Need Advice On Buying A Digital SLR

[ZenShredder]

Hello, so recently I've been thinking about buying a digital SLR to do some photographic work with as well as create HD textures to use in digital paintings and such. My issue is that, while I took a Digital Photography course under a graphic design requirement, I still don't know or retain much knowledge about cameras and their features.


The camera I purchased for that particular course was only a point and shoot, but it served me quite well throughout the course and did precisely what I wanted it to do without a lot of problems. The model is a Nikon Coolpix S6100, it's 16MP with 7X optical zoom, auto-focus only, etc.


What it is that I'm looking for in a camera are the following:

-High MP/Resolution(pretty standard in DSLRs I'm sure)

-Massive reduction in "digital noise" if virtually none produced isn't possible(by digital noise I mean random pixelation, usually red on my Nikon, in digital photos when zoomed in)

-Dynamic lighting capabilities, meaning I'd like to be able to work in low-light settings without having to rely on Photoshop as much to pick up the slack and the same for extremely bright settings.

-Manual focus and exposure settings for creating unique effects in my Photography

-Something that will not exceed $1,000, I know SLRs can go as high as 10K or more, but I'm just a student who is trying to capitalize on my photography skills


That's all I'm mainly looking for, ISO count would probably be something I could learn more about but for now I'll leave it at that. I'd like to hear your guys' suggestions on what I should be looking for, maybe some subjects I should also study up on? I'm great with taking pretty meh photos into Photoshop and making them look great, but I want to be able to make my photographs look great before the digital editing process so that they look even more awesome when they're finished!

 

[Ubrales]

After reading your requirements I suggest the Nikon D3200 - http/www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-slr-Cameras/25492/D3200.html

B & H Photo is a great source - http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/856049-REG/Nikon_25492_D3200_DSLR_Camera_With.html

After using this for a few years you will be in a better position to make your next move.

 

[ZenShredder]

After reading your requirements I suggest the Nikon D3200 - http/www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-slr-Cameras/25492/D3200.html

B & H Photo is a great source - http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/856049-REG/Nikon_25492_D3200_DSLR_Camera_With.html

After using this for a few years you will be in a better position to make your next move.

Thanks for the recommendation, that's actually a lot cheaper than I expected it to be! A quick question though, one of my primary concerns is digital noise. I don't know if it's necessarily discussed so much in the Photography community as it is in the Digital Art community when working with photos, but it's definitely something I want to try and avoid as much as possible. I'm sure completely eradicating it in a single photo is near impossible without some digital editing, however so long as I can make a high quality print without seeing red pixels mixed into the picture I would be quite happy. There are a few prints at my job that are gorgeous views, but the picture is ruined because there is a lot of digital noise in part due to the camera in use probably being not very good, but also a lot of red pixels from what I'm assuming is too much red light information hitting the sensor. If you, or someone else could shed some light on this issue that would be deeply appreciated!

 

[Ubrales]

Personally, I like to shoot at low ISO settings (carryover from my film days) in order to get fine grain, sharper images, and reduced noise.

This is a good tutorial - http/photographylife.com/photo-noise-reduction-tutorial

http/www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Noise-in-Your-Digital-Photography (See point #3 in particular)

http/www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/08/how-to-reduce-noise-at-high-iso-settings/

 

[Dantric]

Hi Zen,

With photography most of your quality will come from your lenses and not so much from your camera's resolution. DXO Mark which is basically the Camera alternative to a benchmark lists a lot of lenses with a respective "Lens megapixel" range. So if you use a decent camera, you will be "bottlenecked" by your lens unless you upgrade your lens.

You do not need an expensive lens and prime lenses (fixed focal length) will always be the best choice (and usually budget friendly).

For your needs, I would suggest a Nikon D5300 with a 50mm f1.8 and then paired with an 18-105mm (the 18-105mm is not the best lens but it will be a good "all rounder" for your work).

The reason I suggest these bodies is because they are good middle range options. I would also suggest looking at second hand Canon 40D, 50D or 60D (Not the 70D, google 70D central focus issue) or Nikon D90, D7000 or D7100. I am a Canon shooter myself but use Nikon as well (I work as a camera inspector). However for the price the D5300 is your best option. - http/www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Nikon/D5300

The "nifty fifty" won't be a one-stop lens for everything, but from what it sounds like you will be using (shooting backplates) then it will be perfect. You may also wish to consider a wide-angle lens (which usually distorts the perspective but allows more of a scene).

Regarding noise reduction, the D5300 is a highly capable low light shooter and is one of the best "entry level" bodies for low light (arguably of course).

Another resource I suggest is 500px.com this is basically a professional's Flickr but they have a good exif search, so if you type in to the search bar "Nikon D5300" you will see a selection of images shot with that body.

Hope this helps.

 

[ZenShredder]

Personally, I like to shoot at low ISO settings (carryover from my film days) in order to get fine grain, sharper images, and reduced noise.

This is a good tutorial - http/photographylife.com/photo-noise-reduction-tutorial

http/www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Noise-in-Your-Digital-Photography (See point #3 in particular)

http/www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/08/how-to-reduce-noise-at-high-iso-settings/

Sorry for such a delay in my reply, I've been quite busy at work. Thanks for the links, I really liked the Wikihow one, it definitely gave me some useful info. I usually shoot at a low ISO setting, no more than 100 but even then I still end up with digital noise sadly =| maybe it's just something I cannot avoid with my dinky little point and shoot. Anyways, thanks again for the help!

 

[ZenShredder]

Hi Zen,

With photography most of your quality will come from your lenses and not so much from your camera's resolution. DXO Mark which is basically the Camera alternative to a benchmark lists a lot of lenses with a respective "Lens megapixel" range. So if you use a decent camera, you will be "bottlenecked" by your lens unless you upgrade your lens.

You do not need an expensive lens and prime lenses (fixed focal length) will always be the best choice (and usually budget friendly).

For your needs, I would suggest a Nikon D5300 with a 50mm f1.8 and then paired with an 18-105mm (the 18-105mm is not the best lens but it will be a good "all rounder" for your work).

The reason I suggest these bodies is because they are good middle range options. I would also suggest looking at second hand Canon 40D, 50D or 60D (Not the 70D, google 70D central focus issue) or Nikon D90, D7000 or D7100. I am a Canon shooter myself but use Nikon as well (I work as a camera inspector). However for the price the D5300 is your best option. - http/www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Nikon/D5300

The "nifty fifty" won't be a one-stop lens for everything, but from what it sounds like you will be using (shooting backplates) then it will be perfect. You may also wish to consider a wide-angle lens (which usually distorts the perspective but allows more of a scene).

Regarding noise reduction, the D5300 is a highly capable low light shooter and is one of the best "entry level" bodies for low light (arguably of course).

Another resource I suggest is 500px.com this is basically a professional's Flickr but they have a good exif search, so if you type in to the search bar "Nikon D5300" you will see a selection of images shot with that body.

Hope this helps.

Sorry for the late reply! Your insight has been very helpful, I will have to see what my budget is when the time comes for me to buy a new camera, but the D5300 you listed isn't too bad, however coupled with buying an extra lens might coerce me into going for the D3200, but if you REALLY recommend the D5300 I might just have to splurge =P anyways it seems to fit what I need perfectly so I will keep that in mind when the time comes. Thanks again for the help!