Next camera opinions?

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P!rate

Move Like a MoFo
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Mar 16, 2009
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I have a rebel xti with a sigma 70-300mm,and canon 18-55.

The problems i have as listed with this camera are that:

Macro shots do not look sharp.
It has poor battery life.
The flash isn't great, the read speed is kind of slow, the colors aren't great.

NOW, i generally pay for all my own shit,and i will probably pay half or something, but my 16th birthday is coming up, and im wondering wether i should either ask for new camera, or like a new flash, and ill buy myself a new macro lens, or the opposite.. idk. help?

Again, im not a spoiled kid, just, its my birthday ;)

EDIIITTT:: realized after looking at my pictures i took this weekend, the main problem is a source of flash.. so i guess fill flash will help?
 
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i would say an external flash and another lens...you need the 50mm canon lens that is supposed to be great in low light...i think it is only about $100

how long have you been using the xti?
 
Your camera is fine, get a good lens and you'll be in a lot better shape
 
alright, um, about the camera, had it for around 1year and a half, and yea, lens, are they that bad? i mean, it was kind of one of my impulse purchases, i really want to take macro pictures, so what lens would be good for that? around um 300-400, can be more or less though
 
Take a look at the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro, it runs about $600. The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro is a cheaper option at $400 and just as sharp, although you'll just have to get closer to your subject.
 
If you want to take macro pictures, you need a macro lens. You don't have one.

A macro lens and an external flash (430 EX or EX II) and you'll be happy. Fugu's recommendations are very good.

Your battery life is poor because you're using the built-in flash.
 
P!rate said:
I have a rebel xti with a sigma 70-300mm,and canon 18-55.

The problems i have as listed with this camera are that:

Macro shots do not look sharp.
It has poor battery life.
The flash isn't great, the read speed is kind of slow, the colors aren't great.
Click to expand...

Number one, you don't have a true macro lens. You have a average super zoom that claims it does macro ;)
The XTI isn't the best camera out there by any means, but if your using it correctly, then your results should be more then passable.
Do you have any shots you can post up? That way we can tell you whats going wrong.
I'd spend the money on a proper flash and true macro lens. Maybe a flash bracket and what not if your serious about macro work.
 
hum, interesting, thats kind of waht i was thinking, so since im thinking of going ex II, just cause it seems less expensive on amazon, i havent RLY looked though might have to

so..
flash 250 bucks
macro lens?
and flash rly takes away youre battery? i dont use it that much, just cause its too bright, makes pics washed out, just in general i think id be better off with battery grip, but i think macro and flash is good enough. right?

pics otw
 
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see what im saying? these are probs the worst pics..

and my cousins btw
 
Let me put it this way regarding the flash:

Without using the built-in flash, I can easily go an entire weekend with one battery charge. 500 shots or more in RAW and it's still going strong.

Flash *eats* batteries.

An external flash is way, way better than the built-in. I don't even use the built-in. Never have. I've always rathered shoot at ISO 1600 with the lens wide open than use the built-in flash.

And built-in flash is going to be shit for macro. An external that you can bounce is better. Ring flash is best for macro, though. Look into that as well.
 
Can't see any EXIF, but those pics of the people appear to be out of focus. No flash will help with that..
 
kumquat said:
Can't see any EXIF, but those pics of the people appear to be out of focus. No flash will help with that..
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not out of focus, or maybe, but they had slow shutter speeds.... and no tripod at the time
 
It's bright daylight. How could you be shooting with such a slow shutter speed?
 
kumquat said:
It's bright daylight. How could you be shooting with such a slow shutter speed?
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NOOOO idea, i had that problem the whole time, idk what the fuck it was i was shotting at around 5 or 11 aperture, and with like 800iso, was still slow..
 
The pictures are missing the exif data. Can you re-upload them with stripping it?
However most of the issues look like you missed the focus point or camera shake.
 
im sure its camera shake, too much sugar makes me bouncy.. :)

and idk what i didnt do with photos, i know what exif is just dont know why its not showing up.
 
P!rate said:
iget good pictures dude, if you didnt read this is my lens that are not performing how i want to, but wtv.those were worst pics i had lol
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The lens isn't great, but the kind of camera shake that's happening in the 2nd shot in broad daylight means you need to work on your technique as well. Photography is both a technical and artistic skill. I'm sure you've taken some nice photos, but the fact that you don't know what's going on in those shots shows that you still need to learn how to use your gear to get the most out of it. Before you go out and drop $500, read up on autofocus technique, proper exposure (shutter speed + aperture), and how to handhold a telephoto.

My best guess is that you had your camera in A-DEP mode and it stopped down all the way to try to get the people in the foreground and the mountains in the background in focus. Photo 4 looks like you were stopped down a lot, enough to see the dust on your sensor in the sky.
 
^Exactly my thoughts^
From the examples above, upgrading your equipment shouldn't be your top priority.
 
fugu said:
The lens isn't great, but the kind of camera shake that's happening in the 2nd shot in broad daylight means you need to work on your technique as well. Photography is both a technical and artistic skill. I'm sure you've taken some nice photos, but the fact that you don't know what's going on in those shots shows that you still need to learn how to use your gear to get the most out of it. Before you go out and drop $500, read up on autofocus technique, proper exposure (shutter speed + aperture), and how to handhold a telephoto.

My best guess is that you had your camera in A-DEP mode and it stopped down all the way to try to get the people in the foreground and the mountains in the background in focus. Photo 4 looks like you were stopped down a lot, enough to see the dust on your sensor in the sky.
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yea, i had LOTS of trouble with this lens, i literally bought it and then straight away went on vacation, thing is, the pictures looked fine on the display, and when i blew it up on computer looked absolutely terrible, ty for explaining it to me like im not illiterate, ill re-read up.. i read books on this when i first got my camera, but i guess i must have forgotten it. I restarted into photography a couple weeks ago, so anways, yea, ill try that, and btw to the others, those pictures were in the trash bin because i had gone through and deleted the bad ones, i just wanted to show a little extreme case of the bad focus, thats not my best pictures.. Anyways, again, ty

http://www.outdoorphoto.com/guides/basics_telephoto.php

^^ I DECLARE A WINNER, im kinda pissed i didnt know of this earlier.
 
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Wouldn't Extension tubes be cheaper and give about the same quality of a macro lens? Also gives you versitility since you now have multiple macro lens instead of just one with different focal lengths.
 
psychoace said:
Wouldn't Extension tubes be cheaper and give about the same quality of a macro lens? Also gives you versitility since you now have multiple macro lens instead of just one with different focal lengths.
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yea, i tried though macro with this lens i have and it seems fine as long as its well lighted and i use the good "tips" for telephoto, i really had no idea its a completely different setting than just wide angle, i guess i didnt really think..
 
Yeah - I agree that some books on exposure would go a long way to fixing the issues you're having. Only realy problem with the photo's above is that the shutter speed was too slow. You need to learn to keep the camera in manual mode, and tweak the rest of your settings so you can keep the shutter speed at the right setting for the scene at hand.

I don't think there's anything wrong with either of the lenses you have - both should be very usefull for certain applications. If you want more gear for you BD, a good external flash or a macro lens will both be fine additions to your kit.
 
madFive said:
Yeah - I agree that some books on exposure would go a long way to fixing the issues you're having. Only realy problem with the photo's above is that the shutter speed was too slow. You need to learn to keep the camera in manual mode, and tweak the rest of your settings so you can keep the shutter speed at the right setting for the scene at hand.

I don't think there's anything wrong with either of the lenses you have - both should be very usefull for certain applications. If you want more gear for you BD, a good external flash or a macro lens will both be fine additions to your kit.
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alright tyvm, will do, i was shooting on aperture priority btw, i heard that this lens was best around 11-14av, so i kept it around there, i guess didnt thinka bout shutter speed :p
 
I think aperature priority is fine to shoot in P!rate. Manual is a pain, and I only use it when the automatic exposure is failing because of a difficult composition. Just keep in mind the 1/focal length rule to get sharp images. Check the display when in aperature mode after you focus and if the shutter speed is not fast enough then drop the aperature to smaller numbers to let in more light. I'd sooner drop to a smaller aperature number and deal with a slightly less sharp picture than get the ISO noise of going from 100 to 500 for instance. Always try to take pictures at your cameras native ISO first, if you can't get the shutterspeed high enough and the aperature the way you want then consider upping the ISO.

I say "aperature the way you want", because with a smaller aperature number you get a shallower depth of field. A lot of people use this to there benefit. For instance they'll pick the smallest number their lens will allow to blur the background in a portrait so the subject pops out. Or with lanscapes they'll pick a higher number so almost the entire frame is in focus. Edit: A lot of people end up using a tripod for lanscapes because the shutter speeds get to low. This is what I suspect you needed because you were shooting at F11. That is pretty high, and I'd only consider doing that on bright day.

I have a similar setup with lenses and I know you can take great pics with them with a little more attention to the shutter speed and aperature so you can make sharper images that are better exposed.
 
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