New to Photography

[po8tick]

Hello everyone, I wish to pick up photography since it runs parallel to my studies (film).



Anyways I have the slightest clue on what type of camera I want or any of the terminologies. I will be picking up a photography class at my college but till than, I want to purchase one now!



here are the things I want to accomplish with the camera:



Nighttime shooting

landscape shooting (day and night) (potrait, wide angle)

action shooting (day and night)(concerts, events)

"artistic" shooting (ie: capturing a bird to a leaf, enhancing it while blurring out the background to make it appear larger than life) (and B&W)

rapid shooting



also but not mandatory able to take pics without people realizing im taking thier pictures (example: I wish to do a B&W pic of the poverty in Skid Row, I do not want to let the homeless know im taking a picutre of them... ) like i said, THIS ISNT MANDATORY and I could do without the feature.

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Other than that, I will be messing around with lights alot, since my secondary intention is playing with lights. I am a film student and I do intend to specialize in lights (point of entry: job wise). Although I'll enter this subject later as to what lighting kit I will need, etc etc...



I am assuming the Nikon D50 or Canon Rebel XT 350D are my top picks? or am I completely wrong?

Oh yeah, I am just looking for the Body.

Perferably I want a "Middle to Middle" or "Middle to High" End Camera (body only)

and Mid to High end lens. So please avoid any high end cams as they might be to costly for me. I dont believe high end cameras with mid to low end lens would be a good idea.

[JohnG]

po8tick wrote:

Hello everyone, I wish to pick up photography since it runs parallel to my studies (film).


Anyways I have the slightest clue on what type of camera I want or any of the terminologies. I will be picking up a photography class at my college but till than, I want to purchase one now!



here are the things I want to accomplish with the camera:



Nighttime shooting

Depends on what type of nightime shooting you want. The type of shooting will dictate whether you need a stable camera (i.e. tripod), high ISO performance with low noise (in which case the D50 and XT are about equal at ISO 1600 but neither offers ISO 3200), a fast-aperture lens (1.8 or 1.4 prime lens in which case the body is not as critical) or a good external flash (in which case, there are great flashes available for all camera systems)

landscape shooting (day and night) (potrait, wide angle)

action shooting (day and night)(concerts, events)

"artistic" shooting (ie: capturing a bird to a leaf, enhancing it while blurring out the background to make it appear larger than life) (and B&W)

Subject isolation is going to be primarily a factor of the lens - not the body - with the exception that larger sensors will increase the affect. But with the 1.6 or 1.5x crop sensors of the entry level DSLRs, the lens will be the controlling factor. Focal range and aperture are controlling factors in this regard. Suffice it to say, you can achieve this result with any of the DSLRs you choose as long as you get the appropriate lens.

rapid shooting

How rapid? Shutter lag on all the DSLRs is pretty good - the question is how fast do you need - 3fps or 5fps and how many shots do you need to be able to take in a burst.

also but not mandatory able to take pics without people realizing im taking thier pictures (example: I wish to do a B&W pic of the poverty in Skid Row, I do not want to let the homeless know im taking a picutre of them... ) like i said, THIS ISNT MANDATORY and I could do without the feature.

================================================== ========



Other than that, I will be messing around with lights alot, since my secondary intention is playing with lights. I am a film student and I do intend to specialize in lights (point of entry: job wise). Although I'll enter this subject later as to what lighting kit I will need, etc etc...



I am assuming the Nikon D50 or Canon Rebel XT 350D are my top picks? or am I completely wrong?

Both are very good cameras. Both will give you similar quality in the pictures. I suggest handling both cameras - too many people the ergonomics can be a deal breaker. For instance, while the feature set of the XT is nice I hate the feel of it - it's too small and plasticy to me (and I own a Canon DSLR). Other people find that to be a bonus. The only issue is how demanding you want to be with your low light (i.e high ISO requirements) and your fps and buffer handling. If those are important considerations then you may need to consider the next step up - to a Canon 20D/30D or Nikon D200. Although I will caution you - the Canon 20d has a loud shutter.

Oh yeah, I am just looking for the Body.

Perferably I want a "Middle to Middle" or "Middle to High" End Camera (body only)

and Mid to High end lens.

So please avoid any high end cams as they might be to costly for me. I dont believe high end cameras with mid to low end lens would be a good idea.

[po8tick]

night time shooting - I will definately get a tripod no matter what.

I guess my usual night time shooting would be, I will be going out to the wilderness and the everglades. I do camping every other weekend and 200-500 miles roadtrip once a month and camp at random locations.

For the wilderness/everglades I like to captures the snakes and gators during the night and any other creautres that may lurk around.

Nighttime Isolation - Still shot - Spiders once I have spotted them during the night, I like to take those pics.

Abandonded warehouse, shacks, houses, etc during the night as well.. needless to say I love "ghost hunting" or going to areas rumored to be "haunted"... those pics though I perfer the green/black photo look. the nightvision look instead of colors.

possibly meteor shower shooting if the camera/lens is capable of

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action shooting - Once in a while my friends goes hunting and/or fishing. Both usually evening/night hours.

Hunting wise- trapping gators, shooting boars.. I like to capture the wild boars in actions. Also wrestling events, capturing the wrestler doing thier signature move.

Fishing - capturing the fish once it hooked and out of the water, since they move so fast, my P&S camera is always blurred.

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Rapid shooting - basic... I want to learn it so I can deal with the basic, lowest speed.

[po8tick]

bump, any suggestion on what dslr is right for me?

thank you in advance.