mini photography stuff

[Marta]

I tried to do photos of minis with my macro lens and it's not working tbh as great as I expected.
Now I'm using my kit lens again.

cheers
m.

[mahon]

Canon kit lens ain't that bad. Really...
For photos of minis they're better than you need....

People tend to act in a schematic way:
- DSLR is good -> I will take better photos of minis with it
- macro lenses are made for taking pics of small objects -> I need it for photos of minis.

is it right? or wrong?
huh....

- DSLR is a cool camera if you expect to make a longer trip into the realm of photography
- otherwise it's a waste of money, time, energy, and effort
- compact cameras are usually easier to use, smaller, take better pics (I mean a photo straight from a compact camera is usually better than a photo taken straight from a comparable DSLR)
- compact cameras offer better field of depth, so are better for macrophotography
- many compact cameras can focus from very short distance, thus are good for macrophotography
- DSLRs usually require some photographic knowledge from the user
- better photo of a miniature can be taken with standard lens than with macro lens
- macro lens will have terrible field of depth
- you take pics from very short distance with your macro lens, so your proportions and perspective will usually be badly distorted

DON'T ALLOW THE MARKETING GUYS TO BRAINWASH YOU! DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE COMMERCIALS. DO YOU REALLY NEED WHAT THEY TELL YOU? DO YOU NEED THEM TO THINK FOR YOU? OR CAN YOU MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS?

Why do you prefer to use DSLR for taking pics of minis?
Why do you want to use macro lens?
Do you know the answers? Or do you simply listen to what they're preaching to you?
think about it...

[Nameless]

I'm glad Mahon and someone else had told me all that before I bought my new camera...

[mahon]

usually it's enough if you ask yourself a few WHY? questions
if you have answers for them - you probably are making the right choice, or at least are pretty confident about it.

[ScottRadom]

Well so for I am getting a lot better performance out of this camera then the couple of compacts I had been using. Maybe the Macro lens won't work out but so far I am not dissapointed in my purchase. The manual depth of field seems to work much better than the auto stuff on my compact.

'course, could just be that I didn't know how to set those camera's at all.

Good points Mahon! So far though I do see a big difference. Maybe the difference I see could have been achieved with my other camera(s) but after a couple years of fighting I didn't get much improvement. Afer a single afternoon with this new one I see a BIG difference and I have confidence once I get some more knowledge the pics will get nicer.

Of course that means that I will have to get better at painting!

Again, good points all.

[Nameless]

@Mahon - I asked myself a lot of questions, but I don't know much about cameras and photography, so I'm happy I found people knowing the answers

@Scott - problem is, that for the price of DSLR you'd most probably get better compact. DSLR are not automatically better/worse than compacts. But, if you compare DSLR and compact camera with the same price - compact will rather be of better quality. DSLR might offer you a wider range of possibilities, but only if you really are into photography. I'm not, so I've chosen a good quality compact camera.

[mahon]

what I really mean is that $1000 spent on a DSLR doesn't give you half as much as $1000 spent on a compact camera. For $1000 you have a basic DSLR with basic lens, or a good compact with good lens and lots of manual options. It will also be smaller, so you can use it as a family photo.

The mistake people often make is comparing cheap compact cameras with regular DSLRs and good lens. But that's not a fair comparison.

[ScottRadom]

what I really mean is that $1000 spent on a DSLR doesn't give you half as much as $1000 spent on a compact camera. For $1000 you have a basic DSLR with basic lens, or a good compact with good lens and lots of manual options. It will also be smaller, so you can use it as a family photo.

The mistake people often make is comparing cheap compact cameras with regular DSLRs and good lens. But that's not a fair comparison.

Yep, that's the mistake I made. I didn't even consider the possibility of a higher end Compact camera. Ah well!

TY Panadosmares!

[mahon]

if you buy a DSLR you assume you will be buying (and carrying, and changing) additional lenses.
for a fraction of the price of a DSLR body + 2-3 good lenses you get excellent compact camera. if I hadn't had some lenses at home already, I would have bought a decent compact instead of my DSLR. my previous camera was a good (for its time) compact camera and I must honestly admit I still miss it sometimes. It was about as small as one lens for my current camera, and with the knowledge I have now I would be able to take pretty good photos of miniatures with it.

Your camera is MUCH better than mine. I believe your kit lens must be much better than mine...
Only the photos need to be better now.

If you ever need any photo suggestions - Maru and I are here to help.

[Maru]

I believe your kit lens must be much better than mine...
Only the photos need to be better now.

well it is same Kit lens you got ... with only 1 difrence - this is with image stabilizer .. (whooo ... a kit lense with Stabilizer ... 0_0 )
end camera over al is simplyfied - so iven more amature frendly (end lighter.. )