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stumanipi5

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am after a camera (and lenses) to do weddings and portraits
never had a dslr before, so anyone advise me - on simple terms - ************
tried 'wanted' but doesn't let me post anything

not sure *** i need to spend, but wouldnt like to be to expensive just yet till i get a bit better!!!

thanks in advance

Staff Edit: There is a reason you can't start a post in Wanted, you need to have made a minimum of 100 posts and have been a member for at least 30 days. That also means that you cannot offer to purchase outside of the classifieds.
 
:popcorn:
 
stumanipi5 said:
am after a camera (and lenses) to do weddings and portraits
never had a dslr before
Click to expand...

I hope you have this on ready......
flame_suit.jpg
 
....I will take this one for the start.

The first thing you need to do is explain your situation.

i take it your not the main(paid) photographer?

whats your budget?
what style of shots do you want to do?

when you have those sorted, read some reviews on the forum or online.
when you have a selection of cameras you may be interested in, go to shop and feel them...see what is comfy.

job done...until you get to lenses....this will come after you have picked a camera your happy with.
 
ding ding, round 1!!

popcorn for robinson
 
You may have gathered that you have touched on a pretty hot subject.

Are you planning on going straight into business? If so, stop. Seriously.

Now I've got that question out the way. Assuming you are going into business you need to be looking at not one but two cameras. You don't want to be doing weddings without a backup. Then the lenses you need to look at a selection of kit that will again allow you to keep shooting if one lens fails. Say a standard zoom, a nice prime and a telephoto.
Then there is the flash, you will need a couple of flashguns (In case one fails, multiple flash etc)

So, gear list.
2x Semi pro/pro body (Canon 5D, 50D, 7D, Nikon D300/s etc)
24-70 F2.8 or 24-105 F4 lens
50mm F1.8 lens (1.4 preferable)
70-200 F4 lens (2.8 preferable)
2x dedicated flashgun
Plus enough batteries, memory cards etc to last the day.
I think I've just spent at least £2500 there, probably more

Sure, you can do it with 1 camera and 1 lens, but if your camera fails on the day I hope you have very good insurance for when the couple sue you. And of course the fact you will have ruined their memories of the day.

Tread carefully, if you really want to do weddings it is not about the camera, it is about how good you are at working with people. Shadow a pro, do some courses, buy a DSLR just to learn with. Do weddings for free for folk who otherwise would not have a photographer. Anything apart form marketing yourself as a wedding tog when you have minimal experience

(Bold above for emphasis)
 
wish i never asked now - was just as a hobby, few of my mates are getting married and have asked me to take their wedding pics, so just wanted to have a good piece of equiptment!!

might just ask a mod to close this post to save any abuse
 
stumanipi5 said:
wish i never asked now - was just as a hobby, few of my mates are getting married and have asked me to take their wedding pics, so just wanted to have a good piece of equiptment!!

might just ask a mod to close this post to save any abuse
Click to expand...

It's not going to be abuse - its going to be constructive criticism because so many of us have had experiences when it has gone so so wrong.
 
People here will be more than happy to help but you need to give them some info first.

If I said I want to get a new lens, people would laugh. If I said I want a new lens to take pics of my son, mainly indoors and have £200 to spend I would get a lot more help.

You must have an idea on how much to spend. You could easily spend between £300 and £7000 on kit.
 
up to about 750 at the most just now, have been looking at the canon 450 and the sony 350
 
Hi Stumanipi

First off, apologies that you felt you were being abused. I am sure there are many here who have no such intention.

To your original post (or, what is left of it), I am not a professional; certainly not a wedding tog. I will try a common sense approach to the problem.

First : what is your friends expectation from the photographs? If its professional, or even, very high quality, he would need to pay good money to get that. Chances are, you will not be able to produce it ( but then again, you may. Just because you dont know anything about Digicam doen not mean you dont know photography. After all, very high quality wedding photographs existed even before anyone dreamt of digital and photoshop). Besides, not everyone cares about wedding photography; many would be happy with 'snapshot type' photos as a record and memory of the day. If your friend is that kind, you have a good chance.

You havent used DSLR; but I am assuming you have film SLR. If not, you have a steep learning curve. Depending on how far away the wedding is; and how much you are willing to learn, you can still pull it off.

The next thing is the budget. Depending on how much you know of wielding a camera, how much you are willing to try, and what your budget is - you can choose a camera - and not necessarily DSLR.

Obviously on DSLR your choices are : entry level DSLR or the more advanced ones. And buying new or preowned.

Obviously the cheapest solution is a pre-owned ( 2-3 years old) entry level DSLR with a kit lens ( 18-55 or 18-70 or thereabouts). Something like Nikon D50 + kit lens. From there on; as a general rule, like everything else, the more money you pay, the better kit you get. Nikon and Canon are the most popular DSLR, so your choice could very well lie there.

You could also think of a bridge camera - the ones which are in-between SLR and simple P&S.

You will find a separate flash useful. Jessops own brands are cheap; and pre-owned ones cheaper.

Finally , post processing. Using post processing softwares; you can improve the photographs. Again, you can learn it; or may be your friends can learn and improve their wedding photographs over time.

Sorry if you already knew what I have said. In that case; if you would frame the questions better - but without any reference to 'intent to buy' may be some of us could pitch in again.
 
Personally I think the Nikon D90 - £750. Decent lens with the kit, if you find you get on well then you can start adding lenses. SB400 flash and 50mm 1.8 are around £100 each. The d90 is a great camera and ideal for serious amateur. You could go for the d5000 at around £500 which means you could get an extra lens (35mm 1.8) and flash for around the same. The 1.8 lenses are great for portraits.
 
stumanipi5 said:
wish i never asked now - was just as a hobby, few of my mates are getting married and have asked me to take their wedding pics, so just wanted to have a good piece of equiptment!!

might just ask a mod to close this post to save any abuse
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good way to start out. Make sure you know what their expectations are before you finally agree... we don't want to see a friendship end because their expectations were high. A lot of people believe that a bloke with a good camera can automatically produce professional results. Some have natural talent, the rest of us have to work hard to get there!

Oh, and don't feel pressured because they are friends, in my experience it is easier to get your mates understanding your reasons for not doing something than anyone else. I'v ebeen asked 4 times now but despite being a competant photographer the through of a wedding horrifies me! I'm sure a wedding tog will agree the skills that will make or break the day are the photographers ability to deal with, communicate with and organise people!

That aside, now we have a budget that makes stuff easier. I'm a Canon user so my recommendations will come from there. You could probably pick up a 30D body for about £300 used then look out for a 'standard' lens at about £200 (Either Canon 17-85mm or even better Tamron 17-50 F2.8). Would be worth picking up a 50mm F1.8 prime (£75) too, in case flash is not allowed indoors.

This leaves you with enough to buy a flashgun, memory, batteries and maybe a tripod.

Then just make sure you have a few months to learn how to use it and practise techniques before the day(s).
 
Being a nikon user I would probably say a d80 of d90.

I know people don't like jessops but I think they still have an interest free option (year) and as long as you pay off before then (prolly twenty five pound early charge) you could gave a d90 plus 50f1.8 ( or f1.4) and kit lens.

D80 would be second hand. Approx 350 for body (eBay) and 400 ish with lens.

Flash would vary. Sb400, sb600 but can be costly.
Tripod would be handy, approx 30 again from jessops

I'd go to a large jessops first and handle the top spec d90, d300, canon 40d (or 50d) and the Sony alpha 350 or whatever they have.

Get some quotes and after handling say you will think on it and exit. No sales pressure then.

If the wedding is likely to have largeish groups of people, think about hiring lenses? One wide for the day. Perhaps a decent sharp lens.

As they are your friends, just tell them. Post processing would be on raw photos (better manipulation if req)

Good luck on it.

Oh and post up what you finally decide to go for :)
 
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