slr vs. pocketcam

[Guest dontcaretoomuchforcrap]

alright, so i recently bought a 5 mp olympus camera. its dope, but also recently I've been playing around with an old slr cam and printing by hand.

anyways, i love using the controls and its more fun to hear the click.

but i can't see myself printing in the future or going out and buying all that film and paying to have it developed.

so, is that what the $1500 digital versions do? i'm not well versed, but there are digital cameras with manual controls?

am i mistaken?

[dnnsmanace]

No, they are slrs. You get the interchangable lenses, therefore bigger range, higher quality, good DOF, etc, but all for a price. They have a bigger sensor, allow you to have low noise- high ISO shots, etc. The capabilities are endless. Wrong forum to ask really. Try dpreview.com or fredmiranda.com. I personally have a Nikon D70 and am happy with it.

[cb_jones]

Yup among other things, digital slr cameras let you make manual adjustments, let you use different lenses, most will take a picture faster than a point and click digi. Check the Nikon D-50 or D-70, good intro level digital slr...

Somebody with more photo knowledge could probably expand on the other things a digi slr will do...

[thomas_highstreet]

are you in UK?

seriously wait before you buy a digital SLR [digital, bbut with all the controls like an oldschool film slr]..

im saying it because on the uk market, entry level digital SLR's have only just come in.. around the 600quid mark.. at about 6 megapixel if my memory serves me right.. but within a couple of months they will be pushed out by newer SLR's for lesser price and better quality..

wait for the 2nd or 3rd influx of new digi's and you'll get a beauty..

[minya]

Try a camera forum.

[RedFoxxworth]

At work we use a 10 mp digital SLR... It looks really really good for crisp product/fashion shots.

BUT...

The whole thing I love about shooting film- you can use different film types and speeds and get different grain, saturation, contrast, etc... Like you can't get the look on digital you'd get from pushing 800 speed film to 3200 and shooting it. It just doesn't work on digital and I don't think it EVER will.

Also this is something I don't know- can you take really long exposures (2 min +) on a digital SLR? I'm not sure if you can.

Basically, I think although film is constraining in terms of money and time and such, you still will have much more ARTISTIC FREEDOM on a film camera than digital.

It's really about how experimental you are trying to get though...

Actin' bad like a kid at Six Flags...

[dnnsmanace]

You could sucessfully reproduce all that is listed with a dSLR, photoshop, and some skill/knowledge. dSLRs have BULB mode, allowing for any length exposure. Anything that can be done with film can be done with a dSLR. Maybe except dynamic range, but there are editing methods around that, multiple expsures (HDR), etc..

[RedFoxxworth]

But what about film grain?

Actin' bad like a kid at Six Flags...

[dnnsmanace]

Filters/actions can replicate that. Try Fred Miranda's Black and White plugin.

[RedFoxxworth]

I'll NEVER buy it.

Call me a purist, but noooo waaaay.

Actin' bad like a kid at Six Flags...

[dnnsmanace]

Film is all fun and games, but when it comes to something like photojournalism or even wedding photography the benefits of digital are infinite. Even fashion photographers shoot with digital backs. Again Im not denouncing film...