Mon 7 Jul 2008
through the looking glass
Posted by bon under stuff stuff, stuff to buy
[32] Comments
Oscar after his nap…soft around the edges, little body still bleary and warm.
i love this photo. alas, i did not take this photo. Kate came over for an afternoon a few weeks ago, and the lens she pointed at us offered up faces of my son i’d never seen before. she has a wicked eye. she also has a wicked camera.
i once, in the last days of film, invested a few years training my own eye to frame and capture photojournalistic images of the lines and structures and stories that hid in plain sight in the exotic places i journeyed…i have a photo essay of the sectarian murals of Belfast, one of the rooftops of Busan, South Korea, and one of the cats of Istanbul. but i never did master the details of focus and aperture and lighting enough to get my old warhorse K-1000 to take great shots of people, particularly children…they’re twitchy little creatures.
i’d like to try. Dave & i have been talking, and the truth is there’s not much we plan on buying for this new baby. some kind of nursing rocker, oh yes o aching, withered core muscles, oh yes…but beyond that, we’re into hand-me-downs and intend for O and Bebe to share a room, at least for awhile. so we thought maybe we might spend on this child in the place that second-borns – or second-brought-homes – get notoriously shortchanged: photos. we’re in the market for a good camera.
what we have right now is a little hp Photosmart R817…fine for snapshots, but slow, and the light and focus are never great. i want something i can manually adjust. i want something quick, that can capture a first smile rather than the blur of a turning head three seconds later. it doesn’t have to be top of the line. it doesn’t have to be the deal of the century, either. i want advice.
what’s your camera? what do you like about it? what doesn’t it do well? got any recommendations?
July 7th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I recently bought a Sony Alpha 300K. I love it. I still have not really learned to use it outside of the auto settings yet but I love it. I waffled for a long time between it, the Cannon Rebel and the Nikon D60. What finally sealed the deal for me was reading Amalah’s review (http://www.amalah.com/amalah/2008/04/swag-in-action.html).
July 7th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
If you want speed, you gotta get a SLR. No compact camera will have the same speed. I have a Nikon D70s, which at the time was the second level in. I got it because it had the best kit lens and I already had a Nikon film camera so I could use those lenses too and I was already familiar with most of the buttons and stuff. Maybe you’ll want a Pentax digital SLR for the same reasons? There’s lots I don’t like about the D70s but lots I like, and a lot of that might be irrelevant for you.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
No camera recommendations here – mine is a 3 year old Pentax Optio MX which I love, but is on the low end megapixel and shutter speed wise.
I do have three recommendations for buying and taking pics:
1. Go for a LARGE optical zoom (I wouldn’t settle for anything under 10X even 3 years ago). Digital zoom is only nice if you have a high megapixel camera with resolution to spare.
2. Check out the DPREVIEW.COM buyers guide. It’s how I decided on the Optio (and bought it sight unseen online). It lets you take ALL the factors, including price, into account.
3. Even before you by a new one, check out this blog: http://heyjules3.wordpress.com/
to practice taking pictures! I had rarely turned my camera off of the auto settings until this blog. A few days ago, I took this shot fully manual, meaning I set my own aperture and shutter speed and everything! http://shutterbugschink.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/on-the-5th-of-july/
I also recommend Creative Memories’ Memory Manager software for organizing and editing. (Full disclosure: I am CM consultant.) Though I would be considered biased, it really is a top notch piece of software for organizing photos that is WAY better than the system of myriad folders most people use. It also has editing capabilities similar to Photoshop but is MUCH easier to learn and WAY cheaper ($40). More detail here if you are interested: http://12amusings.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/memory-management/
July 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
In the market too, so I will be stalking your comments. I’m half tempted to buy the same camera as Sin just so I can pester her for advice. But that would be creepy and sleazy, wouldn’t it?
July 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Well of course I’m going to recommend the Canon Rebel, but I’m biased. It’s comparable to the Nikons, I think, but weighs less, and just felt right in my hand. I’ve got the Rebel plus a fixed portrait lens (I’ve got a 50mm/1.8) – the kit lens that comes with it isn’t great. The whole package would be about $800 or so, for the camera, the extra (essential) lens… expensive compared to a point and shoot, but it’s a godsend, and it will be useful for years.
I started out on a K-1000 too! And I can totally see you having a lovely eye… your poetry would translate so perfectly from words to images.
xo
July 7th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I have a canon powershot S5. I mostly like it. It’s pretty straightforward to use, it has features that are handy, it has a reasonably nice download interface, it fits nicely in my hands.
There are only three things I’m not fond of. I can’t fit it in my pocket, the lens cap comes off at the slightest provocation (I’ve cleaned off more fingerprints!) and it’s a battery pig.
But, the features, especially the image stabilization and the zoom are great.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Poke around the internet for reconditioned or rebuilt guaranteed pro-used cameras. Usually out of TO, and with careful searching you can get an awesome camera for your buck and they’re as guaranteed as you like. My penchant is for Nikon SLRs, also re-conditioned. You could look into H’fx shops next time you’re down.
Having been a first kid, there’s lots of pics of me but few of my sister (might be because she never stopped moving). A camera and loving attention to recording her days is a wonderful gift. And judging by the photogenaeity (word?) of O you just have to capture baby girls face for the world to coo over. hugs.
July 7th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Bon, that sounds like the smartest plan ever, seriously. Babies never need 3/4 of the crap we accumulate for them LOL. With #2 I decided to wait and see and try friends’ things before deciding to get any items.
I have yet to meet a camera I did not have some complaint about. My current complaint is “not lasting well beyond the two year mark” and “not sturdy enough to survive the inevitable jostle or err drop.”
I’d want something that met that criteria.
Ask the photo people like Sin and Lawyermama.
I love that you’ll put money on the memories.
July 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
We have a Sony cybershot F828, it’s old and SLOW. Some day I’ll time how long the delay between pressing the button and the camera actually taking the picture is.
I recently borrowed my SIL’s Nikon SLR. I agree completely with cinnamon gurl, it’s definitely the way to go if you want to take a damn good picture.
Happy camera hunting!
PS Oscar is sooooo sweet.
July 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I am seconding the Nikon SLR. We used to be Cannon people (that was our film SLR), but the most awesome photographer who shot our wedding twelve years ago, and just shot my sister’s two weeks ago, told us to go for Nikons because of the superior optics. We got D40x in its last days, with two lenses, the longer-range one being VR (vibration resistant). This is what I used to shoot everything that is on my blog from about this past February forward. The current model (slightly better than ours) is D60. With good sales (Costco is running one with home delivery, for example), you can get that kit (also with two lenses, and I think they include a memory card, and a carrying case) under $800, I think.
Frankly, I have no idea how we lived without this thing before. I just love the pictures I can take these days. And I love that picture of O– so sweet, and yes, so soft. Way to go, Kate.
July 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
This was my husband’s “gift to Bella” (which I often joke is much like getting me a plasma tv for my birthday, or new speakers for our anniversary), and I think it’s rather appropriate. He just upgraded actually (retail therapy) to the Nikon D300, and it’s fabulous. What I don’t like isn’t the camera’s problem: he takes pictures in “raw” setting (which are very detailed and ginormous bits of information) and then farts around with them on the computer. I have no time for that, and keep forgetting to change the setting, so when I want to quick take a picture of something and get it up immediately, I’m inevitably stuck waiting for him to convert my picture from “raw” into something else so I can put it on the blog or send it to the parents.
Obviously, this just means that you need to keep the setting on whatever is meaningful for you. And if your spouse grows tired of that, you might consider a small coolpix for the spouse. Just saying.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
BoN; Funny this comes up, as I DROPPED my Canon Rebel XT SLR last week. $225 to repair the darn thing, we just don’t know what we want to do with it. Sell it to a camera buff who can fix it on the cheap and use it up? I liked the SLR, but I got lost after the base level of knowledge with the thing. I never had any of the extra lenses, which I think you need with one of these bad boys – I found it hard in certain lights to get the right kind of photo. Anyway, last Thursday I went and bought a new camera. It’s a step down, which was fine with me, but it is more than a ‘point-and-shoot pocket camera.’ It’s the Nikon Coolpix P80. I have to say: LOVE. I spent more on this replacement than I wanted to, since I have this expensive broken camera as well, now. But we NEED a camera, and I use it every day. ( I have a photo blog with a good friend of mine, too, and we post daily in summer). So, I recommend it. 10.1 megapixels and 18x optical zoom, which is way more zoomage than most cameras out there. This rocks, because my subjects are often running AWAY from me, LOL. It’s new, so there may not be many reviews on it out there. Yet I dig it a lot. Oh, and it feels great in the hand, is super lightweight, and has a great battery – haven’t charged it yet since last week. You saw my shots on my blog this morning – that’s the quality :). Good luck, good buddy…(love that O photo – he’s a doll!)
July 7th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
That is such an adorable photo. Kate really is amazing with that camera, isn’t she? I’d love to have her take pics of my kids!
I’m a Nikon girl. You definitely need a digital SLR. I have a D40x and a D60, but according to Ken Rockwell (the guru of the photo review world) it’s better to go with a plain old Nikon D40 and put the extra money towards a nice selection of lenses that you’ll still be able to use if you upgrade your camera in the future. The price on the D40 has really come down in the last year.
The D40 is really light (as are the D40x and D60) and easy to use. The only drawback is that the autofocus is in the lens rather than the body, which means not all Nikkor lenses will autofocus on them. In fact, I have a 50mm f/1.8 that I use in manual focus only for that reason. However, unless you’re planning to use old lenses you already have, it’s not a big deal.
I had a photographer take my picture last week & she had a Nikon D3 that I sat there & drooled over. It’s my dream camera. But that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon!
You’ll have so much fun! I know you will!
(Oh & like Joanna up there – I dropped my D40x & had to have it repaired. It took 2 months & in the interim I bought the D60. Am thinking of selling both & upgrading to the D300….)
July 7th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I love the Canon 40D
July 7th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I’m a Nikon girl myself (I have a D40) but I think that you can get pretty comparable results with either a Canon or a Nikon. The one thing that I would caution you to look at is the auto focus mechanism — with the D40 it is in the lens, which made the camera cheaper but the lenses more expensive. With the higher model Nikons they have the autofocus mechanism in the camera body, which makes the initial cost a little more, but the lenses significantly less expensive.
And I totally second Kate’s recommendation for a 50mm f/1.8 lens — I waited a few months to get mine, and now it’s virtually all I use.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I love our Canon Rebel. It’s an older one, but even I can eek out good pictures with it if I try hard enough. And that’s saying a lot. Because I suck at photography. For real.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
completely agree with Kat. i have a canon rebel 400d and it is just amazing. the kit lens is mostly crap – the 50mm f1.8 lens is a godsend. it took a chunk out of my credit card but it was worth every penny.
also – reading the manual is helpful but i actually went out and bought charlotte lowe’s canon rebel guide series and it was an incredible help.
good luck!
July 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
kate, even. stupid typos
July 7th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
My husband just got me a Nikon D300 and I have lovingly named it THE SHIT. It is an amazing camera. It cost an arm and a leg but it is totally worth it for us. Maybe a little much, but then it might just open a few posibilities.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I’m somewhat lame in this department, so can only offer this: That picture of O is stunning. Good work, Kate.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I’m all nostalgia: A Pentax! K1000! My film major undergrad boyfriend had one and I always begged and borrowed it from him, until I got my Canon AE-1 program.
Now I’m in sloppy point and shoot hell. Right in there with you.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Just wanted to point out that the D60 is 10.2 megapixels, so you can get big enlargements or zoom in and crop and STILL get some enlargements. That’s one thing I really notice about the D70s, which is only 6.1 megapixels – you can’t get superbig enlargements…
July 8th, 2008 at 12:59 am
canons rule. and could he BE any cuter?
July 8th, 2008 at 1:42 am
i shoot with the same camera as kate, rebel xti with a fixed 50mm lens. my husband is schooled in the ways of photography as was convinced we would shoot with his medium format film camera and develop said film in a darkroom. and then we had them. and it never ever happened. so we shot away with our p&s until they were 10 months and the gov’t gave us a lot of money back for having two babies at once. so then we bought the camera. kicking ourselves for not buying it sooner.
go to amazon and buy the body then the lens (kate will tell you which one for sure). it is easy (shoot in aperture priority) and intuitive to use. and you will never ever regret it. if you want to see a few shots my flickr page is here….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16401019@N00/
hope you have fun when you do get a new one.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I run a canon 400D, it’s sweet, but you can pick up cheap 300′s and 350′s aswell. However, I always carry a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 and whilst it isn’t as fast as the SLR it takes stunning shots
July 8th, 2008 at 8:58 am
my photog sis has a Nikon d40x, which she got as a graduation present. uses it for her wedding gigs as well as at home. more information if you want it can be obtained when she is more awake. ;)
July 8th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I probably should get a new camera, since mine is five(?) years old, held together with duct tape, and has a ridiculously small number of megapixels. So, I’ll be coming back to these comments and reading them very, very carefully.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Don’t forget what your friends do….erm Derek!!!
He’s the one behind every beautiful picture I have of kids, pets, us. He has a digital cannon rebel and I am oh so envious. Of course the lenses are the as important as the camera, and I have no idea what he uses. But WOW what pictures. Email him!
July 8th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I have a Rebel and love it. I just wish I had more time to devote to really learning it.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I’ve got a fujifilm Finepix E900, and I love it. It’s not really a manual camera, but it’s got 9 megapixels and the pictures come out beautifully. I can zoom in digitally and see details I never knew were there, without the purple edging or fuzziness. It’s pocket-sized and easy to use, too. If you want a good camera without the bulk of an SLR, the Finepix is hard to beat.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am
My brother has a Canon Rebel that I borrow all the time because it is sooo much better than my little Kodak Easyshare camera. I can do stills just fine with my camera but I use his for motion because it captures pics so quick and it takes some AWESOME pics!!
BTW, he is soooo adorable. My twins are all soft and squishy after their naps too!!
December 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am
That’s why it is better for beginners to learn from those who have walked the path already, not those who have only theoretically walked the path whose knowledge consists of what “should” be.