Hey guys, So I'm looking at getting into photography a little bit, but really have no way to start. I'm looking for something in the 500 range to do as much as possible. Down the road i'd love to buy a zoom lens and waterhousing for the camera. I also plan on taking some photography courses. My question to you fellas is what (somewhat affordable) camera is best for surfing?
hey, just do a forum search, this has been discussed before. The Canon Rebel is a good start. You need something with reasonable fps for shooting surfing. You can pick up some used canons and nikons as well. 20D was a good camera and reasonably quick. I'm sure Nikon makes equivalents as well. Once you pick a system you should stick with it as you'll be buying lenses for that specific body. I will say this, if you're gonna drop money on a housing (like $1500-2k roughly) then you might as well buy a good camera.
hey dude iv got a canon digital rebel xt (DSLR) with 3 lenses (kit, 80-200mm, and 70-300mm). The two big lenses are great for surf photos and i have taken this set up on several trips. I'd take $420 cash for the whole get up. PM me if you want it. Located in norfolk / vb area. It was all over $1200 new but im just looking to unload some toys. -the stud
i toy around w/ photography a bit as well. my set up is a nikon d3000 dslr w/ kit lens (18-55mm...great for close-up work) & a 55-200mm telephoto. the telephoto is pretty decent for surf photography as long as the break is fairly close to shore. for really tight pics or breaks that are farther offshore, a longer lens would be nice, something around 300-400mm.
Don't buy a camera with a fixed lens. Get a DSLR as others have mentioned. The Canon 20D is a great camera. I still shoot with this body today but have added some good glass. The lenses is where you should concentrate your spending. Find a 20D on Ebay for $350 and then buy the Canon 75-300 f/4-5.6 III for $200 and you will be ready to shoot. Then you can add lens for that body. Stepping up the the L Series glass is where you will really need to make sure you are going to stick with it before you make the investment, but the image quality if far superior with the L glass.
My two cents: Go to your local camera shop. Pick up each of the low range bodies (Nikon, Canon, etc your choice of brand), and ask to see 3-4 lenses of each for each. Look at a wide angle lens 12-18mm for DSLR. Standard lens. Somewhere between 24-50mm (prime lenses). Short tele (55-200 range) and a long tele. Somewhere in the range of 70-300mm+. Judge your decision based on the glass you use, as that's transferable between same brand bodies. Don't ask to look at cheap or really expensive glass. Go mid range as that is what you'll be using majority of the time. Brand is irrelevant when it comes to quality. Nikon and Canon both make great cameras, and they both make great glass... pick the one you're more comfortable on.
Just my 2 cents as well...... I can agree with a lot of what's been said and I want to add to those comments. I shoot with a Pentax K100D and have had no issues whatsoever with Pentax, I like the heavier feel of the camera, but that's just me, there are upsides as well as downsides to mine as well as all the others, I wanted one that takes AA batteries so when I'm traveling I can get replacements anywhere(I have since changed that stance because I have about 8 sets and they're a pain to carry), I wanted an entry-level with anti-shake and I wanted to be able to use ANY recent Pentax lens available. I'm currently looking to upgrade to a better camera and I've been doing lots of comparing and it looks like I'm going to stick with Pentax simply because of the shutter speeds in the price bracket I'm looking into. The typical shutter speed is 1/4000 and thats what I use exclusively when I'm shooting surfers and with good results, there are some Pentax in the next level up with 1/6000 and 1/8000 speeds so that's where I'm headed. There are going to be guys telling you to pick the manufacturer they use and righfully so. In my current search, I'm looking for : high shutter speed, battery grip, lithium-ion battery and solid feel of body. I have added a link to : Digital Photography Review and you can use it to do a side-by-side comparison of every camera and make your own choice. Good luck! http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.keh.com/ You can find good deals on used equipment at KEH, I've bought lenses from there and have always been stoked on the quality/condition. I have seen water housings on there before too.
go with the rebel xti thats a good starter camera for ya. try lookin in some camera forums see if they have a buy,sell,or trade thread. most photogs take good care of there equipment and you can get it dirt cheep. get ya a few lenes maybe a wide angle and a telephoto lens for starters. practice practice practice check out the sigma web site for your good lens. so by next year you can afford a 70-200 2.8 and get a 1.4 tele converter. then your off a running
Got a Rebel XS with a 70-300 lens.Great setup.Took a course at Brookdale and it definitely helped me alot.I also have a Pentax Optio W60 waterproof point and shoot with vid. Check out B&H website.I got my Cannon setup for $500 and that was including the 2 lenses.That same setup at Target and Best buy would be around $800.That was just a special going on thou.That was a couple years ago thou around Christmas time.
I too am a n00bie and I went with the Canon T1i as my starting place. I have a few lens besides the kit and made sure I bought good glass so when I upgrade the body I won't need to do much. As tbing said www.bhphotovideo.com also has good selection for online. I buy most stuff from there after looking at Amazon to price compare. Decide what you want to shoot and practice then practice some more. It is also good to know how to process your photos after the fact.
Only read the OP, but I dab into taking photos occasionally and here is the route I took. I didn't go the "stand on the beach" route. Instead I bought an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW, and it isn't to expensive. It takes great pictures, the zoom isn't to great(you can still take pictures on the beach, just not far away and zoomed in tons), and it is fully waterproof without the extra case. Overall my family has 4 of them, takes great video, is shock/freeze/waterproof and even out of the water it is great. I bought the additional waterproof case for it, since when I take photos I am wearing flippers and I am diving a lot. You don't need a case since the camera itself goes beyond any normal depth you will dive, but the case makes it a bit easier to handle and makes me feel better about it not accidentally opening up and leaking . When I bought mine the camera was $300, and the case was between $150 and $200 and hasn't broken in the past 3 years. As a comparison I owned a Go Pro camera(which many use now) and it only lasted 1 1/2 years, I kept it clean and in good shape, but the casing broke and leaked when my brother as diving with it. With an Olympus even if this happens the camera itself is already waterproof.
Get a tripod as well. I wish I shot more surfing with a tripod. Many images that look great (color, angle, surfing, timing) are ruined due to an unlevel horizon. Get a tripod that can support the weight of your camera and zoom lens. Set it up level with the horizon then take the shots. To get some good action shots, a high burst rate isn't necessary. You need to have timing in your hands and be able to see the line happening before you shoot. If you already surf, think what you would do in that exact situation and shoot when it's gonna happen. Practice this by shooting passing traffic, any action sports, birds... etc
