Digital SLR camera question/ semi pro I guess.

[dadx4]

I am looking at buying my daughter a Sony A77/SLR. The problem I am running into is that I don't want to buy a $2,000 camera if I can't find a place that can handle 24.3 megapixel photo printing. Any ideas? The highest I have found is 12 megapixel so far and it's the machines at Wolf.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

mpix, maybe?

Is your daughter going to be doing a lot of 2ft x 3ft prints?

[ATL_Gator]

I was going to say what size printing are you looking to do?

I would guess you could find somewhere online that would handle that size.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Yeah, I do think mpix will handle that.

In reality, that size is probably 5' + prints.

[dadx4]

mpix, maybe?

Is your daughter going to be doing a lot of 2ft x 3ft prints?

Nope..most will be 4x5's, 8x10's.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Then there's absolutely no need for that kind of resolution.

[SAEGator]

For approximately $500 less here are the two items you need to buy that will give you pictures you will never complain about. Purchased this for my wife, and she absolutely loves it..:grin:

Canon EOS Rebel 2 Ti (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=4462B001&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=7951378329166278952&sa=X&ei=wo2DTv6SJseWtwfmzdXgAQ&ved=0CHQQ8wIwAQ)

and

Canon EF Wide Angle Zoom Lens 17mm - 40mm - F / 4.0 (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=8806A002&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13759777676146335639&sa=X&ei=rI2DToiiIdOUtweO0-HbAQ&ved=0CDUQ8wIwAA)

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Seriously, unless she's doing fashion photography, any prosumer DSLR will fit the bill nicely at this point.

And if she is doing fashion photography, that Sony A77 won't be anywhere near enough.

[dadx4]

I ended up getting her the Sony A55...She's not doing fashion but a lady wants her to help her with weddings and family portraits right now. Not a bad gig for a 15 year old, good money too....

[wcj786]

dadx4

As others said, any DSLR should work. I see the post immediately above about your daughter helping with weddings and family portraits, but pretty much any DSLR will work there, too. The lenses and photographer's knowledge are much more important than the body of the camera when considering prosumer DSLR's.

I don't know the Sony A55, so I can't address that, but if the specs are comparable to even the Canon 30D, which is 5 years old and only provides 8MP, then it will work fine for her. Again, it is the lenses and the photographer's abilities that are the most important aspect at that level.

I recommend that she take pictures in the various camera modes (Aperture Only, Full Manual, etc.) in all lighting conditions, with all kinds of scenes (i.e. landscape, fireworks, moving water, candid shots and portraits (you can even volunteer to be her model :))). This will allow her to get comfortable with her camera and it's settings, while also identifying the deficiencies with her current lenses. It will also give her an idea of what lenses will work better for the different types of photos she is looking to shoot.

Just be glad that she is not trying to perform underwater photography with it, as the underwater housing will cost at minimum, the same as the camera itself cost. Now, when you talk lenses, that is even more expensive. The good thing about those though, they will last through multiple Sony camera bodies.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Yeah, I'm not sure I would have gone with that. Any DSLR will take great wedding photos and most are in the 10-12 MP range, more than enough to satisfy any printing demands.

If you really did spend $1500+, I think you spent waay too much.

[G8trGr8t]

lens quality is much more critical than resolution for this purpose. spend less on camera, more on lens. for your purpose, I would recommend the 16 - 35 f 2.8 in the Canon series. good in low light and has a image stabilizer. I want this lens but can't justify it just yet.Use a 17 - 40 outdoors but it isn't so good in low light. you can get a good low shutter count canon 40d for around $500 to go with this lens and have a great wedding, portrait, or fashion camera

[TimCasey67]

Then there's absolutely no need for that kind of resolution.

Yes and no.

You can crop the image and still have a good file.

However, if the pixels aren't any good, even a 50 MP camera won't make very good images. I'm not very familiar with that camera, so I won't offer an opinion either way.

For example, the top Nikon camera (D3s) sensor blows away the top Canon sensor (1DmkIV), even though though the Canon has a 16 MP senor and the Nikon has a 12.1 MP sensor.

I have the Canon 1DmkIV, but I would trade it for the Nikon if I could also trade all of my Canon lenses.

[TimCasey67]

lens quality is much more critical than resolution for this purpose. spend less on camera, more on lens. for your purpose, I would recommend the 16 - 35 f 2.8 in the Canon series. good in low light and has a image stabilizer. I want this lens but can't justify it just yet.Use a 17 - 40 outdoors but it isn't so good in low light. you can get a good low shutter count canon 40d for around $500 to go with this lens and have a great wedding, portrait, or fashion camera

BINGO. The lens (and light) are far more important than the camera. If you take care of the lens, it will last a long time. I have a 20mm lens I bought in 1995 that I still use. The camera will be obsolete within 5 years.

I have the 16-35mm, and 24-70mm. Both are excellent lenses. The 17-40mm is great, but isn't as fast (f4 max), but that's not usually an issue when using a wide lens like these.

[TimCasey67]

The lenses and photographer's knowledge are much more important than the body of the camera when considering prosumer DSLR's.
l.

I recommend that she take pictures in the various camera modes (Aperture Only, Full Manual, etc.) in all lighting conditions, with all kinds of scenes (i.e. landscape, fireworks, moving water, candid shots and portraits (you can even volunteer to be her model :))). This will allow her to get comfortable with her camera and it's settings, while also identifying the deficiencies with her current lenses. It will also give her an idea of what lenses will work better for the different types of photos she is looking to shoot.

Most people are surprised to find that most pros, including me, only shoot in full manual exposure mode. As sophisticated as the cameras have become, they still can't figure out a correct exposure fast enough in difficult lighting conditions.