In response to Danny’s call for our imaging equipment, I thought I would ride the bandwagon again and try to seek some advise from the camera otaku lurking in figure.fm.
I am actually a little embarrassed to show my “imaging armory” (more like an aging niche weapon!). But since I have just gone outside to take some photos for my dollfie daughters, I have discovered a major pit fall and “some” advantage with my current setup and would like to take this chance to seek some advise from some camera otaku here!
So here is my setup, ~ 8 years old 5 megapixels Sony DSC-F707, with a Sony VCL-M3358 close up lens and a no name wide angle lens. The camera come equipped with
Carl Zeiss
f/2.0-2.4 to f/8
38-190mm equiv.
58mm threads
6-blade iris
It’s not anywhere close to a DSLR but I have always found it to be sufficient over the years since I have been doing indoor shooting most of the time and have access to my computer to download the pictures when I run out of space…. since this camera is so old, it’s only compatible with first generation memory stick as shown in picture (a whopping 128 MB!), my only memory stick of that generation, it’s capable of storing 99 pictures at 2560X1920 resolution with standard quality…. I am guessing most of you already realized what my problem is… without the luxury of a netbook or a notebook computer (I gave up my aging P4 notebook to my brother some months ago, now I wish I would just take it back!) with me, I am a sitting duck once I used up my 99 shots >.>; I would still be fine normally since when would I need to used up all 99 shots anyway, but I am so wrong.
As I begin to discover, the near infinite possibility of Dollfie Photography, it not some scenery (where it stay still) or people (you can take them to look at your camera). A slight turn of the head would make a world of difference in Dollfie Photography, so I had to resort into taking many shots of the same pose and hope I would at least get one or two shots with the correct angle. May be I am just not skillful enough but compounding with the space limitation, it’s a huge problem for me.
However, I still believe this camera is fairly decent for what’s it’s capable of doing, it’s just that space limitation and the thought of investing on a new “whopping” 128MB or 256MB memory stick isn’t very appealing to me.
And this is one of the shots I took over the weekend…
I think the quality of the lens is still decent even though the camera is close to 8 years old.
This camera also has a rather unique feature, which is the ability to tilt the LCD preview screen.
Like this.
I never thought much of it except for occasional convenience, but as I discovered over the weekend, this tilt feature can also offer a major advantage…. which is direct view “Pantsu shots”
I never thought the tilt feature would come into play like this but it was really great!
So here is my dilemma, while I still think the camera is fairly decent, the space limitation is killing me and preventing me from enjoying my day out with my Dollfie daughters. What do you all camera otaku think? Should I stick with this camera and get more aging first generation memory stick (which can be rather expensive since they don’t make much of them anymore), or get a netbook to allow me to preview the image while I am on the go? Or bite the bullet and get myself a new DSLR with the ability to equip higher capacity memory media?
Any opinion would be greatly appreciated!
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If I were you, I would go for a new camera since making the jump will allow you to have more control on your shots from the get-go.
I don’t have a DSLR yet, but I am planning on getting one in the next few months.
Netbooks aren’t really that useful anyways…you can’t really “preview” the photos that well with a 10″ monitor. ^^
It’s very tempting to get a DSLR, I don’t proclaim to be an expert in photography but with the few shots that I was able to manage, I am already quite stunned with the result. Dollfie photography also present a challenge beyond figurine photography. If you have a flickr account, you can see my “friend only” photo of my outing with the dollfie, just a slight turn of the head make so much difference that’s not even funny. With a maximum capacity of 99 pictures right now, I am fairly limited with what I can experiment, so a camera with higher capacity storage is very tempting. 1. I can experiment with various setting and see the result afterward 2. I don’t have to drive home every time I hit the 99th pictures (thus save time and gasoline). Still thinking though.
Yeah, I understand that your current camera has stuck with you for 8 years, the bond is hard for you to break. But instead of paying more for something that is rare and also going for the trouble to bring a netbook, I guess a new camera would be more logical.
.-= enrius´s last blog ..Back to business (Part 1) =-.
Hey enrius,
I actually haven’t use the camera for several years since I haven’t had the need. Starting this blog site is what reignited my interest in photography, and Dollfie Dream Photography just pushed it several notches higher than what I was accustomed to.
I’m not all that proficient a photographer, so I’m not particularly qualified to deliver advice. I generally hesitate to buy new equipment because 1) I rarely have a clue how to use it and 2) if I do get shiny new toys and my pictures still come out sucky, I’m going to be rather demoralized.
That said, obsolete is obsolete. Creativity and imagination can make pictures taken with a crappy camera look superb, but no amount of artistry is going to let you save more photos onto a memory stick.
(On the other hand, I say this without knowing how much a second memory stick costs.)
.-= Tier´s last blog ..Dark Elf Female from Lineage II =-.
I had thought about getting a new camera a few months ago when I started this blog but then I thought this old camera still can do a decent job, why waste money on something that will be underutilized? I was still good recently until I took the dollfie out for outdoor shooting. Then all hell broke lose when I realized I will run out of space way too fast, I ended up making multiple trips in and out of the house over the weekend. Bestbuy don’t even stock the 128MB memory stick anymore so I can’t even get it (I know because I actually went to BB during the shoot), and found out the ugly truth about my ancient camera is not compatible with higher capacity mem stick. I don’t want to part with it because I still feel I am not even using the features of this ancient camera to it’s fullest. And this ancient camera still can take great pantsu shots! But thanks for you opinion, I am still reviewing all of my options.
Damn, you shoot pretty good shit without a DSLR!
But if you’re thinking of getting one, the entry level ones by Canon, Nikon and Sony can be pretty sweet without straining the bank
Hey hey brother Snark, I thought I did a decent job on the photo but there are still many things I like to improve on. Like the shadow casted on Asuka’s face, would like to eliminate it, better clarity, etc. All that requires practice and practicing means I need to take more shots, and taking more shots means I need more capacity, which my current setup doesn’t allow…. I need to upgrade something, just need to determine which way to go. If I do go for a new camera route, I would like to get something that will put out better pictures than what I have now.
Well I love my Canon 450D DSLR and adore taking photos with it, but with the extra macro lens and some accessories, that budget expenditure has already gone over 1000$.
So while still doable, there’s a certain budget attached to a DSLR. So the question you ask about it being underutilized compared to the cost is very valid.
If you think you won’t shoot that many photos, a good point and shoot with some nice manual capabilities like the Lumix LX3 may be an option.
But so far I haven’t regretted stepping into the DSLR adventure.
Thank you smithy, that’s valuable opinion. It’s true I don’t plan to shoot photo everyday, more like once every other week I think? But I want higher clarity and higher definition pictures of my dollfie, but I am not skillful enough to know whether I have reached the limitation of my current setup or not. One thing I do know is that I have limited space for pictures! a whopping 128MB, that need to get fixed right the way so cash outlay is unavoidable. Another thing I do know is that I want to have a fill-in flash to compensate for the shadow you can see on Asuka’s face, which I don’t know if my current camera is capable of, or should I say I don’t want to invest in a new flash for this old camera.
I’m more than surprised to see what you’re using for your pics , it’s crazy !
You really do a great job with it ^^
So yeah , with something better , you’ll be sure to take way better pics , and you’ll push it to the max , like you did with your sony .
But don’t look just at the DSLRs , you should check the Panasonic bridges , like the FZ 18 – 28 – 38 . Can be buy kinda cheap , and good in pretty all situations .
If you choose the DSLR side , you’ll have to buy a good lens right at the start , just don’t buy a kit ^^ .
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Hey James, thank you very much for stopping by! I have been looking at the Nikon D3000 and the D5000, both camera seems to offer the right features for me and it’s not outrageously expensive so I might go that route. I have little clue on what lens I need to get though, that I will still have to study. I read about the SDS on the D5000 so I will probably wait a bit before making the purchase. So far I have been shooting about 1 meter away from my dollfie.
Don’t know about Nikon lenses so won’t be able to help with that … I would say to buy the cheaper body of the two , as the most important is a great lens , a better body won’t give you better pics . I’m still using the now “old” Canon 400 D and if i had money , i wouldn’t buy a bew one but another lens
Good luck for your choice , just buy the body without the kit and buy a macro lens and you’ll be set
.-= James´s last blog ..Ichiban Kuji Premium Ranka Lee 1/8 (Banpresto) review =-.
Thanks for your input, I will definitely skip the kit lens and go for something better. The package I am considering is this
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/620581-REG/Nikon__D5000_Digital_SLR_Camera.html
Thats quite a Dilemma you are in.
On the one hand you dont wanna invest Good Money into ancient technology and on the other hand you dont wanna spend money on something you wont use to its fullest.
If you really wanna stick with the Camera id go to Ebay and buy some used 128 Sticks…I just checked Ebay and they go for aroud 15$ here.Lets say you need to take around Pictures for good results youd have to invest into 4 more sticks a 15$.Thats 60$ spend on ancient stuff.
Thats 60$ you could have also spend on the DSLR.You wrote that you thought about changing to a DSLR before and it would be awkward to spend 60 $ on something you probably wont use in a year anymore.
I dont know youre Budget but id tend to get a new camera and keep the old one for the occasional shots.
Thats just the humble opinion of a guy who knows nothing about cameras though.I shoot all my stuff with a point and shoot ^^;
.-= Blowfish´s last blog ..Sexy Succubus Morrigan =-.
Thank you for your opinion blowfish, I do appreciate it. I do want to improve the quality of my pictures after all, my daughters deserve to have their wonderful images taken with the best available equipment I can afford. Not that I am hugely dissatisfied with my pictures but that flower bed was just too awesome and I wanted more! I want to know if I could take better pictures with better equipment, the flash control options from the newer camera is also a big factor. My camera right now cannot offer the same level of adjustment I am reading on the newer ones. I won’t sell the old camera, it is still good for some purpose I think, when I don’t want to haul the expensive equipment around I think.
mmm well if ya want better image quality, hard to go wrong with a dslr… just getting a bit more memory for your current camera is probably the most economical choice but what’s the fun in that
if you’re looking into flash photography… you might already know of it, but in case not, http://strobist.blogspot.com/ is a great resource. i’ve been wanting to get a flash but the one i want is more expensive than the next lens i’m planning on getting orz continuous lighting for me still ^^;
for figure photography just a macro will likely suffice (assuming you have enough space to get the figure in the frame ^^; 100mm has been rough on me)… though i’m glad i got a kit lens for general use. iq isn’t as good of course but the wide angle is much appreciated.
gads i’m just rambling about all sorts of random stuff, aren’t i? -_- anyhow, good luck! happy to (attempt to ^^;) answer any other questions, of course
Hey Meronpan,
Thanks for taking the time to drop by! If you have a moment to take a look at some of my outdoor pics and see what comments you might have, it would be greatly appreciated.
The kit I am looking at right now is a B&H kit
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/620581-REG/Nikon__D5000_Digital_SLR_Camera.html
It comes with a 18-105mm lens with a minimum focus distance of .45 meter. So when you say 100mm has been rough on you, what exactly does that mean? My main use for the camera is for figurines and Dollfie photography of course.
no prob~ my photography expertise is very limited and amateur so not sure what i can offer in terms of feedback… but here goes ^^;
to me the shots looked pretty dang good. since you were outdoors the lighting pretty much took care of itself. some shots with the sky or grass looked kinda flat in terms of color… but since your dollfies looked vibrant as ever, i think it was just the environment that wasn’t picture perfect. perhaps a polarizing filter would take care of that?
also viewing the original size pics things looked a bit fuzzy… resizing things looked fine though so i guess it just depends on what combination of size + sharpness you’re looking for. using a tripod might help things, though it i think you were already shooting at 1/250, 1/320 or so so it might just be the limit of your optics. i’m guessing that you’ll probably notice a nice increase in quality by moving to a new dslr, especially if you get some prime glass. but again, for this particular issue it only matters if you’re unhappy with your currently achievable resolution + sharpness.
for my 100mm lens the distance i need to be from the figure is quite large for full body shots – maybe something like 6 to 8 feet? currently the easiest place for me to set up my backdrop & lighting is opposite my desk, which leaves me… 6 to 8 feet to work with ^^;; so i have to move my chair out of the way and basically put my camera right up next to my desk to get the distance i need. a wider lens would make things much easier ^^; personally i went with the 100mm lens because it was compatible with full frame bodies and (if i get the opportunity) when doing outdoor macro work, i’ll have a much more comfortable working distance. if you’ll be sticking with that 18-105mm lens, this whole paragraph is a non-issue because you have a nice and wide 18mm to resort to
also you’d probably be using the 105mm for close up work, which means you’ll be moving in anyway.
hope that helps!
Well some of these photos were somewhat tweaked to the the warmer scale of things. But it’s true the grass were not very fresh because very fresh grass will stain the dollfie with grass stain so I tried to avoid that. Polarizing filter huh, another thing I should invest in then.
Well I don’t know if it makes a difference but I have to dial down the quality of the pictures due to my space limitation, almost all of the photos were taken with “standard” quality instead of “fine” quality, may be that is the difference? Yes I shot most of these with f/8 1/250-1/400 depending on the brightness of the object, but my hands isn’t the most steady for a serious photographer. A tripod would probably help but it’s difficult to get the angle I want and depending on the angle of the sun and the shot I want to take. Well I can probably not rely on the sun so much if I have a fill-in flash to help lift the shadow.
I think I am going for that B&H kit, after my trip to Japan I think. The D5000 has a host of features I really like but it seems there was a bit of a production problem with it and many existing units had to be repaired. I will probably just call B&H and verify they have the bug free model before I make the purchase.
Thank you for taking the time to help me with this problem ^^; Hopefully I will be able to take better pictures and more nosebleed shots with my dollfie daughters ^^;