help

hando · 05 Sep 2013, 7:15 am

dont know anything about cameras was looking at a nikon DSLR D5100 $594 at jb hi fi which is at the top end of my price range is this a ok camera or is there something better for around same price. thanking you

dodger · 05 Sep 2013, 11:14 am

Personally I'm a fan of second hand camera gear. If you're tight on budget you can get much better gear for the same price.

Also, you should probably check what lens that comes with. If you're using it for urbex then ultra wide angles are pretty useful. (You'd probably get a lot less use out of a telephoto lens)

hando · 05 Sep 2013, 11:16 am

cheers i might check out ebay and some second hand shops in the area

Urbane · 05 Sep 2013, 2:07 pm

hando wrote:dont know anything about cameras was looking at a nikon DSLR D5100 $594 at jb hi fi which is at the top end of my price range is this a ok camera or is there something better for around same price. thanking you

I own the D5100 at the moment, and to me it's as pretty good camera for the price.

hando · 05 Sep 2013, 2:17 pm

ok cool thanx cool pics too

No+Pro · 05 Sep 2013, 2:18 pm

Urbane wrote:
hando wrote:dont know anything about cameras was looking at a nikon DSLR D5100 $594 at jb hi fi which is at the top end of my price range is this a ok camera or is there something better for around same price. thanking you
I own the D5100 at the moment, and to me it's as pretty good camera for the price.

second that, i got the twin kit, i reckon its a good entry point unit, and a convenient size too (smallish). In a couple of years if you want to take photography further, buy something better/more expensive/way too big to lug around

the 18-55mm lens it normally comes with worked for me until someone lent me a wide angle - then i had to buy my own..bye bye tax money. Have only used the 55-200mm a couple of times but depends on what you're into shooting.

most of my pics here are taken on my D5100, some were on a D90 I borrowed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95636379@N02/

hando · 05 Sep 2013, 3:30 pm

thanks for info the one i looking at sounds the same it has 18-55 and a 55-200. i hope that my shots looks a quarter as good as yours and i will be happy you have some awsome pics

benderz · 05 Sep 2013, 11:56 pm

hando wrote:cheers i might check out ebay and some second hand shops in the area

I recommend ebay or http://www.eglobaldigitalcameras.com.au/.

I got my canon 650d $500 cheaper by buying on ebay rather than jb hi fi. I have also bought other photo and computer gear from eglobal and they are decent as well (although the shipping is a little steep.)

I dont bother with second hand. People like to think they are salesmen and try and make money by overcharging. You can buy new gear online which is usually cheaper than what some people want second hand.

hando · 06 Sep 2013, 5:21 am

thanks for all the info and your time ppl really helped much appreciated.

hando · 07 Sep 2013, 1:43 pm

i call upon your knowledge once more, so i have decieded on the d5100 and have a choice of two lenses which is the better one

Nikon AF 50mm f1.8D AF Lens

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G Lens

thanks for any help

No+Pro · 07 Sep 2013, 3:16 pm

i'd get the 35 (i want that 35), will probably be better for the underground stuff (wider) plus it has autofocus. the thing with the d5100 is it doesn't have the built in autofocus so if you get an AF lens, you have to manual focus all the time. AF-S has a built in autofocus. Make sense? Having said that, most people use manual focus in the dark anyway, but if you're planning on using your camera for other stuff, its nice to have autofocus. I borrowed that 50mm for 6 months and found i couldnt get a shot of my kid as manual focus took too much fiddling around.

is there much price difference between the two?

hando · 07 Sep 2013, 3:59 pm

$147 for first and $275 for second. yeah auto focus sounds good to me never used a camera before and only been infront of one for mug shot. Thanks for your help again

hando · 08 Sep 2013, 6:44 pm

sorry to bother you all again does this sound like a good deal for $900

Nikon D5100 (1 year old) (INCLUDES WARRANTY, PURCHASED AT GEORGES) +
Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-S + (3 months old)
NIkon 35mm f1.8 AF-S + Filter (2 months old)
Nikon 18-105 AF-S ( almost new, 1 month old)
Nikon 18-55 AF-S (bundle lens) +filter (1 year old)
plus...
Camera bag (can fit 2 lenses, or 3) (valued $55 AUD)
3 SD memory Card Extreme (16GB, 8GB, 8GB) (Valued $35 , $20 AUD)
1 Gorilla Pod (valued $99 AUD)

thanks

Spoz · 09 Sep 2013, 9:14 am

That's not a bad deal. The only thing is you'll want a wide angle lens at some point soon though, down to 8 or 10mm. The 18mm isn't really wide enough and those 18mm lenses aren't good quality at all.

No+Pro · 09 Sep 2013, 6:31 pm

pretty much what spoz said, will be a good starting point

once bought something minor from georges when in sydney, had heard they had pretty good service/prices, seemed alright

hando · 10 Sep 2013, 2:59 pm

you wouldnt know the name of a wide angle lens?

drains_ · 10 Sep 2013, 3:01 pm

Simga, Samyang, Rokkinon, Nikon, Canon'

lots of vendors make wides

if you want cheap, go prime, full manual with no electronics (Samyang 8mm Fisheye etc)

Spoz · 10 Sep 2013, 4:08 pm

Check out the sigma 8-16. Not sure what your budget is, but that's a really good value entry level wide lens.

Alternatively there are cheap samyang primes like the 8mm you can pickup for $350 but everything is manual from memory.

hando · 10 Sep 2013, 4:32 pm

thanks again for info will look into them

No+Pro · 10 Sep 2013, 5:49 pm

i have the Sigma 10-20mm 4-5.6, http://www.georges.com.au/index.php/len ... c-hsm.html , set me back $410 (can be got cheaper, either secondhand, grey import or new depending on sales) for my 5100. There's a more expensive Sigma 10-20mm 3.5 but i wouldnt justify the extra couple of hundred http://www.georges.com.au/index.php/len ... c-hsm.html some evil pricing on that second one..

benderz · 10 Sep 2013, 11:30 pm

No+Pro wrote:i have the Sigma 10-20mm 4-5.6, http://www.georges.com.au/index.php/len ... c-hsm.html , set me back $410 (can be got cheaper, either secondhand, grey import or new depending on sales) for my 5100. There's a more expensive Sigma 10-20mm 3.5 but i wouldnt justify the extra couple of hundred http://www.georges.com.au/index.php/len ... c-hsm.html some evil pricing on that second one..

I was looking at getting that lens when I get my tax refund back.

Spoz · 11 Sep 2013, 9:17 am

As someone who started out with a 10-20 f/3.5 and subsequently used the 8-16 I highly recommend the 8-16. The extra price is worth it for the boost in sharpness at the extreme wide. It's smaller and lighter too.