lens question

[john101477]

yeah m43 was covered here a while back and while it is much better than a P&S, if your taking pictures for print, the details make the difference. if the detail is not there, the image is not worth it. I am not the only photographer to not like m43 by any means. I will say that mirrorless cameras might be the wave of the future but IMO the m43 will die or become a specialty camera like the holga or pin hole camera.

 

[hks3sgte]

You'll want the most expensive one you can afford haha

 

[Viggen]

Total agreement. The body is just a light proof box.

Personally, I'd spend a little extra and go for the 50/1.4 over the 1.8. Build quality is a bit better and shooting it wide open yields fantastic results. It was one of my favorite lenses, and always mounted on one of my cameras, until I moved on to the 1.2. That lens, I will never part with.

Bodies are important but you dont need the latest and greatest. I shoot with a 6MP (with a fantastic CCD sensor) that is about 4 years old. It has a fantastic sensor and takes great photos. You dont need 12+ MP. Honestly, you dont. If you shoot like a majority of people then you might print out 8.5x11 photos or keep them on your computer to publish on the internet. You will not be able to tell the difference unless you blow it up big time. By that time, it wont fit on your screen.

I have three or four different telephotos and I have two fixed. I shot today with my 28mm but I also like walking around with my 50mm. Do at least buy a 50mm (a 1.2 is fantastic but can be big bucks though). Its a great one to have in your kit. That being said, I love my 28mm. I also love my 18-55. I also have a 70-300 macro (which kicks *** for things like macro shots of bees and other less than friendly bugs) and a 70-200. Its nice to have options but If I were to have only one lens to walk around with, I would keep my 18-55. I might not be able to get a super tight zoom but I would rather have the ability of keeping it at 18 then have to start at 70. The 18-55 is a great walk around lens. I got some great shots of an 8 point buck today with my 28mm. I couldve gotten easier, closer ones with a zoom lens but hey, I enjoyed having to stalk up and freeze when he looked my way.

 

[ywen]

yeah m43 was covered here a while back and while it is much better than a P&S, if your taking pictures for print, the details make the difference. if the detail is not there, the image is not worth it. I am not the only photographer to not like m43 by any means. I will say that mirrorless cameras might be the wave of the future but IMO the m43 will die or become a specialty camera like the holga or pin hole camera.

Where does one draw the line in the minimally acceptable image quality for printing something? I draw it somewhere at the iphone level...

How large is your print? What is your viewing distance? Those variables have much more impact with the perceived level of detail than the type of sensor the image originated from.

Panoramic shot from m4/3 gf-1 followed by 100% crops. Not as much details as a 5D mark 2 I'm sure, but is it a usable format for many applications? Yes it is, that's my point.
It's like recommending a Miata as a sporty fun car to drive, but you say, no a Ferrari is much better. :smiley_drive:

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[Viggen]

I agree. If you are just keeping photos to put up on internet sites or printing out the ocassional 8.5x11 photo, the latest and greatest super megapixel is not needed. Its more important to get a good body, a good lens (some kit lenses will surprise you) and a good piece of editing software. You can get all of the above for less than a new camera body in a lot of cases. Find what you like and spend some time learning the Av, Tv, and M functions and how they work. Don't be one of those that drops insane money on an SLR style camera and then shoots in auto...

 

[john101477]

Don't be one of those that drops insane money on an SLR style camera and then shoots in auto...

Amen to that. Again I think it comes down to what your expectations for your work are. Personally I see a lot of crap images out there and very few good pictures, lots of noise, poor composition, etc.If you want to see great pictures go to a place like Photo.net and look at some of the best images in the galleries, then check out what it is shot with. I bet you will not see to many done with a m43 much less an iPhone. When I take a picture (landscape/nature), I have to be able to enlarge it to at least 24in wide for hanging. so when i say for print thats what I mean. As a general rule I do not take a picture if I intend to crop much of it with the exception of wide narrow canvas prints. I dont really buy into the Mp wars as much as some, but the size of a sensor is very important. a sensor can only collect so much data so the bigger the better in most cases, and in some ways the size of a sensor and Mp count goes hand in hand. hence why we have cameras out there like the 24Mp full frames or the Hass 50Mp medium format monsters etc.
Again I will say, buy more than you think you need but dont go into debt over a camera.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

If you want to study some amazing images, check out 500px

Another EXPO member turned me onto it and it's friggin' amazing. Probably the best collection of photos I've ever seen. I spend wayyyy too much time on there taking notes

 

[Lost Canadian]

Like 500px, 1x is another great resource and a site that will leave you slack jawed with amazing images. I'm somewhat taken with 1x because it's a community devoted to creating a gallery of only the best images on the net. Every photo submitted goes through a rigorous peer reviewed screening process and only the very best get published. The result is a web gallery of nothing but sublime images. 1x also has a tutorial section where top members share detailed insights into how they have created their images, and of course there is also a very helpful critque section where you can get feed back on your images.

 

[ywen]

bookmarked!

 

[john101477]

Great Share Trevor.

 

[leman]

I agree. If you are just keeping photos to put up on internet sites or printing out the ocassional 8.5x11 photo, the latest and greatest super megapixel is not needed. Its more important to get a good body, a good lens (some kit lenses will surprise you) and a good piece of editing software. You can get all of the above for less than a new camera body in a lot of cases. Find what you like and spend some time learning the Av, Tv, and M functions and how they work. Don't be one of those that drops insane money on an SLR style camera and then shoots in auto...

thanks for all the help guys this thread has collected alot of great information. i do not plan on shooting in auto. one of the reasons im wanting to get the SLR is to have more options and more control over the camera. right now my P&S is a casio exlim. and i feel that there is not really much more i can do with it.

 

[leman]

heres a shot i snapped while working the rope while my buddy was surfing yesterday. while i feel like its a pretty good pic the quality just isnt there when i blow it up also it was about 1:00 so not really the best lighting. also several of the shots i got while wakeboarding just doesnt have the quality when trying to crop.

 

[taco2go]

Like 500px, 1x is another great resource and a site that will leave you slack jawed with amazing images. 1x also has a tutorial section where top members share detailed insights into how they have created their images, and of course there is also a very helpful critque section where you can get feed back on your images.

I have been restricted in my internet time lately, but I think I've been on this site more than on EXPO recently. Thanks again for sharing this amazing resource.

 

[john101477]

I tried to give a nice critique in that section and got suspended on my first post... all because my critique was not long enough. I submitted a picture that has been a very good thing for me and it got declined because it was a sunset picture. Gotta read the fine print before submitting lol. Have to say from my time in there besides looking at specific types of images that i am not any more impressed with 1x than I am with 500px. I have spent more time in 500px. The tutorials are largely a waste of time as you will never hit the same light or the same situation again. I was reading one tutorial and the guy flat says the image was a lucky shot and that his post processing was just turning it to B&W in lightroom. He follows that up by admitting he did not use PS because he does not know how. Thats not a tutorial it is a story with a picture at the beginning. A tutorial gives you a tried and true technique, Like long exposure for flowing water, or knowing the math to get great night pictures without star trails (if that is your goal). I may sound a little bitter here but after contacting one of the Mods and reading a thread in the forum under site news about submission limits, I realized that the site might not be for me anyways. I do not plan to pay to be a member of the site nor to buy a book that they are making money off, by using my image to fill the pages.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Copied this, opened it in CS5, straightened the horizon and ran it through Topaz Adjust4>Photo Pop. That's it. Brings out lots more detail in the water