which camera for newborn

lovelylass77

lovelylass77

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Hello all,

Im new here, Im wanting to get into newborn photography and wondering what camera I should look for? I dont have thousands to spend but want something decent

Any ideas :)
 
Hi,

Not sure a camera will make or break newborn shots.
Newborns are not very mobile, So don't need anything with super fast focus.
You should be looking at Lenses more than bodies.

I would say a Used 5D Mark II will be your best bet. It's Pro Quality, Full Frame, Great Image Quality in Low Light. There is No correct combination of Body and Lens. Depends weather you shoot with one Zoom or Prime Lenses?

I have seen awesome shots on cheaper DSLR's

If I had to choose one body and one Lens for Newborn it would be: Canon 5D MKII and Canons 24-70 2.8L Lens.

Matt
 
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Agree with Oxford Matt mostly, that the camera won't make a great deal of difference but a 5D MkII is an expensive, although great, option when a camera body doesn't matter too much.

What is your budget?
 
I havent really thought about a budget as wasnt sure how much a good camera is.

Maybe I need to get one on a buy now pay later :lol:
 
lovelylass77 said:
I havent really thought about a budget as wasnt sure how much a good camera is.

Maybe I need to get one on a buy now pay later :lol:
Click to expand...

Haha, that's the easy, less intimidating option :)

A 5d MKII second hand will be around £1,000-1100 and the 24-70 f/2.8 will be around £800-900, give or take. That's for top end equipment but you'd get away (and not notice much difference with newborn shots) with a cheaper crop sensor DSLR with prime lens.

I like my Canon gear and don't know much about Nikon et al but you could go as cheap as the following brand new from Jessops (0% credit) and have a great kit for what you want:

Canon 1100D Body (£304) http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/80185/show.html

Canon 50mm f/1.8 (£95)
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/12878/show.html

Canon 430exII Flash (£215)
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/75085/show.html

This would give you a great kit to start off with at a relatively low price. Also, this is Jessops prices which means you could get it cheaper elsewhere, its just easier as a base point.

There are a large number of other options but this is decent basic kit that will work. If you have a bigger budget then you can look up from this point.

Colin :thumbs:
 
Aw thanks so much for all that!! I will look into those - I really didnt want to spend a fortune as need to pay for other items too

:)
 
I am a strong believer in Buy the Best you can afford, then you won't have to change few months down the line and Buy twice when you crave for Full Frame goodness :)

A previously owned 5DMKII is not expensive, £850-£1000 you pick them up for.

Also if you are hoping to do this Professionally then not sure a 1100D will suffice.

PS: Welcome to the TP :)

Matt
 
On Here!! I think you need a certain number of post though before you can access Classifieds.

Most on here are Pretty Honest and describe the items very well.
 
Have you got a camera now? What are you use to using?

I am no expert in the field but the advice I often see offered in terms of the body is go to a shop that has a good selection and just get a feel for the different models.
 
lovelylass77 said:
If I did get that camera what Lens would I need to buy?
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24-70 or 24-105.

That will give you a nice range.

I will just also add. If you do buy a Canon crop sensor, try to buy EF Lenses as you can use these on Full Frame cameras when and if you upgrade. Avoid EFS as they are not made to work and usually don't work on Full Frame. You will then have to start your lens collection all over again.

Matt
 
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Oh my Im getting really confused with it all now :eek:

Didnt even know you could rent them
 
I think the most important thing is working out a budget. My examples are based on the cheapest new price (from Jessops) that you would get away with. If you had unlimited budget then a Canon 1D/1Ds series and a range of L lenses, but most people would be looking far closer to the lower end than that.
 
Oxford_Matt said:
Hi,

Not sure a camera will make or break newborn shots.
Newborns are not very mobile, So don't need anything with super fast focus.
You should be looking at Lenses more than bodies.
Click to expand...

This. Well almost.

You can easily shoot high quality newborn images with an 1000D and a 50mm f1.8 cheap prime.

Quality of light (natural or artificial), and backgrounds are more important than kit in terms of the quality of the images, and both of those sit firmly behind management of the newborn themselves.

I have seen some bobbins newborn images taken with £7k worth of camera and lenses ;)
 
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meonshore said:
This. Well almost.

You can easily shoot high quality newborn images with an 1000D and a 50mm f1.8 cheap prime.

Quality of light (natural or artificial), and backgrounds are more important than kit in terms of the quality of the images, and both of those sit firmly behind management of the newborn themselves.

I have seen some bobbins newborn images taken with £7k worth of camera and lenses ;)
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+1 for that
 
Surely a 5d2 and some L glass isn't the best option for someone who "doesn't have thousands to spend"

Sure, it's a great combo, but a 550d / 600d and a tamron 17-50 or even a decent prime (sigma 30mm works well on crop body) would IMO would work better for someone on a budget that isn't astronomical...
 
Thanks for all your replies - I need to sit down and work out my budget and see what I come up with - being a newbie I dont have thousands to play with but if I did I would go with one of the more expensive ones.

I will let you know what I go with :)
 
Oxford_Matt said:
Your Welcome.

Sarah Wilkes is very Popular Newborn Photographer. I think she actually is a member of this site, Called "MissSassyLassy" others may correct me.

She Comments on link below she uses Canon 5DMKII and 24-70 2.8L for her Newborn stuff.

http://sarahwilkesphotography.co.uk...-child-photographer-sneak-peek-sweet-matilda/

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=331955&highlight=newborn+photographer
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Pretty sure she uses a Nikon D800 now :p



I've taken shots on my D90 that are just as good as photos taken with my D700.

The most important thing IMO is having good light to work with and learning how to control it. Learn this and you'll get good shots with an entry level DSLR and kit lens.
 
I think d90 is more then a enough to start...but if you want canon maybe a full frame 5d MK1 plus 35 mm f2 and 50mm, 1.8 and 85mm 1.8....
 
Yes, I would definitely choose 35 mm f2 and 50mm, 1.8 and 85mm 1.8.... over 24-70 2.8L
 
lovelylass77 said:
Hello all,

Im new here, Im wanting to get into newborn photography and wondering what camera I should look for? I dont have thousands to spend but want something decent

Any ideas :)
Click to expand...

I don't know what newborn photography will involve but you'll need a camera and a lens to start with :D I don't suppose you'll need a tripod but maybe you'll have to decide if you need a flash or not? Possibly not if you're shooting newborns but as I don't know the question has to be asked.

If you're using flash I don't suppose you'll need expensive wide aperture lenses or an expensive full frame camera but if you're not using a flash depending upon available light levels you may need a wide aperture lens and/or a camera that's good in lower light. Another thing to think about is what you are going to do with the pictures. Print them? If so, how big? Or maybe they're just for display on line?

All these things could impact on budget as they push you into buying certain kit.
 
Just Dave - lol I know that title does sound funny how I put it

Anyway I don't really understand you all when you talk about Iso , apertures etc
I am going on a workshop on the 21st to learn all about that, I am then doing a newborn one to one workshop.

I guess once I have done first workshop this will help me with my desicion as I don't need to take a camera and can use there's so might help me decide what's best for what I need it for:)
 
lovelylass77 said:
Just Dave - lol I know that title does sound funny how I put it

Anyway I don't really understand you all when you talk about Iso , apertures etc
I am going on a workshop on the 21st to learn all about that, I am then doing a newborn one to one workshop.

I guess once I have done first workshop this will help me with my desicion as I don't need to take a camera and can use there's so might help me decide what's best for what I need it for:)
Click to expand...

The workshops sound interesting, well the newborn one does to me.

Where is it based? I may look into that.

Thanks

Colin
 
Theres a few places that do them do them - if you type in Newborn Photography workshops uk it will bring them up :)

Just seen your flickr pics and they are good :) very crisp pictures
 
Like others have said, buy the best you can afford and remember you are buying into a 'System', be it Nikon or Canon etc.
 
lovelylass77 said:
Theres a few places that do them do them - if you type in Newborn Photography workshops uk it will bring them up :)

Just seen your flickr pics and they are good :) very crisp pictures
Click to expand...

Thank you. I hide most of them to friends and family access only to be honest as some of the family members don't like the kids pictures on the net. I don't see a big issue with it.

I'll have a look into the courses. It's something I'd like to learn more about and try to get into it like yourself.
 
Very basic DSLR. You will be wanting to upgrade very soon with that.
 
Wish I could get on the classifieds thread on here but got a long way to wait yet :eek:
 
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