cameras for dummies (1 Viewer)

[La La]

right seeing as most of you know what you;re talking about, maybe we could use this space as a place for you camera brainos to dispense advic. clearly i (and im sure others) have an interest in photography, bu ti know nothing about cameras or those numbers you guys post about.

so - for someone like me - where would be a good place to start if i wanted to buy one?

 

[Space]

right seeing as most of you know what you;re talking about, maybe we could use this space as a place for you camera brainos to dispense advic. clearly i (and im sure others) have an interest in photography, bu ti know nothing about cameras or those numbers you guys post about.

so - for someone like me - where would be a good place to start if i wanted to buy one?

What are looking for roughly? If you want a manual camera to learn the basics on then I'll sort you out with one when you get back FOC.

 

[La La]

What are looking for roughly? If you want a manual camera to learn the basics on then I'll sort you out with one when you get back FOC.

oresome. but before i move back should i think about getting one here - i mean they're probably cheaper right?

i want somehting that can take long eposure shots, something manual, or something digital.....somehting with a fast shutter that i can keep my finger down and it will keep taking....
is it better these days to go manual or digital?

i mean listen to me. i havent a clue about terms or nowt.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

right seeing as most of you know what you;re talking about, maybe we could use this space as a place for you camera brainos to dispense advic. clearly i (and im sure others) have an interest in photography, bu ti know nothing about cameras or those numbers you guys post about.

so - for someone like me - where would be a good place to start if i wanted to buy one?

youre going to get a million answers based on peoples preferences and personal experiences, but its generally considered best to start with a fully manual camera, as it forces you to do everything for yourself. Failing that get a more bells and whistles camera with fully manual options on it.
I started with a pentax K1000. Its a heavy, old 70s slr. Its only electronic feature is the light meter, which is powered by a watch battery. Its incredibly basic, but extremly easy to use(if bought it 2nd hand knowing fuck all about cameras, and figured out how it worked in bed with a hangover the next morning!), and with a decent lens and a bit of practise you can produce very good quality images. Its also incredibly robust, it treated mine like shit and it still worked fine.
I reckon the story will be pretty much the same with most mid-70s early 80s slrs(canon om1,2,3, nikon fm ). And I know theres a few fully manual slrs still made (chinon, centon), but these are plasticy poor quality stuff.
One big advantage of pentax camera is that theve used the same lens mounting system for the past 30 years, so any pentax lens from any era will work on any pentax camera, right up to there latest digital ones, and although some of pentaxs lens dont compare overly well with their nikon/canon equivalent, they have made some very nice lenses over the years.

thats my two cents..PM me if you want any other pentax gushing

 

[La La]

wow. ok that sounds pretty good to me. i just want to be able to toggle around with things like focus and stuff. you can't do that wiht the digital i have and so it's hard fo rme to get those moody people shots that i love.
so now im gonna get out my notebook and take this down. so going secondhand would be ok, right?

 

[JohnnyRaz]

wow. ok that sounds pretty good to me. i just want to be able to toggle around with things like focus and stuff. you can't do that wiht the digital i have and so it's hard fo rme to get those moody people shots that i love.
so now im gonna get out my notebook and take this down. so going secondhand would be ok, right?

reckon so, you can get a nice k1000 with a decent lens and a few extras on ebay for >100E, and if you dont abuse it too much it will retain its value.
if your buying off ebay make a point of asking that the meter works properly, thats the one thing that goes. Also go for the 'asahi pentax' rather than just 'pentax'; the k1000 was made for 20 something years, and the last production runs were in china as opposed to japan and of lesser build quality. Try and get one with a 50mm SMC pentax M lens (1.2 or 1.7) as well.

edit; like this perhaps
http://cgi.ebay.com/Asahi-Pentax-k1...5QQihZ007QQcategoryZ15240QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

id dont work for pentax or ebay btw!!

 

[La La]

deadly, thanks for your advices. much obliged.

 

[ICUH8N]

Second the K1000 recommendation.

 

[Space]

You could buy a nice digital slr over there before you come back as investment if your gonna save a load of money on it. Canon 350d or Nikon D80 seem to be the most popular. Then still get a fully manual slr off ebay for cheap. As JohnnyRaz says the fully manual is a good choice as it forces you to do it all yourself.

Do you have any idea of the shipping costs from Irealnd to HK. I've a fully functioning praktica at the house your welcome to if it doesn't cost me too much to send it over. I used it to take them pictures in Bali if you remember them.

 

[Goff]

As Moose says:

You in Hong Kong? Get yourself a digital for definite before you come over here. The Canon EOS350D is a great one to get you going. You’ll get it almost half price over there. I’m waiting on an Olympus E-500 to be delivered. Twin lens kit. For less than half-price I could get it here.

And get yourself a cheap second-hand slr from ebay which usually has loads. Olympus OM1 is a classic and totally manual. Will last a hundred years.

 

[george mcfly]

i actually got my hands on a manual SLR recently..however, i'm completely at square one when it comes to settings, film to use, when to use flash when not to..
i was gonna take it out this weekend to play around with it..but, has anyone got any good books or sites they could recommend for beginners

 

[La La]

As Moose says:

You in Hong Kong? Get yourself a digital for definite before you come over here. The Canon EOS350D is a great one to get you going. You’ll get it almost half price over there. I’m waiting on an Olympus E-500 to be delivered. Twin lens kit. For less than half-price I could get it here.

And get yourself a cheap second-hand slr from ebay which usually has loads. Olympus OM1 is a classic and totally manual. Will last a hundred years.

yes i am. god im so confused. its 10pm and im still in work. think ill have to read this thread fresh in the morning.

but i do appreciate you guys helpin and all
x

 

[JohnnyRaz]

i actually got my hands on a manual SLR recently..however, i'm completely at square one when it comes to settings, film to use, when to use flash when not to..
i was gonna take it out this weekend to play around with it..but, has anyone got any good books or sites they could recommend for beginners

had a look arround

This is quite a technical site, but all the info on the science behind it is there

http://webchat.chatsystems.com/~doswell/Outdoor_Images/Photo_Basics.html

these is a bit more acessible

http://www.thepeaches.com/photography/Basics.htm

http://www.xs4all.nl/~wiskerke/artikelen/basic1.htm

what make is your camera? many of the older manuals can now be downloaded off the net for free.

 

[george mcfly]

ta for those

it's a Pentax, not sure of the actual model

 

[JohnnyRaz]

ta for those

it's a Pentax, not sure of the actual model

pentax have every manual for the past 30 years up on the web somewhere;;;

here ya go, happy snapping

http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/manuals_literature/show_manual

 

[Goff]

John Hedgecoe has a great buke called the complete manual of photography (methinks). The latest edition costs about 40 euros though. Get it from the library (they definitely have it in Blanch) and see if it’s worth it to you. Covers everything.

Here, found a link. Bargain at that price.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789496372/?tag=thumpedcom-20

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

defo go for the pentax k1000, wise words from johnny raz.
i started off with that, its definitly the best way to learn about photography if you're in any way interested in learning how to take decent photos.
can be daunting at the start but once you understand the basics of using shutter speeds with f stops its a piece of piss.
not to be repetitive but if you are buying from ebay make sure the light meter works or else its fairly useless to you otherwise.
digital slr's are fantastic as well, nikon d70 or the canon 350d are the best starting points.
personally id go for canon but it all comes down to personal preference.

i really miss shooting on film, since i switched to digital 2 years ago its been rocking my balls into the next dimension but you can tell the difference straight away from digital black & white to film black & white.

 

[classic seanc]

Lads,

what does SLR mean?
And why do people always say SLR as opposed to something else?

 

[pete]

Lads,

what does SLR mean?
And why do people always say SLR as opposed to something else?

Single lens reflex. [SIZE=-1]"A camera in which you view the scene through the same lens that takes the picture."[/SIZE]