EOS camera for a friend?

Hello every one! This is the first time I post here. I'm a Canon FD & a Nikon digital user. This time I'm

coming for some advice to help a friend. He uses a EOS D30D (He sys it is like 8 years old). I thought he

meant 30D but nope! Anyway, we work with japanese Kois (Nishikigoi) and we take pictures for the purpose of showing the fish to costumers. the problem is they are fish and they keep moving so much.

He saw me shooting with my Nikon D300 and he really loves how fast it focuses. He went to store by

himself and the salesman tried to make him buy a Mark III, I think or a 5D. He is an older person with no

background if photography therefor I know they are too much for him. I told him so. Eventhough he loves

my D300 I told him to stay away from Nikon coz he already got a few Canon lenses. So, he needs a

camera with a fast focus system, simple to use for the purpose of taking pictures of moving fish (from

above).

 

Any help and advice will be appreciated! Rene'

"He uses a EOS D30D (He sys it is like 8 years old)" I meant D30.

 

Also we need the fast focus cos the idea is not only to freeze the fish but we have to freeze

it at the right position.

Thank you!

How big do the pix have to be?

 

I would say to go for a G9 at most.

 

Keith

Basically to mail and if printing them the most A4 (8x10).

 

that's another thing, the salesman tried to trick him telling him that the Mark III takes 20 megabytes pixels pictures therefor the pictures are much better. Coz he doesn't know he

thought that was such a good thing!

Why not just get a really fast lens -- i.e., EF 50mm f/1.4 USM or EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM? What lenses does he currently use?

 

Even an used 20D or 30D should be fine with a fast lens. The high frame-rate can help getting the shot. But like Keith I think that a high-end digicam like the Powershot G9 could be perfect if the light is not too dim -- he might even try bounce or tethered flash with an external speedlight and a off-camera flash cord (which I use for my few fish tank photos if the shutter speeds are too slow.)

 

That said, taking pictures of fish is not one the most easiest applications, unfortunately. I guess he needs to learn a little bit about photography if he wants to make great images. Good pictures are very important if you want to sell high-priced stuff.

I would say time to up-grade the D30 to a 30D. That would be a 4 generations up grade skiping D60, 10D and 20D. 30D is $760 new at Amazon.

I think my suggestion would be to identify what lenses he has. If he has some that are f/2.8 or faster, I would suggest a 40D (so he could take advantage of the additionally sensitive center AF point that the 30D doesn't have). Otherwise, a 40D + an f/2.8 (or faster) lens.

I would say either the 30D or 40D in the crop bodies, or the full frame 5D, if he can afford it. A 30D is probably the best bet, if he's not too excited about full frame. It's a bit cheaper than the 40D, and a very solid camera. You say:

 

"He is an older person with no background if photography therefor I know they are too much for him"

 

I don't follow your logic. He's using an older crop body Canon dslr. And he's a bit older. No offense but I think you might be underestimating him.

Reasonably, these fish probably aren't rocketing around their tank, right? So he won't need the crazy fast autofocus of the 1D. He mostly needs a good fast shutter to catch them moving. So, a 30 or 40D (fast frame rate) would be ideal. How big are the fish? Maybe a fast macro lens would be good as well.

 

I don't know what the setup is, but an underwater strobe flash or something might be useful if it doesn't spook the fish too much. With DSLRs, my opinion is that you can never have too much light...

"that's another thing, the salesman tried to trick him telling him that the Mark III takes 20 megabytes pixels pictures therefor the pictures are much better. Coz he doesn't know he thought that was such a good thing!"

 

I think I'd be inclined to find another salesperson - one who's more interested in their customers needs than they are in their sales commission.

Thank you for your advices! I convinced him to try a G9 and he seems to like it! He did

pretty well today! his pictures got much better within 30 minutes!

 

Thanks a lot! Rene'

rene', I just got one of our son's a G9, and he's quite happy with it. It does look to be decent "bridge" camera. This son was adamant that he did not want the complexity of a dslr (or so he claims). Another of our sons is more into slr's and we co-purchased a RebelXT for him. And we have a daughter who I have passed on a 20D to.

 

Different strokes for different folks is the way it is. Still, I think with your friend's slr background, he should give a proper dslr a try at least. Or perhaps his slr did not see much use? Anyway, maybe down the road ;)