 Alison E. Copeland |
camera trade options????? hello. for christmas, I received a konica-minolta maxxum 5d. I mostly do baby photography. the camera just doesn't seem to be great for what I do. i'm not happy with it. I bought it from wolf camera, which does not deal in used equipment and only offers $50 for trade-in (we paid 799 plus tax). I really want to switch to the nikon d50. the photos I see taken with the d50 look a lot more like the photos I want to take. my question is this: am I screwed? I can't find a used d50 anywhere to trade for. I can't afford the difference between the price mine would fetch and a new d50... do you insiders know of an option I may have???
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Justin G. |
what's wrong with your 5D? I honestly don't think that a d50 will take better pictures than the 5d. remember a camera has no clue what it's taking a picture of. it doesn't say "babies, ewww, i'm gonna take crappy pics". a camera just shoots what it sees.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Justin's right. And, since it's been announced that Sony will be introducing digital SLR's using Konica-Minolts lenses, your 5D will have upgraded lenses available fairly soon. I don't really know the Nikon line [being a Canon user since 1988] but I've heard from a friend, who owns many Nikons [F2, F3, F4A,] that the D50 doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the discontinued D70. PopPhoto rated five digital SLRs in the $500-800 price bracket several months ago. The Canon Rebel XT won hands down; I can't recall whether the D50 or 5D took second place. As to trade-ins, there hasn't ever been a good trade-in market for digital cameras. After all, if your camera lacks some features now available in a "new" model that YOU want, why would anyone else pay "big money" for a camera body lacking those desirable features? That's why, in other threads, I've always suggested identification of the features a person routinely uses and purchase of a camera having a longer "laundry list." As Jason said, it's not the camera, it's the photographer taking the picture.
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Alison E. Copeland |
it's not about bells and whistles. i've seen the right-out-of-the-box, full auto photos taken by the d50 and my own 5d, and there is a very big difference. the 5d seems to do well for outdoorsy stuff, but less well on moving people and studio work. I wasn't even looking to trade "up" by your standards. I wanted another camera in the same category, even though I believe it's in a different class. it's in the same price range. nevermind. i'm mostly hugely disappointed by the utter lack of customer service provided to me by wolf camera. just forget I even asked the question.
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John P. Sandstedt |
Alison - As they say, if you can stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. In this case you asked for advise - you wanted aid and comfort that wasn't forthcoming. The major problem I've seen with digital is that if I have a Canon 30D [which I do,] my opinions are colored by that camera model. The answer you seek requires that owners of your particular model to respond and, if your model isn't that popular, you must accept the response of those trying to help. For me, an aging oldster, I could care less. Your answer sugggests you didn't ask Wolf the needed questions. Wolf is part of Ritz CamAera, I believe. Ritz has been around so long they certainly must understand that they live and die by customer service. Your response seems to suggest a certain disgust - with the camera and with the Wolf people. But, what about your own attempts to make things work better. Now, I'm not trying to criticize you - rather trying to help. But, you know - I'm having my own problems with my Canon 30D - but, because I'm an old sage, I work them out. It's usually not the camera or the reliable sale organization - it's the owner, who can't get it right.
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Alison E. Copeland |
ok. my last post here. I was not turned off by any advice given me. I get the feeling the minolta was pushed on me because they wanted to get rid of the ones they had (they don't sell the brand at all anymore). I came in and said, "this is my price range. what should I get?" not to offend anyone at all, but when I scan through (on betterphoto.com) photos taken with the minolta, the ones of people all seem to have the same quality: a lack of crispness. I gotta say it seems even if it's the owner's fault all the time, the 5d isn't as foolproof as the d50, the portraits i've seen here taken with which are much better. I am a beginner. I didn't know what questions to ask wolf. I told them what I was going to do with it. they sold me a camera. i'm not happy with it. I called them, they said there's a seven-day window for exchanges or returns. that's all I got from them. there was no effort on anyone's part there to make me happy. it's just hard for me to believe that such a large purchase should be so final. but I guess I was naive. what's equally hard to believe is the strange animosity I encountered in this forum. but, like I said, i'm only a beginner.
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anonymous |
Isn't it more about the lens you use anyways.....
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Andy |
Hi Alison, since I do not have a DSLR yet, would you sell your Maxxum 5D to me for $200, 3 times better offer than your trade in offer. I will even pay the shipping and insurance. I am very serious. However, if you want to hold on to the camera, which, by the way, is a very good entry level camera (better than none, like me), you will need to get to know the equipment at your hand to get better pictures. I have looked at your gallery and you take very good pictures. In my opinion, a little sharpening in post processing may increase the sharpness of your pictures. The disappointment you get from the camera maybe because you are just new to photography and using a new equipment. By the way, the average of more than hundred Maxxum 5D users rated this camera at 4.68 out of 5 in dpreview.com, which is a very high score. Since you said you are new to photography (which your pictures show you are not, I think), there are things that you can do to improve. One advantage of your 5D over the D5D is that it has image stabilization built in the camera. The lens, quality and quantity of light, camera's custom setting, and post processing are all contributed to the final image. I use my wife's point-and-shoot digital camera from time to time and can get good pictures. I am sure your 5D can do a much better job. So practice and get to know your equipment. You will get better pictures. In case you still want to get rid of the 5D, think about my offer.
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Alison E. Copeland |
ok. thank you, everyone. i'm not sure what you were trying to prove, but I am thoroughly embarrassed now. can we please stop this thread? thank you.
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Kerry L. Walker |
Alison, I think you are taking the advice here the wrong way. I don't think anyone is trying to prove anything nor is anyone trying to insult you. You asked for advice and you are getting it. As far as the customer support at Ritz, all I can say is that at many chain camera stores the personnel behind the counter are not photographers. They are simply clerks. (Yes, there are some exceptions. Some are really knowledgeable.) In fact, you will probably get better customer support right here at BP. I can't give you advice about the D50 or 5D since I own neither but I will say that I have two Minolta cameras that have given me excellent results. (OK, the newest is over 20 years old but then I ain't so young either.) It seems to me like your problem may be solved by asking for specific advice about a specific problem. For instance, it seems like the problem may be more in the area of post processing rather than shooting. As a film shooting Photoshop retard, I can't help much but there are a lot of folks here who can and will help. If I ever go digital, I am going to be looking for a lot of advice myself. As far as the difference between the outdoor stuff and the indoor stuff, those are two completely different shooting venues and they take different skill sets. You, just like all of the rest of us, just need to learn them. Why don't you just post an example of a shot you don't like and ask for advice. Don't just ask for a critique. Point out the things you don't like and ask how to fix them. You will get plenty of help.
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