Another camera query

RaymondLin

Save your money and get a Tamron 17-50/2.8.

dazzajl

robgilmo said:

Out of curiosity, are prime lenses on the lower budget end usually sharper and better quality image wise than zoom lenses?

Usually, yes. 

There are some that produce absolutely lovely images because of there faults and idiosyncrasies too. The super cheap Canon 50 f1.8 is a great example of a flawed lens that is just gorgeous 

strumjoughlamps

robgilmo said:

I am finding the IQ from the 50mm to be much better than the 18-55 but the former gets me too close sometimes, canon have a 24mm f2.8 for not a lot of money and I was thinking it might be better for indoors, the 18-55 is f4 so the 22 should cope better in low light?

I have a Canon 20-35 2.8 L and it's a beauty of a lens that can be had for little money nowadays.

equalsql

Did you make a decision on what to buy? I'm currently torn between getting a new Canon EOS 250D or a refurbished Fujigen X-T20. I've got around £550 to buy a new camera after my old one was stolen and I'm still scratching my head.

menamestom

Not yet.  Away camping /  walking this weekend and giving my DSLR a good go.  I like it, but it’s too slow sometimes.  I think I’l go Fuji, x-T20, X-T30 etc.  XF 18-55 lens.  I’ve taken a lot of photos with this camera and it’s good to remind myself of the good bits because it also reminds me of the frustrations.  Not many but sometimes it just won't take a bloody picture.  The AF gets confused in low light.  In fact even in manual it just wont take a picture sometimes. I do like the DSLR grip and ergonomics, even though I want something smaller though.  I like the look of the x-E3 also, which looks a bargain but I think the flip screen of the x-t20/30 would be very useful.

So not sure, but a mirrorless fuji most likely, I like the idea of the film simulation, compact retro look and good lenses.

dazzajl

I can tell you guys that the x e3 is fabulous. Had mine for a few weeks and am off out for a little playtime with it today. 

Ive not held any of of the more slr designed Fuji bodies but as a camera I bought specifically not to be like the EOS stuff I shoot with daily, I adore it. It’s small, has all the functionality and speed I want but mostly it feels like it’s built for snappers to make photographs. Most of the market is moving towards making cameras for vloggers, which is not me at all. 

Outside of the architectural stuff my Canon kit is specifically specced for, there’s nothing at all I’d throw at the 5Ds that I wouldn’t be just as happy shooting with the x e3. 

hollywoodrox

dazzajl said:

robgilmo said:

Out of curiosity, are prime lenses on the lower budget end usually sharper and better quality image wise than zoom lenses?

Usually, yes. 

There are some that produce absolutely lovely images because of there faults and idiosyncrasies too. The super cheap Canon 50 f1.8 is a great example of a flawed lens that is just gorgeous 

Canon 50 1.8 is awesome . I had an 8mm samyang fisheye that was fantastic too 

menamestom

dazzajl said:

I can tell you guys that the x e3 is fabulous. Had mine for a few weeks and am off out for a little playtime with it today. 

Ive not held any of of the more slr designed Fuji bodies but as a camera I bought specifically not to be like the EOS stuff I shoot with daily, I adore it. It’s small, has all the functionality and speed I want but mostly it feels like it’s built for snappers to make photographs. Most of the market is moving towards making cameras for vloggers, which is not me at all. 

Outside of the architectural stuff my Canon kit is specifically specced for, there’s nothing at all I’d throw at the 5Ds that I wouldn’t be just as happy shooting with the x e3. 

High praise indeed.  What lens did you go with?

I've just been to have a play with some cameras at John Lewis.  I like the X-T30, it had the XF 18-55 lens which felt great.
It's smaller than my DSLR, but not massively.  Felt great though, just trying a few snaps in store it's much quicker than my old Pentax (who'd have thought a £800 2019 body would be quicker than a 2009 £300 body!).  The screen is also much crisper, I've just been having a look at my weekend shots and there's dirt appeared, looks like the sensor.   Didn't notice on the Pentax screen, would have done on the higher res modern Fuji one.....

Re the X-E3, I'd kinda decided to go with the XF18-55 as a single all purpose lens, but might be a bit big on the X-E3.

So perhaps the 23mm f2 or XC 15-45 might be a better fit. size / weight wise.

dazzajl

I got the 18 f2, the 27 f2.8 and the 56 f1.2

Have shot a little today with the 56 but mostly the 18 and they’re great fun. The 56 is quite a beast and outweighs the camera at least 2/1 but my natural hold is the left had under the lens, so it feels fine to me. I suspect the 18-55 will be lighter and even easier. 

My normal workflow is to create at least half the finished article in the processing, so today I’ve set the Fuji up with aspect ratio and film simulations both the ‘screen flick’ quick access and it’s brilliant. Goes from seeing a high contrast black and white in a square format to a 16x9 in vibrant Velvia colours in a blink. A fabulous toy, sent the camera jpegs straight to my phone and I’m sat on the dock in Bristol having a gander in the late sun.

Jimbro66

menamestom said:

dazzajl said:

I can tell you guys that the x e3 is fabulous. Had mine for a few weeks ..........

I've just been to have a play with some cameras at John Lewis.  I like the X-T30, it had the XF 18-55 lens which felt great.

Re the X-E3, I'd kinda decided to go with the XF18-55 as a single all purpose lens, but might be a bit big on the X-E3.

So perhaps the 23mm f2 or XC 15-45 might be a better fit. size / weight wise.

As mentioned in my earlier post, I went for the X-E3 as a compact and lightweight alternative to my Pentax DSLR kit. Rather that adding the XF18-55 to the X-E3 I opted for the 23mm and 50mm f2 primes which have proved an excellent choice. Having said that, I am interested in the imminent XF16-80 f4 zoom. I’m sure that would seem huge on the X-E3 after the compact primes but I am weighing up possibly going for an X-T3 + 16-80 package. Bigger and heavier than the X-E3 + primes (which I would keep) but still less bulky than my previous favourite K-3 with 50-135 f2.8.

menamestom

dazzajl said:

I got the 18 f2, the 27 f2.8 and the 56 f1.2

Have shot a little today with the 56 but mostly the 18 and they’re great fun. The 56 is quite a beast and outweighs the camera at least 2/1 but my natural hold is the left had under the lens, so it feels fine to me. I suspect the 18-55 will be lighter and even easier. 

My normal workflow is to create at least half the finished article in the processing, so today I’ve set the Fuji up with aspect ratio and film simulations both the ‘screen flick’ quick access and it’s brilliant. Goes from seeing a high contrast black and white in a square format to a 16x9 in vibrant Velvia colours in a blink. A fabulous toy, sent the camera jpegs straight to my phone and I’m sat on the dock in Bristol having a gander in the late sun.

Nice.  So do you shoot Jpeg and RAW, and use the inbuilt simulations for a bit of inspiration / fun?
Is this a bit like giving the singer some nice reverb and delay to monitor with but then concentrating on the dry recording for the serious business?

I've been back to a few shops and tried the X-E3, I'm pretty decided on that and the 18-55mm.  The wife's car now has a coolant leak though so that could well be me on hold for a month or 2, but I'm happy to wait.


I've generated lot's of general questions so I'll be moving over to the general photography thread.  Thanks for all the advise everybody, after guitar being my main pastime/hobby/weekend job for so long, I'm really excited about getting back into photography.  I understand a bit more now and have a better idea with what I want to dabble with.  Might even finish the film I've got lying around the house and use my manual until I can get a new camera.

ThePrettyDamned

menamestom said:

dazzajl said:

I got the 18 f2, the 27 f2.8 and the 56 f1.2

Have shot a little today with the 56 but mostly the 18 and they’re great fun. The 56 is quite a beast and outweighs the camera at least 2/1 but my natural hold is the left had under the lens, so it feels fine to me. I suspect the 18-55 will be lighter and even easier. 

My normal workflow is to create at least half the finished article in the processing, so today I’ve set the Fuji up with aspect ratio and film simulations both the ‘screen flick’ quick access and it’s brilliant. Goes from seeing a high contrast black and white in a square format to a 16x9 in vibrant Velvia colours in a blink. A fabulous toy, sent the camera jpegs straight to my phone and I’m sat on the dock in Bristol having a gander in the late sun.

Nice.  So do you shoot Jpeg and RAW, and use the inbuilt simulations for a bit of inspiration / fun?
Is this a bit like giving the singer some nice reverb and delay to monitor with but then concentrating on the dry recording for the serious business?

I've been back to a few shops and tried the X-E3, I'm pretty decided on that and the 18-55mm.  The wife's car now has a coolant leak though so that could well be me on hold for a month or 2, but I'm happy to wait.


I've generated lot's of general questions so I'll be moving over to the general photography thread.  Thanks for all the advise everybody, after guitar being my main pastime/hobby/weekend job for so long, I'm really excited about getting back into photography.  I understand a bit more now and have a better idea with what I want to dabble with.  Might even finish the film I've got lying around the house and use my manual until I can get a new camera.

I shoot joeg+raw on fuji xt2, split to both cards, so one is all large hi quality jpeg and the other raw, for processing in capture one. 

I have not done much big printing recently so have just tweaked jpegs 99 percent of the time and been happy, but the settings are baked in - if you shot classic chrome but want a punchy, vibrant saturation you just can't get it unless you have the raw. Likewise, if you want to tone down velvia a bit it gets a bit weird fast (although conversions from velvia to b+w can be quite good).

Mostly my fave jpeg sims are velvia in high sun, pro neg hi for portraits and acros for everything else (I have one with green filter and one with red).

Acros,i bump the tone curve in camera and it's fantastic. 

RaymondLin

I shoot RAW into both cards.  It makes things simpler in that I just put the same size memory cards into both slots and it has the same files into both cards.  

menamestom

I think X-E3 only has one slot, as does the XT30.  Do cameras generally split into 2 folders?

I'm going to experiment with raw with my Pentax, I've never thought to do it before but I'll have a test session.

OilCityPickups

I was 10 years a pro theatre photographer and then taught photography at college till I started my current business.

Tips to improve your photography immensely:

Buy a tripod and use it. It doesn't matter how good your sensor or how sharp your lenses if camera shake or noise from high ISOs screw it all up.

The tripod will also make you think about composition, crop in the camera not in Photoshop/Lightroom etc ... no point in all those megapixels if you chuck half of them away.

Shoot less images but think about each one more.

Buy photo books and see how the masters do/did it: Cartier-Bresson, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams ... all giants.

All this costs a lot less than a new camera, and will make you a better photographer.

Most amateur photographers use about 50% of the capability of their equipment ... learn to really stretch what you have ... it's more fun in the long run than just collecting and polishing shiny kit.

RaymondLin

I don't use my tripod that much (due to my subjects) but in the spirit of what you are saying, I use prime lenses.  It makes me zoom with my feet, it makes me think first and move into position before taking the photo.  I already have the photo in mind before the photo is taken.

Engage the brain first and slow down.

ThePrettyDamned

Wizzes above.

Also, find what works for you. If you edit badly, don't shoot raw. You'll do more harm than good  

I'm waiting for slrs to be even less fashionable so I can get an affordable tele and landscape set up. Mirrorless for casual works great, but for great mirrorless lenses it costs. Soon, a nikon d810 and a wide angle prime and a long tele will be very affordable pro kit for the times I want it. 

Probably about 5 percent  

menamestom

All good advise!

OilCityPickups said:

All this costs a lot less than a new camera, and will make you a better photographer.

Most amateur photographers use about 50% of the capability of their equipment ... learn to really stretch what you have ... it's more fun in the long run than just collecting and polishing shiny kit.

Re shiny new gear, same with anything really.  But I'm going to justify my purchase by saying I've have 2 cameras:-

Manual Film camera - around 20 years
Pentax DSLR - 10 years

I've had some great shots with both, but with the DSLR, I can notice a difference looking at shots taken with it and the more modern Fuji's I have been trying.  There's a clarity and vibrancy that the Pentax misses, particularly in lower light.  Also, I've missed things because it can be a bit slow.  I know the camera inside out, use all modes and know the good and bad bits.

Also, a more compact camera is more likely to be taken out more.  The best photos are the ones you take;) 

New gear can inspire, so it's not always negative buying something new.  I'd say every 10 years is about right.
I'm going to get 1 camera, one lens and a decent tripod, then that will be it for a few years.....

menamestom

ThePrettyDamned said:

Wizzes above.

Also, find what works for you. If you edit badly, don't shoot raw. You'll do more harm than good  

I like the idea of not editing at all, and just using the camera Jpegs and simulations.  I see so many photos posted online where the effects have been overdone, I like the idea of the purity and truth of the original picture.  I guess the trick is doing minor corrections when needed, and some people I guess like the ultra hyped produced shots but that's not my thing.
I may shoot the Raw side also just as insurance.  

dazzajl

@menamestom, since most of my time behind the camera is meticulous and by the millimetre stuff, shot on RAW for some fairly intense processing to balance out colour and create the light that I want. Playing with the Film Sims was all about getting away from that workflow and having some fun without having to sit at a computer screen to finish the job.

I do love processing and from a work point of view, I was in the darkroom before I was behind the camera much. So I do use that side of the whole craft a lot in creating my look and the idea of an image "straight from camera" is pretty alien to me.
 
But I really had a lot of fun just playing around with what the camera will do, seeing what happens when you push past the dynamic range or shoot into the light. The more I use it, the more I see that how much fun it is almost masks how capable the x e3 is as a technical tool too.

Here's some of the stuff it shot, straight off the card, no computer involved.  https://lightart.photo/p462327912/slideshow