Advertisements
Aquatic Avenue Banner Tropica Shop Banner Fishy Business Banner
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Starting out on DSLR

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    East, Singapore
    Posts
    66
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore

    Starting out on DSLR

    Advertisements
    Fresh n Marine aQuarium Banner

    Advertise here

    Advertise here
    I was browsing thru's this section and got me interetsed in Photography.

    Suppose one decided to go for a DSLR, what is the Len to get "started" with... to practise before progressing further (more lens and accesories :P).

    Cheers!
    Regards,
    James
    Harmony Within

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
    Posts
    9,210
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    371
    Country
    Singapore
    James, depends on the subject you wish to explore. Macro, People, Landscape.. blah blah blah :P for different subjects, u need different lenses, but some lenses can be used for various subjects, take for example, macro lenses can be used for portrait shots, wide len can also be used.. it all depends on your needs and budget of coz :P the latter is the biggest obstacle to pass :P also, getting a DSLR means you gotta to invest in flash, lenses...

    just my 2cts, mabe Naturetan and benny can give u a better advise :P

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    U.S.A
    Posts
    9
    Feedback Score
    0
    In my opinion, the best way to get started would be to just actually mess with the camera itself without buying any new lenses. If you just started to get interested in photography, then maybe learning how to use a DSLR would be the first step that I'd recommend. Hopefully you're digital SLR comes with a Macro function(CLOSE UP) and you can automatically mess around with that without paying the extra macro lenses, but I'm not too sure if that is provided on a DSLR. Just get comfortable with the one you get first. Look at your pictures, and decide what kind of pictures you would like to take. THen throw the money in to that specific area. Good Luck and have fun.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    375
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    Usually for starter, I would recommend getting a normal range zoom lens. That would be somewhere around 28mm to 80 or perhaps 105mm. This can be used for multi-purpose, ranging from wide angle landscape to average tele portraiture, allowing you to explore different subjects.

    As a guide, do avoid those zoom range that is higher then 4X, that is more then 105mm. Remember, when lens range increase, quality will reduce, but more versatile for you.

    Depending on your budget, since you might use this lens quite often in future, get the best quality and brightest lens that you can possibly afford. It will reward you well in the long run, though weight might be a concern to you.

    Not to worry about macro lens. With the best normal zoom lens that you buy, attaching it with cheap extension tube, you'll get a rather high quality macro shots in different magnification for your close-up purpose.

    Thus, this normal zoom lens is enough to cover many areas in photography to get started. Next time when you develop your style and get crazy/serious about this hobby, you'll automatically know what new lens or accessories to include for your collection and purpose.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    East, Singapore
    Posts
    66
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    Thank you...Simon, litesky and naturetan

    I managed to borrow to books from the library..


    To a beginner like me, these two has lots of useful information.
    Regards,
    James
    Harmony Within

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Tampines, Singapore.
    Posts
    7,920
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    7
    Country
    Singapore
    do note that what naturetan has quoted for focal length is for 35mm format (normal 35mm film). For DSLR there is a scaling factor because the image sensor is much smaller than a 35mm film. If you get a "digital" lens such as the EF-S 18-55 that comes with the Canon 300D, it is actually equivalent to about 28-90 in 35mm format.

    HOWEVER, if your lens is a "standard" lens i.e. one that is useable on both film and DSLR then it would be stated in 35mm format already.

    also in DSLR the macro "function" is not in the camera body, but in the lens itself.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    375
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore

    Re:

    [quote:c8e38337f6="james"]I managed to borrow to books from the library..

    To a beginner like me, these two has lots of useful information.[/quote:c8e38337f6]
    Glad you find this book useful. Actually, this book and several others was recommended by me year back. Use to recommend lots of books to the library often to improve their collections. So if you find any books that are interesting and unavailable, do make some recommendation, for the benefit of ourselves and many others.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    singapore
    Posts
    3,040
    Feedback Score
    0
    Images
    5
    Country
    Malaysia
    with dslr, don't forget that you'll need some post processing.
    since you are new to photography, you'll have quite a lot to learn.
    alternatively, get a film camera and learn the basics first.
    leave the processing part to labs.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Posts
    334
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    I don't quite agree that beginner should take up analog camera first. I took up photography long ago and maybe before some of you were born.

    I'm not an expert on Digital photography but I got some bit of experience on photography techinque itself. I just got a simple Cannon A75 and I find that the learning curve for beginner will be much shorter using Digital. You can check your shot instantly for exposure, compositions, etc. Retaking shots are practically free, not need to waste rolls of film and spend time in darkroom. Furthermore the setting are imprinted in the jpg files for postmortem.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Redhill
    Posts
    2,086
    Feedback Score
    0
    Country
    Singapore
    sigma came up with a new 105mm macro (go check it out on dpreview.com)
    or canon's 100mm macro

    my take: birding, astro , outdoors: sigma 50-500 for its sheer versatility
    landscape: sigma 12-24 for its lack of ca,rectilinear distortion and Ultra wide angle (which you will need for the lack of crop).

    for streetshooting, the sigma 12-24 may still do, or you may want a 28-135 is or 28-70 (some say tamron's is great here).

    --
    ^ you can't go wrong with the above since it covers a range from 12mm to 500mm (and if you throw in a 1.4x tc, up to 700mm), don't bother with 2xTC's unless your lens is a L lens with f/2.8 or something.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •