which camera and compare on your own computer/printer, and especially print at somewhere like Pro Photo Supply (or the like in your area), where they actually look at the pictures before printing on high quality paper and printers. Costco vs Pro Photo are like night and day! I'll never print at Costco again after comparing photos I was sending in to a contest. A wedding I was asked to shoot at last minute with my Nikon D70, though the pictures weren't all perfect, were crisper with better lighting and colors compared to the other guy shooting with a Canon Rebel digital SLR. I was appalled months later when I saw his pictures in the album he sent our cousin. It made me want to charge for mine, but I couldn't do that to family. Not that I'm pushing for Nikon, especially since the main board cost me $215 to repair out of warranty, I'm just saying you can prove to yourself on what is best by seeing the results firsthand. With the money spent on this sort of setup, you want to be sure. I would have to say, wedding photography can be tricky, especially with lighting since you cannot set that up beforehand….you have to go with the flow. Often, a photographer isn’t even allowed to come close to the alter…trust me on this one….my own wedding was like that. For your sake of shooting your tank, a good zoom is essential. I had to use my own gear to shoot jewelry for web and display boards/marketing material at my last job….it was hell without a zoom and I still can’t shoot for $H!T in my own tank without one. For the best camera shops, go where professional photographers go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCCP Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 well personally i have 2 cameras one Olympus e-300 and other one nikon D80 just came out body only you can get for under 999$ olympus i'm selling i posted links on clissified threads you can looke it up but personally what i noticed is that it's all depends what kind of lens you are using, my advice get the best lens you can afford. but it's camera have it's own better sides, i like olympus because it has self cleaning mode, so you dont need to spend no $$$$ to do so like with nikons, i cold of gotten myself another camera for the money i spend on clening them. UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 That lens sucks. So does the kit lens that is the 18-55 3.5f. The Rebel is a good line of camera, whether it be one of the older ones an xt, or an XTi, but the kit lenses are that cheap for a reason. If she is serious about shooting wedding go with a rebel, but the minium lens your going to be able to get away with is the 24-85mm 3.5 and even that is kind of a stretch but the price of $400 is much less then the industry standard lens which is the 24-70mm f 2.8 Using a lessor lens shooting a wedding can present problems with clarity, ability to focus in low light, and over all image quailty. The optics are just not there. Your gonna get yourself sued shooting weddings if you don't pick up a good lens. They sell a 50mm fixed f 1.8 lens for under a undred tht is alos nice, but not as cool as the 1.4. The optics are different as well as a stop short. I've used the Nikon D1X and the Fuji S3 and was happier with the rebel overall for color quality and the ability to edit and blow up images. Skin tones seem to be better on the Rebel, after you switch the parameter setting to Parameter 2 so the contrast and brightness is not altered in camera. I also recommend shooting on Adobe R G B on any of the forementioned cameras. I do like the Nikon better in lower light scenario's but the Cannon line overall. The XT is a good camera and fairly durable IME. I have taken over 200,000 pics with mine with no problems. If you can't guess I'm a photographer to pay the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCCP Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 pledosophy, i think everything you mentioned up there is way off the budget he was talking about, what he needs a good camera and some micro/zoom lens. i dont think he needs all that to snap some pictures of a coral, now you can looked up all the micro shots i took with my e-300 even thought it's not one of those profesional cameras but it does the job anyway and you dont need to buy all that equipmant to take pictures like that, well that's if you know what u are doing. here you can look at the shots with e-300 http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1572 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCCP Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 like i said body of the camera play's only 50% of the pictures quality, rest is the lens you are using, you can get lens from 200$ to few grand. depends on what can u afford. and if you took some pictures and you need some toch ups to do , use photoshop and change everything from WB to colors, harpness ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 pledosophy' date=' i think everything you mentioned up there is way off the budget he was talking about, what he needs a good camera and some micro/zoom lens. i dont think he needs all that to snap some pictures of a coral,....[/quote'] He said his wife was wanting to use it for shooting weddings as well.....that is where if you want word of mouth to get around, you better be prepared to do it right to make a living...unless you're me and do things as a favor...even at that, I'm not always happy with all the results. Some yes, and get compliments that mine are better than what people paid thousands for, but I'm also not doing this for a living or side $ either. If I was, I would go buy an awesome lens and bigger flash packages for the next wedding I'm asked to shoot. (even a higher end camera maybe). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCCP Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 well if his wife wants a camera to shoot weddings, she needs to spend more than a grand on it because she will only pay a grand for the body only, than she needs good lens because sock lenses suck big B*lls ,flashes, extra batteries,tripod, bunch of memory cards ect. and all than costs alot of $$$$$$$$$ and for under 1000 you can only get so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCCP Posted November 12, 2006 Share Posted November 12, 2006 Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI vs D80 Digital Camera Cannon This is an outstanding D-SLR Option for shoppers on a budget. Not only does this professional-grade shooter have an extraordinary list of features, its also very light and provides high resolution 10-megapixel sensor. Perhaps most notably, the Rebel XTi is relatively cheap. It costs $799(list) for the body only, and $899 for the camera with a kit lens, although its only an 18-to-55mm lens-not the most spectacular of Canon’s optical offerings. One interesting feature is a hardware-based automatic sensor-cleaning system that physically vibrates the Rebel XTi’s imaging sensor and literally knocks dust off it. The XTi also uses an inventive spot-detection function, which Canon calls “ Dust Delete Data,” to help remove blemishes from messy images. When I compared it with the Nikon D80, I found the Rebel XTi to have very good performance and excellent image quality. It did produce a slight color cast in my daylight tests, and I also noticed that the images had a bid more noicse than those from the Nikon D80. Overall, however, the Rebel XTi provided excellent dynamic range and contrast. Colors were vibrant and the images very sharp. I was also pleased that it’s resolution averaged 1,900 lines, which is right on target for a 10mp camera. The Rebel XTi’s 0.6-second boot-up time was lightning-fast, and its’ .8-second recycle time was almost equally impressive. Like other D-SLRs I’ve tested, it has virtually no shutter lag, which makes it ideal for shooting action scenes. The 28-to-135mm zoom lens Canon provided (which is not the kit lens, but a lens more closely comparable with the D80’s) had just a touch of pincushion distortion, along with a bit of the usual barrel distortion I tend to see in these lenses. Simply put, the Canon Rebel XTi gives you the most D-SLR bang for your buck. D80 Excellent Performance, Awesome image quality, a long zoom lens-what’s not to like about the Nikon d80 (except perhaps it’s high sticker price)? The 999$ list price covers only the camera body; dropping 1299$ nets you a very fine 18-to-135mm lens, the primary one is used in the tests. The D80’s menu structure is similar to what you’d find on other Nikon shooters suck as the D50 and the D200-decent, but not as intuitive or attractive as the new graphical interface on the Canon EOS Digital Revel XTi. Nikon, however, has taken some ideas from its’ goolpixline of cameras, including a consumer-friendly pictmotion feature that adds music and other effects to slide shows. Boasting a 10-megapixel sensor and eq1uipped with a powerful 7.5x optical zoom lens, the camera takes great pictures. My daylight and flash still life test shots produced images that had excellent accurate color. The near-instantaneous boot-up and recycle time 0.6 seconds each were also impressive and I saw no shutter lag. Resolution averaged 1900 lines, which is just right for a 10mp camera. Burst mode performance was exemplary, too. In JPEG burst mode, the D80 turned in around 80 images without stalling, at a consistent clip of 2.5 pictures per second. I was able to capture a total of 339 JPEG’s in 140 seconds on a 1GB SD memory card. This worked out to about 2.4 shots per second, quicker than the rate of the Digital Rebel XTi, which captured images at around 2 shots per second. In RAW burst mode, I was able to get 127 shots in 125 seconds on the SD card, almost exactly one picture every second ( again, slightly faster than the XTi). And I created 86 RAW+JPEG shots in 125 seconds, confirming that burst mode allows for one photo in just 1.5 seconds at this quality. Besides swift performance, the D80 offers more RAW+JEPG capture options and JPEG sizes than does the digital rebel XTi. The D80’s big 10 mp resolution, 7.5x optical zoom, strong performance, and suite of powerful features make it a sure Editor’s Choice. What’s more it lets you grow as a photographer as you acquire more lenses, accessories, and skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Decisions, decisions One thing I know about the Nikon D70, is you can take quite a few pictures in a row with no hickups as long as you're not having focusing issues. I cannot take good photos of our cousins night races, but that is tough considering the speed he's driving and the lighting. The battery life is incredible as well, but I always carry a fully charged backup...you learn for your mistakes....along with memory cards as well. Let us know what you end up buying.... the under $1000 mark is tough unless you buy used. I know they make a great model that will even do the dishes for around $15,000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spayne Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 I personally love my Canon XTi. Not happy with the kit lens that came with it though, but I have gotten some decent shots with it. If I were to do it again I would have just bought the body with a better lens. From what I've gathered, it's all about the lens with DSLRs. Definitely do your research. Here's a site with lens reviews for you: http://www.fredmiranda.com/ I don't regret purchasing the Canon at all. I was between the Nikon D80 and the XTi. I went with Canon because it was cheaper. And well loved... just like the Nikon's are well loved. You can't go wrong with either one as far as I'm concerned. Especially if you get a great lens to go with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 We have the XT 8.2 and love it we have had Nikon. We shoot a lot of pic's of the grandkids, and want the best color and detail. I bought a 75 300 canon stablied lens, spendy, but way cool, saving up for a good macro. We have been canon fans for years. If you put it in sport mode, you can shoot in low light without flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 probably will be going with the canon.....cant beat the price. The kit lens will work for a couple of months till we can start spending the $ on addl' lenses. We have multiple camera sticks for our old camera which is a sony cybershot. they are the long sony stick variety but i heard there is an adapter you can buy which looks like the other style of more square memory sticks and the sony ones can slide into it so it can be used in other cameras. anyone seen these or tried em? I wasn to use our existing sticks if possible since three of em are 1gb sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Sell the sticks on Criagslist and buy a compact flash card. Get another at Xmas sales time when they have some great deals. I couldn't imagine having to dangle an adapter from the camera...would get in the way and likely fall off when bumping into your body....not worth the loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 not so much an external adapter as it is a sleeve that the sony sticks slide into and its shaped like a compact flash card so it goes into the camera like a standard one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 You can get the compact flash cards for a few bucks on black friday! Just look at my thread and there should probably be several stores stocking them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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