God Is Santa for Adults

I just bought my first slr digital camera. It was on sale and had 2 lenses. the zoom only goes up to 150mm. The guy at the store said if I opened the lens far enough and sped up the shutter, I wouldn't need a larger lens for football pics. (from my seat, 12 rows up)
does anyone have any experience with this camera? I want to try to get some more football pics before the season is over. My first 2 attempts come out just a tad blurry.

I took this pic with my 3.2 megs point and shoot Olympus camedia.

I would think I could do better with new 8 meg slr.






any suggestions to help?

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ericgtr

Overall those aren't easy pics to get, I think you did a great job here considering what you had. The suggestion I would guess most photographers would give to get good and close is a 400 MM lense (only around $5000 )

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W.M.DEEEZ

I've been doing 35mm for decades, and finally got a small point and shoot digital. I broke it a few months ago.

Now that I understand the whole digital thing, I'm shopping for a real camera.

Funny...I was just researching the Evolt 410 on sale with (Probably) the same two lenses for $499.00


I've been discussing digital photography/cameras with a kid I taught photography to many years ago. Now, he's teaching me about digital.


I think part of your blur problem is that you probably have those varying aperture zooms. 3.5-5.6? As you zoom, your aperture is getting smaller. 5.6 is a fairly slow lens.

If that is the case, you can't open the aperture, as the salesman suggested, so you can't shoot faster.


As far as the zoom, I'm told the 150mm translates to a higher magnification when you try to compare it to the 35mm results. So, your 150 might be more like a 180.


I researched the prices on the fixed aperture zooms. As eric suggests...they cost!



Meanwhile, my quest continues.


How much was your 500? I'm thinking of buying the 410 just to get going, and maybe save some money for a few specialty lenses.

ericgtr

I'm with you, WM I got a camera comparable to the one you guys are talking about here and then invested much more into lenses. I've found it to be a good trade off for me, I owned the Canon 5D (full frame digital) for a while but ended up getting rid of it and just sticking with my little Rebel XT.

You're right about the focal length, most digitals have a 1.6 crop factor so you get more distance than you would out of your lense as opposed to full frame (or 35mm). The trade off for that though is that you don't get as much in compared to typical 35mm (or full frame).

Here's an example, the red would be full frame while the blue is cropped to 1.6:



But if you get a nice wide angle lense it won't be much of an issue.

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W.M.DEEEZ

Still in the learning phase...thanks for any info you can give me.


Judging by the above illustration, the actual magnification doesn't seem to be stronger, just the cropping is as if it was?

ericgtr

Actually, I believe it is compensated for in length but don't quote me lol, this stuff is sort of complex. The reason I say this though is because I have a 200mm and when I had it on my full frame body it was technically only around 180mm when at 1.6 it's a true 200mm. Hope that makes sense.

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W.M.DEEEZ

I think it does


This kid I've been talking to, refers to crop factor, so it may just be a field of view thing...the only way for me to find out, is to buy the darn camera, and start practicing.

He did specifically mention that the magnification is different, so I would have to shoot with my 35mm camera, and compare it to the digital.

I got a little disheartened when I priced the replacement lenses I would like to get.

I wouldn't mind having the one you posted in the other thread!

ericgtr

Yeah, it's an expensive hobby that's for sure. Of course I see some really great photos out there that people take with regular point and shoots I just like having the really high quality and the ability to make large prints.

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God Is Santa for Adults

wm,
sorry for the delay. I had a bad day yesterday.
I like my e500 so far but if I could do it over again, I would wait until I could afford a cannon or nikon. there seems to be alot more variety for them vs. the olympus. I was warned of this before I bought it but figured what I saved up front would compensate on the back. Unfortunately I can't find any lenses I need under $2500.
But if that is not a concern, it is pretty easy to use. it has a program that gives about 15 different environments to choose from. I like it because it adds a little orange tinge to my sunsets pics.
I think I paid around $400 for mine because it was the last show model in the store but after all the bells and whistles, I was in for 800. (warrenty and stuff)
anyway, I hope that helps.
Have a great day.

here is the lansscape option which adds blue.


vs sunset orange.

__________________
Have Faith in Yourself...
. ...Not an invisible friend!

I Believe = I Guess Religion is an Illusion of Control!
www.Yessy.com/OldBaldy
www.OldBaldyPhoto.com

W.M.DEEEZ

Thanks for the reply...


What a difference a day makes! I called the discount store that had the e410 for 499.00. I was ready to do just what you did. I figured I would just take the plunge, and worry about lense upgrades later.


Well, the store now had it for 549.00, as the 499.00 was an incorrect price. Good thing I called first.

So...I called the kid that I've been discussing digital photography with, and ended up with a nice little system by the end of the night.


I got some of the stuff that he was looking to sell. He's been shooting professionally for a few years now, and is constantly upgrading.


I took his Nikon D70, which he had offered to me a month or so ago for 400.00. At the time, I didn't think I wanted to spend so much on a body alone, as I was still researching the whole digital concept.


So, now he threw in a couple of brand new Nikkor lenses. A 28mm, 1:2.8, and a 50mm, 1:1.8....all for the 400.00.



By the time I left, I had his Nikkor 80-200 1:2.8 also. An older lens, but in great condition. 500.00 for this lens if I want it.


I also have my eyes on his Nikkor 35-70 1:2.8



I could own all of it for under 1250.00





Pretty cheap for a good quality starter kit...slightly used.


Only about 3 times what I wanted to spend originally. Now I've got a lot of reading to do. Big fat instruction book!



I think you can find used fixed aperture telephotos for your camera, for a decent price. That should correct your blur problems at the stadium.