Interested in a camera..Beginner

[Mattyice008]

Hey guys, long-time reefer here. I'm starting to get tired of cell phone pics, and I get so jealous when I see these super high quality pics of fish and corals. I consider myself pretty well-educated in everything technology, but the world of photography sometimes gets the best of me (Like when my girlfriend ask me to take a picture..its never right lol).

So basically I want to get something VERY simple to use, but that will also produce a high quality close-up picture, and is able to show the true colors of things. I plan on learning about the camera a good bit obviously, and researching through these guides on R2R. My budget would probably be around $300-350. Is that enough to get what I'm looking for? Thanks in advance..and sorry if I seem very uneducated or "newb-like" to photography, its because I am. Thank you. I also work at a LFS, so it would be very helpful in showing off what we have in the store.

 

[zesty]

Photography can be a rabbit hole like a reef tank. I love photography, but just not as much as my reef tank.

I bought a nikon D5100 from a local reefer for a great deal. If you have the time to learn a DSLR will probably be your best choice. You $$ limit is going to make that a hard choice to find.

I would suggest doing some reading on this website. There may be better out there, but they do reviews on all kinds of cameras. You may find something that isn't a DSLR that will do exactly what you want.

Reframe - Reframe

**Bump** for the real photography professionals.

 

[Mattyice008]

Thanks, I took a quick read through that

 

[zesty]

NP, it's kind of a catch-all blog for photography in general. However, they do review all kinds of cameras.

Like I said, I'm not sure if there's anyone else with a better resource.

 

[LetItReef]

Try B&H store online and check out some reviews.

 

[Torture]

you know, I have a mirrorless camera, samsung nx1100, pretty nice cammera, tons of options to set, manual everything, a beautiful toy.
Yet, reef pics are not what I would like them to be.

I take some with my phone, not so good either.
And for some reason, I decided to try my tablet, samsung galaxy tab pro 8.4, I bought it thinking I could use it instead of my computer, ended up not using it at all, but I took some pics this week... and oh la la paris!

 

[asandbox]

I bought a nikon dslr but then you need a good lens and tripod, some one I fallow in IG had really nice pics so I ask what camera he use and he said I use my iPhon 4s whith a macro lens I bought for 40 bucks,the pics are unbelievable

 

[Torture]

 

[Torture]

that was taken with my samsung tablet.
this too.

 

[reefbandit]

How did you get these pics with a samsung tablet?

 

[Tek]

I have had a Canon T3i DSLR for 3 years and my pictures do not always come out right. I am sure a tripod will help but white balancing is what people have issues with. White balance can be adjusted via the camera or through computer software to reduce actinic glare.
I actually got great macro pictures with a simple Sony point and shoot in the past.

 

[Triggreef]

I have had a Canon T3i DSLR for 3 years and my pictures do not always come out right. I am sure a tripod will help but white balancing is what people have issues with. White balance can be adjusted via the camera or through computer software to reduce actinic glare.
I actually got great macro pictures with a simple Sony point and shoot in the past.

White balance can be customized on the T3i I have the same camera. Once you get it right it helps tremendously. It took me a while but I finally got it and now I can get the shot I want most of the time, and not have to do any editing to make it look right. Capturing blue colors in the corals is still very difficult to make them look how I see them, but it is close.

I like the T3i camera, get the 100mm macro lens with it and you'll be happy.

 

[Tek]

I have the white balance down and have been looking at a Tamron macro lens. My pictures right now are sometimes blurry from shaking which a tripod would solve.

 

[Triggreef]

I have the white balance down and have been looking at a Tamron macro lens. My pictures right now are sometimes blurry from shaking which a tripod would solve.

I find if you use the zoom in button right before you take your pic, and focus on the exact spot your after of the coral your photographing, it helps keep it nice and crisp.

 

[hart24601]

I don't think any of it can really be called simple, but you can find fantastic deals on cameras that are used, even on Amazon. If you look for 1 model older you save big money and they are many times just 2 years old - the features on a 2015 vs 2012/2013 high end point and shoot are not things normally that critical or even used for shooting reef tanks and you can find cameras that were quite expensive ($500-600) for 1/3 the price like new.

 

[Mattyice008]

I don't think any of it can really be called simple, but you can find fantastic deals on cameras that are used, even on Amazon. If you look for 1 model older you save big money and they are many times just 2 years old - the features on a 2015 vs 2012/2013 high end point and shoot are not things normally that critical or even used for shooting reef tanks and you can find cameras that were quite expensive ($500-600) for 1/3 the price like new.

What model would you recommend?

 

[hart24601]

Sony rx100 is a great camera. Pocket point and shoot with full size dslr sensor - 1st point and shoot to have that. 20mp. Can find used for around $300 I got a canon g15 that is really nice for $250 used from Amazon only used a few times. Both are great. The Sony has the edge, but the canon was a bit less and still great

Of course the full size cameras are nice, but I don't like them because I won't take them when I go on vacation or even out on a nice day. Just too big and bulky.

You need a tripod. Amazon has nice ones for pretty cheap. Set the camera to take the pic 1 or 2 sec after you hit the button.