More photo stuff...

[bovil]

I need a dSLR.

Attempting to shoot at Obon pointed out some of the limitations in my camera. I like my S3, but it just couldn't do what I wanted.

The big problem?

Well, the tightest it could crank the aperture down was F/8. Normally that wouldn't be a big problem, F/8 can provide plenty of depth-of-field. I didn't care about depth-of-field, though. I wanted to set a relatively long exposure time so I could get some blur on the hands and the bachi moving, but in the bright sunlight I was overexposing at anything less than 1/250.

Not gonna work.

Mind you, I would have probably still needed a good strong neutral density filter to do that, even with a dSLR. I can't even put a filter on the S3 without going out and buying an adapter.

So yeah, it's probably dSLR time.

Comments

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

You don't want to hit F16 or above anyway, due to diffraction limit, well, unless you have to.

All the "low end" dSLRs are pretty damn amazing now. Budget $600 to $1000 and you are good to go. I am partial to Olympus (best point: built in IS with E520/E3) or Nikon myself, but really can't go wrong with any per se. Find one that fits your hands.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

Forgot about that. Haven't shot anything besides p/s and the super-zoom in years, and diffraction was never an issue with film for me (particularly medium format).

I'll probably stick with Canon; I'm well familiar with their menu structure, and the new Rebel XSi is very slick. I'll look at Olympus and Nikon too, though.

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

Oh right, forgot you are a "Canon-man" :-) The various dRebels have been the best selling dSLRs for years, so certainly, it's very good and highly rated too.

[howeird]

difraction limit? I thought that was a problem with wider f-stops on film. Will have to look into it, thanks for the clue.

[rebecca817.livejournal.com]

I love my Nikon D40X. I think you saw it at CC26. The deal I got through Ritz was the D40X plus two lenses, camera bag, we paid extra and got the club thingy, took classes but I love my camera.

[howeird]

I'm selling my Nikon D80 now that I have the D300. Let me know if you want to try it out, even if it's just to compare to Canon. I have a decent zoom for it, 28-200 non-VR Nikor.

Also, if you're doing photos for rodeo, I'd be happy to help again if I survive Denvention.

[jadecat9.livejournal.com]

I'm all Canon, but only because I've been using Canon since I was what? 10? (with my old AE-1!!)

Having said that, all of the prosumer cameras out there are pretty much on par with each other, whether it be Canon, Nikon, Olympus, or any of the others.

Lenses, however, are different.
Canon usually has a wider variety of lenses than Nikon (but that's normally a matter of opinion with some folks).

I think Nikon has some awesome flashes (SB-series rocks!), which I'll buy for off-camera stuff (ala strobist)

It's a matter of trying out the body to see what fits better in your hand and how intuitive the menu options are (ease of use of buttons, etc)

I've heard Canon uses say they like the intuitveness of the Nikon menus, but I digress.

If you want to play with my 5D, we can probably hook up with R and do a testing day.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

What Jade said.

And if you'd like, you can try out my Nikon D80 and see how you like the feel of it.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

What size adapter do you need? If my old one from the deceased S1 IS will fit, you're welcome to it.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

It's probably the same adapter that the S1 and S2 use.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Well, if it is, you're welcome to mine--it doesn't fit the one that they sent me to replace the dead camera. Let me look around and figure out where I put it, and I'll drop it by.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

This article, Depth Of Field - Demystifying the Confusion looks pretty good. I particularly like the pictures he took at different f/stops of two rulers at different angles. Basically a higher f/stop costs you, but the blurriness is equal across the entire image, while the blurriness from a lower f/stop can be much greater for objects that are out of focus. It depends on what you want to do. But if you want to channel Edward Weston or Akira Kurosawa, I'd say don't be afraid to go to f/64. Of course, we might have to wait a bit for the large format view cameras to be available in digital.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

DoF I know really well. I used to shoot with a camera that only had distance-scale focusing.

Diffraction was never an issue when I was shooting film (really fine-grain b/w and/or medium format). It is with small-sensor cameras (which is why my Superzoom doesn't go down below f/8).

$

[aekai.livejournal.com]

Gel filters and duct tape are an effective, low cost and nerdy looking option.