Christian Photographers Community

I'm getting some good ideas here for my trip.  I have Darrel's dad's camera bag, and it will hold quite a bit of stuff.  Pen and pad are great ideas---I will also tuck in business cards, easy to give my name and address to new friends that way, also good identification for the bag.

Because we kept our old camera bag, there is plenty of room for tracht's to lead people to the Lord, via Salvation that we like to leave in various area's for people to find & get saved!!  We be fisher's of men & kinda like Johnny Apple Seed, for in doing Gods will to succeed.  K4J

Here's a picture of my bag!

:-)

Wow, what an incredibile bag of camera parts.  I can see that your professional wedding photo's must take lots of work & knowing what to use @ the right time, to bring out the right effect, etc.......

I've learned a bit of photography from my husband, who learned how to do it be experience as a young child who loved to take pictures & learned from his mistakes. 

I suppose the monkey is there to keep ya laughing?  I used to have a monkey like that when I was growing up.  I believe we called it Joey, or something.  It's been so long, I'm not sure if I remember the name.

K4J

Wow, David!  I am looking at a camera bag for xmas.  Maybe hubby will surprise me with one.  I sure am need of one. 

I decided that I'm going to have some cards made up with the URL of Christian Photographers on it along with my email address.  I've had so many folks ask me for the URL when I'm out shooting and I'm using up all the sheets of paper on my notepad writing it out.  LOL

So, new cards for me to go in my camera bag.

David, that's a super bag.  I have a Lowepro that fits into my backpack so everything is well padded and safe.  I carry three cameras with me wherever I go so I need my Lowepro.

:-) Hey Everyone!

Yea! It's a great bag!

Pat - 3 cameras huh?  I assume you're shooting something professionally to warrant all the backups?  Otherwise, why so many?

Happy Sabbath!
DJ

I always take along my old coolpix 950 as I'm always sure that I'll be happy with the macro shots I take with it. 

Since I'm still not comfortable with my 8700, I'm learning with it out there. 

And in case the batteries fail, I have a small Canon Elph that takes Advantage.  It's small.

That's awesome! :-)

I need to learn from you about being well prepared!

Well, if all my photo taking was being done within walking distance of the car, I'd not have all these in my bag but with hiking several miles from the car, I feel I need to.  My back pack is quite comfortable too.  I hang my two 1 1/2 liter water containers off it on the outside (one is for the dog) and my cameras are in the main compartment.  The bag was actually built to hold a laptop computer (which I've never carried in it!)  So it's quite a handy one.

Something I want to know more about are tripods versus monopods.

I have two large tripods and they are so bothersome to me and a little one that is only about 7 inches high.  I take that one with me everywhere but I really dislike the tripods.  Someone has highly recommended a monopod and I want to know more about this as I don't have one.

I also use ziplock bags filled with bird seed for mini tripods to place on a rock.  i can use the bird seed to tantalize squirrels and birds...and then take a photo of them!  LOL

Pat,  I have used a monopod.  It is made by Leki.  It is a hiking staff with a removeable ball on the top.  Underneath the ball is a handy threaded post that conveniently screws into the bottom of a camera. 
If you do any day-hiking, it is worth trying it out.  I have done a bit of backpacking (a week at a time) with my camera gear and somehow I still manage to take the tripod. sigh.  One of these days I will shave that weight but until I figure out how, a carrying I will go.

Wow!  That sounds great.  I always take a hiking stick with me that I bought in Wales but are you saying that this would take the place of my hiking stick?

No more week at a time hikes for me.  Used to do that but no more for me.  Just day trips.  LOL

So, tell us...  What else is in your camera bag? 

Yes, it would replace your hiking stick, and it is a hiking stick with a round wooden knob on top and cushy foam grip with wrist strap.

Maxxum 7
24-105 D lens
70-300 lens
cable release
flash
stroboframe flash bracket
manual
extra batteries
5 or 6 filters
various rolls of film
lens cleaning cloth

Brothers and Sisters,

I'm getting a new scanner, and I've talked my wife into getting a good camera at the same time. Neither one of us are photographers, just professional grandparents. I do have a good computer with a camera port on it that I have no idea how to use. BUT, that's OK since I don't have a camera for it anyway.   

I'm thinking about getting a camera for beginners that takes good pictures, and I understand there might be some pretty good cameras that would work with my computer. Does anyone have any recommendations? With just a little bit of help, I promise some pictures of my grandchildren and some local scenery. We want nice pictures, but we really need something simple enough to learn how to use it by using it. If I had it several weeks ago, I would have been able to send you a picture of a pasture with buffalo and their calves. It might have even been in focus.   

Any suggestions for beginners?

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Hi Tom...

Our first digital camera was the Nikon Coolpix 950 which isn't made now but I'm so happy that we spent a bit more to get a quality one.  Actually it was a gift to Jack for retirement from his work mates. 

Look for one with about 4 megapixels minimum.  HP make some good ones as do several other companies.  I'm shocked sometimes when I see how the price goes down so quickly.  I bought my new camera in June and already it's $400.00 less than I paid for it!

Do you have a good camera store in your city/town?  I'd go to a reputable store and tell them that you're a beginner and wanting to start taking good photos of scenery and those wonderful grandchildren.  I'd go to one of these stores rather than Staples or Future Shop as usually the folks are really knowledgeable at least that's how it is up here.

Thanks Sister Pat, I appreciate the information.

I'm reading the manual for my computer now and trying to figure out the various types of cards from cameras that it takes. I have four card slots, and I'm hoping that at least one of them will work so that I can almost automatically download pictures to the computer and share pictures with family by email. I'll share them with CP also. I do have some pre-installed software on my new computer that does photo editing, so I have a lot to learn.

We do have a couple of camera shops, so I guess the first thing to do would be getting a list of the cards my computer supports and go from there. I have asked questions at Staples and elsewhere, so I know now why I should go to a camera shop. Thanks for the help.

Love In Christ,
Tom

II Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Tom,

We have a Cannon Powershot S30.  One with 4 mega pixel's is best, but we wanted something good, but we didn't want to have to pay too much more for it.

It's basic enough.  Ya even need a PHD for it = Push Here Dummy!!  LOL

Just as my husband taught me the basic's of it, most any child can show you how things work's, for we are in a computer tech., world.

My husband while growing up learned by experience, how to use camera's to get the right effect.  His interest, got my interest in photography.  Besides the fact that we used to make some funny poses.

I'd really like to get a scanner, so that I can scan some of my honeymoon pic's.  We have pictures that we took to give the ellusion that we were midgets under the Palm tree's, etc.......

K4J

Well, a little update to mine  :

- Nikon D70 w/ 18-70 and SB800 flash.

I don't have to much room in my Lowepro Linx 320 anymore for both my cameras so I'm going to have my mom make a "custom" foam insert for my school backpack. Makes it a little more inconspicuous too.

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OK Tom,

I'd suggest one with 4 MP like Kreative said. I think 4 MP is the sweet spot for digital cameras. I'd suggest one of the following:

Canon Powershot A80 (being replaced by the A85 and A95, so you might be able to find it on some rebates)
Olympus C750
Sony V1 (being replaced by the Sony V3, so you might also be able to find some rebates on it also)

If you are looking for rebates, look here: www.bensbargains.net. All of the cameras listed above are under 400 bucks and are great cameras. A few more tips: -forget digital zoom, it's worthless, and is just a ploy to get people to spend more - go and try out each one if you can, ergonomics are more important than you think. I was looking at the Panasonic FZ10 at Circuit City the other day and I was astounded at where they placed the shutter button. One would think they would place it where the trigger finger would relax (on the little protruding portion of the camera body) but instead it was way off to the side making it uncomfortable to press the shutter button. - Finally, research the camera at www.dpreview.com and www.stevesdigicams.com. You should also ask owners what they think of the camera. Steve's Digicams has a great forum to ask questions.

Good luck!

Ryan!!!  You got a D70???

I'm not normally the type to go blurting out my new purchases, but: yes











It was a long struggle of decision between that and the 20D.  D70 did it for me because of price.

Well, I'm so pleased for you.  That's the camera on my Wish list.

I have to admit I never thought I'd be buying Nikon. I was pretty much settled on Canon until I had a whim to try the D70 just to see what all the hype about it was. I was quite impressed. Solid build (for a prosumer/consumer digitalSLR, not a solid as the D2H or 1D/1DMk2, but still better than the 300D), responsiveness, and image quality were amazing. There were some reports about backfocusing and moire, but I took some test shots down at Best Buy and I didn't see any. You ought to look into it for your next camera!!

Kreative4Jesus,

Thank you so much for the advice. I'm collecting information right now and will probably try to catch one of the after Christmas sales. I share the "not having a lot of money problem", but I want as good a camera as I can afford.

I was just thinking about the humor in your post and reflecting - Christians should be the happiest people on earth. It's a shame that I don't already have a good camera. I'm going to my grandson's 4th birthday party tomorrow. I always ask my daughter to make sure there is chocolate cake and ice cream. I'll take some pictures with what I have - if I can find the poor old camera and it works. All of the kids with cake and ice cream all over them is a riot.

Love In Christ,
Tom

II Corinthians 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hello CheckSix,

Thank you so much for the information and the links. Under $400 is almost a must for me. I know that many people have thousands of dollars invested in their camera equipment, but I just want to be a decent amateur and take some pretty nice family and nature shots.

I really appreciate the links since I do need to read some reviews and look at functions and features. I'll be happy just to get the subject matter framed correctly and clear, so I won't be competing with any of the pros here.   

I did think about getting a camera that would accept add-ons later, as I can afford them.  Or, maybe I can get one that has most of everything I want in the first purchase. I do want a decent zoom feature to take pictures of the grandchildren. I was just thinking of some hilarious pictures I could have taken, but didn't. Little ones do so many precious and funny things without any prompting at all.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

OK Tom,

The Oly C-750 would be the best bet zoom wise. It has 10x optical zoom (I think it's 38-380mm equiv). That is a lot of zoom for your money. It has 3.2 MP so you can print decent 8 x 10s if you wanted to. When printing 4x6, you can hardly tell the difference between a 3, 4, 5, and 6 or greater MP camera. When you start printing bigger, then the difference can be seen. But, unless you're printing greater than 8 x 10, 3.2 will be enough.

Good luck!

D70 :-(  Now we can't share lenses. hehehe..  Congrats.

Sorry Sonfio. 

Brothers and Sisters,

Thanks for the help and advice on the camera equipment. I found a pretty good deal and bought a canon Power Shot S410 Elph.  I took pictures today at my grandson's 4th birthday party without reading the instructions.     I know that's probably a big mistake, but the man who helped me said all I had to do is put everything on auto, frame the shot on the LCD screen and take the pictures. They look pretty good on the LCD screen, but they may look like pictures done by the 3 Stooges after the computer program that came with the camera finishes them.

I asked my daughter for chocolate cake and ice cream so the pictures would have class.     She only managed vanilla, but I hope that I at least got some good ice cream dripping pictures. If any of them turn out good, I'll share them with you.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 34:8  O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.