[erure]

Minji,

Have fun with the new camera~! and good luck on your test~! As for me (as expected), every BB on the planet sold out today. It was just way too cold here in NY yesterday to take my daughter outside to go shopping. *sigh*

Ugh that sucks! You should have ordered with pick-up options yesterday

It pissed me off that people were buying two or three from BB and selling the others at a good profit... They should limit purchases to one per household or something.

[breathless.]

A kid on my floor has been saving up for forever for the mark 2 ~ okay, well not forever. He's a firefighter photographer & makes money that way-- but ah, that is one sexy camera. Have fun!

Honestly, I feel like the more I study about photography, the less pictures I'm taking. And then again, I'm only taking pictures when I have assignments. Bad, bad, bad.

Just to get conversation flowing -- what kind of pictures do you like to take? I guess... subject wise? Style wise?

Personally, even though I'm studying to be a photojournalist, I also like studio. Really, all in all, I like (shooting) people. And babies. I'm awful at landscape and architecture, it's definitely an area I have to work on.

Ah, I want to learn film.

[dot1q]

^ Unfortunately, all I end up taking bulk of the time is landscape, scenery, and animals. I would much prefer to have more opportunities for portrait (as that by far interests me more) but those opportunities are a lot seldom. I get plenty of chances with family and friends, but I would love to get more in to studio and outdoor portraits.

Ugh that sucks! You should have ordered with pick-up options yesterday

Yes, I totally realized I should have done that today. No brainer actually....

I went to BB and they said check back on Wed morning (for whatever thats worth).

[erure]

I agree, it's hard to take time off to just go off and take photos. I've gotten so used to going on photo outings with friends that I feel weird and self-conscious when I'm out and about with my camera -- I really want to work on this so that I can be more confident when I'm taking photos ^^; As to what kind of photography I like, I really like anything. I guess a more appropriate answer is that I don't really think I have enough experience to say that I am good at (or like) a certain type of photography in particular... I'm no good at shooting landscapes either -- it's so hard to get a good composition.

I want to learn film too -- like to the point that I can develop my own photographs. I shoot film, but I don't really have control over it yet... Anyway if you're talking about shooting film, it's easy! Film SLR cameras (like Canon ELAN series) are cheap on eBay. People complain that film is too expensive to keep up, but compared to digital, it's not so bad. A full frame digital camera costs ~$2000 and a film SLR camera (which is naturally full frame) costs at most $300. That leaves $1700 for film and processing! I like to get my film processed and scanned at Costco -- it's only about $8 per roll.

[p a r q u e.]

Everyone has such nice cameras. :3

I'm hoping to save up for my first DSLR soon, but I'm still not sure on what to get.
It was either the Nikon d60 or the Canon Rebel XSi. I'm such a noob at this. Haha.

Has anoyone bought from wolfcamera.com? Is it "cheap" compared to other places?

[akr49]

im curious, are those protection plans offered online really that useful?

[[HyuNi]]

Ugh, I think I'm becoming obsessed with DSLRs...
Last night I had a dream about taking photos at Starved Rock.
The dream felt so good! haha I'm such a simpleton.

Anyway, Amazon is offering:
Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens
for $949.

I guess that's the price to beat right now, but I'm hoping this kit will drop closer to the $900 range.
Ideally, I would like to have the 40D with the lens, the 4gb Extreme III CF card, lens hood, UV Filter (Tiffen one comes free), and a decent bag all for <$1K.
I know it'd only be +/-$50 more, but I can't justify spending so much money on a hobby!
(Even though I've already spent a couple thousand on snowboarding equipment and trips, but that's more of a passion than a hobby )

Oh wellz, I'm going to sit on this until the new year. I'll make my decision then I guess.

[erure]

Here are photos I took with 5D Mark II + EF 50mm f/1.2L USM:


IMG_0001



Here are photos I took at the San Diego Zoo today with 5D Mark II + EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM:

[hippo_sleekz]

UGH I really want to get the Nikon D300. I just wished it had a full frame sensor like the D700 and the D3 tho. =(

[dot1q]

^ I would imagine the d700 will drop price very soon. At least comparable to the 5d mkii. Granted its still gonna be 1k+ more than the d300, it might still be an incentive to jump to the d700? I think the d300 is a bit pricey for a crop though (although I think its dropping in price too).

[epark1281]

i'm looking loooong and hard at the Sigma 105mm f2.8 (macro). I know that the lens will perform differently on the olympus as compared to nikons and canon's, but i'm wondering if anybody has this lens in their lineup and how pleased they are with the results.
minji, i have no idea how you managed to palm that behemoth to take a self shot...
It's a great camera, no doubt, but i don't think i'm about ready to shell out enough $$ and/or carry something the size of my upper torso around. That 50mm lens is ginormous! (althought you might expect it to be...at f/1.2... )

[erure]

^It's not THAT big... at least compared to my 1Ds Mark III

[epark1281]

lol, i'm probably just getting too used to the smaller bodies of the Oly cameras.
I still do have aspirations of owning a 40D one day...
It's enticing to think of having two systems at my disposal...but, it's also very expensive to own two lines of lenses.

[d0wne]

i'm looking loooong and hard at the Sigma 105mm f2.8 (macro). I know that the lens will perform differently on the olympus as compared to nikons and canon's, but i'm wondering if anybody has this lens in their lineup and how pleased they are with the results.
minji, i have no idea how you managed to palm that behemoth to take a self shot...
It's a great camera, no doubt, but i don't think i'm about ready to shell out enough $$ and/or carry something the size of my upper torso around. That 50mm lens is ginormous! (althought you might expect it to be...at f/1.2... )

What will you use it for? It's equal to more that 200mm on your camera right?

[erure]

^ I would imagine the d700 will drop price very soon. At least comparable to the 5d mkii. Granted its still gonna be 1k+ more than the d300, it might still be an incentive to jump to the d700? I think the d300 is a bit pricey for a crop though (although I think its dropping in price too).

It sort of already has. It was $3500 when it first came out, now it's around $2500-2600 with a rebate.

[dot1q]

It sort of already has. It was $3500 when it first came out, now it's around $2500-2600 with a rebate.

Didn't realize there was a rebate. I thought it was still retailing for 3k+.

[epark1281]

What will you use it for? It's equal to more that 200mm on your camera right?

Correct Sir, it would be the equivalent of a 210mm lens on a ff sensor.
I would probably try to use it for 2 purposes, a general macro lens (so i wouldn't have to walk up too close, i believe a tripod is in order), and for portraits. I would love to get the 50-200mm high grade zuiko lens (i believe the aperture range is from 2.8-3.5), but that would cost me about 1 grand, as opposed to 380USD for the sigma. I know it's a prime lens, and that might be limiting in a way, but i do already have a standard grade telephoto lens.

[d0wne]

IMHO, ~200mm is a bit long as a portrait prime, and is very limiting. If you're getting into macro then sure, it'll be a good, sharp lens. A good value macro lens.

From what I know in the Canon line up, the 85mm and the 135mm are the primes used for portraits. When you get to 200, you get into the sports category along with the bird watchers.

So yeah, keep reading up on it before you buy. Hope this helps.

[epark1281]

IMHO, ~200mm is a bit long as a portrait prime, and is very limiting. If you're getting into macro then sure, it'll be a good, sharp lens. A good value macro lens.

From what I know in the Canon line up, the 85mm and the 135mm are the primes used for portraits. When you get to 200, you get into the sports category along with the bird watchers.

So yeah, keep reading up on it before you buy. Hope this helps.

I hear ya, and i agree 100%. Unfortunately, the Zuiko lineup doesn't have primes in the intermediate telephoto range. In fact, the only two prime lenses that Zuiko manufactures is the 50mm f/2.0, and the 35mm maco (i belive it has a minimum aperture of 3.5). Sigma produces three prime lenses, a 30mm f1.4, a 105mm f2.8, and a 150mm f2.8. They also make a telephoto 18-50mm with a constant minimum aperture of 2.8, but given the lineup, i'm a bit limited in selection. Again, i could always go for the $2000 35-100mm f2.0 (constant), but, i can't justify that purchase if i'm not getting paid for this.
I lean towards the sigma because it
A. Is cheaper
B. Also happens to be a macro
C. Is cheaper.
The Sigma runs about 370, whereas the zuiko 50mm f2.0 lens runs around 450.

[erure]

Yeah that 35-100mm f/2.0 sounds SWEEEEEET... It's like 70-200mm f/2.0 for FF users :drools:

Anyway! Guess what! Best Buy has a 10% off coupon so I actually paid almost $100 LESS than the retail price! $2900 (w/ tax) - $290 = $2610
AND I got it earlier than with Adorama, which I'd have had to fork up $100 for overnight shipping! It's like I saved $200 AND got it faster!

I was afraid that the coupon wouldn't work since I'd already purchased the camera before finding out about the coupon, but it's only been 3 days since I've had the camera so they were still able to give me the money back. The lady practically threw the receipt at my face though