Camera

[intox]

Hey guys, Am doing photography and needing a 35mm camera for school use and for a hobby. Any recomendations for one that isn't going to break the bank??

[jackinavox]

film or digital? :D

how big is the bank? i.e, what's your budget? :D

[intox]

Has to be a SLR and no budget but would rather keep it low. Not sure but im guessing thats a digital. Didnt know they still made film cameras

[smurff]

if its for school photography class than i would have a guess you needs a SLR (Film) as you will be doing processing.
you should probably find out.
but if you can go digital and have no budget, then a canon 1Ds MKIII :F
http://www.progear.co.nz/product/9263.aspx - if my budget ever got that high i would love one lol.

-Smurff

[intox]

True. Could be a film never thought of that. Thats going to be a pain for hobby use though

[PureKiwi]

Weather film or digital

You can try trademe , Altho the 1ds is a nice camera if this is your first time picking up a digital camera i think the 1ds will just complicate the situation even more.

I would try Photo.co.nz they have a great selection as does progear , i dont know about progear but photo.co.nz has a second hand page for both digital and film and for lens too.

But best to get the criteria for your course so your not wasting money but even so you cant go wrong with getting a digital camera you are bound to get one sooner or later

[intox]

Have found a relitively cheap Canon 350d 18-35 kit. Good or bad camera??

[smurff]

did you find out if you need film or digital for school?

the 350d is a older but not bad camera for its age, but then, how much is relitivly cheap?

the 18-35mm lens dosnt ring a bell, but it is kinda lacking for a general lens, unless you plan to buy more anytime soon.

-smurff

[intox]

Or I can get a canon 20d with a 100-300mm sigma lens for abit more

[smurff]

have a look at this site
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/

it have reviews for most cameras, have a look over the ones your thinking of :)

-smurff

[tomberkley]

Have found a relitively cheap Canon 350d 18-35 kit. Good or bad camera??

Its prob a 18-55 maybe the older one. I dont think there is a 18-35 prob a typo
The 350 will be exactly what you need, it was a very good and popular camera
a few years ago.
I still see people using the 300d or 350d all the time, at events etc.
It was one of canons cameras that made the dslr camera so popular. I didnt read the whole review but, from the sound of things, if the price is right then it should be a good cam to start on.
If you want to have a read
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-350D-Digital-Rebel-XT-Review.aspx
Cheers
Tom

[intox]

Cool thanks for that. Found a Canon 1000d and was so close to buying then I found out the 450d and up are better :P decisions decisions

[smurff]

one thing to do is check this list
http://www.canon.co.nz/en-NZ/Support-Services/~/media/Downloads/Support-and-Services-NZ/NON_REPAIRABLE_MODELS_130910.ashx

if anything you buy is in there, canon can no longer repair, this can be a bad thing if it brakes, but it looks like the 450D is all good :)

-smurff

[intox]

wow didnt think they would have no repairable cameras but thanks for that.

[smurff]

yea, spare parts have to run out at some time lol
and its a good way for companies to get people to upgrade.

-smurff

[tomberkley]

flip didn't know that good to know.

[Ari]

I would hope that your course is teaching film. Trust me, you'll learn far more from shooting film than you ever will from shooting digital.

As for film cameras, any basic slr would do well for a course. Check out trademe, Olympus OM1 & 2's have some of the best viewfinders ever made in SLR's so it makes them very nice to use. There's also heaps of minolta slr's that I would recommend and the good old pentax's.
Other than that, there are the 'student' packages such as Cosina or Phenix cameras.

One word of advice even if you do have to unfortunately shoot digital - cameras don't have minds, they don't 'create' the photograph, they are just a means to an end. A more expensive camera doesn't take better photos, ever.

[Redal]

I would hope that your course is teaching film. Trust me, you'll learn far more from shooting film than you ever will from shooting digital.

As for film cameras, any basic slr would do well for a course. Check out trademe, Olympus OM1 & 2's have some of the best viewfinders ever made in SLR's so it makes them very nice to use. There's also heaps of minolta slr's that I would recommend and the good old pentax's.
Other than that, there are the 'student' packages such as Cosina or Phenix cameras.

One word of advice even if you do have to unfortunately shoot digital - cameras don't have minds, they don't 'create' the photograph, they are just a means to an end. A more expensive camera doesn't take better photos, ever.

I respectful agree and disagree with your comments.

I agree about "A more expensive camera doesn't take better photos, ever."

I disagree about film being the best medium to learn with.
Histograms/ screens on the digital cameras are so so helpful for students understanding of exposure/ aperture /shutter speed for a start,and understanding how their camera meters, then getting the best exposure for what they are capturing.
With in 2 hours i can get a group of 10 people to have a pretty good understanding .
Then can move on to composition, and the rules and when to brake them.

Young people these days want instant feedback( get bored quickly), instead of taking photos one class, then developing the next, and seeing that all the photos are underexposed badly, and cant remember what the setting were on the camera, seems like a waste of time.

The only pros i know who are using film is for their fun, and are mostly medium and large format, and they are having trouble finding a lab to develop them. When it comes to work there are entirely digital, that goes for the commercial photographers too

[intox]

A more expensive camera doesn't take better photos??

[Cory Varcoe]

A more expensive camera doesn't take better photos??

Yes and no. What Ari is getting at is that you could have the most expensive camera in the world but unless you have a good eye for composition, lighting etc and know how to drive that camera then you might as well have a $10 kiddies camera.

A more expensive camera with more mega pixels better metering etc will of course produce a higher quality image compared to the $10 kiddies camera