Posted: 10/20/2008 6:41:11 PM EDT
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You already saw the post in this Forum with the great photo http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=121&t=773212 There are more here http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=8&f=10&t=328078 and you can tell which sets were taken with the "quality" camera and which were the standard digital camera. I take many pictures and after seeing some of these, I feel like I am missing out on some quality shots. What concerns me is that some preliminary research shows that just the camera is running $2000-$3000 and that is without ANY accessories. What camera options are out there to allow me to take these quality photos but not break the bank and cause me to siphon funds from the gun and ammo budget? |
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You can get a VERY nice body for somewhere in the $1000-$1500 range (or a Digital rebel, for example, for much less than that). What gets really costly in a hurry, though, is if you go with good glass (lenses). Do you want to go the DSLR route? Best way to figure out is what you want to do: Figure out what you want to shoot. Do you want to focus on landscape and portraiture stuff? Or telephote/sports/etc.? That's going to dictate some of your requirements. Once you know what you really want to do and get a budget figured out, you can really get down what you want on gear. There are some guys who can provide a lot more and better info than I can, and I'm sure they'll be along shortly, but those are some things to think about to start. Good luck. |
| Go to some photo stores or even Bestbuy/ Circuit City and check them out in person. Figure out what you can afford/want to spend and look at models within that budget. Once you figure out what models are in your price range it's just a matter of which one feels good in your hands. There's quite a few great deals out there if you don't have to have the latest model. I just picked up a Nikon D80 with a 18-135 lens for under $800 out the door from Circuit City a few weeks ago. Kit lenses are considered by many to be garbage but they're still gonna give you better pics than the best point and shoot and will get you by until you decide what types of lenses better suit your needs. |
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My one concern is that I don't want to dump $1K only to find the camera takes pictures just like my other basic digital camera. I know I don't just want to look for how many Mega Pixels but , is there one thing (or a few things) to look for in order to know if the camera has potential to take great quality pictures? Is it safe to say any camera with replaceable lens will quality for the great picture category? |
The majority of pictures will be stills of people, pets and outdoors. The only "action" photos would be at the range sort of like I have shown in the original post. Not knowing too much about what everything costs. I would say $1K for the body and hope that one lens can get me through my requirements for a while. |
The person pressing the shutter has alot to do with great pics as well.  Mike |
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If you are getting into a new system, I would go with Canon or Nikon. I prefer Nikon. You can get a nice system for much less than that. Good lenses make a difference, but in shots with plenty of light, there are a lot of lower cost lenses that yield great results out there now. Are you looking for a point and shot type or do you have expereince with a SLR type camera? |
What a surprise.