 Kelly J. Mitchell |
uprgrading to a pro dslr - advice? I have been shooting with an older digital rebel for years and am finally making the leap to a pro camera. The rebel lenses will not work on the full-frame models, so compatibility is unfortunately not a concern. My question is, what camera do you recommend? I will be focusing on portrait photography (studio and location, eventually) of mostly kids and families. I also plan to offer "local flavor" type shots for sale in my small touristy hometown. (perhaps even the occasional magazine submission???) I need to be able to produce large prints of high quality, so megapixels are of great concern to me. I HATE the noise I get with my old rebel - grrr!!! I am blessed with a flexible budget, but need to work in some nice glass and other accessories as well. Any advice for the obsessed hobbyist going pro would be greatly appreciated!!! I had the go-ahead to make a purchase weeks ago and I can't make up my mind!!!!
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
just a note.... I have researched Canon 5d and 1dsMarkiii as well as Nikon d3. Any experience with these would be appreciated!
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Oliver Anderson |
Hey Kelly, if you've got the rebel then a lot of lenses will work with the 5D & 1Ds MarkIII. Why don't you list what you got so we can let you know. Both the Canons you mentioned are fantastic in high ISOs so you can't go wrong there but the 1series might be a little heavy for you. I recommend you head to a nearby camera store and hold them both to see what you like. The 5D is VERY lite but the 1Ds MarkIII is in a league of its own. I don't think you'd be spending your money wisely if you bought it quite honestly. Its kinda like jumping to a Turbo Porsche from a Honda...its awesome but you don't need the 22mg for your type of images. What about the 1D MarkIII...I think you'd be better off spending the money on L series glass...unless you got a lot of dough burning a whole in that pocket.
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
Oliver, I think you are right....i get starry eyed over the megapixels, but for less than the price of the camera body alone I can get a fantastic complete setup with the 5d. I have been driving myself crazy over this, but I THINK I have finally come to a decision. As for lenses, all I have is ef-s that won't work on 5d, so starting from scratch. Here's what I am looking at.. 70-200 f 2.8 (IS) & 1.4x extender (i shoot my kids sporting events too!) 50mm f 1.4 24-70 f 2.8 and just for kicks.... 50mm f 2.8 macro 10-17mm fisheye I will stick with canon lenses except for the fisheye and macro since they are more for entertainment! Any comments or suggestions? Do you think this combination is good for a portrait setup? As far as accessories.... battery grip Canon 580exII speedlight with diffuser and the obvious.... extra battery extra cf card external hard drive for storage Question: Since I won't be worried about a studio for some time, what do you recommend for additional portable lighting? Thanks sooo much for taking the time to help (: Kelly btw- took a peek at your gallery- WOW!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Kelly, From your list of lenses, I believe the 10-17mm will be the only one that wont work for the 5D or 1D(s) Mark III. The other lenses should work fine and you have a nice selection of lenses listed. For wide angle you can get either the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 or the 17-40mm f/4 that will work on full frame DSLRs to replace the 10-17mm. As for lighting, I have the 580EX and a 430EX with an STE2 transmitter for a light portable setup. I even have small stands & umbrella's for these that give me more setup options. I have Alien Bees strobes w/stands, umbrella's, diffusors & reflectors and would recommend taking John Siskens "Understanding the Tools of Lighting" 4 week class to get an idea of what you may want to put together for a studio lighting setup. The class will show you many options and John has lots of useful tips that can save you more money than the course costs.
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Oliver Anderson |
Kelly, you might wanna keep your Rebel as a backup w/lenses. I really don't think you'll want the battery grip, but you'll want the extra battery. Most women don't have large hands so the 5D fits just fine...but to each their own. (it does make shooting verticle easier but also heavier). I'd get the 3 lenses you're aiming for since their as good as it gets. Don't get any extra lighting unless you got money to burn...its a waste of money for now. Carlton there are some EF-S lenses (10-22mm, 17-85mm etc)that only work with 1.6sensors not w/ full frames...
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Oliver, How are you ? I am off to Europe next week and had hoped to get a 5D before leaving to take advantage of my 17-40mm lens but since I had to crash my car and buy another one, my budget is screwed so the 5D will have to wait til I get back. Which means I gotta go borrow my friends 10-22mm to use with my 40D for this trip. But at least I have that option so no complaints (well except for crashing the car). Driving more careful now, Carlton
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
thank you gentlemen! the 10-17 I found says it is a canon mount - i'll have to double-check it to be sure. I plan to keep the rebel just in case of emergency - plus I am hoping to help some local elementary-aged homeschoolers with the VERY basics of digital cameras and it would be fun for them to try out a camera that is a step above a point and click...maybe they'll get the bug too! I noticed betterphoto has a great area for kids! Carlton, that lighting class is on my lengthy list - thanks! I have no intention of charging for any sessions until I exhaust my family and friends and build up a better portrait portolio. I actually prefer a "photojournalism" approach...following the family through activities like baking cookies, sledding, etc. My strength lies in communicating with kids/families and disappearing into the background so they forget the camera is out (: Hopefully I can focus on that for now and ease into studio portraits. Sorry about your car!!!! Hope you weren't hurt! Oliver, I have noticed that you 2 guys are so supportive in all of the threads on here....thank you so much!!!!
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Oliver Anderson |
For a newby like yourself to the business I'd try to make profit on the back end (prints) rather than the front end like I do. I give my prints away practically cause I get paid up front and I want the client to print through my print lab. Just starting you don't have 3 printed portfolios to show or word of mouth buildup yet and your clients don't know what to expect so you can't very well charge a $500-$1000 sitting fee...charge them $100 for each image they want printed...Moms have a hard time saying, "NO" to me when they see an image of their child in front of them...thats how those Mall Picture places work.
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Your Welcome Kelly & Thank you for the compliment. I was going to get the Tokina 10-17mm myself for my 40D until I decided I wanted a 5D and my existing 17-40mm will work on the full frame cameras, so my thinking is that I will use the 5D for landscape, lowlight & portraits and use my 40D with my longer telephoto lenses to take advantage of the 1.6 crop sensor. I have seen some images of the Tokina lenses and I do love the color & contrast these lenses produce. Blessings - Carlton
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
Oliver- Thanks for the great advice. I think you are right. Right now I am recruiting family and friends and then I might advertise for models (seniors, families, kids, etc) with free print(s) as payment with the opportunity for them to buy additional prints (of course), however they will have to sign a model release. That should give me a nice portfolio to start off with so I can set up a schedule of fees and some packages. However, that is a little ways off for me - I need to adjust to the new equipment and take a couple more classes. I look forward to the day when I can make my money off sitting fees! Carlton-
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Congratulations Kelly, you will love the 40D. I never hesitate to buy online from B & H Photo as they have great customer service and are well trusted. I will also buy things like CF cards from Amazon. Especially with gas prices being what they are, I buy most everything on line except when I need to go actually handle the merchandise to make a decision. 5D's were $3200 a little over a year ago and have dropped down to about $1800 now. I still believe the 6D is coming soon but Canon is pretty tight lipped about making announcements until they are ready to roll them out. Have fun with the 40D, it is a great camera and easy to use. Carlton
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
Actually I'm still going with the 5d - they just let me play with the 40d b/c it is similar in weight and design with the battery grip on. I'm going to call them for their quote this morning....should have an order placed with someone by tonight!!!!!!
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
unfortunately the camera shop's quote was more than $1000 higher than purchasing online. Every Amazon dealer on my list has excellent reviews and with the combo of paypal and amazon to back up the buyer I think I'll go that route. I'm actually bummed...I really wanted to buy local, but gotta look out for the pocketbook with a purchase like this.
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Oliver Anderson |
Just buy at B&H or Adorama...they're the most reliable.
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
a good percentage came from adorama with the rest mostly from amazon direct w/free shipping - tried to do adorama exclusively but it was still a bit higher. I only ordered from sellers with sales in the thousands and 95% or higher positive reviews. Amazon has been great in the past when I had a seller problem - I feel pretty confident. BTW.....I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement right now! Just gotta wait for it all to arrive! A few changes...Carlton was right about the fisheye so I skipped it. I also went 100mm instead of 50mm on the macro and stuck w/ canon. Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks again for handholding me! (:
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Irene Troy |
Hi Kelly and congrats on the 5D. I bought mine almost two years ago and have used it constantly since then. It really is a terrific camera. A few words of advice from someone who made the switch from consumer grade to pro grade: there may be a learning curve with the 5D as opposed to the Rebel. I switched from Minolta to Canon with the 5D so it was something of a relearn. A few things I learned the hard way: the sensor on the 5D seems to attract dust more than any sensor on any other camera I’ve used. Learn to clean your sensor yourself – it’s quite easy - the first time you might be a bit nervous – and will save you time and headaches. Just make sure to do your cleaning somewhere clean – yeah, I know, it sounds dumb, but you’d be surprised how many people try cleaning their sensors in dusty areas of their home/office/outside. I find that the internal meter of the 5D tends toward overexposure under many conditions, particularly in low light situations. You may want to shoot some “throw away” shots before you go for the “once in a life time” ones. The 5D is fast – really fast. I actually find it a bit faster with writing RAW files than the specs say. I tried the battery pack and didn’t use it enough to justify the cost. But, I do most of my photography outdoors and in places I have to hike to, so I try to keep to essentials. I know you already placed your order; however, just a word about purchasing stuff for us “semi-pros”: I love B&H for many reasons, among the top is the fact they are very helpful to those of us who do not have years of pro experience. They bend over backwards to make sure you get what you need and want rather than the most costly item. If you get in a jam, they are very helpful. Just keep it in mind should you ever have a problem. That’s all I can think of at the moment, but if you ever have questions or need some first hand advice, ask away. Meanwhile, have fun with your new equipment! I can really relate to how exciting it is when you get a new and great camera! Irene
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Kelly J. Mitchell |
Thanks Irene! Did you buy a specific product for cleaning the sensor that you recommend? I definitely want to learn to do it myself. I have heard good things about B&H. If I were buying one thing I would definitely go there b/c of reputation, but in order to afford the full setup I had to go the Amazon route. I have been researching for about a month and asking questions of everyone who'll listen! This thread has been the best, actually! Also asked a few questions in a local shop and then double-checked all the specs before placing the final order. I have been so crazy over this - I usually make decision so easily - I feel like a wacko! It is just so much money and such a long-term decision that affects the one thing that keeps this mom of 5 sane - my hobby/passion! It is my outlet and I want to make the RIGHT decisions! I will keep all of your advice in mind. I am going to print this thread and add it to my file! THANKS!!! (:
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