Camera questions

[Taelan28]

Hey Im in the market for a new camera. I primarily want to use it for the cherry blossom festivals in the spring waterskiing in the summer (I'd be taking pictures of someone or they would be taking pictures of me). My heart is pretty set on the Sony NEX-5n, its slim and ultra sexy and pretty loaded. Reviews on it have been quite strong, however the lens count is abysmal, but given the price of lenses I doubt I'd pony up a few hundred bucks for a lens unless it was absolutely required for what I wanted to do.

 

That being said. Generally speaking do any of you have tips on buying a camera? I've said I'm pretty sold on the NEX-5n, but Im willing to listen before dropping $800 on anything.

 

Second. What about shooting waterskiing? The guy at the camera store told me in his limited english that its necessary to have a bunch of lenses for lots of purposes, pancake lenses for wide shots, zoom lenses, stability lenses, action lenses and so on. Is there any truth to this? Are the lenses really that specialized outside of zoom and wide angle? Im particularly concerned about low light and speed. Should I invest in a lens that specializes in those?

 

Third: Whats better: Black, Silver, or white?http://static.cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/07/f0c1c0bffdc0deeb616ee75609eba5.jpghttp://static.cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/05/b4675723b799d3b9000668810cf0d3.jpghttp://static.cl1.vanilladev.com/ballofspray.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/5f/f9bae1256be943b49f3e66d26625b4.jpg

[Horton]

I shoot all Nikon. To some extent you get what you pay for. My DSLR cameras do way better than my CoolPix AW100. That said you can get a heck of a lot of camera for $300.

Need a lot of lenses? No. Today you can buy a single zoom that goes from slightly wide angle to telephoto.

 

If you are just starting out in photography, get a basic camera and one lens. Read some photograph sites.... there is a lot to learn. As with water skiing there are no short answers and it will take time to get your head around it.

[camjam]

Depends on how nice the pictures you want to take, how much you want to spend and how much about photography you want to learn. But know in low light and fast action, with cameras and lens you get what you pay for. To stop the action in low light you will need a camera capable of high ISOs and fast glass (A lens capable of at least F2.8). For sports I shoot a Nikon D90 with a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 lens. You can find very nice used DSLRs in your price range.

 

As Horton said, hang out on the photograph sites as there is a lot to learn.

[baja]

Definitely get the white one.

[Phil2360]

@Horton "Cough Spit Choke".

 

You're a Nikonian? Oh dear, reputation degradation .

 

Personally I use a Canon 50D. I've got a couple of "L" lenses, but also use an 18-200 kit lens.

Many people consider these "Kit Lenses" to be rubbish, but in reality the 18-200 covers a very versatile range & the image quality is quite good for a reasonably priced lens.

 

Canon's 18-135mm is better in terms of image quality & a bit cheaper.

 

Pretty sure any reasonable offering from the DSLR stables of Canon, & well, maybe Nikon would substantially out perform anything in the compact classes. Particularly in terms of speed for sports photography.

 

Check out B & H Photo over there.

 

Starting with an EOS 550D (Rebel T2i in the States).

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/680673-REG/Canon_4462B005_Canon_EOS_Rebel_T2i.html

 

Looking at most of my photos I mostly use less than 135mm for slalom pics from the boat.

 

 

[Phil2360]

Also @Taelan28 you really need to consider something with an optical or electronic viewfinder for any serious attempts at sports photos.

[Taelan28]

Thanks for the input. Since it is my first camera with a changable lens i probably wont have more than the stock lens. The HX100V is pretty cool, I saw a camera like it on saturday with 15x zoom, I didnt know those kind of cameras existed. The HX100V with 30X zoom and all the software features the NEX has its obvious that IS the camera for me. The NEX offers the style I want as well as a lot of features, but that HX100V has all the function I want as well. Knowing myself, style and function need to meet if Im going to use something regularily. If its all fuction and badass then the item (anything really) will be unwieldy and gaudy, if its all style then it will be useless.

 

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is a perfect example of style meeting function. Its thin, fits in my pocket perfectly so i doesnt turn sideways, huge screen and loads of memory for music, a tablet PC on the other hand has lots of style but no function despite how thin and light they are since I still need a bag to carry it around so it might as well be a laptop. Likewise an MP3 player is convenient but doesnt have enough function to warrant me carrying it around.

 

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll have to meditate on this some more. I'll probably end up getting the NEX anyways, but the HX100V has all that and more for 40% less price, its just a little big...like american women.

[Phil2360]

@Taelan28

 

Here's a similar offering from Canon range.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_sx40hs

 

Probably my greatest compliment to Canon is to their very logical layout

of controls & the ease of use of their menus.

 

[teammalibu]

Kfennel had a great deal on some digital SLR cameras not sure if they are all sold