A question for the photographers....

[Caberfeidh]

I always wanted one of those little Gorilla flexible tripods, but as they cost about forty quid, I am too mean to buy one. Luckily as I was perusing my local Lidl's board of fare, I found this beauty for a fiver or so. Flexible limbs, robust and adjustable angled head.

Flexible Mini-Tripod for a fiver

[CharlesT]

In short I would go for the Nikon.........bought the D3200 last year and very happy with it on the hills.

Can anyone recommend a good tripod for the hills - I was looking at the manfrotto beefree due to its compact size/weight but open to suggestions.

Giottos Memoire 50. Not the cheapest or lightest at 1.2 kg but folds down very compactly, comes with own carry case and is robust enough to take a 3 kg camera load. Think I paid about £ 80 for mine.

[TheFox]

You'll get tons of different advice from tons of different people

The big question for you to decide is - compact (including Bridge) or system camera, and if a system camera, DSLR or DSLM.

It only makes sense to go for a DSLR or DSLM if you are willing to put in a bit of time and learn the basics of exposure, white balance etc., i.e. leave the auto modes. Only that way you will get great results. As for DSLR vs. DSLM - DSLM are smaller and usually lighter, thus well suited for outdoor activities. The ergonomics are however worse, and many still prefer a DSLR's optical viewfinder over a DSLM's electronic one (essentially just another screen).

Normally it wouldn't be too important whether you go Nikon, Canon, Pentax or whatever, but for outdoor activities I recommend a weather sealed model. Pentax is famous for building extremely rugged, weather sealed DSLRs that are as good as, if not better than those of the more well known brands (CaNikon). I use a Pentax K3 and when out in the highlands it doesn't go into my backpack when it rains - it just doesn't care. There is an infamous video of a US soldier in Afghanistan first heaping sand from sandbags over his Pentax DSLR, then rinsing the stuff off in the shower

The Pentax K50 or its successor, which is about to be released shortly, are both cameras that are roughly on the same level as the Nikon D5300 and Canon 700D, but they offer more for the price, most importantly weather sealing, a larger and brighter viewfinder and a second control wheel (something you will love once you get into manual settings).

If you'd prefer a smaller package, among the DSLMs the Olympus OMD EM1 or its cheaper (but still very good) predecessor, the EM5, are both rugged, weather sealed and highly regarded.

[Gareth Harper]

I purchased a Panasonic G1 back in 2010 - it was end of line so I think it cost me about 330 quid with a 14-45.

I was really pleased with it, though it wasn't great at higher ISO ratings.
I later bagged a Panasonic 12-35f2.8 which is now the only lens I use with my Compact Camera System (CCS).

Despite the basic sensor, as long as you don't push the ISO too far 20 inch prints are no problem.

Last year I upgraded the body to a Panasonic GH3.

CCS is just a DSLR without the pentaprism and mirror. In other words you no longer have the big and bulky optical viewfinder. Both the G1 and GH3 that I have have an EVF (electronic viewfinder). You use the camera pretty much just as you would an SLR except that you are using that electronic viewfinder. And of course the camera and the lens are now much smaller and lighter than with the SLR.

But yeah I agree with what some of the others have said. You can pick up used cameras for buttons. So if you go for something that is a few years old but in good nick, well you could afford to experiment.

Anyway, here's what I used to use when walking the - 5D (purchased in 2005) in the middle, then the G1 on the left and now the GH3 with the 12-35f2.8 which is equivalent to the lens fitted to the Canon in the middle. I find it a good compromise.

[IamAJMiller]

Thanks for all your help and replies, in the end a friend of mine offered me a Finepix HS10 Bridge camera for £35 so I couldn't really say no!! I decided to use that to practice with the settings and see if I'm any good, without spending loads of money first! I may be back at you all again if I decide to upgrade. Cheers for now!

PS I'm going to an indoor music festival this weekend so if anyone has any tips on how to take good pics in such a dark enviroment (but with bright stage lights) I'd love to hear them.

[TheFox]

PS I'm going to an indoor music festival this weekend so if anyone has any tips on how to take good pics in such a dark enviroment (but with bright stage lights) I'd love to hear them.

Indoor and darkness are a real challenge for any proper DSLR, they require very good high-ISO capabilities and a fast (f/2.8 or better) lens. Hate to say it but with a bridge ... forget it You can try of course, but don't expect any good results.

[Michael Thomson]

If you're using an HS10, you'll struggle. Wide open it's 2.8 at the wide end, which is ok but ain't that quick for indoor night stuff. The noise at ISO6400 is brutal on that sensor too, so you'll be struggling. If the lighting rigs are good you might get some opportunities at stage shots if you're lucky and you persevere.

My advice: Forget trying to photograph it and just enjoy the music!

[IamAJMiller]

My advice: Forget trying to photograph it and just enjoy the music!

Indeed, I'm all about enjoying the moment but wanted a few snaps to remind me of the event, combined with playing with my new toy! As it turns out you were both right, it was hard, but I got some good pics in among the blurry rubbish ones! P.S. The music was phenomenal!

[Riverman]

Film still has its uses. This is on Kodak 3200 wide open at f1.2 on a manual lens. I took the same fully mechanical camera with me when backpacking in Alaska. No need to worry about batteries running out in the wild!

[TheFox]

Film still has its uses.

To be honest, the use of film nowadays is 90% due to nostalgia. There is a beauty in simplicity and film can render beautifully, especially in black and white - your image is a fine example.

But modern digital sensors beat film in pretty much every respect, from dynamic range to versatility (free to set whatever ISO one requires) and ease of post processing. The results of even entry level DSLRs will blow away anything you can get from film.

[Riverman]

Film still has its uses.

The results of even entry level DSLRs will blow away anything you can get from film.

Results depend on the photographer You're right though. Even aps c size sensors are so good these days there's no point shooting C41 in 35mm anymore and little point using full frame digital really (unless tied to favourite wide angle lenses from a film system or need to print bigger than maybe 16x20 inches). I've got rid of my full frame digital and my medium and large format film systems but hang onto a 35mm system for black and white work and a Ricoh GR digital. Black and white film will clearly outlive color slide and print film. Large format landcape is the last bastion though and the movements and ability to alter focal plane are part of the reason. Tilting and shifting in digital requires super expensive lenses wheras in LF it's a feature of every camera and scope to tilt and shift is limited only by the camera's movements and the lens' image circle.

I made this shot on Fuji Provia 4x5 inch film with a wooden field camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens. I had to wake at 5am and walk over an hour from the camping spot to climb the dune and be ready for day break. The film has been scanned on a cheapo epson flat bed and cropped to a panorama. There are few digital cameras below 30 grand that would capture as much data as a proper drum scan of this slide. Clicking the image should open to the correct dimensions. Clearly though dragging around a LF rig is a real pain in the butt which is why I stopped doing it not long after getting into munro bagging.

[tenohfive]

I made this shot on Fuji Provia 4x5 inch film with a wooden field camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens. I had to wake at 5am and walk over an hour from the camping spot to climb the dune and be ready for day break. The film has been scanned on a cheapo epson flat bed and cropped to a panorama. There are few digital cameras below 30 grand that would capture as much data as a proper drum scan of this slide. Clicking the image should open to the correct dimensions. Clearly though dragging around a LF rig is a real pain in the butt which is why I stopped doing it not long after getting into munro bagging.

That is rather special.

[IamAJMiller]

Considering I asked in earlier posts "What is a bridge camera?" I think it's fair to say that this thread has now gone way over my head!

[electricfly]

That is rather special.

It sure is.

Not only does it capture incredible detail of the landscape, but also, (when you click to enlarge) a few stray pubes and specs of grit on the lens!

[TheFox]

Results depend on the photographer

Not exclusively I know there is a trend to say that it's only personal skills that matter and obviously the best camera will not help much if you have no clue about exposure or composition at all, but there's really more to it. It's difficult situations where better cameras really shine. No compact camera will struggle with an evenly lit scene on a sunny day, but try to take pictures of the milky way, of landscapes involving high dynamic ranges (which is most of them), of low-light (= high-ISO) evening scenes or fast-paced action sports.

Both personal skills (in exposure, composition, post-processing etc.) and your equipment matter.

... and little point using full frame digital really (unless tied to favourite wide angle lenses from a film system or need to print bigger than maybe 16x20 inches).

While I'm personally fine with APS-C and some nice glass, there's definitely more to FF than just printing large or using wide-angle lenses. Cameras like the Nikon D810 have unrivalled dynamic range which makes them great for landscape and astro work, they have considerably better high-ISO performance than APS-C and produce a shallower depth-of-field at the same aperture which is useful in portraiture.

I made this shot on Fuji Provia 4x5 inch film with a wooden field camera and a Nikkor 200mm lens.

That's a great shot, I really like it