Questions about DSLR / Video / Lenses

[leeland]

Hi All,

Looking at getting a DSLR...started doing some research...

I am leaning towards getting a Canon T5i...

Main goals would be for action photos (sports)...so at the moment I am wondering what research / direction I start to look in for a quality lense.

Also, my wife doesn't want to have to have a camcorder AND a camera so she wants to try to take video with the camera as well...

Is this a good idea? How good is the video from a DSLR when compared to a similarly priced digital camcorder?

Also can anyone recommend a decent photography forumn that I can check out?



I will stop with the questions for now and see if I can get any basic replies.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[Twitch03]

For the sports you will need a telephoto lens (250mm or 300mm) and a wide aperture (1.4 or 2.8). Also you will likely need to set a higher ISO, so read reviews on how a camera does in that regard. The aperture and ISO will determine wether you will get a stop action shot, or a blurry shot.

As for video, a DSLR will be fine. You will want a shorter lens though, something in the 20-50mm range. Also something to stabilize the image so its not so shaky.

 

[CuriousMike]

Hi All,
Main goals would be for action photos (sports)...so at the moment I am wondering what research / direction I start to look in for a quality lense.

Also, my wife doesn't want to have to have a camcorder AND a camera so she wants to try to take video with the camera as well...

Is this a good idea? How good is the video from a DSLR when compared to a similarly priced digital camcorder?

Also can anyone recommend a decent photography forumn that I can check out?

Thanks,

Lee

1. Action sports can take you from inexpensive to crazy expensive - depends on overall quality and zoom you want. I'd recommend to start looking at Tamron 70-300, usually about $400.
2. Video ... I can't really comment on. Canon is purportedly better than Nikon at this. Can't hurt to get the camera first, then decide if you need better results later.
3. DPReview forums is probably your best bet for camera talk.

If you decide on a DSLR ( or mirrorless or whatever ), be sure you have some basics understood or you'll have frustrating results with the camera. Your cellphone typically does more things automatically than your DSLR does.

1. Know how your focus system works
1a. Understand focus modes ( auto, spot, 3D tracking.) The default is typically "auto", which means the camera decides what to focus on. It could pick the tree instead of your kid.
1b. Static vs. continuous auto-focus. The camera defaults to static. You go to take a photo of your kid running, it focuses where you kid is, the photo snaps, and your kid moved 4 feet in that time. You have a blurry photo. Put your camera into "continuous auto focus" at a minimum to ensure the focus continually adjusts its focus on the subject your have your focus spot on ( see 1a )
2. Understand ISO. Out of the box, your camera will start at ISO 100 and won't budge. You can be indoors, set the shutter speed to 1/500 to freeze your basketball playing kid, and you'll have a black image... because the camera doesn't know you didn't want a black image. Look up "auto iso" so that your camera will attempt to adjust the ISO based on the scene.
3. Understand "metering" - how the camera figures out aperture or shutter speed or ISO or all of them based on how light/dark the scene is. You can have it care more about the whole scene (default), or favor the area around your focus point more (1a). Bright sunny background and your kids beautiful smile is too dark - your metering decided it had to ensure the bright sunny scene got exposed well, and if your kid ends up a dark smear, oh well... thats what you told the camera to do.

 

[leeland]

1. Action sports can take you from inexpensive to crazy expensive - depends on overall quality and zoom you want. I'd recommend to start looking at Tamron 70-300, usually about $400.
2. Video ... I can't really comment on. Canon is purportedly better than Nikon at this. Can't hurt to get the camera first, then decide if you need better results later.
3. DPReview forums is probably your best bet for camera talk.

If you decide on a DSLR ( or mirrorless or whatever ), be sure you have some basics understood or you'll have frustrating results with the camera. Your cellphone typically does more things automatically than your DSLR does.

1. Know how your focus system works
1a. Understand focus modes ( auto, spot, 3D tracking.) The default is typically "auto", which means the camera decides what to focus on. It could pick the tree instead of your kid.
1b. Static vs. continuous auto-focus. The camera defaults to static. You go to take a photo of your kid running, it focuses where you kid is, the photo snaps, and your kid moved 4 feet in that time. You have a blurry photo. Put your camera into "continuous auto focus" at a minimum to ensure the focus continually adjusts its focus on the subject your have your focus spot on ( see 1a )
2. Understand ISO. Out of the box, your camera will start at ISO 100 and won't budge. You can be indoors, set the shutter speed to 1/500 to freeze your basketball playing kid, and you'll have a black image... because the camera doesn't know you didn't want a black image. Look up "auto iso" so that your camera will attempt to adjust the ISO based on the scene.
3. Understand "metering" - how the camera figures out aperture or shutter speed or ISO or all of them based on how light/dark the scene is. You can have it care more about the whole scene (default), or favor the area around your focus point more (1a). Bright sunny background and your kids beautiful smile is too dark - your metering decided it had to ensure the bright sunny scene got exposed well, and if your kid ends up a dark smear, oh well... thats what you told the camera to do.

Thanks for the great comments, I understand or feel like I do anyways that once you get into this level of photography there is a STEEP learning curve and it is probably best to get some sort of class under my belt to truly get the full understanding of how to take a good picture...

That and homework on all the different types of lenses out there...it is overwhelming for me at the moment but it is something I have wanted to get into for awhile now.

Thanks again,

Lee

 

[Hugo Drax]

Not sure about that camera but DSLR requires manual focus