Digital Photography: What does one really need?

[FrantzM]

Hi

Back in the days was an enthusiastic photographer. Actually paid more than a few bills in college doing Wedding and Construction (Progress Potos) Photography. used mostly Nikon (FE, F2, F3) and carried a Leica Cl for day to Day Photos , Mamiya RB67 for semi-studio and Hasselblad (500C and SWC) for Wedding and Progress Pictures. Did work in my own Darkroom too, Then in 1993~1994, I dropped out, never touched a camera seriously since, sold, gave away most of my lenses and equipment,

Then a few months ago, got a strange bug. I am Nikon person but could not pss on a super Canon deal with EOS5D, 50 mm macro, 85mm 1.8, 16~35 wide angle zoom, a TS-E 24 mm and a 300 mm f:4 All new in the box for an amount I could not refuse ... So I have Canon now...

I know there some enthusiasts here and am asking for their advice: What else do I need?

I know I need a good printer, I am not about to make the local labs rich. What decent printer for less than $500, I could pus it to <$1000?
What paper do you recommend?
Tripod? I need a lightweight but sturdy tripod, I would like one that I can ballast with some sacks and weight ... I need it to be light but sturdy. A graduated head. Back in the days I liked SLIK, they were cheap and good, I had a Velbon and a Majestic too, the Maj was great, heavy and sturdy but mostly for studio work. I may not do studio anymore. I need the tripod to allow me down to the ground macro shots. It would be great if it were versatile enough to take the center column and use it as monopod
Flash, back in the days I was partial to Metz, Agfa and Braun ( their big potato masher was wonderful and ridiculously power full f:16 at 10 ft with ISO 100), Norman (fast recycle and constant power output, very much needed in Weddings) and the cheap but reliable Vivitar 285 HV. Nowadays Flash have gotten smaller since Digital cameras can ride high IO with not much problems .. The speedlight are expansive compared to offerings from Metz and the dirt-cheap Sunpak .. The 622 in particular is still made and apprently TTL for less than $250... I find from time to time on e-Bay some Metz-Cl4 digital which are said to be TTL with eh right SCA adapter? How integrated are these with Canon or Nikon?
PC, Do I go Mac or Windows for my photo Editing? What monitor and what monitor calibrates well with what printer?
Software? I know Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are the standards but are there better alternatives? I know about GIMP (free and powerful) and I 've read it can do almost everything Photoshop can and if it's a matter of learning , both Adobe offerings seem to require some time to master. GIMP is free but the learning curve is steep. Do I buy the software or subscribe? What are the differences between the versions?
Books? Good Reference Books?

Advice , experiences, warnings, caveat, recommendations are welcome, I hope I will be able to post some of my pictures here on WBF when I get better ,so far I am adequate and some photographer reflexes are still there. I can evaluate lighting and can think in term of f-stop dynamic range but digital is a different beast and IMHO superior to what I used to do in analog so ..

Waiting for replies, Hope they come in drove

 

[rockitman]

Printers are cheap. Get a nice Canon. What you will find out soon is that the ink is what is expensive. It doesn't take long to have spent more on ink than on the printer itself.

 

[DonH50]

Amir and others have a lot more, and more recent experience than I. I got a 6D last year and still barely out of the box (got put on fire alert the day it arrived and just haven't been back to it).

Random thoughts:

Steve's xxxx (blanked on the name, camera or something) and Imaging Resource ( http://www.imaging-resource.com ) have some good reviews.

I use a $500 Canon 9xxx-series printer that has been fantastic and does up to 17" wide prints. The top vendors tend to flip-flop on color accuracy and all that jazz. Epson has historically had the longest-lasting ink (unless you go dye sublim) but for me 100 or 200 years does not matter much...

I like the Canon flashes and the latest crop has gotten some great reviews.

Pros use high-end monitors. I found the $300 - $500 range as the sweet spot for me to balance performance and price in a 24"'ish monitor. I have a <$300 Samsung 24" and have been happy with it. It is not as sharp as the $500 units but awfully close.

Mac or PC is up to you. I have tried a few other programs, but for all it's pain Photoshop is still standard. Get a book (Kelby is pretty standard). Personally, I would start with the "lite" version as it has been boosted over the years to include maybe 90% of the functions at 20% the cost of the full package. I did not like GIMP but was barely exposed to it.

Amazon has a couple of books on the 5D and their flashes (field guides) that are very worthwhile.

Gitzo makes great but really expensive tripods. Everybody said to get one last year, haven't gotten around to it yet. I did check out a friend's; very impressive, just seems crazy to spend that much. Of course that is not an issue given where we are... Crazy, or spending too much for the best!

You may want to look into one of the color calibration units to align your display and printer. I have used one and they are nice, but for me if I re-run a print it is not a killer so I ultimately did not get my own.

I have used Kodak heavy stock and Canon Pro papers in glossy and matte. I also found a cheap Internet source that worked out well, can't recall the name. Glossy looks best to me but attracts dust and glare. I did not see a significant difference between the Pro and Kodak. Kodak is available at my local office supply store and is about 1/2 - 2/3 the cost of Canon Pro so I save the latter for the really important stuff.

If you join NAPP you get discounts and a decent magazine.

HTH - Don

 

[garylkoh]

Nice!! I paid bills early in my working life doing weddings and supermarket ad (can after can after can after can.....) shoots too.

In the lens department, I would add the 24-105 L USM. This is the lens that is most often on my EOS5D. Versatile and sharp. Flash - go with the Canon Speedlite. Because of integration, etc. I have not bought a third-party flash for years and years. I add a blow-up softbox on the flash. The brand I used to buy is no longer available - but the ones from China are <$10 and I now regard as disposables.

I still use my ancient copy of Photoshop 6.0, but I've been using Zoner Photo more and more. GIMP is too difficult to learn and Photoshop is too expensive.

For a printer, get a Canon and use Canon paper.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

Thanks for the advice people! I acquired a Canon Speedlite a 580EXII. I ordered the 24~105 mm, I have read great reviews about it too. I am left with the printer. I am still researching Epson and Canon output.

As for software, Zoner seems to be taking the Photo software space by storm. The only thing is that it takes a while to master any software, at this point in time the ecosystem for Adobe Photoshop s much larger, wealthier, more comprehensive, extended, etc than any other software (could be than all other software combined ) .

Now it's time to go take some pictures

 

[audioguy]

I was given the 6D as a Christmas gift from my bride. A moron can take amazing photos with that camera (using the "finding an acorn" analogy). I have used maybe 30% of its functionality. We just returned from a trip to Florence and Cinque Terre Italy and got some amazing photos.

I can't imagine how good they would have been had I a clue about what I was doing.

Congrats Frantz. You will love it.

I, too, am trying to make a software editing program decision!

 

[amirm]

Hi

Thanks for the advice people! I acquired a Canon Speedlite a 580EXII. I ordered the 24~105 mm, I have read great reviews about it too.

You have done well there. As Gary said, the 24-105 is glued to my canon bodies.

I am left with the printer. I am still researching Epson and Canon output.

Another option is having someone else print it. I have a large format Epson but I have not used it enough before its inks expired. On the quality side, there is no difference of substance between Canon and Epson. The key then is consumables and how much it uses.

As for software, Zoner seems to be taking the Photo software space by storm. The only thing is that it takes a while to master any software, at this point in time the ecosystem for Adobe Photoshop s much larger, wealthier, more comprehensive, extended, etc than any other software (could be than all other software combined ) .

Now it's time to go take some pictures

Another standard option is Adobe Lightroom. It now has a lot of photofinishing features. I use Photoshop and Lightroom. For quick "processing" Lightroom works well. I use photoshop for images that need a lot of work.

If you do HDR Nik package is very nice. Google bought them and the whole package of their tools is pretty cheap. Their selection tool is unique and pretty useful.

 

[ack]

I was given the 6D as a Christmas gift from my bride. A moron can take amazing photos with that camera (using the "finding an acorn" analogy). I have used maybe 30% of its functionality. We just returned from a trip to Florence and Cinque Terre Italy and got some amazing photos.

I can't imagine how good they would have been had I a clue about what I was doing.

Congrats Frantz. You will love it.

I, too, am trying to make a software editing program decision!

Oh lucky you! I am lusting after the 6D and the wife won't buy it for me... Can you post some pictures?

 

[audioguy]

Oh lucky you! I am lusting after the 6D and the wife won't buy it for me... Can you post some pictures?

These are 10 meg photos so I had to greatly reduce the resolution to post:

 

[DonH50]

*Sob* My 6D arrived right before we packed and moved everything out due to fires creeping too close. I didn't even get it out of the box for months. Now it is almost a year old and I have put the battery in twice but only took one shot just to see if it did anything.

I bought the Amazon-suggested Canon case and it is way too small for my camera and lenses. I am leaning toward a Nanuk 945, anybody tried their cases?

 

[rockitman]

Check out Think Tank camera bags/cases. There is nothing better.
http://www.thinktankphoto.com

 

[amirm]

I have learned one thing after 30 years of photography when it comes to bags: there is no such thing as a perfect bag. I have probably 10 different ones. Every time I decide to pack one, I pack and unpack multiple ones before settling on one.

 

[DonH50]

^^^ One reason I'm trying to settle on one... Probably two, a hard case like the Nanuk for the car, and a bag for hiking. That big lens you talked me into (no, not the Canon L you really tried to get me to get, a "cheap" Tokina 200-500 mm) takes a lot of space!

 

[Rob.Petersen]

*Sob* My 6D arrived right before we packed and moved everything out due to fires creeping too close. I didn't even get it out of the box for months. Now it is almost a year old and I have put the battery in twice but only took one shot just to see if it did anything.

I bought the Amazon-suggested Canon case and it is way too small for my camera and lenses. I am leaning toward a Nanuk 945, anybody tried their cases?

I've been using a Clik bag - which sits on my chest. Was very convenient and safe when in Portugal, Spain and Morocco...particularly when whisking through areas like the Cazbah in Tangier. These Clik bags are generally for a body and lens attached along with some accessories like batteries, cards, cleaners and so on. Given that, I was using a couple of good zoom lenses (Nikon) for the whole trip, and thus found the space to be plenty enough.