Calling all Photography nerds!

Check out the FujifilmX100F, it takes crazy beautiful photos on the auto settings.

 

Do you have a budget for your potential purchase? Knowing what you plan to spend might help the pros recommend the best "bang for buck" in that price range.

 

Went down to the rail yard today, sky was completely grey.

 

awesome setup!

 

I love this forum! (Even though I don't own a 3rd gen ) I just recently bought a Nikon D7000 with an 18-55mm lens to start and I'm excited to finally start getting some higher quality shots than what my phone currently takes. I've always had an interest in photography and I like to think I have a little bit of an eye for it. Figure it's time to step up my game. Thank you all for the motivation!

 

Ah I see. Heres a hint i learned while shoot meteors. If you have the shutter open for only the time that the strike is happening.. then it will be much more intense in the photo. While youre continuing to expose after the strike, it actually takes away from the initial bolt. The background basically starts bleeding over the lightning strike the longer you expose. Thats why most shoot mulitple photos as if doing a time lapse and then compile photos together for multiple strikes. Or you can use something like the pluto trigger that fires your camera based off a sensor looking for a flash or anything. I dont own one so not exactly sure how they work.

Nice photos, did you shoot in raw? The first one looks under exposed and the second one over exposed. I would raise the shadows in the first picture and lower the highlights in the second one.

 

JUST ANOTHER PHOTO NERD HERE, THAT MAKES MAPLE SYRUP.

 

In my back yard

 

iPhone shot at a cool mural yesterday in Portsmouth, Ohio on the Ohio River flood wall.

 

as long as simple to use and get to computer which I have not even done before. Id like to keep it under $1000

 

Nice! Maxing that out puts you around a Nikon D7200 or a Canon 70d (new) kits or slightly higher bodies/lenses on the used market. I've never bought a used body before, so maybe somebody could chime in on that market.

$1000 seems to be a sweet spot for entry level cameras, and most of them do pretty well so you have many options. You could max out your spend with the bodies above and kit lenses (not super great, but a big step up from cell phone cam), or get a slightly lesser boddy and a good first lens. Nikon Example would be something like a d5600 and a 50mm f1.8 or even a used 35mm f1.8 lens. This would be the setup I might've started with if I knew what I was going to do.

No matter which way you go, people have plenty to say about canon vs. nikon vs. sony etc... The truth is, each brand has their ups and downs. None of them are perfect so some research on your part would benefit you greatly going forward.

My only other concern with your situation is that you want great pics right out of the box. They will all do well, but I've found in most situations, a camera on auto will do some strange shit. Once you pick something, c'mon back here so we can give you some pointers and link some brand specific youtube videos on how to use, what I call, "auto plus" modes (Aperture priority/Shutter priority etc...). I'd link to some of the gear I mentioned above, but that's a pain on a phone, so I'll circle back tonight and link up some options and let the actual professionals pull me apart later, haha!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...tion-price-reduced-for-the-final-time.527729/
You should jump on this. its a pretty killer deal

 

I almost bought my D7200 used as a body. But then I found someone selling the 2 lens kit + bag brand new on offer up for $800. My friend does wedding photos and other photography on the side and got her D7200 body used. Just buy from reputable places.

 

There have been some good suggestions. Id recommend getting something that has more focal length range if youre only getting one lens with the body at the time of purchase. When I bought my 5dMKII used, I bought the 50mm 1.4 with it, and was kinda limited. Dont get me wrong, its still one of my "go to" lenses, but youre limited if youre in a tight place or trying to take a photo behind the side lines or barrier of something.

If you go canon (nikon and sony have similar lenses), and are serious about getting into to, id suggest the 24-105 f4 L or the 24-70 f2.8 L. Both are great glass and you can use them still if you upgrade to a full frame later. (on a crop these focal lengths will be multiplied by 1.6 for canon or 1.5 for nikon/sony) Other makes have similar lenses as well. Id suggest the 24-70 over the 24-105 because the lens is faster with the 2.8 aperture and gives you more flexibility when shooting in low light situations where crop sensor cameras suffer. The 24-70 is probably out of your budget at the moment, but might be worth it if you really want to get crisp photos and youre a pixel snob like me. I regret getting the 16-35 f4 IS L over the 16-35 f2.8 (non stabilized) because I shoot a lot of Milky Way and low light long expo stuff. The f4 I have is smaller and lighter than the 2.8 though so at least it has that going for it.

 

I've often been in the exact opposite position (too close to frame everything with no room to move back (thick bush/rock walls etc...)) when shooting trucks and stuff. I started with a 70-300 (that I still use today) and started buying wider 2.8s as I moved forward, haha.

 

Technically, if you want the least distortion of the vehicle, that 70-300 would be perfect. I dont shoot vehicle shoots under 50mm unless I have to. (at an expo, limited garage space, etc.)

Just hop over those bushes or rocks and frame it with a blurry foreground.

 

Haha, I'm ALL about moving for the shot, trust me (primes are fun, aren't they!). Just the bush I speak of is dense and tall and the rock walls are just that, walls, LOL. Unless the roof is all I want, it doesn't always work out or it's so dense that I can't get a clear shot of the subject anymore. I only focus on vehicles cause I thought that's what @crappie man wanted to shoot, but now I'm seeing now, that's not the case, LOL.

Edit: Speaking on the distortion, I've actually been really impressed with the Tamron 15-30mm f2.8. Still there, but depending on the subject and distance from the camera, it's super minimal.