camera junky advice needed

MonctonGoldenFlames · #1 Posted **Dec 2, 2010, 11:15 PM**

my girlfriend is really starting to get into photography. it started about a year ago when i bought her a nikon d5000, with an 18-105 lens. i got her a tripod for her birthday, and she recently has purchased a reflector. she has been taking some photography classes thru sait and is currently in a portrait photography class, and she is loving it.

i have thought about getting a new lens or a detach flash for x-mas, mainly because i have heard her talk about it after she gets back from class. the flash seems more necessary than another lens, but i know she would love to have both. i have thought about either a wide angle lens or a macro lens. without breaking the bank, which one is more versatile? pros & cons? and i have no idea what i should be looking for in a flash, any help here?

and lastly, she seems to mention from time to time, that an old 'film' camera would be cool to have and play with. i have no idea what kind of old camera she is talking about. do any of you have any advice on some older film cameras that could be fun for her to play with? again, budget is tight, so i can't break the bank.

any help on any of this would be greatly appreciated.

(this is copied from my cp thread)

CorporateWhore · #2 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 12:08 AM**

Get her a Nikon FE....cheap, simple, and awesome. Great camera to learn film photography with, plus it creates some fantastic results.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/fe.htm

devonb · #3 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 12:38 AM**

I concur with the Nikon FE. I picked up an F3 10 years ago to learn on and love it. I'm not sure about getting a wide angle. 18 is already quite wide and other than getting a 14mm, you'll be getting into fisheye territory which is more specialized and not to everyone's taste. I have a 55mm micro (macro) and like it because of the razor sharp images and how close I can get to the object. I'd probably get the flash as I would think she would need one. I like the Nikon sb600 myself. The 800 is more readily available and in many opinions better than the 900.

MonctonGoldenFlames · #4 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 12:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by devonb

I concur with the Nikon FE. I picked up an F3 10 years ago to learn on and love it. I'm not sure about getting a wide angle. 18 is already quite wide and other than getting a 14mm, you'll be getting into fisheye territory which is more specialized and not to everyone's taste. I have a 55mm micro (macro) and like it because of the razor sharp images and how close I can get to the object. I'd probably get the flash as I would think she would need one. I like the Nikon sb600 myself. The 800 is more readily available and in many opinions better than the 900.

i just got in from the camera store, and saw the sb600. i was thinking of the sb 700 (not in stores yet?). any idea what the differences are and if it's worth the price difference?

thanks for the fe and f3 suggestions, i'll look around for those!

frinkprof · #5 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 1:45 AM**

You should get this model:

Hopefully that was the kind of junky advice you were looking for.

freeweed · #6 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 1:49 AM**

Point and shoot on auto-focus. Still going to take the best pictures for your money, and odds are it'll help them be less blurry.

Ferreth · #7 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 1:56 AM**

I suggest something completely different: Nikon 35mm f/1.8

For when you want to use natural light, and you don't have a lot of it, you want a low f-stop lens (lets in more light). If she wants to do more portraits with it, go with the 50mm instead - both are cheap.

bikegypsy · #8 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 5:30 AM**

I agree with the FE. The FM is also nice and the F3 (which is a pro level camera) can be pretty inexpensive on Ebay. You may find one for anywhere between 150-300$. This is a classic camera which is built like a tank and sold for as much as 1000$ just 15 years ago. Since it's a pro model, it gives the user the possibility to change prims and focusing screens. It has mirror lock up which is a great deal for still life images. It's flash syncro is also much higher than the other models of the same era. These things might be chinese to you but as she evolves in her craft, they will reveal themselves as being incredibly useful.

In terms of the wide-angle versus a macro, a wide angle will get more use but with the lens that she already has, it already covers that since it starts at 18mm. Lenses below that tend to be pricy. I got a Sigma 10-20 (500$) which I love and comes close to a Nikon prime lens in terms of image quality.

What she has in terms of lens at the moment is a stock lens... they are ok but that's it. At certain focal lenghts and/or f stop, they can be a little blurry and the contrast may suffer as well. Basically, anything out the prime lens range can be unstable at one or many of a lens' image quality characteristics: sharpness, contrast, vigneting, colour rendition, f-stop balance, etc.

Since she loves portraiture, I would suggest you get her a good quality portrait lens. Something like the 85mm. The f1.8 is about 250-300$ and the legendary f1.4 is just under 1000$... but what a lens!

As for the macro lens, simply get her a set of extension tubes. I got a set on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/Macro-Extension-...tem4a9ca218c4). Cost about 7 bucks and has 3 different sizes which are combinable. Make sure you get a set which is suitable for her Nikon model. No need for a seperate macro lens if you get her a good 85mm or even a 50mm. I have the 50mm 1.4 (Nikon) and the sharpness is unreal.

As you shop for this, you might fall on a old series E lens in a second hand shop. Avoid those at all cost. They are entry level lenses and can be very bad. If you are tempted by the cheaper Sigmas or Tamrons, do some research on sites such as dpreview.com beforehand. They can make very good lenses but there are some lemons amongst them.

I hope this helps.

1ajs · #9 Posted **Dec 3, 2010, 7:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferreth

I suggest something completely different: Nikon 35mm f/1.8

For when you want to use natural light, and you don't have a lot of it, you want a low f-stop lens (lets in more light). If she wants to do more portraits with it, go with the 50mm instead - both are cheap.

what he said^^^

The Chemist · #10 Posted **Dec 4, 2010, 12:13 AM**

So many Nikon users here...

devonb · #11 Posted **Dec 4, 2010, 4:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonGoldenFlames

i just got in from the camera store, and saw the sb600. i was thinking of the sb 700 (not in stores yet?). any idea what the differences are and if it's worth the price difference?

thanks for the fe and f3 suggestions, i'll look around for those!

Mostly just what I've heard from others. I've used the 600 and thought it was good. I guess the higher level ones give you a little more bang, but for quite a bit more buck.