Hola! I'm starting a photography class for my college, and i've got the camera requirements i need for it. I'm going to be using it for more than class, (portrait, wildlife, surf (from the beach)). what would you camera guys recommend me getting, and what should i be looking for? i'm new to the camera game, and i don't want the cheapy cheap camera, but i also can't afford a $600 camera. The Camera Specs required for the class are: -10+megapixel Digital Point-and-shoot with full manual mode, aperture, and shutter priority. Or to buy a Digital SLR. any help would be awesome. Thanks in advance guys
I don't know much, but the one thing I do know about digital cameras and shooting surfing, is you want a camera that has the shortest "shutter lag" possible. Shutter lag is the time between when you press the button, and when the camera records the picture. For some cameras it's over a second! For others it's like two tenths of a second.
What is your budget? If you are taking a class and really want to get into photography, you should get a DSLR. You can get a used Canon or Nikon body for a couple hundred bucks and a basic lens for hundred or so. A quick search on ebay turns up this body and lens with a buy it now for $375. This is the camera body that I currently use and it's fantastic. The glass (lenses) is where you can and should sink your money. http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-20D-K...794390?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item1e604ec716
lol thats actually the exact camera i was looking at while a was at Ritz. Since i don't know alot about the specs and stuff, does it have a shutter lag of less that 1 second? and does it work well at capturing clear crisp shots while shooting motion? i.e. getting a good snapshot of the spray from a tail blow, etc. Also will the 8.2 mp halter anything? or does it not matter if the megapixels are over 10 with a DSLR
A DSLR won't have any shutter lag. That's a problem with point and shoot cameras. This camera shoots 5 frames per second in burst mode. How's that for less than a second? 8.2 MP is more than enough. Capturing motion is not a function of the camera body alone. It's in the settings that you use and the capabilities of the lens. All things that you'll learn in your class. You can see samples of pictures I took with this camera in my gallery. Here is one for show. One I took of my son at half time of a football game. This was night, under the lights. Still stopped the motion pretty well.
yea i am in the market for my first SLR and was lookin at the Nikon D3000 any suggestions or opinions for surf photography... and if so can u can a waterhouse case later on
i shoot w/ the d3000. it's a great camera. the lens it comes w/ (a standard 18-55mm) is great for mid-range or close up work. i added a smaller telephoto (200mm) pretty quickly, & that works well for breaks that are fairly close to shore. a longer lens would be better for longer range shots. but as someone else on this thread said, the lenses are where you want to sink your money. i don't know whether or not you can get a housing for it or not as i have a separate camera for water work. i would assume so, tho. i'm really happy w/ mine...it's easy to use & to set up. can't recommend it highly enough.
You should check Leica out. They sell great entry level cameras at an affordable price. Great for a beginner who just wants to dabble. Here's a link. http://us.leica-camera.com/home/
oh thanks yea my friend has the go pro so i was just thinking the housing as like extra later on if i really get into photographing but i am too much into surfing to take photos and yea i think i am going to try and get a little bigger then 200m cause my friend has one but doesnt really get out to the outer sandbars and stuff just waiting to find it come on sale or something
I got the Nikon L100 and its a Okay camera for a beginner. I do surf , Landscape and portrait with it and for 250 its dose a nice job. Only down side is that you can put lenses on it so If you looking for something that you can use lenses on then this is not probably for ya
yea, the 200 is good for relatively close stuff, like beach breaks or closer sand bars. i found that an extra 100-150mm or so would've served me well when i was shooting from the top deck of the boat in the maldives this summer. i just couldn't quite get good shots. i think (but am not positive) that nikon has updated or changed the d3000 & renamed it the d3000s or something like that. if i'm right, then most places will be trying to clean out their inventory of the 3000 to make way for the 3000s. i got mine at target of all places, & i was on sale (this was over a year ago), & my telephoto came from best buy. it was the biggest piece of glass i could afford at the time.
You might want to look at the canon g11's. From what I understand, they are kind of a middle ground to the DSLRs and point and shoot. Not a true SLR. There are three lenses you can buy in a kit, and lots of options with the camera. It still gets 3 shots per second I think, and is in your price range. My ex got one and I thought the pictures were excellent.
New GoPro Surf Hero Digital Camera - $100 not mine but I thought I would pass it along... http://annapolis.craigslist.org/pho/2153538163.html
what exactly is your budget, because photography isn't exactly cheap. Like everyone has mentioned though I do suggest a DSLR. and as for taking pics of surfers you will soon learn how versatile an SLR is compared to a point & shoot, but will also realize how expensive it is to unleash the full potential of a camera body with a nice fast lens. I took this with a 7D with a 18-55mm kit lens that I received with my 550D at 55mm 1/200 f5.6. A sink, speedlite, hanger, and a ziplock bag... Photography is definitely an awsome hobby to pick up for those flat no surf days/weeks
jeeze...nice photo, macguyver! after reading that list of props, i'm surprised you even used an actual camera & lens instead of a pinhole camera you made out of a piece of saran wrap & empty froot loops box.
