Digital SLR really neccesary??

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Dalbery

Saltwater Nut
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
230
Location
Key Center,WA
This is probably a 2 part question.
1st: Is a digital slr really neccesary for taking good coral pictures?

2nd: If the answer above is yes, is there really any good or bad brand of camera to buy?

There are a number of people on here who just make me sick with their awesome pics of their corals. I know most of my corals are beautiful but I can't capture them on "film"
 
#1. Not totally necessary, no. There are great Point and Shoot cameras on the market, that take wonderful pictures, even Macros. A DSLR will give you much more flexibility though, with interchangeable lenses and no shutter lag.

#2. When it comes to DSLR, Cannon and Nikon are the 2 better brands. Between the 2, they both have different levels, from Consumer, Pro-sumer and Professional. They both have Cropped Sensor and Full Sensor options. They both have a full range of quality lenses.

Between the two, it really boils down to you going to a store, or finding friends that own one or the other, and holding them in your hands. Hold on to them, work the buttons, learn the basics of each. Then decide which feels best in your hands, which one is easiest to get to the controls of. Either Canon or Nikon will give you great shots, or at least as great as your ability to take pictures.

A word of warning. If you've never owned an SLR or DSLR camera, there is quite a learning curve. However, once you learn, you'll never go back to a P&S camera. Oh another word of warning... It's an addictive hobby...as addictive as reef keeping. It's also JUST AS EXPENSIVE!! lol
 
It's been a long time since I used an slr. I was pretty good with one in high school. I know there will be a steep learning curve. But the nice thing is now you can practice all you want without burning up tons of expensive film :) I'm assuming a tripod is highly recommended?
 
Dalbery,

I just bought a Finepix XP10 at costco for $130. Can be underwater up to 10 feet. and can take macro shots at 12 megapixels. Not saying its the best, but I will let you know soon... I already like the 720p HD, but havent tried to put it under water.

BTW, I have a Nikon D50. It take a very good picture but cant do much if you dont have needed lens such as macro which btw is the bomb in reef photography. So instead of me buying the lens, I ended up buying the XP10 for two major reason. 720p HD video and macro/underwater photography.

BTW, there are others out there to similar to XP10. There is the Olympus Tough.

Good luck on your endeavor.
 
Dalbery,

I just bought a Finepix XP10 at costco for $130. Can be underwater up to 10 feet. and can take macro shots at 12 megapixels. Not saying its the best, but I will let you know soon... I already like the 720p HD, but havent tried to put it under water.

BTW, I have a Nikon D50. It take a very good picture but cant do much if you dont have needed lens such as macro which btw is the bomb in reef photography. So instead of me buying the lens, I ended up buying the XP10 for two major reason. 720p HD video and macro/underwater photography.

BTW, there are others out there to similar to XP10. There is the Olympus Tough.

Good luck on your endeavor.

Cant wait to see how your pictures look with the XP10
 
Wait no more, because its a piece of crap (XP10) you get what you pay for.... hahaha... Seriously, SLR will go a long long way. Pay special attention on the size of the CMOS. I believe Canon makes a bigger CMOS than Nikon, and I believe Olympus just released a 1:1 size.

Im a Nikon guy so may I suggest D3100, Its cheaper than most and do 14MP and 1080p video.
Heres a comparison of Canon and Nikon.

And here is the crappy xp10 sample...

_DSCF2244.jpg


_DSCF2239.jpg


And the macro? forget about it... its too grainy..... i need to play more...

And here is the D50.

green_slimer_02.jpg
 
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Just my 2 cents on the topic...

If you want to take good, average photos, then there are alot of high quality P&S cameras out there, and the water proof ones are cool because you can stick them right in the water to get any angle shot you want, which gets you some unique photos...

However, P&S cameras are a little more limiting on things such as white balance, so if you are at all nit picky about stuff like "The color of this coral STILL isn't right!", you will probably go crazy dealing with a P&S(like me. lol).

If you want the good, detailed, perfectly colored pictures you see posted around here, 99% of them are all DSLRs... As Sid posted earlier, both Nikon and Canon make good cameras... Personally I've always used the Canon Rebel line, which is a good hobbyist camera. They have newer Rebel models out now which lean more towards pro/advanced hobbyist, like the T2i and T1i, which also shoot HD video if you're into that. I never really use that feature on mine. The added benefit to an SLR is the choice of lenses, as Sid also mentioned. A good macro lens goes a LOOONNG way.

Anyhow, hope that helps a little as well.
 
To add to what Brie and I have said about lenses....

Think about your budget. To get the crisp, detailed Macro shots, will require a Macro lens. Yes, you can get decent and really good shots, without a macro lens. However, you can get much more detailed and much better shots, with a macro lens. Keep in mind that a good macro lens will cost you as much as the camera body...lol.

When it comes to a DSLR, you're spending big money. The lens selection is one of those reasons. When it comes to lens selection, one of the most important things to consider is how "fast" that lens is. The lower the aperture number (Fstop) the larger the aperture can open, the faster the lens is. "Kit" lenses usually aren't all that "fast" with most of them having the lowest aperture of 3.8 or 4. This limits the speed of the lens, which has to be compensated for, by either slowing the shutter speed or raising the ISO.
The higher end lenses are "faster," with the lowest apertures being 1.8-2.8. These lenses typically cost more, but allow you to take your photos with a lower ISO and faster shutter speed.

Now, with P&S cameras, the newer models have excellent White Balance controls, but still suffer with aperture and shutter lag. Shutter lag will really tick you off, when you're trying to take pictures of fish. Shutter lag is the time between you pressing the shutter button and the camera actually opening the shutter. With a dSLR, it's instant. With P&S, depending on model, it can be anywhere from a fraction of a second, to a complete second. In that second, the fish is halfway across the tank...lol.

Shutter lag is where P&S cameras are weak. Close up shots is another weakness they have. P&S cameras have 2 different types of Zoom. They have an actual Optical Zoom and then they have a Digital Zoom. When using one, try to stay out of the Digital Zoom range. Digital Zoom isn't a true zoom. It's a software zoom, similar to cropping. You'll lose detail quickly. So, when looking at P&S cameras, look at the Zoom ratings. You'll see cameras that say a 16X zoom, BUT, you end up with an actual Optical zoom of 4 or 6, with the remainder being a digital zoom. You want the highest actual Optical zoom you can get, to allow you to avoid the digital zoom.

The Canon G series of P&S cameras are excellent and have very low shutter lag. Blazer has some Macro shots, taken with a Canon G10, I believe, that blow anything I've seen, taken with a DSLR, away!! (Except some of Blazers shots, taken with a DSLR...lol)

Another thing. Don't get too hung up on Megapixels. With P&S cameras, sometimes they try to pack too many megapixels onto the tiny sensors. This will really cause a drop in quality. Sometimes this is true with DSLR cameras, as well. Unless you plan to print pictures, poster size, you really don't need anything over 8mp.

For years, I shot with the Canon Rebel Xt and got great results, even shooting Macros. The Rebel line is now at least 4 generations past the Xt, with the T2i. A few months ago, I upgraded to a Canon 7D. It has all kinds of bells and whistles that the Rebel line doesn't have. However, the Rebel line is capable of taking just as good of pictures.
 
I'll add that the hobbiest DSLR's are crop cameras. Meaning you are zoomed in much further than what it actually says in the lens. For example a 100 is 180mm. Keep this in mind when you buy lenses. Ive got a 50D and a 5D and 90% of the time grab the wrong lens for the shot with the 50D. :)

Don
 
The Canon G series of P&S cameras are excellent and have very low shutter lag. Blazer has some Macro shots, taken with a Canon G10, I believe, that blow anything I've seen, taken with a DSLR, away!! (Except some of Blazers shots, taken with a DSLR...lol)

he is the best no others comparising ,,he's always has the great picture and always came with the artistic ,,wish he chime in,,where are you Rick?

BTW ,,just get ready to spend it,,MeryXMAS:D
 
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