What Kind of Person am I?
Posted by: Tamara in home stuff, misc, tags: camera, dSLR, photographyI am looking for a new camera. My current camera (PowerShot SD800 IS) is just fine, but I find myself looking for “that better shot” and I’m ready to learn something new. Dave (IHA) and I have been researching now for about a week (after saving money for a couple of months), and yesterday we went out to see cameras live. I have whittled down my choices to 2 models; one being a Canon (Rebel XSi) and one being a Nikon (D90). Overall, I think I find that the Canon has more of the features that I want and it is smaller and lighter which is good for me. The Nikon is heavier but it feels sturdier — perhaps constructed with higher quality material or at least it gives off the essence of higher quality.
Apparently, to know which one I should get, I have to figure out what kind of person I am. Here is a quote from the Yarnographer’s Ravelry forum: “It is my experience that there are generally two types of people: Canon people and Nikon people. I have a number of professional photographers as friends, and all of us shoot with one or the other. Some started out on one and switched to the other because one was simply more intuitive to use, or produced better results according to the style of that photographer. I’ve seen switches going both ways, with the end results from both brands being equal in quality.” (by ShoelessWonder – that is her flickr link since those photos are gorgeous!)
I don’t know which one I am. I know that I’m a PC person and not a Mac person. I know that I’m an NCIS person and not a American Idol person. I know that I’m an Elizabeth Berg person and not a Janet Evanovich person. I know that I’m a Malibrigo person and not a Noro person. But I don’t know if I’m a Canon person or a Nikon person. I wonder if there is a blood test — perhaps there is a camera blood group system and I can find out if I’m Canon positive or Nikon positive. With my luck I would probably be CanonNikon and have one allele of both.
I do have Canon cameras, but they were both gifts so I don’t know if I would have chosen them on my own or not. I do know that I like the Canon software and I’m familiar with their menus (which would decrease the learning curve time), but what if my true calling is Nikon and I would never know it.
I keep asking for advice from everyone I know and I’ve received quite a bit of good info. Dave’s assistant’s (who is an avid photographer and Canon person) advice for the day was to not worry so much about the body, but to put the $$$ into the glass. Ahhh… more research!
ShoelessWonder (also a Canon person) ended that same Ravelry forum post with this quote: “The point is that with all of the different models offered by the two companies, there really isn’t a professional who can’t find a Canon or a Nikon to be perfectly at home with. The question of brand ends up being determined by how you think and move and shoot, and not so much by quality or skill level.”
Apendix (because blogs can have these too)
Table 1.) Research sources I’ve viewed so far:
Amazon
XSi, D90
The reviews here are extensive – each review has its own discussion even.
Flickr
XSi, D90
You can see that they are both cameras with increasing popularity.
Etsy Forums
Ravelry Forums
Camera Labs
XSi, D90, and direct comparison (partway down the page)
This site is great. Not only do they have in depth product reviews but they have photo comparisons for each model and video tours (I would recommend that anyone goes there just to watch the video tour for their current camera.)
B&H
XSi, D90
Consumer Reports Magazine
In the Basic dSLR camera rating comparison, the Canon EOS Rebel XSi is a Recommended model, number 2 to the Pentax K200D. The Nikon D80 is number 3 and the D90 is not rated.
Numerous other books and Magazines
Table 2.) What I’m looking for in a new camera:
1.) Better photos for my Etsy shop. I want to be able to take good photos of all colors including purples, blues, and greens.
2.) Better photos of my children. My current camera takes so long to shoot that I always miss the photo that was meant to be. Remember, I have 3 girls who will all be teens before we know it and the smiles can be fleeting.
3.) Better sports photos. Not possible with my current camera. This job will probably mostly fall to Dave so he has to like the camera too.
4.) Better indoor photos. I don’t even bother bringing my camera to band concerts or graduations anymore.
5.) Better macro photos. I love taking close up nature photos shots.
6.) I do not want to get frustrated. I realize that I am going to have to do a lot of reading and practicing with my new camera and I may even want to take a class, but I don’t want to end up giving up and never taking the camera out of the bag.
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It’s funny, because I’m going to tell you get a cannon. but I love cannons. they seem more professional, and just have more options in general! I love the rebel, I’ve used a friend’s, and it’s very user friendly.
If I had to classify myself, I’d say I am a Nikon person. HOWEVER, there are some caveats there!
My little point-and-shoot camera is a Canon Powershot A540. Jim has a point-and-shoot Nikon something-or-other. I much, MUCH prefer the Canon point-and-shoot. It takes great pictures, for what it is, and I find it much more intuitive to use than the Nikon.
Now — when we got the DSLR (I have a Nikon D80), part of the reason was because our old film SLR was a Nikon, and since we had a rather expensive telephoto lens, we wanted to be able to use it with the digital SLR. And we were also familiar with the Nikon controls, since we’d had one before. However, another factor was the lens mount. I don’t know if you will be switching between different lenses either now or in the future, but at least at the time we were looking, Nikons had metal lens mounts, while Canons had plastic mounts. Metal ones are more durable, according to the research we did but this may or may not be of concern to you. (And this may not be true anymore — maybe newer models are being built differently.)
Either camera will get you great results, and if you don’t have any prior loyalties, I think you’d be happy with either!
oh and your a Sparkle person not a cloudy person! Hows that for an addition! I think the shopping is half the fun. Sometimes I just like to shop – the satisfaction of picking out something good can end for me before I get to the cash register – you know about my unshopping right? I’m sure I’ve mentioned it. I took a long time to pick out my camera and am happy with it – I didn’t go with either camp as I was looking for waterproof as one of my highest qualities. I need to get out the book and read. When I had a professional camera I had a Nikon. I really liked it – it was just obsolete and bulky. I had lots of lenses for it. I had lots of protection for my lenses to keep them nice
I think you should go with the one that is going to be the most convenient for you – I think you are on to something with the light weight – You love to take pictures and I’d hate for you to slow done due to the hassle of size/weight.
Looking forward to your purples!
Love,
Sunshine
Great link – Jessica’s photos and fiber are really remarkable. Thanks for sharing
I’m a Minolta person.
I needed a film SLR for my photography class and I’m a poor college student who longingly stares at the DSLRs. In general, I’d advocate to pick your glass (lenses) first, then find a body from there. Afterall, as your photographer friend said, you’re really buying into the system. In the long run, the body will be the cheapest part of the camera you buy. Encouraging, I know. Find what lenses you like the best, features you like the best on the body, and go with that.
I’m a huge photo buff, so not to complicate your research, but here’s some more resources for you.
DP Challenge forum
DP Review Not only do they do incredibly in depth reviews of every model of DSLR, they have very active forums which are separated by camera model.
Forgot the link! Here’s the link to DP Review Forum
I have a Minolta…does that make me an antique ’cause it uses (you might want to sit down)….FILM
Our old film camera was a Minolta X-370 body that was my h/s graduation present from my parents. Tamara gave me a 28-80mm lens as a wedding present
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I have to agree, put your $$ into the glass. ;o) (I’m a Pentax girl, myself) Good luck!
Waterproof Camera Bag…
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The zoom contact contact takes on a critical part, specifically to concentrate all the radiation of sunshine coming into the camera in a single place and focus on them, otherwise the image would be that getting anything but clear. To execute these kinds of jobs, the actual zoom contact contact, in addition to the diaphragm, has generated a number of concave and also convex, despite what a single could imagine, not associated with goblet. Right the following comes in any presentation in places you should open up the parenthesis, and also this presentation is called the focal distance. What is a Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera What’s the focal length? The particular focal length is the distance involving the rear nodal stage and the focal plane (or even film airaircraft) following the concentrate to infinity and it is measured withinside mm.Many lenses having key programs lower than 60 millimeter are known as fisheye and all sorts of anyone who has central lengths over Fifty millimeter is going to be categorized like a zoom lens. Exactly simply how much does it mean? What’s the difference between the two? Don’t worry, it isn’t difficult. To know this you need to additionally understand that at every focal distance refers with a offered perspective.The particular fish-eye normally has about 10/15 mm because focal length as well as the distortions will be, obviously, taken up extremes. However the idea is similar: using the lens, in the event you spend somewhat consideration, it’s easy to get that kind of strain (even though at reduced levels).
Nikon D3000…
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