by "deprecated account" (savethei4s)
Published 12/27/2017 at 02:00
by "deprecated account" (savethei4s)
Published 12/27/2017 at 02:00
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STARS: 2
I hope everyone had a great day and got what they wanted! I know I did! I split the cost of a gently used Canon T6i with my parents for Christmas. I found one from a well-rated seller on eBay with an 18-55 kit and all the standard accessories and ended up winning the auction at $460. I’m absolutely loving it so far, and I already have a 50mm f1.8 lens on the way. So here’s one of the first pictures I took with it! I also went out to a local park with some of my friends today, and here’s some of my favorite shots that don’t show their faces (most do).
I’m still getting the hang of using the camera (these were all shot in manual) and editing in Lightroom, but I think they came out alright for a first shoot!
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
12/27/2017 at 03:02, STARS: 0
It seems like you should be here in SF and I should be in MT, we can switch? My dad is from Red Lodge so I have been up there many times.
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/27/2017 at 03:09, STARS: 0
Oh no, I’m not from MT, just love the license plate design (I’ve been surprised how often I get asked if I’m from there just because of the plate). I’m actually from Tennessee. I got the plate for like $9 off eBay, and if you look closely, you’ll see it expired in the early 90s. I’ve neither even been to MT but I hope to change that this summer (fingers crossed).
"SmugAardvark" (SmugAardvark)
12/27/2017 at 03:27, STARS: 1
What kind of photography are you going to get into? I’m a Nikon guy myself, but I’ve somewhat fallen out of the hobby a little bit. The gear is expensive, and it’s always getting tougher and tougher for me to find time to go out and shoot. If you’re new to it altogether, I would suggest buying a decent telephoto lens (75-300), and a f/1.4 35mm fixed lens if you can find the money to spare. The Canon L-series lenses are absolutely incredible, but they do cost a small fortune.
On a tangential note, I got more beer-making equipment for Christmas. It’s cheaper than camera equipment, and it helps get you drunk! My family knows me all too well, even if they are clear across the country.
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/27/2017 at 03:44, STARS: 0
I’m a super casual photographer, as in I’ve only shot on an iPhone ( not a bad camera by any means ) up to now. I like taking pictures of all kinds of stuff, but mostly cars, landscapes, buildings, and people. To be honest a camera probably wasn’t all that great of an investment since I’ll be going to college next year studying . mechanical engineering and therefore won’t have time to do much of anything. For the same reason, I don’t have all that much money either, but your sort of game plan is what I was planning on doing. A refurb 75-300 is next up on my list since I just picked up the 50mm fixed f/1.8, but other than that I just can’t see myself spending hundreds of dollars on a single lense.
"SmugAardvark" (SmugAardvark)
12/27/2017 at 04:02, STARS: 0
Good call. Once you get a job with that engineering degree, you can afford all kinds of fancy lenses. I got started when I was a freshman in college (many years ago), and made do with some lesser known brand lenses such as Sigma and Tamron. The Nikon D40X I was using back then did not have full AF on the body, so if the lens didn’t have the motor, you were stuck with manual focus. In a lot of ways, it was a benefit, as it forced me to develop the skills on my own rather than relying on the hardware. They make decent entry-level stuff that won’t break the bank. You may have to deal with the occasional chromatic aberration and such, but they’ll still work on the overwhelming majority of situations.
For shooting cars, a wide-angle lens is fantastic, especially if you’re somewhere with a lot of people (such as Cars & Coffee). I use a Sigma 10-20mm. It was on the higher end for the casual photographer ($400 new, but I got mine used for about $225). But at a lower price point, you can pick up a Canon 24mm f/2.8 for less than $150.
Another helpful tip is to buy an old film SLR camera. You can get them for dirt cheap these days (I’ve seen them at thrift stores, garage sales, Craigslist, etc) for a body and a few lenses for less than $50. Knowing you only get so many shots per roll of film, it forces you to become more precise. I still occasionally use my Minolta SRT-101. The only thing it uses its battery for is the light meter. Everything else has to be set manually, including winding the film.
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/27/2017 at 04:24, STARS: 0
Sigma and Tamron make entry-level stuff? All their stuff I saw on Amazon was still hella expensive. Not like Canon white lens territory but a good chunk of change. Memphis CL is also a ghost town in the photo/video section, and what is there is mostly Nikon. I also have no idea what a chromatic aberration is, so there’s that. I’ll look into a wide-angle though. And I’d entertained the idea on shooting on film on my dad’s old Pentax a few years ago, but I’m just not patient enough. I’m fine shooting in manual, but being able to adjust settings after A/B-ing the same photo on different settings is a huge help for me, and I’d hate to waste time and money on poorly exposed stuff, especially as I’d like to do some creative, long-exposure type stuff.
"SmugAardvark" (SmugAardvark)
12/27/2017 at 04:52, STARS: 2
Things may have changed over the years, but I picked up a few lenses from Tamron and Sigma at about half the price of comparable Nikon glass from B&H and Adorama. However, that was probably 10 years ago. Browsing the B&H website now, it seems that their consumer-grade stuff has gone up in price, but still can save you a few bucks over Canon.
Long-exposure photography is great fun. Going down that route, I would pick up a good tripod and a set of shock pads (I use these ). If you plan on ever picking up a telescope and T-mount to do astrophotography, they are practically essential. But that is a whole different set of costs to get great results (good quality scope, motorized mount, etc).
Of course, even with basic equipment (camera, lens, tripod), you can get some fun shots doing long exposures. Here’s an example I got about 9 years ago, just sitting in my back yard during a thunderstorm one night.
"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
12/27/2017 at 05:03, STARS: 0
Looks good! I’ve got a 700D (T5i) myself, and also have a 50mm f1.8, it’s a great lens, but I find that due to the crop sensor, sometimes it is a bit too much zoom, besides that, I’m completely in love with the DOF it is able to achieve.
Also, you might want to step away from going fully manual in the beginning. I started in manual too, and then a buddy of mine advised me to switch to P for point and shoot-ish pictures, and to TV/AV for other pictures, and only to switch to manual once I was fully comfortable with the exposure triangle. Your mileage may vary though.
"Agrajag" (Agrajag)
12/27/2017 at 10:04, STARS: 1
Holy crap! That is the Phoenix!
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/27/2017 at 17:21, STARS: 1
WHOA.
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/27/2017 at 17:28, STARS: 1
Yeah, apparently the 50mm on a crop sensor effectively makes it an 80mm, but I shot a few pictures using my cousin’s, and personally I like the amount of zoom. Of course the DoF is killer too. I took a photography class for a semester two years ago and got reasonably comfortable with the exposure triangle, but I’m by no means an expert or anything. I experimented with Tv/Av a little bit yesterday and wasn’t super pleased when I compared them to the stuff I’d done on manual. Besides, I tend to focus on composition more than exposure as that’s something you can’t fix in editing.
"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
12/28/2017 at 02:10, STARS: 1
That is a fair point, using manual indeed makes sense once you’ve got a grip of the exposure triangle.
Enjoy your camera!
"deprecated account" (savethei4s)
12/28/2017 at 02:52, STARS: 1
Thanks!