You don't need a super expensive camera for great photos

[David LaPell]

I love photography and I could never afford a high end SLR camera, for years I as running an old Canon AE-1 I bought at an antique store and my current camera is a $165 Nikon. So far this summer I have been taking some nice outdoor pics that require nothing more than patience and an eye for detail. I don't even have Photoshop.

A couple of daytime moonshots through my Celestron telescope.





A up close and personal picture of a pretty dangerous beauty



An up close picture of a hummingbird at rest.



I took this one last weekend at the Stone Bridges and Caves nearby at a spot called The Noisy Cave. I didn't even use a flash for it.

 

[gunfish]

Modern point and shoot cameras are magical devices compared to film cameras. They shoot video for cryin' out loud. Nice pics. Good depth of feild on the hornet.

 

[diamonback68]

What model Nikon?

 

[photobiker]

I do have all that expensive camera gear. I do have a slight one up on the point and shoot. But a great photo is not about the gear you have it's about being at the right place at the right time. I've been out done a number of times by the point and shoot because of timing or direction. When traveling I always carry a point and shoot along with the fancy ones.

 

[Robotech]

Even moving to the digital age, a relatively inexpensive camera can do wonders in the right conditions for the subject, depending on how the photo is to be viewed. My first digital camera had only 1.2Mega pixels available, but worked well for many things being viewed on the computer or embedded in web-pages.

Watkin's Glen 1.2MP

I went back with a simple 7.2 Mega pixel Sony CyperShot DSC-S650 camera a few years later and took another series of shots walking up the Watkin's Glen gorge, then turned them into a 2-hour music video slideshow which looks "gorgeous" on a large flat-screen TV. It required 8GB dual layer DVDs to record copies to give to friends and family as Christmas presents. You can find this camera USED for under $20 these days!

Today, I'd really love to go back with a full HD capable camera, say, a 36MP Nikon D800, and re-shoot the slideshow project to display at the full resolution of the TV, or maybe look forward to the latest 4x versions now starting to come out, but this won't happen any time soon at the prices being asked for a camera like that. Maybe if I were doing it to make money, but as just another hobby and for my own entertainment and for a few friends, I'll just keep that as a dream for now.

 

[cmort666]

I can't take a decent picture with a point and shoot.

The only serious cameras I ever owned were SLRs.

I went from a 35mm Vivitar and Minolta to a Canon EOS350D.

Now that I've got my first real job since '09, I'm looking at a decent macro lens so that I can retire my extension tubes and reverse ring.

 

[photobiker]

This is a perfect example. I used my $2000 camera and lens and my wife used her $150 Powershot. We stood in the same area and took generally the same picture. This is the picture I show everyone, hers, and I tell everyone she took it.

Now on the other hand you aren't going to be able to get this picture with a point and shoot.

 

[rwsmith]

I've been most pleased.....

I've had several SLRs and digitals. Many of the digitals were worthless. I've been most pleased with the little Nikon 'point shoot and take great pictures' camera I got for a hew hundred bucks. Alas, I can' show pictures, it was stolen long ago.

 

[David LaPell]

What model Nikon?

It's a Coolpix S5200 that has 16 megapixels with a 6x zoom. Thinking back now I wish I had gotten the S6500 that has the 12x zoom.

 

[dmar]

"You don't need a super expensive camera for great photos"

You're telling me; I've got some great equipment, and my shots look less than average... ;(

You guys take some beautiful photos; keep em' coming. I need some lessons...

 

[Marshwheeling]

Doesn't matter how much camera I have, I still take snapshots. My wife has the eye, and takes great photos.

 

[Rule3]

What amazes me is that some of the high tech "Smart Phones" have such great cameras in them I predict that most camera sales will further decline.

The pictures that can be taken on the phones and then instantly sent or posted is amazing!.

I have a Sony Cyber Shot 12x Zoom and macro down to 1" that takes great shots but is kinda big.

I picked up a as new in box at a pawn shop a FujiFilm 16MP 5x zoom that fits in my pocket so it goes more places. It takes great pictures. Cost me $35.

 

[photobiker]

As Rule says it has been predicted that the smart phones will put an end to the pocket point and shoot cameras. Sorta in line with decline and almost the death of film cameras brought on by digital cameras.
I'm a stubborn old fart that still pulls out a film camera from time to time and shoot some color film/slides,not too much any more. I do shoot a lot of b&w film and I still spend a fair amount of time in my black & white darkroom.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I like to say that it's the photographer's eye that really counts for good pictures. The equipment is secondary; good equipment may help, but it's not the defining factor. A goofball with a Stradivarius will not produce beautiful music.

John

 

[rwsmith]

Seriously into SLRs

I had a friend that was very seriously into SLRs. When the Canon 'Sureshot' came out he bought his wife one....and was angry because the pictures it took were as good as his SLRs.


He told me a story from a camera shop he frequented. An LOL bought a camera. She came back to complain that it didn't work right. She said, "I can't see anything through the viewfinder, and when I push the shutter I see a blinding flash." She must have had some pretty tough retinas.

True story

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

As you and other have observed, the photographer takes a good picture, and the camera really isn't all that important. Good composition and good lighting always have been and always will be key, regardless of the camera being used.

One advantage of better cameras(not necessarily more expensive, which is a different topic) is that they do a better job of "getting out of the way" and make it easier for the experienced photographer to translate what they see onto the film/CCD.

I continue to be amazed at the results I'm able to get, and really amazed at the results others get, using Iphone and other smart phone cameras.

 

[Inspector-Callahan]

As you and other have observed, the photographer takes a good picture, and the camera really isn't all that important. Good composition and good lighting always have been and always will be key, regardless of the camera being used.

Agree absolutely. Photography is the control of light.

IC