SLR digital camera recommendations

RaiderHammer

Lirin wrote: »

Raider,

What old lenses do you have? What camera were they for? 30+ yr lenses will generally be manual focus, and depending on the camera, may or may not work- would need more info.

Hi old camera body is a Canon AE-1 and the lenes are:
Tokina 52-X 80mm - 200 mm
Canon FD 50 mm 1:1.8
Teleplus Mc4 2X CFE

Any good?

Lirin

TBH- I'd say with the exception of the 50mm, they're not really great. I do know both the Tokina and Teleplus would be soft on a digital body, the 50mm should hold up fairly well. Obviously, you'll lack auto-focus.
Reason was, if the lenses are decent, it make sense to upgrade within the same make as it cuts costs. If you do decide to upgrade and keep your existing lenses- a little tip. Canon moved to position of the electrical contacts slightly since the AE-1, meaning occasionally with older lenses on a newer body, the camera will display 'Error 99' and freeze. Easy fix- just switch camera off, remove lens, wait 2 min, switch camera on and reattach lens. She's just a little confused, and that clears it.
Whatever model/manufacturer you settle on, it's worth looking at a model or two before the current one- you'll quite often be able to buy owners kits on Ebay etc, for less than the latest camera with the rubbish kit lens.

RaiderHammer

Lirin wrote: »

TBH- I'd say with the exception of the 50mm, they're not really great. I do know both the Tokina and Teleplus would be soft on a digital body, the 50mm should hold up fairly well. Obviously, you'll lack auto-focus.
Reason was, if the lenses are decent, it make sense to upgrade within the same make as it cuts costs. If you do decide to upgrade and keep your existing lenses- a little tip. Canon moved to position of the electrical contacts slightly since the AE-1, meaning occasionally with older lenses on a newer body, the camera will display 'Error 99' and freeze. Easy fix- just switch camera off, remove lens, wait 2 min, switch camera on and reattach lens. She's just a little confused, and that clears it.
Whatever model/manufacturer you settle on, it's worth looking at a model or two before the current one- you'll quite often be able to buy owners kits on Ebay etc, for less than the latest camera with the rubbish kit lens.

Thanks. Are kit lenes not worth the extra cost then?

mr_fishbulb

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Thanks. Are kit lenes not worth the extra cost then?

Some of them are. For example the Nikon D90 comes with the 18-105 which is a great lens. Check out the reviews for cameras you are considering and they should tell you what the kit lens is like.

rancid-a

jmc - You take beautiful photos. Some of the Red Arrow photos look a bit surreal thanks to the pink smoke blending in with the sky. The Dinosaur ones are cool too...and the sunsets..
I'm quite a newbie when it comes to photography, my last purchase was a Nikon P500, but it doesn't get much use. May I ask you a question or two about your D3100?

Is the ISO easy to set on your camera? My P500 when left in auto mode refuses to go lower than iso800 - midday, no zoom. Really disappointed with the results. Things were were a bit better though when I came out of auto and used Aperture Priority (which is what I think newbies are supposed to use when they come out of auto mode no?)

Cheers

[Deleted User]

A lot of old lenses work with new kit. I use Olympus OM lenses with my Panasonic L10 dSLR. It has a 'focus indicator' which flashes in the eyepiece when the picture is in focus. Yes, it has live-view.. but I think that's pretty useless, and I don't even mind loosing the feature in my next camera.

Here's some shots, mostly taken with my 50mm OM and my 300mm Steinheil - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirwilliam/

I love the steinheil.. it effectively becomes a 600mm lens, and the camera can use optical magic to turn it into 1200mm. Both lenses cost 30quid (there's some ace 2nd hand camera shops in London - near the british museum)

When i get a chance, i'll get myself a Canon or Nikon.. i really want an affordable f1.8 50mm lens

jmc160

rancid-a wrote: »

jmc - You take beautiful photos. Some of the Red Arrow photos look a bit surreal thanks to the pink smoke blending in with the sky. The Dinosaur ones are cool too...and the sunsets..
I'm quite a newbie when it comes to photography, my last purchase was a Nikon P500, but it doesn't get much use. May I ask you a question or two about your D3100?

Is the ISO easy to set on your camera? My P500 when left in auto mode refuses to go lower than iso800 - midday, no zoom. Really disappointed with the results. Things were were a bit better though when I came out of auto and used Aperture Priority (which is what I think newbies are supposed to use when they come out of auto mode no?)

Cheers

Thanks very much, I'm glad you like them

Yup, iso is very easy to set and use. I don't think I've ever tried changing the iso in auto mode, I tend to use aperture priority when I'm fiddling with that sort of thing. I tend to find the d3100 has no problem with letting me change the settings, but it has refused to actually take a picture once or twice, when I've got the settings completely wrong.

I tend to find most settings quite intuitive, as if I have it in a particular mode, there might be certain limits to how high or low the camera will go with certain settings. Generally if it won't let me go to where I want to go, I'll just put it in a different mode and keep playing til I get it right. Having the onboard guide really helps me to understand how it should be set up for particular shots And which modes I should be using.

I'm still learning, and I hope I'm getting there slowly. Only time will tell I guess

Evren

it depends on if you want to buy a lot of lenses, and what prices you want to pay for them?
I own a Sony, which is a little more expensive on the lenses, but I can always seem to find cheap secondhand ones that actually fit.

A canon or Nikkon is usually a good choice, have a look on Amazon at prices, and see if you can find them refurbished by the company, as most places/sites will do an extended warranty on them.

Most cameras will come with an 18-55mm Lens, so you might want to get a 50mm prime lens, and something like a 70-210mm for close ups, and possibly a macro lens.
All depends on what you want to DO with it.

rancid-a

I like the idea of the D3100 guide system which I'd no doubt have to use. And I'm guessing even if the SLR needed a high iso like 800+ it would still take a better/less grainy/less smeary photo than the similar iso on a compact like the P500?

martyn05

Have a look at Ephotozine and you will get plenty of advice there from amateurs and professionals alike.