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Nolan

Nolan

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Feb 28, 2006
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Location
oakdale, ca, USA.
OK could I get some opinions on cameras? I am photo challenged as you can see by my photos. I have a photo tent and three light set-up that I got off ebay with stands and such so you can use the timer feature on the camera. Problem is is my photos still suck. I was thinking of geting a new camera but short of buying a d70 or some thing which is totally over my head what should a guy get? I want to get a really good camera that will shot good photos of my pens and also I can use it for photoing my newborn son as he grows over the years. I currently have a Nikon model ? (its at home) and also a fuji finepix 2600.
 
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Nolan,
Since you mentioned Fuji you must be somewhat happy with it. Probably want something with more features but not over the top. Take a look at the Fuji S6500. I use the old S7000 and Linda has a Canon Rebel, but honestly for photos of the pens, our dogs and family I much prefer the Fuji. Another great feature about the Fuji is it take 4 AA batteries not some special over price NiMh $50+ battery. It is also easy enough to use that your wife or daughter can pick it up and use it without spending hours reading a manual. Anyway just me 2 cents.

Great to see you around.

Mike & Linda
 
How about posting samples of your 'bad' pictures? That way we could critique them.
But, often, the less than desirable pictures have to features that ruin them. One, way too much background. Get closer and/or learn to use the (very simple) cropping feature in your photo editing software. Two, backgrounds often are a harsh contrast to the subject pen. A neutral gray, or even a complimentary color, background that is close to the subject pen in SHADE works best. That way, your auto-exposure feature isn't confused.
Using a tripod and self-timer is a good idea to eliminate hand shake. You probably don't need a new camera. Just practice and get acquainted with your photo editing software.
 
Nolan,

Look at these...the prices are just around $350.00

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz8/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcfz18.asp?dontcount=1
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_s5is.asp?dontcount=1
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyh2/

I know Nikon D40 is around $600.00 but worth checking still
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond40/
 
Hi Nolan (oops put the wrong name in....Doh)
I have the Fuji Finepix S602Z that I bought a few years ago. It was the doggies whatsits at that time. I later bought ny son the newer Version. I love these fuji's

You can use the bells and whistles for the technical shots or you can go for full auto mode for the family snaps.

I cant see past fuji
 
Nolan,
The D40 is a great choice as is the Canon Rebel XT. The D40 has a larger LCD back than the Rebel XT so you get a better look at your post shot images. Remember with a DSLR, you will be using the view finder to frame your shots instead of the LCD back like you can on the point & shoot. Canon has a few more mega-pixels, which comes into play when cropping images. When shooting pens, we're not cropping much anyway so probably no big deal. I'd say the Canon has the edge for shooting actions shots due to the extra pixels and the lower noise sensor. The Nikon can't be beat when it comes to still shots & studio work. Only when pushing either camera to it's limits will you benefit from either camera's strengths or be limited by any perceived weakness.

The big plus to both of these is the increased size of the senor. The 6 mega-pixels of the D40 will out perform an 8 mega-pixel point & shoot any day due to the larger sensor and the higher quality lens. Larger sensor means larger pixels, which equates to less noise in the images. Sensor size makes a big difference in the quality of your images. The larger higher quality lens is just icing on the cake.

I've been using a Canon 20D for several years now. It's not as convenient to carry around as a point & shoot, but the image quality can't be beat.
 
I shoot all my pen shots with my D40 set for ISO 1600 and noise reduction off and I don't do any noise reduction in post processing. The D40 has high ISO performance that is not matched even by the D80 or D200 and I would be willing to wager that it's better than the Rebel XT.
 
My son is an avid digi photo buff and has high end Nikon equipment. He suggests a new buyer pay close attention to: type of memory card the camera uses (they aren't all SD); type of battery used (some use very expensive proprietary batts.); mega-pixels and shutter lag time. Of course, put your budget and prices in that mix and you should come up with a camera to fit your needs.
 
OK got some super info from Gerry to try with my current Nikon. Hopefully it will pan out and if nothing else I will at least learn a little about photos[:D] THANKS GERRY!!
 
Nolan, you want to do some photo stuff at BBAnc? You are still planning on coming, right?
I helped JayDevin on his photos and now he is getting great shots.

GK
 
Originally posted by gketell
<br />Nolan, you want to do some photo stuff at BBAnc? You are still planning on coming, right?
I helped JayDevin on his photos and now he is getting great shots.

GK
Click to expand...
Yah and I will pay you with burl[:D]
 
And then Nolan can pass along all the info to us! We are so happy with the out come we have to buy more blanks to photograph more pens! Such a vicious cycle! [:p]
 
Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking
<br />And then Nolan can pass along all the info to us! We are so happy with the out come we have to buy more blanks to photograph more pens! Such a vicious cycle! [:p]
Click to expand...

LOL I figure if I could take a darn photo maybe you guys and gals would see how nice some of this stuff is and buy it.[:D] Not to mention if I ever get my site done I will need to put pics online.
 
Now that it's nearly obsolete, I'm trying to figure out the whit balance on my Nikon Coolpix 5700, I can get the image cleaned up in Adobe Photoshop, and it works well for saving to a decent size for web use, I have it set to 100 PPI but after using Nikon FTN and my F2AIS I cant get use to the shutter lag.
If you look at my pictures, the background /foreground is actually a piece of sandblasted acrylic sheet that pretty much is a dead white, but I still can't get the Blue/Cyan tint out of it, with flash or without, I'm considering using my F2 and getting a photo disk made when I get the film developed, I've tried setting the white balance manually and using the automatic setting, even tried with a grey card the coolpix has a pr3etty good lense and while not up to par with the larger d series like the D100 and more expensive pro models, I think it's still a good camera, I just wish there was a decent manual that explained how to do things like reset the white balance the right way, I do like the view finder, it's almost like a TLR system and since my job is being phased out the end of December, I cant afford a new camera.
Ken Ferrell
 
Nolan,
I use a Fuji S5200 that is a hand-me down from my step-son... he's a semi-pro photographer and this was his last camera before he switched to the Nikons. If I do everything right (and sometimes I do) I get great pictures. We also have a little point and shoot from Fuji that my wife uses.. she loves it. I agree with Frank.. just practice with the Fuji.. it's a good camera.
 
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