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[RxScram]

I am thinking about getting a Canon T5i bundle, with 18-55 mm IS and 55-250mm IS lenses.

They are on sale for (relatively cheap), and I'm dying to get a "real" camera. I'm sick to death of shooting photos with my phone, and my 8 year old point 'n shoot is... feeble, to say the least. One thing I'm particularly wanting to do is shoot in raw so that I can color balance the photos (I've got certified gray cards, but there's only so much I can do with JPG files). 

I also am in the process of building a carousel with a Lazy Susan and a couple round pieces of plywood. I plan on marking every 15 degrees of rotation so that I can get some 360 degree gifs going. Since I know only slightly more than nothing about photography, it should be an... interesting... experience. Hopefully I can take you along with me. :-)

So, anybody have any thoughts on the camera?

[bgast1]

No thoughts. I have an iPhone 6 that I use for taking my pictures. Every time I go to Sam's Club and look at the price for "real" cameras, I cringe. I am considering buying a Light Box from Amazon though. I also would appreciate any thoughts on that as well. I am not trying to hijack you post, I just hope that we both can learn something.

[drnihili]

It's a good camera.  I went with the SL1 instead for the lighter weight and some other minor features.  Whether it's the right camera for you depends on what you want to do with it, naturally.  I still sometimes wonder if I made the right choice in switching away from my superzoom, but that has more to do with my use of the camera as a walkabout tool in the woods.

From the standpoint of lenses, I find I almost never use the 55-250 and never use the 18-55.  Most of the time I keep an 18-135 on the camera as it's a more versatile lens for walking around with.  I keep a 10-18 handy for macro and wide angle.  the 18-55 and 55-250 spend all their time sitting in a camera bag.  There are times when I'd like to have the extra reach of the 55-250, but I almost never judge it worth carrying with me.  Telephoto reach and convenience are the primary reasons I miss my superzoom, though I do enjoy the lower noise and better depth of field of the DSLR.

[iceopals]

I have a canon rebel t3i and like it very much.  The 18-55mm lens is a good general use, I am unfamiliar with the 55-250mm lens.  I would read several good lens reviews, since that will ultimately make or break your photography.   If I were re-buying now, I would seriously consider the comparable Nikons, but I figure that price would certainly be a major determining factor.  Good luck!

Just read a post that came in interim.  I'll add I use a 100mm lens most, wonderful for jewelry work, interesting to use in nature also. 

[bgast1]

I take it that reading these posts that I should possibly, seriously consider a 'real' camera. And I thought my iPhone takes good pictures.

[Enchantra]

I take all my pictures now using my Samsung Galaxy S3.  It has served me well.  I've even used it for the entry photos for various contests.  My only problem has been getting a steady hand since I sometimes shake.  Other than that the only work I have had to do on the resulting photos is resize them or crop them.

[Gergis]

If your gonna go dslr go nikon because you can put any nikon lens on it. Canons lens dont all work together. I say nikon all the way!

[ToTheSummit]

I have the Canon T3i.  Its been a great camera.  I used vintage Canon film cameras up until digital came of age.  Then I had a Sony when I first went digital but I'm back to Canon now.  I doubt you can go wrong with the T5i.

Nikon makes really good cameras also.  If you are going to go for a good SLR I'd stick with Canon or Nikon.  They really are the industry standards and nothing else will compare.

The real money can be spent on good lenses.  Buying quality lenses is much more beneficial than jumping up to a higher end camera body.  A T5i body with a good lens will serve you much better than say a 5D body and a cheap lens even thought the body will cost you many times more.

[Enchantra]

Hubby has a Nikon he loves.  I don't use it - to many bells and whistles and buttons for me to attempt keeping track of.  The last time I tried to use it I did something where it decided to stop working completely on me.  Hubby laughed.  I went back to using my Galaxy S3.  I point, and click.  Works entirely much better for me.

[RxScram]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

I thought about a Nikon, but one of the big things I want to do is tether it to my laptop, and all the reviews I've read says that in order to tether the Nikon they charge another $1-200 for the tethering software, whereas Canon includes the software. I probably should verify that, but just the thought of it put me off on them.  That, plus I have a tiny bit of experience with Canon, and none with Nikon.

[RxScram]

No thoughts. I have an iPhone 6 that I use for taking my pictures. Every time I go to Sam's Club and look at the price for "real" cameras, I cringe. I am considering buying a Light Box from Amazon though. I also would appreciate any thoughts on that as well. I am not trying to hijack you post, I just hope that we both can learn something.

Hi Bob,
What lightbox are you looking at from Amazon?  Last year I bought one of the kit jobs from them, that came with a couple of really dinky lights, a cell phone tripod, and some different color fabric for "background". It was $40-50 or so. (I found the link... here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOGIDTM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Total waste! The lights that came with it were useless and flimsy. The reviews for it on Amazon were a little mixed (4 star average), which should have warned me.

[bgast1]

No thoughts. I have an iPhone 6 that I use for taking my pictures. Every time I go to Sam's Club and look at the price for "real" cameras, I cringe. I am considering buying a Light Box from Amazon though. I also would appreciate any thoughts on that as well. I am not trying to hijack you post, I just hope that we both can learn something.

Hi Bob,
What lightbox are you looking at from Amazon?  Last year I bought one of the kit jobs from them, that came with a couple of really dinky lights, a cell phone tripod, and some different color fabric for "background". It was $40-50 or so. (I found the link... here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOGIDTM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Total waste! The lights that came with it were useless and flimsy. The reviews for it on Amazon were a little mixed (4 star average), which should have warned me.

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't seen this one before but had I seen it, I probably would have considered buying it. So it looks like back to the drawing board so to speak. I know that you can make a light tent, but I would prefer to find something satisfactory, buy it and try to start taking good pictures without the cost for a nice camera set up and avoid the cringe at the price for them.

[RxScram]

One thing I'm seriously considering trying is this: http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/30unkit.html. It's in a different price class (a third of the way to the camera bundle price point), but the lights look they might actually do the job (especially if you take out the 30 w bulbs and put in 100 w equivalents). The light tent actually looks like it'd be great for softening the light outside in the sun too, so even if the lights didn't do the job I think the tent would be worth considering.

I'm sort of with you on building things... some things I think are worth building, like the turntable I'm working on, but other things I just want to buy and have work out of the box.

[bgast1]

That does look pretty good, but the price is too steep for me.

[messofrocks]

One thing I'm seriously considering trying is this: http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/30unkit.html. It's in a different price class (a third of the way to the camera bundle price point), but the lights look they might actually do the job (especially if you take out the 30 w bulbs and put in 100 w equivalents). The light tent actually looks like it'd be great for softening the light outside in the sun too, so even if the lights didn't do the job I think the tent would be worth considering.

I'm sort of with you on building things... some things I think are worth building, like the turntable I'm working on, but other things I just want to buy and have work out of the box.

The 30" cube for 19 bucks is cool but the kit is expensive myself I use Christmas tissue and bought two of these clip lights http://www.homedepot.com/p/150-Watt-Incandescent-Clamp-Light-HD-300PDQ/205031467 for 9 bucks each. On the light you want something more of a natural light not the warm yellow light those suck. If you don't want to buy the cube I took a 12 x 12 box and cut out squares from the front, back, top, and both sides leaving a frame and the bottom solid I then take white Christmas tissue paper and tack it to the box frame. The front is left open or I temporally cover it with tissue with a hole cut it just a little to the left not center and just big enough for my lens and a little wiggle room. Oh yeah I bought some tripods at the flea-market and thrift store for a few bucks each. I use one for my camera and the other two for my clip lights at first I was just using chairs  and clip them to the back.

Cheers

[Debbie K]

I have one of these, but smaller, which is good for most of what I do. http://www.staples.com/Electric-Avenue-Deluxe-Table-Top-Photo-Studio-Photo-Light-Box/product_1106489 A friend gave me mine as a present; who would think of looking for something like this at an office supply store?

Debbie K

[Slabbercabber]

I use a Sony A55, but really it's all about the lense.  I went with Sony because I spent my time reviewing lenses first.  All three major makers have a good lense in the range of 18-135 but my research led me to Sony.  I couldn't be happier.  As far as camera bodies, I have no doubt any of the three brands will be fine.  If you plan to use the camera for purposes other than photographing your work, the wide focal length range will make you smile every time you use it.

[messofrocks]

I have one of these, but smaller, which is good for most of what I do. http://www.staples.com/Electric-Avenue-Deluxe-Table-Top-Photo-Studio-Photo-Light-Box/product_1106489 A friend gave me mine as a present; who would think of looking for something like this at an office supply store?

Debbie K

WOW, that is nice I go to Staples and Office depot all the time and never once have I saw that setup and for the money that is a great buy

Thank you and I will have one by tomorrow evening  LOL

[Rockoteer]

On the old forum....not to digress but, there was quite a discussion going about cameras and someone was using a small frame camera much like the newer slim Nikons.  I cannot however remember much about it.  I think I might go back to the old forum and do some research because that camera really peaked my interest.  It was especially good in macro mode.

[Fritz]

Long time lurker, first time poster here  I just had to say that shooting in RAW is great for so many reasons and the Rebel T5 is so cheap right now that you can't go wrong! I've never shot Canon myself but I have used Minolta, Sony, Nikon, and Olympus mirrorless, full frame, and APS-C DSLRs over the years.

Personally I would buy the $399 kit w/ 18-55 lens and save up for a better lens once you 'outgrow' it which you very likely will if you get more into photography. The only drawback imo for the Rebels is the relatively small viewfinder view but if you use the rear screen to frame your shots that doesn't matter nearly as much. How much did you see the 18-55 with 55-200 kit going for? The 18-55 with 75-300 is $449 at B&H. That's a good price.

edit: btw I love my Olympus E-M5 II with 12-40mm 2.8 which is 24-80mm equiv. Sweet little kit. The Sony A6000 is nice as well.

[Rockoteer]

Found the post and camera I was looking for on the old forum.  Thanks Amanda for leaving the search intact on the old forum.

 Panasonic Lumis DMC-FH24

[Fritz]

Found the post and camera I was looking for on the old forum.  Thanks Amanda for leaving the search intact on the old forum.

 Panasonic Lumis DMC-FH24

Yeah that's a nice little camera for a point and shoot, does it capture in RAW? The Olympus, Panasonic, and Fuji m43 cameras (and I guess the Sony's too ) are all great imo. The Olympus and Pannys both use the same m43 mount which is kind of cool.

[Rockoteer]

   LUMIX not LUMIS

I will have to look into the 'RAW'.  I am an extreme novice when it comes to cameras/photography.

[Rockoteer]

Well I went to the "old" forum and did a search and sure enough it was Carol M.  here is her post that got me going in this direction.

Carol M
Hero Member
Hi Dickb,

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 [which looks like a point and shoot] in that it's small, but it comes with a Leica Lens and the photos are 'tack sharp' in macro, portrait, landscape etc.
It's model name is called 'other letters' in non-North American countries.
I've had it since probably 2009 and I've actually won 'best picture' awards at The Toronto Camera Club using this camera.
It's 'scary sharp' and has image stabilization that's great even with my shaky hands.
Also, if you ever want to take photos with people, it really can lock onto faces and make everyone's face [some in the front and some in the back] end up in focus.
It's not a new model so there might be able to get it for a 'good price' I have no clue.
I'd highly recommend it. It's also great for traveling.
We went to France and Italy and this is all I took and I was delighted with the shots.