What Digital Camera do you have . . . Share your baby with me please !!!

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You guys will laugh at my amateurishness, but I recently received a Canon SX50 as a present. Yeah, it's "only" a superzoom, but its the "best in show" for that class of camera and a modest step up from my beloved S3 IS. I take a lot of pictures at odd angles (the photo's not at an odd angle -- I am!) and lots of zoom pics so I needed something with a swiveling VF, a level and great zoom and this is, at least until I'm ready to spend the big bucks on powerful zoom lenses for a DSLR, what I needed. At least it shoots RAW.

Anyway, here's a recent pic I shot with it that I am very pleased with. This small, web-rez pic does it no justice:

View attachment 19603
There is no weird angles in that one mate, unless you where standing weird, and you somehow fluked it lol
I must admit, i do like the difference contrast of the green to that amazing looking building (name ??) and then into the Autumn leaves. Not a bad shot at all. Is a lot better than one of my first with my new toy, as i left the ISO @1000 when this was taken on a sunny day, and other things weren't quite right. But im learning as i have shot 268 images in the last 4/5 days and im doing a mixture of FULL Manual and then Semi-Auto and then Auto . . .
Very nice Chas
 
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First advice I was given from a professional hollywood photographer and long time friend: Spend more money on the lens then you do your camera. Lens are an investment, the camera is an expense.

That being said I have found a few lens that despite there lower cost are still exceptional.

Current Camera(s):
Canon EOS T3i (600D)
Canon G12. (not a DSLR, but dang close to one and great for the smaller package.)

Lens:
EF 85mm f1.8 IS USM 'Prime' (Fantastic lens for about 500USD, solid build and superb image. My goto portrait lens.)
EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 USM 'Zoom/Macro' (Older lens without image stabilizer, but dont need it. My goto lens for animal, birds, or even macro from a distance. Solid build and excelent image quality).
EF 50mm f1.8 'Prime' (Noisy, cheap, my wife wanted this crap not me. Takes OK pics, but I never use it. 85mm takes better images IMHO.)
EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM 'Std Zoom Kit lens'. (Crapy build, came with the camera as a Kit. That said the image quality is good on our cropped sensor camera, though reviews say its got bad images quality around the edges on a full frame sensor like the 5D.)

Now we are getting this lens in a few weeks:
EFS 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 IS USM 'Super Wide Angle Zoom' (Reviews are good on this one, price is getting on up there. But this is the only Canon made lens made just for APC-C sized sensors (cropped sensors).)

Filters:
UV, Star, ND8 and Polarizers (for most lens)

Software:
Lightroom 5.2
Photoshop CS6
Photomatix Pro 4.2.7



Personal Note:
I have been eyeing the new Canon 70D. Its huge improvement over the 60D and our current 600D. But lens comes first.
Also dont forget filters. You need UV cover for your lens, not for filtering UV light, but keeping dust and dirt off the lens. IMHO.. Also for daylight shooting a polarizing filter can often be better then a lens hood. For pics you want long exposers, like waterfalls you may need a Neutral Density filter like a ND8. One of my favorites for night shoots is a star filter to make all the lights have star rays.. But thats a personal preference. Now also dont forget a quality (portable) tripod. This is a must for clear images in lower light and night shots. Also a must for HDR or good panorama photos.

Now in regards to Brands of Cameras. I like Canons, but traditionally Nikon is better in image quality from time to time. But not always.. But Canons are always better in video quality.


Hope this helps..

EDIT: Just added a image of one of my most recent photos. Enjoy..

JoeJacksonPhotography-_MG_0149_50_51-HDR-1-SMALL.jpg
 
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Filters:
UV, Star, ND8 and Polarizers (for most lens)

Software:
Lightroom 5.2
Photoshop CS6
Photomatix Pro 4.2.7



Personal Note:
I have been eyeing the new Canon 70D. Its huge improvement over the 60D and our current 600D. But lens comes first.
Also dont forget filters. You need UV cover for your lens, not for filtering UV light, but keeping dust and dirt off the lens. IMHO.. Also for daylight shooting a polarizing filter can often be better then a lens hood. For pics you want long exposers, like waterfalls you may need a Neutral Density filter like a ND8. One of my favorites for night shoots is a star filter to make all the lights have star rays.. But thats a personal preference. Now also dont forget a quality (portable) tripod. This is a must for clear images in lower light and night shots. Also a must for HDR or good panorama photos.

Now in regards to Brands of Cameras. I like Canons, but traditionally Nikon is better in image quality from time to time. But not always.. But Canons are always better in video quality.


Hope this helps..

EDIT: Just added a image of one of my most recent photos. Enjoy..

Hi mate. I appreciate the info :)
Everyone i talk to talks Lens and Filters. I have a Polarising Filter for the 18-105mm but none as yet for those just purchased.I like the idea of the 'Star' giving that effect on the lights, but i do need some for my new Lenses coming. Going to the Big Smoke today so will see whats on offer.
I did my homework and the Lenses i got seem to have good reviews, but i noticed i got a 50mm f1.8 'Prime' which you say is useless on the Canon. Im hoping the reviews where on the Money for the Nikon range.
I have bought a good Manfrotto Tripod, but i might invest on a better Head for it, but im happy with it at the moment. Easy and quick to set up, but really only has to '1' point that it can swivel from, so im hoping i can get a better head and put on it.

Im using Aperture with the NIK Suite w/ Plugin, but i just had a look at the Photomatix Pro 4.2.7 and the examples and looking at your image, (which is amazing btw) i have downloaded the Trial as well as the Aperture Plugin (Upset the Pro doesnt give you the Plugin) and will test some out tonight and see how it goes.

Really nice image :)
 

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50mm f1.8 Nikon is a good lens and really great value, but what happened to shooting for a while before investing in a lot of lenses?

Though, I have to admit you haven't spent a lot doing it. . . . .. ;)

BTW
@Chas and @Exodist
Nice pics!
 
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Thanks Tattoo and Ravi,
Not all 50mm are bad. The one for the Canon however is what you would expect from a childs toy. Very very plasticy, including the mounting base is plastic.. That was the first "i dont like this" I noticed. The other is how the lens contrast the light. The 50mm seems darker despite both have a f1.8. Also its not a ultra sonic motor, so it sounds like I got insects chirping in that things when you use auto focus. But this is something my wife wanted for better macro usage and was way under 200USD (which I still think it way to much), Now my 85mm is solid built, only really difference in the Canon Red Ring lens and the 85mm I have is f1.4 and weather sealing.. Plus a pound heavier.. While an argument can be made about f1.4 offering slightly better background blur, one would still have to do a side by side to notice any. And, I dont play in the rain, so weather sealing isn't a priority for me. Now back to the issue on light, its not that a 50mm is bad for portraits. I just dont find it as nearly as good as in image quality and lighting as a 85mm gives. Plus you dont have to be right up in the persons face.

You should give Lightroom 5 a try. You can download the 30 day trial. To be very honest, if I find a better program then photoshop to stitch panoramas together. I will no longer need PS. Lr5 gives you the best best tools and you can do so much with it now. If you want I can post some recent photos I did since moving to Lr5 that use only Lr5 toolsets.

Before I do, I noticed there was some talk about lens angles on of the pics that looks like a college campus posted above. Lr has a huge database of lens profiles that can eliminate distortion and chromatic aberration on the worst lens.
 
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These are all Lr5, took on my 600D. No other software used. Always shot in RAW. I prob only took about 10mins on all 4 of these.

JoeJacksonPhotography-_MG_0100-1.jpg

JoeJacksonPhotography-_MG_0197-1.jpg
 

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50mm f1.8 Nikon is a good lens and really great value, but what happened to shooting for a while before investing in a lot of lenses?

Though, I have to admit you haven't spent a lot doing it. . . . .. ;)

HEHE Weelllll . . . . . You know how it is. I was sitting here and thought, 1 Lens ?? What can i really learn with just one Lens. Everything that i needed to learn i could, but if i really want to be a self taught Photographer, then i needed to have different Lenses to try out different things, and to see what other Lenses do, and dont do.
I was looking around, and i needed a couple of other things from eGlobal, and i started to look at the different Lenses, and then reviews on them, and then looked at the exact Lens in the Aussie Stores, and i couldnt believe my eyes. They were both $250+ here in Aust and the 50mm f1.8D was $64 and the 55-200mm was $93 and the Kenko 2x was $147 and about $280 here in Aust so how could i really and honestly not get them at that price ;P

You should give Lightroom 5 a try. You can download the 30 day trial. To be very honest, if I find a better program then photoshop to stitch panoramas together. I will no longer need PS. Lr5 gives you the best best tools and you can do so much with it now. If you want I can post some recent photos I did since moving to Lr5 that use only Lr5 toolsets.

Before I do, I noticed there was some talk about lens angles on of the pics that looks like a college campus posted above. Lr has a huge database of lens profiles that can eliminate distortion and chromatic aberration on the worst lens.

I have invested over $200 in Aperture with the NIK Plugins, but i have downloaded LR tonight and will have a look tomorrow at it. I have the full Adobe Creative Cloud Suite that i won through Adobe for a 3mth Membership, but currently, its going into the 4th month, so i have the latest and greatest from them, all hooked up to Behance and Kuler, so im set on that side of things.

I really want to stay with Aperture, and im Reall, Really hoping that on the 22nd they will with Mavericks, tell us that there will be a Aperture 4 coming out in the very near future, as on Jan 2014 it will be a 4 yr old piece of Code, and i must admit, it is looking old, but i love the UI and its easy to navigate and do things.
Dont get me wrong, i'm open to looking and trying, but Aperture works well with ALL my Apple stuff, Photo Stream, iPad Mini and iPhone, and with Plex, i can get my Aperture Library on my iPad Mini too. There are also a lot of the same Plugins as LR so it does really come down to choice and ease of use and what it can do. Im really liking the Photomatix Pro.app though, Kudos and thanks for that. :)

These are all Lr5, took on my 600D. No other software used. Always shot in RAW. I prob only took about 10mins on all 4 of these.

Ohhhhh so very cutie that one. Gorgeous image :) and overall it shoots a nice photo. Im shooting in RAW (NEF) as well as jpeg having the 2 card slots, but im finding im not really using the jpegs, so i might just go through them, and choose the ones i like and throw them in iPhoto, because i have kept my iPhoto Library out of Aperture altogether and will continue to do so. iPhoto will be only for my iPad Mini and iPhone images . . .
So its getting beddie bys here, and i've dribbled enough, but ill posyt a couple of test images (night shooting) tomorrow

TM
 
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Here's an off the wall suggestion. I have had had Pentax since film days with screw mount
lenses. I have good lenses that go back 25 years. I currently have a Pentax K7 body but
since I travel to Europe frequently and for several months at a time, I was looking for something
that would be lighter and more compact but still give good quality and hopefully take Pentax lenses.
While looking, I came across a Pentax K-01. I already knew about the K-01. It was Pentax's
answer to the New Coca Cola - great idea but everybody hated it and it has now been withdrawn
from the North American market. For that reason it was heavily discounted. Knowing that the works
inside is close to the flagship K5 but at about a third the price, I gave it a try. Everything that is
said about it is true. It has many annoying features but it takes beautiful pictures. Without the
intention to do so, it has become my primary camera, but the K3 is coming out in November and
I will be seriously thinking about one of those in the new year.

fall tree 2013-10-14 14.12.50  M Forum.jpg
 

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HEHE Weelllll . . . . . You know how it is. I was sitting here and thought, 1 Lens ?? What can i really learn with just one Lens. Everything that i needed to learn i could, but if i really want to be a self taught Photographer, then i needed to have different Lenses to try out different things, and to see what other Lenses do, and dont do.
I was looking around, and i needed a couple of other things from eGlobal, and i started to look at the different Lenses, and then reviews on them, and then looked at the exact Lens in the Aussie Stores, and i couldnt believe my eyes. They were both $250+ here in Aust and the 50mm f1.8D was $64 and the 55-200mm was $93 and the Kenko 2x was $147 and about $280 here in Aust so how could i really and honestly not get them at that price ;P


TM

How not indeed! ;)

Have fun with your acquisitions. The 55-200 is optically quite good for a kit lens, though AF can be a bit slow. I still use mine from time to time on my Nikon V2.
 
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How not indeed! ;)

Have fun with your acquisitions. The 55-200 is optically quite good for a kit lens, though AF can be a bit slow. I still use mine from time to time on my Nikon V2.

Thanks mate, i will.
I nearly, nearly bought another Lens when i went to the City yesterday. Had to wait for Sister to meet me, and went into Camera House and in the shiny glass cabinet they had a D7100 sitting there looking amazing, with this Sigma 70mm F2.8 EX DG Macro for around 4 Benjamin Franklins but i then thought of my lovely Fiancé at home and walked away and bought a $17 Magazine that i can get in Digital Format for $5.65 BUT i did want a hard copy of this one to keep, so all was not lost ;)
 
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The best camera

The best camera is the one you happen to have with you when that priceless scene presents itself.

After years of analog photography, I bought a Sony DSC Rx-100. It's in my pocket all the time, so it is the camera which gets the best and only shots.

Cheers!
 
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Nice shot of the Shelby's TattooedMac
 
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Nice shot of the Shelby's TattooedMac

Thanks mate. Im going to the big smoke tonight, to pick up my Step Daughter from a Adventure on a Tall Ship she has been on, so i will be posting some shots of the Tall Ship on the weekend. I haven't learnt enough yet, to go full Manual, so I'm going to use Auto for these so they DO come out right, then ill touch them up in NIK and see what i have :)

Watch this space.
 

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Thanks mate. Im going to the big smoke tonight, to pick up my Step Daughter from a Adventure on a Tall Ship she has been on, so i will be posting some shots of the Tall Ship on the weekend. I haven't learnt enough yet, to go full Manual, so I'm going to use Auto for these so they DO come out right, then ill touch them up in NIK and see what i have :)

Watch this space.

Quick and dirty way to shoot Manual is to shoot 1st shot in Aperture priority to get a baseline shutter speed, then switch to manual and have fun.
 
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Quick and dirty way to shoot Manual is to shoot 1st shot in Aperture priority to get a baseline shutter speed, then switch to manual and have fun.

Now we are thinking, thats a awesome tip, and explains a heck of a lot. Never thought of doing that, but now i have my 55-200mm and the Kenko 2x (i took shots yesterday with focal length at 400mm) and the shot came out really nice and clean, with the Hood on, no vignetting, i was impressed, so ill get the Tall Ship Ways out in the Bay before she comes in close.

Thanks for that Mike, I'm just really not thinking as a photographer at the moment, as I'm reading too many books, web pages and I'm getting confused because everyone has a different take on absolutely everything.
 
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Now we are thinking, thats a awesome tip, and explains a heck of a lot. Never thought of doing that, but now i have my 55-200mm and the Kenko 2x (i took shots yesterday with focal length at 400mm) and the shot came out really nice and clean, with the Hood on, no vignetting, i was impressed, so ill get the Tall Ship Ways out in the Bay before she comes in close.

Thanks for that Mike, I'm just really not thinking as a photographer at the moment, as I'm reading too many books, web pages and I'm getting confused because everyone has a different take on absolutely everything.

Not sure if Nikon has the option, but pretty sure they may. On my Canon, it has a little button with a star that will suggest settings to you even on Manual mode to help get the exposer your looking for. So if I stick it over in manual mode which I often do with not in Av mode. I lock my ISO in at 100 or 200. Mostly 100, then set the Av I need. f1.8 for great bukeh, or f22 for landscapes. Though sometimes you have to adjust based on your lighting situation. Then I can punch that star button and it will show were my exposer is it, to high or to low. I can then adjust my Tv down or up to get the proper exposer. Which can mean even using a tripod toward the evenings. But sometimes I like to use ND filters, set the Tv to about 10sec and adjust my Av somewhere between f11 and 22 to get a good exposer. This will give you that rich foamy water look on waterscapes. Cameras are so much fun.

Don't use Tv mode on this T3i (550D?), mainly due to lack of constant shooting speed being slow and not really constant. I get in a good 8 shots or so then have to wait what seems to be a bloody **** of a long time for the camera to save them to the card. Plus its slow AF is crap. Its good Cam for Landscapes and Portraits. But if the camera brakes today I will be at a Canon dealership to get the new 70D in the morning. Its so much nicer..
 
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Also dont forget filters. You need UV cover for your lens, not for filtering UV light, but keeping dust and dirt off the lens. IMHO.. Also for daylight shooting a polarizing filter can often be better then a lens hood. For pics you want long exposers, like waterfalls you may need a Neutral Density filter like a ND8.

I got myself a bloody good filter the other day, to fit the 55-200mm 52 and its a ND Filter with 8steps, ND1-8 all in one and i think its brilliant, and saves having to change them trying to get the correct ND, all i have to do , is turn the dial and i go up or down a ND filter :) BONUS lol

PS : On that magical Star button on the Canons, i don't think there is one on the Nikons, or i haven't found it yet. But i have been trying Micks way of doing a Full Auto and then changing the settings Manually for myself and I'm learning to Assign all the buttons to do certain things, and i have learnt how to quickly UP the ISO if it looks under exposed and things like that. The more i use it, the better i WILL get.

I do have a Bracketing Button which i do want to learn how to use and get the best out of it. Buttons, buttons, everywhere . . . .

1w3DRTu.png
 
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Let's see, gonna try this from memory:

2x Canon 550D/Rebel T2i w/Grips (Because there's not really been a sensor upgrade in forever and I'm in no rush to upgrade to FF and have to replace my 17-55.)

2x Canon Speedlite 430 EXII

Canon 50mm 1.2L (Perfect for portraits on a crop body)
Canon 17-55mm 2.8

And that's pretty much it. Got some old Chinon screw-mount lenses I like to use for video (135mm 2.8, 55mm 1.7, 35mm 2.0) and portraiture, but for the most part I stick with the Canon lenses. That setup has been enough to get me through quite a few jobs, and really I don't feel the need to upgrade any time soon. Since all I really do is portraiture, I don't really need the professional features higher end bodies offer. Gotten some pretty good results with my setup. This is one of my Grandpa at his 100th birthday, probably the best picture I have of him.

mdgI9ry.jpg
 

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