Advice on upgrading DLSR

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by WoohooSoCal

A smaller aperture does not decrease the sharpness, it increases the depth of field so that you may have more of the subject in focus.

It's called diffraction, and it's absolutely a real thing even if you haven't noticed it. Once you stop down to a certain point it will limit the amount of resolution your lens can pass through to the sensor. Usually this is around f8 or so but it depends on the lens.

[Mik3ymomo]

I started out with a decent camera. I wanted the confidence that my skill and not the gear was going to be the limiting factor. It took me years to find the limits of that camera body. I was finding limits to the consumer lenses long before finding the limits of the camera body.

No one is wrong here. There are instances where a photo will improve due to a lens and then there are times when the camera body is so high a resolution that it exploits the lens weakness and its inability to resolve the very high number of pixels the newer camera bodies are squeezing onto a sensor.

If you are like me you want the best gear you can afford so your potential for great photos is just a matter of you using the right techniques and settings.

I see both sides. When I did finally buy my D800 I had been shooting for about 8 years and saw an immediate jump in image quality. I didn't realize until I went with the new camera that my old body was in fact holding me back. My skill had developed beyond the limits of my camera.

I can still usually take better photos with just a cell phone than most people because I understand it's limits and know how to work around them as well as using perspective and composition to make a nice photo instead of just using editing after the fact.

At this point I understand that gear doesn't make a great photo. But it sure does help if you know what you are doing and are doing things like shooting in low light, shooting action etc.

Best of luck with your hobby

[E92 M Sport]

Originally Posted by Zing

Nearly every post in this thread has merit. All input and insight offered is valuable. Chief among them is the one that said develop skills first. An old saying has had a profound effect on me over the years and that it "90% of all the cameras in the world today are better than 95% of all the photographers in the world today".

In my opinion, there are 3 key factors for achieving sharp, crisp photos:
1. Prime lens
2. Low ISO (i.e., 100)
3. Shutter speed (the fater the better) And using burst mode will help quite a bit too.

Also, and this is largely subjective, using a smaller aperture seems to lend a certain sharpness to the image. Try using f/8-f/16 instead of anything larger.

[druu]

For a while now i'd tell people to buy an old slr and a cheap prime since year after year innovations weren't really made. But nowadays prices have come down so far that a newish slr or mirrorless body and some of the new conveniences make such a world of difference. A newbie shouldn't have to worry about their old camera being limited by high ISO performance or having slow AF etc. I wouldn't say buy this years latest and greatest, but i wouldn't tell anyone to stick with a twelve year old camera (unless cash is an issue, then by all means). I mean buying the model from 3 years ago is still probably a good buy and you wouldnt have to worry about iso 800 being smudgy or autofocus points being so few. Then they can focus on taking pictures, which at the end of the day is what matters here.

[geoffi]

Looking at the Canon EOS and Nikon D type of cameras

[geoffi]

Camera reviews http://thedigitalcamera.net/canon-eo...he-difference/

[John Tanglewood]

Originally Posted by Mik3ymomo

I see both sides. When I did finally buy my D800 I had been shooting for about 8 years and saw an immediate jump in image quality. I didn't realize until I went with the new camera that my old body was in fact holding me back. My skill had developed beyond the limits of my camera.

Yeah when you have 36 megapixels at your disposal, I'm sure you would see a jump in image quality!!!

I wouldn't recommend an FX body to him at this early stage, but definitely a used DX with a low amount of actuations. Like a D7000 to D7200 would be a massive upgrade and he'd still be able to afford great DX lenses. Once you start getting into FX glass you're in a whole new price stratosphere.

Matter of fact, one the BEST prime lenses of all time you can buy for under $150. This was my first prime lens, and while I've since upgraded to the 1.4 and gotten the 35mm and 80mm varieties, this is one that will always be a trusty workhorse for most situations. If you want to see how different a prime lens can work, this one is a no brainer:
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-NIKKOR-5.../dp/B00005LEN4

Anyway dphjr , if you want to get the most out of your D70, get the digital field guide first:


http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D70-Digi.../dp/0764596780

The field guide will help teach you the best settings for your camera in specific situations, tips and tricks you would have never known for white balance, settings, and each shooting mode, and much more.

I always buy the field guide for each new camera I get to get me through the basics that I would probably not have learned through my own experimenting.

Second, check out any number of books that will help you with composition and lighting. My favorite is Bruce Barnbaum's Art of Photography. He's a master of composition. I give all the credit to this book for making me the photographer I am today, and I guarantee you'll get something valuable out of it.


http://www.amazon.com/Art-Photograph...=1&*entries*=0

Lastly, sometimes that color saturation and pop can all be achieved in post processing. I use Adobe Lightroom as it gives me the ability to manipulate a photo to my liking without needing more advanced tools like Photoshop. The camera can only do so much of the work.....if you have a certain idea about a photo you took, the expression can only be brought out in post processing. So learn to love it!

The above suggestions will absolutely help you with all your photos. And actually all the advice in this thread is very sound. You have a good eye so just keep it up! Cheers!

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by dphjr

Here are a couple uneditied photos.

View post on imgur.com

Definitely not bad by any means. At least on my computer I found that zooming to 100% I could already start to see some pixelation. Also the colors look really washed out to me, which is odd since it was a bright and sunny day. For comparison here is my friend's d5100 shot using mostly the same settings as mine. The colors look much sharper and it isn't nearly as pixelated.

View post on imgur.com

Sorry that I'm late to the thread, but your subject has HUGE dynamic range, beyond the capacity of most sensors today. As a result, the car is underexposed and so is the general scene. Most new photographers would not realize that and new photographers do not shoot in Raw, so that they can lower highlights and raise shadows in Raw conversion.

Unless you're already a wiz at PS, use Lightroom instead. The user interface is designed for those that don't necessarily use it every day. It's intuitive and VERY powerful.

Some might have used multi-shot HDR to capture that dynamic range, but you can also bring the exposure down so it doesn't blow out the white and then raise the white in Raw conversion. The newer Nikon sensors are very tolerant of raising shadows and highlight without adding noise. With either Canon or Nikon or Sony, you'd shoot at ISO 100 for that scene.

Now is a good time to move up to a newer generation of sensor. Huge progress has been realized in the last generation or two, with all makers.

Nikon excels at low ISOs and Canon is better at the higher ISOs needed for wildlife and sport. Both are only slight compromises, so either gets the job done, particularly for those shooting in Raw.

Full-frame vs. crop-sensor is not of great importance today. If a lot of your shooting will be focal-length limited and you'll still crop, even when using 700mm or more (birds and wildlife) then get a crop sensor. If you're not going to do birds and cars and landscapes will be you primary subjects, then get a full-frame, budget permitting, of course.

Dave

[Nihilation]

I found the 18-70mm's focal range to be good but that lens hunted forever and cost me quite a few shots at various events.

Having owned a D50, D90 and now a D7000 along with the 18-70mm lens, my personal opinion is to at minimum replace your lens unless all your subjects are stationary. I sold my 18-70mm and picked up a 16-85mm VR which focuses much quicker and gives me a larger focal range. And the extra 2mm on the wide end really does make a noticeable difference!

[dphjr]

Thanks for the input everyone. dcstep I actually have been using lightroom and it works wonders on my pictures. I might upgrade to a new body if I find a good deal, otherwise I might just settle for a prime and call it a day for now. In case anyone is interested, here are some photos I've edited with lightroom, both ones I took and my friend's D5100. Hopefully it doesn't look too fake, I had to spend quite a bit of time getting the color back into the photos lol.

View post on imgur.com