[manishalive]

Guys,

What do you recommend for a close up lens (I have standard 18-55 kit lens) and just want to add a cheap micro set up with close up lens. I normally take scale model pictures with occasional outdoor pictures.

Some one recommended cannon 250D 58mm, where can I get on in Bangalore and are there any other cheaper alternatives than that. I see a lot of options starting from INR 200 in eBay India.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by manishalive

Some one recommended cannon 250D 58mm, where can I get on in Bangalore and are there any other cheaper alternatives than that. I see a lot of options starting from INR 200 in eBay India.

It's a good recommendation no doubt provided you're not looking outside posting pictures on the net and medium size printouts.

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

It's a good recommendation no doubt provided you're not looking outside posting pictures on the net and medium size printouts.

Thanks, I probably will never take a printout. It's just that I had to take better pictures for my scale models.

But where to get Cannon 250D?

[Naetik30]

Hi All. I am a newbie to team-bhp and zilch with SLR photography. I have been using a point and shoot for ages, but planning to upgrade to SLR as my Canon A620 died on me last month.

I know this is a question that has been asked and answered a number of times. But as the requirements differ for each person, I am going to ask again - so I am convinced before I spend my money.

Note: I am an expert in Adobe Photoshop. Did an advanced diploma in multimedia way back in 1999. And have done a number of designing work in college days.

My requirements are
1. basic SLR (cost wise). Dont want to invest more than 25k for body
2. I will be need to shoot lot of portrait (of my 2 year old son), pics during travel (beaches/hill stations/abroad). Say 70% of people with a nice back ground(hills) and 30% of long shots
3. What lens should I buy for my requirements?
4. Can i get the back ground blur effect with any lens?
5. And finally which camera to buy. Some friends suggested - Canon D1100 (T3i) or NikonD5100?
6. Will a camera with 6400 ISO be enough for my requirements.

[SilkDrive]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Hi All. I am a newbie to team-bhp and zilch with SLR photography. I have been using a point and shoot for ages, but planning to upgrade to SLR as my Canon A620 died on me last month....

Canon 1100 and Nikon D5100 should not be considered side by side. I think you should rather consider Canon 600D and D5100 as they are in the same league. Considering you have been using the A620IS for so long, i would suggest the 600D. You will get comfortable with the controls in minutes. I think you can get the body for 27 to 28 K after discounts. On the net it is about 2K costlier.

For protrait, the 50 mm 1.8 is a gem of a lens for around 7K. Its great for shooting kids and pets as it is a fast lens (wide aperture and hence fast shutter speeds). It also auto-focusses on the 600D since it has inbuilt focus motor. Nikons do not offer in camera focus motor on anything below the D90. So for portrait on Nikon you would need a more expensive 'G' lens to auto-focus.

The canon 50 is one of the best Canon lenses when it comes to image quality... comparable to the top of the line "L" lenses. However the cheap price, results in a compromised build quality. Some units often have 1-2 mm front or rear focusing problems. I would suggest you download and print a focusing scale from the internet and carry it with you during the purchase. If possible ask friend who is experienced with DSLRs to accompany you to check the lenses focus.

Also, i would suggest you not to buy the body only. Get the Kit lens. Its cheap when bought with the camera and its not at all bad. Its versatile and provides a wonderful base for learning. If you don't take a kit lens, and just get a 50mm prime, you learning curve, as a first time DSLR user, would become frustratingly steep.

And yes, you can get background blur with any lens (even with the PnS that you had). Some will offer more of it (wide aperture lenses) while some not so much (smaller apertures). The 50mm 1.8 offers fantastic background blur since 1.8 is a pretty wide aperture value. Although this lens is at its best for portraits in the f2.8 to f4.5 range.

To summarize: the suggestion is Canon 600D + 18-55KitLens + 50mm1.8 prime for your needs.

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by SilkDrive

Canon 1100 and Nikon D5100 should not be considered side by side. I think you should rather consider Canon 600D ...

Thanks a lot @Silkdrive for the detailed explanation. Helps a lot. Could you also suggest a lens for shots in hill stations (the normal ones where we have a person posing in front of some nice scenery). . I dont know how else to explain my requirement.

Or will the kit 18-55 lens do the job?

[SilkDrive]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Thanks a lot @Silkdrive for the detailed explanation. Helps a lot. Could you also suggest a lens for shots in hill stations (the normal ones where we have a person posing in front of some nice scenery). . I dont know how else to explain my requirement.

Or will the kit 18-55 lens do the job?

Well, for a person posing in front of a nice scenery at a hill station, i would like the person to be in sharp focus, and the scenery behind him to be slightly blur (but not too blur in which case the scenery wouldn't matter at all ). For this the 18-55 kit lens would do pretty well.

The 50 mm prime would give you even greater image quality in the same situation. But 50mm, which is effectively 85mm on entry level DSLRs (since they have a cropped size sensor), is already too much zoomed-in to to cover a landscape completely. Thus, although you have greater image quality, you would only be able to capture only a part of the entire hill/garden/building in your frame.

The above is one of the main reasons why i suggested you to buy the kit lens in my earlier post.

Obviously, if the budget of 25K that you stated is for the body only, and you are open to shell out without hesitation on lenses then you should look at a 35mm prime lens instead of the 50mm, to solve this problem.

But if the overall budget matters, then this setup would be more than just fine. Get these 2 lenses, take a years time learning them completely, before proceeding to other more expensive lenses.

[R2D2]

Looks like rumours about the elusive D400 are raising their head again. Here are some inputs from Nasim Mansurov.

http://photographylife.com/nikon-d40...initely-coming

[joe1980]

I have been shooting with my Sony NEX 6 for the last couple of months. Though I find the camera to be interesting to shoot with, I seriously cannot do what I wanted - Macro photography. I'm not sure if there will be a decent lens in the 85 to 120mm focal length range for the NEX in the next couple of years. So I'm planning to get either a DSLR with a Macro lens or just a Macro lens with an adapter for my NEX. I do not like the latter and not sure how that combination might work. What are your suggestions?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by joe1980

I have been shooting with my Sony NEX 6 for the last couple of months. Though I find the camera to be interesting to shoot with, I seriously cannot do what I wanted - Macro photography. I'm not sure if there will be a decent lens in the 85 to 120mm focal length range for the NEX in the next couple of years. So I'm planning to get either a DSLR with a Macro lens or just a Macro lens with an adapter for my NEX. I do not like the latter and not sure how that combination might work. What are your suggestions?

The gear will depend on what type of macro you want to do - insects, flowers, jewelry etc.

If you want a dedicated macro system, get the least expensive DLSR and a second hand manual macro lense.

Utilize the savings in a good flash system for macro photography - ring lite, multiple small flashes with brackets etc, stands and lights/diffusers. This is just my views and the best guidance will be given in the online forums dealing with exclusively with macro photography.

[joe1980]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The gear will depend on what type of macro you want to do - insects, flowers, jewelry etc.

If you want a dedicated macro system, get the least expensive DLSR and a second hand manual macro lense.

Utilize the savings in a good flash system for macro photography - ring lite, multiple small flashes with brackets etc, stands and lights/diffusers. This is just my views and the best guidance will be given in the online forums dealing with exclusively with macro photography.

Hey, thanks for that suggestion. Getting a least expensive DSLR is also a good suggestion. Is a full frame really helpful in macro photography or would a APS-C sensor be more than enough. I intend to take insects, flowers, water droplets and products using the macro setup. If an APS-C sized DSLR would fit, then which one would be a good idea? Nikon D5100? Can you suggest a good one with a Macro lens?

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Looks like rumours about the elusive D400 are raising their head again. Here are some inputs from Nasim Mansurov.

http://photographylife.com/nikon-d40...initely-coming

I have been saying that D400 should be coming for a while now. VERY interesting specs as conjectured from Mansurov. Would be a cracker of a wildlife/action camera.

So will sit tight till this gets launched. No immediate D7100 purchase for me.

[joe1980]

If I get a used D5100 and the Nikon 105mm Micro lens with VR which I guess is a lens for the FX format, would that actually work without any issues on the D5100 which I suppose is a DX format?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by joe1980

If I get a used D5100 and the Nikon 105mm Micro lens with VR which I guess is a lens for the FX format, would that actually work without any issues on the D5100 which I suppose is a DX format?

An FX lense would work with DX format camera, but not the other way round.

I would go with the D3200 instead of the D5100
http://www.nikon.co.in/en_IN/product...oryID=gp11zkyo
http://digital-photography-school.co...focus-stacking
For Macro, manual focus is the way to go as
. The distances are short, hence DOF is wafer thin
. With thin DOF manual focus gives the best results as you can focus where you want
. If the subject is stationary and the camera is mounted on a tripod (as for product shorts), you can do focus stacking to get every thing is sharp focus
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/571...ro-photography

Here are some lenses from KEH
http://www.keh.com/camera/Nikon-Manu...10201444N?r=FE
http://www.keh.com/camera/Nikon-Manu...102007910?r=FE
amongst new lenses
http://www.nikon.co.in/en_IN/product...oryID=gp11zkyu
http://www.nikon.co.in/en_IN/product...tLink=gp11zkzg

[joe1980]

I've never heard of focus stacking. Sounds interesting but also demands a lot of work to get that right. I checked the specs of the D3200, would the 24 MP do any good against the 18 MP in the 5100 especially for Macro photography? But otherwise both the cameras seem to have more or less the same specifications.