The photography thread

stickyfiddle

benmurray85 said:

@zepp76 seriously mate you need to stop spending, get out there and start doing. This is a rewarding hobby and will do wonders for your mental health, I absolutely promise you that. 

If a crowded street triggers your illness don’t start there. You probably don’t want to start there anyways. I’m not a massive fan of landscape stuff but it’s miles easier to go out into a field or a park or a beach and learn what does what with no one around, that’s how I got started - I’m a real beginner by the way so bow to anyone else’s experience on here. 

I’d love to see you getting out there and doing some stuff, anything!!! And if you ever need to talk to a stranger on the internet my inbox is always open. I hope you take this in the positive spirit that it is intended. 

All of this. The best camera is the one in your hand. Everything else is unimportant. 

boogieman

stickyfiddle said:

benmurray85 said:

@zepp76 seriously mate you need to stop spending, get out there and start doing. This is a rewarding hobby and will do wonders for your mental health, I absolutely promise you that. 

If a crowded street triggers your illness don’t start there. You probably don’t want to start there anyways. I’m not a massive fan of landscape stuff but it’s miles easier to go out into a field or a park or a beach and learn what does what with no one around, that’s how I got started - I’m a real beginner by the way so bow to anyone else’s experience on here. 

I’d love to see you getting out there and doing some stuff, anything!!! And if you ever need to talk to a stranger on the internet my inbox is always open. I hope you take this in the positive spirit that it is intended. 

All of this. The best camera is the one in your hand. Everything else is unimportant. 

Agreed. Stop buying stuff, get on with what you have and at least learn the basics. Don’t worry that you can’t produce work like some of the stuff in this thread. It’s the same process as learning guitar: you have to start with the basics of three chord songs before you get better. Personally I wouldn’t touch the film gear until you know what you’re doing, it’s a lot better to learn and make your mistakes on digital before you commit to the expense (and possible disappointment) of film. 

Even if you can’t face going out to do street stuff, there’s a stack of other things you could do. Portraits or still life indoors, macros of bugs or flowers in the garden, landscapes, architecture, cityscapes. A mate of mine has minor social phobia and mostly just takes pictures of trees, but he produces some amazing stuff.

Just do it!

Grumpyrocker

Was flipping windy in Westbay yesterday. So much sea foam flying around it was like being in a terrible disco.




Seems even windier this morning. But it's chucking it down too, so I don't really feel like going to the beach again. 

stickyfiddle

Also, if there's any thoughts of not knowing how to do it, take heart. We've all been there. Just remember, every single person who is great at anything was terrible when they started. 

I'm quite competent now, but if I look back through 8 years of flickr it's amazing to see how much I've got better.

These were the first photos I took that made me feel like I enjoyed it, and I might be able to get half-decent at it. They're just snaps really, and there's plenty "wrong" with both.





This was 4 years ago. I was ecstatic when I got this shot, but can see about 10 ways I'd do it differently now.



Right up to these, which were both taken in the last year. In both cases I knew exactly how I wanted the final shot to look before I hit the shutter, so only needed to wait for the right moment, and the post-processing took maybe 30 seconds for each one.

boogieman

@stickyfiddle that sunset shot. Fuuuuuuuuuck!!! 

stickyfiddle

boogieman said:

@stickyfiddle that sunset shot. Fuuuuuuuuuck!!! 

Cheers  

Iceland makes it easy because sunsets are always gorgeous (assuming not during a blizzard!) and in winter they last, like 2 hours every day...

boogieman

stickyfiddle said:

boogieman said:

@stickyfiddle that sunset shot. Fuuuuuuuuuck!!! 

Cheers  

Iceland makes it easy because sunsets are always gorgeous (assuming not during a blizzard!) and in winter they last, like 2 hours every day...

Iceland? Dunno why, I’d assumed it was somewhere like Namibia.  Lol. No wonder the sky is so clear. Beautiful shot,  wherever it is. 

ThePrettyDamned

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

boogieman

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I’ve got a decent Canon 35mm SLR in the classifieds, FD lens mount. Drop me a pm if you’re interested and we could sort out a deal. 

ThePrettyDamned

boogieman said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I’ve got a decent Canon 35mm SLR in the classifieds, FD lens mount. Drop me a pm if you’re interested and we could sort out a deal. 

I already have an fd camera I'm afraid - a Canon EF (which confuses people...). However you have just reminded me I have it so perhaps I can dig it out and get an adaptall-fd mount adapter...

They are good cameras, I used to have a squeaky ae-1p and it was ace  

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_camera ;

With that said, I value my digital process a lot... Anyone with A7 input welcome! They are available for less than £500 now - I could trade a lens and grip for one...

Jimbro66

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

ThePrettyDamned

Jimbro66 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

A7iii is an altogether different beast - more of a replacement of my D7200, but I'd not have the money to replace the lenses I use... 

And it's a 2k body so even used it's double the a7ii in price

ThorpyFX

ThePrettyDamned said:

Jimbro66 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

A7iii is an altogether different beast - more of a replacement of my D7200, but I'd not have the money to replace the lenses I use... 

And it's a 2k body so even used it's double the a7ii in price

However even the A7 or A7II are amazing cameras- thoroughly recommended either way. I was a massive canon fan then @riftamps put me onto Sony and I’ve not looked back. Downsides to Sony is that the native lenses are so much more pricey. Upsides, with an adaptor you can use any cameras lense family. 

ThePrettyDamned

ThorpyFX said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Jimbro66 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

A7iii is an altogether different beast - more of a replacement of my D7200, but I'd not have the money to replace the lenses I use... 

And it's a 2k body so even used it's double the a7ii in price

However even the A7 or A7II are amazing cameras- thoroughly recommended either way. I was a massive canon fan then @riftamps put me onto Sony and I’ve not looked back. Downsides to Sony is that the native lenses are so much more pricey. Upsides, with an adaptor you can use any cameras lense family. 

Have you used adapted lenses? I do need a mega quick af, but I have that down to moonlight on the Nikon... The Sony is more for fun day-to-day creativity. I'd love an a7iii but it's out of reach, and the new nikon z6 is the same...  

Have you tried the earlier models? Any thoughts appreciated! 

ThorpyFX

ThePrettyDamned said:

ThorpyFX said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Jimbro66 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

A7iii is an altogether different beast - more of a replacement of my D7200, but I'd not have the money to replace the lenses I use... 

And it's a 2k body so even used it's double the a7ii in price

However even the A7 or A7II are amazing cameras- thoroughly recommended either way. I was a massive canon fan then @riftamps put me onto Sony and I’ve not looked back. Downsides to Sony is that the native lenses are so much more pricey. Upsides, with an adaptor you can use any cameras lense family. 

Have you used adapted lenses? I do need a mega quick af, but I have that down to moonlight on the Nikon... The Sony is more for fun day-to-day creativity. I'd love an a7iii but it's out of reach, and the new nikon z6 is the same...  

Have you tried the earlier models? Any thoughts appreciated! 

I use canon fit lenses daily, specifically I use the sigma art prime lenses. Results and speed are excellert.

i have had my hands on both the A7 and A7II. Both were great, genuinely. 

ThePrettyDamned

ThorpyFX said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

ThorpyFX said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Jimbro66 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Has anyone got experience with either the original Sony a7 or a7ii? I'm looking at picking one up for a pretty low price (my, how they have dropped in value) for day to day shooting with old, manual lenses. I already have a load of old lenses from my film shooting days and love the process (and the affordability) of using manual lenses, but modern SLRs are terrible for focusing and live view... 

Alternative is to look for an old pentax and nikon film camera but these (in good nick) are not as affordable as you'd think, and I like the digital darkroom process more than the darkroom itself .. 

I remember that @ThorpyFX bought an A7 lll earlier this year, maybe pm him?

As regards 35mm film cameras I still have a few Nikon's from the 80s but have not used them for probably ten years or more. I enjoyed doing all my own B&W developing and printing HOWEVER, @zepp76, I agree with others here that just getting out with your digital camera is much better at this stage than getting bogged down with equipment and technicalities. Street photography of people isn't an easy starting place but perhaps initially concentrate on making everyday details in streets look interesting and also recruit some friends to practice on. Then you will see the effects of different shutter speeds and apertures and different lens focal lengths.

A7iii is an altogether different beast - more of a replacement of my D7200, but I'd not have the money to replace the lenses I use... 

And it's a 2k body so even used it's double the a7ii in price

However even the A7 or A7II are amazing cameras- thoroughly recommended either way. I was a massive canon fan then @riftamps put me onto Sony and I’ve not looked back. Downsides to Sony is that the native lenses are so much more pricey. Upsides, with an adaptor you can use any cameras lense family. 

Have you used adapted lenses? I do need a mega quick af, but I have that down to moonlight on the Nikon... The Sony is more for fun day-to-day creativity. I'd love an a7iii but it's out of reach, and the new nikon z6 is the same...  

Have you tried the earlier models? Any thoughts appreciated! 

I use canon fit lenses daily, specifically I use the sigma art prime lenses. Results and speed are excellert.

i have had my hands on both the A7 and A7II. Both were great, genuinely. 

Cool. I think I might do a trade for an a7. I'm not going to use autofocus lenses on it  but it'll get me taking more pictures... And if I really love it, maybe it's the start of something new. 

Thanks! 

RiftAmps

ThePrettyDamned

Cool. I think I might do a trade for an a7. I'm not going to use autofocus lenses on it  but it'll get me taking more pictures... And if I really love it, maybe it's the start of something new. 

Thanks! 

I have the A7Rii and use it with both fully manual Cine lenses and adapted vintage. I have no AF lenses for it although when I do need one I just hire one. 

ThePrettyDamned

RiftAmps said:

ThePrettyDamned

Cool. I think I might do a trade for an a7. I'm not going to use autofocus lenses on it  but it'll get me taking more pictures... And if I really love it, maybe it's the start of something new. 

Thanks! 

I have the A7Rii and use it with both fully manual Cine lenses and adapted vintage. I have no AF lenses for it although when I do need one I just hire one. 

Definitely don't want an a7rii - I have a pretty powerful computer but 42mp raws will be a pain the arse to process. If I was looking at a7rii money is probably save a bit more and get a7iii.

I have borrowed an a7rii before and it was pretty good, and eye af was neat, but the sheer number of pixels was wasted on me - I only print up to about 1 metre max (and rarely) and you can get very good 1m prints with 10mp and good editing.

If I had the sheer horsepower in my computer I'd probably consider it more on a side note, it felt *much* nicer in the hand than the A7 I have tried. Sony made some quite significant changes! 

dbphoto

If I had to go back to being a working photographer again I wouldn’t think twice about which system I would choose.

A couple of Fuji XT-2’s and a few lenses.

Hopefully that never becomes necessary though as I much prefer making money from photographers now!

Jimbro66

dbphoto said:

If I had to go back to being a working photographer again I wouldn’t think twice about which system I would choose.

A couple of Fuji XT-2’s and a few lenses.

Hopefully that never becomes necessary though as I much prefer making money from photographers now!

My usual set-up is a prosumer DSLR with several excellent lenses. However, it's a bulky lot to carry at times, particularly when cycling, so I sold my long reach zoom for £1,100 and with the money and a bit of top-up bought a Fuji X-E3 with some prime lenses. It's far lighter and more compact than the DSLR set-up and produces really good quality images. There are a few odd quirks and the files are a little less convenient to deal with in post but it's getting a lot more use than the long-reach zoom did. I'll not give up the DSLR yet but a couple more iterations of Fuji might tip the balance.