Getting ready for photography school/career

[benjamin_curtis]

<p>I need help in choosing a digital slr model, I am looking at beginning a bachelor's of fine arts in photography degree very soon and need to make the jump to digital. I'm transitioning out of the military and budget is a factor. I need a camera that will last me a good while, work well in a variety of situations and give me full control over my photos. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>

[jmg1911]

<p>Nikon D90 with kit lens if you can hack it. D5000 if you can't. Canon surely has equivalents, but I have no experience with them. You will be a long, long time outgrowing a D90.<br>

Good luck!<br>

Jim</p>

[zane1664879013]

<p>You should wait until you are in school and can take the school's requirements and existing resources into consideration.</p>

[976photo]

<p>I second the vote for the Nikon D90 if you can afford it. If not the D5000 is also a great choice (I have one myself)</p>

<p>Most any DSLR in that general price range will be fine for what you need. Stay away from the very bottom entry level models (In Nikon's instance the D3000) and step up a model or two and you should be fine with any of the major name brands. Canon has some great cameras in that same price range.</p>

<p>Nikon & Canon are pretty much the two top dogs, after that you can also look at Olympus, Sony, & Pentax are all popular brands and make great cameras that should fit your needs and budget.</p>

[gulfbeach47]

<p>I agree with Zane: If possible, talk to the head of the art department, especially photo instructors and go over the courses and required equipment. I went back to college after 30 years just to take the photo courses, possibly get another degree, but mostly just to get back in the art environment.<br>

I thought classes would all be digital but we had to have a 35mm SLR for one of the first classes. Of course we had to have a DSLR but we also used medium and large format which the college loaned us. One instructor even had a a couple of DSLR's that he loaned out but you will need and want your own. I started with a Nikon D70 (I started classes back in 2005) but now have a pair of D300's. Can't go wrong with Nikon or Canon. I went with Nikon because I always wanted one when I was a kid but did not want to spend the big money:) When I bought the D70 it was or had been the camera of the year. Poor thing sits on the shelf now:-(</p>

[brett_w.]

<p>I would also wait and see what the school requires. I prefer Canon but the other DSLR's like Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, etc,. will "work well in a variety of situations and give me full control over my photos". </p>

<p> </p>

[faysal]

<p>The photography course at my school said you must take B&W film first, ask, you may have to go the route of cheap film body first!</p>

[benjamin_curtis]

<p>I'm actually waiting to hear back from the advisor at the school, he sent me the equipment list and it listed a dslr with a minimum of 10mp i believe and full control over the shutter, aperture etc. I've got one 35mm film body and getting my grandfather's old pentax sent out (more for sentimental reasons). Just trying to figure out the features I do need, the ones I want and the ones I don't need at all. What about something along the lines of the Canon Digital Rebel XSi?</p>

[brett_w.]

<p>The Canon XSi (450D) certainly meets the requirements, just be sure to NOT get the low end XS!. There's also the Canon T2i (550D) and T1i (500D) and if you consider buying used a low mileage 40D or 50D might be better because those models have more "pro" features. Reputable online sites like www.adorama.com and B&H offer refurbished models that include a one year warranty like this<br>

http://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIBKR.html<br>

or maybe a refurbished Nikon D5000 -<br>

http://www.adorama.com/INKD5000R.html</p>

<p> </p>

[benjamin_curtis]

<p>Great, thanks! I'll definitely look into these!</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Even with the list in hand, I would hold off until you get there. Schools sometimes have pools of loaner equipment available, either provided by the school or even by manufactures as a way of promoting their equipment. Even assuming you buy your own body and basic lens, there might be a pool of other lenses and accessories, and you don't want to have bought Nikon if the pool is Canon or the other way around. There might also be student discounts on equipment availble, or fellow students with gear they want to sell.</p>

[benjamin_curtis]

<p>the first few classes I'll be taking will be online until I leave the military and can move to San Fran to finish attending the school, but thanks for the response.</p>

[gulfbeach47]

<p> I forgot to mention that once you are enrolled you can get discounts on photo related equipment, computers and software through the college bookstore and Journey Education Marketing.<br>

Another good reason for people to go back to college:-) Apple, Dell and HP also gives discounts to students. I purchased CS3 for $199.00 & Lightroom II for $99.00. Big savings. Also bought printers, cameras, IMac, Macbook, lens and much of my equipment through the college. Sometimes I found better prices elsewhere, so it helps to shop around. Many colleges around the USA use this company for books etc... I hope the link works. Check it out and look at all the goodies. They also have cameras but better deals can probably be found elsewhere. Go to the link and make sure to click on the all 450 Brands link. http://www.journeyed.com/?ref=select<br>

My college had added Calumet Photographic http://www.calumetphoto.com/ to the list of companies we could order from. There may be more companies by now. Ask the Art Department. I had to order my camera gear through the bookstore. Calumet gave them a discount but the bookstore then adds a % to the price so sometimes it is not a great deal. Many items (like Adobe) you can order from the company and exclude the bookstore mark up. You will have to show proof that your a student. I live in Florida but I think most states give the discounts.</p>

<p> </p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>What kind of lenses are available with your grandfather's camera? If there's more than a normal lens, it might be worth your while to know that Pentax SLR lenses are compatible with contemporary Pentax DSLRs.</p>

<p>Also, if you are going to school, keep an eye out for those for-profit colleges. They do a lot of business online, and have been marketing heavily to people in the military. I, myself, must have seen over 50 ads for such colleges. I know I turned down one full ride Master's program; it turned out that the school was not accredited, even though they had offices on post! Just keep an eye out.</p>

<p>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/view/</p>

<p>If you're hemmed up in one of those programs, your military benefits might go better at a state school or land grant university. Just about any University of __[state name]___ will be a land grant university. They're used to having lots of veterans.</p>

<p>Some of these for-profit guys are billing at a rate that only invests 30% of the money collected into the actual education program. I don't know about your situation, but if this had happened to me back when I first collected my GI Bill (George Washington handed me the first payment) I would not have had the funds to make it all the way through. As it turned out, I needed every bit of what they gave me to work with. That's something to think about if the school is a for-profit deal that's only going to return 30% on war savings.</p>

<p>For the cameras, I prefer Pentax. The equipment is durable; there's good longevity in the systems; I mix and match my film and digital equipment all the time. I have probably saved thousands of dollars by doing this.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>There was some kind of lowering of standards as to where a veteran could spend his funds right about the time the funds were increased after 9/11. What they did was get over by exploiting the "trade schools" bit. There used to be a clause in there that could send you to a vocational school on the veterans benefits. This was especially aimed at guys who were going to get into piloting aircraft or something similar. Well, you can guess how many crop dusters we need nowadays. The family farm declined significantly with the advent of refrigeration; but, the corporation's drive for profit has increased to egregious levels of fantastic claims in support of investments. </p>

<p>Maybe check with an education counselor to see how long some of those colleges have been allowed to accept GI Bill. If it's under 20 years, I'd ask some follow-up questions.</p>

[gulfbeach47]

<p>My class had a couple of Pentax medium format film cameras. Wonderful camera & images.<br>

That also had one Hasselblad medium film camera that came with a digital back. It died about a month after the warranty expired and Hasselblad said no way/no how would they fix it for free. Too bad. The photo dept and many students will remember that...especially since the cost of the camera was so much. I never got to use these darn thing. I know it can happen to any camera but my experience with Nikon customer service has been excellent.</p>

[jmg1911]

<p>Double and redouble what was said about for-profit "colleges."<br>

FWIW, the D90 has two control wheels, which allows you to control aperture and shutterspeed directly and with no fiddling. The D5000 has only one wheel, so it is much slower and fiddely (sp?). D90 ergonamics are outstanding.</p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>You can also consider used - perhaps a used D40 would be great. </p>

[jennifer_r2]

<p>I have the Xsi you mentioned and it's been a great camera for me to learn on. A drawback of the Xsi is that it doesn't have a wheel on the back for changing aperature, it's a little bit clunkier to change than the 40D or 50D that have the aperature wheel on the back - doable, just took some practice. Also, I recomend making sure you get to hold whatever model you want before you buy it. I have small hands so the Xsi is great - if you are a bigger guy, might not work as well, and something the size of the 50D or Nikon D90 might fit you better. Also, Xsi has no PC sych port on it - you can just buy an adapter for less than $20, but it's one of those little things I didn't know about when I was getting my first camera.</p>

[976photo]

<blockquote>

<p>The D5000 has only one wheel, so it is much slower and fiddely</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There's a button you push in to let the wheel change the aperture. It's located in the same spot that the 2nd wheel is at on the D90. You're still using the same finger to switch it, you just have to rotate the wheel with your thumb while holding down the button. Might seem awkward to someone who's not used to it, but it's not that bad.</p>

<p>And fyi - if you're using shutter priority or aperture priority, then you just have to spin the one wheel.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Also, Xsi has no PC sych port on it - you can just buy an adapter for less than $20</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Same for the D5000. I use a wireless transmitter to fire my strobes, so it's not an issue.</p>