Outside or in good light, it is not needed, but it does help indoors or in low light. Although, it only helps if your subject(s) is very still, otherwise, they still come out blurry.
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Nikon D3200 Reviews and Info
- Thread starter Lazarus
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Outside or in good light, it is not needed, but it does help indoors or in low light. Although, it only helps if your subject(s) is very still, otherwise, they still come out blurry.
Not necessarily, but they are more widely used by sports photographers. Next time you're at a pro sporting event or watching one on TV, look at the sidelines and note how many giant white lenses you see snapping away vs black. The white lenses are canon telephoto lenses.
I have a 55-300mm lens that I haven't used in over 2 years.
That's mainly because my kids are not doing any sports right now. But, when you need it you need it, and it sure is nice to have.
I guess I should have prefaced my original statement with this. This is what I do. I am, and have been for years, a professional photographer. And not someone who just picked up a camera from Best Buy and posts all over facebook with no real training or experience. I started as a crime scene photographer when I was in LE and it grew from there. Striving to be the best I possibly can, I am now over half way towards my Bachelors in Photographic Imaging at a commercial based art school.
That being said, media is cheap so going with a camera that has a smaller resolution makes little to no sense. That's like saying, well this gun has a bigger magazine which means more bullets I'd have to buy and use so I'll go with this 10rd magazine instead of this 15rd. Ludacris. As for lenses, like I said earlier, you will most likely not see a difference, but it will be there. Kit lenses and a lot of the lower end just aren't that sharp. Does that mean that Aunt Sally will be able to tell your images aren't sharp when you email her pics of the family at Disney? Nope. Would someone who looks at images all day be able to tell in a print? Yeah. But, who is most likely going to look at them? And a lens is something that you can upgrade later. When I started into digital, I bought what I could afford and worked up from there (and then the whore of an ex-wife took my film camera and all of my lenses). As Dan mentioned before, a prime will always be sharper than a zoom lens.
Lenses. I know Dan went over stuff but I didn't see this.
The numbers on a lens. You will often see a lens labeled as such:
70-200mm 2.8 or 18mm-55mm 3.5-5.6. What do these numbers mean?
IS (Image Stabilization) or VR (Vibration Reduction) are fantastic and just show improvements in technology. However, they need to be turned off when using a tripod of the lens and camera are working against themselves. my backup camera that my wife uses most often spots a VR lens because she likes to be able to hand hold it and take pics of the kids.
As for insurance, I have several thousands of dollars with of equipment so I carry a rider through my insurance provider.
This all a very basic way of going over it but I hope it helps.
That being said, media is cheap so going with a camera that has a smaller resolution makes little to no sense. That's like saying, well this gun has a bigger magazine which means more bullets I'd have to buy and use so I'll go with this 10rd magazine instead of this 15rd. Ludacris. As for lenses, like I said earlier, you will most likely not see a difference, but it will be there. Kit lenses and a lot of the lower end just aren't that sharp. Does that mean that Aunt Sally will be able to tell your images aren't sharp when you email her pics of the family at Disney? Nope. Would someone who looks at images all day be able to tell in a print? Yeah. But, who is most likely going to look at them? And a lens is something that you can upgrade later. When I started into digital, I bought what I could afford and worked up from there (and then the whore of an ex-wife took my film camera and all of my lenses). As Dan mentioned before, a prime will always be sharper than a zoom lens.
Lenses. I know Dan went over stuff but I didn't see this.
- 55mm: This is considered a "standard" lens because it's what our eye sees normally. This is a favorite for the journalist, documentary photographer because what you see is what you get. No zooming in or out. A photojournalist is not supposed alter the scene in anyway and one way this can be done is by altering what is actually seen. For this reason, the majority use a 50mm. It's also inexpensive and fast.
- Below 55mm: Wide angle. This is nice for getting more of the scene than you would normally see with your eye. Extreme wide angle can give a cool, distorted effect. It also gives a distorted effect that may not be what you're going after. Of course, this can all be corrected in post.
- Above 50mm: This is Telephoto. This is great if you can't walk your happy ass up to what you want to shoot. Like a tiger in a zoo. Or bird watching. Or spying on people. Or if you just want to get in close to something. Lots of uses and my 80-200 2.8 is one of my favorite lenses.
The numbers on a lens. You will often see a lens labeled as such:
70-200mm 2.8 or 18mm-55mm 3.5-5.6. What do these numbers mean?
- 70-200 or 18-55 is the zoom range. That's pretty easy to figure out. 70 or 18 would be the widest it would go and 200 or 55 would be the most telephoto it could go. Pretty easy.
- 2.8 or 3.5-5.6 is the lowest f-stop (or aperture) you can manage with that lens. When you see one number such as 2.8 it means that it is a fixed aperture all the way through the zoom range. The 3.5-5.6 means that at the lowest zoom (18mm), the lens will have an f-stop of 3.5 and at 5mm it will be 5.6. Why is this important or why should anyone care? The aperture, like the shutter, also controls light entering the body. It also controls the depth of field (or one of the things that does). The lower the f-stop, the larger the aperture actually is. The larger the aperture, the faster the shutter speed you can shoot at. Low f-stop lenses (like those with a 2.8 and below) are typically referred to as "fast" because you can shoot at a faster shutter speed.
IS (Image Stabilization) or VR (Vibration Reduction) are fantastic and just show improvements in technology. However, they need to be turned off when using a tripod of the lens and camera are working against themselves. my backup camera that my wife uses most often spots a VR lens because she likes to be able to hand hold it and take pics of the kids.
As for insurance, I have several thousands of dollars with of equipment so I carry a rider through my insurance provider.
This all a very basic way of going over it but I hope it helps.
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Regardless of your credentials or experience you guys know your science behind it and I appreciate all of yall sharing that with me. I know you get out what you put in so this may be a dumb question but for a newbie that will be just trying to take some pics at Disney is it important to learn about every aspect of the camera? I realize the more you know, the more I might be able to improve on the shots but will using the camera in like an Auto mode still get good pictures? Are their anything I should set up, changing settings, or practice before really using the camera?
Also what about a lens hood? I saw it recommended that I bring one but I see there are different ones like full circles, waved ones that aren;t flat circle, etc.
Also what about a lens hood? I saw it recommended that I bring one but I see there are different ones like full circles, waved ones that aren;t flat circle, etc.
The kit lens is fine. If your budget is limited I'd get the 3200 with the 18-55VR and spend the extra money on the 35mm. If you have the cash to upgrade to the D3300 with the newer 18-55 VRII and still get the 35mm then I'd do that too.
To start, nothing wrong with sticking it on auto. As you said, if you spend some time playing with it before you go you could learn to use things like aperture priority to change the feel of your images.
Lens hoods will be included with the lens in most cases and I always use them if for no other reason than to offer a little protection for the glass. Functionally they are needed if you are shooting in bright light. The are designed specifically for the lens in question so no need to worry about picking a hood.
It's important to note that this is true for 35mm film and full frame digital, but on APS-C sensor cameras like the 3200 and most DSLRs, the focal lengths are different. I used to have the 50mm f1.8D (non AFS) which is made for full frame and it looked more like 80mm on my D90. A bit long for my purposes, but a stellar lens for $99. A 30-35mm lens would be considered "standard" on small sensor cameras. I have the nikon 35mm f1.8 and wish it was just a tad wider, like 30mm.
This is all good info, but I have disagree again. Megapixels only matter if they matter. If you plan on blowing up prints to poster size or larger, get the most megapixels you can, but don't let that be THE deciding factor. Nikon's $5000 D3 is a paltry 12MP and their flagship $7,000 D4 comes in at a whopping 16MP if that tells you anything. Seemingly outclassed by today's standards if you think megapixels really matter. Take it for what it's worth.
This is all good info, btw, sorry for being "that guy".
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