Thinking of buying a Digital SLR Camera .......

[graeme]

P.s. Graeme loving your work with that x100. Would love to trade the Leica in for one.

Swap for the weekend sometime?

[smee]

Ach I'm still making my mind up. I feel I'm trapped in a no mans land of photography at the moment and wont get any better unless I really throw myself into it but really struggle to find the time. I'm often frustrated by my efforts and feel a bit like my shots are getting a bit samey? Anyway.....

Graeme would love a shot of the x100 :

[Sanjøy]

P.s. Graeme loving your work with that x100. Would love to trade the Leica in for one.

Swap for the weekend sometime?

My mate just won the non pro version by coming second in this.

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/News/Sear ... n-results/

[Shug]

Ach I'm still making my mind up. I feel I'm trapped in a no mans land of photography at the moment and wont get any better unless I really throw myself into it but really struggle to find the time. I'm often frustrated by my efforts and feel a bit like my shots are getting a bit samey? Anyway.....

Graeme would love a shot of the x100 :

You need to step away from the crack pipe mate. Yours are some of the most spectacular photos (and I speak as a layman, not some hardcore photography geek) that I've seen on any forum. It's only a hobby while you enjoy it though, so perhaps have a re-think about what you want to achieve and the pressure you put on yourself for "perfection" - whatever that is.

I know that I, for one, would miss your shots from events.

[Dominic]

I know that I, for one, would miss your shots from events.

[Sanjøy]

P.s. Graeme loving your work with that x100. Would love to trade the Leica in for one.

Swap for the weekend sometime?

My mate just won the non pro version by coming second in this.

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/News/Sear ... n-results/

From said mate

On the off-chance that you fancy treating yourself to a class-leading, pocketable, stunning-looking, limited edition, retro-styled digital compact in all black with black leather case & black lens hood... I'm selling a brand new, pristine one of these for £400 less than the £1299 RRP... http://fujifilm-x.com/x100black/en/

[scott_e]

Afternoon.

Friends has been given a Nikon D5100 for his birthday. Just wondering what the experts thought of this bit of kit. Sounds like it would meet my needs and the price bracket seems reasonable. It came with a lens kit but not sure of the detail sorry.

My needs = amateur photo shoots with kids btw , parks, parties etc

Thanks
Scott

[graeme]

My needs = amateur photo shoots with kids btw , parks, parties etc

You don't need a DSLR to do that. The best camera for family occasions is the one that fits in your pocket. If you don't have your camera bag with you, your DSLR was a waste of money. Also, nobody likes the guy at parties who brings his DSLR. Everyone thinks he's a hipster douchebag, so they never smile anyway

£500 gets you a very basic entry-level DSLR. Or an absolutely STONKING pocket camera. You have to be prepared to really learn to use the control a DSLR gives you, or your pictures will be better from a pocket camera of similar price.

So, the question boils down to this: Do you want a new hobby (with all the demands on your wallet and time), or do you just want a new camera?

[scott_e]

Good questions.

Currently have Canon ixus 220 which most of the time i forget to take places. So the majority of time my photos are taken (+ vids) on a Samsung Galaxy Note. The quality of the images on both devices outside are fantastic but the shutter speed on the phone is terrible so catching that exact moment can be tricky and actions shots near impossible. I guess I would like a camera that at least has a big ass flash that may help improve indoor shots. Your thoughts welcome.

Having dropbox on Android 4.0 uploading 1000s of photos per month to my NAS automatically is pretty darn handy too

[graeme]

Pop-up flash on any camera is unlikely to improve your indoor shots. Pop-up flash is very unflattering in low-light situations and should really only to be used for fill-in, when there's plenty other light around to balance it out (like when your subject has their back to the sun on a bright day).

Indoors, if your camera phone is struggling (which is understandable) you ideally want fast lenses and high ISO so you don't need flash at all (or just a bit of fill). You won't get those with a pocket camera, but you definitely won't get them from an entry level DSLR either. Your DSLR kit lens will be f/3.5 at best, and high-iso performance will be average to poor. To solve that problem you need better lenses or a better DSLR. Not feasible on a budget.

Next step up in terms of budget and results would be to get an external flashgun. This lets you point the flash in a different direction other than forwards, like at a wall or ceiling to bounce it around the room and spread the light out, creating a more even effect. You need to budget for the flash obviously, and also the bulky size of your gear just went up. You also need to learn to control the power of the flash with the flash compensation control.

The alternative to spending money on flashguns or better lenses/bodies is a camera which is really good at processing out the technical limitations of simple cheap gear. A good pocket camera with lots of scene modes (indoor, night, fireworks etc) and a good jpeg engine with noise reduction will do that better than a DSLR in inexperienced hands.

A note on image quality: Yes, the DSLR will be better, but so what? Image quality matters not a bit if the photograph isn't a keeper. Getting it captured is far more important to most amatures than pixel-peeping at 500% magnification.

[scott_e]

Thanks for the reply Graeme, some great advice there and plenty to think about. I guess the aim of my project its to get many more "keepers".

[graeme]

My pleasure. It's the only thing I know anything about

[Rag_It]

Smee, don't be a silly boy! I'd say you're probably at the stage where you could easily get paid for your work, and there is a reason most photographers pick an area of exepertise to concentrate on, so if you do something well, which you consider to be samey, maybe you're onto something!

I've been in the same boat, a bag full of nice glass, a D90 body, keep wanting to upgrade, but simply it is a hobby and one that frustrates me that I don't have enough time to focus on.

I love taking pictures, I like it when people feedback and appreciate it, but at the same time there is considerable time to invest, and I hate being in social situations and feel awkward taking pictures of people who I don't know!

Anyway, given the fact most pictures never make it to printing stage, i always have the iPhone on me, and whilst not amazing, I am hoping the 5 will improve further in the next couple of months.

Dave