DSLR Cameras (a little off topic)

I am using a Nikon D3100 which recently replaced a Nikon D50 (given to my granddaughter for her photography).

Alway have a protective filter if your shooting around trains. Lots of stuff to slip on and bang into. If your lucky enough to get a cab ride in a steam engine your really need some protection over your lens. It can get very rough. I carry two extra batteries with me. You never know what your in for when shooting trains. Don

If your lenses that you already have are compatible with a new Canon, just stick with Canon.

As you have used Canon for 30 years, I am a 40-year Nikon photographer. You are advancing light years in moving from an old Canon film SLR to a modern digital DSLR. The Canon 7D is a terrific camera! I shoot with a Nikon D300, which is comparable in features to the 7D but without video. My general purpose lens is a 16-85mm AF-S Nikkor zoom. I also use a Micro-Nikkor 40mm a lot, plus I have a variety of other Nikkor lenses.

The Nikon i-TTL Wireless Creative Lighting System is absolutely amazing and so easy to set up. You might call it the "Legacy" of flash systems.  

Your old Canon AE-1 manual focus lenses will not mount on the 7D. Keep in mind that the 1.6 crop factor on a DX format camera means that the 24-105mm lens will  function like a 38-168mm lens. Will 38mm always be wide enough for you, especially for family group shots indoors in confined spaces? My DX 16-85mm lens equates to a FX 25-136mm lens. Talk to your dealer about this conversion factor before selecting your lens.

A protective filter for you lens should be neutral color (NC) which is just optically coated clear glass. (In the old film days, one would use an ultra-violet (UV) or skylight/haze filter.) A proper lens hood offers additional protection and reduces glare.

Bill

Nikon D5100 Digital SLR Camera with AF-S VR DX 18-55mm lens.

this is the camera i bought about 3 months ago and it's dropped about $100 from what i paid (~$700 now w/ the 18-55mm lens).  too much to talk about, look for YouTube reviews.  i am totally satisfied with it.  i shot a few 100 pictures last weekend at a live steam meet and the battery did just fine.  i'd image more flash might be more of a drain.  when i do some long exposure (25-30 sec) tripod work, i can take 50-60 pictures before needing to recharge the battery.  i still would like to pick up a spare battery.

the D5100 will take any DX or FX AF-S lens.  i picked up a 28-300mm FX zoom which effectively gives me a max 450mm telephoto and a very fast 35mm (effectively a 52mm) which pretty much covers any situation i've be faced with so far.  i use HOYA HMC filters on all my lenses.

cheers...gary

I have the Nikon D-5100 and the only thing I have been unhappy with is the need to cover the eyepiece finder when not using it to prevent ambient light from entering , and this looks like a production afterthought because you have to slide off the rubber eyepiece cup and slide on the cover , I know one or the other is going to get lost.

Going from film to digital is quite a learning curve especially since I was use to large format stuff.

Happy Shooting

I went with a Olympus E-420 10.0 megapixel from my local camera shop. it was at a good price, and they through in some extra's for me. It came with a 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 digital lens, small flip up flash. The extra was a digital 40-150mm 1:4-5.6 lens, (80-300 zoom in 35mm) at their cost, and they added a 2GB memory card. Then they was receiving on a trade from someone with a digital 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 lens, (140-600 zoom in 35mm) and the shoe mount olympus FL-36 flash, plus the camera bag. In all I paid about $900 for everything thats in the camera bag, and I just picked up my new slik tripod. I have had no problems at all with it, downloads to pc very easy. and the software cd that came with the camera includes free upgrades from olympus.

I was a Canon guy for nearly 36 years.  A TX as my first then an A1.  When I decided to go digital I looked at lots of them out there:  Canon, Nikon, Lumix(Pentax), Sony, Fuji, etc.

I bought the Nikon D3100 for the flexibility.  I has a lot of features and has a fairly long learning curve - which you will find is true of any DSLR you choose.

I've have it about a year and a half and am pleased with it.

Fred

If you currently have a Canon EOS film camera, go Canon because you can "take your lenses and flash with you". If you have an earlier A or T series camera, take your pick.  

I'll chime in on the Canon side.

I purchased a 60D in time for the 2011 holidays. While it's not a "full" frame DSLR. It works just dandy for family pics and model trains. If you're going to shoot pro...sure, the higher end models are all great.

I chose the 60D as a compromise. Faster frame DSLR than a T3i (consumer model) and not as pricey (~$850) for the body alone from the local pro-photog shop.

I use a 24-105 "L" lens for it. Definitely a great outside lens but I have to really work all the settings to get decent indoor shots. I'm looking at the 24-70 L for more ideal indoor pics as it captures 4X the light prior to the camera seeing it.

As for pics. For my pro-sumer abilities...fantastic.

I'll also add...the modern DSLR's can also shoot HD video. Most if not all already discussed on this thread will capture at 1080p at 16X9 which is as good as it gets presently. My video clips are wonderful and you get access to all the lens and apature settings in real time while you capture.

Is it perfect? No. The CFO thinks it's way to heavy and complicated for her. She's more of a point/shoot/compact user. But, in a pinch she'll pick it up and use it on auto-everything and smile when she see's the images.

Capture cards...I purchased a 64GB (gigabyte) card for $80. The newest of new generation cards greater than 32Gb are known as SDXC cards. Whether you choose to connect your camera to your PC to download images and/or, insert the capture card into a SD card reader...the computer AND the card reader BOTH need to know how to read SDXC. When I tried mounting the card on a new Mac laptop, it didn't know how to read it. Doesn't mean an update isn't available...but we were remote and couldn't check at the show. My Windows 7 PC did out of the box. Windows XP will need an SDXC software update to read the card.

How many pics can I capture on 64 GB? 5,000+ JPEG's at maximum quality.

That same card will capture up to 1.5 hours of full HD video if the card were completely empty. As for shooting RAW images...haven't tried. Not interested (yet) as I get used to using it. Guestimate 1,800 RAW images because the camera is an 18 megapixel unit.

Lastly...HDMI. I can plug the camera directly into my/any HD TV that has an HDMI jack. You will need to buy a mini-to-standard HDMI cable (not micro-HDMI!). I keep it packed in my bag so I can plug in anywhere there's interest to see what I shot on the big screen. The camera will do slide shows as well. So you too can sit back and enjoy. :-)

Oh, yes, I agree with Don (scalerail). I purchased a UV lens filter (protector) for the main "L" lens. Not cheap at $75...but a lot less than a new "L" lens!

I have a Nikon D60 ($800)with two lens w/filters. It is very good. I got tired of carrying it one day and bought a point and shoot on QVC for $200.

I bought a Samsung that has 18XZoom, a 24mm wide angle lens, 14.2 mega pixels and W-Fi. It fits in my pocket and it take great shots and video.

the only time you need to cover the eyepiece is if you are NOT using the LCD viewfinder screen and your eye is not looking into the viewfinder such as when you are using the built-in timer or the remote shutter release.  i use my camera on a tripod all the time for long exposure, large depth of field closeup photography using the LCD screen and have never had to use the cap.  if you look into the eyepiece when the screen is active, you will see that the viewfinder is internally shutoff.

the only thing i could see the eyepiece cap being used for is when the ambient light of the LCD screen being on would interfere with a very low light setup.  the flexibility of the LCD screen in this camera is amazing making low angle shots very easy to compose.

i know i still have the eyepiece cap in my bag, but doubt if i will ever need it.

Being that you are coming out of an SLR type camera, you probably already know - it's all about the glass.   The best lens I own at the moment is a 1.8 35mm prime.  My 55-300mm bazooka has incredible range, but unless I'm outside and there is great ambient light, it is almost useless.  I'd rather move around and get a great shot with a short, fast lens.  Kit lenses are typically pretty slow unless you step up to a higher end kit.  Don't get me wrong; big tele's are great and I've captured some wonderful action shots, but there's just not a lot of flexibility.  My next lens is going to be an 18-200mm zoom; that gives me a ton of flexibility but it won't be cheap.  Between that and the 35mm(which is small), I should be covered for just about any situation and I won't have to travel around with a sack full of lenses, potentially missing shots because I don't have the right glass on the camera.  The worst picture of all is the one you don't get.  

Another piece of advice:  if I had it to do all over again, I'd have bought a camera with the AF (auto focus) motor in the camera body.  They tend to be higher in the price range, but it opens to door to a world of comparatively inexpensive AF lenses.  My D5000 doesn't have it, so I always have to buy the pricier AF-S lenses.  I could still use the older AF gear, but I'd have to focus manually, and I'm not good/fast enough for that.  The Nikon D90 would have been a better buy, but at the time the 5000 was newer and I was pretty clueless.  The D7000 would be my Nikon pick today.  

Always put a filter on; there's lots of cool stuff but I stick with clear UV.  I might get a polarized at some point, but it's mostly about lens protection.  It doesn't take much to ruin a good lens.  I use Hoyas, and they do the job in the $20-30 range.  Try to get multi-coated.  Get a decent case for it, and carry around a couple of micro fiber cloths to wipe things down from time to time.  Get a couple of good SD cards and always have at least two on you at all times.  They can/will/do fail; not a regular occurrence, but it's cheap insurance.  

Last bit of advice; don't get wrapped up in mega-pixels.  It's irrelevant; every camera produced over the last 5 years or so has more than enough resolution to take fantastic pictures.   To some extent, it is unavoidable, as every new crop of cameras ups the count, but it takes more memory on the card and if you have to zoom that much, your picture/composition was bad to begin with.  If you come across a screaming deal on a previous generation camera and don't need all the bells and whistles (video, editing, etc.), buy it and spend the money you saved on some classes.  

Good luck and have fun!

Here is a link to a site that gives digital camera lens conversion factors for folks that are familar with 35MM film cameras.
Apparently the conversion factor varies by camera manufacturer/model.

http://www.dcviews.com/lenses/Digital-SLR-lenses.htm

I purchased a Pentax DSLR because I already had a number of Pentax lenses for both auto focus Pentax cameras (SF1n) and manual focus Pentax cameras (K2). The autofocus lenses are useful. However, I purchased a DSLR specific lenses as a gift that matched one of my autofocus lenses, and found it to be far superior. It focuses faster, and is much lighter.

My manual focus lenses are too old to be useful because they do not support auto exposure.

I guess more megapixels are better. But I am quite happy with the resolution of my camera (6 megapixels).  I don't print/enlarge pictures. I view them on my PC or television.

i'll second the pentax i have had mine for 4 years and it has been perfect for everything i wanted to do. as mentioned the lenses are cheaper because the auto focus and anti shake are built into the body not the lens.

I researched them a lot, decided I didn't need to spend $3-4000 on a fancy Nikon body that would capture images from the far side of the moon, and purchased the Pentax.  It's is basically a film camera that takes digital photos which was ideal for me to make the transition from my trusty F1, which I still use for those special photos which need film.

Pentax is a good choice plus you can use any Pentax type lenses you have on it manually.

I have a Nikon D50 and a D80. Several years old but I am very happy with them. Nikon

gives you the widest chice of lens because nearly every Nikon lend msde will function

with the Nikon DSLR. Canon changes mounts too often. Having said that I notice that most of the White House press corps seem to be using Canons. Must be something to that.

Al W. 

"I'm thinking I want a Canon 7D with a 24-105 L series lens."

canon an excellent choice, but make sure you get an IS lens (image stabilized).

my AE1-P is still around somewhere.  

I recently bought a Nikon D3100 and really like it. It can do more than I need, and has more features than I have taken the time to learn to use yet. I am very glad I bought it.

For everyday use and to carry along, my older Sony Cybershot DSC-W100 works fine. In manual mode, I can control shutter speed and aperture and get good depth of field and just about any effect I want. In point-n-shoot mode it does an excellent job.

Good luck with whatever you decide (you almost cannot go wrong anymore), and post some of your pictures when you get your camera .

Alex

I use all Canon equipment. I have several 5D's and use L lenses.

ALWAYS put a protective filter on your lenses, especially with a 24-105.

The 7D is a fabulous camera and I would recommend Canon's 100mm macro for railroad photography. Of course, the wide angle will allow very close focus, too.

Check out the work at www.scaramouchephoto.com and our home layout the Munoz Lines at:

www.web.me.com/eliotscher/Munoz_Lines/Welcome.html

We used to have Minolta SLRs with auto-focus, so rather than throw away about $1500 - 2000 worth of lenses, we purchased one Sony A55 DSLR last month and got a second one through Amex Rewards.  Our lenses work fine on these new cameras, so that preserved our investment (plus we got a trade-in of $100 for the old Minolta camera bodies).

The attached photos were taken using the Sony A55.  The "night time" photo was taken on my layout (wow, I need to fix that light leak at the bottom of the quonset hut!).  The second picture was taken as Mick ran across the back yard about 40 feet from the photographer.  (The Sony A55's rapid shot capability let us capture each step as he ran across the yard.)  The last photo was taken from about two feet away (I'm thinking of writing an article on how I improved the looks of a K-Line 7-11 building using some bits and pieces like illuminating the sign using a Model Power "cannon" light.

We also spend the extra money to put clear U/V filters on the front of all our lenses rather than take a chance something will hit or bump into them.

Thank you for the responses.  Since so many are using Nikons I'm giving the D300S a closer look.  It looks like both the D300S and the 7D are excellent cameras with similiar capabilities. 

I didn't understand why the 24-70 lens would have 4x the light of the 24-105 lens.  Could someone please explain?

Thanks to both scale rail and Scrapiron Scher for sharing the great photos. 

I promise to post photos once I make the purchase and have a little time to get acquainted with the DSLR.

MHH,

During my research phase (I did a fair amount given the expense...) but found this gentelman's site to be quite rich in content and advice. He's a professional photographer and purchased all the equipment used for his reviews (vs. manufacturer loaners).

I found myself absorbed in the content.

This article helps explain the 24-105 L vs. the 24-70 L lenses and qualified recomendations based on usage intent.

I also found the B+H photo out of NYC, to be one of the most comprehensive online sources with hard to beat prices for nearly anything camera. I did buy my Canon 60D body at the local shop in part to support them. But they also had a holiday sale that even with taxes...nulled out any advantages of buying online. (Warranty claims, etc.)

My previous post about 4x more light was mis-stated. After scanning this article again, it's 2X more light. How: Aperature. The 24-70L has wider diameter lenses to support lower f-stop (f/2.8) vs. the 24-105 L (f/4.0). Lower f-stop, more light captured w/o use of flash. Get's you more nautural looking non-flash pics in low-light environments.

http://www.the-digital-picture...USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Here's a few pics I dug up from a local train show and a few pics from the rail yard across from the train show on the same day. ALL pics are originals. No post processing on these images so you can get a feel for the 60D and the 24-105 L lens with auto-focus and image stabilization. I rely 100% on IS and occaisional override the AF when I want to focus on something with a middle depth of field. Blur up close, focus, blur background. This lens can do full focus in the frame, but I didn't have my tripod as it requires a longer shutter to capture enough light. Third pic down illustrates this somewhat because it looks like a scene during dusk. Even though it was the same light as the rest of the indoor pics.

Canon shooter here, but, as had been said, "It's all about the glass".  If you have lot invested in Canon lenses that you like, stick with Canon (where 7D is a great choice).  Else, take yer pick.  Be sure to look at the new Nikons.  They sound incredible.

Ron, the newbie

I hope that any expert(s) will correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that the resolution properties of the image sensor are every bit as important as the lens, and that some cameras with fewer megapixels are capable of resolving more detail than other cameras with more (megapixels) due to the engineering of the sensor.

Pete

quote:

Canon shooter here, but, as had been said, "It's all about the glass".

That is my belief. When I purchased my first camera, I had it down between a Nikon FM or FE and a Pentax K2. Since OEM Pentax lenses were well rated, and much more affordable than Nikon lenses, I went with the Pentax.
All my lenses are Pentax brand.

Incidentally, the literature on the Pentax DSLR cameras indicate that any Pentax lens can be used. I guess that is true, but "M" series lenses require that exposure metering be done as "Stop Down metering". I've never tried this, but since I have several "M" series lenses, I guess I'll have to ty.

The most important item as others have stated is the glass.  When I went digital with the Fuji S2, I was able to use my 2.8 Nikon lenses that I used with the F100. Three cameras later (Fuji S3, S5 and now the Nikon D700), I am still using my 2.8 glass (as well as my 1.4s and a manual 1.2). Spend your money on the glass then worry about the body. You might want to consider whether you will be upgrading to a full size sensor or the FX size sensor in the future when you choose your glass.  If your canon slr glass is high quality stay with canon. If you will be replacing your canon glass then consider both nikon and canon. Good luck with your decision.

Speaking of glass; I was getting flares from the headlights until I figured out it was the UV filter!  Switched to a high-quality UV filter and the problem went away.

Assuming by "glass" you are attempting to use a hip, groovy, pro-photog's terminology for "lens," in which case I'm glad I got a Leica lens on my Panasonic DMC FZ-35 superzoom. However, it is my belief that you can have the best "glass" ever but if the image sensor can't come up with the same kind of resolution you may have wasted your money.

Pete

You may have a point, Texas.  Sensors are important.  However, if you stick with name brand SLRs, it's doubtful that you would end up with an image quality issue due to sensors.  Even sensor errors can be corrected in the cameras software.

My point on "glass"/lenses is "How much do you have invested already?"  I've been using one brand for almost 25 years.  I have thousands invested in good to excellent lenses, hence, I stick with that manufacturer's bodies.

Having said all that, a noted wildlife photographer, Scott Bourne, frequently uses the quote, "Ninety-five percent of all cameras in the world are better than ninety-five percent of the photographers who use them".   Hmmmmm.  Maybe I should just invest in an Instamatic!

Good luck with your choices, Hobo.

Ron, the newbie.

Mile High Hobo,

If you are considering a Canon 7D or Nikon D300s you will have a camera with incredible capabilities. The menu options can be daunting, even for an experienced photographer. Even though I shot with pro Nikons (F and F3) for nearly 40 years and had photographs published, learning to use a full-featured digital DSLR to full potential presented new learning challenges.The photographic concepts are all the same, but the terminology and technology are quite different.

If you really want to master a camera such as the 7D or D300s, I suggest you attend a one-day workshop designed specifically for that camera body. I took a workshop in Toronto with Olympics pro photographer Steve Simon on the Nikon D300/D300s, and it totally changed the way I set up and use my D300. Steve and others do these Nikon workshops all over the country throughout the year.

I am sure that Canon probably has a users website that provides all kinds of helpful information. I can only speak for the Nikon users site which can be found at www.nikonians.org. Check it out and also click on the Nikonians Workshops schedule. Perhaps another OGR member can direct you to a similar Canon site.

I'll mention again, you should protect your digital camera lens with a clear NC filter. The UV is a carry over from film, which was susceptible to u-v light. A circular polarizing filter could be added later to reduce reflections and create dramatic skies. All those filters I used to carry for film (uv, skylight, yellow, red, green, amber, etc.) are long gone!   Good luck.

It seems to come down to how you may be also using it in the future. When you chose a DSLR camera you are buying into a system. No doubt that high end Canon & Nikon are great, but their accessories tend to be expensive also. I personally use a Pentax, also as someone has stated above. I have older Pentax mount lenses (manual & autofocus) that work with their current model. Older Canon/Nikon lenses don't work with their digital bodies. Sometimes it may be beneficial to purchase a low end DSLR with a lens for about $500 complete. You should always buy a filter for the lens: generally a UV for starters, and for daylight, get a 'circular polarizer'. You may also need an accessory flash, more options for Canon/Nikon, but generally more expensive.