Equipment First DSLR Recommendations

I recently started work on a new build/mod and would like to make some attempt at logging it to share with the masses. My point & shoot Sony isn't cutting it though, so I think it's about time I got my first DSLR. I don't have a fortune to spend on it nor would I want to; I just want a body and some glass that will allow me to take good shots of parts and processes for a project log. What's the least I can expect to spend for this and what do you recommend?

 

D3100 body only with a 35mm 1.8 lens. Its a good piece of kit at an entry level. The kit lens is alright but not great, I'd consider getting the 18-105 instead once you have some more cash.

Get a tripod aswell if you want some funky low light shots.

 

What is your Sony compact? does it have semi-manual mode, or even P mode with exposure compensation?

if it's got a proper flash rather than a LED light, you can buy an off camera flash and improve your photos more than buying a DSLR. YN-560 are £50 a pop and works off camera as long as there is a flash to trigger it.

 

http://direct.asda.com/Nikon-D3100-...nd-8GB-SDHC---Black/000630219,default,pd.html

All you need, plus a 10% discount from Asda. Ordered my 3200 from there and got it next day. Probably as cheap as you can go for a new SLR

 

It's a DSC-H55. Not horrible, but not that good for low light stuff and I've discovered that it's really bad at desktop macro stuff which I do quite a bit - PCBs, screws, components etc. It has a program auto and manual function.

 

My first DSLR was a cannon 550D. Very capable camera. All my pc pics in the sig rig were taken with it using the standard kit lens.

Also any of the motoraport images on my flickr from 2012 are with the 550d also.

Edit: if its just for project log stuff no need for expensive fast glass. Just mount it on a tripod and slow the shutter down. Sorted!

Double edit: if you have any questions about the cannon range il be happy to help. Dont know much about the nikons though so il leave that to someone else.

 

DSLR with standard lens won't be good for any macro and not very good for close-up either. But you can buy extension tubes to remedy that, although extremely hard to get things in focus and will require a tripod. Photography isn't a cheap hobby.

Lighting makes all the difference.

The H55 seems to have proper flash, and looks to be a respectable camera. It's really not the camera that makes a good shot, it's the photographer behind it.

Try with the flash, set it to digital slave mode (ignores pre-flash) and it should sync with your camera. Now just dial exposure comp down by a stop or two, and see what results you get. Bounce the flash off ceiling or fit a tube over it (a snoot) to direct it over your components.

Once you get a hang of lighting Strobist style. This is the kind of shots you can achieve with any cheap camera.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ECB90D96DF59DE5

Then, when you feel you are ready to take control of camera settings, invest in a DSLR where it offers full manual controls. At that time, the flashgun can still be used, fully compatible and with your understanding of light, you are already WAY ahead of anyone who just buys DSLR thinking it'd take great photos.




I'm still learning lighting, but this is the kind of shot you achieve with any camera, just need to experiment with off camera flashgun. Only difference was the DSLR gave me results with less experimenting because it was aware of the external flash.


My PC wiring in Silverstone FT02 by wuyanxu, on Flickr

 

Hey wyx, i agree with 99% of your post but not the part about a basic lens not being good for macro.

Considering the ops requirements the 550D kit lens macro would be pretty good and probably exceed his needs. Its really quite good when paired with a tripod.

All the stuff about lighting is spot on and i totally agree. Its not the easiest thing to master!

 

You say flash slave mode... Not sure the Sony has that. Is there any way to tell without having it on me?

From the Sony site:

PS: oh look, an FT02R. That's a coincidence. Mine is the whole reason this thread was started

 

The flash will flash like before nothing to set on the camera, may need to force it to fire though. The slave flash (powerful yet cheap YN-560) needs to be set to optical digital slave mode. I know YN-560 or most flashguns (not Canon) can be triggered optically, most will ignore pre-flash (known as Digital slave on some units).

Sony's website says flash can be forced, so it would work with flashguns.


Regarding macro, neither H55 or kit lenses offered by Nikon/Canon can do true macro. 18-55mm kit lens can focus down to 28cm, while H55 can do down to 10cm at widest. At 55mm the DSLR lens offers 0.34x magnification.

For comparison, This photo was done using 85mm lens with magnification of 0.13x, using 65mm extension tubes to achieve 0.93x magnification. (plus tripod and flash lighting)


52 - 11 - Electric (2) by wuyanxu, on Flickr


Good point on using tripod. Unfortunately only DSLR can achieve that as you can control shutter speed. Hopefully with added lighting you won't need DSLR's low light abilities.

 

I would recommend the 35 over the 18-105 personally. Stopped down (f/4) the 35 is tack sharp and the ability to go to 1.8 allows for greater control of Depth of field as well as low light performance.

 

Oh sorry, I get it now. I picked your first post about that up completely wrong! Yes that sounds like it will work well. I assume I can trigger two of those at once to evenly illuminate objects with fewer shadows?

Any best value tripod recommendations? I'll be shooting video in the future as well so ideally one with a nice smooth head - my good buddy October has a great one that was very good value but I can't remember the brand. Now would be a good time to chime in dude

I think I'll try flashguns and a tripod with the Sony compact first of all, but inevitably I am going to have to get a DSLR eventually. There are things I plan on shooting in the future that I know a compact is definitely not going to be good enough for, but I've been putting it off and off because those projects were so far away and I didn't want to bear the cost for what little use it would have gotten up to now. When I do, it'll more than likely be a 550D. As well as October (500D last I remember) a few friends have Canons and I've used the 450, 500 and 550 and and liked what I saw in all three. My award winning wedding & studio photographer friend Louise also handed me her 5D Mk II at an event one day and let me shoot with it for a few hours. I'm a novice photographer at best and what I shot that day was probably pants from a technical standpoint, but it doesn't take a professional to know that you're holding some amazing hardware with a 5D in your hands!

 

I have a 550 The 650's pretty much the same price these days, the 550 went up in price a good bit after I bought mine.

I could probably sell you that tripod of mine, bought a Manfrotto. I use the small one occasionally to steady my slider but I'm looking for a simpler solution to that particular problem!

If you want a dslr you may as well get a 650, I'm obviously going to recommend Canon to be fair but at least you'd have access to a fairly big collection of lenses to try before buying your own. Matter of fact you might be as well off going body-only and getting some lovely (cheap) vintage primes, unless you'd plan to use it much outside of product shots. Focusing wouldn't be an issue if you're on a tripod and they're fantastic for when you start doing video.

Give me a shout if you're gonna be up any time soon, you can have a go on my stuff. Actually I might come down to you if you have an afternoon free...I'd like to try out a few things and my one untidily cabled PC doesn't fully fit the bill...

 

I'm not sure if the head will be smooth enough, but I've been very pleased with this one. It's very plastic in parts, but still feels substantial enough to stand up to quite a bit of abuse. And for £18 I'll buy another if I bust it.

 

oh god! I have exact that model (according to amazon) and it's horrid. Feels okay at first, but as soon as I touched another tripod, this one feels terrible. I now use the Hama as a light stand, the plastic camera mount is being bent by the off centre weight of the softbox. It's more hopeless at portrait mode. But to be fair, I am now using a £200 tripod, which doesn't move the slightest with softbox or camera at any angle.



Glad you will consider to learn about lighting before jumping onto DSLR. It's really what should have been learnt first for most photographers. The ability to light is very important for product photography. I am really sick of seeing straight on-camera flash as main light source on these PC forums.

You are totally right, having 2 would mean even lighting. But I'm not sure how well your compact will cope with that, it exposes for the ambient. With a DSLR you can go into manual and do 1/200s f8 ISO100 indoors to have a dark starting point, light entirely using your flash. Also, your compact's flash is also a light source, and can be considered a fill flash.

The Strobist is the place to be to learn about off camera flash photography. I also found Cambridge in colour a good resource to learn the basics.

For Canon, any of the xxxD would work great. All of them after 550D to newest 700D use the same 18MP sensor, 650 and 700 have slightly modified sensor, but image quality is still the same as 550D. Even 60D and 7D all use the same sensor, so unless you plan to shoot action in the rain, 550D will do nicely. In terms of lenses, you can get the cheap and cheerful 50mm f1.8 first, then try to borrow a macro lens off your mates.

Also, 5D mark 2 is certainly a very nice camera, I know But its auto focus is the same as what's in 550D and its continuous burst is also as slow. It's really just a full frame weather sealed 550D, without pop-up flash (they are still useful on holidays as fill flash )

 

It's not up to being compared to a proper pod - I've used a friend's fancy Manfrotto one, and while they're leagues apart, his is also 15x more expensive. For sub-£20 it's a decent enough bit of kit to hold a camera still. I can chuck it in the boot of my car and use it once in a blue moon and I don't feel bad.

 

Indeed, that's how I use mine. To be fair, it holds entry level DSLR okay, just make sure the stuff you put on the head is less than 1kg. The tripod itself is reasonably solid, it's really the plastic head that lets it down.

 

I have noticed it can be a bit loose, are the heads replaceable?

 

I've put my RB67 on my vivitar tripod, it did not appreciate that at all! I'm now looking for somthing a little lot more sturdy but, as ever, I've not got the money for a good tripod.

 

will also get £30 cash back from Nikon from the spring cash back offer


its a £30 prepaid credit card not actually cash but as good as.

http://www.nikon.co.uk/sites/cashback/offer-uk-spring13.html