SLR Cameras?

Slatts

Slatts

Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Messages
1,549
I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1 today on sale at Best Buy. I had seen them rate well on various tech reviews but I really did NOT do much comparison shopping, so for me this verges on impulse buying.

It came with a telephoto (55-250mm) lens and carry bag for a good (not great) price of $850.

My main reason for the purchase of an SLR is because of the high frame rate being handy to capture moments at sporting events.

Anyone have experience with this camera or would recommend another SLR?
 
I use a different brand, but congrats on your purchase. Get out and use it and spend a little time familiarizing yourself with its features. Its a PITA at first, but you will be rewarded in the end. Lots of folks keep their camera in auto mode and buy an expensive camera simply to use it as a point of shoot. Heck, I often fall into that, but spending some time and really using your camera is a tonne of fun. Also get a tripod and have fun.
 
But I did buy a canon rebel xs and I am more then happy with it
takes great pictures. I was worried about the battery and how many pics you can take with it.You can take hundreds of pics with the battery unless you use the flash a lot . I think you will be happy with your canon
 
Slatts said:
Anyone have experience with this camera or would recommend another SLR?
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That camera should do fine.

Slatts said:
My main reason for the purchase of an SLR is because of the high frame rate being handy to capture moments at sporting events.
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The good news is that purchasing an SLR was a good move. The bad news is that your reason for purchasing it is a misapprehension.

High frame rates are commonly believed to be key to capturing critical moments during high speed events. In fact, they are not relevant to this, and misusing them in an attempt to capture peak moments will actually impede your chances of capturing the exact peak moments.

For capturing the perfect moment – say, for example, the moment of a bat swing when the bat is in contact with the ball – you need great timing. Being able to shoot 5 or 10 frames per second isn't enough to get the split-second peak, except by chance. And when you try to machine gun it to get the picture, you are relying upon nothing but chance – unlikely chance.

Good timing while shooting the shots singly will raise your probability of capturing the exact peak moment far beyond the chances high frame rates offer you of capturing the peak moments. So, practice and hone your timing.

What high frame rates are actually good for is capturing a multi-step sequence from beginning to end – such as a golf swing, a tennis swing, a triple lutz, a slam dunk, etc.

Nonetheless, DSLRs are much better than point-and-shoot cameras for capturing the action, due to the much shorter shutter lag (the time between when you press the button and when the picture is taken) they tend to have. So, buying an SLR for capturing moments was sound, even though the high-frame-rate reason is not.

Enjoy shooting. :D
 
Yeah there's several advantages of SLR's that the compacts have yet to reel in Although they are catching, especially with ones like these two.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcgf1.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_ep2.asp

I'm onto my 2nd DSLR now, a Nikon D300 and the advantages are

1) Speed - faster on, faster focus, less shutter lag = more likely to catch the opportunity, both on the street and in the bush.

2) Weight - being considerably heavier they help you develop bigger muscles carrying them around so you'll look better in a tight T shirt as opposed to those puny arrmed weaklings carrying around compacts.:D

3) Low light performance. I was in Ubud, in the foothills of the main volcano on Bali a couple of weeks ago and photographed a night time dance performance without flash. I was blown away by how noise-less my images are even using ISO 1000 and above.

4) Battery life - less use of the LCD screen and better optical viewfinder makes for amazing battery life compared to compacts. Taking 50-100 shots a day on a trip, it will take me a week to run the D300's battery down.

5) Sensor Size/high apeture/ small depth of field. The small sensors of the compacts makes it hard to throw the background out of focus which makes some of the portrait shots less impactfull. The larger sensor of the APS-C and full frame cameras have no problem with this.

Having said all that I've seen some amazing photography with compacts. Usually when the photographer learns their limitations and knows how to work around them. SLR's just have less limitations is all.
 
I have Pentax stuff instead of Canon, but Canon is a solid brand and you should be really happy with it. The only complaint I have about Canon is that anti-shake is not built into the camera bodies yet. I'm sure Mike can give us some good technical reasons why they don't do it, but it just seems to me like they want to sell the more expensive lenses and exclude it. I'm no pro, so the anti-shake built into my Pentax helps me a lot.

I do really like the inclusion of 1080P video on the new Canon line. I have seen some stellar videos taken with the new crop of DSLRs. My biggest grip with my relatively expensive 1080P camcorder is that it can't do the bokeh or other depth of field related effects that you can get with having a robust lens system like on a DSLR.
 
Slatts said:
My main reason for the purchase of an SLR is because of the high frame rate being handy to capture moments at sporting events.

Anyone have experience with this camera or would recommend another SLR?
Click to expand...

You bought a good DSLR. It's a best seller for good reason. There isn't a huge difference between Canon and Nikon and the others. It's like comparing Toyota and Honda. I shot these with Nikon equipment, but I promise you I could do the same with Canon.

Pix4.jpg
Pix3.jpg
Pix2.jpg

Pix1.jpg


The next step (and big money investment) would be to get a pro level lens. The truth is that your DSLR isn't that different from what the pros use, but the lenses you got are. There is less of a difference in bright sunlight and more of a difference in dim light.

Evolute is spot on above. Frame rate helps, but timing is better. Of course, the frame rate will be better than anyting you've ever seen from a point-and-shoot.
 
storl said:
Those look awesome. I'm pretty sure one of them is going to be my next "business expense."
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Me too :)

I reckon they'll be excellent trekking/bushwalking cameras. I'm leaning towards the panasonic but I think in the next 12 months every manufacturer will be trying to fill this niche so it'd probably pay to wait until just before I actually need one.

In June July this year I'll be spending a month on the Larapinta trail in central Oz. Weight is going to be an issue and I'm not looking forward to lugging the D300.
 
I've got the D300 also, awesome camera. Your Canon should serve you very well too though. Keep in mind if you plan to get more serious about photography that your real investment will be in lenses. Bodies change every few years, especially with digital, as sensors, speed and low light performance, etc are improved. Lenses on the other hand can last you a lifetime if you care for them properly.
 
I think next year we'll see a LOT of activity in the m4/3 market. As much as I want a GF1 now, I know the market is still young and there's a lot of improvements to be made.

Very exciting times ahead!
 
I also just got into the DSLR game (September '09) and have acquired a fair amount of beginner info. If it's not too late, I would like to pass on what I learned.

1. Go with Canon or Nikon (Leica is probably the best but VERY expensive.) and stick with their lenses.
*2. It's all about lenses and light.
3. Buy an external flash that allows you to adjust its angle. For nice low light shots with a slow lens this is huge. It let's you bounce the light off a wall or ceiling filling the area instead of having it directly at the subject. It could also save you a fortune in lenses. (and it's also awesome for macro.).

Once you have your camera and lens, use the bajeezus out of them. When you have used it enough to understand what you need and want it to do, that's when it's time to go lens hunting.

*Lenses and light:
If you can't use a flash, you have no choice but to buy a fast lens (f speed for a lens is the lower the number the faster the lens f/1.4 is much faster than f/3.5). There are other factors involved like ISO, image sensor size and to some degree mega pixels. When it comes to stopping action, faster lenses are what's needed, especially in low light.
 
I bought a (LNIB) Nikon D70 DSLR, and traded some 35mm film camera equipment for a mint Nikon AF-S 18-70mm lens (I should receive the lens tomorrow or Tuesday). I should stay happy with that simple set for quite awhile. Here's a photo of my cat, Stanley, that I took with my D70 and Sigma AF-D 28-105mm f/2.8-4 lens:

(click-on for larger picture)
DSC_6802-1.jpg
 
Slatts said:
I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1 today on sale at Best Buy. I had seen them rate well on various tech reviews but I really did NOT do much comparison shopping, so for me this verges on impulse buying.

It came with a telephoto (55-250mm) lens and carry bag for a good (not great) price of $850.

My main reason for the purchase of an SLR is because of the high frame rate being handy to capture moments at sporting events.

Anyone have experience with this camera or would recommend another SLR?
Click to expand...

I have had nothing but excellent experiences with the Canon DSLR's.

you've made an excellent choice. The stock telephoto will produce decent high speed images, I upgraded to a 70-200 L series lens, and only see it as a minor improvement for the money.

See if you can nab a battery pack for it, which helps with gripping the camera, and also look at a 50mm fixed lens (f2.8) which produces some amazing shots.

Best of luck.
 
Slatts said:
I bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1 today on sale at Best Buy. I had seen them rate well on various tech reviews but I really did NOT do much comparison shopping, so for me this verges on impulse buying.

It came with a telephoto (55-250mm) lens and carry bag for a good (not great) price of $850.

My main reason for the purchase of an SLR is because of the high frame rate being handy to capture moments at sporting events.

Anyone have experience with this camera or would recommend another SLR?
Click to expand...
Guessing your camera gets 3 frames per second? For some more bucks .., Canon has a model that does 6 frames per sec. Might want to check it out. Also, and I know you're seeing it now, you'll be dropping more big coin for different lenses. The lenses are what make the DSLR's so versatile, but a collection of nice lenses can easily double or even triple the price of the camera body. One other thought, is that the Nikon, Canon, and other model's lenses have different mounting systems, so they are not interchangable.

Razz
 
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