First of all, I'm sorry for starting another "beginner equipment advice" thread, but in my opinion, it's more polite than hijacking someone elses thread of a similar nature. I've read through the few threads here recently in which people have been asking about what equipment to buy and unfortunately none of them answer all my questions properly. The situation is this: I like photography, and art. Sadly, I'm pants at both of them. The best camera I've ever had was a Casio Exilm 7.0 MP point & shoot, and the best pictures I ever took with it are what I'd call complete flukes. I'm an experienced case modder and system builder, but up until now, I haven't taken the time or exhausted the effort in logging any of my worthwhile projects. This year, I want that to change. I want to start writing project logs for the "best picks" of my projects, and the first one I've chosen for this is due to start later this year. I don't just want to create a great system though, I also want to create a great log to go along with it. If things go according to plan, the project will attract a lot of attention from the modding community and I want the quality of content available to view to be of the highest standard I'm capable of. I've seen project logs on bit-tech of late that are so well presented, they could make even the worst project look good. I'm after that sort of quality from both my photography and my presentation of the hardware that's going to be featured in the build is going to need to be first class. At this point I'm slightly aware that I'm rambling, so I'll try to get straight to the point - I have no DSLR, and limited experience using one. I've heard from several people in the photography business that the Canon Rebel T1i (or whatever it's european more boring name is) would be an excellent starting point for me, as it also shoots HD video which is perfect for me because I want to make several video logs of the projects at their major checkpoints, and currently have no equipment capable of doing this either. Most of the fear (for want of a better word) that I have about spending £700+ on a camera and lens is that I will choose a camera that's wrong for what I want to do and that I won't have the right lighting setup to achieve the look and quality of photography that I want to. The other thing that's bugging me is that at some point I will obviously want to photograph other things, outside a "studio" environment which will require a completely different setup to the one I'll need for hardware shots, and that I'll be spending money on gear that can't achieve this. So to give you something to actually answer, here are my main concerns; - Is the Rebel T1i an up to date camera, capable of what I want to do, and does it have enough range of use with just a lens change to capture other shots along with the hardware stuff? - OR, Is the Rebel just too much gear for someone who has no idea to be starting off with? £800 is probably my budget for camera and 1 lens... The Canon falls within this but is it the right choice? - What type of lenses do I need to photograph hardware up close like you see in logs? Is it a straight macro lens or a medium focus lens just zoomed in? - Lighting - do I need to buy lighting equipment or build a small "studio" in the workshop to achieve clean looking, well lit shots? My workshop has ZERO natural light entering from anywhere... it's illuminated by fluorescnet ceiling lamps and a mixture of halogen and fluorescent bench lamps. I don't think these will be suitable for good photography... - Are there any general guidelines or rules that seasoned photographers of PC hardware or projects can give me to help out on a beginner level? Like I said, I've been doing this for years, but I've never photographed any of my work that's been worthwhile showing anyone. I'm quite afraid of my lack of photography skills making my logs look crap :/ Thanks very much in advance everyone
To be honest I'd get a bridge camera or a four-thirds camera rather than a full-blown SLR, I know for a fact the GF1 can record in 720p
I'm an admitted amateur so take this with a grain of salt. To start, you don't need an excellent camera or L glass to take good pictures. I think a lot of photographers get into this mindset that to take good shots you NEED good gear. Good gear can make getting good shots possible or easier but just spending a couple grand on equipment isn't a magic solution for doing good photography. A well practiced photographer can make a lot out of a $500 body + $150 lens. Some exceptions to this exist (extreme macro? need an mpe65, $900) but it sounds to me like you're not doing anything extremely out of the ordinary. For £800 you can definitely get a dSLR that will do everything you need plus change for lighting equipment. For a body you don't really need to shell out huge bucks, a T1i (500d) would be perfect for you if you're looking for video too. An alternative would be to get an XSi(450d) or XS(1000D) and use the extra to get a dedicated video camera though I have no idea how budget camcorders fare against the T1i. With regards to the T1i vs XSi, they're almost the same in image quality and you probably won't notice any significant differences by spending more on the T1i besides having video capability. They can all mount the same lenses and more or less look the same. With the kit lens you can probably get photos that are already of a pretty high quality. You can also pick up a 50mm 1.8 as its a very fast lens which is probably good for your dark workshop and can also double as a decent lens for taking pictures of small stuff and most importantly, is super cheap. Here's an example of a shot taken with the canon 50mm 1.8 Lighting is just as, if not more important than your camera. Photography is all about light so good lighting means good photos. Unfortunately I mostly do handheld macro work on insects so I know next to nothing about lighting stationary things bigger than 2 cm. What I do know is that in a dark room with fluorescent lighting you will probably need some other source of light besides your popup flash. I would venture to guess that a few desklamps with halogen bulbs + some white paper diffusers would be good enough but I'm sure someone else has some better suggestions!
As an addition to what zelachang said about not needing the best gear, I have a suggestion for a cheap(er than alternative Canon glass), fast and almost-macro-capable lens - the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 It's got a wide f/2.8 aperture through the zoom range, focuses on objects about 20cm away from the lens and by virtue of being a zoom, has a distinct advantage over the Canon 50mm f/1.8 (which I also own but barely use). I find that the quality, speed and aperture on the Tamron coupled with the ability to zoom make it a much more versatile lens. It's a great lens to shoot with in low light (and apparently the T1i does decent high ISO shots too). The camera body+lens should set you back no more than $1100 (650 for body, 450 for lens - approx) which, all things considered is a pretty decent deal.
I've tended to find its less about the camera and more about the light for good product shots. nor do the lights have to be expensive studio lights, I mostly use two old manual flashguns that cost me £20 each and a set of radio triggers from ebay for another £20. shots like these daffs1 storm to the future And this one was shot using a desk lamp Yellow on Blue . If you get a camera that has a hot shoe these manual flashes are great with a cheap radio trigger set. or if your are without a hotshoe you can go and get a set of halogen worklights from a DIY place for less than £30 and get some very workable light that isn't as bright as expensive studio equipment but can be used to great effect. use some white material as a diffuser and the white balance tool in your software to correct the halogen light back to daylight colours.
This. Especially since you are looking at video, for which strobes are pointless. Video needs good lighting as well, since low light video suffers even worse then high ISO stills. No reason to blow money on 2 light setups when one will suffice with some creativity.
Also take a look at DIYphotography.net they have a nice intro to using worklights and a whole raft of DIY lighiting modifiers.
QFT. Good product photography... well, good photography, is all about light. You're painting with light, so don't just think about gear in the traditional sense (i.e. the camera and lens), also think about how you're going to light your subject. I've not done a lot of product photography recently (last time was pre-Dennis), but you definitely don't want to do it without good lighting equipment. The work lights suggested earlier should work quite well, some of my friends use them in their studios because they're cost effective, and they're probably better suited to your requirements than strobes, since strobes are useless for video. It's also worth thinking about reflectors too, as they'll help you to manipulate light in the shot.
First of all, I'd like to apologize for seeming to abandon this thread. I really appreciate all your replies and all the good advice that you've given me. Secondly, I'd like to apologize for bumping this thread just to say this - Having not actually purchased a new camera since posting this, I've been continuing to use my Casio P&S using as much of your advice as possible to get lighting, settings and environment just right. The photos have been coming out ok, just not perfect yet though. None of that matters now anyway, because just five minutes ago the camera did something which many Casio Exilm's have been known to to do in the past. It corrupted an SD card whilst trying to save a photo, the same card that had over 3 weeks of my work on one new project on it. The last time that was backed up was on Sunday, so everything I've done since Monday has been lost It's definately time for that new SLR Canon here I come.
I was going to stick with the kit lens, but the Tamron that you suggested sounds awesome, so I might see about getting one of those instead. It depends on how easy it is to get over here really.
Once you're competent with the camera, it's well worth getting a better lens because the EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS is unable to resolve the sensor's resolution (it's not manufactured to a high enough quality). However, as a beginner, I wouldn't worry about doing that until you feel like the lens is holding you back and your pictures are of a consistently good standard. Remember that it's the person behind the camera who makes photographs, not the gear. Better gear just helps to get rid of the technical flaws in your images, but it won't make them better if your photographers' eye isn't tuned to producing visually appealing images. Good luck!
Too true. Fortunately, there's some super-affordable 50mm options out there that provide great results.
Don't worry about cameras being 'up to date', results count more than shiny new cameras. My Canon 350D (5 years old, btw) is still a capable camera, and I'm more than happy to put its results up against results from... say... a Canon 5D, for example. The great thing about digital photography, is that it costs nearly nothing to take photos... and taking photos is really the only way to learn. Only consider a macro lens once you've got used to your camera. All a macro lens really offers is minimal barrel/pincushion effects. You can still get good close-up photos with a normal lens, you just crop the photos afterwards with whatever art package you're using.
While it won't out resolve high density sensors the 18-55 IS has plenty or resolving power. What it lacks is build, USM, a decent aperture and other IQ strengths. Sharpness, however, is not an issue--even on a 15/18mp body. As for the second part of your post--can't argue with that
