Canon EOS Rebel 300D

[Michele Rushworth]

I've been shooting only digital now for about three years. I imagine they'll stop making film before long, the advantages to digital have been so great.

Thanks for the tip about the histograms on the Nikon D70. My sister's Digital Rebel (she's a pro landscape photographer) has that feature too and I forgot how useful she felt it was. Glad to hear the Nikon has it too.

As I mentioned in the other camera thread, I got the kit lens and will ask for the longer one for Christmas. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mike McCarty]

The kit lens will come in handy if you can't get sufficiently back from the subject (in the event of a full figure) or want to get a wider expanse of background. I would suggest both.

I agree with Marvin. In my experience, you have to be able to operate between about 60mm and around 200mm. The trouble is, this always seems to span two lenses.

And remember that the Nikon D70 has a multiplier of 1.5, so the lens that begins at 70 will actually be 105. So, just as Marvin suggests, if you are in a standard residential room, you will not be able to operate effectively.

Being able to zoom in to get detail is a real nice feature to have, but, the fact is you can always move in closer. If I could only have one lens I would get the one with the kit, then I would start saving my lunch money for the added power.

[Marvin Mattelson]

The advantage of zooming as opposed to moving closer is that you avoid changing perspective or adding distortion. Distortion is a function of being too close.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Marvin, back to the monitor thing.

Is your printer a really good printer? I have an epson 1170, which is good - but not as good as my PowerBook G4 monitor.

So I could just be getting - not as good prints - as your printer produces.

[Marvin Mattelson]

The R800 is a great printer, far better than any other I've owned. Read the reviews. The raves are pretty impressive.

[Laura B. Shelley]

I agree with Marvin. Working from a digital file, there is a great deal of room for error, and for my photography skills, that's a good thing! My Epson printer has made it very convenient to generate all sorts of versions of my references and pin them up on the easel. I've tried working directly from a monitor on a number of occasions, but for my aging eyes, a print on paper works better.

Michele, I am not sure what you mean about not being able to spot-meter with the Digital Rebel. They call it 'partial metering', and it uses a small area in the center of the frame to determine exposure. You can take your reading close up as you would with a conventional light meter, then lock it with a button, back off and take your shot. My father pointed that feature out to me; it works in the non-programmed modes. Of course that procedure isn't as convenient as something like being able to select an exposure point in the frame while your shot is properly composed. Is that how the Minolta works?

The programmed modes in the Digital Rebel use "evaluative metering", which looks at the whole frame and what the camera determines to be the main subject and background, and makes an educated guess. If you set the camera for manual exposure, then it uses the center-weighted algorithm and gives you a viewfinder display to tell you if it thinks your currently set exposure is over or under.

I admit that I'm coming at the photography question mostly from the standpoint of a digital artist. So what works for me may not be broadly applicable. I know this stuff is not a priority for most artists with the classical training I lack, and why should it be? I'm a computer geek--what can I say? I have been editing and manipulating photos for years, so it's second nature to me. Great precision while shooting is not necessary for my purposes. I don't have to get the white balance right or really even choose a decent exposure, as long as I don't OVER-expose and burn out the highlights. All I truly need is enough pixels, reasonable sharpness and (the very expensive and complicated) Photoshop to fix everything else.

Laura

[Michele Rushworth]

While I'm not a Photoshop whiz, I'm pretty good at it. No amount of Photoshop tweaking will give me color anywhere near as accurate as having a correct exposure to begin with.

It is important to me to be able to meter on a particular part of the face while my tripod and camera are in the position they will be for the shot. During a client photo shoot I have to work very fast and don't want to be taking the camera on and off the tripod to go up and meter the light on the face. (I don't have a separate light meter to do that.)

It's possible the Digital Rebel has something close enough to true spot metering to do the job, but in the list of specs the Nikon D70 did actually list "spot metering" while the Digital Rebel didn't. That was the deciding factor for me.

[Marvin Mattelson]

Michele, I think that the Nikon D70 with Nikon Capture software will give you the ability to really fine tune the color and exposure. Using the histogram insures that you have the tonal info you need. The highlight warning option alerts you immediately if you are overexposing any critical areas. There are many metering options.

[Laura B. Shelley]

I apologize if I've given any impression that I think this camera and some digital tweaking is the best possible way to go! Far from it; I probably would have bought something entirely different from the consumer Digital Rebel if I'd been able, such as the full-featured professional version or the Nikon.

I would certainly prefer to take my shots right the first time, and I hope with more practice that will become easier. However, at this point I don't have anything like the great technical knowledge of portrait photography that I see on this forum, and my experience is limited. Until I learn more, I have to make up for my deficiencies some other way.

Laura

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Marvin, do you by chance know if the Nikon Capture software is sold separately? I have a Nikon 4300, but have never been able to get perfect color without ruining contrast or whatever on Photoshop. I have a HP printer that gives out very nice prints, sometimes as good as a photo. Thanks.