Beginner Looking to invest in a DSLR

HobbiestEquinePhotography

HobbiestEquinePhotography

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16
Name
Stephanie
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum so please bare with me if I've posted in the wrong place.
I'm currently using a Powershot SX510 HS which has suited me quite well as a hobbyist photographer over the four years I've had it.(I'll include some of my favorite shots below.) However, I love equine photography and I've found that images, particularly close up ones aren't quite as crisp and detailed as I'd like them to be.
I've got a budget of £300 up to £500 including accessories and was wondering what my best option would be as I'm not well versed in camera specifications yet.


Chestnut Appaloosa

Chestnut Appaloosa


Red Kite

Red Kite


Mallard Closeup

Mallard Closeup

A closeup of a visiting mallard.
 
Can I ask before you spend money are you doing any post processing are are the shots you have posted straight out of camera.
I ask because they do not look half bad and I wonder if a bit of PP ( sharpening etc ) might help
 
troutfisher said:
Can I ask before you spend money are you doing any post processing are are the shots you have posted straight out of camera.
I ask because they do not look half bad and I wonder if a bit of PP ( sharpening etc ) might help
Click to expand...
These particular ones have no post processing whatsoever. My avatar has been taken with the same camera but has PP done to it to make it more “professional”
Plus, horses and black backgrounds work really well
 
I don't do equine photography unless the opportunity presents itself but just to give you an illustration of the results from a mirrorless camera these are taken with a Fuji XT-1 with an 18-135 lens with a bit of pp -contrast boost and sharpening

p2747340259-5.jpg


p2747340290-5.jpg


Nothing special but most modern cameras are capable of this, it really it what suits you.
The best advice is to try and handle as many as you can.
Also don't be afraid to by used WEX , MPB are quite good but make a list of what you want it to do for example are you going to want to do moving shots , in which case focus tracking and AF speed become important.
 
troutfisher said:
I don't do equine photography unless the opportunity presents itself but just to give you an illustration of the results from a mirrorless camera these are taken with a Fuji XT-1 with an 18-135 lens with a bit of pp -contrast boost and sharpening

Nothing special but most modern cameras are capable of this, it really it what suits you.
The best advice is to try and handle as many as you can.
Also don't be afraid to by used WEX , MPB are quite good but make a list of what you want it to do for example are you going to want to do moving shots , in which case focus tracking and AF speed become important.
Click to expand...


See this is the quality that's lost in my portrait shot above. You can see the individual hairs which would make that photo an absolutely gorgeous piece to edit. (well, you would also have to darken that coat as the horse is sunbleached too but that's optional.)
With the powershot I'm at the mercy of my camera as the only way to manually focus would be to use the keypad which can be incredibly slow for what I need. Thus, I tend to allow the camera to auto focus and set the area just infront of the jump but I still loose out on the sharpness.

To try and visualise it better the picture below of the buckskin or "cream" horse was taken with my powershot and the picture after with the bay was taken with a friend's DSLR. (Unsure which brand, I'm forever forgetting to check.) but it really shows to me the quality difference as you're able to do a lot more manually with theirs in less time than I am :')
97013371_2987856244627343_8681338084538712064_o.jpg

97013371_2987856244627343_8681338084538712064_o.jpg

96283727_2985443668201934_7278532694001057792_o.jpg

96283727_2985443668201934_7278532694001057792_o.jpg

 
Looking at those photos you have answered your own question to a degree but now its gets a bit more complicated.
You can start to list what you want the camera to to do:
Fast Focussing
Fast Tracking
High( ish ) frame rate
Easy handling/ergonomics ( very personal choice)

and a fast focussing lens
you seem to have made a pretty good job using your friends camera so whatever that is would seem a good starting point.
The only other thing I would add is check the availability of lenses. Canon and Nikon fit lenses are widely available from 3rd party suppliers ( Sigma/ Tamron) , Sony I am not sure about and Fuji they are very limited and tend to be manual focus only ( which you do not want).
Best of luck and happy shopping

Chris
 
troutfisher said:
The only other thing I would add is check the availability of lenses. Canon and Nikon fit lenses are widely available from 3rd party suppliers ( Sigma/ Tamron) , Sony I am not sure about and Fuji they are very limited and tend to be manual focus only ( which you do not want).
Best of luck and happy shopping
Click to expand...
To clarify (as the above sounds like Sony & Fuji lenses are manual focus only).
Canon, Nikon, Son, Fuji, etc. all produce excellent autofocus lenses
Sigma and Tamron produce 3rd party lenses with A/F for Canon EF/EFS, Nikon (er the DSLR mount), Sony E mount.
There are adapters for Sigma & Tamron lenses on the newer Canon R & Nikon Z mount mirrorless cameras.
Viltrox produce some A/F prime lenses for Sony & Fuji.

A good starting point would be to find out what body & lenses you borrowed from your friend and investigate from there.
 
Ok! So I did some research and grabbed myself a bargain Nikon D3500 on ebay
Out of pure excitement regardless of the fact that the lighting at the moment is horrific I've managed to take this shot of my mare. It's not the best and I certainly have more playing around to get used to all these new settings but thank you both for giving me more confidence in getting a new camera :)
DSC_0142.jpg
 
I would recommend getting a free Flickr account for your photos.
Why? Because if you need to ask questions on here regarding "why did X happen" people on here will instinctively ask for the exif info (camera settings).
These are displayed by Flickr, but not if you add a photo into the forum gallery.
It also allows you to share your photos full size.

It's easy enough to do. Here is a guide that Cobra wrote for the 52s
 
Nice photos there, not a genre that really interests me to be honest....

Just one remark. Photography is not an investment unless you start to earn serious money from the camera. Buying a camera at the moment is much like buying a car; out of the shop and out of the box devalues the kit significantly (or like buying banking shares in 2007!!)
 
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