dSLR questions

[dtmpower]

Considering my knowledge of photography is limited to a point and click Canon and a usb lead, please could osmeone suggest (if a good idea at all) to get either a Canon EOS350D or a Nikon D70s . . also if I do get one of these which lens would suit for general use to start with, family shots, action shots/sports, motorsport pictures/close ups of cars on track ? I don't get the terminology about lens , what is a 18-55mm lens ? What sort of pictures can it take ? I need a lens that can zoom in from long range (100m) and take a close shot of say a car to fill the image ... would this be more like a 70-300mm lens or a 28-300mm lens ? Is it best to have one lens with a long range or 2 and 3 shorter with a slight overlap ?

Sorry to be abit naive but nothing I can find on the internet explains what lens you actualyl need for the type of picture/desired effect(that I can find...). I am ok understanding the technical(physics degree) but just need a helping hand in the actual experience/use of a modern dSLR.

[HankScorpio]

Everyone will be along with an opinion shortly...!

I have the same thing with lenses so did my own test to help me see the differences in what you actually capture from one to the other...

www.hankscorpio.net/misc/zoomtest/

[dtmpower]

HankScorpio said:

Everyone will be along with an opinion shortly...! I have the same thing with lenses so did my own test to help me see the differences in what you actually capture from one to the other... www.hankscorpio.net/misc/zoomtest/

Thats what I mean ! Thanks Hank.... when I first looked I thought the country house was a different pic as you can hardly see it on the 18mm shot ! Thanks, I think a general 18-55 and a 100-300 should be ok for me

[GetCarter]

Canon or Nikon - both fine, go into a shop and hold them both - you'll prefer one for it's layout and feel. I prefer Nikon - but then I also prefer Murphys to Guinness - both will get the job done

Yes 18-55 for general and 70-300 is good for wildlife trackdays etc.

Make sure you get a minimum of 512 mb compact flash card ... oh and check out e bay - there are some good deals on lenses.

Have fun.

[simpo two]

dtmpower said:

please could osmeone suggest (if a good idea at all) to get either a Canon EOS350D or a Nikon D70s . .

As already said, it really comes down to personal choise. Both cameras are highly competent and will have more than enough functions and features to keep you happy and learning for a long time. But the ergonomics and control layouts are different.... there seems to be a tendency for people to go to the shop to buy a Canon and come out with a Nikon

dtmpower said:

also if I do get one of these which lens would suit for general use to start with, family shots, action shots/sports, motorsport pictures/close ups of cars on track ? I don't get the terminology about lens , what is a 18-55mm lens ? What sort of pictures can it take ? I need a lens that can zoom in from long range (100m) and take a close shot of say a car to fill the image ... would this be more like a 70-300mm lens or a 28-300mm lens ?

It all boils down to angle of view. A wide angle lens (short focal length) like 18mm has, as expected, a wide angle of view - you get more in, so you'd use it to take photos of rooms, or landscapes, or subjects where you can't get far enough back to get it all in with anything else. A telephoto lens, say 200mm or 300mm (long focal length) has a much smaller angle of view, ie it 'chops out' a piece of what you see and enlarges it to fill the viewfinder. The smaller the bit you want to chop out, the longer the lens you need.

dtmpower said:

Is it best to have one lens with a long range or 2 and 3 shorter with a slight overlap ?

You can have a one-size-fits-all lens like a 28-200 and I think Tokina even do an 18-200, but there is a trade-off: quality will be a bit lower and you'll get less maximum aperture, which will probably be Greek to you just now but as you will find can get very important later
Most of my work is done with Nikkor 18-70mm and 70-300mm lenses. An overlap is no bad thing; saves lens changes. I wouldn't want a gap in coverage though.

dtmpower said:

I am ok understanding the technical(physics degree) but just need a helping hand in the actual experience/use of a modern dSLR.

You may need the Simpo Guide to Photo Basics... mail me if that might be helpful.

>> Edited by simpo two on Saturday 27th August 20:56