Preserved Topic: Photography... I want in! (Page 1 of 1)

Alrighty then, I'm thinking about taking up a semi-serious endevour to learn photography but um, where to start?

I don't have a camera (except for my poxy digi cam) and I don't have a lot of money although I do know a certian someonw who has a bunch of old SLR's laying about. I'm sure I could convice him to part with one for a small fee but I have no idea what I should be looking for.

What kind of equipment would you recommend to someone starting out?

Should I look into taking a photography course or could I possibly find enough information on the web to get me started?

Hmmm...you might want to drop Shii a mail on this...she's pretty heavy into photography...and I think Steve is, as well...

Drac, i have a canon eos 300 35 mm slr. I use this for professional shoots aswell as hoem use..

its a great camera and not too expensive, take a look at it, i highly recommend it.

Unless you jump directly to digital. I would start with a full manual camera, that way you will learn the finer points of f-stops, exposures and depth of field. You should beable to find used Pentex K1000 SLR and a 50mm lens cheapish the whole setup soundn't cost more then $85-100 us. I would try to find a later model with at split view finder as it makes focusing easyer.

I perfer Canon, I use a Canon ELAN slr 35mm, and Canon ELPH aps (the orginal model), I also like my old Yashica D, the 6x6cm negitive is great for scanning.

I have not learned much in classes other then the technical bits. It's just as easy to learn that from a few books or web. Most classes I have attended didn't spend much time on composition and lighting they just have you shoot and then may give you some hints. I realy good reasource is photo magizines.


jstuartj



[This message has been edited by jstuartj (edited 01-14-2003).]

For a beginner go for something like the Pentax K-1000 or the Canon EOS1000 (EOS Rebel in the US).

The pentax is fully manual and uses a K-mount bayonet lens mount which means you can find literally hundreds to choose from.

The canon is auto focus/auto exposure BUT has fully manual over-ride for exposure and you can fit manual focus lenses.

As far as lenses are concerned, try the following sizes:

35mm (Gentle wide-angle)
50mm (Close to human vision)
85mm (Gentle tele-photo, nice for portraits)
135mm (Not so gentle, but nice for getting close to the action)

All of these are available for pennies, but as with everything... the more you spend, the better the results.

With photography, the lens is more important thn the body when it comes to getting good results, so spend a little on a fully manual body, and spend the rest on lenses (look for the Carl Zeis label).

I have to agree with jstuartj on the Canon thing.
I have always used a Canon, and the lenses are as good as (if not better than) Nikon.

The MOST important thing to remember is this...

Go to classes to learn only about the technicalities of exposure and to see how photography has been applied as an artistic medium for the last 100 years, but do not learn HOW to compose.

For this... you HAVE to make your own rules.

quote:

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...and I think Steve is, as well...

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Um, yeah. I need some photogrpahy learnins as well. My dad has an old Pentax I can snag if manual is really that important.

I recently bought a Nikon CoolPix 4500 and it has quite a lot of manual override on it, would this be same-ish or would you fellas still recommend a regular camera for someone starting out?

Jason

As said ask shi and Steve about it, there up there with it all, if not then try these:

Photography guide
Photo Sig articles section
Photography Tips

And once your start you might want to do what shi has done and enter some of challenges at
dpchallenge.com and see what happens .

Shi gave me some of them links a while back, but I need to really read and play with my camera as I've done sod all about it cus of time and stuff just got in the way.

~ Wonders off to find me camera ~

COPEY

Well heres some pics taken on my canon eos 300, in manual mode.

Film:Kodak Gold 200 ASA
Lens:28/72 Wide Angle Zoom


Flash set for strobe.


big version

big version

just some of the fun effects you can get with a 35 mm in the snow

Feel free to email me and I will help you or add me to your icq

shiiizzzam@knology.net

or ICQ # 93068810

I've learned so much from talking with photographers and the links listed above. That's how I learned 95% of what I know. The rest is trial and error. IF you can, I would go with a digital camera. There are several that don't cost much in a 3mega pixel, which is a good place to start. Using a digital you see the results right away and can correct and reshoot and learn and no paying for prints

I started by looking at the world around me. Textures, shapes, angles and such. This is a photo of long dried plant leaves around the pool. It made a great abstract.





Also click on my sig and trust me you can see in my photos the growth path I've made the past few months I've been into photography. Feel free to contact me if I can help you

Wow... I didn't expect this much feedback...

This is great. Thanks everyone. It's late (actually it's early morning but who's counting) and I desperately need sleep. I'll poke around the links provided and maybe hit some people up for further queries on ICQ tomorrow if our online times manage to coincide.

Thanks again...

The amount of talented people wandering these halls never ceases to amaze me.

I also recommend the Pentax K-100. I had to buy a manual camera for my photography courses about 6 years ago and I bought one. I've gotten great use out of it all this time and remains a solid piece of equipment. If you are really serious about learning photography, you need to start at the beginning for a full understanding IMO. That means a manual camera. Good luck! This book is a fantastic place to begin.

i needed this thread. i been looking to replace my battered auto/manual nikon (something's wrong with its autofocus now). good a time as any to learn absolute basics of photography on a full manual..

SUN
//ditto on the 'talent in the asylum' comment//

**agrees with Jeni**

Pentax K-1000s are the main camera that people learn on. I loved mine (till it got smashed at a football game). The nice thing about the Pentax is that there are so many out there. You can usually find one used with a 50mm 2.8 for about $125 US. Don't worry so much about the glass, those old manual Pentax lenses are sharp.

I have to disagree with the Canon people. I don't like Canon cameras because they are mostly plastic, even at the high-end. I use Nikons myself. Nikkor glass is almost as sharp as Carl Ziess and the camera lenses and bodies are made of metal(aaargh!)(except the real cheap ones).

I would recommend the Nikon FM-2n. You'll have to find this used (Nikon now makes a piece of crap called the FM10). They cost about $100-150. It's a REALLY good manual camera.

If you want any help drop me a line at nwilets@morris.com


-tiki, cell 478

I have to stand behind my Sony DSC F707 5mp digital. The lens is a Carl Ziess lens.

Whatever you decide if you need help just drop me a note

Don't forget mikey.milker - known to talk people's ears off if provoked.

I'd have to agree with the people above about starting basic. Before I bought my Canon Elan 7 I fiddled with my dad's old Pentax camera. It was totally manual as well and you are forced to learn quite a bit about what each of those mysterious dials on your camera does.

I've been more into digital photography lately though, and use the same type of cam that shi uses. It's a great camera for the fact that you can go fully auto or go into full manual mode with only the flip of one switch.

Photography is so much fun, especially when you snap a picture that turns out exactly as you pictured itin your mind.

Shii That is one very nice picture



[This message has been edited by tomeaglescz (edited 01-15-2003).]

My best sugestion is "Read your manual"

It is a really good idea to get as familiar with your camera as possible. In many of the the things I do I pride myself on being technical and not reading the manual, but when it comes to camera reading the manual in its entirety is a must. You will learn a whole lot about all the functions your camera can perform, you will also learn a bit about how the camera works, and what are the best settings for a particular enviornment. Not at all a really fun read, but a benificial one.

Thanks for starting this thread Dracusis. I just got my first 35mm SLR and I have been looking for the type of information people have shared here.

Duf- what do you mean by 'Gentle'?

like, using a 135mm camera will land your subject in the hospital or something?

what do you mean?


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
ICQ: 67751342

Well, since we are all showing off ...

I have a Nikon F3, Nikkor 28-70, Sigma 28-200, Nikon 2x teleconverter, and a Nikon MD-4 motor drive. All courtesy of military surplus (unit got new digital equip and so dumped all the older, beat up stuff). The Nikon body is a little dented, but still perfectly functional.

Used Pentax cameras several years ago and hated them. Unit went cheap and got about 6 or 7 of them. Each and every one was broke within 6 months. Never use plastic equip if you're doing anything rough and tumble. My Nikon has been through years and years of abuse and is still clicking away!

Spend an extra buck or two and get basic filters for your lenses. If you knock you lense against something, the filter could save your lense! Bust the filter and you're out a few dollars; bust a lense and you're out a lot more!

Got a few pics on my site too (click on link below). I admit they aren't the best in the world, but they aren't the worst either. Will be adding to my photo collection once I have the chance to scan some more stuff in.

Cell Number: 494 / Inkstick

I've got an old F3 also. Found it behind the filing cabinet at one of my father-in-law's newpapers. The thing must of been 20 years old. Put in a new battery for the lightmeter, it now works like a charm. Its my most trusted back-up camera now. Those things won't die. The hard part is finding a reasonable price for one used. Nobody wants to give them up.

Most Pentaxes are made of plastic, but the K-1000 is metal.

And in an act of blatant pluggery:

GN photography forum: http://development.gurusnetwork.com/discussion/forum/24/

GN photography links section: http://development.gurusnetwork.com/links/353/

There will be a Photography section in the tutorials so if anyone is interested in writing a photography tutorial or is looking for one on a specific topic then drop a note in the tutorials request forum: http://development.gurusnetwork.com/discussion/forum/21/

___________________
Emps

FAQs: Emperor

Petskull: by gentle, I simply mean that the image produced is wide, but not so wide that the lens impacts on the image.

Once you go wider than 35mm, you begin to increase the posibility of aborations caused by internal refractions.
Beyond 28mm and your image starts to warp... straight lines develop curves.
This is fine if it's what you want to achieve, but can be a bit anoying if not.

It's worth noting that should you choose to follow the digital route, focal legnth does some weird things due to the diference in 'negative' size.

On a 35mm camera 50mm = 50mm.
The same lens on a digital camera = something like 58mm.

To date (as far as I'm aware) the only camera which gets around this problem is the new Canon 1Ds, which sports a 35mm CMOS sensor!

[edit]
BeeKay is spot on too: get basic filters for your lenses :
Look at a UV Filter for everyday use. Has no colour impact, reduces glare and protects your lens.
For scenes with lots of reflective surfaces, or indeed a lot of blue sky, try a polarising filter.
(Linear for manual focus - circular for auto focus).


[This message has been edited by Dufty (edited 01-16-2003).]

Dufty:

Thats a nice camera, with only one problem: Its still Canon.

quote:

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On a 35mm camera 50mm = 50mm.
The same lens on a digital camera = something like 58mm.

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I think this difference only applies on digital cameras where you can mount standard lenses, like the Nikon D1 or the older Canon Digitals. "Point and Shoots" and cameras like Shii's Sony may actually be labled correctly.

Also I if your new to photography or on a limited budget, I would not buy a 35mm. The difference between a 50mm and a 35mm is stepping back about 3-5 feet. Better to spend that money on a 28mm or 24mm and move your body.