I’ve wanted to get a REAL camera for ages. The last real camera I had was a Minolta SRT101 SLR 35mm film camera. I’ve had lots of toy cameras since then with the closest to real being my Olympus C-785 Ultra Zoom. It has a 10X Optical lens and it’s got some manual control but it isn’t SLR.
I finally decided it was time so last week I bought a Nikon D5000.
It’s not quite professional grade but it’s very close. Professionals would say it’s a great starter camera but for me it’s great.
To show the power of a real SLR I took a few pics the other night. This one is taken outside at night when it was completely dark. I used the built-in flash so you can see just how dark it was. The F-stop was 3.5 and the shutter was 1/60 second.
This next one was taken at the same time except it was on a tripod and the F stop was 3.8 with a 25 second shutter speed.
You can see some lights in the shot but you would almost swear it was daylight. Look around the middle on the left side of center and you can see some trails from a car.
Here’s a pano made with photos from the new camera and Autostitch. Richard first showed me Autostitch. Pretty cool free program to make Panoramas.
I think I’ll be happy with this camera for a long time to come.
Looks like a great camera. At one time I had a great SLR and loved it, but now I am content with a reasonable quality camera that still fits easily in my pocket. I wouldn’t use it nearly as much if it were larger, but then I’m just interested in taking decent snapshots. I’m not a photographer.
Comment by Richard — Saturday January 23, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
For me it’s the opposite. I found I didn’t use my little camera as much because I was never that happy with what I could do with it. I expect to use this a lot more.
I’m going to the 50th anniversary of the NHRA Winternationals next month at Pomona Raceway and there should be tons of stuff to take photos of there.
Comment by Don — Saturday January 23, 2010 @ 5:45 pm
Wow, I’m most impressed with the night picture. I would have sworn it was taken in full daylight.
I wouldn’t know what to do with all the features and complexity of a camera like that. I’m with Richard — I personally find a small pocketable camera fits my needs, but I can see that for a hobbyist something like this would be great fun.
Kind of like how you are content with your iPhone, while I need the more powerful, feature-filled Droid. 😉
Comment by Daryl — Sunday January 24, 2010 @ 8:50 am
Yes(cough, cough). Just like that. 😀
Comment by Don — Sunday January 24, 2010 @ 8:56 am
I forgot to mention I had that Minolta back in the 70’s. There is no more Minolta. I read they were bought by Sony.
Comment by Don — Sunday January 24, 2010 @ 9:04 am
Don – Daryl would like you to email him hundreds of snapshots from the Winternationals next month!
Comment by Dale — Sunday January 24, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
That’s my plan Dale! 😀
Comment by Don — Sunday January 24, 2010 @ 8:43 pm
Boy, it seems like everyone and his brother is buying an expensive camera and becoming a self proclaimed semi-professional photographer. The problem is, many people can snap a picture, but very few have a real “eye” for it. Taking a sharp clear photo of someone’s behind does not a photographer make. I hope you grow into the other category. Have fun and go find some GREAT shots.
Comment by Donna — Monday January 25, 2010 @ 6:07 pm
I don’t think I said I was trying to become semi-professional. I think I said I just wanted a camera that does everything I expect an SLR to do. The camera is not quite pro grade but it’s a great camera for someone who wants to do what I want to do.
Comment by Don — Monday January 25, 2010 @ 6:17 pm