Recommendations for a good digital SLR Camera

[Ziggy]

Oh & just another wee bit before I go get some lunch!

An external flash is pretty much essential for indoor stuff. You'll obviously need a bag too. Tripod / remote control again are things you'll almost certainly want, but not necessarily straight away for that kind of outdoorsy stuff...

 

[legrandefromage]

6 months in my club fistednessness:

 

[Dr S]

So, would something like this be a good starting point??



For motorsport i would have thought that 250mm lens is a bit small, but the camera is very good.

So lets start to narrow it down a little. The Canon 500D is a good enough starting point for the actual body...what lenses should I be starting off with? As well as getting pics of the cars i like to capture the place, the people, the spirit of the race etc. i also like to get as close to the cars as possible so do I really need a 3 foot long lense?.

Not sure about second-hand Wu as there are things like warranties to fret over- I would buy of someone I knew and trusted but I'm not keen of buying blind as it were. Besides, I never pay for my Le Mans tickets anyway so I'd rather spend the extra on having the gear that will keep the memories

Thanks so much for your help so far guys

 

[Augustus]

those built in flashes are quite good though for fill in flash and stuff. Do miss them on the bigger models when you have to lug about a gun with you.

God, don't underestimate the weight issue Si, Reckon my bag weighs about 10-15kg's and even when you strip it down to the essentials, yes they are reassuringly heavy and strong, it does hurt your shoulders half way round Le Sarthe ;-)

Important thing is, as said above, hold the various models in your hands. what feels right will work best for you.

 

[Augustus]

si, you can buy with confidence off places like ffordes (link in earlier post) they offer a 12month warranty anyway which is all you'll get out of canon from new.

I have bought and sold to them and others for decades and they're alright - really. and you get more for extra lenses then.

The amateur photo market is HUGE and they're often obsessed with trading in perfectly good kit to get the latest Pega Mixel count, so boxed mint gear is quite normal.

go and have a play with the 500d and it's nikon equiv. they will both be v good. may be a little small though. your personal pref there.


you can save some cash by going for a generic lens brand like Sigma. get more for your moey but sometimes a little slower to focus etc.
i'd aim for a coupl e of lenses to cover all eventualities. like a good 18-55 and a good 55-200. or a good 18-200 perhaps. but be under no illusion, investing in good glass pays off.

 

[legrandefromage]

For motor racing shots you need a fast CCD:

3.4fps with up to 170 JPEG burst
The EOS 500D features shooting speeds of up to 3.4fps in continuous bursts of up to 170 large JPEG images (9 RAW).


Nikon D3000
3 fps continuous shooting allows you to capture fast-moving action at 3 frames per second


Nikon D5000
4 fps


****EDIT****

I believe the majority of older autofocus lenses are retrofittable for the Nikon DSLR - Nikon do a table:

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imagi ... bility.htm

 

[Dr S]

God, don't underestimate the weight issue Si, Reckon my bag weighs about 10-15kg's and even when you strip it down to the essentials, yes they are reassuringly heavy and strong, it does hurt your shoulders half way round Le Sarthe ;-)

Good point. I don't think I will be trusted with a golf buggy again after hitting a post in the early hours last year with one.

 

[Augustus]

God, don't underestimate the weight issue Si, Reckon my bag weighs about 10-15kg's and even when you strip it down to the essentials, yes they are reassuringly heavy and strong, it does hurt your shoulders half way round Le Sarthe ;-)

Good point. I don't think I will be trusted with a golf buggy again after hitting a post in the early hours last year with one.

just don't take too much kit that's all.

 

[MagD]

Nikon have used the same lens mount for 40 years plus..... just added bits & pieces to it, so you could get a long telephoto lens which could be quite old but still very servicable - but old lens may not be autofocus etc

Canon's EOS mount has been out for about 20 years so lots of servicable kit available.

Outline kit:
EOS 500D or Nikon equiv
18-55 normal short telezoom plus 55(75) -200(300) zoom Fstop range is crica F5.6-F8
OR 18-200 large range zoom Fstop range F5.6-F12 or similar

Does job of both of the above for day to day shoots aids portability and means you don't have to change lenses all the time.
My brother in law has I think a tamron superzoom with stabilisation in it and it covers everything he needs it for - stabilisation helps keeps pics sharp when using the 200mm setting as the light gathering power drops, (higher F number), you need to use a longer shutter time which increases the effect of camera shake.....

Either own brand or independant flash gun circa GN 35-45 which will be enough to cover mose situations.

THEN the good stuff depending on budget
300 / 350 / 400 / 500 MM F2.8/F4/F5.6 long telephoto lens for le mans / sports / wildlife pics / other uses....

 

[Ziggy]

Those two aren't a bad pair of lenses to start with, you won't really need anything longer given how close you can get at LM.

Put (very) simply, more expensive/specialised lenses let more light in, in a given time. That means the shutter can be open for less time, and action 'frozen' more effectively.