I know you guys get this all the time...

I have always loved taking photos. Recently I've wanted to learn more about the technical aspects as opposed to working with just auto so I took a basic photography class and now I'm hooked and want a DSLR. I love the control you can get and the quality. With that said, after doing some research I really wanted the Canon T1i. But now I'm faltering a little about if I should get the XSi and a telephoto lens, or the T1i with a stock lens and just use that until I can afford to upgrade the lens.

If the video capability of the T1i was not of importance to you, which route would you go? I read this thread religiously and know that are some really savvy people on here whose opinions would be helpful.

1/7/2010 7:21:53 PM

Quote :

"Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into it. Something I forgot to mention, which is one of the most important things, is that I want a camera over which I will have a lot of control. DLSR would obvious be the best route there, but I ain't got that sorta cash. Something that will let me get my creative/experimental juices flowing and be capable enough to take good photos, while being <$200, would be ideal"

I'd say if you really want full control get a 35mm film camera. There are several much less than $200 that give you control of everything. When you get the film developed just get a CD with it and it is effectively digital. I got an old film SLR from my father just to confirm that I did want a SLR over a P&S.

1/7/2010 8:52:30 PM

[Edited on January 8, 2010 at 5:30 PM. Reason : Whoops, sorry for the full size, here they are a bit smaller]

1/8/2010 5:27:19 PM

Lake Crabtree, 5:40pm today:

1/8/2010 11:37:40 PM

^ i LOVEEE that



from the apothecary ball last night.
yes it's edited.

my thing about pictures....i LOVE trying to get that one picture that sorta captures a personality.
or a picture that puts you in the scene itself.
or an action shot.

i can't explain it, but i love catching a certain type of photo.
and i really like this one

1/9/2010 7:57:24 AM

^^Cool picture at Lake Crabtree.

I cross over it everyday at Sundown, and I always think to myself that I need to get out there on the weekend and take some pictures.

There is also a marshy area across Evans Rd from Lake Crabtree that I really want to photograph, but I'm too chicken to go out there. There's no easy access and I'm pretty sure I'd be "trespassing"

1/9/2010 11:16:04 AM

^^wow, that is some mouth on that girl.

1/9/2010 11:18:05 AM

Quote :

"But now I'm faltering a little about if I should get the XSi and a telephoto lens, or the T1i with a stock lens and just use that until I can afford to upgrade the lens."

i went through the same thing recently. i've been out of photography for a while and wanted to get back in it with a DSLR (over my old SLR). i was down to either the T1i or the XSi too. i started reading more about the two and asking photo pros and it seemed that most consider the two fairly equal camera bodies (minus the pixel count). i guess the HD video is cool, but seems gimmicky to me. most people had the same thought that if you're going to shoot HD video, get a nice video camera.

needless to say, i'd go with the XSi and a nicer lens.

1/12/2010 2:26:37 PM

Quote :

"if you're going to shoot HD video, get a nice video camera"

why would i get an additional HD video camera that wont even accept my assortment of lenses?

1/12/2010 7:20:42 PM

it can be used as a gimmick and it can be used as a great tool.

1/12/2010 7:22:18 PM

WHERE ARE YOUR PICTURES NEW DSLR USERS AS OF CHRISTMAS.

1/13/2010 3:47:21 AM

^^ & ^^^

these are good points. it felt more like a gimmick to me. again, just my opinion.

1/13/2010 1:13:35 PM

1/13/2010 7:15:52 PM

1/13/2010 10:06:17 PM

here are a few of mine..






I also got a 50mm lens right before Christmas:






[Edited on January 13, 2010 at 10:43 PM. Reason : got it!]

1/13/2010 10:34:13 PM

1/14/2010 4:43:48 PM

^ really like those

1/15/2010 7:54:17 AM

^^ crying or yawning in that 2nd pic? lol

1/15/2010 10:22:14 AM

big yawn...timing was right.

1/15/2010 12:34:00 PM

5 Reasons to Ditch Your Digital SLR

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/five-reasons-you-should-ditch-your-dslr/

1/16/2010 12:10:53 PM

That article is fucking silly.

1/16/2010 1:15:41 PM

Not really.

All that seems to make perfect sense.

Would you care to elaborate how it is "fucking silly"?

[Edited on January 16, 2010 at 2:01 PM. Reason : .]

1/16/2010 1:41:32 PM

For one, the only valid reason I read that they put forth in the article is, "because they're smaller." While I could appreciate not lugging around bulky equipment when I do field work, I don't want to bother with fumbling around with tiny little buttons all over the place. With a larger body size, I feel like you have the opportunity to make better placement of your commonly used buttons. While not impossible, it's hard to believe that they'd be able to conveniently locate the buttons you use most.

1/16/2010 2:56:01 PM

yeah, not really any good points made in there.

1/16/2010 4:51:38 PM

i love Wired, but that article seems to have lost touch with reality

maybe in the author's reality, everyone buy's DSLRs for family photos and baby pictures

1/16/2010 5:53:26 PM

You wouldn't believe how many people actually do.

1/16/2010 5:54:58 PM

1/16/2010 6:18:23 PM

My grandmother bought one to take pictures of my sisters kid because she "heard they take better pictures"

She ended up giving it to my sister and buying a basic P&S because she couldn't figure out the Rebel.


So yeah, those people are out there.

1/16/2010 6:27:26 PM

not to mention... smaller isn't necessarily better in photography. Having a heavier camera body helps to eliminate most unwanted movement during a snap...

1/16/2010 6:35:02 PM

Quote :

"She ended up giving it to my sister and buying a basic P&S because she couldn't figure out the Rebel. So yeah, those people are out there."

What does this have to do with anything?

1/16/2010 7:07:12 PM

^

Quote :

"i love Wired, but that article seems to have lost touch with reality maybe in the author's reality, everyone buy's DSLRs for family photos and baby pictures"

That some people buy DSLRs instead of point and shoot cameras for retarded reasons.

1/16/2010 7:16:34 PM

That doesn't validate the article.

1/17/2010 4:35:03 AM

The article doesn't say people buy dslrs who don't need to, it says

Quote :

"Unless you have a specific use that these cameras can’t meet, or you need the very highest level of performance only a Canon 1D or Nikon D3 can bring, you have no reason to buy a DSLR."

okaaaaay.

1/17/2010 10:15:49 AM

SAY WHAT?

1/17/2010 2:11:13 PM

^ that baby had the most beautiful eyes. Too cute.

1/17/2010 5:44:06 PM

1/17/2010 11:10:14 PM

My favorite holiday picture I took last year:

1/18/2010 7:14:01 PM

The ice in the New River finally decided to melt yesterday. I have never seen anything like it. Taken near West Jefferson, NC

1/18/2010 9:18:17 PM

wow! I really like that last pic...

1/18/2010 10:07:27 PM

^^ What lense did you use on that last one? Too bad that the snow was so dirty. Those really are some great pics. Would have been amazing if it was still clean.

1/18/2010 11:22:32 PM

^Tokina 11-16. Yea what your looking at used to be frozen in the river , the heavy rain melted the ice and washed about 30-40 feet of it up on the banks.

1/19/2010 7:36:48 AM

the funny thing about the wired article is that they link to their NX10 announcement, where they specifically say:

Quote :

"It also has a built-in viewfinder, unlike its rivals, although as it is electronic and has just VGA resolution, you might wish Samsung had saved the space and made a smaller body."

Quote :

"And it is a chunky camera."

Quote :

"Samsung clearly didn't get the memo that the megapixel race is over - even on a big sensor, the camera only goes up to a pedestrian ISO 3200."

Quote :

"We don’t know who'll be buying these. The size advantages over a DSLR are real, but not that big."

i have to say, though...i think that DSLRs are, perhaps, looking at the begin of a decline (not say they're on their way out, of course, because they're not)...the micro-4/3 system, while not a replacement, did (does) offer a viable alternative to DSLRs if you don't mind paying the same amount with fewer lens choices

the NX10, though, represents a very strong REPLACEMENT option for DSLRs...the advantages of an optical viewfinder over an electronic one are small, i think, even for most enthusiasts...everything else being the same (sensor size, auto and manual features, cost, etc), why would you spend the same amount for something twice as big (in weight and size) if you're starting from scratch (with no investment in lenses) when there's no real advantage for MOST users (even those that are competent photographers with experience and talent)?

i'd like to hear some arguments as to why the NX10 system is NOT a good replacement option for current consumer-grade DSLRs since most of you know more (and are obviously more experienced) than i am



in terms of price, it looks like the NX10 will cost:
- $800 for the body and kit (18-55mm non-stabilized) lens
- $1225 for the body, 18-55mm OIS and 50-200mm OIS lenses
- $1150 for the body, 18-55mm OIS and 30mm lenses

i don't think this camera is ground-breaking, but i think it's a move in the right direction...higher ISO and better high-ISO performance, 1080p with stereo, and a swivel LCD could make this a serious camera, IMO

[Edited on January 19, 2010 at 10:29 AM. Reason : .]

1/19/2010 10:22:22 AM

What do you guys use to organize your photos? What would you use if $$ and OS weren't an issue?

I've been keeping my pictures manually organized in folders and that is all. I'd like to start using either Picasa or iPhoto or something but am trying to determine the best option before I commit to a program. I have thousands of pics from the past X number of years of friends, etc. I want the ability to tag pictures like on FB so I can find certain people easier and I like the idea of Facial Recognition software. I dont know much in the area though so help me TWW!

1/19/2010 4:04:31 PM

iPhoto will allow you to tag faces as well as places to help you organize everything, but i'm still partial to Bridge because its more detailed and is the most compatible with Photoshop. I actually use a combination of the two, Bridge for uploading and organizing files, and iPhoto for organizing photos (not the actual files) for use on my iPhone, slideshows/screensavers, etc.

1/19/2010 4:11:51 PM

Aperture is money for organizing.

1/19/2010 5:01:13 PM

I just made the move to a mac about 6 months ago so I haven't tried a ton of progs but I'm just using iPhoto now. On windows, I just used a folder system organized by event or photo type. So far, I've really liked iPhoto. I use Picasa for online backups but I'm not as fond of it's native osx program. It seems to do a better job with faces but otherwise, I find it slightly too busy. I do all of my editing in Photoshop so I actually prefer having something simple for organization. I do wish iPhoto had better Picasa integration though.

1/19/2010 7:10:36 PM

^^^ I'm pretty happy with Picasa's face recognition, uploading, and sharing. But picasa is designed so that multiple users on one machine have different databases (for metadata, mostly). I want to have one for all users on our desktop (my wife and I) and all machines on my home network. There's a way to do it, but it's clunky. (unless that's changed recently).

For serious photo editing, it sucks. For simple fast fixes, it's ok.

I'll keep using it.

1/19/2010 8:26:36 PM

photo my brother took in nyc this past weekend - 3 exposure HDR - canon t1i with kit lens

1/19/2010 10:37:13 PM

^^^^^ Does Adobe Bridge pull in RAW files as well? That's my one annoyance using iPhoto is that it doesn't see them so I have to use Image Capture to pull them in and then add them to iPhoto after I've edited them.

1/20/2010 12:07:15 AM

.

1/20/2010 5:07:28 AM