I have been plagued with lack of knowledge involving digital camera use. I have not been able to get a decent picture, when using a Nikon 4100 Automatic Digital Camera, of some rather astounding looking holographic wraps done following instructions provided in Rodmaker Magazine. I know I am not alone in this endeavor.

This information was provided on the Photo Board in an answer to my questions. It seems to be on target and may help others.

Mark Daley
Location: Woodland, CA
Sat October 6, 2007 8:23pm

Bill, your camera is a fully automatic point and shoot model. Whatever mode you set, the camera sets the aperature and film speed automatically. Although this is a nice feature, you don't have control of your aperature settings or film speed, at least I haven't seen one. To take the quality photos you strive for, you would be best advised to purchase a mid range SLR digital camera. This type of camera lets you take point and shoot photos in a variety of scene selections. It also lets you use the camera manually, allowing you to to fine adjust your built in light meter, set any film speed you want, and through use of guide wheels, perfectly set your aperature for your lighting conditions. It's a through the fens camera that lets you see the subject matter through the lens, has focusing indicators such as lights and audio indicator, and a light meter that shows you where to set the correct aperature. I'm a Canon lover and a very good introductory digital camera for you would be the Canon Digital Rebel model. Your obviously a meticulous person who strives for perfection. Do it!! Buy one and you'll be able to accomplish exactly what you want. They are not that expensive. easy to use, and if you want, many, many optional lenses are interchangeable. The best utility lens for this camera would be a 28-135 mm lens, at least for most of your photo needs. The lens that comes with the camera will probably suit your needs for shooting rod wraps and close up shots in general. Talk Momma into getting you one for christmas, smooz her a little, I promise you, you won't regret it.

Tom Kirkman

Mon October 8, 2007 9:09am

The Canon Digital Rebel is a fantastic camera. The XT model is being discontinued soon (XTi is the newest one and much more than you'll need) and you can find them for under $700.

If I am not mistaken though Tom the problem is in addition to the 700 you will need a lens and a memory chip. I really need one also but an expert told me what I want it for I need a macro lens to take pics of guide wraps and with that camera I'm talking 1,000 with card and lens. Not to mention tri pod and remote button. Is this all true?

The Rebel is available on line at present with an acceptable lens for $ 299. That is half of what the camera "expert" sold me the Nikon Automatic for that is basically useless for the pictures I really want to take. I guess the camera business has their "Bass Pro" and "Wally World" too!.

In order to shoot indoors, at low film speeds (which allow for the greatest amount of crispness or "low noise") you will need some way to steady the camera. The human hand can't be relied upon at anything that takes longer than about 1/60th of a second. Many indoor shots taken at speeds of 100 or 200 will require several seconds. Thus, a tripod or similar will be required if you want really good photos.

Digital Macro is a nice feature, but it's not a substitute for the real thing. There are two ways to go here - a nice Macro lens (I use a 2.8x50 Canon) or... an inexpensive set of close up filters/lenses. These work very well and will cost you less than $50. They screw onto the front of your camera's regular lens and can be stacked to get you really, really close to the subject and still focus crisply.

Memory cards are pretty inexpensive these days.

Now you also have to decide what you want to do with these photos - are you going to put them in print in a high quality magazine? Blow them up and hang them on your wall? Or, just swap them on the internet? There are some pretty decent "prosumer" cameras these days that will easily get you good enough photos to show around on the internet or print out regular sized prints for yourself or friends. Most of these sell for $200 to $300. There are even some newer SLR models around that start at about $450 and they're considered pretty good.

Don't get carried away with "megapixels." They fall into the category that computers did a while back when everybody wanted to sell you on "megahertz." Any camera that provides 5 megapixels will take a photo that you can print at an easy 5x7 inches and get really good results. Unless you're planning on printing large scale photos, larger than 8-1/2 x 11 inches, you do not need to spend the extra money on the 8, 10 and 12 megapixel cameras. They just waste your money and your computer hard drive space.


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I like that Tom wish I had a photo in your centerfold (someday Tom someday!!). That is all points very well taken and are the reasons I havn't invested yet in a camara when I do I want the best quality I can afford that will do the job for me. I had a 35 mm I spent a fortune on and its all outdated and the camara is broke and would cost more to fix then is worth. A real bummer considering its only 8 or 10 years old but qat the time was top of the line slr and 5 lenses. filters etc etc. None of my lenses can be used on a digital camara. So as you can see i really want to make sure before I buy

Bill,

The "Rebel" you are talking about is a film model. Good camera, but if you want digital, that one isn't it.

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Billy,

What type camera is that one you have now? All the Canon EOS lenses fit both their film and digital models. This is true with a few other companies as well.

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I have the nikon D-50 I bought a package deal online I think I got a good deal I have the filters and three lens. I havent played around with the manuel settings I guess its about time I learned. I have two tripods also a big stand up and a table top. It also came with a zoom and a wide angle lens. You guys have me thinking now gonna go visit Bill Stevens and we will play around with it to see what type of photos we can come up with I have a one GB disc that came with it also can snap all kinds of pics.

Brent Keever
Building friendships through custom rods

Tom help me out before I get "took" - Please!

Link to Canon Digital Rebel camera for $ 269.00

[www.bestpricecameras.com]

I take it that this one does not include a lens? Would this be a good buy?

The cameras with lens options are listed below the camera - which lens would I want?

Thanks



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2007 05:01PM by Bill Stevens.

Okay, there are such things as "grey" market cameras. They usually don't include a US warranty and rarely have instruction manuals in English.

The price shown there is simply unbelievable, even for the body alone. Notice that every other company on the page is listing that same camera, sans lens, for $600 and up. If it's a first quality Canon Digital Rebel XTI, a U.S. version, for that amount of money, then it's a steal. But I tend to deal with my local camera shop for the same reasons that many here like to deal with specialty rod building component supply dealers instead of the mass merchandizers or @#$%& sites. I wish I could advise you on this particular dealer, but I can't. They might be good as gold, and they might not be. I just don't know.

The only thing about the XTI is that it's a 10 megapixel camera. So each photo is going to eat up a lot of hard drive space. You can, however, take photos on "low" jpeg and cut that down a bit. If you can find the original digital Rebel or XT model, I'd go that way. And even though I'm partial to the Canon models, the Nikon D70, 50 and 40 are all very good cameras as well.

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Costco has the Canon Rebel XT 8 MP dSLR with an EF-S 18-55mm lens AND a 2GB CF card for $579.99, including shipping and handling. The best part is that it is on the website, which means NO membership is required and credit cards can be used. Costco is a VERY reputable company and they do fully guarantee your satisfaction.

Canon Digital Rebel camera for $ 269.00 www.bestpricecameras.com


DON'T BUY FROM THAT STORE! Look them up on www.resellerratings.com. Thier 325 reviews give them a rating of 0.29 out of 10. Its a rip off joint.

Tom its a Yashika and they are not made anymore the company was sold out and out of business.

What lens is needed for taking pictures of rods. I record the build and place pictures of the rod in the Owners Packet. I ws doing OK with this until the Holo picture quality gummed up the works. I see a long list of available lens and have no clue as to which one I should buy. I am going to buy the Canon Digital Rebel - help with lens choice please -

BILL;
I'M JUST NOW getting into this conversation, but that's alright, Tom (as usual) has given you great advice. I've been using Canon cameras professionally and otherwise for 35 years. Wouldn't use anything else. (Don't want to start an argument with other photographers out there).

Buy the body and add your own lens. The zoom that comes with the camera in the package is o.k., but it's not that great either. For your needs, I would recommend the EF-S 60 mm Compact Macro. It is capable of 1:1 magnification and is sharp as a tack. (I'm a sharpness freak.) It has a manual over-ride; etc. It's designed and corrected for use on a digital camera. I won't go into all the details unless you want them. If you are going to get one lens this is the one to get. One important thing: The digital Rebel's sensor is smaller than a standard 24X36 35mm film frame. This means the field of view of a 60 mm lens on a digital Rebel is equivalent to a standard film 96mm. That is a perfect focal length for portraits and general shooting.

The 28 to 135mm zoom Tom mentioned is probably the most all round versatile lens you could buy for general shooting. It's my primary lens. It does have a "macro focusing" feature on the lens, as well as a manual over-ride. I've E-mailed you a couple close-up shots I took with this lens to see if you think it's in the ball park.

Go to www.adorama.com for prices and more info. I'm not suggesting you buy from these people, (unless you want to) but you can get a lot of information from them and then go down to your local camera shop and test-drive the lenses on a Rebel body.

I would welcome any questions you might have in this matter. You've been of such great help to me and others, it would be nice to repay your kindness...

RON.

LOL!!! all of my rod pics(including the ones in the RM article) were taken with a cheap Nikon Cool Pix 3100!! ...outside in the sun, on the close-up, autofocus setting.