Camera advice
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- d0mino
So I am looking to upgrade my Lumix LX3 to a dslr system. I want a Canon 5D with a few lenses but I can't afford that.
I am currently looking at a 600D, from dirtcheapcameras (same place I bought my LX3).
http://www.dirtcheapcameras.com.…
I am looking for any advice on that camera, if anyone has used it or can recommend me a better camera for a similar price.
I am also looking to purchase a lens so I can take photos. I've been told a good quality fixed 50mm will do me good, but again I am looking for advice here as well.
The primary purpose of the camera will be for a home studio set up to shoot my work stuff. That is stationery items top down + details with fixed lighting from the side. Images like these:
Thanks internet!
- goldieboy0
hombre's your man for camera advice... the guys a walking camera bible ;)
But, you'll need a good tripod for over-head shots:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrott…- lol thanks dude!Hombre_Lobo
- hombres new handle= camerabiblesea_sea
- camerabible... I like it.CyBrainX
- lol, thanks!Hombre_Lobo
- Hombre_Lobo0
The 600D is a solid camera, its a personal favorite of mine.
The still images are great, the video is excellent and the lens selection + accessories are in abundance. It would be the ideal wallet friendly choice for anyone wanting a 5D mark II as the high iso is very similar (naturally the 5D is better) and the video performance is identical. But don't forget the FOV differences between these two cameras.
People will say go for nikon for images, go for canon for video. In my experience this is complete crap. people say the d7000 is the high iso king among aps-c size sensors, but again, i think thats crap. All the good sensors are made by sony anyway.
600D (t3i) @ iso 3200 *LARGE PIC* -
http://www.imaging-resource.com/…D7000 @ iso 3200 *LARGE PIC* -
http://www.imaging-resource.com/…You think the d7000 is miles better? clearly its not.
(note this comparison does not take in to account shutter speeds)The 600d is crazy good value for money. I'm not slating nikon, they're great, but i don't agree with the general consensus of they are better for images.
Having said all of that, for your purposes it seems like the 600d is overkill. You dont need the video function. you dont need its great high iso. If i were you i would consider either a Canon 500d (t1i) nikon d3100, they are cheaper and excellent value.
Miguex and others on these boards have a t1i and get excellent pics from them.
note the 500d isnt quite as good as the 500d for high iso -
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/…hope that helps!
- never fails to deliver some sound camera advice!goldieboy
- good... but I'd not shoot artwork at anything above 200 ISO if I have time to do it right...vaxorcist
- thanks goldie! :D
Hombre_Lobo - thats my point vax, no need for high iso for static studio work, agreed dude :)Hombre_Lobo
- true... I have a D7000 for my own ergonomic reasons, the 600D is nicevaxorcist
- cool vax :) even though video is more important to me, i prefer the ergonomics of the nikons.Hombre_Lobo
- Hombre_Lobo0
^in addition to the "People will say go for nikon for images, go for canon for video" bit -
I still think its crap for 99% of users, but it might be true only when spending thousands on a camera. The nikon d3x for example in has one of the best sensors, but it costs about £5000, so its not a useful phrase really.
- Atkinson0
Hombre, can you start a QBN camera advice site? Would be ace!
d0mino, do you need a DSLR just for the proct shots you're talking about. Micro 4/3, or for example the yet unreleased canon s100 might do you.
- LOL thanks dude! that would be cool. QBN camera hang out!Hombre_Lobo
- HAYZ1LLLA0
Hombre, do you know about video cameras too?
Which one of these should I get?
Around £300 ideally.
- stewart0
And for your home-studio setup: avoid mixing daylight and lamplight!
- vaxorcist0
OK.... for shooting things like flat artwork....
1. I'd heavily consider a camera with a flip-out viewfinder, like a Nikon D5100 or Canon's similar beast... it makes putting it on a tripod much easier for things like this, less standing on chairs,etc...
2. if you have a white painted room, you can bounce a flash off a wall or cieling.... or even a big piece of foamcore, this will give you much more even light. I'd get a simple manual flash that has a head that rotates in all directions like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Fl…
Note that a manual flash like this does NOT depend on any camera-brand-specific stuff... I have one of these and it's a good $44 spent.
3. Lens....while almost any lens is pretty good at F8 or so.... an OLD, 28mm F2.8 Canon may be much sharper than a 18-55 zoom.... and a prime lens is fine on a tripod, unless you have to shoot in a hurry, where a zoom is nice when you have tight deadlines...
4. Get a tripod that allows you to flip the top tube, so the camera is facing down, rather than at a maddening angle, this will probably quickly become obvious to you when you try it.... an OLD, heavy cheap tripod from craigslist or ebay may be much better than an expensive brand new carbon fibre $$$ from a camera store...
6. I use a color checker, and take a pic of it every time I change lighting (all flash or all hot-lights, if mixed, use orange gels on flash and/or blue gels on hot lights, avoid daylight from windows if possible).... also I use all manual white balance, and shoot tethered, where the USB wire goes to the laptop, and you see immediately what you're getting.
7. Sometimes, a cloudy day, outside with a color checker image to test, can give you amazingly nice results for less $$ and hassle, but you have to depend on the weather....
- with the color card, do you do manual or the fancy version that's configured by software?jaylarson
- I do all manual, the software uses lightroom and I use captureone pro....vaxorcist
- awesome advice! i have no idea about studio lighting so thanks dude.Hombre_Lobo
- use the eyedropper tool, check the greys, check the colors for what RGB values you should get... easy once you get used to it...vaxorcist
- 9900000
600D is a great choice. Any of the Canon DSLRs are great, really. My only advice would be to choose the model that best fits your budget, and make sure you have enough set aside for a *good* lens. Does not have to be Canon L series, but don't be cheap. It's a good long term investment -- better than the body which will be outdated in only 2 years.
I recommend getting either a good zoom that can handle somewhere between 24-100mm+, or start building up a prime lens set (20mm, 50mm, 100mm, etc.). You will need wide angle for bigger setups, but you will also need a long lens greater than 85mm to make sure your product shots are flat and aren't distorted. You can compromise on the DSLR body a little, but make sure you get good lenses. It's the most important part. Cheap lenses that distort and produce too much chromatic aberration will override a high-end body.
- true.... the lenses, colorchecker, flash and tripod are what last.... a long lens is sometimes great for objectsvaxorcist
- vaxorcist0
If you're not using flash or studio strobes, I'd definately get a remote shutter release of some form, so your hand pressing the shutter doesn't cause the camera to vibrate and cause unsharpness.... either that or use the self-timer and mirror lockup, but that can be slow and irritating if you have more than a handful of photos....
- true that, plus cable releases are like £10, well cheap!Hombre_Lobo
- vaxorcist0
If you use a Canon, and you're shooting flat artwork on a tripod, you might consider a lens mounting adapter, so you can use old manual focus prime lenses that can often be had for cheap on ebay.... Tamron and Tokina made some amazingly good 90mm macro lenses that can be had pretty cheap for Nikon Manual Focus, with a $20 adapter they can be made to work on Canon and they're waaay cheaper than a brand new AF lens of similar focal length and quality...
Some older Pentax manual focus prime lenses are great.... and cheaply can be made to work on a Canon body with an adapter
lens tests at:
www.photodo.com
http://www.photodo.com/browse-le…NOTE, that I would use the color card here again, and be careful with color consistency, as old manual focus lenses may have a slightly different color cast, with systematic use of a color card, you can easily batch correct.
- Hombre_Lobo0
oh yeh and in response to your lens question.
The 50mm f1.8 -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF…
is a decent lens, excellent value, good focal length for studio work. Obviously its good for shallow depth of field stuff, but for studio shots if you stop it down to f5.6 its very sharp.- I just picked this up for my 60D and am in love with it.elahon
- ItTango0
+10 on the manual flash advice. I have a couple of Vivitars (283/285) that are wildly versatile and cost very little. I use them off camera, mostly, controlling them with a couple of Cowboy wireless triggers. I also have a couple of on flash soft boxes. Really compact and adaptable set up.
- Hombre_Lobo0
@hayzilla,
I know a fair bit about hybrid video cameras, but not about camcorders so ill try.
£300?
For that kind of money i'd go for a Lumix GH1. They can be had for about £350+ so you would have to stretch your budget a bit.Its great quality, more resolution and sharpness than the 5D mkII / 7D and 550d and once you hack the firmware (very easy to do) it gets even better. You can record at stupidly high 'mbps', by default its around 17 but the hack gets it to 50+.
Bear in mind its an entirely different system to DSLR, it has no internal mirror, the view finder is electronic (a small LCD display), the lens family is entirely different. BUT one major advantage is you can use a multitude of old manual focus lenses, like 1980's one which are very cheap, you just need an adapter to use them (they are about £20). you can get a canon fd 50mm f1.2 for about £90 and combined with a GH1, its a tasty combo.
The sensor size is different too, its smaller which means the crop factor is bigger (its x2 rather than x1.5/1.6) and depth of field is marginally less shallow due to the smaller sensor.
Other than that...i dunno what to recommend, a 550d is a big stretch more in terms of price. not sure dude, but hope that helps!
- vaxorcist0
Honestly, while I'm a DSLR guy, I think a 4/3rds camera with RAW and a flash shoe and an ability to shoot tethered can be perfectly usable for this sort of thing. If you have a fixed budget, don't blow it all on a "rockstar" camera, things like manual strobes and tripods may matter more....
- HAYZ1LLLA0
@hombre
The GH1 is about 1,300 quid? I was looking at a camcorder thing really for about £300? I realize I forgot to actually post the link I was referring to apologies.- ahh your looking at the kit with the 14-140mm lens. get used body only and buy some cheap lenses, or the 14-42mm kit...Hombre_Lobo
- in terms of the camcorders im gonna have to concede, i have no idea dude, sry :/Hombre_Lobo
- I'd ask at this forum though -
http://forums.dprevi…
good luck dude!Hombre_Lobo
- sea_sea0
dear camera bible man,
i want the bestest pocket camera my small budget can afford.
i hate flash, so must shoot nice low light pics, have awesome macro capabilities and shoot decent video.i'm looking at the canon S95 or G10 cause i like the controls and plus i like bracketing.
any help will be much appreciated, thank you.
yours truly,
indecisive camera gurl.(hombre's da camera mang!)
- G10's a great camera but it won't fit in your pocket. Well, unless you have huge pockets ;)goldieboy
- but, I'm not the camera bible man so I'll keep quiet from now...goldieboy
- it's cool goldie, thanx i'll take it. i keep wanting to get the G10, it's small enough for me. i just want good decent pics, but inevitably someone will always say get the S95 instead. so still trying to make up my mind i guess.sea_sea
- someone will always say get the S95 instead. so still trying to make up my mind i guess.sea_sea
- plus i like the G10's chunkie body type. :)sea_sea
- just get one and exchange it if you hate it.... thinvaxorcist
- think of all the shots you missed while worrying and reading too much and not shooting enoughvaxorcist
- oh i'm still shooting, i just want a better quality semi pocket camera to swap the one i have with.sea_sea
- the G10 feels good and it's body is solid (have dropped mine way too many times).goldieboy
- Hombre_Lobo0
@sea sea! :D
Canon compacts are known for great macro, most of them can focus at 1 cm away from the lens! its insane.
Low light, excellent pics compacts -
olympus xz1 (f1.8)
canon s95 (f2)
lumix lx5 (f2)
EX1 / tl500(f1.8)Wide apertures so you can get the best DOF and low light pics you can with a compact camera sensor. The lumix lx5 and tl500 go to 24mm which gives them the widest lens of the bunch, which is nice.
Canon g10 is gorgeous, but for low light it has an f2.8 aperture so the other compacts will be much more beneficial.
Another thing people rarely mention is the aperture throughout the zoom range. The LX5 is the great for this, at full zoom the lx5 is f3.3 far better than the s95 f4.9, thats a huge amount more light the LX5 gets in at full zoom. It also means the lx5 will give a shallower DOF throughout the zoom range.
The Lx5 is slightly larger than the s95 though, but it has manual video control which the canon does not. I! between them is arguable.
The new olympus XZ1 trumps even the LX5 though.
My personal fave is the LX5, manual video, wide angle lens, wider apertures though the zoom (not as wide as the xz1 though), and its older so its quite a bit cheaper than the XZ1.
The XZ1 is great and you can attach the excellent Electronic viewfinder to it, which is also compatible with your E-pl1!
I hope that helps! :)
- how do you know so much about cameras hombre? HOW???goldieboy
- LOL goldie! i dont really know why. Im an novice snapper, and i research my purchases thoroughly. (forever alone!)Hombre_Lobo
- Atkinson0
Hombre, your knowledge astounds me.
How many cameras do you own? I don't understand how someone who knows so much about cameras can stick with the one camera [in a good way] - says a LOT for the GF1! I love cameras / process but find myself with a new camera every week, only to return it. Not really sure what I'm looking for but none have been right so far!
- Hombre_Lobo0
^lol, thanks for the kind words!
I actually only own the GF1, plus the 20mm pancake, and some manual focus 1980's lenses like a canon FD 50mm macro, an Olympus OM 50mm 1.8 and an Olympus OM 135mm 3.5.
"I don't understand how someone who knows so much about cameras can stick with the one camera"
lol i see your point. In all honesty i'm kinda waiting for my perfect camera.My perfect DSLR -
APS-C sensor, lightweight, decent manual video.The sony SLT a55 was nearly it, but it has this translucent mirror that doesn't move which means it sucks up 30% of the light. without the mirror and manual video, it would be fantastic.
The 550d and 600d for me weren't it. I find their view finders very small and actually hard to see through. The new electronic viewfinder systems seem much better to me. And in addition it amazes me that with professional equipment you still have to make changes (exposure etc) > take the shot > review > make changes until desired outcome is achieved.
Electronic view finders show changes on screen, which is surely more practical. I think its the future and the current market seems to be heading that way.
I still think there is a gap in the market for a lightweight DSLR with a standard mount (canon nikon sony etc), again the sony a55 was nearly it, lightest DSLR i know of. Stupid sony with their crazy see through mirror tech.
I also think the olympus pen is great, i just wish it had APS-C sensor and good video. because modular systems are the best. Have a small body, add pancakes for compactness, or add big lenses and a view finder for serious shooting.
My perfect modular system -
APS-C sensor, lightweight, decent manual video and attachable electronic view finder.Which is why im very excited about this -
Sony nex 5n.
Sure it looks strange, but its high iso is only a tiny bit worse than a 5d mk II (sounds ridiculous but do some research), its video seems as good as the canon's for video (despite a current teething problem with the audio), attachable view finder.Shame the nex lenses are so large. samsung nx range proved you can have an aps-c sensor with small lenses, sony need to learn from them.
Camera rant over!
