[XJman07]

Looking to get into photography
Hey there. Ive always been amazed with some of the pictures people take and have been very interested in starting to take pictures of my own.

Im just curious what a decent beginners D SLR camera is. The local BestBuy has the Nikon D60 Kit with 18-55mm Lens on sale for $549.
Also are there any good websites for tutorials or books.

I read the article that Transcend wrote on the home page. Just looking for some more info.
Thanks guys.

 

[Transfer]

As far as DSLRs go, the D60 will get the job done but you may be able to do better for a little more money. Try checking out the D80 and Canon Rebel XSi (currently $635 with good kit lens). Be forewarned, this is a CRAZY expensive hobby but can be very rewarding as well. You're going to want a camera with good ISO capabilities and high continuous frames per second for biking action.

Here are my favorite resources:
http://www.dpreview.com
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

Good luck!

 

[digitalkreation]

That's good advice. Get the highest frames per second you can, if you're shooting action. You can get a Nikon D2H on Ebay these days for $600.00 or so, and that's a high end professional body. Don't be thrown by the fact it's 4.1 Megapixels, because the sensor on those is not to be compared to a point and shoot's sensor. If you aren't actually printing larger than 8X10, it's a great first buy. Then just build up your lenses and when the time is right, jump to a better body - the lenses, you'll keep.

Good luck!

 

[unskilled]

i am actual in college studying photography as part of my major. i just got my first camera. cannon xti on clearance was a steal. i normally use a nikon d80 that i borrow from school. i would suggest getting two lenses. something short wide angle and a zoom lens. 18-135mm is a good universal lens if you can only get one. wide angles are pretty expensive but use amazon.

practice
practice
practice

many of the shots you see in mags take more planning than you realize, take your friends out and use them as subjects to understand timing and panning for those sweet action shots with the blurry background.

when working with your camera, have a good understanding of your shutter speed and aperture.

white balance is a big deal, make sure to set to auto or adj to whatever light it is

auto focus will take a second to get focused on a moving subject so keep that in mind if you are trying to get something quick. it might be better if you use manual focus and have your focus zone set up before the rider gets there. practice makes better

shoot at the lowest iso you can. lower iso = lower grain in your pics

SHOOT IN .RAW FORMAT
i'm always surprised to see how many people don't shoot in .raw. it gives you a ton of options for editing down the road via photoshop. pm me if you have questions on that.

 

[unskilled]

i forgot to add. your aperture also controls your depth of field. bigger the number the bigger area will be in focus. smaller the number, the less area will be in focus.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/htmls/depth.html

 

[comfortbiker]

As a beginner there is so much to learn it will seem overwhelming. Just find the best camera you can within your budget. As you grow to love it more you can upgrade.

All the advice in this thread, as far as aperture and lenses, etc. is good but sometime I think us camera geeks can overwhelm a beginner.

There is an absurd amount of info online in regards to digital camera. Check out consumer reports. It has good reviews for a beginnner. I did a quick google on canon rebel xsi, that is what I use, and shopdigitaldirect had it available for $299! That's a steal but I have to admit i don't know anything about them, so that's not a recommendation.

Either way, enjoy your new hobby and welcome to the club. See you on the trails.

 

[Damo]

What I have found getting into this hobby is this:
"Bodies come and go, but glass is forever"

This means buy whatever camera body you want. You will more than likely be upgrading later anyway. However, good glass will be your friend for many many years. Buy the best lenses you can afford.

 

[H8R]

Do some searching in the "creative pursuits" forum:

http://ridemonkey.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=127

DSLR noob questions have been answered up, down and sideways in there.


Beware: In that forum Nikon/Canon battles are waged much the same as Mac/PC battles in computer forums. The clear loser being anyone who seriously engages in said battles.