need new camera?

[youngtimothy]

It's time to get a new dslr. we have been using a sony alpha 100 up till now with good results. we would like to switch to either a Nikon or Canon, what are your suggestions and why? we are looking at the price range of the Nikon d90.the camera will be used mainly for indoor swim team photos (lower light action zoom shots) kid pictures and of coarse macro coral shots. thanks for any help!

 

[revhtree]

Well let me be the first of many to say that you most of your money needs to be allotted to the lens. You could get an older lower priced Canon XT and then put most of the money on the lens. How much are you willing to spend?

I have shown this a lot but 99% of these were shot with a canon xt and the canon 100mm macro lens.

Rockin Reef | SmugMug

 

[gparr]

Yes, the long-term investment is the lenses. There is essentially no difference between Canon and Nikon lenses, other than the focal lengths they offer and probably price. I've been very pleased with my Canon 7D body. If you're going to do low-light action shots, the 7D's tracking/focusing technology is absolutely terrific. It's so good that I can now use autofocus when photographing aquarium fish. The 70-200/2.8 L Canon lens is one of the most often used lenses for sports photography, outside of the 400 and 500 mm monsters.
Gary

 

[xmjxflipx]

Hi, sorry if i am intruding youngtimothy i sort of have the same questions rev/gparr i have a canon rebel xti and want a maco lens but im confused on what is the main diff on the lenses below. Like the MP-E 65mm and EF 100mm macro lens cost the same but whats the difference between the two and whats the best lens for macro pics on a reef tank


Macro

To bring small things into full-sized view, select from one of the lenses in this category. Macro lenses can uncover detail that would be impossible to detect by the eye and give new perspective to extremely minute subjects such as insects or the petals of a small flower.
EF 50mm
f/2.5 Compact Macro

​

$299.99

EF-S
60mm
f/2.8 Macro USM

​

$469.99

MP-E 65mm
f/2.8 1-5x
Macro Photo

​

$1,049.00

EF 100mm
f/2.8 Macro USM

​

$599.99

EF 100mm
f/2.8L Macro
IS USM

​

$1,049.00

 

[gparr]

If you're going to buy your first, and probably only, macro lens, get a lens in the 100-mm range. That's the most versatile focal length for macro work and everyone can use a 100-mm lens for regular photography. Yes, macro lenses can be used for "regular" photography.

The 50 and 60 mm lenses are generally too wide for what most people want to do with macro lenses. The MP-E 65 is a specialty lens that all but the very experienced will find very difficult to use.

The $600 100-mm lens was the only 100-mm macro that Canon offered, until recently, and is what most own. The lens is one of two or three in the Canon non-L line (consumer) that delivers images that are as good as the L lenses. The $1,000 lens is an L lens (part of Canon's professional line) and includes image stabilization. I'm sure it's a little better than the other 100-mm macro in terms of quality, but doubt it could be that much better since I don't know any experienced macro photographer who ever complained about the image quality delivered by the $600 macro lens. The main difference is the image-stabilization feature. I'm not convinced it's worth the extra money since virtually all macro work is best done using a tripod.

The other macro lens is the 180-mm length. This length is my primary lens, but you'll probably find it to be too long/limiting for most of what you want to do.

Gary

 

[xmjxflipx]

thanks gary...u helped alot!! i appreciate it...

 

[youngtimothy]

thanks everyone. we plan on around $1000. for the boby. my wife takes tons of swimming pictures a year and we had a 70-200mm 2.8f zoom until it came up missing during a trip in Fla. we are just looking to up grade. picture-perfect's Photos | SmugMug

 

[youngtimothy]

Thanks Gary, we went with the 7D my wife is very happy already with her swimming picures after one shoot! cant wait to see them when she gets the camera figured out, its a lot different then the Sony. any suggestions on reef photos would be appreceated, as of right now we only have the lens that came with it (28-135mm) so that will make things challenging.
thanks again Tim

Yes, the long-term investment is the lenses. There is essentially no difference between Canon and Nikon lenses, other than the focal lengths they offer and probably price. I've been very pleased with my Canon 7D body. If you're going to do low-light action shots, the 7D's tracking/focusing technology is absolutely terrific. It's so good that I can now use autofocus when photographing aquarium fish. The 70-200/2.8 L Canon lens is one of the most often used lenses for sports photography, outside of the 400 and 500 mm monsters.
Gary

 

[gparr]

Glad to help. Tell your wife, if she hasn't already figured it out, use AI Servo, auto focus, and multi-shot setting. Aperture should be wide open. Do not use auto settings. The lighting should be consistent, so manually set the aperture to wide open and adjust the shutter speed and ISO to get the fastest possible shutter speed. Once the settings are determined, they should not need to be changed. She can actually should be able to keep a record of settings for each venue. Keep the center focus point on the face of the competitor, push the shutter button down half way to lock the focus and track while shooting. The autofocus will keep the swimmer in focus. It takes a little practice, but once mastered, she'll get consistent, tack-sharp shots.
Gary

 

[RogerWilco357]

manually set the aperture to wide open and adjust the shutter how do you do that? i just picked one up also and got the iso down but how do you keep the aperture wide open ?