To: bovik@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Camera Recomendations Date: Tue, 13 Aug 91 14:09:34 -0400 From: Darcy_Bullock@VOLGA.EDRC.CMU.EDU Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1991 08:54-EDT From: HW.Hon@SPEECH2.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Camera Recomendations I bought a 5000i and a 35-105 lens last year and satisfied with them since then. However, 5000i is not supposed to be a high-end, or fancy model. Therefore, you should go for 7000i, 8000i o 9000i if you want a fancy model or you have more money. I bought them through "Camera World of Oregon" by mail-order. I had several orders through them before and I felt they were an honest store and I always saved about 15% 20% in comparison with local store. You can find their 800 number in "Popular Photographer" magazine. /Hon Subject: Your "Camera Recommendations" Post Date: Tue, 06 Aug 91 09:04:46 EDT From: Michael E DeRiso Darcy- I bought a Minolta 7000i for my wife for Christmas at Foto Hut on McKnight Road (phone 366-6145). After calling around I found they had the best price on camera bodies and lenses. The only catch: their selection of lenses is limited. I found a broader selection at Bernie's on East Ohio Street (phone 231-1717), but at slightly higher prices. Good luck. By the way, my wife loves the camera. -Mike Date: Tue, 6 Aug 91 10:46:53 EDT From: Gerry Roston Subject: Camera Recomendations Reply-To: gerry@cs.cmu.edu (Gerry Roston) forget 47th street. get a copy of pop photo, look at the adds. the most reputable are adorama, b&h, camera world of oregon and vienna cammer (in virginia, they may not advertise). forget quantaray, get a good lens: minolta, tamron, tokina, sigma, vivitar. don't take any extras. Date: Tue, 6 Aug 91 10:49:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenny Ladd Subject: Re: Camera Recomendations Darcy, I have never been impressed with Quantaray as anything other then as a "I can't afford the real thing, so give me a cheap copy that will only last a fourth as long, and maybe by then I can afford the real thing..." If you can afford to, do yourself the favor of buying the real minolta (Rokkar) lens. Zoom lenses especially are easy to destroy of made cheaply. Since I retired as a press photographer about 12 years ago - I'm not sure what the Minolta 5000i will do. It's its just automatic exposure, then an off-brand lens will work 99.99999% of the time. If it does automagic focusing, then I'm pretty sure that Quantaray will not autofocus (but you'll retain the autoexposure). Since I did my photography in NY (the suburbs.... ;-) land of 47th St. Photo, Garden Camera, etc.... I'll add that from NY, Ritz was a reputable mail-order house, so I'd support your decision to go to Ritz (especially one easily driveable to) as they tend to be very helpful in person too.... Jenny Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1991 10:57-EDT From: Peter.Nagy@CIVE.RI.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Camera Recomendations I have the 8000i and like it. I think that the 5000i has a built in flash - which is convenient in some ways, but... if you take a lot of flash pix, you may find that you'll need to replace the expensive lithium battery of the camera frequently. Don't buy any expansion cards (if it takes them) they are a waste of $$$ Pete Subject: Re: Camera Recomendations Date: Tue, 6 Aug 91 12:10:53 EDT From: ven@CHARDONNAY.NECTAR.CS.CMU.EDU In article <1991Aug05.230556.229391@cs.cmu.edu> you write: >My old manual SLR has died and I am considering upgrading to a to an >automatic SLR that will still provide full manual operation and mountable >lenses. I am interested in a Minolta 5000i body with a 35-70 Quantaray >lens through Ritz Camera. Notes/Recomendations/Suggestions on the camera >or alternative stores would be appreciated. (I have already checked with >47th st photo - after shipping they are $16 cheaper.) About 1 month ago, I purchased a Minolta 5000i body and a 28-70mm Sigma lens from b&H (in New York). I paid the following: 5000i body: $227 28-70mm sigma AF lens: $108 Battery: $11 A/S expansion card : $15 Shipping & Handling: $9 Total: $370 This is the best price I could find from the reputable mail order shops. If you are interested, there is a survey of mail order places in /afs/cs/user/ven/lib/info/mailorder, which I got off rec.photo. Ven Date: Wed, 7 Aug 91 10:42:18 EDT From: Aarti.Gupta@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Camera Recomendations The lens I have is a Maxxum AF Zoom 35/80 by Minolta. The filetr is nothing fancy, apparently its there only to protect the lens and block uv (?) Aarti. Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1991 08:47:12 +0000 From: "(Lubomir Boutzev)" To: "(Darcy Bullock)" Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation Hi dear photosensitive friend ! If you are a starter and desire to become a good amateur then you must start with a manual camera. Built in meter and you combine the stop/speed binome. This is a very good way to learn the tricks and know the real meanning of the settings. Just an advice. Besides the manual cameras are quite cheap now. Boutzev. Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation Date: Fri, 09 Aug 91 06:53:29 PDT From: patti@hosehead.intel.com Is autofocus all that important to you? If not, I'd recommend not wasting the money. About five years ago, I decided on the spur of the moment that I wanted to buy an SLR. I walked into the friendly neighborhood camera shop, told him I was close to a beginner but wanted a camera, and talked to him for about two hours. The result was that I bought a Nikon N2000. It's not autofocus, but it has manual, aperture priority, and two program modes. I've been using it ever since, and only last month did I decide that I'd outgrown it, and needed a camera with more features. (I was doing aquarium photography for a magazine article when I decided I wanted to upgrade.) Oh, yes, it also has autowind, but manual rewind. My personal preference is for Nikon. I've never had anything go wrong with mine. -- patti@hosehead.hf.intel.com | I don't speak for Intel, nor vice-versa. 75555.767@compuserve.com | (503)-696-4358 | A1: Yes, I'm the one with the big fishtank. or just yell, "Hey, Patti!" | A2: A lot, a lot, yes you can see it sometime. Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 11:01:44 EDT From: Mark Goldberg Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation I recommend the Nikon 6006 or 8008S with a samll zoom, like a 35-70 or 28-70, or even a little bigger zoom like the 28-85 or 35-105. Nikons are very popular with a lot of growth room. It is very easy to go into manual override - easier than the Canons I think. Bottom line - go to several dealers and see what fits. Try the lenses. The combo should feel comfortable and be an extension of your senses. =========David Taylor Research Center (a US Navy lab) - Annapolis, MD========== /|/| /||)|/ /~_/\| |\|)[~|)/~_ | "Everyone's entitled to MY opinion." / | |/~||\|\ \_/\/|_|/|)[_|\\_/ | goldberg@oasys.dt.navy.mil "Poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another."-Madonna Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 08:43:06 -0700 From: Neil Williams Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation The Rebel is a very good camera for the price. Pop photo (or maybe it was PHOTOgraphic) has given it very good reviews. Be aware that it's made out of plastic and is missing advanced features. It is targeted at students/amateurs. On the plus side, pop photo said it was incredibly light, has good autofocus, and is easy to use, and has a ton of features which you wouldn't expect to find on a low cost camera. If you think you will be getting serious about photography (e.g. trying unusual shots, etc.), consider the 630 or the 10s. The 630 is in your price range - should be about $270 - $300 for the body, and another $200 or so for a zoom. It's got a metal body, more features than the rebel, but is a lot heavier. --Neil -- Neil Williams neilw@informix.com Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 09:25 PDT From: Al Peterman Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation If you're open to used cameras, and manual focus MUCH better deals are possible. For example, I've got a Nikon FG which is manual or automatic or program exposure with a 28-100mm Saitex lens that I'd sell for $220, including shipping. Better than these new plastic cameras, and it won't depreciate in value. -- Alan L. Peterman (503)-684-1984 hm al@qiclab.scn.rain.com It's odd how as I get older, the days are longer, but the years are shorter! Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 10:16:01 PDT From: Srivatsan Varadarajan Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation In article <1991Aug08.222927.152511@cs.cmu.edu> you write: >I am looking for a starter system that allows full manual operation but >also provides automatic operation. I don' care about a fixed 50mm or 55mm lense and would rather a zoom in the range (approx) of 35-80. I have not made up my >mind if I want a built in flash or a seperate flash. > Please forward me the responses if you can. I am also looking for an SLR with similar specs. I am looking seriously at the EOS10S because as you mentioned I am not convinced that the Rebel is a durable camera. The mail order places list the body at $390.00 and the 35-105 lens at $160.00. For ~$200 more you can get a better, more durable camera than the Rebel. But this is what I have heard. I may be wrong about the Rebel. Srivatsan svaradar@sangeet.intel.com -- Srivatsan H. Varadarajan svaradar@sangeet.intel.com (408)765-4866 Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 14:26:42 -0400 From: Micah Siegel Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation I bought a Rebel-S about a month ago and have been very happy with it. The photos I received seem to indicate that the 35-105 is a solid lens. And indeed it is a lightweight camera. Also has many exceedingly useful features (though it is missing a depth of field preview), as I'm sure you've discovered. The built-in flash is very handy and well worth the $100 difference. I'd recommend the kit highly. Let me know if you have any other questions. Micah Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 18:08:39 EDT From: Benson Wen Subject: Starter 35 mm recomendation I wouldn't get the Mintolta if I were you, it has a dedicated flash bracket that forces you to buy Minolta. The Nikon 6006 is also in about the same class of camera that you are looking at, as well as the less-featured 4004. When you buy Nikon, you get the added bonus of being able to buy used manual focus lenses that and use them. Often this is more economical. The 4004 is more bare-boned, but in your price range. The 6006 has a slew of electronic features, making it more bell-and-whistle laden than the "pro" 8008. The Rebel and Rebel-S are good cameras also. Canon is aiming them at beginning students of photography, hence the full-information exp. comp. bar-graph that none of the other EOS's have, save the $$$ EOS-1. You get quite a bit of camera for a small amount of money. Ultimately, however it isn't the features that a camera has that should be the determining factor for buying it. If you can, try out the cameras that you are looking at and can afford. What works the best for you? The command dials on each of the cameras are different, Nikon uses a thumbwheel, EOS's have a finger dial, and Maxxums have a finger slide. Weight is also a factor. Are the modes to confusing? Is the camera to noisy? Is the display readable? What feels better in your hands? I have an EOS 10s and a Canon FTb. -Ben From: Laszlo C Balint Subject: Starter 35 mm recomendation Date: Sat Aug 10 12:28:10 1991 I am glad to mix up the things a bit. Isn't there a Nikon system about same price? (I think of the 6006 with 35-70mm.) BTW I would not consider Minolta, the Canon seems to be a much better choice. I think the longer zoom to be a better deal, even if it is more expensive. laca Date: Mon, 12 Aug 91 15:03 PDT From: Jim Cathey Subject: Re: Starter 35 mm recomendation In article <1991Aug08.222927.152511@cs.cmu.edu> you write: >3. Is the Rebel-S worth the extra $100? No. You'll get _much_ better flash pictures using an externally mounted flash --- no red-eye! All built-in flashes suffer from it because they can't get the flash tube far enough away from the axis of the lens. Date: Fri, 9 Aug 91 0:31:12 PDT From: Theron Trowbridge Subject: Your post to Rec.photo May I offer you my biased and fervent opinions on purchasing a new camera? DO NOT BUY the Minolta. It is a camera designed by engineers and not for photographers. It operates on standards that conflict with every other camera and photographer. But I gather you are leaning away from that. The idea of the Cannon Rebel doesn't thrill me, either, but I've not had any actual shooting time with one. Since you seem to have a certain lens in mind, you might want to give that priority, in two ways: if you find a lens you really like (and I do suggest previewing as many as possible) you might then select a body that it will fit on. Secondly, you might look at the general availablity of lenses for each system. You might find that the Minolta actually has the lenses you want (their 70-210 zoom is a lovely piece of glass, actually) or that you like the availability of, say, Nikon lenses moreso that those available for Cannons. The body of the camera is the most and the least important aspect of the whole. It is the least important aspect in terms of image quality. That lies almost entirely in the duty of the lens. That's why choosing a body to fit a lens is a reasonable thing to do. It is the most important aspect in terms of comfort and ease of use. YOU MUST find a body that you are comfortable with. Play with lots of different bodies. The body of the camera must become like an extention of you hands. The more comfortable you are with it, the better your pictures will be and the happier you will be. Have you considered Nikons at all? I think you could get an FM2 easily, with the lens you want, in your price range. A beaut of a camera. And you get to select from the widest selection of lenses of the highest quality of any of the popular camera systems. And if you need to rent lenses, your photo store is more likely to have it in Nikon than for anything else. I use a Nikon FM. It's only manual, with a light meter. I love it. Even if I could afford an FM2, I wouldn't trade it in. It's built like a tank, easy to use and fairly lightweight. I've got a 50mm Nikon-E series lens that is a wonderful lens, and a 70-200 zoom by some 3rd party that is ok. I also have a 2x 7-element lens extender that is really nice. I got the body and the 50mm lens for $150. Used, of course (they only made the FM for one year). You might want to also check out the Canon OE series and the Pentax K1000's. I'm not sure how much these go for, but I hear people raving about them all the time. Hope this helped somewhat and didn't, like, confuse you. -Theron Trowbridge trowbrid@usc.edu AppleLink: D7029