I want to get a DSLR and I have no Idea what would be a wise purchase want a good starter if someone would be willing to do a quick search of craigslist or give me some recommended models that would be great I used to be quite a photo geek back in h.s but havent ever messed with a DSLR other than point and shoot models needless to say i dont want to spend a ton hopefully less than 400
Need advice on a camera
- Thread starter High Plains Reefer
- Start date
would the second one in this post be a good starter?
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5317236491.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5317236491.html
I think this one may be better
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5323724305.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5323724305.html
I've been a photographer for many years and my best piece of advice is that when you buy a dlsr, the camera body itself is actually the cheapest part of the investment. Focus on the lenses and the type of photography you want to do. Do you want to do landscape (wide angle)? Macro? Portrait? I chose nikon years ago and now have over $5k into various lenses. I started with a film body and have since replaced the camera body 3 times. Camera bodies come and go, and are easily replaced. Lenses will last a lifetime, if properly taken care of.
With that said, this is a decent package with 3 lenses;
http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/5334778389.html
With that said, this is a decent package with 3 lenses;
http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/5334778389.html
Ken, those are both "OLD" models, I mean old. I would recommend going to Canon's site, and looking at their refurbished cameras. I would trust them before craigslist any day. This would be a decent starter, and for the money, I would buy it ( I actually have a t5i, and wouldn't sell it for this $) http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/c...?cm_sp=BlackFriday-_-Landing_DSLR-M-_-Desktop
This combo would be a bit above your price pint at $575 but you might be able to haggle both deals to get closer to $400.
This 100mm 1:1 true macro would be a great lens to get started with. It's the older model but still a highly rated lens capable of some really nice macro shots.
https://denver.craigslist.org/ele/5325259314.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5260701297.html
This 100mm 1:1 true macro would be a great lens to get started with. It's the older model but still a highly rated lens capable of some really nice macro shots.
https://denver.craigslist.org/ele/5325259314.html
https://denver.craigslist.org/pho/5260701297.html
I love macro photography! Nikon and Cannon are both are fantastic. I do think both have better lens quality than sony. Additionally, Cannon sells a couple "grades" of lenses that are a little more budget friendly. Nikon sells some budget lenses, but in all honesty, they're not too good and don't create the ultra sharp image you want. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. I absolutely love my 105mm micro and is one of my favorites, but very difficult because the depth of field is very small. I also use a 60mm macro and it is much more forgiving, but not the same level of magnification as the 105mm.
I don't have experience with cannon, so can't offer any opinions. But be happy to help out anytime. Cheers and good luck!
I don't have experience with cannon, so can't offer any opinions. But be happy to help out anytime. Cheers and good luck!
I can definitely advise in the canon macro area as it's been my main area of interest for the last 6 months. So I think you got several people that can steer you well. The 100mm I posted above is a super nice macro the only difference from the new one is really just image stabilization which many argue is not as important with macro. It may help a bit with hand held shots at full 1:1 when depth of if the most narrow but at that point I think a tripod is ideal anyway.
im half tempted to recommend you get that lens then find a good deal on the camera body.
im half tempted to recommend you get that lens then find a good deal on the camera body.
I've got a Nikon DSLR and a few lenses (a telephoto, a macro, and another 'regular' one - all in all a coupla grand spent on brand new stuff from Best Buy), and I love the pics I get with mine, even just on the 'automatic' setting. I'm FAR from an expert, but I totally agree with the previous comments. The expense is in the lenses and accessories, not the camera body. I've seen the pics that Kris got with his camera, and they're spectacular. Also worth noting is that getting a good photo editing software will become important in a hurry. I'm saving up to get Lightroom ($140 to buy it, or $10/month for a subscription). Or you could go whole hog and get Photoshop.
And I have a strong suspicion that cameras are like saltwater tank equipment - if you get what you really want at the beginning, you will spend less in the end. Going cheap in the beginning is the best way to spend a lot of money before you are done.
And I have a strong suspicion that cameras are like saltwater tank equipment - if you get what you really want at the beginning, you will spend less in the end. Going cheap in the beginning is the best way to spend a lot of money before you are done.
I'm partial to Olympus, been using their stuff for years and my father owned a photo company in the 70's and 80's and never switched from his om-1, their first all manual. Currently in my wish list is the om-d, it's quite smaller than a normal dlsr because it's digital and took out all the lenses (making it a lenseless camera - it's also a 4/3 camera). The om-d has been out for a few years now but has been a really good camera that olympus only recently upgraded. You can find quite a few packages on Amazon but I'd buy the body first and then add lenses to accommodate to your needs for photography. That's m2c.
+1 to Lightroom. There are tons of forums on cameras to browse thru but the bottom line is that you need to figure out what you want to shoot first and then buy the body and lense that fits that, if you want to do just a good all around camera vs maybe some low light football games with the occasional macro shot of your aquarium, etc. it's slightly overwhelming at first but once you start in it gets easier. I'll see if I can dig up a few good references and forums for you to browse thru.
Just a few things to mention about lightroom which I learned the hard way. If you get it definitely go with lightroomCC (the CC stands for creative cloud and can only be downloaded and installed on line for a monthly/yearly fee). LightroomCC is not a 1 time cost like buying the software at a store, it can only be purchased on a month to month or yearly basis and costs $9.99 a month I believe and also comes with at least some version of photoshop which has some really nice features that are just better than Lightroom. If you watch a lot of tutorial on line like I do you start to notice a pattern of which features people export to PS for vs using LR.
The big advantage of going with LightroomCC is not only that you get photoshop as well but you also get all the latest updates and features like dehaze that is not available with the perpetual license version.
I downloaded the free 30 day trial of lightroomCC and loved it!. I bought the "Perpetual" version at MicroCenter and quickly learned some of the features I really liked in the free trial were missing. Im in the process of returning my perpetual license version and purchasing the CC version with photoshop. $10/mo is not a bad deal when you consider you always have the latest release and get PS too.
The big advantage of going with LightroomCC is not only that you get photoshop as well but you also get all the latest updates and features like dehaze that is not available with the perpetual license version.
I downloaded the free 30 day trial of lightroomCC and loved it!. I bought the "Perpetual" version at MicroCenter and quickly learned some of the features I really liked in the free trial were missing. Im in the process of returning my perpetual license version and purchasing the CC version with photoshop. $10/mo is not a bad deal when you consider you always have the latest release and get PS too.
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I love this site for reviews and research: http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/#b I have a Nikon D5100 and love it. I bought a 55-300mm lens to go with the 18-55 kit lens that came with it. If you zero in on a used model on Craigslist or something, go research it on Steves Digicams and see his thorough review.