Sick to the back teeth of my S***Y camera

AndyG

AndyG

Active member
Right gonna bite the bullet and get a Digital SLR; sick to the back teeth of my cannon legria, great for movies and the optics are not bad but there is absolutely NO manual whatsoever so keeps selecting weird saturation everything is YELLOOOOW no blues there at all and purple may as well be bloody ultra violet. Plus there is no manual focus so it keeps focusing on the nearest thing so if the sword or something is slightly forward then the face is a blur tried the pen trick but hey why should I have to?

Wrong camera for the job and I have had enough.

So I'm of northern extraction which means I'm tighter than a ducks arse. I dont know enough to risk ebaying just yet (though I will). What is an economical SLR thats ok at macro and doesnt bugger up the colours and definately has manual overide?

If any one can suggest something I will be very grateful.

Cheers

Andy
 
D

Dexterity Jones

New member
Before We moved to new zealand, my wife and I bought a Nikkon D3000.

To date, love that camera and its awesome for macro's with its base lens.
 
PegaZus

PegaZus

Stealth Freak
Not sure about across the pond, but the local retailers here have all the cameras out for display/trials. Tied down to cords of course. Might I suggest you see if your local place has the same? Grab a toy or something small from the toy department and have at it, trying out the saturation settings, manual controls, and macros. Find one you like that way. THEN if you want to roll the dice on eBay, go ahead. Although I've found a good sale day usually is cheaper.
 
megazord_man

megazord_man

New member
Hi Andy,

I picked up my Nikon D70 with macro lens from a second hand camera shop in St.Albans, I think the complete set was less the £220 (or something around that figure anyway - I can't quite remember the price I paid). I would recommend both the camera, it's an older model with less pixels but is still more than capable, and finding a second hand camera shop.

Best of luck mate, I'm sure you won't regret the buy.
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Andy I'm gonna upset you and say DON'T GO SECOND HAND on a digital SLR as you're buying something with no Warranty!
My Nikon D300 died on me Gamesday 2009, Focusing Circuitry and Lens burnt out. If it hadn't been for the warranty I'd have ended up with a £1200 paperweight!

Now I'm a Nikon owner/user for more than 30 years and I'm totally comfortable with them, but I'm not biased enough to say that should be your only option.
Look in yellow pages for an Old School camera shop (not necessarily Jessops) Take in a Figure (and a notepad)and explain that you are looking at options for a DSLR with controllable focusing modes, and macro lens capability. (Don't opt immediately for a macro lens) A standard 50mm lens will get you good close ups, but most come with a 50-200 zoom deal.
Ask to be shown a couple of options and to try the focusing yourself. Make notes on what you like about each camera.

Now the image quality of my Nikon you can see in the Garden Visitor thread, the Euro-militaire thread and with this photo taken with the Sigma 50-200 that I was given with the camera.
View attachment 14924

Most DSLR's are running in the 12-15 megapixcels range now, so high quality images are not going to be a problem, just patience to start correcting the painting faults they show.

Hope this helps a bit.
 
AndyG

AndyG

Active member
Yep this kind of advice is what I am after you and Pegasus saying the same thing here I.e. go to a shop and have a go.

Buy......new.......kit.......arghhh......does not ....compute fzzzz..

Suppose your right though I am known as being chronically tight fisted though the wife certainly makes up for that!

Ho hum I will buy a new one.
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well the warranty saved a £500 bill. (Nikon repairs not being cheap)
But it's an investment as you'll use it for a Sh*tload more than just mini's, especially with new nipper due.
 
F

frenchkid

New member
In regards to miniature photography I'm sure any entry level DSLR will do the trick.
I use to have a Nikon D3000 and it did just fine on macro when I needed it to, if you want to go a bit higher without added expenses I'm sure you could find a D90 for an acceptable price (I'm a Nikon guy, but I'm sure the equivalent in Canon is fine)

Haven't done tons of Macro photos, but my feeling would be that Macro lens is not really needed. Like Dragonsreach said 50mm will do the trick just fine, with the added bonus that a prime lens will get you much better quality and can be used for much else (it's the lens I use the most). It's also a great way to learn how to improve your photo skills as a prim lens will get you thinking about positioning a bit more :)

Cheers,
 
D

Dexterity Jones

New member
I personally think a macro lens, beyond the standard 50mm, is not needed either.

You'll get along just fine for doing macro's of mini's with the standard lens on the nikkon range (sorry, I only know nikkon). Dumping the money, either new or used, for a special macro lens, will just be a waste of money.
 
marcopreto

marcopreto

New member
AndyG said:
Yep this kind of advice is what I am after you and Pegasus saying the same thing here I.e. go to a shop and have a go.

Buy......new.......kit.......arghhh......does not ....compute fzzzz..

Suppose your right though I am known as being chronically tight fisted though the wife certainly makes up for that!

Ho hum I will buy a new one.
Click to expand...

As some have said, any entry level DSLR should do the trick, but first, before spending your hard earned cash, try some things with your camera.
If it does not have any manual controls, you have to "fool" it into doing what you want!

So if it focus on the closest thing there is, turn off macro mode and use landscape! Sounds ridiculous but give it a try, as it will maximize depth of field! Colors all wrong? Does you camera have any white balance selecting mode? or even a custom mode (were you can use a neutral gray (or white) card to "tune" it? if so (it must have, and probably it's buried in some menus) experiment with those.

Try it out once more, the most you have to loose are a few minutes! Whatever you decide, I hope you manage to get photos you're happy with.

Cheers
Marco Preto
 
AndyG

AndyG

Active member
Due to a terminal case of penny pinching I'd pretty much settled on a selection of entry level DSLR's ( theres some quite unbelievabley good stuff compared to even a couple of years ago )and also on them being ....shudder ....new there said it. :) if as seems the case from what people are saying go with a normal lens then all the better a few more pennies saved. Plus I think it will get past the wife easier. Lol

Marcopreto get this I have been using a camera that is totally and utterly automatic there are litteraly no selections available. I honestly couldn't believe it my self as even my kids rubber covered my little pony camera / games console has some bloody controls! But no my camera realy realy doesn't! The only things I CAN do IS pencils to focus and bits of different shaded backgrounds but it doesn't always make it work and it stubbornly refuses to get off bloody stupid focusing / light setting....even with the threat of being hurled out the window to teach it who's boss!
 
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