(Part 3) Top products from r/AskPhotography

The 18-55mm lens is good but not great. It's not a bad idea to have that lens around, as it gives you a moderate wide angle at 18mm, but can close in to 55mm for portraits, etc. That lens is also astonishingly light, and makes the D3400 a great walkaround camera. It's one reason I've kept that camera and lens even after getting a D7500.

In my opinion, the 70-300mm lens is really not very good. It lacks VR, which is very very useful for a lens that long, as any handshake is magnified the longer a lens is. And the maximum aperture is small. It could probably work okay on a bright sunny day. I used mine a couple of times and it's sat on the shelf ever since, and is now replaced by the superior 55-300mm (which does have VR).

It depends how important telephoto reach is for you right out of the box. If you're taking photos of airplanes, I assume it will be sunny, so the 70-300mm should work, as it will give you much-needed reach. It will at least fill the gap while you save up for a better telephoto.

On the other hand, on Amazon you can pick up a certified refurbished D3400 with just the 18-55mm kit lens for $400, and then get a used 55-300mm for $180 or less. That adds up to nearly a hundred more than the product you linked, so that's up to your budget, but I can tell you that knowing what I know now, that's the route I would have gone.

Edit: Product links (you can probably find similar at other websites like bhphoto or keh):
https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D3400-Digital-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B0727RH23G/ref=sr_1_8?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1542788642&sr=1-8&keywords=nikon+d3400

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003ZSHNCC/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

• I'm probably posting a cliche photography gift here but I absolutely love mine: Lens Mug
  
  
  
• Can't go wrong with a BlackRapid Strap
  
  
  
• If your brother takes a lot of landscapes and doesn't already have this must have tool in his gear which he should: Camera Remote Timer
  
  
  
• If he's always on the go and seems struggle w/ carrying his tripod everywhere, I recommend getting him a Gorilla Pod
  
  
• If he doesn't already have a great backpack for travelling while he is shooting his landscapes, I recommend Amazons Backpack for holding his gear. It's essentially a generic version of Canon's basic backpack.
  
  
  You can also find some fairly cheap "like new" film cameras on Craigslist along with some film.
  Film cameras are the best and it will probably be very nostalgic to the person you are gifting it to.
  
  
  I'm making the assumption that he has a Canon DSLR but you can find most of this gear if he has something like a Nikon, Sony, etc... One thing I love to receive to as a photography gift is more batteries! I use to shoot a lot of landscapes and I could never have enough of these.
  
  Anyways, hopefully you find something for your brother! Good luck!

I would suggest a high-quality compact camera like the RX100 line from Sony. The Mark III is $750. If you want to save money you can get the mark I for $450 (the III has a better lens). Don't get the mark II, it's an in-between model not worth the extra money.

Another outstanding camera is the Fuji X-T20 with 18-55mm kit lens for $999. The extra $250 over the RX100 M3 is worth for the excellent colors that come out of a Fuji (everybody is in love with them) and the ability to change lenses if you'll ever need to.

00You can also get the RX100 M1 for $250, RX100 M3 for $400, RX100 M6 for $900 and the X-T20 for $900 from Amazon Warehouse. They're open box items in very good condition, with Amazon's money back guarantee.

I believe that a strong understanding of the fundamentals of photography is important.

I don't agree with all the teaching techniques in this book, but it's the one that seems to get recommended most often.

Understanding Exposure.

Bet yet, IMO, would be to take a class. Most people learn better and faster when they have a knowledgeable instructor to walk it though with them in person.

I teach photography classes and our most popular class is along the lines of 'how to use your DSLR'.

Classes certainly cost more than a book or watching youtube videos, but good knowledge pays for itself over and over again for the rest of your life. 99% of people who take my classes are more than happy with the value they get for the cost of the class.

Thanks a lot for your detailed response! The Tokina sounds pretty good to me, shooting stars is one thing I definitely hope to do at some point, but it's quite a bit monetary investment for a single lens for a beginner like me, but perhaps as a present...

Also that's good to know, I can manual focus fine but obviously autofocus is seriously useful in most scenarios, so wouldn't want to unwittingly be landed with a lens with no autofocus.

I think I might invest first in a long focal length one (thinking maybe this) and maybe a 35 or 50mm large aperture prime, could get both for the price of the Tokina... But yeah, thanks very much, you've been a tremendous help

wonderful cameras... very small... can put in your pocket.

I have the rx 100 iii and its a challenge for me to use... I have large hands and 64 year old eyes .... when I have my reading glasses I can see the settings a bit better.... but this is probably the best pocketable camera out there for that price range.

Assuming u are a lot younger than I am with good eyes... its a nice deal for you if you want to travel light

​

amazon warehouse has a whole bunch of em used for under 500

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00K7O2DJU/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1573100162

If you wan't to take photos without a flash, especially of action, you're going to want a larger aperture (smaller F number). Defiantly not a pro myself, but the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 is a fantastic lens for $100. The large aperture will allow you to capture more light allowing you to use a faster shutter speed (and freeze motion, reducing blur). For about the same price as the lens you have selected, you can get a 2.8 zoom, the [Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8] (http://www.amazon.ca/Tamron-28-75mm-Canon-Aspherical-Digital/dp/B0000A1G05/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395673544&sr=8-2&keywords=tamron+28-75mm+f28). That will give you some room to zoom, but will not be able to go as wide as the 18-55 kit lens I assume you use currently. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the clarification on the strobe, for some reason my mind went straight to the umbrella strobes.

I have this, but was not using it during my last shoot. It is plenty bright, but it is not controlled at all, just like a big flashlight on top of the camera. I do not think it will cause any issues.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TJ6JH6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Should I be adjusting the white balance on my camera at all, or just in post-production? I think it is on auto mode right now, have not been messing with it trying to get the rest of my manual controls down, shutter speed, ISO and apature.

This was my first dark shooting, so that was my attempt at playing with my ISO. I still have yet to take a good look at the photographs. I fully expect the upper limit of the camera to be poor.

The focus issue has been hurting me. I have been doing mostly wildlife photography up to this point, but some people complain that my photographs are "blurry and out of focus." I still have just a basic 100-300 lens and shooting at the upper limit does produce poorer quality photographs, I like having the apature set so only the subject is focused and the background is blurry. So I feel I am on the right track, just need to improve my skills. Over the summer I will be upgrading my equipment so hopefully that brings a better quality as well.

The L810 is a superzoom, it's designed for travel or sports where you might want to zoom way far in on a bird or a player (etc). It has a sensor that is .43" diagonal, which is on the small side for a compact camera.

Read this: engadget explains sensor sizes

and then consider this: Panasonic GF-3 Kit

Lacks the zoom range, but with interchangeable lenses, you can also put on a telephoto like this one: Panasonic 45-200mm lens

The Micro four-thirds system is great, it's compatible with lenses and accessories from several manufacturers.
Buy used when possible, ebay/craigslist (or equivalent, you darn kiwi) are your friends.

Yep, but third party. Looks like I was wrong and it's $20.
http://www.amazon.com/Pixel-E-TTL-Off-Camera-replaces-OC-E3b/dp/B003GR6IUK

I have one of these and it works just fine. I'm an amateur, and using it for hand-held macro like I described in my post, so take that as context for my recommendation :)

May not be much help, but I bought this flash for 40 dollars, and I must say I really enjoy it. I think it's a great flash especially if you are starting out (like myself).

A good real estate shot is mostly editing. You need to blend multiple exposures to balance interior and exterior light. Exterior shots also often have an attractive sky 'shopped in because the weather usually don't cooperate.

A basic DSLR and a tripod is enough to get images you can start to work with. It won't give you the resolution or optical quality of a pro shot, but truth be told, many clients won't notice the difference if the editing is good.

If you go this route, you can spend time learning the editing side of things. The photography part is actually very controlled, so once you know what to do, it's not particularly difficult.

Any camera will do (a point a shoot can actually work just fine if you can do e.g. exposure compensation). You'll want a nice tripod (cheap ones are a fiddly and a pain in the ass, and you'll be using it a lot) like http://www.amazon.com/Vanguard-Alta-Pro-263AB-100/dp/B003WKOENO/ref=sr_1_72?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1417805129&sr=1-72&keywords=tripod, or a name brand like Manfrotto. You'll also need to photoshop and probably lightroom.

For the cleaning kit, all she really needs is a rocket blower and some lens pens.

You can also get some disposable wipes.

These Sandisk SD cards should be plenty fast. They're not the absolute fastest that Sandisk makes anymore, which is why they're so cheap. (95mb/s vs 80mb/s. Not that big of a deal.)

Understanding Exposure has got to be the number 1 recommended book for the basics. It's an excellent book, but if she's already getting gigs, maybe she doesn't need it?

For posing, Picture Perfect Posing is the book to get.

This is all the cheap stuff. Lenses, bags, straps, lighting, and the other gear starts to get expensive. What kind of budget are you looking at? I know you said budget isn't an issue... but what does that mean? $500 for everything? $1000? $10,000?

I have the Nikon D5100 and I absolutely love it. It meets all of your requirements if you get a lens with VR, such as the kit lens (18-55mm). I currently only have two lenses - the 35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8. I also highly recommend an external flash. It is the most important camera accessory I own.



Here are some pictures that I have recently taken with my D5100.

http://i.imgur.com/JYZpu.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jGz9y.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1e0uD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QYOeR.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NXrxx.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JdJRJ.jpg

I got this recently and I love it.

I'm not a pro, in fact, I don't know a great deal about photography but it's been vary enjoyable using that camera and all the photo's come out clean and sharp with a 50mm prime lens.

That budget is going to mean compromises, but is doable.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074MNCRVJ/ - Flash brackets

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WS9XSSC - Light stands

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A47U22U - Wireless triggers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I09WHLW - x2 - Flashes

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N05RL22/ - Batteries and charger

https://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Premium-Shoot-Through-Translucent-Umbrella/dp/B005ODKMOC - Umbrellas - x2

All of this will cost your right at 200. For a background, shoot against your plain wall and use photoshop to do a background overlay, Very easy to do, and the only way to stay in your budget.

But with that gear, yes, you will be able to do shots like you have linked.

Do you have any modifiers over your bulbs or can you place the light further away? That might help distribute the light more before it hits the painting. The usual 45° advice might not be sufficient if you're trying to avoid glossy highlights and you're using a relatively wide lens.

There was a really good discussion of how to do exactly this in this book: https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0240812255. In particular, there's some good advice on how to use rake-lighting to accentuate texture in your art.

I appreciate all the fast responses. I have researched a a bit and decided to go with these.
Macro Lens:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005C50H2Y/ref=ox_sc_act_image_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Uv lens:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XNMWCF8/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Polarizer lens:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XNMXNV0/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Camera:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Nikon-D3400-DSLR-Camera-Body-Only-black/886214437?iid=172511228968&chn=ps&ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fp%25252FNikon-D3400-DSLR-Camera-Body-Only-black%25252F886214437%25253Fiid%25253D172511228968%252526chn%25253Dps%2526itemid%253D172511228968%2526targetid%253D313776934696%2526device%253Dm%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9052898%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D833559251%2526adgroupid%253D39417365901%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-313776934696%2526abcId%253D1123856%2526merchantid%253D8567664%2526gclid%253DCjwKCAjwt5DXBRAtEiwAa3vyEijalntN16m4qbG8DRZvYmt-5wBg5dFSSbEBT5f7NBkTr8MSWfoBPhoCNgkQAvD_BwE%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1514306914752%2526rvr_ts%253D0f7ac2661630aad93b312adbfffe4164

Tripod:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/366230-REG/Nikon_822_Compact_Tripod_with_2_Way.html?ap=y&c3api=1876%2C92051678402%2C%2C&gclid=CjwKCAjwt5DXBRAtEiwAa3vyEpvng7_mfdC4T8JpbT4Q9RTy9EbGakAcC4xrgV7FQjh9FnJOUU6KvRoCb-AQAvD_BwE


Will this be sufficient for this use? Any recommendation other assessories that would be helpful?

you need either:

1) Off-Camera Flash Sync Cable

or

2) Wireless Flash Trigger

It's best to start with a cord, and not overcomplicate things. As your skill progresses, you'll eventually want to move to a wireless trigger.

I have the 100 mm non L version by canon. Very very nice lens

100 mm

here is a review of the lens as well.

100 mm canon macro review

1st Gen - Amazing Photos and Video. $340 Used / $500 New

2nd Gen - APV + MultiShoe + Wifi and PlayMemories. $480 Used / $650 New

3rd Gen - APV +WPM + EVF - MultiShoe. $730 Used / $800 New

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005ODKMOC/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

how about just giving them a light. Like one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER%C2%AE-Dimmable-Digital-Camcorder-Panasonic/dp/B004TJ6JH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415290825&sr=8-1&keywords=led+video+light

They just turn it on, hold it up then take a pic.

A Macro lens will say "Macro" on it and have a focusing distance of much closer. They're more expensive because of this.

You'd want something like this lens to do really close up shots like you're talking about.

I use the cheapo amazon basics wireless release with my D3200. If all you need to do is trigger the shutter, this will do exactly that with no wires needed. Works great on bulb mode, just hit the button to open the shutter and hit it again when you want to close it.

I posted a response to someone else recently who had the same exact question (although he was trying to shoot bongs, not shoes ha).

First: Buy a copy of Light Science and Magic

What you're trying to accomplish falls into the category of "Some of the most technically difficult lighting challenges a photographer can have" so the solution is equally technical. That book contains the foundations you need - and frankly there are no quick solutions.

Second: Definitely DO NOT use a green background. It's murder for stills and fixing the color kickback you get if you don't light things perfectly is awful.

Last: Understand that glass is clear so more light doesn't help. For reflective objects, treat it light a mirror that the camera is looking into. Show the mirror the things you want the camera to see.

Want it to see a reflection? You've got to place the lights so the mirror bounces the reflection into the lens. Most likely you are not appreciating the fact that the rounded reflective surface sees entire world, so your light source needs to be much larger than you think in order for the reflections to show up the way you are hoping for. (product photography always seems to require about 5x more working space than people expect).

Good luck!

I have a D5600 as well. Here are some good lenses:

• Wide Angle
  
• Close-Up/Macro
  
• Telephoto
  
  For filters, you'll want a CPL (Circular Polarizer/Linear) and either a set of ND filters or a variable stop one. Buy filters for your largest size lens and get step-down rings so they will work on your other lenses (rather than buying filters for each size lens you have).

Look at the Vanguard AB 263 tripod (about $129 on Amazon), very sturdy and I think better than their second version; clip leg locks (better) instead of twist locks. What this tripod is famous for is its incredible versatility with all angles; you can set the angle anywhere, even practically down on the ground by moving the center pole to a designed horizontal position.

Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB 100 Aluminum Tripod with SBH-100 Ball Head for Sony, Nikon, Canon DSLR Cameras, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WKOENO/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_GDKVCbMW1360X

Thanks for this!

Did you mean this for the shoot through umbrella? (Your link was a 404) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005ODKMOC/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502380838&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Photodiox+premium+shoot+through+umbrella

One of the top 3 photography books I ever bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Posing-Practicing-Photographers/dp/0321966465

What I would have said as well. If you want a little extra reach could go Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 . It's technically for full frame (which some people have issue w/ on a crop body) but I used it exclusively on my apsc for years. I do more portraits so preferred the long end over the short end.

I have been told that Understanding Exposure is supposed to be the gold standard for beginner photography education. Unfortunately I can not personally attest to the merits of this book since I have not owned or read it.

First two results I got on Google:

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Accessory-NIKON-D3300-D3200/dp/B005197472

http://www.amazon.com/Diffuser-JB-Digital-Microfiber-Cleaning/dp/B008C5A3WK

SB700 in that case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0042X9L6A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469775835&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=Sb700&dpPl=1&dpID=41PBaWYD2dL&ref=plSrch

http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Wireless-Trigger-Shutter-Transceiver/dp/B004YW79F4

http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Wireless-Trigger-Shutter-Transceiver/dp/B004YW79F4

Try those. Buy yourself a couple spares and they'll be as reliable as you need.

On the cheap I strongly recommend the yongnuo unit. Also works as a wireless shutter release, and very well reviewed for the price.


If you've got the coin, the pocketwizards are worth it, but for just starting out the yongnuo's are a steal.

Body and lens, sorry for the misunderstanding.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056ENTVC/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=