Questions of what to get

PappyRoot · February 26, 2012

Howdy Everyone,

I am a newb to photography. I have a Sony a200 & a rinky dink tripod and that is it.

I just had my 50th birthday and my wife says she will get me photo equipment for my birthday. At first I told her I wanted a better tripod and a macro lens. However, I realize I need to learn more with what i have before getting into lenses. So, I changed it to Tripod and PS Elements 10. We are limited when it comes to the old mighty $ As I am on disibility. I would like to hear if I am thinking in the right direction. If your wonderful wife said let me get you some "toys" for your birthday what would be on your list? :scratch

Love & Prayers
Darryl

ziggy53 · February 26, 2012

It would be nice to know more about your photographic interests and intentions.

What type of photography do you find interesting?
What type of photography do you feel limited by your current equipment?
Do you intend to sell your images?

etc.

The more you tell us about your photography and your plans, the better we can help you to find the right tools.

Oh and ..., happy birthday.

PappyRoot · February 26, 2012

ziggy53 wrote: »

It would be nice to know more about your photographic interests and intentions.

What type of photography do you find interesting?
What type of photography do you feel limited by your current equipment?
Do you intend to sell your images?

etc.

The more you tell us about your photography and your plans, the better we can help you to find the right tools.

Oh and ..., happy birthday.

Thank you for the birthday wish.
As far as your questions. I do want to eventually sell my images. I love going outdoors and shooting tons of nature shots, however I like taking images of people as well. I do not know enough yet to feel limited by my equipment.

RyanS is going to take me to our local musuem in a few days and will be lending me a flash but said I need a hot shoe. So, now I am thinking I need a flash and shoe as well. Boy, I sure picked an expensive hobby/career to get into.

I hope I gave you enough information.

Darryl

T. Bombadil · February 26, 2012

PappyRoot wrote: »

If your wonderful wife said let me get you some "toys" for your birthday what would be on your list?

Happy Birthday from me also!

You have chosen a fun hobby with much opportunity to spend money.

Part of the process (and for some of us, part of the fun) is working with images on a computer (well, at least you can't completely bypass the computer if you are using a DSLR. cell phone cameras do what they do without need of a computer). I would suggest that you not spend money on PS Elements (at least, not yet).

PS Elements does some good stuff - but one thing it doesn't do as well as a couple alternatives is help you keep your images organized. If you have a Mac, it came with iPhoto - which is a good organizational tool, can make global changes to images (crop it, make it brighter, change the white balance, etc.) but isn't a tool for pixel editing (which PSE can do, but you may or may not head that way in your photography). A professional tool that adds functionality (some pixel editing) is Aperture (similar in price to PSE, if purchased through the Mac App Store).

If you have a PC, there is Lightroom (also runs on a Mac) which provides similar organizational tools and editing. You might ultimately want one of these organizational tools & PSE, but I think you want the organizational tool first (because it keeps you organized, and it really does a lot of what you need - perhaps not everything, but a lot).

So, if you have a Mac, maybe no software purchase yet. If a PC, there may be free software, but Lightroom is money well spent.

For camera, lens, tripod, etc. advice - tell us more about what you want to make photos of and there will be much advice. If you want to maximize utility for the $ spent, you probably want to consider some used equipment from a reputable source. Buying high quality lenses will give you the best foundation for commercial work (and those lenses will last for many years, even though you may upgrade your camera from time to time).

That said, it is possible to make great photos with most any camera. A few months ago, at a "farmers market" in New Brunswick I saw some GREAT photos for sale that were made with a point and shoot (and probably some computer skill - but definitely, based on my conversation with the photog, nothing as complicated as even PS Elements). So when people say "it's not the camera, it's the photographer", they are 100% correct (even if not really helping). Point is, don't be in a hurry to spend money - shoot first, ask questions later.

PedalGirl · February 26, 2012

If you don't currently have a decent method of editing your photos, I would definitely get the Elements 10. Better camera equipment is all well and good, but it sounds like $$ is an issue at this time. Even a point and shoot if you use it well will go a long way towards great pictures if you have a decent method of editing them. I only just recently got a DSLR... and an entry one at that. Money is always an issue with me as well so it has taken me time to get to where I am. Even pictures taken a long time ago with my old Sony point and shoot were greatly improved when I got Elements and started editing them. Lightroom is great as well, but really pricey... I would watch for a good deal on that. I just recently got LR3 for $70 on a one day special.

A half way decent tripod is a good choice as well if you want to take photos at night or with long exposure times.

In the end, you need to assess where you want to take your photography at this point in time, what tools it will take to get there and then look at the budget and see what it is you can get now and what you can make due without for the time being. At least that's what I do.

ziggy53 · February 26, 2012

PappyRoot wrote: »

... RyanS is going to take me to our local musuem in a few days and will be lending me a flash but said I need a hot shoe. So, now I am thinking I need a flash and shoe as well. Boy, I sure picked an expensive hobby/career to get into. ...

For the people stuff and social events in particular an external flash is terribly important, more so than the camera or lens. I believe that your camera has a hot shoe, but it's a Minolta/Sony style, and it requires an adapter in order to use a more standard ISO shoe flash. Perhaps that's what Ryan is talking about.

Depending on what you have for lens/lenses, a different lens might be indicated to gain better control over bokeh and DOF. Like previous user comments, a used lens can save money.

For software I do recommend the Photoshop Elements series, which has the advantage of a considerable amount of user support. You can use freeware alternatives to save some money, and the following are fairly well supported (and I use them too):

Raw Therapee
The GIMP
Picasa

Raw Therapee is available for most operating systems, as is The GIMP. Picasa is mostly for Windows machines.

PappyRoot · February 26, 2012

Thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes. I just turned 50 and think that is so cool to say I am 50.

Your advices that you have shared are valuable to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to give. A big shout out to PedalGirl. In other threads she has always been there to answer my questions and concerns. I was excited to see her here with this one. She is a wonderful person if you have questions. Everybody else you are awesome for taking the time like I said to help.

I do have an iMac with iPhoto and it is a wonderful tool for organizing and most post editing. However, just like Tim the tool man Taylor, I want more power. From what I gather Elements will give me more bang for my buck. I fell in love with Photo Shop but who has $2000.00 now a days. Because I am still learning I feel Elements will help Dr my images. I still want to take the best shot as if there are no post editing. But I know my talent right now or my lack of talent.

.

I agree 100% about getting used lenses to save money. My thinking process is that right now I should wait for awhile to get those as I have so much to learn. This f stop thing has me so baffled. It will take some time to master that as well as focal point. I think once I master a few more things then I can start to purchase different lenses. While I am waiting, I can be putting a little money away to save up for them. By the way I think the first lens will be a macro. All tho wide angle is a close second as I do more nature shots.

I really would like to make money to help support my photography addiction. Hi I am Darryl and I am a photographyholic. It has been 15 min since I last took a picture.

Again, thank you so much for all your input it truly is food for thought.

Love and Prayers
Darryl

PedalGirl · February 27, 2012

PappyRoot wrote: »

Your advices that you have shared are valuable to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to give. A big shout out to PedalGirl. In other threads she has always been there to answer my questions and concerns. I was excited to see her here with this one. She is a wonderful person if you have questions. Everybody else you are awesome for taking the time like I said to help.

Aw shucks!

Thanks! You're way too kind.

PappyRoot wrote: »

This f stop thing has me so baffled. It will take some time to master that as well as focal point.

I always got the general concept of f stops... small number shallow depth of field... yada yada yada but this book really put using my camera in manual and really understanding aperture and how it relates to iso speed and shutter speed into "focus" for me. You might find it helpful as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330319533&sr=8-1

And by the way... Happy Birthday!

PappyRoot · February 27, 2012

PedalGirl, (May I call you by your name? if so what is it?)

I had to laugh when I clicked on your link. That book was the first book I checked out at the library and then ran out and bought it. I think it is wonderful. I do not know why I am having so much problems with it. I think it comes down to that old saying... You cant teach an old dog new tricks.

Thank you again
Darryl

PedalGirl · February 27, 2012

PappyRoot wrote: »

PedalGirl, (May I call you by your name? if so what is it?)

I had to laugh when I clicked on your link. That book was the first book I checked out at the library and then ran out and bought it. I think it is wonderful. I do not know why I am having so much problems with it. I think it comes down to that old saying... You cant teach an old dog new tricks.

Thank you again
Darryl

PedalGirl, Pedal, or Lisa... they all work.

That's too funny about the book.

Art Scott · February 27, 2012

As Ziggy said...Your a200 has a hotshoe..it is just a proprietary one..meaning that it is special and a lot of off brand flashes need an adapter, can be purchased off ebay for very little...but better than that look into the Sigma line of flashes for Sony then you have direct connectivity and all functions should work...sometimes a Minolta/Sony adapter to ISO shoe does not allow all the flashes functionality to work.

One of our members, Awais Yaqub, started out with a Sony Point and shoot and had several of his photographs PUBLISHED off that camera... since sony is so proud of their lenses I would also recommend looking into Sigma Lenses as an alternative to Sony lenses....and since your camera has built in Image Stabilization the lenses will cost less and be lighter than lenses for my Nikon... I shot for many years with Minolta - konica Minolta cameras and Sigma lenses...I buy used 99.9% of the time...off ebay and I also purchase a square trade warranty at teh same time or shortly after ... Have never needed to use one of them yet...
Since you like Nature, Wildlife and Landscaping and People shooting my recommendations would be 2 lenses - 17-70 f2.8-4 (around $480) and a 70-200f2.8 (can be found from as low as 250 to as high as $2000) both by sigma ...the 70-200 is the smallest lens I would ever try and capture wildlife with and that is only because I bow hunt and have learned how to naturally camouflage my human scent so I do not alarm the deer and so forth so much...but a used Sigma 50-500 , 150-500 or 170-500 would be great...I use my 50-500 a lot...it is my go to wildlife lens...my 70-200 is next inline....

Since the a200 should shoot in raw , that is where you should be shooting...and as for 1st real software, I will 2nd the above recommendation for Lightroom...if you get Scott kelby's lightroom for Digital photogs book it explains how to use it not only for "developing your images" but how to use it to catalog your images and always know where they are...Keby writes in an easy to understand way...his jokes kinda suck...but he tries...

Questions of what to get

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