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10/29/2004 03:35:51 PM · #1 |
| I come her often and marvel at the talent of the photographers and the beauty and power of their photos. I'd like to start looking into photography and purchasing a digital camera. I am a Mac user. Does this in anyway effect what camera I should buy? And does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should look for to get dpchallenge.com worthy photos? How many pixels? Camera stats? Suggestions? Any help anyone can offer would be very much appreciated. |
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10/29/2004 04:14:33 PM · #2 |
Welcome, John!
The fact that you use a Mac should not have any effect on your choice of camera. The rest of your question is not so easy to answer. As you know there is a dizzying array of cameras available, with widely varied specs (and prices!). You do not need a high-end camera to do well on DPC. A good, mid-level camera with the capability to use manual settings is what I would recommend for a beginning. The manual-mode capability is important to give you control and flexibility, and to help you understand and use the basic tools (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) that can help you to produce photos that are far more than snaps. One site that I have found very helpful is DPReveiw. Plenty of information to help with a purchase decision. I'm sure that others here will add things I've missed...
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10/29/2004 04:24:33 PM · #3 |
After doing some research and finding out which camera features you need and which cameras have those features, go to the local camera shop and play with them a little. Find the one that feels right in your hands and the one with controls that you like! If you can not set the feature on your camera easily, you may not use it or you may miss a shot fumbling! IMHO whatever camera you pick, make sure it has a tripod mount on the bottom. My photography with my old Olympus d-550z improved a hundred times over when I started using the tripod all the time!
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10/29/2004 06:57:46 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by jsc986:
...I am a Mac user. Does this in anyway effect what camera I should buy?... |
Apple lists currently supported digital cameras here.
I understand, Apple encourages manufacturers to conduct specific compatibility tests and submit the results for review. When the device passes review, Apple will list it on its site.
While a camera not listed on the Apple site may still work with a current Mac OS, the advantage of purchasing one listed here is, that if you have registered AppleCare, you will receive free support regarding any issues you may encounter in the future, if that product is a 'supported' one.
Message edited by author 2004-10-29 22:58:56.
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10/29/2004 08:18:31 PM · #5 |
I'd reccommend a sony f717.
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10/29/2004 08:19:28 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by hsteg:
I'd reccommend a sony f717. |
LOL |
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10/29/2004 08:21:28 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by doctornick:
Originally posted by hsteg:
I'd reccommend a sony f717. |
LOL |
I seriously would, even though he may not want mine with all my wonderful accessories, it still is a great camera.
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10/29/2004 09:16:42 PM · #8 |
| John, I prepared a little checklist for a friend who asked me for advice re camera. I'll email it to you, perhaps you'll find something useful in it. |
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10/29/2004 09:22:43 PM · #9 |
first thing is that you shoudl switch to pc..
oh let me tell you a little secret mac people dont want you to know.
macs uses one of the slowest ram available. cas latency on ram compatible with g5 systems is 4 when on pc side it is as low as 2 ms... and now on pc you can get 2 graphics cards and double the graphics performance. are macs the lean mean graphics machine? dont think so! also to give you an idea of the disadvantages of using a high latency tam.. figure this: downgrading your ram cas latency from 2.5 to 2 is like downgrading your cpu by 50 mhz.. wow!! way to go mac... macs look good and all.. mac os x is the real deal and everything.. performance crown is mac's? i dont think so..
but being a mac user shouldnt affact your camera choice significantly. iphoto will recognize your camera and deal with better than windows will ever be able to do? but hold on.. my friend's iphoto crushed(crushed on a mac operating system!!!) when we plugged his new d70.. weird!.. i still love the expose.. best thing ever..bill should get his head out of his @#$% and do us all good...
apple displays are one of the finest out there thou.. i am saving up for one.. 23 inch cinema display. oh yeah!
Message edited by author 2004-10-30 01:30:01. |
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10/30/2004 05:36:06 PM · #10 |
Do not listen to theodor38 AKA Mehmet, my friend who brought me up in his post, you see, I am that friend that had an issue with the camera directly plugged in to iPhoto, turns out it is because of the Nikon hack to try to make the USB 2.0 support, but not necessarily following standards. My media card reader works perfectly fine, and I actually got my camera to work without the media card reader, just had to use a USB 2.0 cable....Oh yeah, on a side note, crushed in his terms means that I had to quit iPhoto, but could still continue using my computer and could still launch iPhoto. Unlike his last several upgrades to his computer that made him have to buy a new one because it stopped working, now I give him a photo CD and his new computer can't read it, but another PC in the house could...Oh yeah, definitely switch...lol...
Okay, so now on to the OMG!! Dual graphics cards, Yeah, kinda like having 8 gigs of ram, Photoshop doesn't care, but if you have manhood envy, I guess dropping a grand on something that only video games take advantage of would appeal...
Truth be told, if you are a Mac user, and you weren't considering a switch, then pay no attention to either post. For a camera that would suit your needs, first evaluate your budget, then determine what options the camera must have that fits inside that budget. From there you should be able to narrow it down to a few, then look up reviews on those and make your decision.
Also, any camera will work that I have found for the Mac, most without installing the software that comes with the camera, actually I have never had to install the software with any of my cameras, I have the F717 and the D70.
To do well in DPC, you have to have a camera that will not cause a lot of grain, good color saturation, and a lot of manual options so that you can do a variety of shots under many different conditions. I wouldn't go lower than 5Mpx myself.
To Memo, please take no offense, but don't dog a computer for no reason, or not knowing what happened, especially when it seems like such a blatant dig when the question was about a camera and not a computer. Also, keep in mind that while you are downloading patches and getting rid of worms, etc. I am still working away....We will talk in person I am sure....Peace.
Oh yeah, one more thing to the original poster. Once you get above a certain quality in camera, iPhoto does work, just not as well as a professional photo program would, it was meant for consumers, not pro photographers, something to keep in mind when evaluating total cost...
Message edited by author 2004-10-30 21:38:00. |
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10/30/2004 05:57:03 PM · #11 |
The answer to your original question is no, whether you use a Mac or PC has no practical effect whatsoever on what camera you should buy. Just read the reviews or go through the buyer's guides (as Kirbic mentioned, dpreview is a great site for that) and pick the camera that has the best features for you at the best cost. Any computer made since about 1998 should be able to import and process the photos just fine, though at varying speeds.
Good luck and happy shopping!
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10/30/2004 06:10:54 PM · #12 |
I would consider yourself lucky to be a Mac user... Performance is almost irrelvant these days. I run on an Athlon 2000 with 1.5gb RAM (at whatever CAS latency!) and that's slower than any modern Mac out there. Oh, and I have a single graphics card with no regrets. And it all works just fine for me, even editing multi layered images and applying gnarly filters - no complaints. But from what I understand the MacOS does a much better job of managing color profiles than the Windows world, and color profiles are amazing things indeed.
But I digress. I agree with everyone else; Your choice of Operating system makes little difference if you buy a mainstream camera. For what its worth, even Linux auto detects my D70 in PTP mode, and my Canon, and Kodak as well. Just research the cameras well and pick one that's right for you. The computer will keep up just fine. Your eyes, and mind matter much more than the camera or computer.
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10/30/2004 06:20:23 PM · #13 |
Regarding quality photos --
Try the DPChallenge "Learn" link in the menu bar above.
Also there are various books by National Geographic photographers that give good advice. I purchased one of many called "The National Geographic Field Guide to Photography: Digital" that I found very good. |
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10/30/2004 07:25:57 PM · #14 |
hello jerry, how do you do?
thanks for hanging out today by the way:)
but when a program stops woking and you have to force quit that means that particular program has crached and that is what happened:)
anyways. .once a pc guy always a pc guy.. no offense thou. expose is the greatest thing. the newer operating system from apple will rock the world. but the truth to be told is that with the introduction of g5s apple fpr the first time has caught up with pc speeds which i appreciate. but pc cpus got 30 percent faster since aple g5 2.5 ghz machines relased. now p4 is almost up to 4 gig and amd released xp 4000+..
dual graphics card has absolutely no affect on photoshop performance but ask any video editing guru or 3d animator. and see what they say:)
i am gona head to laramie now. i will call you tomorrow. lets get it kickin baby!!! later dude:)
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10/30/2004 08:00:03 PM · #15 |
Yeah, have a safe trip! I will see you tomorrow...
AMD chokes thanks to programmers programming for Intel only, so if you are building an AMD machine, don't expect to see any benefits that you would expect, trust me on this, my good friend does video editing for a living and Adobe sends him their suites free to evaluate and write about, his AMD did not touch the G5, the latest Intel machine he built finally edged out the G5 dual 2.0 Ghz, but not as much as you would think, 3D editing, don't know any professionals in the business with Real-World tests.
Dual card, we will see how this advancement takes place and what comes of it, but to spend a grand for both cards when you are just doing Photoshop is like using a hand grenade to kill a fly.
Well, I guess we have ransacked this board enough for now! Till we meet again!! lol.
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11/01/2004 05:32:20 PM · #16 |
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