Any photographers/camera geeks on here?

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pheline

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Hey,

Just wondering if anyone could recommend an SLR camera? I have a Fujifilm S1500 which is a bridge camera, and I do love it and will be keeping it.
But I used it today at an indoor show, and the image quality was horrible, no matter how I changed the settings, aperture, shutter speed the horses always came out blurry - mainly to do with the lack of flash and bad lighting I imagine.

But can anyone recommend me a good SLR camera, easy to use and good picture quality?
 
What is your budget? You need to make sure you have enough not only for a good body but a good lens as well.

All SLR camera's are 'good' and have 'good' picture quality (lens makes a huge difference to picture quality)
 
About £500, so not a huge amount for an SLR and lens. and also realized i've posted this in the wrong room, probably should have gone into soapbox.
 
Your gunna need to go 2nd hand to get decent kit for that money.
You will have the most choice if you go down the Canon route - personally I don't like the layout of the Canon SLRs so see if you can handle one before making a choice.
I have a Samsung GX20 and was using it with a Sigma 70-300 DG APO lense (you need the APO and not the cheaper non-APO version) and took this set of pics indoors with it http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150457350920354.639282.510990353

My advice would be to look for a second hand GX20/Pentax K20D (essentially the same camera) and the Sigma 70-300 APO lense which should come in on budget
 
Anything canon:)
500d or 1000d are both pretty good! My OH has the 450d which cost him £400 at the time but proberly cheaper now, if he was buying now he'd opt for the 7d but that's quite pricey I think..
 
2 months ago I got a Nikon D3000 SLR for £300. It was reduced on Amazon from £500. If you are lucky you might still get hold of one. It is the entry level Nikon digital SLR and comes with a 18-55 lens. The reason they are cheap is that Nikon have brought out a new model that does HD video. I took the advice of a close friend who is a pro wedding photographer - he uses Nikon and always has done and says they are equal to Canon. He said don;t buy any other brand though!!!
I am very pleased with it. I got it to replace my Canon EOS film SLR and it does just the same, same functions and photo quality is superb. Easy to use for an amateur!!! It even makes the lovely clicky sound when you press the shutter and you can use the viewfinder instead of the screen if you like. I was going to get a digital EOS back for my EOS lenses but I worked out it was cheaper to get the Nikon at that discount price as the EOS back was £450.
However now I have loads of EOS accessories I can;t use... must stick them on ebay!!

Go for the Canon or try to find a cheap Nikon if you can still get them. DON"T be tempted by the Sony s that are out there as they are not the same quality and you don;t get the aftercare guarantees you get with Nikon. (As quoted by my mate!)
 
noblesteed said:
He said don;t buy any other brand though!!!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but thats rubbish! Pentax are just as good as the equivilant Canon/Nikon and some of the new Sony cameras are really very good. :) Each make/model of camera will have its plus/minus points - its just about deciding what are the most important features for what you want to photograph :)

MrsD123 said:
Has anyone mentioned flash, as indoor fill in flash will show more muscle detail, or is it too far away or intrusive?
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Using a flash when photographing horses is generally not a good idea.
 
Get a canon! I am an equine photographer and have Canon 350D and although it is an older camera it is really good and i have the 75-300mm III IS USM lens for it as well as the standard one and it takes really good shots both indoor and outdoor. Although the lens alone is £350! Not sure what the camera cost when it was bought but it was quite alot! I'd see if you can go 2nd hand canon route - try ebay and also amazon were doing canon stuff really cheaply a few weeks back so try there too.
 
Why do people still use film when the flexibility of digital is so much greater?
I must admit I have to keep re-setting to manufactures default [and it takes me ages to find that option] on my small digital as there are so many options and buttons, I end up in a right mess.
I knew how to "force" my Minolta SLR, the wide angle lense was brilliant, and I was quite interested in photography, just had no idea how to market the results, due to cost I had to think about each shot, now I could just delete all the failures
 
Don't know anyone who uses film either. seems random!

OP - Canon and Nikon are generally the two choices most go for. It also depends on what feels right for you. I borrowed a Nikon and found it's menus etc very awkward whereas I love the canon.

It's not so much the camera as the lens that will enable you to get better indoor shots and as mentioned previously - flash is generally prohibited at indoor equine events. (again, as you mentioned in your OP, you weren't using flash).
 
I do photography as a part time job as im at uni (equine photos/weddings mostly)

I have a nikon d5000 which i love! and my backup of a nikon d40 - both which are good cameras :)

never had a canon but id have one next time if i changed from nikon :)
 
I have a nikon d5000 too with the 18-55 mm VR Lens Kit.
Very good camera, probably more than enough for what you want.
I'm planning to get a new lense for it though when I have the money, though I know nothing about lenses ha
 
I got an olympus e-620 with 2 lenses for 300 second hand, usually this would cost anything from 850-1000. People write off the Olympus' but it is by far much better than many canons I've seen, and it is like a more compact professional camera. I love mine!
 
A sony a330 or the one above. I have the a330 and it is a really good user friendly entry level SLR. Ive had mine just under a year and am chuffed to bits with it.

Sarebojuly2010.jpg
 
Nikon D90 myself with the 18-105 lens & a 70-300 lens. For indoor stuff, even with good lighting, you really have to push the ISO setting. Even if flash was permitted, you're generally too far away for it to be effective. The longer lens is good, and you can always pick it up later when budget permits. Have a look at second hand. There are some good bargains out there. Good luck.
 
Before you rush into buying a new camera do check it's not just camera shake. Whilst Nikon and Canon cameras are lovely - I should know as am on my 3rd Canon, I started with a 300 Slr, which is a film camera and now have a 7D and can thoroughly reccommend them, I also have a little Samsung and worst fault I have is to shake it when taking a pic something I rarely do on the Canon even with the huge telephoto lens on.

I found when looking for a new camera best thing to do was go into the shop and look at all the cameras I was interested in, as some that people rated I didnt find very easy to use.
 
I'm another canon fan, i'm on my third dslr, i've had a 300d, then a 10d and now have a 50d.
As someone else said it is really important to have a good lense, i have a sigma 70-300 and i use it for everything. We take photos at a few shows and it will do anything. And its not like a lot of the really big zoom lenses as its not too heavy.
The biggest difference i noticed was going between the 10d and the 50d but there is a huge difference in the number of pictures you will get to a memory card. We're doing an outdoor show in a couple of weeks and i'll be dragging out the 10d so that we can take more pictures.
After that if you are interested the 10d will be for sale lol
 
You won't really go far wrong with any of the major names for SLRs.

I'd definitely try and get to a camera shop to actually handle the models you're interested in though, there's a surprising amount of difference between them all both how they sit in your hands and how the menus work and so forth. You may find there's one particular brand or model that just feels right for you.
 
gillianfleming said:
The biggest difference i noticed was going between the 10d and the 50d but there is a huge difference in the number of pictures you will get to a memory card. We're doing an outdoor show in a couple of weeks and i'll be dragging out the 10d so that we can take more pictures.
After that if you are interested the 10d will be for sale lol
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I assume that would be because the picture quality on the 10D is lower so takes up less room on the memory card - so I would but a bigger memory card!
 
Yes i would think so Erin, we use 4gb card with the 50d but already have a load of memory cards that jeni uses for this event. We just delete whats on them and then reuse. I did suggest buying more cards lol
 
Above a certain number of megapixels, the quality of the lens will be the limiting factor. If you have hundreds of pounds to spend, it's worth buying a decent lens. As a rule of thumb, you should spend at least as much money on the lens as on the camera body, otherwise you could end up getting less than wonderful photos at highest resolution.
 
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