Beginner Advice

Desi

Desi

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93
Name
Dale
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Hi people, I'm after some advice and hope I'm in the right place.

Over the past couple of years I have become more and more interested in photography, even more so with the phone cameras becoming much more advanced.
In particular I enjoy macro photography but I am some what restricted in the quality and how close i can get. I have become obsessed with watching videos and tutorials and I am always being wowed by most of the images I see, especially the close ups of insects and flowers.

I own nothing at the moment but i am willing to invest a little as i believe i have a hidden passion. I have done a bit of research and quickly found out that this can get very expensive very quickly ha ha.
My plan is for now to start out with a Nikon d3500 and couple it with a Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro EX DG OS HSM. This is looking around the £550 to £700 mark if I get them both used.

So the advice.
1) is this a good set up?
2) am I spending too much/little?
3) will I get the close up and detail ?

Any help at this point would be greatly appreciated and thanks for reading this if you did, thanks, Des.
 
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The set up you've chosen will be fine. Are you looking to photograph bugs or plants etc? It maybe worth looking into lighting as well. When working with small apertures, f/9-f/22, the shutter speeds start getting pretty slow, so extra light is needed.
 
These days mirrorless cameras are a popular choice over traditional DSLR's and they do have some advantages.

You could take a look at the Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus.

To keep costs down you could consider a film era manual focus lens as macro shots of bugs and close up pictures of flowers and video too is often done with manual focus lenses.

Anyway. Reading up on mirrorless cameras and looking at the various options could be an idea before you make a decision.
 
you are correct Dale and welcome. photography can get very expensive. Don't forget to take into consideration the cost of memory cards spare battery and an editing suit within your budget and maybe a tripod plus insurance. Then also consider filters of which there are many designed for different jobs. Oh yes things cost wise quickly build up. Although your interest is at the moment macro you will also find once started you may need a more general use lens in the 24-70mm range. then maybe a flashgun at a later date.
Don't let me put you off it is a great hobby and editing in spare time will keep you occupied.
From experience I quickly found the first DSLR camera I bought (nikon D70s) didn't meet all I needs and wished I had got the next one up. So it went from D70s- D200- D300 - D800 and now the D810. so don't fall into that trap.
Have you considered getting a "grey" import which are the same camera but not sold through an official dealership and cheaper, Same camera only difference is the warranty my not be there but insurance would cover that anyway. Well worth checking out My D810 is one of those.

Just checked out that D3500 for you and what would concern me is the shutter speed is at fastest 1/4000sec, I would prefere one that does 1/8000sec it can make all the difference in "freezing " a shot. Also doesn't do 4k but it is great for those starting out but my bet is you will be wishing the get the next one up in the Nikon lineup pretty quickly.

If you asked me which I would go for as a starting camera it would be the Nikon D7500. may be a little above your price range at the moment but well worth considering. check out specifications. Grfey import @ https://www.e-infin.com/uk/item/3326/nikon_d7500_digital_slr_camera_body_only_kit_box. On amazon for over £1000 as a comparison
 
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I wouldn't rule out mirrorless in all honesty. Real time live LCD screen and EVF, focus peaking, magnification, histogram, electronic shutter in some cases....

I'm sure there's some thing in the Sony E & Fuji APSC line ups to suit your budget. I'm not over familiar with which lenses though for those systems.

The main reason I switched from a Canon 5D2 to the Sony A7 in 2015 was because I was using a lot of old manual focus lenses & mirrorless just made it so much easier to do that.
 
Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it. I've been reading all afternoon and I still have lots to think about. Read some articles from professional macro photographers and they advise cameras with focus stacking. It's a mine field ha ha. Holding off on the d3500 though.
 
As great as it is to have a mirrorless, focus stacking, all bells and whistles camera, It's not essential.
My macro camera and lens set up come in at a grand total of £550, Canon 80d, sigma 150mm EX DG APO HSM. Is it the best? No. Does it do a good job? Yes.
Focus stacking can be done manually (it's how it used to be done), yes it's a bit harder and a bit more time consuming, but certainly doable.
If you can afford a mirrorless camera that has all the bells and whistles that's great, but don't think it can't be done another way.
 
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Nostromo said:
If you can afford a mirrorless camera that has all the bells and whistles that's great, but don't think it can't be done another way.
Click to expand...

You can always try and do things another way but that other way could end up being more time consuming and more difficult.
 
So as you see everyone has their own ideas which may confuse even more. I can only speak about Nikon and being used to the menu layout is what I would go for again. Making a decision aint easy for the first time. You can drive yourself nuts trying to decide so maybe consider say up to 5 cameras ,any make, do they meet your requirements then go check them out in a decent proper camera store
 
woof woof said:
You can always try and do things another way but that other way could end up being more time consuming and more difficult.
Click to expand...

But you'd probably learn a lot more.
 
Desi said:
Hi people, I'm after some advice and hope I'm in the right place.

Over the past couple of years I have become more and more interested in photography, even more so with the phone cameras becoming much more advanced.
In particular I enjoy macro photography but I am some what restricted in the quality and how close i can get. I have become obsessed with watching videos and tutorials and I am always being wowed by most of the images I see, especially the close ups of insects and flowers.

I own nothing at the moment but i am willing to invest a little as i believe i have a hidden passion. I have done a bit of research and quickly found out that this can get very expensive very quickly ha ha.
My plan is for now to start out with a Nikon d3500 and couple it with a Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro EX DG OS HSM. This is looking around the £550 to £700 mark if I get them both used.

So the advice.
1) is this a good set up?
2) am I spending too much/little?
3) will I get the close up and detail ?

Any help at this point would be greatly appreciated and thanks for reading this if you did, thanks, Des.
Click to expand...
In my opinion, it's a good set-up, it's cheap, and that lens goes to a nice 1:1 magnification ratio, which should be enough in most cases.
Going the F-mount route instead of mirrorless is a good idea to keep prices down as the F-mount second-hand market is a buyer's market . As Andrew said, you can always upgrade later.
 
Hello all. Thanks again for all your advice, im really glad i came here first before just jumping in.
I've had a week of looking, reading, reading, reading and looking. My head was frazzled but hopefully have found something I like the look and feel of, although I am now reading about a newer model with some better options/technology..... I can't decide.
I go on long walks, sometimes into double figures so a lighter camera is a must really and after some advice on here and elsewhere I am going mirrorless.

So, I like the look and feel of Canon and looked at the EOS RP. Really liked it but reviews keep pushing me to the R10. I've read numerous times the differences and still can't decide. I know the R10 is limited with lenses but seems to be better performing overall.
If I'm investing a little more then I'm going to be using the camera for more than just Macro so need a little more versatility.
Any thoughts and has anybody got or used any of these cameras.
Any advice greatly received
Thanks for reading.
Dale.
 
If you are into macro I would look at a m4/3 set up. Most of the good Macro stuff I'm seeing right now is being shot with an OMD Em1 variant and the fantastic 60mm zuiko macro lens. The advantages with this set up are bigger dof and in body handheld image stacking.

If I was starting again I'd seriously consider this route
 
whilst Canon RF lenses are still comparatively limited in choice, the EF to RF adaptor allows fitment and use of Canon’s entire EF* lens back catalogue, including third party options.

* EF, not EF-S, EF-M or Cinema lenses.
 
I've just been looking at some Instagram accounts and that's what they use. Very impressive. Guess what, I've done it, I've taken the plunge. Gonna get some reading material and get out in the countryside next weekend.
Sure I'll be asking for more advice real soon.

My new kit next week

OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Zuiko 60mm macro

Thanks everyone
 
Desi said:
I've just been looking at some Instagram accounts and that's what they use. Very impressive. Guess what, I've done it, I've taken the plunge. Gonna get some reading material and get out in the countryside next weekend.
Sure I'll be asking for more advice real soon.

My new kit next week

OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Zuiko 60mm macro

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...
I'm a bit jealous looking forward to seeing the results! I know you've just spent a lot of money but down the line you might find raynox DCR 150 or 250 useful not a lot goes wring with them so you can pick them used no problem
 
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andrewc said:
whilst Canon RF lenses are still comparatively limited in choice, the EF to RF adaptor allows fitment and use of Canon’s entire EF* lens back catalogue, including third party options.

* EF, not EF-S, EF-M or Cinema lenses.
Click to expand...
That’s not quite true. EF-S lenses can be mounted too.
 
caledonia84 said:
I'm a bit jealous looking forward to seeing the results! I know you've just spent a lot of money but down the line you might find raynox DCR 150 or 250 useful not a lot goes wring with them so you can pick them used no problem
Click to expand...
After some more reading ha ha, I've ordered the DCR 250, Godox tt250 flash gun and a diffuser.
I better get some overtime in.....
 
Also got the Darrell Young, Mastering guide book and omd kindly sent me a pdf of the full user manual to help me along. Really looking forward to learning. My old work colleague has done wildlife photography for about 10 years( currently on a break though). He has kindly offered to take a walk with me in the next couple of weeks to offer me some expertise.
I've also seen some macro photography workshops available about 20 mins from me, will look into those if people think its a good idea.
 
Desi said:
Also got the Darrell Young, Mastering guide book and omd kindly sent me a pdf of the full user manual to help me along. Really looking forward to learning. My old work colleague has done wildlife photography for about 10 years( currently on a break though). He has kindly offered to take a walk with me in the next couple of weeks to offer me some expertise.
I've also seen some macro photography workshops available about 20 mins from me, will look into those if people think its a good idea.
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Best advice I can give you is to take photos of things you're really interested in. I think you learn faster that way as your willing to get closer to the subject and learn how they behave. My thing was jumping spiders, they fascinated me and make for fantastic subjects.

That being said I'd say macro photography has to one of the most technically difficult types I've tried, I prize the images more though because of that.

With the 250 and that flash you'll have a fantastic set up to get started with.
 
I use the 105mm Sigma a lot, it's a cracking lens for close up stuff, and a really good portrait lens too, I dont have the D3500 but I tried a mates 3400 a few years back and it seemed a decent enough camera, I cant see there being any issues with that set up.
One point though, theres macro and MACRO, some shots like close up's of ants heads and stuff like that are a bit more tricky.
 
Desi said:
I've just been looking at some Instagram accounts and that's what they use. Very impressive. Guess what, I've done it, I've taken the plunge. Gonna get some reading material and get out in the countryside next weekend.
Sure I'll be asking for more advice real soon.

My new kit next week

OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Zuiko 60mm macro

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...
I was reading through the posts and thought I will recommend the Em1 MkII and the 60mm Macro :D I would also recommend the Darrell Young book too and guess what :D

It's a fabulous setup and you'll have fun experimenting and learning. Definitely looking forward to seeing your pictures.

If it's not against the rules I would also suggest you join the Olympus e-group, many of its members are here too. Both fora offer terrific advice.

And this is a must see for your Olympus kit and macro.
 
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moggi1964 said:
I was reading through the posts and thought I will recommend the Em1 MkII and the 60mm Macro :D I would also recommend the Darrell Young book too and guess what :D

It's a fabulous setup and you'll have fun experimenting and learning. Definitely looking forward to seeing your pictures.

If it's not against the rules I would also suggest you join the Olympus e-group, many of its members are here too. Both fora offer terrific advice.

And this is a must see for your Olympus kit and macro.
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Excellent, thanks for the reassurance, at least my research and reading has been worth while. I can't wait, I'm working away at the moment but my camera and lens came today, just waiting for the other goodies. We get quite a few insects in our garden so that's gonna be my starting point. When I get something passable, I will post on here for people to disect ha ha.
Will watch that video in a little while and will take your advice on the olympus e group, thanks for your help much appreciated.
I ordered the cygnustech diffuser from Australia, he's also sent me a little hints and tips pdf and offered lifetime support for troubleshooting and camera set ups.
Feeling like this a great community already.
If anybody reading this hasn't, I thoroughly recommend looking at his work on instagram. It's unbelievable.
 
Hey all,
I'm still waiting for my diffuser but I've had a play around, tried set ups and taken a few pics of insects in the garden and some inanimate objects in the house.
I've probably taken around 100 or so, obviously taking 8(?) a time when stacking. Lots of throw aways, some ok but feel this is the best yet. Quite happy with my little self.

https://flic.kr/p/2oxeijt
View: https://flic.kr/p/2oxeijt
 
Desi said:
Hey all,
I'm still waiting for my diffuser but I've had a play around, tried set ups and taken a few pics of insects in the garden and some inanimate objects in the house.
I've probably taken around 100 or so, obviously taking 8(?) a time when stacking. Lots of throw aways, some ok but feel this is the best yet. Quite happy with my little self.

https://flic.kr/p/2oxeijt
View: https://flic.kr/p/2oxeijt
Click to expand...
Love it! The dof you get from stacking is brilliant .

Looks to be a Wolf spider to me not sure on the Genus though
 
caledonia84 said:
Love it! The dof you get from stacking is brilliant .

Looks to be a Wolf spider to me not sure on the Genus though
Click to expand...
Yes spotted wolf spider I think, lots of sub species it seems. Got some body shots, can't seem to find much more info online.
 
Great stuff! Thanks for coming back to share how your are getting on with your new kit.
 
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andrewc said:
A sturdy tripod may also be useful. Remember the rule of tripods - you can only choose a maximum of two from the following criteria - 1) cheap. 2) sturdy. 3) lightweight.
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I read a deal on tripods one time. They were talking about lighweight ones and how to use them. Thing was to put something under it you could hang your camera bag on and the weight pulling down steadied it up. Never tried it but it does make sense to me. My own tripod I don't use a lot. It's a vey old Monfretto that is pretty heavy all by itself. I think it works best in special thing's like macro and heavy lens's. Get down to wide aperature's and slow shutter's and the tripod get importand. But smaller aperature's and faster shutter's the tripod start's becoming less needed. I have also found the best I do with my 170-500 lens is mounting the camera on my tripod. That heavy lens is just hard to hold still at slower shutter speeds!
 
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