mihir_shah

hi craig,

 

first of all...a better camera will not get you a good grade.

 

after having said that, i think eos 30v (elan 7Ne) would be an excellent camera to start off,

as it has everything you need as a student and more. Eos 1 series offers excellent weather

protection, and is a more professional camera and therefore does not have many basic

features such as inbuilt flash, which wont be useful for many professionals. 30V has many

features which will be helpful for you to learn the basics and develop your skills.

 

On the other hand you could just stick with your 10D and buy better lenses, unless a film

camera is a must.

 

good luck and have fun.

dennis you already have a good wide angle zoom which should suffice you for most indoor

shots with little care. i would recommend "a good sturdy tripod with a good head" as i am

sure you would want to take nice landscapes and cityscapes. IF you want to spend on a lens

only then my vote goes for 75-300 IS ($550 AT B&H). i think this is a very good lens to carry

around as it will give you added zoom and more versatility. have fun.

PJ, you have enough advice above...i would just add my two cents and say...buy him a Canon Elan 7e and a 50mm 1.8 . This will be an excellent kit for him to start and learn. you can get a good used deal for 7e on ebay..if you want to save money...but i wioould recommend getting a brand new 50mm 1.8 as it costs only $80 and is an amazing piece of glass. Elan 7E will introduce him to the canon system and it has everything from basic features to a lot of advanced features...he will be able to easily upgrade whenevr he is ready to a better body. hope this helps. wish him good luck and hope he has a great time.

Eos 5 is an excellent camera...if you are getting one in the good condition for abt $150 i

would say jump for it. i love mine and have been using it since 5 years now without any dial

problems(thank god) and am really happy with it. just make sure that the used one which

you are buying has not have had the dial problem..or if it did have then it has been fixed

properly.

 

Not all the eos 5's have the dial problem...so dont loose your sleep over it. As for the lens i

would also suggest 50mm 1.8. Its a brilliant lens and a steal for under $100. good luck and

have fun.

Hi

does anyone know about any rental shops in or around bombay, India. i am specifically

looking to rent canon lenses. if there is anyone working in calumet here, you guys should

seriously look into indian market...huge potential and not to mention monoploy till someone

else catches up and basically i will also get my lenses. :)

hey anthony,

the best magazines i have come across which give a good blend of advice on film and digital techniques are Practical Photography and Amateur Photography. Both are based in UK and subscription rates are high, but usually both have deals like a free tripod or mid-size camera bag along woth the subscriptions which makes them a good buy.

The articles, reviews, competitions, etc are much better then the american counterparts.

Andrew, having been in your shoes once, i would suggest going for a cheaper canon body like Elan 7NE(30V i guess in europe)or a used Eos 3 (if getting it in the same price range)and investing more on top quality glass like 24-70/f2.8L or 17-40/f4L(depending on your interests). It will cost you around 1500$US but u will have a good kit to last for a long time. I am a canon user and so cannot really advice on other brands. But the only advice i would give is to invest more on a quality glass then a top film body. Elan 7NE is an excellent camera for beginners and amateurs. good luck.

hi steve,

I dont trust the cd's/dvd's either. i think though technically they are supposed to last a long time, there are many variables to it and one has to store them carefully. I would suggest buying a external harddrive which can store a lot and are very sturdy.

I have zeroed in to Lacie harddrives...a lot of memory for the buck and are well built. For $399 you can get 500GB,..here's the link,

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10461

 

i think they make with more memory, but i guess 500gb would suffice me for quite some time to come.

2 years ago "Law and Order" approached me for shooting in my aprtment. They offered $1000 per day for 2 days shooting. unfortunatly the buildng managemnt did not play with it and i was deprived off my already planned in a minute purchase of "a L series lens". now this is the rate offered for an apartment in new york city.

hey J, thats excellent. great picture and i wish this one is the first of many more to come. my compliments.

get a mid size umbrella(atleast), open it and slide the handle behind your neck into the jacket. now you have a nice umbrella cover to shoot from. you will not look pretty but will have a nice dry shade. as a side note, will not work in windy conditions. and it is always better to put your camera back into the bag when not shooting.

hi missy, for film, if your are buying new, i think Eos Elan 7NE(EOS 3 if you want to shell out more) is a good buy, unless you can get a good deal on second hand EOS 3. For digital, with the introduction of EOS 20D, the EOS 10D prices have dropped, and you might get some good deals in second hand market for 10D. good luck.

I need to buy a light meter, and after narrowing it down solely on the

budget constrains, i am left with choosing between Minolta Autoflash

5f and Sekonic L358. Minolta hasa better built while Sekonic has more

features like retractable dome, 2 iso settings. both are vailable

around $200-220. If anyone has suggestions please let me know. I am

trying to get into portrait and fashion photography and am learning

abt lighting techniques for the same.