Reckon A DSLR?

UncleSammy

UncleSammy

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Hello, how are you?

First post here, am new but been taking photos for quite a while now. (Using 35mm film cameras mostly - FED 2, Olympus Trip & OM10)
However, cost is getting higher for developing in shops hence thinking of getting a digital SLR.
Got a Nikon P7000 which is really good/lots of function but somewhat limited in terms of really capturing a scene.

Wonder if there is any recommendation out here? I am ok with brand, age, look or even used ones. (Can't get onto classifieds here yet)

Thanks very much.
 
They're all good. Pretty much.

The finer details really come down to what you want to use it for and how much money you want to spend.
 
UncleSammy said:
Hello, how are you?

First post here, am new but been taking photos for quite a while now. (Using 35mm film cameras mostly - FED 2, Olympus Trip & OM10)
However, cost is getting higher for developing in shops hence thinking of getting a digital SLR.
Got a Nikon P7000 which is really good/lots of function but somewhat limited in terms of really capturing a scene.

Wonder if there is any recommendation out here? I am ok with brand, age, look or even used ones. (Can't get onto classifieds here yet)

Thanks very much.
Click to expand...
Hi & welcome to TP. There is a strong presence regarding film cameras here you should look at the the film & conventional threads. They may have cheaper options regarding developing. Whichever option you choose or digital camera you acquire there is plenty of good advice to be had on here

Steve
 
UncleSammy said:
Hello, how are you?

First post here, am new but been taking photos for quite a while now. (Using 35mm film cameras mostly - FED 2, Olympus Trip & OM10)
Click to expand...

Welcome to TP!

Let me be the first to tell you that you probably won't be saving any money by jumping into digital. Both can be as cheap or as expensive as the other. You should visit the Film section of the forum.

Were you looking at digital purely for reasons of cost?
 
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Too be honest, I am a lowly beginner photographer.
With less knowledge on digital cameras/ know how to handle and use a DSLR but when it comes to the in depth like the tech behind each cam.. its zero.
Well, I guess I feel that way when I heard photographers says - Oh Nikon, better than Canon, lenses is deeper, provide better color etc etc (No idea what they are saying)

Also the reason why I love film - for instances my FED 2 - its no fancy/ load film, crank it up - set up speed, aperture etc, shoot
The sound of its shutter... like music to ma ears => plus no interference from electronics telling me what's right
Films can be bought cheaply too, Poundland (Went to one in Leeds, nothing.. hopefully its just out of stock) or expired off ebay (understand that I should be careful on expired ones, they might be really crap)

Now reason for thinking of digital..
Only recently I went to ASDA to develop 22 rolls (that's a years work for me) it was quite a disappointment.. It was cheap, 46 quid for putting all them onto CD's but the quality... the highest resolution they gave me was 1MB others below. Sadly but changeable in Photoshop.
Now I do the math> If I were to do few more times of these plus into prints which will be about 80-90 quid, I could have save up for a DSLR instead..
I do not like how they look and sound.. but hey.. future is not always beautiful but persistence still here

> The plan is to get a DSLR body then use old lenses like my 2.8 Industar, Vivitar zoom etc
How that sounds?
I am looking for one that resembles a film one - without LCD screen, just viewfinder, if such ever existed?
Which is made for more a Manual Mode photographer.

Sorry if I sound funny.. I live in the 20th century, but almost everything I own is 10 years older...
 
UncleSammy said:
I am looking for one that resembles a film one - without LCD screen, just viewfinder, if such ever existed?
Which is made for more a Manual Mode photographer.
.
Click to expand...

ALL dSLR's have manual mode. You just turn the dial round like on any older camera (my 80's Yashica has an almost identical dial to my Canon dSLR).

They all have screens. But you can turn them off.
 
Hi UncleSammy

My recommendation would be to get one of the new mirrorless cameras, such as a Sony NEX 6 or 7 or possibly one of the Micro 4/3 cameras like the Olympus OMD. Because of the short flange to focal distance they are able to use all of your old 35mm film lenses with a cheap adapter. I shoot old film lenses almost exclusively on my NEX 7 with some very nice results. You can view my NEX 7 folder on flickr here. Every photo should have the lens I used listed in the description.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8539414@N07/sets/72157629936411965/

The really good thing about these cameras is that they also have Focus Peaking, which is a little bit of black magic that shows you what is in focus with a manual focus lens by highlighting the area in the electronic view finder. The new EVF's are incredibly useful, also showing you exactly what the photo is going to look like when using exposure compensation and automatically brightening the screen when you stop down an old lens so you can still see to focus. Simply amazing.

I would reccommend the NEX series over Micro 4/3rd due to the fact that the NEX line uses an APSC format sensor which is a good bit bigger then the sensor used in the 4/3 cameras. Not that this is an image issue mind you, the 4/3's put out some beautiful images for their size. Its just that the NEX will give you a smaller crop factor when using your lenses. For example, a 50mm lens will become a 75mm lens on a NEX and a 100mm on a 4/3. So APSC will keep you closer to your original focal length.

There are a couple of ways to overcome this. Sony has the new a7 and a7r which are full frame mirrorless cameras. So you can pop on your old lenses with no crop factor at all. A 50mm stays a 50mm. There is also a magic little device called a Metabones Speedbooster which you can use on crop mirrorless cameras to bring the lens back to almost its original field of view (or focal lenght). I use one on my NEX 7, where a 50mm becomes the equivalent of about a 52mm...close enough for me. Any of my shots in the above folder I linked will have the speedbooster listed in the description so you can see the quality of the shot is not degraded by using this extra lens. It really is an amazing little device that also makes your lenses 1 stop faster and increases the MTF.

So thats my two cents worth. You might also look at the new Sony a3000 if you dont want to break the bank. It is a small DSLR shaped NEX camera to which all of the above information applies as well. Being an entry level, cheaper model you will loose a few bells and whistles but image quality and legacy glass usage is all the same. I would try for a NEX 6 or 7 though. Small, compact and well built in a nice rangefinder type body.

Hope this helps.
 
If you want to use your manual lenses, that pretty much puts Nikon out of the running - unless you're happy with corrective optics in the adapter. It's a physical register distance problem.
  • m4/3 won't be a problem, but the angle of view won't match your 35mm experience due to the smaller sensor size.
  • APS-C is generally ok with m42 manual focus lenses if you're shooting Canon or Sony NEX. As with m4/3 the smaller than full-frame sensor frames the image tighter than 35mm film using the same lens.
  • Full-frame, compatibility issues with some m42 lenses and the Canon 5D and 6D series bodies (plenty of compatibility charts available online) but the new kids on the block from Sony are the NEX A7 and A7r. Both of these are EVF, which depending on your standpoint may be an advantage or disadvantage. Pretty much compatible with any lens you may care to throw at them, some problems with very wide rangefinder lenses though. Certainly worth a hands-on before ruling them out.
Probably worth a look at forum.mflenses.com as well as here, there's a significant overlap in membership ;)
 
The camera best fitting your requirements if you really want to use old MF lenses would be a Canon 5d, get the original at quite a low price now, it's solid, reliable, and with converters can take most lenses you'd want to throw it's way (apart from old MF Canon lenses).

There isn't a camera without an LCD screen, but you can have it not running on the 5d, and it's not so big as to be in the way (it's a minus point for most potential buyers) and there's no option of live view, it's a big bright 100% viewfinder.

And if you want to buy newer AF lenses, there's thousands of them to choose from too.
 
UncleSammy said:
Too be honest, I am a lowly beginner photographer.
With less knowledge on digital cameras/ know how to handle and use a DSLR but when it comes to the in depth like the tech behind each cam.. its zero.
Well, I guess I feel that way when I heard photographers says - Oh Nikon, better than Canon, lenses is deeper, provide better color etc etc (No idea what they are saying)

Also the reason why I love film - for instances my FED 2 - its no fancy/ load film, crank it up - set up speed, aperture etc, shoot
The sound of its shutter... like music to ma ears => plus no interference from electronics telling me what's right
Films can be bought cheaply too, Poundland (Went to one in Leeds, nothing.. hopefully its just out of stock) or expired off ebay (understand that I should be careful on expired ones, they might be really crap)

Now reason for thinking of digital..
Only recently I went to ASDA to develop 22 rolls (that's a years work for me) it was quite a disappointment.. It was cheap, 46 quid for putting all them onto CD's but the quality... the highest resolution they gave me was 1MB others below. Sadly but changeable in Photoshop.
Now I do the math> If I were to do few more times of these plus into prints which will be about 80-90 quid, I could have save up for a DSLR instead..
I do not like how they look and sound.. but hey.. future is not always beautiful but persistence still here

> The plan is to get a DSLR body then use old lenses like my 2.8 Industar, Vivitar zoom etc
How that sounds?
I am looking for one that resembles a film one - without LCD screen, just viewfinder, if such ever existed?
Which is made for more a Manual Mode photographer.

Sorry if I sound funny.. I live in the 20th century, but almost everything I own is 10 years older...
Click to expand...

If you're only shooting 22 rolls of film yearly, then I don't personally think it makes sense to go digital, especially if it is solely for financial reasons.

You will never get a digital camera that works like your film cameras: The viewfinders aren't as nice (smaller and darker), the images are cropped (most DSLRs have sensors smaller than 35mm film), they're not nearly as intuitive to use (i.e., more complicated), and they're comparatively more expensive.

Now, that's not to say that there aren't reasons to shoot digital (e.g., lowlight, better AF, etc), but these aren't what you're looking for.

Personally, I'd recommend using an actual dedicated film lab to develop and scan your film (e.g., UK Film Lab, Peak Imaging, etc); it makes a HUGE difference. Asda are okay if you're in a rush, but I would never use them for anything important.

That way you get to keep using your same cameras and lenses, but get far better results.

You really should check out the film section here for more info.
 
UncleSammy said:
Wonder if there is any recommendation out here? I am ok with brand, age, look or even used ones.

Thanks very much.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to TP.

Your budget will help with specific recommendations. The best advice I can give is for you to go along to a shop and have a look at the different makes and models available and have a try with them. You need to feel them and see which make / model feels best in your hand, whose buttons are in the best place for you and which Menu system you prefer...

I'd certainly recommend looking at a body with a kit lens (typically 18-55mm) as a starting point.

Don't forget, you'll need to purchase a memory card as well to get you going.
 
UncleSammy said:
Wonder if there is any recommendation out here? I am ok with brand, age, look or even used ones.
Click to expand...

I'd certainly look at used models, particularly something that's a couple years old, so it's not the latest and greatest, thereby commanding a premium. There are various reputable dealers around, including MPB Photographic (Nikon & Canon, as far as DSLRs go), Wex Photographic (everything), Grays of Westminster (Nikon only), and Mifsuds.

On the Nikon front, perhaps a D90? Still a very well regarded camera, and unlike the current entry-level models, it sports an internal focus motor, so older autofocus lenses requiring such will work, as well as two control wheels, making it simpler to quickly adjust, say, shutter speed and aperture - often quite useful in wildlife photography, I've found.
 
skysh4rk said:
If you're only shooting 22 rolls of film yearly, then I don't personally think it makes sense to go digital, especially if it is solely for financial reasons.
.
Click to expand...

That - I went digital (about 12 years ago) because I was doing 150 quid a month in D&P , that made financial sense - but 22 rolls a year , nah - I'd say stay with film , and maybe get yourself a decent scanner (and/or use a decent lab to develop and process them)
 
Heya and welcome to TP... just reading through your posts and especially your 2nd one, it sounds like you have more of a love for film, i agree with what's already been said, come over to the film and conventional section for a bit before you make a decision you may regret.... i myself have just started using film recently and haven't picked up the DSLR for awhile now....

Technical aspect i am totally clueless but they are ace for help and advice
 
Porsupah said:
On the Nikon front, perhaps a D90?
Click to expand...
That won't help the OP with his existing lenses. For the digital route I'd go with Phil's 5D, or a Sony NEX model - I have no emotional investment in either brand so that's quite dispassionate. M4/3 bodies are maybe a bit small. Or sit down and cost out some options - eg keep using film and job out just the processing, and buy a decent scanner so you can do high-res scans ...
 
or get an entry level DSLR or CSC and kit lens in addition to keeping his film gear going - it doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. - use the Digi kit when you think you'll be taking lots of pictures (family occasions and such) and use the film kit when you feel like it
 
Who invited bloody Kofi Annan? :)

It's war and nothing less. I tell ya!
 
I prefer to think more Anwar Sadat
 
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