Cameras and Photogaphy

[ultimo]

Whist this is way off the general subject guidelines, is there anyone here that can PM on buying in Pattaya , DSLR cams. or suggestions on other brands that may be a good purchase for a beginner.
My Thai other half (mid 30's) wants to take up photography as a hobby and wants to buy himself a reasonably priced cam that will start himself off.( Something like Canon D650.)
Read up plenty of info but would like to hear of personal preferences and experience as the readings go a bit above my head and definitely his!
Hope someone can help.
Thanks

[Neal]

Hi. Certainly not off guidelines or topics as you opened the thread. Hope you get the answers you are looking for. :hello2:

[Marsilius]

I make my living from photography in the adult entertainment industry. Until a year or so ago I had always used Nikon equipment but I then sampled Sony's new range of translucent mirror cameras. Their USP is, in a nutshell, that the mirror in the camera does not need to pop up out of the way for each shot because light passes through it. As a result the number of possible shots per second is dramatically increased - very useful in action photography or in my own line of work. There are several other novel and useful features too.

I now use the Sony Alpha 55 (a55), generally with the standard lens that comes with it in the package. I would recommend it to anybody and suggest that your friend includes it in the cameras that he considers.

[ceejay]

Could I ask, Marsilius, how the Sony Alpha 55 performs in low light/night time conditions where it is not possible and/or appropriate to use flash? Especially action shots - such as, for example, a night time parade at one of the many festivals. A lot of the pictures I want to take in Thailand fall within this description and I'd be prepared to buy a camera on the basis of really good low light performance alone.

[ultimo]

I now use the Sony Alpha 55 (a55), generally with the standard lens that comes with it in the package. I would recommend it to anybody and suggest that your friend includes it in the cameras that he considers.


Thank you for the info. Greatly appreciated.
Looking at al the pamphlets I have got from Tukcom, it would seem that the model you quoted is not there. It jumps from alpha 57 to alpha 65 with the megapixel levels only being in the 10-12 bracket. They have a new series called NEX where the MP is 16.1 but those four new models are an assortment of just body, body plus etc!! All very confusing.
I just get the feeling that my partner is going to be lost before he has started!! :glasses7:

[Marsilius]

Ceejay, I don't take the sort of photographs that interest you so cannot really comment - but you can take a look at a few samples from the very thorough independent review www.dpreview.com (http://www.dpreview.com) website here:

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/revie ... ew-samples (http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/sony-slt-a55-review-samples)

How about some samples of the kind of photographs you DO take?


:party

[Marsilius]

I'm not sure that the Boss would approve of posting them here... :redfaced:

You can, however, find many examples on one of the websites I regularly produce work for, www.hmboys.com (http://www.hmboys.com)

[Neal]

You are fine to post if you want to. Geez I am not this strict!!!

And well all have Kleenex handy

[Marsilius]

My latest discovery...

[Marsilius]

If you prefer something a little beefier (or maybe, these days, horsier)...

[Marsilius]

Prime rump...

[Marsilius]

Ex military?

[Marsilius]

Porn star...

[ultimo]

And all I wanted to know was the brand of camera!! :party

[Marsilius]

Glad to have been of service!

[joe552]

I'm shocked - pornography and filth on such a respectable board :dontknow:

[timmberty]

your latest discovery !!! thats a picture of michael schumaker before he got famous ... lets hope he dont read the board ..

[Marsilius]

Let's hope! :happy7:

[Jellybean]

I think you must have one of the best jobs of any board member Marsilius. I was musing on what the perks and benefits of the trade are, none that youтАЩd return on a P11D thatтАЩs for sure! : )

Great photos by the way, I especially liked the тАШprime rumpтАЩ!

[Marsilius]

Thanks for your appreciation. As an avowed carnivore, I trust you'll like this piece of fine lean rump too...

[fedssocr]

All I can say is be careful! Once you buy a DSLR you start buying lenses. And buying more, better, faster lenses. Then new bodies...and more accessories. In the Nikon world we call it NAS - Nikon Acquisition Syndrome, the constant need to buy new, better equipment. It doesn't have to happen, but it frequently does. So you and your guy will need a lot of will power or a lot of money.

For a beginner you may also want to look at the mirrorless options like the Olympus and Panasonic micro four thirds system. I recently bought an Olympus OM-D E-M5 to have something smaller and lighter for travel. Of course since it's completely different from all of the Nikon stuff I have acquired it requires some up-front investment for me. But it is a small, full featured camera and the system has lots of lens options depending on your needs and interests. It's not cheap though.

You might want to consider the Nikon D3200. It's an entry level DSLR but it still has a lot more features than many high end models had not too many years ago. Or better yet the new-ish D5200 which costs just a little more.

I believe the Sony A57 replaced the A55. Another Sony option is the NEX system. The NEX 6 is a very nice camera. There are fewer lens options for the Sony system but more are being added.

I'd also suggest a class if you can find one over there that teaches about the basics of photography and DSLR's in particular. No matter which camera you end up with, really taking the time to learn the controls and what they do is very helpful. Being able to quickly access the functions you want to use will make him more likely to stick with it.

[davidsobe]

Being involved with Getty Images and various art galleries, I do a lot of photography, using full frame size Canon 5-D Mark II cameras, with battery packs attached to them. I have six different top-of-the line Canon lenses, including a macro lens, a super wide angle tilt/shift lens for architectural work, three different zoom lenses, and a 135mm/2 high speed portrait lens. The lens I use the most is a 24-70mm/2.8 zoom lens -- my workhorse lens. Because of the major advances in optical coatings, zoom lenses (with as many as 23 individual optical elements) are vastly superior to even fixed focal length lenses of 20+ years ago -- no internal flare. I used to shoot with Zeiss Contax RTS III and Leica reflex 35mm FILM cameras, which are far obsolete today. The Japanese camera companies buried the Zeiss and Leica companies (which were the Rolls Royce of cameras for decades). The Germans never really developed a professional digital 35mm camera. I recommend that you consider buying a Canon digital reflex camera and start off with one zoom lens. For many reasons, I prefer Canon to Nikon, but each one has his own preference. I shoot everything from male nudes to travel photography to architectural images. It's a fun hobby. :hello2:

[ultimo]

The lens I use the most is a 24-70mm/2.8 zoom lens -- my workhorse lens. It's a fun hobby. :hello2:

Thanks to both yourself and Fedsoccr for the info.
He ended up buying the Canon 650D. for close to 25000 baht. It seemed the the less complicated. He was persuaded also to buy an Image Stabilizer 55-250mm, which gives a decent zoom capability.( another 7000 baht for him to fork out!) So as he says it cost him 3 months salary,
I agree, that as an outsider, just seeing all the add-on lenses and wide angle stuff this will not be the last of the purchases!!
When he is at home he seems now to be totally absorbed in 'learning' the camera, so with your suggestion I will get him to look for someone here who may be able to teach him the basics of photography, which he seems keen to do.
Once again thank you for the info.

[kjun12]

Marsilius, If you can tell, what is the Nationality of those boys?

[Up2U]

Well I suffer from NAS too. I think a D3200 is nice first step for a beginner . Hope he has had some practice with a point and shoot or compact camera.

[Marsilius]

All the models on the first page of this thread are Czech. The one on this page is British. You can see a few other models on my model recruitment webpage http://www.xdirectorymodels.com

[davidsobe]

Nice to know that most of your models are from Czech Republic. I spend most of June in Praha and do a lot of architectural and scenic shooting. Maybe I will look to shoot some of the lads. Who knows. :hello2: