[sushantr5]

Hi All,

I am looking for new DSLR in market. This is first time I am buying DSLR. I am not new to SLR though. My family owns a camera from TLR(Twin-Lens Reflex) era.


Histroy: Event Photography is our family business. Though it is not main business but good supporting business. My father is into this Profession from 1975. First camera he owned was Yashica Mat-124 G, which was TLR. My bad, in my child hood, just for curiosity I dismantled this camera and made it defunct. Now, I am repenting on my act in past . I was really mad. Today when I see this dead camera, I literally cry for my grave mistake.

Then somewhere around 1984 my father bought Nikon FM2 with 50 mm normal f1.4 lens and 35-70 zoom lens. This camera did its duty till year 2000. Then it started giving some problems with shutter. I preserved this camera and did not do any mistake as I did with Yashica.

Then my father bought some Olympus SLR. I do not know model name. In year 2007 we purchased Panasonic FZ-50 which is still doing duty. It is great camera with great zoom. This camera is perfect for wedding photography. With its zoom we can get close up shots of subject with ease. Image stabilization is great and this camera offers excellent sharpness and color reproduction. This camera is excellent in case of ease of use. Professional quality controls are present like two separate dials for aperture and shutter speed.

Now this camera is also showing some signs of age like hot shoe is not working. Battery availability is problem.

So I am into market new camera. FZ-50 successor would have worked great for us. Unfortunately Panasonic do not have such camera in market today. Fujifilm HS10 and HS20 are not looking attractive. So decided to buy DSLR.

Requirements:
1) All models satisfy photographic requirements
2) Good HD Video capability, just for creativity
3) Cheap 18-200 lens option

Now main problem with DSLR is that choosing a system rather than models.
Whether to go for Canon, Nikon or Sony. Based on my study I shortlisted following models

1) Canon 550D
2) Nikon D5100
3) Sony SLT-A55

Sony SLT-A55 looks attractive because it offers inbuilt image stabilization and great video capability in lot. Auto-focus performance during video is great. I can pair up any cheap Tamron or Sigma lens and it will work great for me.

For, Nikon and Canon I need to buy 18-200 lens with Image stabilization which will cost Rs.25000. Sony has edge over this. Serviceability and repair-ability in local market for Sony models will be a problem.

Experts must have sensed my confusion about choosing a DSLR. Please help me.

[kunalsb]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

What range do you need:

I would suggest following two:

1. AF-S DX VR 70-300mm

or

2. Replace your kit 18-55 with AF-S DX VR 18-105

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I use the 70-300 VR, and its a fantastic lens. however, it costs 35k Approx with bill and warranty.

Thanks for the suggestions. The Nikon 55-300VR is costing Rs. 20155 in India & approx Rs. 15000 in US. Also the 70-300 VR is not listed on the website (Nikon India Private Limited).
Any idea about the performance of 55-300?

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by sushantr5

Histroy: Event Photography is our family business.
...
In year 2007 we purchased Panasonic FZ-50 which is still doing duty. It is great camera with great zoom. This camera is perfect for wedding photography.

I am going OT but are you saying that you make money shooting weddings with a P&S? Even the small scale wedding photographers I have seen shoot with an SLR. Who in their right mind would hire a professional without a professional equipment?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

Thanks for the suggestions. The Nikon 55-300VR is costing Rs. 20155 in India & approx Rs. 15000 in US. Also the 70-300 VR is not listed on the website (Nikon India Private Limited).
Any idea about the performance of 55-300?

Its listed. I posted wrong price. Its actually around 25K with bill and warranty

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

Thanks for the suggestions. The Nikon 55-300VR is costing Rs. 20155 in India & approx Rs. 15000 in US. Also the 70-300 VR is not listed on the website (Nikon India Private Limited).
Any idea about the performance of 55-300?

It is there !!!

Nikon India Private Limited

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by asethi

Discontinued from production, but still very much available worldwide. In fact, this can be a very good opportunity to get great discounts on the camera, which otherwise won't be offered! ....D90 still shoots better video than many P&S cameras, and video still doesn't qualify as a major reason to select/reject a DSLR camera.

Hey! Even I have a D90. I also bought it when there were rumours that it was to be discontinued in a while. I too feel that video requires a dedicated handycam.

However, taking a cue from the car side of things I feel that when a person asks, you warn them. Because, that is what we are supposed to do. If the same gentleman goes and asks a salesman in a shop, this is exactly what he would get.

P.S. The D90 is a great camera! I love it too.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I am going OT but are you saying that you make money shooting weddings with a P&S? Even the small scale wedding photographers I have seen shoot with an SLR. Who in their right mind would hire a professional without a professional equipment?

That is a very offensive statement towards sushantr5. Panasonic FZ-50 is a prosumer camera, I am sure it has all the controls a professional needs. A typical wedding photographer in India rarely uses raw format or over-analyse equipment unlike us. Most of the them shoot JPG and often own only one kit lens that came with the camera. What they do know is how to expose under artificial lighting and how to prepare it for printing. I have discussed the lens setup and shooting mode with wedding photographers at many a weddings and have always come back amazed that they have lot simpler setup than most of us who frequent this thread. They have never bothered to enter the money pit despite being photography professionals, while we all wallow in it. On the average, professionals spends lot less on equipment than amateurs in India. How dare they....

[kkr2k2]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I am going OT but are you saying that you make money shooting weddings with a P&S? Even the small scale wedding photographers I have seen shoot with an SLR. Who in their right mind would hire a professional without a professional equipment?

Thats a really bad post!!

Prosumer cameras can take really good pics. And most of the so called "wedding photographers" who use DSLR dont know why they are using a DSLR or their capabilities. Some dont even know what is "spot metering"!!! And some of the prosumer cameras have similar specifications if not better than some of the DSLRs used by these wedding photographers!!

Example:
Fuji S5100.
Aperture: 2.8 to 3.1 with focal length 37mm to 370mm. (the ester-while Olympus C5050 had aperture of 1.8 to 2.6)
Almost no noise at max ISO(400).
3.33 fps.

[typeOnegative]

I think where Jaguar was coming from is that many people will look at the gear that a person is carrying in addition to the portfolio that they have shot. I used to be part of discussions (not on this forum) earlier where the going line was "If you are a professional then you have to have a D700 or 1DMkII minimum". Of course these were cases in the West.

That being said, I agree with you Samurai to a point. Wedding photographers in India do get the job done with prosumers as well. In many cases they carry three devices - a film camera (typically Nikon), a prosumer (I have seen two with Fujifilms) and a DSLR (Canon predominating, Nikon and once an Olympus).

But the really good ones, the ones who win all those competitions, do use a DSLR almost exclusively. That is because they are generally playing at boundaries which will take guys like us a lifetime to reach. Not to speak of the lenses they carry.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

The Nikon 55-300VR is costing Rs. 20155 in India & approx Rs. 15000 in US. Also the 70-300 VR is not listed on the website (Nikon India Private Limited).
Any idea about the performance of 55-300?

There were comments few posts back that image quality of 55-300 is not that great. Should say I havent used it yet so just saying what others said. Iam also on look out for lens, any idea about perfomance of 70-300 ?

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Samurai

That is a very offensive statement towards sushantr5....On the average, professionals spends lot less on equipment than amateurs in India. How dare they....

First off, my post was not to offend anyone but to express my surprise to someone who claims to be in the business but doesn't have much clue about DSLRs. Samurai's last statement conveys the same message in a better way.

Originally Posted by kkr2k2

Thats a really bad post!!

Prosumer cameras can take really good pics. And most of the so called "wedding photographers" who use DSLR dont know why they are using a DSLR or their capabilities. Some dont even know what is "spot metering"!!! And some of the prosumer cameras have similar specifications if not better than some of the DSLRs used by these wedding photographers!!

And I am surprised by the above statement as well. From the same forum which goes all out against someone who says that kit lens is good enough for an beginner to come forward and justify the use of non-pro equipment by a professional

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

Thanks for the suggestions. The Nikon 55-300VR is costing Rs. 20155 in India & approx Rs. 15000 in US. Also the 70-300 VR is not listed on the website (Nikon India Private Limited).
Any idea about the performance of 55-300?

It is in the FX section
Nikon India Private Limited

Nikon has separated the DX and FX lenses for ease of reference.

[Aroy]

I think that there is a misconception that only expensive equipment gets good photographs. As long as the camera and lense are good, it is the photographer and his/her technique that matters. Most of the professional photographers are using their equipment day in and out, and can wring the last ounce of image quality from it, and they have an extremely good idea of lighting and their workflow ensures a high percentage of keepers. In fact most of high end camera equipment are lapped up by rich amateurs with the professionals taking hardly 10% of the sales. That is not to say that top professionals do not indulge themselves, they do, but because they can afford and not because they need.

[sushantr5]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

First off, my post was not to offend anyone but to express my surprise to someone who claims to be in the business but doesn't have much clue about DSLRs. Samurai's last statement conveys the same message in a better way.



And I am surprised by the above statement as well. From the same forum which goes all out against someone who says that kit lens is good enough for an beginner to come forward and justify the use of non-pro equipment by a professional

I see you will get amazed by fact that for wedding photography we use FZ-50. But in fact FZ-50 is very versatile camera. For print size 8x12 it offers great print quality. Not only camera matters in function photography, it is quality composition, quality post processing, photo album presentation matters a lot. Though it is not mainstream business for us but business we do is far better than mainstream photographers.

Nowadays this business is continued as a hobby of my father. The way in which he does it with passion, I can say nobody does it. Our business is not money oriented now. With the quality we offer, we are like family photographers to many families. Even to such extent people check our availability before fixing marriage date. Even this is really amazing, in some villages we are the one to do all function photography.

Coming back to FZ-50, with its long zoom we can get close ups of people in natural mood without their knowledge. This make things more better. And sometimes we use Nikon D3000 borrowed from friend photographer, and when comparison happens, FZ-50 gets an edge over it because of ease of use and flexibility. You should read reviews of FZ-50. Everywhere it is mentioned that even if you own a SLR, FZ-50 offers great company. FZ-50 has usability which surpasses many entry level DSLRs. Some things like two jog dials for aperture and shutter make things easy.

Most of the photographers(not so professional) use DSLR with 18-55 lens. Which I think not at all useful to cover the function.

So while selecting camera I have main criteria that I should get 18-200 lens at cheap price.

Quality presentation of memories matters a lot. Many photographers do editing using existing templates for quick delivery. In our case every album is personalised with digital photo editing and decorating albums with self made paper designs and artworks. Even we use traditional painting with Album. My father is graduate from J J School of Arts Mumbai. He is an artist, this says it all. Poems add meaning to each page of album. Have you seen any photographer who approaches poets to compose poems, small meaningful lines?

Anyway that was about business how we do it. But camera is just an equipment nothing more than that.

[WindRide]

Sushant,
If you want to get into a system that has a brand new 18-200 available cheap and good AF in video mode, look away from Nikon, since neither of those requirements would be met (18-200 VR is ~ 45K and video AF even in latest D7000 is so-so).

AND sushant's post was really lovely to read (can't say the same about the ones following that) - a proper introduction of his photography experience and accurate requirements. My regards to your father, wish him a long and successful hobby/career!!