what would u reccomand


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EchoGear

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Jun 4, 2004
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for a DSLR...
given the budget hopfully not over $1200 max hopefully can get a good macro lens with it too..
 

very unlikely. unless you can find one which is really beat up, the body might just cost you 1200. macro lens? add 400 to 500 for a 2nd hand one.
 

hardly enough, as you need a few extras to kick start your DSLR and all these will make up to more than 1.2k even for the cheapest DSLR you can find in the market 2nd hand.

cheapest body (canon forum) D30 $800++$900++
batteries extra $20 each
macro lens 50mm $250 onwards 3rd partly (2nd hand)
CF card $50 onwards average $100-$400 (depends on brand and amt of storage)


afterwhich the extras.......

flashlights?
more lenses?L lens?
tripods?
battery grip?
more batteries?
LCD screen protector?
lens clean kit?
drybox? cabinet?
 

EchoGear said:
for a DSLR...
given the budget hopfully not over $1200 max hopefully can get a good macro lens with it too..

Well, $1200 is inclusive of lens, flash, etc. it's definitely way too low for the current DSLRs. The budget DSLRs like the 300D will set you back at least $1500+ (brand new) or $1300 (2nd hand). Flashes, additional lenses, storage cards, etc. will drain another couple of hundreds (at least).

You could settle for the D30 though, a bit old but still a good camera. 2nd hand prices should be around $800-$900 (don't quote me on this though). That way, you'll have some spare cash for the other stuff.
 

wow..... its going to be that ex. to start on a DSLR huh..
hmmm cos currently I have been using a 2mp cam which has served me well..

But I like to go into something more better..

Anyway so roughly how much would it be advisable to get started.

Mathew
 

EchoGear said:
wow..... its going to be that ex. to start on a DSLR huh..
hmmm cos currently I have been using a 2mp cam which has served me well..

But I like to go into something more better..

Anyway so roughly how much would it be advisable to get started.

Mathew

To plainly "get started", $2k+ would be good to work with.
 

if you want to start a DSLR, a good budget would really be about 3K to get a basic set of gears

DSLR body $1700++ for a 300d
sigma 105mm macro lens $450++ (i think)
sigma 180mm $800 ++ ( i think, not so good with 3rd party stuff)
canon 100mm macro ($800+ used, $1050+ new, $450-$650 non usm older model)
grip ( i think its important) $200+
batteries @ $20 each three total to rotate $40
CF cards @1gb ($280 for the cheapest make) x2 (incase one dies on you?it happen to me)

tripod??? if you need for your type of photograghy ($100 onwards)
tripod head?? ($50 onwards)
lights? ex420 $320++, ex550$600++, ring flash, macro flash? $400 -1k
other lens? $130 - $200k depends on models

for anything else there is mastercard. :sweatsm:
 

you will also need

lens cleaner $10
blower $10
electric dry cabinet $80 onwards
a lcd cover $10
microfiber cloths to clean $5

how about portable digital storage?
how about a bigger harddisk?
how about a laptop?

man nobody tells me these things when i got started :dunno:
 

hmmmmm well at least I have an external Harddisk of 30gigs.. currently using an Ibook.

btw was wondering is the different between the below 2..

sigma 105mm macro
canon 100mm macro

Mathew
 

never handled both before to give a statement of sorts! but optically both should perform well, its a macro lens!
 

As other posters said, be prepared to SPEND in this hobby. Besides macro lens, you'd want wide angle, telephoto, portrait etc etc. Also tripod+head and good flash unit are not cheap.

Make sure you have enough money for DSLR, if not prosumer is good for macros also. Lots of work have been done on Oly C-750 and Canon G3/G5 series.

EchoGear said:
hmmmmm well at least I have an external Harddisk of 30gigs.. currently using an Ibook.

btw was wondering is the different between the below 2..

sigma 105mm macro
canon 100mm macro

Mathew

a. You'd need at LEAST a 512MB card, especially if you're shooting in RAW mode. Do you really want to save a little money buying a small sized card and having to constantly transfer images while on location to your laptop? Also bringing laptop on location (especially for macro work) is not advised at all. Gear alone is more than enough to weigh you down.

b. Difference between the 2 lenses is mainly the build quality and the cost. The build of the Sigma, in my opinion, is not very good. It's very 'plastiky' build, and also feels like a toy. Did not feel comfortable using this. The build of the Canon is much more solid. Image quality wise, unless you're blowing to super big size, you won't see much of a difference. Colour rendition Canon wins by a bit, but minimal. You get what you pay for with the Sigma lens. It's a solid image quality lens, as are most macro lenses, just that I don't like the build one bit. Also worth considering is the Tamron 90mm Macro which beats the Sigma and Canon lenses, and cost just over $600.
 

for macro shots, i set up using a 28-135 + a 25mm extenion tube. i save $$$ for a macro lens and work with my existing gear.

as for your orginal post, i also started with a 2k budget and within 1 full year i spent abt close to 11k for my current setup with 2 bodies, 3 flashlights, three 1gbcards, 3 lens, a cabinet,1 laptop, reflecters, other stuff i mention etc...... you really need to plan what you buy, so far my only mistake was a wide zoom that last me 2 months otherwise i plan my purchases very carefully.

i shoot products nowadays and i also feel your interest and share your excitement! but the cost is really an issue, till today so do ponder very carefully.
 

Belle&Sebastain said:
if you want to start a DSLR, a good budget would really be about 3K to get a basic set of gears

...

Aiyo, recommend him/her something more realistic lah...your whole list is a bit too much for a newbie WITH A TIGHT BUDGET. (I know, because I always work with tight budgets. :))

As imaginary_number has said, a basic $2K+ is very much the minimum for a entry level DSLR with kit lens (so far the Canon EOS 300D is still the cheapest option, with the Nikon D70 trailing behind) and memory card.

You can opt for a D30, but there is not many of them to start off with, so getting a 2nd hand may be a bit difficult. $900 is a good bet.

$1.7K for 300D kit 1st hand; about $1.4K for 2nd hand.
$100 for a 256MB CF card. Anything smaller can be quite frustrating when you shoot with a DSLR.

That's all you need to start off for a basic shoot. If you want macro:

$140 for a 50mm f/1.8 II lens
$100 for a 25mm 3rd party extension tube
$100 for a reasonable tripod (almost absolutely necessary for macro shots)

Not that expensive, if you are willing to work with limitations. After that, then you go into flash and true macro lenses.
 

Ah Pao said:
Aiyo, recommend him/her something more realistic lah...your whole list is a bit too much for a newbie WITH A TIGHT BUDGET. (I know, because I always work with tight budgets. :))

As imaginary_number has said, a basic $2K+ is very much the minimum for a entry level DSLR with kit lens (so far the Canon EOS 300D is still the cheapest option, with the Nikon D70 trailing behind) and memory card.

You can opt for a D30, but there is not many of them to start off with, so getting a 2nd hand may be a bit difficult. $900 is a good bet.

$1.65K for 300D kit 1st hand; about $1.3K for 2nd hand.
$100 for a 256MB CF card. Anything smaller can be quite frustrating when you shoot with a DSLR.

That's all you need to start off for a basic shoot. If you want macro:

$140 for a 50mm f/1.8 II lens
$100 for a 25mm 3rd party extension tube
$100 for a reasonable tripod (almost absolutely necessary for macro shots)

Not that expensive, if you are willing to work with limitations. After that, then you go into flash and true macro lenses.


for a 50mm mate with a 25 extention tude, you have a very limiting amount of distance to shoot and focus. remember you cannot focus to infinty and alot of shots your lens may kiss the subject!

a real possible working distance is 70mm onwards +25mm tube. also expending of subjects. i shoot 3" action figures and i cannot get the full figure into frame unless i work on 75mm.
 

hmmmm okie..
cos I'm lookin for a camera which its a one time investment. .rather then buying those small point and shoot kind. anymore stuff to reccomand to this newbie??

As I will be going overboard to study this coming sept. I thought of doing some photography there..

Mathew
 

EchoGear said:
hmmmm okie..
cos I'm lookin for a camera which its a one time investment. .rather then buying those small point and shoot kind. anymore stuff to reccomand to this newbie??

As I will be going overboard to study this coming sept. I thought of doing some photography there..

Mathew


i have done reasonable sharp marcos with the G2 haha! you should really advise us what you want to shoot on mainly you know, marco lenses can be use in a few different ways!
 

Belle&Sebastain said:
a real possible working distance is 70mm onwards +25mm tube. also expending of subjects. i shoot 3" action figures and i cannot get the full figure into frame unless i work on 75mm.

Erm, correct me if I'm wrong, but won't a 3" subject never be able to fit into a 24mm wide frame lifesize (i.e. 1:1)?

Only dabbled with macro once or twice, so can't really comment much...but I always have the impression that "macro" = lifesize, or at least > 0.5x magnification...

And yes, the 50mm + 25mm extension tube does kiss the subject...thank goodness they're only flowers...
 

EchoGear said:
hmmmm okie..
cos I'm lookin for a camera which its a one time investment. .rather then buying those small point and shoot kind. anymore stuff to reccomand to this newbie??

As I will be going overboard to study this coming sept. I thought of doing some photography there..

Mathew

Eventually, that'll depend on how much you can fork out for a system. If you're pursuing photography as a hobby, it's quite tough to keep it as a "one-time investment" - there'll always be the urge to upgrade to better lenses and equipment.
 

Ah Pao said:
Erm, correct me if I'm wrong, but won't a 3" subject never be able to fit into a 24mm wide frame lifesize (i.e. 1:1)?

Only dabbled with macro once or twice, so can't really comment much...but I always have the impression that "macro" = lifesize, or at least > 0.5x magnification...

And yes, the 50mm + 25mm extension tube does kiss the subject...thank goodness they're only flowers...


sorry my kubricks are 2" to 2 1/2" in size and at 75mm i have more working distance focusing to fill my frame. its possible
 

well I myself prefer to shoot macro shots on insects and nature..
Like their uniqueness in texture...

Mathew
 

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