Help for aspiring 13 year old videographer/photographer

[SniperPenguin]

Hey all,
I'm going to Germany in the next month or two and want to film it. I also want something to do as a hobby over the summer.
I will be building an 8 core PC with an RX 580 for editing the photos and videos.

I'm receiving 500$ for my birthday. Add that to the money I've already saved and the expenses are almost all payed for.

I have chosen the Canon EOS Rebel T7i, the EF-S 18-55mm lens, and the Manfrotto Befree live fluid head tripod.
Is this a good setup? I would like it to last me for the next 3-4 years, and only need to change the lens within that time if needed.

Thanks!

 

[rhysiam]

You've now entered the Analysis paralysis zone.

My suggestion?
Buy nothing now. Nothing.
Use the Nikon. Learn a LOT more about photography.
No earlier than 6 months from now...then consider what line you might want to buy into.

I arrived at this exact suggestion in my PM response off this thread.

@Sniperpenguin, most people really don't care as much about getting the "right' and "perfect" gear as you do. It's clearly very important to you, and that's fantastic. I'm sure when you do decide you'll make a fantastic and informed decision. But you've done as much research as you possibly can from spec-sheets and online reviews. If you're still not sure what you want, then my advice is the same as it was in the PM, and the same as @USAFRet's... use the Nikon for a while. As you use the Nikon you'll start to realise the things you really like about it, and the things that you wish it could do better. You'll get a sense of how much video you do vs stills photography, whether you want a quality telephoto, prime, macro or standard zoom lens. Whether you want a smaller/more compact camera or whether the larger camera suits you better, etc, etc. Then you can go into a store and spend some time with alternative devices with a much better idea of what you're actually looking for.

If you really want to buy now, go ahead and take the plunge. None of the options you're looking at are bad. They all have relative strengths and weaknesses, but it's not like you're going to make a huge mistake.
Still, if you're not sure - as seems to be the case - just stick with the Nikon for now. You're in a great situation in that the Nikon you have is an extremely capable camera.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Well,
I am not buying right now. So this is why I am asking so many questions. I want to have a solid choice for when I can actually buy it.
For now I'm going to use the Nikon. But I still see that I need an upgrade sooner or later, and it doesn't hurt to know.

Rhysiam, it's not about having the perfect gear. It's about having gear I'll like. Big difference.
Because I won't buy the perfect setup. Or have the perfect stuff. I just want it to feel right with me before I upgrade it within 4 years or so.
I will wait until August. My birthday is the fifth.
And I will see what new stuff has come out by then.

If I can't wait, I'll buy sometime in July before my trip.

 

[getochkn]

20 mins of like 50 different shots of a single dandelion. lol. Ended up using flash and some underexposure to get the lighting right. Not the camera, it's knowing the camera.

 

[USAFRet]

This afternoon, from the parking lot at work.

Navy CH-53. A little over a mile slant range:

And a little artsy-fartsy with an F-22:

Each of those were *1* from 20 or 30.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Nice!
Yeah, sticking with the Nikon as I told USAFRet in PMs.
I am instead using this money to build a new PC so I can game with my friends. Also for some rendering animations, but that'll require some learning.
Maybe next year I will pick up a Fuji. That's when I actually know all about photography.

 

[getochkn]

Nice!
Yeah, sticking with the Nikon as I told USAFRet in PMs.
I am instead using this money to build a new PC so I can game with my friends. Also for some rendering animations, but that'll require some learning.
Maybe next year I will pick up a Fuji. That's when I actually know all about photography.

Good stuff. Not trying to talk you out of anything, just from someone who in the last month debated the whole camera thing, bought an entry level mirrorless and a ton of lens, regretted buying the entry level, regretted buying a bunch of lens, then started to learn how to take photos in the past month and seen progress 10x fold with the same camera and one or two lenses, I'm glad I didn't spend more. What I have now if is more than adequate to start learning on and to be able to take amazing photos with and learning more and more. 90% of the amazing photo's you see that pop and stand out, are composition. Not the MP or sensor or scan lines. It's lighting, light vs dark, object of focus, depth of field, etc. Then post processing add's so much, lightroom for the $9.99 and photoshop and all the photo tools is amazing what you can do.

People get caught up in specs.

 

[SniperPenguin]

The flower.. It's beautiful.
Yeah, I have some pretty gnarly pictures on my Instagram. I've lost their file location, but I got them on there. Fine by me.
One is of my snowboard. I'm really proud of that thing.. Took tons of saving up..
Another is my cat.
Another is my longboard.
One is a pool table.
One is my airsoft gun.
One is my X-Box controller.
https/www.instagram.com/milsimpenguin/
Just look at some of them. And this was with my old zoom camera from 2013.
Some aren't the best, but this was the first time I actually tried to get a decent shot.
The early pictures where just quick iPhone snaps I took.

I'm quite happy I am putting my money toward something that I'm sure I'll like for ages to come. With a camera, I might forget about it within a year. It's true.
So it is quite a good idea to stick with my current one and get used to it.
Also, I have a decent camera. Not a decent GPU.
Just trying to justify me spending so much money on something that plays video games
But hey, that's not all that bad.. I'm still 13

 

[SniperPenguin]

Got some questions guys..

So, on the lens.. Whenever it focuses, the little ring moves. Is that only for the motor, or can I twist that too? Because it's rigid and I don't want to break anything.
Also,
On manual mode it won't let me change shutter speed. Not sure what to do here, maybe I'll show a picture of the menu.. And let me tell ya, the menu is crude as can be.. It's like blueprints lol, hard to navigate.

 

[USAFRet]

Lens focus. Manual and automatic.
Some lenses allow manual override, even if it is on auto focus.
Others, one or the other.

User Manual...read it, study it, love it.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Lens focus. Manual and automatic.
Some lenses allow manual override, even if it is on auto focus.
Others, one or the other.

User Manual...read it, study it, love it.

We no longer have it.. But I'll look online.

 

[SniperPenguin]

So,
We've went on our first trip up North. Actually, I'm still there.

I love the Nikon.
Too bad I don't have a filter to block out light. I want to do long exposure waterfall shots.

My complaints with it:
Heavy
No focus peaking (manual focus depends on how well your eye can tell if it's in focus)
Autofocus sucks...
Menu is confusing

I generally set the shutter speed to 1/1000 of a second, ISO at 600-1400 or so.
I'm still playing around with shutter speed and ISO balance.

I got a cool picture where it's raining over a river. I set the shutter speed to 1/4000 and you can see the individual raindrops.


Once I get the shutter speed, ISO and focusing down I'll jump to the Fuji. I'm really disappointed in the AF.

 

[USAFRet]

So,
We've went on our first trip up North. Actually, I'm still there.

I love the Nikon.

hmmm...how did we know that was going to happen.....

Play with it some more.
All menus are confusing until you get to know them.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Good camera.
And while it's a bit heavy, I feel like I'd rather have a heavy, big camera than a smaller Fuji.
Why?
My hands are huge for my age. I'm also 6 foot 1 or 2.
So a big camera is better.

What is better, USA?

A full size CMOS sensor with 26 Megapixels, or a crop Fuji/Canon sensor with 24.3?
Won't the crop sensors have smaller pixels because of the smaller sensor? Even with less megapixels?

 

[getochkn]

Even watching pros shoot and what they use, it's like 90% apperture priority mode. Let the camera pick the ISO and shutter speed
For the times you want to control motion, then go shutter priority and leave the ISO alone and let it select the apperture as well.

Very few people use full manual unless the camera isn't doing something you don't want.

I did some cool waterfalls without a ND filter, today even. We have a weather related power outage so I can't even go through and edit the 500+ photos I took, but I had a good day shooting. I'll post some updates, and usretaf, we should look at setting up a photo share forum like you mentioned.

 

[USAFRet]

Good camera.
And while it's a bit heavy, I feel like I'd rather have a heavy, big camera than a smaller Fuji.
Why?
My hands are huge for my age. I'm also 6 foot 1 or 2.
So a big camera is better.

What is better, USA?

A full size CMOS sensor with 26 Megapixels, or a crop Fuji/Canon sensor with 24.3?
Won't the crop sensors have smaller pixels because of the smaller sensor? Even with less megapixels?

At our price level and use, the APS-C sensors are just fine.

Now...if this were a paid gig and you can apply the cost of a full frame camera as a business expense...then go for it.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Yeah,
But the 6D MKii is coming soon and it'll be priced less or the same as the Fuji X-T2.
So, which is better?

If I can get a full frame for the same price, why not?

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah,
But the 6D MKii is coming soon and it'll be priced less or the same as the Fuji X-T2.
So, which is better?

If I can get a full frame for the same price, why not?

Well...if you're considering paying full price for the Fuji, then sure.
However...I got my X-T1 last year for just about 1/2 price, as a refurb.

And if you have large hands, the Fuji may not be for you, at any price. The controls on the X-T1 are somewhat small, and that hasn't really changed with the -2

 

[SniperPenguin]

Yeah,
I've tried the Sony cameras and they're really small for me. I guess Fuji won't be any different.

Is a 26 megapixel camera with a full frame sensor better than a crop 24.3 megapixel sensor? Won't the crop sensor be sharper? Since it's a smaller sensor with similar amount of megapixels to cover for it.


I made a bunch of great photos. Off to make some more!

 

[getochkn]

https/www.flickr.com/photos/56109855@N02/albums/72157683212527930

Some of my photos from the other day.

 

[SniperPenguin]

Internet here sucks, I managed to totally look over your other post ^^

I've been using manual.. Sometimes aperture mode, not the priority mode.

I've some good pictures. Some bad.

The #1 thing I'm worried about is being overwhelmed.. I've seen you tubers talk about how to get a shot with a lot of exposure. They said you need to turn the ISO down, make it a RAW file, so have a dark image and then post process it later. So the contrast is still there..

And stuff like that.. I'm just sitting here trying to get a bokeh with an 18-55mmbut I'll learn