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Advice on first DLSR camera

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Meant to quote myself up there but failed…

D7000 also looks good and is pretty well priced. What did you have again, Oz?

 
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The Nikon D7000?

Good camera for you.

I just didn’t want to rec a Nikon to you when you had a preference for Canon. I was trying to be impartial to that debate! LOL

Honestly a mid level camera is all you need.

As you learn more about digital photography you will want to upgrade so may as well spend less now, But if you don’t end up using it that much or find you are constantly using it on auto then you have’t wasted too much money!

I once again recommend Scott Kilby’s books in his Digital Photography series. And if you end up using it the photoshop ones. Great layman’s terms for newbies

 
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Ha yeah the Nikon D7000. Spaz made the point that learning a DSLR is going to be different to what I’m used to regardless of brand. I’m not that much of a fanboy when it comes to brands lol, but thanks for not trying to push it. Hopefully I can try both brands out soon at the shops.

 
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I’ll check it out. Is it hard copy or online (Scott Kilby books ie)?

 
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NBG - 06 May 2013 06:52 PM

Dan, have a look at the bridge cameras then, I’m starting to lean back to a newer bridge camera, I’m struggling to think of why I would want to go the DLSR over the bridge other than they are quicker to write to the card when you’re banging out continuous shooting of 8-10fps.

I think I’m leaning towards the DSLR still, but I had a quick look and they would be pretty great too. There are so many different types to choose from lol!

 
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spelt it wrong! LOL

Here is the amazon link for the first book. Start with that.

there is a kindle version but just buy the hardcopy. Much easier to bookmark key pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Book-Scott-Kelby/dp/032147404X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1367837294&sr=8-6&keywords=scott+kelby

 
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Dan83 - 06 May 2013 07:20 PM

What did you have again, Oz?

 

I don’t red face

But I only ever had a film SLR (had several in my lifetime) until my current digital point and shoot.

But going to drop the cash on a DSLR very soon so have been doing a lot of research.

 
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Fujifilm is probably the leader in the bridge camera side of things, they have 3 different product lines in this space, all over 16MP and additionally with HD movie recording and continuous drive at 10-11fps and 35mm lens equivalent from 24 to 1000mm and one out to 1200mm. 

There’s so much flexibility in them, I just want to go check one out in store and compare it to the Sony DSLR before I make a decision.

 
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My dad got a fuji bridge camera and it is shit.

Sadly I will never get a fuji camera because of it.

My dad had only ever owned a SLR before then, but decided not to invest in a DSLR.

I took it to Japan for my first trip thinking it would better than my point and shot. I don’t think it was was very disappointed in the photos.

Both of you can check out the photos on fb. (compare them to my recent japan trip where i took my point and shot)

J1 looks good though. But Dan I am in the get a more basic DSLR camp tho (just to be clear) Not sure of the Canon equivalent.

 
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a couple of features I’ll look for next time. GPS inbuilt. How many times do I take a photo with the phone just to capture the location for use later…..
Wifi, maybe,
SD card, yep….

And Dan, I am only speaking about Canon because that’s what we had, and we had that because that’s what we got first, because that’s what we could get if you get my drift.

I have little experience with Nikon personally, but everyone that I know who has them loves them.

My sister dropped hers… it still goes, but the flash is broken (really doesn’t matter), but there are odd bits sticking out all over.
i dropped mine.. (the 50D) woops, onto the floor in a wine bar. Busted the lens (but it had sand in it anyway, so 1 repair for 2 problems). Camera had no issues.

I took an early model bridge camera to Europe, back in the day, I think it was 5 MP, it took great photos and was light and easy to carry for travelling, BUT I will always take the DSLR now. I wish!!!! I had one back then. smile

 
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ozgirl - 06 May 2013 09:18 PM

My dad got a fuji bridge camera and it is shit.

Sadly I will never get a fuji camera because of it.

My dad had only ever owned a SLR before then, but decided not to invest in a DSLR.

I took it to Japan for my first trip thinking it would better than my point and shot. I don’t think it was was very disappointed in the photos.

Both of you can check out the photos on fb. (compare them to my recent japan trip where i took my point and shot)

J1 looks good though. But Dan I am in the get a more basic DSLR camp tho (just to be clear) Not sure of the Canon equivalent.

I’ve had three of them and been very happy, my old man has had a couple and been very happy.  Why exactly was it “shit” and how long ago was this?  All the pics from my recent Tonga trip were taken on my Fujifilm bridge thats only a 10MP and is about 4-5 years old, fairly happy with the results I get from it and from memory the thing cost me $300. There was a girl with a 7D who was in the middle of a photography course and she was taking pics from our balcony as well, I grabbed all her pics as I thought the resolution would make them look a lot better than mine, unfortunately this wasn’t the case.  My old man also has a Nikon DSLR and finds himself using the Fuji more often due to the focal length available without the need to change lenses.

 
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there you go, seems Spaz is right, it’s about the lenses…. got any idea what was on those cameras at the time? What’s your dad got on his Oz, and what have you got Northern?

(I just checked the metadata on the photos when I dropped the camera to confirm it was the 50D)

 
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NBG - 07 May 2013 06:51 AM

There was a girl with a 7D who was in the middle of a photography course and she was taking pics from our balcony as well, I grabbed all her pics as I thought the resolution would make them look a lot better than mine, unfortunately this wasn’t the case.

Have a look at the metadata for those images, I find lots of folk have an awesome DSLR, but have it set to AUTO.

Which just gives a “best of” set up and generally ends up with poor results.

 
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At the end of the day, any camera that you pay ~ $1000 for shouldl give you good results!!!!!

It’s up to the person behind the lens to make it a great shot!!!!!

I’ve got the Nikon D5100 that came with the basic twin lens kit!!!!!

They’re goin for around the $800 mark at the mo in Aussie stores!!!!!

* One tip is to get the extras at the time of purchase!!!!! ie decent bag, good cards, filters, and a cleaning kit!!!!!

 
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Dan that IS what i am possibly going to get (D5100) - but you never know until I drop the cash onto it!

We have thrown so many things at you that if we named every camera you would get so confused! I am only considering Nikon and the purchase is pretty stressful with that alone!

Re the other above convo, i will check the metadata of the fuji camera’s tonight.

But now it is all coming back to me…

I didn’t rate the quality of the photos. just overall. Blue/sky not as sharp and the like.

Could not get the fstop low enough at the snow monkey’s to get a nice “portrait” photo of the monkey’s. Really really pissed me off at the time. And the people who i was travelling with at the time had a similar camera to me and had paid the same price. (we had the discussion cause i was sooo pissed off).

Also with my Sony Cybershot I paid a little bit more and sacrificed a couple of other things to get the next model up with had a Karl Zeiss lens.

So yeah seems i agree with Spaz about the lens too! LOL

Oh and I can get better depth of field on the Cybershot than on the fuji camera!