QOTW: say cheese!

[Aly Dosdall]

So...now that Christmas and CHA are over, I've got a new question for y'all:

What kind of camera do you use? And what type of gear (ie lenses, external flashes, etc) do you use with it, if any?

[Aly Dosdall]

I would LOVE to be shooting with a DSLR, but that's not in the budget for a while. Right now I'm using a Nikon Coolpix 5200 and I really like it. It's got a lot of manual settings and options that usually get me the shot I'm going for. The only thing that bugs me is the shutter lag, so I often shoot on Sports Mode (or Continuous) to increase the shutter speed.

[Lynda Farabee]

What a wonderful solution. I had an Olympus point and shoot that I dearly loved. Excellent shots except for the shutter lag. I should go back and see if it has a sports mode on it. I never thought of that!

Meantime, my DH bought me a DSLR Canon Rebel xTI for my birthday last summer. I really like it. I'm trying so hard to shoot on manual for the better pictures. I understand photography concepts, its the durn buttons on the digital camera that flusters me! ;-)

Great Question of the Week, Aly.

[Brooke - in Oregon]

Hi Aly
My camera is a Canon xti slr, my lens is a tamron 18-200 zoom. I would love to get a fixed lens but that will probably wait till my birthday :)

I would love to take a class on 'photography for Dummies' lol I am fine with all the buttons but the understanding of photography flusters me!! lol I have the hardest time with the lighting in my house in the evenings when I am taking the most photos of family. That is why I would like to get a fixed lens because from what I understand (and that is not a lot lol) they are better for indoor lighting.

Hey Lynda we should team up! :)

[karma]

If you would like to dive into the fixed lens pool a good place to start is with a 50mm 1.8 aperature lens. They are roughly $100 and a great investment. Very highly rated. Most times you can get away without using a flash indoors. If you want to experiment with setting your current zoom to 50mm and shooting with it at that length you will get an idea if that lens length will work for you before buying it.

[kimBinAK]

My camera is the Fujifilm FInepix S6000fd.

It's more than a "point & shoot," but not a full dSLR, as the lens is fixed. It has a manual zoom lens that reaches between 28-300mm (equiv) in size. The S6000 is a 6.3 mp camera and has a lot of nice features. I've had this camera for 18 months and am still very happy with it - have had no problems at all with the performance or the quality of images. The one thing this camera lacks and that I would like to have, is a hotshoe for an external flash unit.

The only gear I have are three tripods (one is a "Gorilla Pod")

I hope to someday upgrade to a dSLR with live-view, but not for a few more years.

[Marcie_H]

I'm using my 3 year old Canon Digital Rebel XT with a 17-85mm wide angle lens or a 50mm 1.8 lens. I'm just learning to go off manual but I really love my camera!

[Stacey]

My camera is a Canon 400d.

Im a camera virgin - I know very little about my camera so I tend to use the auto function. I love the blurred efect my camera has. In regard to shutter speed ... I wouldn't have a clue what they are so I cant comment. I have been told my camera is an slr but i dont really understand that. I have been trying to learn about my camera online but its not the easiest task.

[karma]

I use a Nikon D50 with a 18-200 VR lens, a 50mm 1.8, and a wide angle 10-20mm lens. The 18-200 stays on my camera 90% of the time. I also have the SB-600 flash unit and a tripod. I really love this camera and will just use it till it dies!! I hope that doesn't happen for a long time.

[Michelle RV]

Here's a 12 week photography course that I found last year at Two Peas. I never made it all the way through but it really helped me to get off Auto.

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/cg_display.asp?g=2&seed_id=26022

I use a Canon Rebel Xti with a 28-135 lens which I love. I also use a Canon 720is-which I carry with me always and take video with too. The biggest reason for me for going with the XTi was the speed. With my other camera I kept missing the shot. I also have a 50mm 1.4 usm but haven't really gotten the hang of it-embarrassing.

[Stacey]

Thanks for that link Michelle - my sil told me about it but I could never find it

[Michelle RV]

You're welcome!

[caren]

I have a fuji sl100fd I am saving my nickles for a xsi cannon