As JoesTypeS knows, I’ve been wanting a digital SLR for awhile now. I’ve had my eye on the XTi, and finally placed the order tonight.
Canon XTi (black) with 18-55mm lens. I realize the lens is pretty low-end, but I’ll add other lenses when I can.
One weird thing: I had planned on ordering from Amazon. They’ve had it for $600.60 for the longest time, direct from Amazon. Now, it’s suddenly sent through Adorama Camera, which means added shipping and tax. I don’t get it. Why suddenly the change? Adorama is good and all - I’ve used them before - but they’re in NY so there’s tax added, which brings the total above other sites.
So, that’s my story. Random, and probably pointless, but it’s 2am and I’m excited to get my new toy!!
Aside from splitting hairs… I have a Canon camcorder that uses the same batteries as the XTi - of which I have 7 - and I’ve used a Canon SLR before. I also think I’ll have better luck finding lenses.
Like I said though, it’s seriously splitting hairs. It’s like Pepsi and Coke. Maybe even less different than one another. I seriously considered Nikon. I know a couple people with Nikons, and a pro photographer friend of mine uses a Canon for his spare camera. (His main work camera is well beyond anything I could begin to consider - Mamiya medium format body with high-res digital back - somewhere above $10k.) The only things drawing me to Nikon were SD card vs. Compact Flash, and people I trust telling me to go Nikon (while other people I trust telling me to go Canon). I trust Canon. I’ve used Canon. So I went with Canon. :gotme: Make sense?
def. makes sense. I wasnt saying that Nikon was any better, really just curious. So many people on here seem to use nikons. Ive used a D80 for a little bit and really liked it but im such a noob to photography that I can’t really say how it compares. I know my sister got the XTi because she had a bunch of cannon lenses and accesories already. She really likes it btw.
So yeah, just wondering if there was anything that stood out to you that made you wanna choose the cannon. Eventually I am gonna purchase a dslr…
I have always wanted a dslr, I just got a high end Nikon point and shoot from work and i love it, but i want a real camera again. Before the digital boom i used to use my nikon SLR all of the time, but it is just too much of a hassle now that the digitals are just as good, and better in most cases.
Very nice camera work Pumice. I especially like the lume shot. How long was the exposure on that shot? I am starting to take an interest in photography as well. Maybe you can educate me on some of the finer points of using a light box. I have started by reading some tutorials specifically about taking pictures of watches and then doing basic ps work to remove dust, glare, and other ways of generally enhancing the picture.
1.) Clean the watch by hand as much as humanly possible. I did NO retouching on these photos - other than adjusting white balance, exposure and sharpness. A few minutes of hand cleaning will save you much more time in post production. If needed, get yourself some cotton gloves to avoid fingerprints.
2.) I built the light based on Victor Milt’s “Nanolight.” I have a DVD that he produced about lighting, called “Light it Right.” It’s mostly foam core, with 6 sockets for compact fluorescent bulbs (I only had 4 in for these shots - I needed the other 2 around the house!). The “backdrop” is cut from a giant roll of paper backdrop that I have. If you don’t want to have to edit out where the back meets the bottom surface, use paper with a curve (much like a skateboard 1/4 pipe). That curve makes for a seamless background.
3.) Settings for the luminocity shot: ISO 100 • f/5 • 8.00 sec • 18-55mm (@42mm) - I blasted the hell out of the watch face with an LED flashlight, then took the shot.
4.) (Assuming you’ll be using a tri-pod…) For ANY shots that are semi-long to long-exposures, I highly recommend either using the in-camera delay (waiting 10 seconds sucks), or an off-camera remote. As I’m sure you’ve experienced, the tiniest movement in your camera will make a HUGE blurry mess of your photos.
Huge Nerd Sidetracked Commentary: I don’t have an actual Canon remote, but my Treo can send IR, so I got some universal remote software and downloaded the Canon IR remote codes into it, so I used that!!
Any other questions, feel free to contact me. I don’t think of myself as an expert, but I’m realizing that I have done a bit of “professional” product photography and had to research a bunch of crap to get these results, so maybe I do have something to offer!
