yeah that makes sense. the 30 f/1.4 has always been a pretty decent lens though, i am not familiar with their other lenses. i have always stayed with canon.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Official Camera Equipment Megathread
- Thread starter demon
- Start date
- Status
DarkJediKnight
Member
![IMG_3050.jpg](http://stuff457.gotdns.com/sjchen/tamrac85/IMG_3050.jpg"]http://stuff457.gotdns.com/sjchen/tamrac85/IMG_3050.jpg)
Tamrac Aero Speed 85. My new bag! Extremely sturdy and does not scream "camera bag! steal steal steal!!!"
Not my pic, but mine is setup similarly with a sigma 70-300 instead.
I was thinking about taking my first step into the DSLR life after my tax refund comes back and was curious as to what a good beginner DSLR camera would be for around $450-500. I had my eye on the Canon T3i, but I am most certainly open to suggestions. ( doesn't have to be new, I would prefer a newer used model)
Pretty much all entry level DSLR are fine for learning, although some offer more value than the others. If you think you are in for long term, I think the most important questions to ask are:
1) do size and weight matter, how much are you willing to handle? if you are not going to take the camera with you a lot of time because of its weight and size, then it's an useless camera.
2) related to #1, do you see yourself go full frame in the future? certain companies or format don't offer full frame, so think a bit about your upgrade path if you are going in for long term.
3) do you need weather sealing? not so important initially I guess but for me dust is bigger issue which sealing helps
4) how does the unit feel in your hands? pretty easy to check this out in stores for popular brands. unfortunately for mine (Pentax), I had to buy from places that I could return easily and I'm glad I gave them a shot.
Pagusas
Elden Member
Tamrac Aero Speed 85. My new bag! Extremely sturdy and does not scream "camera bag! steal steal steal!!!"
Not my pic, but mine is setup similarly with a sigma 70-300 instead.
oh man I love that. How much?
NathanMcMahon
Banned
link?
this thread has the links
http://slickdeals.net/f/5832228-Sig...ens-All-bodies-289-free-shipping-lowest-price
NathanMcMahon
Banned
thanks a bunch
Hi guys, I recently bought a E-PM1 and am loving using it at the moment. I've been using a 50mm lens with a mount and am impressed with the results and am now ready to get a new lens. I'm torn between the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 and the Olympus 45mm f1.8. I'll probably get both eventually, but if I can only get one now, which shall I go for. Any advice is appreciated.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
The Sig 85mm is actually a new product (came out last year I believe) and its absolutely fantastic (from what I've seen)
i have both. tough choice. you will have more fun with the 45mm, which is an excellent lens...and since its long, you can get great portraits with nice bokeh. the 20mm on the other hand is more all purpose, but tougher to get creative with.
these are with the 45mm, i am in love with this lens:
20mm
20mm
Ooh ooh! This was mine with the x100 (handheld at ghastly high iso haha so it's very muddy) ;b
I feel bad for selling my used copy for $375 to a guy just a few months ago.
I recently picked up the F-Stop Loka.
Great for longer trips or when you need to carry a bunch of equipment in great comfort.
I also grabbed the F-Stop Guru.
Excellent for carrying equipment around the city or much shorter distances.
They use an ICU (Internal Camera Unit) system, so you can choose how much camera equipment space you need allocated in your bags. They're universally designed, so you can put a small one in a big bag to carry extra non-camera equipment or a medium one in a smaller backpack for an almost dedicated camera bag, or any other way you like.
I've never seen anything like it until now, they're the perfect camera bags. The zips to access the camera equipment are against your back, so not chance of subtle thievery (plus neither of them look like camera backpacks). The other bonus to this is that when you put your bag down to access the equipment, the back touches the dirty/wet ground, not the part that will be in contact with your back soon after.http://i.imgur.com/zLfHjo6.png
When you don't need quick access to camera gear when you're on the move, camera backpacks are a great comfortable choice. These ones in particular are by far the best backpacks I have ever seen and used, the camera backpacks I have been after for so long. Nothing else comes close.
DarkJediKnight
Member
JORMBO
Darkness no more
I've had this awesome shot I had to shoot last summer at high ISO since it was near night time. It came out too noisey for my liking so I did not end up using it. I downloaded a trial to Noiseware tonight and it instantly sucked all the noise right out of the shot. I'm impressed.
After reading this thread, I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy the Rokinon 35mm f/1.4. Does anyone have this? Cheapest I'm seeing it is around $400, it looks like a beautiful lens. Was thinking about getting the cinema lens, but I don't think I'd use the declicked aperture anyways.
1) Size and weight aren't the biggest issues and I'm not looking for anything special, but I do love to take photos and was looking at something better than a point and shoot, and I like to edit my photos too.
2) I'd like to have a camera that could keep up with competition so upgrades would be nice.
3) I don't think weather sealing should be a large issue for central Florida, it's muggy but nothing major.
4) I'd like something comfortable and I've used my friends canon DSLR before and it felt like it was easy to balance and hold steady. I'm not sure what model it was but it may have been the T3.
I need someone to stop me from purchasing this lens for my Canon. I just bought a Sigma 17-70 a month ago. And yes I've read about the sigma lottery on the focusing on this lens.
I would use it more than my canon 50 f/1.8.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381615-REG/Sigma_300101_30mm_f_1_4_EX_DC.html
QualityPixel
Banned
It looks like Canon offers a 35mm F/2 lens which I bet is oodles sharper, but it does not let in nearly as much light.
When I saw that the Sigma lens was on sale I looked up sample images and even stopped down to around F/5 or more it produced 'meh' results. But the Nikon equiv version produced images I felt were far superior despite being a fraction of the cost. I can't speak for the Canon, but I bet it's about the same as the Nikon.
Edit: I would almost dare say that lenses like the Bower 35mm F/1.4 would be a better investment despite being manual focus. From what I hear, they produce dreamy results when wide open, and give reasonably clear images when stopped down. I would really like to try one some day.
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
If you can find one from a reliable source, you might consider getting a used Canon T2i (550D). Its basically the same camera as the T3i except for not having a flip-out screen and should be some way cheaper. I'm having a whale of a time with mine.
In terms of size and balance I've found it an absolute boon to put a battery grip on the camera - adds to the size a bit, but it balances both around the neck and in hand a heck of a lot better. No need to go for the official Canon one, which is way too expensive - there's some very good cheap third party ones around.
Thank you!
EDIT: Damn. That sigma 30mm 1.4 looks pretty nice, and its cheaper. hmm. Have to think on this :-/
What sort of length are you looking at? the Nikon 55-200mm VR AF-S f/4-5.6G ED did the job for me on my old D3100 and you can pick it up pretty cheap new or second hand. Its not the best telephoto in the world but gets good results for the budget
I need a little help with a Nikon D5100. It seems that when I play with the aperture settings (or any setting), the LCD screen does not reflect the changes. I have to take the picture, then check the LCD screen to see my pic (now with the changes). Basically, the LCD screen does not give an accurate preview of the picture I'm about to take.
Other cameras I've owned didn't do this. Can someone help me out?
Other cameras I've owned didn't do this. Can someone help me out?
The lens won't step down the aperture until the moment of shutter being pressed. Only using an old non Nikon lens (M42 for example) you can see the depth of field in real time. Try the DOF preview button.
Thanks for the reply, but there is no DOF preview button on the D5100. I've tried to look for an answer, and it seems it is impossible to see live changes on the LCD screen before taking a picture. At first, I thought it was because I didn't know how to activate this, but it seems it's not the case.
Meh, my gf spent a lot of money a couple of months ago for this, and now she's really disappointed. I know you shouldn't rely on live view for taking stills, but it's still a useful mode that she was used to on every other camera she has ever owned.
I've been pimping those in this thread for awhile.
Giard said:
unfortunately that is a bug (intentional gimping of lower end) of nikons live view.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
This might be a stupid question but what's the fastest way to resize a bunch of photos while retaining the quality? I used some random program that let you do it but it definitely worsened the pics.
Is there a good thing I'm missing out on? Any instructions would help.
Is there a good thing I'm missing out on? Any instructions would help.
NathanMcMahon
Banned
lightroom maybe. maintain the dpi and adjust the size, i'm speaking with no experience though so i may be wrong
There are plenty of ways to do it, you just need to be able to adjust the JPEG quality settings (assuming you are outputting in Jpeg). When I'm not in my Lightroom workflow, I use Faststone Image Viewer's batch functionality
DarkJediKnight
Member
CANONITES!
Need some help here. I'm looking for a fast 24mm prime for my 60D. I find that I need to take more group shots and and really don't want to get a 17-??? lens that I'll have to sell once I move to full frame down the road.
Ones I was looking at: Sigma 24mm 1.8 / Rokinon 24mm 1.4 (but this is manual only). My budget is around $400. Any help would be appreciated.
Obviously, I would love to have the 24mm 1.4 L lens. But that's no happening.
Need some help here. I'm looking for a fast 24mm prime for my 60D. I find that I need to take more group shots and and really don't want to get a 17-??? lens that I'll have to sell once I move to full frame down the road.
Ones I was looking at: Sigma 24mm 1.8 / Rokinon 24mm 1.4 (but this is manual only). My budget is around $400. Any help would be appreciated.
Obviously, I would love to have the 24mm 1.4 L lens. But that's no happening.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
thanks very much, I'll check it out.
edit: Faststone is amazing, where have I been!
How can you ask this kind of question without stating APSC or FF?
I assume you don't know what FF is. In that case get the Tokina 116.
Yea, I'm really new currently that's why some of my questions may come off silly.
Thanks though I'm gonna price that lens
Yea, Pentax shooter here. Love the handling. Any specific questions?
I have some decent old Takumar Pentax/Asahi Optical lenses (1970s) that I believe are all C-Mount. They are my dad's and I'm thinking of getting him a DSLR to use his old lenses with. I've noticed most of the new cameras use K-Mount and other weird terms I know nothing about. I've read you can use adapters though. Just need some insight on how to choose a body that will function properly with these old lenses. Know of a decent ones and if they work well with old lenses?
They are probably M42 mount I imagine. You can get an adapter for it and pretty much any current/recent Pentax camera will work. Backward compatibility is less of an issue on the system. There are many threads about it if you search on PentaxForum
- Status