help

[jenoo4]

i have been reading and looking at your guys pic, for awhile, and i was thinking i would like to get a new camera, and i have been reading what everone is useing, the cameras i have always used to this point have been the ones that you cant change lens on, my digital takes the disks, i love taking pic and would like to get a newer camera, and learn how to focus myself instead of the camera doing it, but what i dont understand is half of the stuff you guys use, what its for, i see the pic of the birds in flying and how much detail you can see, like their eyes, i have never been able to get that good of a pic with what iam useing, so what would some one need to start out with, and what you use it for, i under stand the lens parts,

[Steve Foss]

Hi jenoo:

You've asked a question with a complicated answer, but I'll keep it as simple as I can while still trying to give enough info to be helpful.

The only way to get good pictures of animals/birds/people when they're moving around is with a digital SLR (as opposed to the point-and-shoot you mentioned) and a couple decent lenses.

It's going to cost you around $1,000-$1,200 if you go that route. Canon's entry level DSLR is the Digital Rebel XT. Nikon's is the D70. Both can be purchased with one or two lenses in a kit. One lens will be a pretty wide angle with a zoom (like an 18-55mm) and the other a more powerful telephoto zoom (like a 70-200mm). The telephoto lens will be OK, and will allow you to get some shots like what you see here, but Tom Wilson, Buzzsaw, Hobbydog, myself and others are using more professional quality lenses, which provide sharper images with better contrast but also focus a LOT faster than the lenses that come with the camera kit.

The kits will also come with a battery and a battery charger, as well as a cable to hook the camera up to the computer to upload images. You'll have to buy a memory card (compact flash style), which will run from $35 to $100, depending how big a card you want to get. I'd recommend at least a 512 Mb card, which will be priced at the lower end of that spectrum.

And any camera store worth its salt will have a selection of books to help the beginner understand digital photography. I can't stress enough how important it is to get one of those books. The owner's manual is good for figuring out how to make specific things work on your camera, but you'll need a good book about the overall subject.

Hope this helps. I could have gotten FAR more involved with tips and such, but figured you just wanted a starting point. Don't be intimidated by SLR photography. If I could learn it, anyone can.

[buzzsaw]

Steve is right on, if you want to get the type of pictures your seeing it will mean digging into your wallet unfortunately. Heres a link that you may find interesting, http://www.all-things-photography.com/better-digital-photography.html

[Finns]

Our local newspaper's chief photographer teaches a class or two at the local community college. You might want to look into a class to get some information.

'course you can't go wrong with the people here either.

Finns.

[jenoo4]

Thank you guys for responding, i didnt want to make my post to long, i should have asked, what is a teleconverter? or made i should ask, what should one start out with, you can always add on, but till one knew what they there where doing, what should you start with, i wirte down when you guys post what you are useing, but i guess iam not for sure what i need to get me started, when you go to a store they tell you, you need everthing right away,

[Steve Foss]

jenoo: In my post, I explained what you should start with. If there's something I missed, can you be more specific? If you'd like to e-mail me, I can give you the Web site for the online store I've bought all my photography gear from for more than two years. It's a great site, and sells all the brands. The only reason to go into a retail store that has all those brands is to see which one fits into your hand and feels the best to you. NEVER listen to the clerk unless you know and trust that person. As you said, they'll say you need everything to drive up the sale, and they'll push whatever they're overstocked on. Well, not all clerks (I've known some good ones). Just the careless ones.

A teleconverter is simply an additional small lens that goes on between the camera and the primary lens and magnifies the power of the primary lens. So a 1.4-power teleconverter turns a 100mm into a 140 mm, and a 2-power teleconverter turns it into a 200mm. Even the best of the best teleconverters will degrade the image just a little bit, but they are a great way to boost the power of a lens without having to shell out really big bucks for really big lenses.

[jenoo4]

thank you, for your help, and my email is [email protected], yes i would like to see the web page,

[Tom Wilson]

Jen,

I meant to chime in before now, but it has been a hectic couple of weeks for me. I don't wish to sound belittling in any way, so please understand my response, but I truly think, judging by some of your questions, that the place you should start is a good book. I remember when I first got started, I new I could take pictures, but I wanted to learn what the camera was doing that I didn't understand. What I got from the books I read, was a world of understanding and knowledge about photography and the many different things that need to work in order to get good images on a consistent basis. A good book on 35mm photography would be worth a fortune to you, if you are serious about photography. Secondly, from your first post, I noticed you said that you wanted to learn to do things manually (like focusing). While this desire to learn might be admirable, there is no way that you will ever be able to do what an autofocus system does for you, unless you are shooting static, non moving subjects, and even then you'd be surprised once you started blowing things up to large print sizes. Steve gave you some good advice, and he is so much better than me at giving product type of advice and really advice in general because he is very eloquent and able to convey his thoughts well, however if there is anything I can answer for you specifically, please don't hesitate to ask.

Tom W

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

---

Steve gave you some good advice, and he is so much better than me at giving product type of advice and really advice in general because he is very eloquent and able to convey his thoughts well

---

I think it's...................................................................

[Steve Foss]

Oh Buzz (flutter eyelashes here) . . . my hero.

[jenoo4]

tom, thank you, and no i dont find it belittleing, i have been looking at your guys pic and they are great, i guess i thought with the type of camras you guys use, that i would need to learn to focus on my own, we live out in the country down by rochester, and have a cabin up on upper red lake, and i have gotten tons of pics of wildlife, but there are a lot of pic i have missed because of my camra, to far away, and as far as ducks and stuff in flight, its just to slow, if you get them in its the back half, if i try to take it just before they get in, i get them but the are not clear, i thought once i get a nicer camra i would take a class, i learn faster if i can do it, more so if i read about it, and again thank you to everone who posted to help me out,

[WCS]

Hey Jenoo4,

I see that you live in the Chatfield area as well. I use a digital SLR and would be happy to get together sometime and show you the camera and gear that I use. By no means do I have a professional set-up, but you will be able to get a good idea by getting your hands on it. My email is thelaw at mchsi.com