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1. JonEdwards - Member

   I need to get myself a DSLR to deal with a project I've got coming up - photographing the last 50 years worth of paintings my grandfather created, so I can compile a full record of a life's work before the collection is disseminated (there's 5 or 600 paintings, from 4' x 3' up to 8' x 12'...).

   Once that's done it'll get used for the usual array of bike & holiday stuff.

   I have a budget of up to an absolute max of £500, but that needs to include lens and tripod, SD cards etc. Less would be better. Compact size would be an advantage too if I actually want to be able to take it riding.

   Thoughts? I have a reasonable knowledge of basic photographic stuff - used to do some B&W stuff when I was younger, own developing & printing etc.

   Thanks

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. boriselbrus - Member

   I have a 30D for sale. I'm after £350 and that includes spare battery and memory card. Get a 18-55 IS lens for £100, a tripod for £50 and you are there!

   http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-ot-canon-30d

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. stumpy01 - Member

   Should be no problem on that budget.

   Usual suspects, really. I'd recommend a Nikon, but mainly 'cos I have a D80 & think it's great.
   I found the equivalent Canons seem quite cheap feeling & don't have the solidity of the Nikons.
   You should also consider the Sony Alpha series. I think the Alpha 200 is the budget one.

   Where are you taking the pics? Inside? Lots of space to stand back or will you be up close? Your biggest decision will be what lens to get to fit the whole painting in, if space is limited.

   Ideally, I would want to stand a bit further back & use a longer lens as you will get less distortion than with a wide angle.
   I'd also try & position the camera at a height that means you aren't having to tip it up or down (I guess level with half-way up the pic would be ideal) or you will get converging verticals.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. simonfbarnes - Member

   The hardest bit is getting uniform lighting, as paintings often have shiny bits which will give awkward reflections

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. JonEdwards - Member

   Lighting isn't a huge issue - I'm a lighting designer by profession and have access to a warehouse full of kit. Agree about the shiny bits though!

   I did take some photos about 18 years back on film and the 32-70 zoom lens I had at the time was OK. I can get a sensible distance away for the smaller paintings (the majority). The big ones will be a PITA though. Position level with the centre is definitely the way to go.

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. cp - Member

   a very good mix would be a canon body, a 1000d at £309 (www.warehouseexpress.com)

   plus a canon 50mm f1.8 prime lens (a prime (non zoom) lens will be far far better quality than any budget zoom lens) at about 90 quid (also http://www.warehouseexpress.com)

   plus a 4gb sd card (about a tenner - 7dayshop.com)

   plus a tripod - also 7dayshop.com

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. stumpy01 - Member

   You have to remember the 'crop' factor of most SLRs. JonEdwards, your 32-70mm lens would actually be 48-105 on most DSLRs and while I agree with cp that a 50mm prime would be better quality than a zoom, you are looking at a 75mm lens (effectively) which will mean you'll need quite a lot of space to stand back in to fit it all in.
   Most standard zoom lenses will do a perfectly acceptable job, unless you want to spend all day comparing test charts. To use them at their best, you just need to zoom slightly in from fully wide & stop them down a bit. You shouldn't have any issues with adequate lighting from the sound of it.

   There is a website called something like lensesforhire.co.uk that you could erm, hire a lens from if you needed something wider to capture the bigger pictures.

   Posted 2 years ago #
8. simonfbarnes - Member

   note that many lenses (and all zooms) have some pincushion/barrel distortion, which is more noticeable with rectalinear subjects - but you can use PTLens to correct this in post processing.

   Posted 2 years ago #
9. vinnyeh - Member

   Most any slr these days will be good for this- just find one that you like using. hiring a suitable lens for a day or two is definitely the way to go in my opinion. Depending on the nature of the paintings, and the lens you end up using it may also be worthwhile looking at distortion correction software like DXO Optics or ptlens.

   Good lighting is going to be you're biggest issue I think - it's good that you know a bit about that, and you've got lots of kit access. Don't make the mistake of trying to fill the frame with the picture- it'll minimise vignetting and distortion issues.

   The key will be plenty of test shots, printing them off as well, if this is a really important project to you, and you want the best results you can.

   Posted 2 years ago #
10. andyl46 - Member

    My recommendation for your budget would be a Nikon D40 with 18-55mm kit lens and a 50mm f1.8 prime. Memory card from 7dayshop, and invest in a good tripod and head and a remote shutter release if you can stretch to it, it'll help avoid camera shake even when on the tripod.

    Shoot with the prime (where possible) in the region of f8, lit in natural light or indirect light if possible to avoid highlight reflections. If the D40 has a mirror lock up up shooting mode, that'll help as well.

    try here for price comparisons:
    http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

    Posted 2 years ago #
11. andyl46 - Member

    By the way, to get the equivalent of the 32-70 on your film camera, your lens would be a 20-45mm ish (divide full frame lens lengths by about 1.6 to get the same image field on a cropped sensor) so the 18-55 kit lenses will be in the ballpark.

    Keeping the focal length towards 50mm (crop sensor, 80mm full frame equivalent) keeps a fairly natural field of vision, so try to shoot at these lengths if possible. Though probably not as important as you are shooting a flat subject.

    Set the white balance to your light source too, but it sounds like you'll know that already!

    Oh, and a circular polariser may help deal with reflections.

    Posted 2 years ago #
12. thisisnotaspoon - Member

    Is there a medium format equivalent to a DSLR?

    Just wondering as thats what i've always seen used for photographing artwork. If such a thing exists would it be better to hire one, then buy another more compact DSLR for riding?

    Posted 2 years ago #
13. andyl46 - Member

    Yeah there is but you're talking big bucks for a digital back on a medium format camera. The Hasselblad, Mamiya or Sinar solutions ared very big bucks indeed...

    Posted 2 years ago #
14. GrahamS - Member

    Calumet rent medium and large format digital gear.

    Something like a Phase One P65+ will give you 60 megapixel (8984x6732) images at 16-bit depth.

    But that may be overkill

    Posted 2 years ago #
15. Tijuana Taxi - Member

    The lone Pentaxian will now preach to the disbelievers

    The K-m is the entry level DSLR, very compact and can get a good deal on it with one or two lenses.
    The very recently discontinued K200D is also fairly small and weather sealed too, great for biking pics

    Best thing for you would be all the old K mount lenses that you can use albeit with manual focus.Then even further back are the M42 type that can also be utilised with a 20 quid adapter
    Pentax also make some great primes, old and new which are not too silly priced, one of my favourites is the older 50mm A f/1.7 a great lens for about 50 quid s/hand

    Check out Samsung cameras as well, just rebadged Pentax and usually a bit cheaper.
    Saw someone offering the GX10 very cheap the other day, best do a spot of googling

    Seriously though, they are nice solid cameras, but alas no live view or video unless you want to get the new K7 for about a grand (yes please Santa)

    Posted 2 years ago #
16. skinnysteel - Member

    Saw Olympus E420 with standard zoom in John Lewis @ Wycombe yesterday, well reduced - if I remember it was less than £350. Played around with the earlier model & was quite impressed. Doesnt have the cachet of Nikon or Canon tho'.

    Posted 2 years ago #
17. don simon - Member

    I think if I were you I'd be speaking to a camera shop.
    You don't say what type of detail you want, if you want good sharp pictures then budget for a good lens/es and then see what camera you can get- second hand from a reputable shop should see your budget go further on both camera and lens.

    HTH.

    Posted 2 years ago #
18. happysnapper - Member

    I really like the Olympus SLR's. I got my first a few years back and have updated it a couple of times since. The glass is the real bonus but they tend to be zooms. There is a 35mm macro (70mm equiv) and a 25mm pancake (50mm equiv) which would serve you well. THey're about £200. You can get an E420 or an E520 body (same as 420 but with in body IS) for £300 these days. The kit 14-42mm (28-84 equiv) is very good indeed for a kit lens but ultimately all kit lenses are at the budget end.

    To be honest, most entry level SLRs will do you proud these days, particularly if you're sorting the light out. Depends on your preference really.

    Take a look on Flickr, you can search for cameras and lenses to give you an idea. You could also take a look at DPReview if you want a more technical review.

    Posted 2 years ago #
19. robyzf1 - Member

    You should look at Olympus. Massively over looked in favour of canon and nikon. The 4:3 lens system gives huge zoom from small lightweight lenses. Took many motorbike and aircraft action shots and am always impressed by the results.

    Posted 2 years ago #
20. HTTP404 - Member

    I wanted small and lightweight and opted for the Olympus E-420. I got the "standard" zoom and the 40mm-150mm for £350. No end of manual focus lenses available if you use an adaptor but bear in mind the fov is x2 as opposed to 1.6x of most other DSLRs.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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