Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 Looking at getting a new camera - partly for work use (taking pictures of products) But also for general use and motor sport photos Budget not sure really but I guess about a grand - and I would like to buy with that the camera and a lens suitable for motor sport Looking for recommendations as to what is the best product on the market for that sort of money - the only stipulation is that it needs to be fairly easy to use as I am not by nature one to mess about with settings and adjusting photos afterwards - and I am very much a photography dummy Your thoughts? Quote
FILFAN Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 I have a Nikon d3100 with a standard lens and an additional 70x300 telephoto lens. The one I had at barkston Heath. Will b taking it to cadwell if you want to try it out and see if its the sort of thing u want Quote
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted October 10, 2012 Author Posted October 10, 2012 I have a Nikon d3100 with a standard lens and an additional 70x300 telephoto lens. The one I had at barkston Heath. Will b taking it to cadwell if you want to try it out and see if its the sort of thing u want ok m8 can you upload a few sample photos? maybe on our facebook page if that is easier for you! cheers fella Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 You can't really go wrong with either the Canon or Nikon ranges, it's important to try the "feel" of the camera though as both brands are different. And what will seem natural to work for one person can seem awkward for another. And while I know there are other excellent brands out there, sticking with the big two will pay dividends when it comes to picking up second hand lenses when upgradeitus sets in Quote
Captain Colonial Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 My neighbour has not had a happy time with his Canon DSLR. While he was happy with the camera, lens, and photo quality, he takes very good care of his toys and was therefore disappointed when the camera electronics died after only about 1,000 photos, just over two years old and out of warranty. Canon charged him £200 to fix it, saying it was "water ingress" (he never takes it out in the rain). Six months and 150 photos later, it died again with the same fault. Canon wanted to charge him again until he contacted Trading Standards and started ejecting his toys, after which they re-did the repair for free. So not a great after-sales experience for him, anyway. Just sayin'. Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 I've had superb service from Canon over the years and have owned their kit since I was 15. (My original AE1 sits on a shelf at home!) Like all things though, you can just be unlucky. When you start looking in depth, all brands have had the odd duffer product. Thankfully though, there aren't too many. Quote
Dodgey Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 Once you own a proper DSLR you won't be a photography noob for long. It's just too fascinating (and actually very easy to understand once you sit down for half an hour and take the time to read and understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and iso - it's far more straightforward that you imagine). Only advice I'll give is make sure your budget gives priority to the lenses - all the modern Canons and Nickons are excellent cameras. It's all in the lenses! I'm on a canon 30D which is relatively a dinosaur in the age of constant upgrades but it still takes amazing photos! Quote
FILFAN Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 ok m8 can you upload a few sample photos? maybe on our facebook page if that is easier for you! cheers fella There are the pics on the barkston Heath thread. But will get some on fb when I get home tomorrow. Went to waddington airshow when I first got the telephoto lens. If you zoom in you can read the writing on the cockpit glass. You get better results in manual modes and it doesn't take much to work stuff out. That's what YouTube is for. There is a good Chanel by a bloke called jarodpolin or something like that. Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 The only thing I would say on camera bodies is make sure you get one that still gives good manual control; some of the more budget end do tend to go a bit auto everything. Otherwise, glass is king! (And f-King expensive if you really get into it!) Damn that addiction to white lenses. Quote
Captain Colonial Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 There is a good Chanel by a bloke called jarodpolin or something like that. He does perfumes, doesn't he? Quote
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted October 10, 2012 Author Posted October 10, 2012 There are the pics on the barkston Heath thread. But will get some on fb when I get home tomorrow. Went to waddington airshow when I first got the telephoto lens. If you zoom in you can read the writing on the cockpit glass. You get better results in manual modes and it doesn't take much to work stuff out. That's what YouTube is for. There is a good Chanel by a bloke called jarodpolin or something like that. just had a look at the barkston photos - considering how far you was away and how dull the day was they look bl**dy good Quote
FILFAN Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 I like to use auto as a reference point then adjust things from there until I get the result I'm after. When snapping at a rally stage recently I did this to take pics where I could get it to show the front wheels slightly blurred And the rear v blurred as they were spinning. Quote
AdamR Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 I was going to post, but people have covered it pretty much! Spend a bit of time getting used to the manual settings and it will be a lot more rewarding The cameras are generally 'better' than the users, so no worries about quality of shots. We have a Canon 7D and a 550D at work, which are used for both product shots and 'action' stuff. Some examples... http://www.tartybikes.co.uk (all the product shots) http://www.tartybike...rs/mark1920.jpg http://www.tartybike...l_alibb1600.jpg Product Videos (we do product videos too - most decent SLRs have this capability now) http://www.trials-fo...60#entry2313186 (some pics from Silverstone last year, quite a long way from the track) http://forum.wscc.co...age__hl__photos http://forum.wscc.co...post__p__951040 Oops, a lot of links there... sorry... Quote
peterg Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 Like Gadgetman, I've been using Canon cameras since the early 70s.... not had a problem with any of them and now use a Canon 40D plus 17-85 IS and 70-200 L IS zoom lenses Try and have a go at handling both Canon and Nikon bodies as they feel different and some prefer one over the other, my 40D is magnesium bodied and much chunkier than the 300D it replaced but feels much nicer to hold because of it, some of the newer cameras just feel too small to get a good grip which is important if you're using a mid to long zoom without a tripod. A lot of zooms incorporate image stabilisation [iS for Canon, VR (vibration reduction) for Nikon] and it is well worth getting a zoom with it to ensure you minimise the chance of blurring a picture although the benefit of digital is that you can blast off a few dozen shots and just select the best one when you upload them... Quote
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