Photography people please come in

[Deleted]

If you could choose between the Canon Rebel and the Panasonic Lumix GF5, which one would you get? I held the Canon in the store, and holy moly is that thing heavy! Would I be sacrificing features if I got the compact camera? I want DSLR quality but I don't want something so heavy I'll regret buying it.

[emjacobs]

Which Canon Rebel were you thinking about? I really love Canon's and I don't have any experience with Panasonic cameras.

[speedracer]

what do you mean by "DSLR quality"?

[Deleted]

I have a canon and LOVE having a DSLR. Having said that, I do think they are big and aren't easy to carry around. What will you be using the camera for? Are you out hiking and taking pictures of landscaping? Or will it be pictures of kids/family?

[Deleted]

Do you have any intention of buy something other than a Rebel (which model) and a kit lens? Do you plan on taking it off auto?

If your answers are no, I'd skip getting a DSLR because it'd be wasted money.

[gretchenindisguise]

What lens was on the Rebel when you thought it was heavy?

Get the Rebel and the 40mm pancake lens.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 16:50:26 GMT -5 speedracer said:

what do you mean by "DSLR quality"?

By that I mean clean, sharp images that don't look like they are point and shoot. I want to play around with focusing and lighting

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 17:10:16 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

What lens was on the Rebel when you thought it was heavy?

Get the Rebel and the 40mm pancake lens.

Honestly, I don't remember which exact one it was, but it was a longer lens and not compact.

[rugbywife]

Canon.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 16:16:18 GMT -5 @janeway said:

I want DSLR quality but I don't want something so heavy I'll regret buying it.

Buy a unicorn.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 17:58:42 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

Oct 17, 2013 16:16:18 GMT -5 @janeway said:

I want DSLR quality but I don't want something so heavy I'll regret buying it.

Buy a unicorn.

Hahaha  (heart)

[buddysmom]

I loved my Cannon. The weight was a turnoff at first for me also but after a while I didn't even really notice. It's a great starter DSLR because its auto-features are great, but don't spend the cash if you plan to always use auto-features.

[kwpnjumper55]

Do you plan on shooting manual ? If not stick with the point and shoot and get a photo editing program

[gretchenindisguise]

Oct 17, 2013 17:56:39 GMT -5 @janeway said:

Oct 17, 2013 17:10:16 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

What lens was on the Rebel when you thought it was heavy?

Get the Rebel and the 40mm pancake lens.

Honestly, I don't remember which exact one it was, but it was a longer lens and not compact.

My guess is that they had a big ole zoom on there, and if you took that off and put on a smaller lens - you'd be fine.

I agree with the others though - it depends on what you want to take pictures of. If you want to take pictures of landscapes and stuff on vacation - I think a point and shoot is fine. If you want to take pictures of your kid inside, I think you'd be happier with a dslr.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 18:04:28 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Oct 17, 2013 17:56:39 GMT -5 @janeway said:

Honestly, I don't remember which exact one it was, but it was a longer lens and not compact.

My guess is that they had a big ole zoom on there, and if you took that off and put on a smaller lens - you'd be fine.

I agree with the others though - it depends on what you want to take pictures of. If you want to take pictures of landscapes and stuff on vacation - I think a point and shoot is fine. If you want to take pictures of your kid inside, I think you'd be happier with a dslr.

I definitely want to take pictures of my kiddos indoors. I also live in New England, so landscape portraits are my art fix for my walls. My current point and shoot is meh though.

[Alyssa]

I like my Rebel but the kit lens it came with sucks. The camera body itself is nice, but I would save up and get a good lens. My dad is a sports photographer and he occasionally lets me borrow his $$$$ lens and there is such a difference.

[gretchenindisguise]

You can always start with the 40mm and then go up.

I only have one lens currently. It happens.

I know someone who takes amazing photos with just the 50mm.

I had a p&s for L's first two years of her life - and I'm still bitter about it. Lots of people will say "don't buy a dslr unless you want to use it on manual" - but the fact is a p&s on auto vs a dslr on auto - the dslr will win nearly every time. I'm a big believer in learning manual too though.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2013 18:09:32 GMT -5 mofongo said:

That just looks uncomfortable lol

[Deleted]

Here's one last asshole comment from me.

Are you a good photographer? I'm not talking about knowing elements of photography, lighting, or whatever. Do you generally take good photos?

Frankly, I don't think a DSLR is worth it unless you already have a good eye.

I often think my iPhone photos look better than some of my friends' DSLR pics. Seriously.

[Deleted]

In general, yeah, I think I'm quite decent when it comes to taking pictures. My point and shoot is 8 years old at this juncture, so I'm going to have to replace it with something. Too many options out there. So confusing

[cbwm1]

If you're buying a DSLR, get a Canon. Panasonic is shit.

However, take some time to learn how to use it. If you're spending that much money, it's worth learning the ins and outs to use it to its full potential.

[mrsjuleshs]

Canon all the way. Kit lenses suck and onboard flash sucks but you can always upgrade that stuff as you get more comfortable with the camera and learn all the things it can do. a 50mm f.1.8 lens is about $100 and a great investment, especially for indoors.

[nomad100]

Oct 18, 2013 8:42:27 GMT -5 mrsjuleshs said:

Canon all the way. Kit lenses suck and onboard flash sucks but you can always upgrade that stuff as you get more comfortable with the camera and learn all the things it can do. a 50mm f.1.8 lens is about $100 and a great investment, especially for indoors.

I was going to say this. 

I have the Canon T3i and love it.  The 2 lit lenses it came with aren't the greatest but work for most of the photography I am currently doing, though I did get the 50mm f.1.8 lens and I love it.  So don't feel like you need to rush right out and get some expensive upgraded lenses.  Because the kit lenses are not great, they are good for getting a feel for shooting in the manual modes.  You can spend some serious $$ on lenses and still take crappy pics if you haven't learned the basics. 

I know our area Groupon regularly has classes on learning to use your DSLR camera, especially after the holidays, so you may want to check it out in your area too.

[mrssandro]

Canon Rebel

DSLR are heavy in general. I only take it for special occasions and I have a camera purse. I also have a POS that is a canon and really like it as well. It makes a great underwater camera. 

[PinkSquirrel]

I would look at the Canon G16 (I believe that's the newest number). It's a point and shoot, but you can put it in manual mode and adjust the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The aperture won't go as low as some of your DSLR lenses, so you won't get quite the same depth of field (is this maybe what you're talking about when referring to focus?), but I have one of the older ones and it takes fantastic pictures and is great for when I don't want to lug my DLSR around.