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The Official Camera Equipment Megathread

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VNZ

Member
So photography has always interested me as a creative output, and I've always loved experimenting with different approaches and styles to photography. I've also taken the time to actually learn the workings of professional SLRs.

Now since I put my digital compact through the wash about a month ago, I'm looking to take the bold step into semi-professional photography.

Bearing in mind I've never purchased a DSLR before, I'm seeking CameraGAF's guidance on a suitable model and lens.
As I said, I'm not a complete newbie, but I've yet to reach the level of understanding that defines me from the masses. Somewhere in the middle-ish, if you will.

I've looked into it, and the model that seems to deliver the best results and has the highest value for money appears to be the Canon Rebel T2i (EOS 550D). I've heard great reviews on this and it appears to be the best in class.

Also, I've seen it online for under $400 (crazy, I know) bundled with an EF-S/18-55 IS lens. Seeing as I can't really afford to buy anything above £550-£600, this seems ideal.

TL;DR: Need a DSLR under £600, looked at Canon EOS 550D but need guidance/other suggestions.
The 550D is an amazing camera at that prize. What the higher end APS-C models (50D/60D and 7D) will give you is the same exact sensor, but in a more durable body with better auto-focus and higher speeds. Creatively, there's no difference. You need to go for full frame cameras to significantly change the creative possibilities, which is a much more expensive prospect.

Sure enough all brands have similar offerings, but Canon arguably has the most well-rounded lens line-up, and there's lots of used gear to be found.
 
The 550D is an amazing camera at that prize. What the higher end APS-C models (50D/60D and 7D) will give you is the same exact sensor, but in a more durable body with better auto-focus and higher speeds. Creatively, there's no difference. You need to go for full frame cameras to significantly change the creative possibilities, which is a much more expensive prospect.

Sure enough all brands have similar offerings, but Canon arguably has the most well-rounded lens line-up, and there's lots of used gear to be found.

Thanks for the advice! The higher end models in the same range are getting a bit too pricey, unfortunately, though like you say, if the differences aren't that distinguishable, then I think the 550D at under £400 is a steal.
 

LordAlu

Member
Thanks for the advice! The higher end models in the same range are getting a bit too pricey, unfortunately, though like you say, if the differences aren't that distinguishable, then I think the 550D at under £400 is a steal.

Where are you finding a 550D for under £400? :O
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
I'm looking to spend probably up to £600-£650.

In that price range, I've been looking at the Nikon D3100, the Canon EOS 550D (or T2i) or even the Canon EOS 600D (or T3i).

I did a big old shortlisting exercise about a year ago and came down to the D3100 or 550D. Frankly I couldn't find anything to choose between them and went with Canon simply because I'd been shooting Canon for about eight years and felt comfortable sticking with them. The price leap to 600D seems a bit expensive for a swivel screen and a help system you probably won't use.

Might be worth looking at the Pentax (K-x,K-r) as well.

I've looked into it, and the model that seems to deliver the best results and has the highest value for money appears to be the Canon Rebel T2i (EOS 550D). I've heard great reviews on this and it appears to be the best in class.

Also, I've seen it online for under $400 (crazy, I know) bundled with an EF-S/18-55 IS lens. Seeing as I can't really afford to buy anything above £550-£600, this seems ideal.

TL;DR: Need a DSLR under £600, looked at Canon EOS 550D but need guidance/other suggestions.

I'm very happy with my 550D, and would pretty well recommend it to anyone - especially at that price. The bundled kit lens is just dandy for starting with.

If you want to do some cross-checking, take a look at the Nikon D3100 and Pentax K-r/K-x.
 

Falch

Member
I have one, what do you want to know?

It's basically the kit lens in 55-210 form. The only thing to note is that it's a very long lens if that's a concern of yours. Now that Tamron has announced an 18-200mm E-mount lens, I hope it or the Sony version will eventually drop down in price since I would prefer to have one of them and ditch the 2 Sony zooms. Sony also has a "G" mid-range zoom coming out this year, so that might be a nice lens to get since it will be higher quality than the existing E-mount zooms.

Interesting. I'm only just starting out with photography, and I was wondering if the quality of the lens was acceptable. I guess it is, right?
 

Bollocks

Member
So what would you guys recommend, the Canon EOS 600D or the slightly more expensive EOS 60D? Is the price gap justified?
The 60D is my limit as far as budget goes, question is should I go all in or opt for the 600D?
This will be my first DSLR however I know the ins and outs of shutter speed, aperture, iso etc, it's just I never owned one personally.

Also I heard that you can remote control your Canon via USB, is there an Android app available where I can set the shutter for long time exposure pics?
 

alphaNoid

Banned
Got a BlackRapid RS7 strap for my 7D
3AQmK.gif


This is what a camera strap should be.

So what would you guys recommend, the Canon EOS 600D or the slightly more expensive EOS 60D? Is the price gap justified?
The 60D is my limit as far as budget goes, question is should I go all in or opt for the 600D?
This will be my first DSLR however I know the ins and outs of shutter speed, aperture, iso etc, it's just I never owned one personally.

Also I heard that you can remote control your Canon via USB, is there an Android app available where I can set the shutter for long time exposure pics?
Yes there is an Android app that controls LiveView camera shots. I haven't touched it in about 6 months or so but its available. On camera? I'd say the 600D (T3i) is the best 'bang for your buck' DSLR under $1000. The 60D is in a class higher but does nearly the exact same thing, and the T3i (600D) is a brand new model.

600D
 

Crazy-J

Banned
I am going to have about 4500.00 to upgrade my camera. I currently own a Nikon D3000 with a 50mm, 18-55mm kit lens, and a SB-700 flash. I want to either want to purchase the Nikon D7000 or the Canon 5D Mark II.

What do you think I should go with and why? What other lenses and accessories should I get? I will be doing a lot of portrait photography.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.
 

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
Aperture ring stopped working on my manual lens. It's always open as wide is it's possible. Is there any way to fix this?

Also any advice on 30mm/1.4-2.0 lens for Canon EF or Nex?
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
I am going to have about 4500.00 to upgrade my camera. I currently own a Nikon D3000 with a 50mm, 18-55mm kit lens, and a SB-700 flash. I want to either want to purchase the Nikon D7000 or the Canon 5D Mark II.

What do you think I should go with and why? What other lenses and accessories should I get? I will be doing a lot of portrait photography.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

Um, if you're already doing serious stuff with a D3000 you probably know the answers already - but I guess the main thing is that the 5D MkII is full(35mm) frame while the D7000 is crop. So, bigger sensor better image quality etc etc etc. Now between those two it may well average out a bit given the one has more pixels than the other, but there's a reason the 5D Mk II is the top studio camera (around my way at least) and it might not be just fashion.

Edit: are you really sure you want to upgrade the camera rather than shove a sharper (and more expensive) lens on the front of it?
 

Crazy-J

Banned
Um, if you're already doing serious stuff with a D3000 you probably know the answers already - but I guess the main thing is that the 5D MkII is full(35mm) frame while the D7000 is crop. So, bigger sensor better image quality etc etc etc. Now between those two it may well average out a bit given the one has more pixels than the other, but there's a reason the 5D Mk II is the top studio camera (around my way at least) and it might not be just fashion.

Edit: are you really sure you want to upgrade the camera rather than shove a sharper (and more expensive) lens on the front of it?

Yeah, I definitely want to upgrade the camera, but I just want to make sure that I can get really good lenses as well.

Besides the 50mm, what lenses should I get be getting? Do you believe in getting 3rd party lenses (Tamron, Sigma), or should I just stick with first party lenses?
 

giga

Member
If you're going to go full frame, the 5d III will be coming out this year so I'd wait because II will drop in price.

You should be getting at least the 85mm 1.8 or 135L for portraits. Accessories…580EX, reflectors, diffusers, etc.
 
Ordered a t3i, last week. It was suppose to be delivered today, only to find out it just shipped. I'm going to find out who did this to me and hunt them down.
 

LordAlu

Member
I've pretty much decided to by a T2i at £500ish with the kit lens. It looks to be an excellently specced camera for the price range, and I've had two Canon cameras and loved them both so I think I'll plunge for that one. Will mull on it a little bit more though, mainly coz I'm tight with my money so I have to convince myself to spend so much! :D
 

alphaNoid

Banned
Yeah, I definitely want to upgrade the camera, but I just want to make sure that I can get really good lenses as well.

Besides the 50mm, what lenses should I get be getting? Do you believe in getting 3rd party lenses (Tamron, Sigma), or should I just stick with first party lenses?

Usually I always say first party, but the Sigma 50mm 1.4 is the absolute best in its class. 1.2 is usually WAY out of most peoples price range and 1.8 is so cheap anyone can afford the best. So most tend to look to 1.4.. and if you find yourself there.. look no further than the Sigma.
 

tino

Banned
Yeah, I definitely want to upgrade the camera, but I just want to make sure that I can get really good lenses as well.

Besides the 50mm, what lenses should I get be getting? Do you believe in getting 3rd party lenses (Tamron, Sigma), or should I just stick with first party lenses?

Generally Nikon has better wide angle zooms and Canon has better and cheaper telephoto lenses. With a 5k budget I would get with either D700 or 5D2.
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
You can get a refurbished 5DMKII for $1999 now from Canon, which is an amazing deal. But don't discount the original 5D (which still has fantastic IQ and can be had for $800 at its lowest) and don't discount what a larger sensor in general can do to all your FF lenses in regards to the expanded Area of View.
 

MRORANGE

Member
Do people really notice the jump from aps-c to Full Frame? I know you get a more shallow DoF, being able to have more things in view and being able to bump your ISO higher. But is the jump the bigger than what you got from a compact/bridge to to aps-c sensor?
 

dmshaposv

Member
Is it worth getting the original canon battery grip or third party (like protix) would suffice? The extra grip can certainly help with something like a T2i or T3i due to their smaller bodies I feel.

Also as far as external flash units - ex380 or ex480? The 580 is outta my budget.
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Do people really notice the jump from aps-c to Full Frame? I know you get a more shallow DoF, being able to have more things in view and being able to bump your ISO higher. But is the jump the bigger than what you got from a compact/bridge to to aps-c sensor?

Definitely noticeable. I think the jump from certain compact sensors to APS-C is about the same jump from APS-C to FF. Here's a chart that shows sensor sizes in relation to each other...

FgRrN.png


At a sensors smallest the jump to APS-C is larger but there really is a gulf between APS-C and "Full Frame" that can be felt when composing with lenses you're used to on an APS-C camera.
 

dmshaposv

Member
Do people really notice the jump from aps-c to Full Frame? I know you get a more shallow DoF, being able to have more things in view and being able to bump your ISO higher. But is the jump the bigger than what you got from a compact/bridge to to aps-c sensor?

I used a 5D MKII and the biggest difference between the footage I got with that and my 600D was the composition. You have much more.

In terms of IQ, you can get very shallow D.O.F with cropped sensors too with a very fast lens (f/ 1.4 or f/ 1.8) that is comparable to the FF camera. However the 5D was much better in ISO sensitivity.

Personally, I suggest waiting for Mk III. The 5D has an archaic UI compared to recent canons like 7D and 60D/60D and you cant shoot 720 or 60fps (in 1080 or 720). But great for just photography - although the Nikon D3S is king of ISOs and the best stills DSLR I've seen.
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
Do people really notice the jump from aps-c to Full Frame? I know you get a more shallow DoF, being able to have more things in view and being able to bump your ISO higher. But is the jump the bigger than what you got from a compact/bridge to to aps-c sensor?

it really depends on what your trying to do, and viewing medium and how picky you are/how picky your audience is. You already mentioned depth of field, some consider this an advantage, some consider it a disadvantage, again it breaks down to what your trying to do.

If you print your images and print them large, over 30 inches large, it makes a difference. If you're only displaying on the web the only real advantage would be to get paper thin depth of field, or if you feel the need to crop a lot. At which point you would be better off getting a crop camera in the first place or using a different lens.

One of the main advantages is low light, because the pixels are larger the signal to noise ratio is smaller.
The exception to this would be the D3x which is more pixel dense and is why it only goes up to 6400 iso.

For some reason print mediums like magazines prefer to have images from full frame and above, not quite sure why as magazines are typically printed at a low resolution and aren't much bigger than 8.5x11. But as kirk tuck explained to me some are anal and prefer to start out with the highest resolution possible.
 
You can get a refurbished 5DMKII for $1999 now from Canon, which is an amazing deal. But don't discount the original 5D (which still has fantastic IQ and can be had for $800 at its lowest) and don't discount what a larger sensor in general can do to all your FF lenses in regards to the expanded Area of View.

Terrible deal. I bought a new 5D Mark Ii from B&H for 1999$
 

aparisi2274

Member
Hey All, Need some help with a good tri-pod.

I recently picked up the Canon 60D and I want to get a good tripod at a resonable price. I am looking to use it for long exposure shots, where hand holding is not an option.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
So anyone wanna help me pick my prime lens. When I sell my T2i (if anyone is interested) that will go towards this.

I think I would like something around 150-200mm. Was looking at the tamron 180mm 2.8. Anything up to 800$ is fine
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
Is it worth getting the original canon battery grip or third party (like protix) would suffice? The extra grip can certainly help with something like a T2i or T3i due to their smaller bodies I feel.

I bought this one, and I'm very happy with it. Can't see that spending all the extra for the Canon one would be a good use of money.

It certainly makes a huge improvement in handling the camera - even hangs better. It's as if the T2i/T3i aren't really designed to be used without one.

Also as far as external flash units - ex380 or ex480? The 580 is outta my budget.

The 580 is way too expensive for me, so I bought a couple of Yongnuo 560s instead and am having a whale of a time with them. If you want the TTL stuff, have a look at the new Yongnuo 565 maybe.
 
That Fuji rangefinder/mirrorless camera looks sweet...but I think it'll be priced waaaaay out of my budget for a mirrorless camera body (same with the Sony NEX-7 and most likely even Olympus' upcoming 'pro' m43 camera as well). I'm looking into a Panny GX1 myself, but it doesn't hurt to wait and see what Fuji will announce next week at CES.
 

giga

Member
Released : Tuesday, January 10, 2012 12:01 AM

The Nikon D4, which is slated for February availability at a $6,000 suggested retail, will offer a full-frame 16.2-megapixel full-format CMOS image sensor that will shoot full-resolution images at up to a 10 fps rate.

The camera is also one of the first to support the new XQD Compact Flash memory card format, and will also offer a second card for more conventional CF cards.

The Nikon D4 has improved low-light performance, with an ISO range from 100 to 102,400 which can be expanded to 50 to 204,800 for both movies and stills.

The D4 also improves on the D3's color matrix metering system with a third-generation 91,000-pixel RGB metering sensor.

The unit takes the AF mode select switch from the D7000 and uses improved 51-point AF points with 9 cross-type sensor and a beefed up AF module allowing focus with an f/8 lens and faster (up from f/5.6). The AF detection range is now down to EV-2.0

The viewfinder features a full pentaprism with a 100 percent field of view.

The video section will record pixel-for-pixel Full-HD 1080p resolution with selections for 30p and 24p frame rates in this iteration, and 720p at up to 60p for slow-motion work. The camera now includes support for the H.264 B frame compression scheme.

The camera uses contrast detect AF in movie recording and features a low-pass filter optimized to maximize sharpness of HD video, meaning greater noise reduction when shooting full-frame movies.

Function buttons are illuminated this year, and a dedicated video button (user re-assignable) is added near the shutter button.

The D4 supports WTSA wireless control using the optional Nikon WT-5 wireless transmitter, and features an integrated Ethernet port and HDMI output enabling output of uncompressed video.

The D4 also introduces face detection/recognition into the flagship series

Another new feature is smooth aperture control for use while shooting video.

At the same time, the company introduced the Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8G FX format lens ($500 suggested retail).

The company said the D4 is not being produced in Thailand will not have production issues from the recent flooding situation there. But whether the company will have enough supply to meet the expected demand from Nikon-aligned professional photographers and converts remains to be se

https://wellsfargoadvisors.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=587442381
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
1DX pwnt

But seriously, it should be interesting to see how the new sensor in the D4 performs even if these class of cameras may as well be the Veyrons of cameras for me.

Also, supposedly, we'll be getting an announcement on Fuji's camera tonight.

That Fuji rangefinder/mirrorless camera looks sweet...but I think it'll be priced waaaaay out of my budget for a mirrorless camera body (same with the Sony NEX-7 and most likely even Olympus' upcoming 'pro' m43 camera as well). I'm looking into a Panny GX1 myself, but it doesn't hurt to wait and see what Fuji will announce next week at CES.

Baseless speculation puts it around $1500+ body alone. I think this is reasonable if its everything the X100 is and more (especially the sensor).
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Wells Fargo strikes again!

Fujifilm Introduces First Compact System Camera
https://wellsfargoadvisors.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=587442481

The new models include the X-Pro1, X-S1 (shipping this month at an expected $800 suggested retail) and a new F series model in the F750EXR (shipping in March at an expected $350).

The highlight of the offerings is the Fujifilm X-Pro1, which is a highly featured compact system camera. Fuji-filim said it will build on the success of the X100 model, by adding a camera that features a custom-developed 16-megapixel APS-CMOS sensor incorporating a new filter array and the company's proprietary EXR processor technology.

The camera also includes a second-generation hybrid view-finder and takes three prime interchangeable Fuji-non lenses, all with fast apertures.

The lenses include: the 18mm (27mm equivalent) f/2.0, 35mm (53mm equivalent) f/1.4 and 60mm (90mm equivalent) f/2.4.


Meanwhile, having the look and feel of a traditional d-SLR, the X-S1, features a large 2/3-inch 12-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor and a newly-developed, bright all glass and high-definition Fujinon F2.8 wide-angle to F5.6 telephoto lens with an ultra-smooth 26x manual zoom (24-624mm equivalent).

The Fujinon lens includes 17 glass lens elements in 12 groups, and has smooth zoom control.

An intelligent digital zoom is said to effectively double the telephoto capabilities for up to a 52x total zoom effect, and a Super Macro Mode that captures images as close as 1cm.

The EXR processor enables extremely fast auto-focus while minimizing shutter lag. It supports highspeed continuous shooting of approximately 7 fps at full resolution.

The camera's EVF offers 1.4 million dots of resolution and uses two glass lenses and one non-spherical lens to capture realistic lighting, to complement the 3-inch titling LCD that includes a Monitor Sunlight mode for viewing in bright sunlight.

The body design includes a rubberized grain texture coating for superior grip, and a hot-shoe mount to add additional accessories.

It will record video at up to FullHD 1080p resolution.

Meanwhile, the new FinePix F750EXR offers a sleek compact body design with intuitive user controls, a 0.5-inch 16-megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor with strong low-light shooting capability, and a 20x super wide-angle lens (25-500mm equivalent) with an Intelligent Digital Zoom, which effectively doubles the range to 40x.

The F750EXF also features a 3-inch clear, high contrast 460,000-dot LCD with Monitor Sunlight mode, high-speed shooting at up to 8 fps at full resolution (11 fps max speed at medium resolution), and FullHD movie capture at 1080p (30 fps) with stereo sound.
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
Hello guys! I was looking to buy a flash for my camera (t2i) and I came across this.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/YONGNUO-Flas...pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item23155f7868

Is this a good product? I'm not a professional so I don't really want to buy something more expensive than that. Is there an official Canon flash in the same price range as good as the YN?

Good product? Yes. Yongnuo had some quality control issues a few years back, seemingly now fixed. I have a couple of YN560s for my T2i and am very happy with them.

Official equivalent at same price? No, nowhere near. The YN565 seems pretty well a clone of the Canon 580 which is much more expensive.
 
Im selling my T2i. Heres whats included. How much should I ask/expect for it?
-Canon T2i
-18-55mm kit lens
-55-250mm EOS 4-5.6 IS Lens
-Extra battery
-Perfect Viewfinder attachment for video
-car charger
-16 & 32GB Transcend class 10 SD cards
 

olbareun

Member
Does this still have the new sensor? Seems to be a bit of confusion on different tech monkey forums. I hope they go for it.

I don't think so.. Wouldn't they list it as a key feature if it had the new sensor?

If this was FF or had the foveon-like sensor I would have really considered it.. i don't see this being better than x100 with the current specs given that my favorite focal length is 35mm.

What is interesting is that they are calling the viewfinder "hybrid". My guess is that they are going to draw framelines based on the lens thats currently being mounted for OVF?
DIFFERENT-BRIGHTLINE-FRAMES-WITH-0.58X-0.72X-AND-0.85X-LEICA-M-VIEWFINDERS.jpg

Here is a frameline example on a leica
 
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