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Advice on my first DSLR [Camera]
Jeix
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys, I am thinking about making the upgrade to a DSLR and want to know if I am making a wise decision. I have been looking at a lot of info including old threads on here and lots of other internet resources.
I think I'll start by saying what I plan to be doing with it
I have never had a DSLR before and would be buying all my lenses and stuff with it and want to make sure I get what I need for a decent price. I don't really have a number I want to spend but I do want to get a nice value for my money.
So far I have been looking at a Nikon D300 body, a 50mm 1.8 lens, and the 18-200mm lens. This seems like it would cover what I want to do without being incredibly spendy but I could get more lenses later and not feel stupid about it. I know the 18-200 is not as good as having multiple lenses but I think for traveling and doing conventions I don't want to miss a shot because I am switching my lens. Is this a wise choise or could I get a better setup for the money?
I would also like advice on lighting. So far I am used to just using the camera flash but I would love to get into off camera flashes, do you have any advice for a reasonably priced flash setup of good quality? So far the only flashes I have been looking at are the SB-600, 800, and 900. From what I see of prices on todays market I could buy 2 SB-600s for the price of the 900. And the 900 is only a little more expensive then the 800, but is it worth it? I don't mind spending a little extra for more quality, and I am pretty sure I am going to have to get the 900 if I want to make use of the 8fps continuous shooting on the d300. I have never used a off camera flash before but I am very excited to try it out, and the built in flash on the d300 can put these into use without buying any extras for them.
Thanks in advance.
I think I'll start by saying what I plan to be doing with it
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I am going on a trip to Japan next year and would like a high quality camera to take photos of my trip.
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I also travel to many conventions and would like to take photos of costumers and other things at the cons.
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I take a lot of pictures of airsofting, which is like paintball but with a more realistic setup, so it has to be a quick camera for action shots.
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And I also like to take pictures when I go out snowboarding so that is another reason for a good action camera, that is also resistant to weather.
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It would also be nice to take some good pictures at night.
I have never had a DSLR before and would be buying all my lenses and stuff with it and want to make sure I get what I need for a decent price. I don't really have a number I want to spend but I do want to get a nice value for my money.
So far I have been looking at a Nikon D300 body, a 50mm 1.8 lens, and the 18-200mm lens. This seems like it would cover what I want to do without being incredibly spendy but I could get more lenses later and not feel stupid about it. I know the 18-200 is not as good as having multiple lenses but I think for traveling and doing conventions I don't want to miss a shot because I am switching my lens. Is this a wise choise or could I get a better setup for the money?
I would also like advice on lighting. So far I am used to just using the camera flash but I would love to get into off camera flashes, do you have any advice for a reasonably priced flash setup of good quality? So far the only flashes I have been looking at are the SB-600, 800, and 900. From what I see of prices on todays market I could buy 2 SB-600s for the price of the 900. And the 900 is only a little more expensive then the 800, but is it worth it? I don't mind spending a little extra for more quality, and I am pretty sure I am going to have to get the 900 if I want to make use of the 8fps continuous shooting on the d300. I have never used a off camera flash before but I am very excited to try it out, and the built in flash on the d300 can put these into use without buying any extras for them.
Thanks in advance.
Jeix on
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The D300 is an excellent choice. It's a great body that's very rugged and has good high ISO performance. Be aware that is not officially weather sealed, though, and only some very recent, high end lenses offer weather sealing (and your camera is only as weather sealed as its least sealed point). That being said, if you're not snowboarding in heavy rain you'll probably be fine with a non-sealed camera/lens. combo - snow causes no problems as long as it's not too wet. AF speed won't be an issue - lots of pros shoot spots with the D300, and it's got buckets of AF points and great tracking.
As for lenses, the 50mm f/1.8 is a good normal lens. However, on the crop sensor D300 it has got a FOV equivalent to 70ishmm in 35mm standards - so it's a bit long for day to day use (though great for portraiture). This is cool if you do a lot of portraiture or have a full frame camera, but not so much as a walking around lens on an APS-C sensor. Nikon just released a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 for around $200, which I would highly recommend you pick up - particularly for night photography when in Japan. Wide is the name of the game when traveling in cities (or anywhere, really). Before I suggest for/against the 50mm, let's talk about the superzoom for a while.
The 18-200mm is certainly a superzoom, but it's a lot of bloody money and weighs the better half of a ton (560g or 19.8oz) for something so slow. It'll work in the day, but it'll be a dog at nighttime. You'll be firmly strapped to a tripod as soon as dusk is anywhere near and looking at rather pathetic shutter speeds. Now, with that in mind, it does cover a huge range. However, do you really need that range? With crop factor, you're looking at a 320mm (35mm equiv) lens. Are you going to be shooting any wildlife in Japan? Anything besides some street candids and various shots of buildings and cityscapes? I really don't think carrying such a heavy, expensive lens is worth it.
For the trip, you should buy a Tokina AF 16-50mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX. At around $600, this is the same cost as the superzoom, but it'll make a fantastic and wonderfully fast primary walking-around lens. It goes wide for when you're shooting buildings, and to a decent normal-short tele length for portraiture. Considering that the next step up (to a 1st party wide-to-normal zoom f/2.8) costs almost twice the cost of the 3rd party, this is a steal. For a fast prime that is lovely and sharp even wide open (which zooms aren't fantastic for), get the 35mm f/1.8 too - at $200, it'll soon be the new "nifty fifty" equivalent everyone and their dog screams at you to buy every time you talk about picking up your first DSLR.
Do you have any experience with artificial lighting? If not, I wouldn't bother with a flash for now. Maybe consider a cheapo Vivitar 285 or older Nikon flash later if you want to experiment. E-TTL is not necessary unless you're doing event photography.
I looking into the lens advice right now and checking out more information on these lenses. I really haven't done much reading on non-nikon brand lenses to go with the d300 so it may take a while. I'm not sure 50mm will be enough for what I am doing though, as far the airsofting part and to a certain extent the convention stuff goes. Sometimes I wont be able to get as close to the action as I would like.
Ideally this is what I am looking for in lenses with a budget of around $1000 for the total glass. A nice fast wide angle for night shots in Japan, and for snowboarding. (I would love a good fish-eye for the snowboarding part but that is far too much for right now because I would not get much use of it for the money, I think I would be better off renting one during the season.) This lens would also good for group shots of cosplayers I imagine.
A good lens for portraiture. This is more for the conventions and somewhat on the airsoft. I would be using this for taking pictures of single or small groups of cosplayers/airsofters. Would like it to have a nice bokeh.
And I would like something a little long range for some of the costume contests I go to and for airsofting. I am unable to get as close as I would like to the stage sometimes or the stage will be large enough for the subject to be fairly deep into it. The lighting is usually not great but it does exist, think stage lighting for plays. I was hoping that the 18-200 would be ok for this with the way the d300 can handle high ISO. But I am very open to another lens. I really want some versatility for this because many times I can not move and sometimes there are groups of like 8 people and sometimes there is just one. I totally agree that superzooms limit the creativity but I actually think I might need one, its hard to get good composition when you are bolted to one spot.
I do have some experience with artificial lighting though it is mostly just bouncing an on camera flash off surfaces or white cards and I would like to get into off-camera lighting. I have been studying everything I could find about strobist which is quite a lot. The wireless setup seems to be ideal for what I want because many conventions are crowded and having a wire running from a camera is not going to be ideal when people are everywhere. I would be using a person to hold the flash and not a stand and having a flash I could just hand off to my friends and tell them where to stand would give me a lot of creative control for my lighting. I would want a flash that works with the controller mode built into the d300 so that if I upgrade to more flashes later it will be easy to control. What flash would you recommend for this?
Thanks a bunch for the advice so far.
Off-camera flash while shooting dynamically on location requires some specialized equipment. Because of way you'd be positioning the flash (you'll want front-lighting of the people you're shooting, so your fleshy lightstand will be standing parallel to you) optical triggering won't work. This is before even considering that other photogs will also be on the scene, and their flashes will all trigger your optically triggered flash as well. So you're looking at radio triggers. A set of Cactus Triggers from HK aren't bad, but they're another $100 or so. Luckily you don't need a fancy flash for off-camera work. Even an old Vivitar 283 or 285 will work perfectly (just, for the love of god, don't trigger it from your hotshoe, as old flashes' trigger voltages will roast your camera's hotshoe circuitry). You'll need to get damn good at estimating flash power to pull this off, however, as you'll have no metering at all.
Why do you feel you need off camera flash for convention work? An SB600 or 800 shot from a hotshoe or on a flash bracket, bounced off the ceiling or a bounce card will give you somewhat diffuse light with the joys of using TTL metering.
You raise a good point about the off camera flash, I didn't realize the angle had to face the camera for some reason. Though I could change the channels on the built in command so other people don't set mine off. I don't really want to invest in pocket wizards right now so I will check out those cactus flash triggers. The V4 is sold out for a while, but I'm not in a rush. The reason I hadn't considered a cheaper flash like the 285 is that I need one that can keep up with the d300s continuous shooting mode. So basically I am going to be buying a flash anyways and messing around with it off camera is like a bonus. If I fall in love with the off camera lighting I would be totally fine with something like a 285 for a secondary flash.
As for wanting one for convention work, some conventions I go to have very high ceilings, many common areas will have balconies that go about 3 stories high over the main gathering areas. And there isn't always a wall to bounce light off of. I would like another option then a straight shot from right above the lens.