Indians For Guns

Dear Members,

I am looking to buy a semi professional camera.I do not have any idea for which model or make to goin for.It is for regular use and since I love to travel, I thought of getting one which might last me a long time.

Where do I buy it from?My budget is 40K-50K.Do I need to buy additional lenses with the camera?

Help me out here please.

Regards

Ashar

hello ashar

i have some photographer friends who have lots of cameras and they do keep changing old (1 or 1.5 years) cameras with the new ones. so their sellout is a good bargain.

reacenty got a sony slr 14.9 mp for only 24k

and as they are professional they do have a habit of handling their instruments with a great care.

so better find a photographer friend.

Ashar
try this indian site www.jjmehta.com to have a fair idea on semi proffesional cameras, i suggest for nikon and canon for the best results and lens variety

cheers
sankar

hey ashar,

I am selling my D-SLR camera. its an olympus E1 . its up for sale because i moved to the US and could not get it with me. the details are in the sale section. let me know if u are interested.

regards
Parag

@sitar, I dont mind buying used cameras but I am not sure which one to get.Please let me know if your friends have any for sale.

@striker, thank you for the site but can you suggest a model in nikon or canon

What is the life of such cameras?

Ashar

A semi professional camera is a little ambiguous.
You either have a point-and-shoot types or the Digital SLRs.
We all know the xx mp digicams, but they offer no professionalism. Its easiest to use, has more technology, faster, lighter etc.
But the SLRs are made with bigger cmos sensors, which are capable of a much more clear imag with better quality of every pixel. Having said that, I recently went into the SLR thingy and got myself a Canon Rebel XTi, alongwith an additional lens of 75-300. A 18-55 was already supplied with the camera. The whole thing cost me around $1K. The reasons I chose the XTi were:
1. One of the more latest cameras with advanced technology.
2. Ease of use despite being an SLR
3. Self cleaning C-Mos sensor.
4. The first camera which grew out of the 'Sony C-mos' reign. (All cameras in the world had Sony C-mos sensors. Canon made their own for the first time, and saved on costs, which is eventually passed onto the buyer)
5. Several opinions and e-feedback.
6. Durable and very good battery back up. Lasts around 1000 pictures.

Now, the difference between the SLR and Digi-cams are several. You can read a lot of them on the web. But getting an SLR will no way make you a great photographer. You will have lots to learn and lots to experiment. But once you get the hang of it, you cant be seperated from it. Matter of fact, since I am not finding the time and enthusiasm, I have just put up my SLR kit for sale. If you get one, you should be prepared for a lot of extra work, which will matter widely from what one usually gets to do with an Digi-cam.
If you decide to buy, make sure you get an additional lens alingwith it. You should have a combination like 18-70 and 75-300 lens. The former is good for closer distances, while the latter is for closer zoom of distant images. There is a lot of optics involved, and you would not want to get yourself one 'combined' lens like '25-300' or so. They will have certain aberrations (distortions) which technology has to still solve.
You will find several cameras in most showrooms in India. But the MRP of the Indian shops will be about 35-70% more than what it costs in US or other countries.
Ensure you know the guy you are buying it from.
Check the camera, preferably with someone who knows cameras well, before buying.
Once you get the hang of it.. I am sure we, at IFG,. will see a lot of pics

I will, after you buy, send you a variety of links for online download of SLR training material.

nikon d 40 or d60 are best


http://www.nikon.co.in/productitem.php? ... 3f08245016

Read these for selecting a camera that best suits your needs:

http://www.digicamera.com/features/digi ... index.html

http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Buy_a_Digital_SLR

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/worley/772

I have been doing some research and have short listed two DSLR cameras.

1.Nikon D60 Kit Rs.25,600/-
2.Canon 450D Kit Rs.34,000/-

Please help me choose between the two.Which one do I get?

Both come with a 18mm-55m lens.

Cheers

Ashar

hi Ashar,
if you have already decided on the above two models i would suggest you go in for the canon 450 d,simple reason is in dslr you need to have three basic lenses wide,tele and prime and the choice would be very important,you would not need motorised lenses as is the case with nikon d60 in the canon with a wide variety of easy canon lenses and other cheaper third party lenses from tamron and sigma,besides the 450 d also have live view which would be helpful in case you have a tight shot to cover and if you were new to dslr photography.
if you want ,however good range of wide and tele and no fuss of changing lens and cleaning sensor (you need sensor cleaning in dslr systems lees frequent now with auto cleaning systems ,still you would need to clean)and carrying a bagfull of lenses all the time and flexibility you may then opt for a superzoom point and shoot like the panasonic fz18 and the sony h50,if you want the reach of these point and shoot you would need atleast 60k worth of lenses with your dslr body,but then at low lights the dslr system would shoot better pictures because of their bigger sensor and bigger everything.
i can go on and on and on... so if you have particular need do post a specific question and i would do my best to answer.
i am into hobby photography for quite long and has changed a lot of equipments,as far as i understand for simple photographic needs do keep away from a big dslr body,
again if you still insist on a dslr with a smaller and versatile body than do try olympus e 420 or the yet to be launched lumixg1 4/3 system wheree you would have the best of both worlds ...did i confuse you!
regards sanjiv
nb-at this moment i have a canon 400d with the usual bagful of lenses,a panasonic fz7,and a new sony h50.
i would be selling off the 4 month sony h50 shortly as i would be getting the lumix g1 as soon as it gets launched in india.

Go for Canon and get atleast another extra lens now.. or keep buying on the run.
Thats what I did too... Pity.. I am soon going to miss her

Dear Ashar,
I fuly agree with biking 3819, DSLR is not f a semi, it is professional. (depending on the aray of lenses that you have to buy.)The sony and the lumix suggested by him seem to be the best choices.
Another reason to go in for these are the lenses, Sony uses Carl Zeiss and lumix uses Lieca lenses.Both East German Technology, the best, I think.(based on my personal Exp.Nikon FTN / FM2/Leica flex/Exacta varex II B. The last 2 having east german Lenses.).Using these lenses, you can capture the subtle tinges found in pictures like sun set, having prctically the whole color spectrum. Both these camers have manual over ride for the settings, which you may use for your own creativity.The zooms found oncameras mentioned,are practically sufficient for usual work. In case you need extra Tele, for example in situations of Wild Life Pics, you can go in for a tele conveter(2X). Please make sure, that tele and wide conveters are available for the perticular camera that you buy.The after sales service of Sony is excellent I do not know about Lumix. Please find out. Do not put too much stress on M.P. for enlargements upto A4 size, 6-7 M.P. is good enough. Buy some old copies of better photography, where you find reviews of these cameras.
Regards,
Prabir

Ashar bhai, photography is addictive, just like shooting Here's one more link for you. Please check out photo.net, most everything I learnt about photography I learned on that site. Based on that site and almost 10 years and more than $2k of playing around here are my "rules".

1. Buy the largest aperture lens you can afford
2. Zooms are over rated

Having said that and because you will not be dong "professional" level photography, get a decent zoom lens that will provide you with some good flexibility. If you're getting the Canon, get the 28-105 lens, in my view, this provides the most flexible range with good sized glass. I have been using this one for the last eight years and I have been happy. The fixed objective is handy for filters and shades.

For a little more money you can get the IS series that provides assistance for the shakes Again, just stick with the USM series in Canon and you should be good.

The camera itself is nothing but a glorified black box The more features you can afford the better. In my view, you should atleast have full exposure control and AEB. The more metering zones/modes the better. Built-in flash is better. I think the Canon 450 D with a EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM will be good setup.

Thank you guys for your advice.

@Hsharief, so what you are suggesting is that I should get the Canon 450D with a 28mm-105mm lens instead of the 18mm-55mm lens?

Ashar

hi Ashar,
one more and i thought important suggestion,since i had learnt the hard way,dont go in for a tele wide lens ,its sure going to be an expensive compromise in the long run,go in for a fastest prime lens with a big aperture ,when you go to the shop ask for an exchange with the kit lens that comes with the 450d body.,this would be your basic set up for all kinds of photograghy in daily life.,next once you come to know your set up and if you like the feel of the 450d and would like to continue with the same model go in for a really wide lens for landscapes and tight indoors,finally ask for the biggest and fastest tele you could afford .
i have seen many a times people dont like the way a dslr functions the best with the most appropriate lens requirements and mind you the canon is one of the biggest sized body and in my case initially i had missed a lot of nice shots,the big body does not help in many cases which i can shoot easily and of almost the same quality with a point and shoot in good light conditions,so these days i carry two cameras,one nice point and shoot so that i dont miss anything much and a 400d and the lenses when i really would love taking pics with all the creative thoughts and time and patience i could afford.
if you are really going in for the canon ,like sharief bhai suggested go in for a fast lens with a big aperture and possibly a prime only instead of the kit lens that comes along also do give a thought for having a nice P&S also .
cheers sanjiv