Need advice on good brand of digital slr with macro capabilities under $600, or thereabouts.?
Posted on Nov 05, 2009 under Digital news and reports |I’m a mid level photo junkie and I am looking to upgrade to a digital SLR. I need a camera with Macro function, manual capability, image stability and it has to take good distance shots, (I like landscape and sunset photos). The Preset auto setting like sunset, snow and portrait don’t make any difference. Any suggestions? I plan to go to a camera store soon but would like to have some ideas to research before then.
Thanks!
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Well, the good news is that your $600 budget should cover the macro lens.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545660-USA/Nikon_2177_AF_S_Micro_Nikkor_60mm_f_2_8G.html
You just need to add a DSLR body.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
The macro isn’t in the camera it’s in the lens. First you want to pick a good camera body. I own and recommend the Canon Rebel XS.
Nikon D40 is another good body.
Then go shopping for a macro lens. Here’s a good place to start your research.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
$600 can get you an entry-level dSLR with a kit zoom lens (~18-55mm) from the leading brands in 35mm and below photography.
If you want macro capability, you will have to buy a separate macro lens which may cost around $300 and up.
Manual capability is what the dSLR is all about so anything automatic is considered a feature.
Image Stabilisation (IS) is a Canon feature for reducing camera shake. Canon and Nikon (VR for Vibration Reduction) applies this to their lenses. Pentax on the other hand installed SR (Shake Reduction) on the dSLR itself so any lens, even the old film ones, will benefit from the technology. Technically though, Canon leads in this field.
Good distance shots will be very much covered by the kit lens which goes from wide angle to short telephoto. If you want to go further, you may consider buying a longer telephoto lens (>55mm).
Landscape shots will also be well covered by the kit lens at its widest, 18mm. If you want a wider shot, consider getting a shorter focal length lens (<18mm).
Sunset photos can be simply taken by underexposing the shot. Experiment on the exposure (EV) setting to do this if you don’t know what you are doing.
The best dSLRs come from Canon, Nikon or Pentax. All of them including Sony offer larger digital sensors compared to other brands. Except Sony, they all have decades long experiences in manufacturing SLR cameras.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
"Pictures are not taken, they are made." Ansel Adams.
"It isn’t the camera, its the photographer."
In my opinion you’d be wise to take a couple of photography classes using a 35mm film camera before thinking about upgrading to a DSLR.
A DSLR does not have "macro function". For macro photography you’ll need a true macro lens - not a mislabeled zoom that uses "macro" in its description but in reality is only close-focusing. A true macro lens will give you a 1:1 (life size) reproduction ratio. Photograph an ant that is 10mm long and the ant will be 10mm long on your sensor. A zoom lens mislabeled as macro will usually give you a 1:4 reproduction ratio (1/4 life size) so your 10mm long ant will only be 2.5mm long on your sensor.
Every DSLR has Manual capability.
No DSLR will "… take good distance shots …" unless you have a good zoom lens or, preferably, a 200mm or 300mm prime lens and use a tripod.
A DSLR is more about the control you have over the camera. Sure, you can use it in Auto and let it select shutter and aperture and have a really expensive point & shoot.
Or, you can learn about aperture and shutter speed and exposure based on the built-in light meter, shoot in Manual and have complete control of your camera.
Or, you can choose to shoot in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. I’m a person who likes to control Depth of Field (DOF) so I almost always shoot in Aperture Priority.
Good landscape photography calls for using a tripod.
Simply buying a DSLR will not magically give you the knowledge about light and composition and exposure that you must know to make a good picture. These are things you learn by studying. Then you have to practice to develop the skill needed to effectively use that knowledge.
If classes simply aren’t possible, start reading. Here are some books that will help you.
"Understanding Exposure" & "Understanding Shutter Speed", both by Bryan Peterson.
"Digital SLR Handbook" by John Freeman.
"The Art of Digital Photography" by Joseph Meehan.
"The Moment It Clicks" by Joe McNally.
"David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses" by David Busch. http://www.dbusch.com Busch also writes Guides for every DSLR currently made so buy his Guide for the DSLR you choose.
Spend time on this site: http://www.digital-photography-school.com
Since you have been using a point & shoot you’ve probably developed what I call the "machine gunner mentality" - take 300 pictures and hope - hope - a few are worth keeping. That, in my opinion, is not photography. Its just taking snapshots. Remember: "Pictures are not taken, they are made."
I encourage developing what I call the "sniper mentality" - make one exposure and make one good picture. Photography - good photography - requires thinking and thinking requires time. You have to think about the light, your composition, your exposure, your DOF. You have to think about the picture you want to make and how to make it. If you just point & shoot, point & shoot, point & shoot you obviously aren’t thinking. You’re just taking snapshots.
Look at these two pictures. I spent about 3 or 4 minutes looking at each of these scenes before before I even thought about setting up and shooting them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4032748624/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4032746350/
I’m certainly not saying these are great pictures. I like them but then I took them.
Sony, Pentax, Nikon, Olympus and Canon all offer excellent entry-level DSLR cameras.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Nikon D3000 is a better choice.It is a Digital SLR camera which can take far greater pictures than point & shoot camera like Fujifilm FinePix S200EXR.DSLR’s have much better optics, much larger sensors, better faster processors.The sensors on most DSLR’s are nearly 15 times larger than the sensors on point and shoot cameras. Therefore the pixels are 15 times larger. Larger pixels deliver better detail and less noise than smaller ones.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JCSV5I?ie=UTF8&tag=camera-and-photo-store-online-cheap-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957
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