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I am an amateur photographer looking for advice.

I am currently using a Bridge Camera.

I am looking to upgrade to a beginner digital SLR camera.

I will be using it for macro pictures, outdoor and landscape pictures when hiking. I will also be using it for adult shoots mainly in hotel rooms, homes or in Studio's. So the camera will have to be adaptable and good quality.

I have looked at Canon's Nikon's, Sony's, Pentax and Olympus SLR's.

I really liked the Sony 390, Pentax KR and Olympus E650 but have not had a chance to look at Nikon's or Canon's as yet.

I have also looked at Compact System Camera's and do not like the ones without Viewfinders. However I have no issues with the Samsung NX10 or Panasonic.

I am asking for advice as to the good points and negative points of particular camera's if you use them.

I would also like advice as to a good lens for up glamour/ adult work.

Thankyou.

Hi,
THe best camera resource site on the web in my opinion is

http://www.dpreview.com

All the leading digital SLR models have indepth reviews there under the Review section, far more detailed than you see in the camera magazines. There are also a lot of detailed lens reviews.

In addition there are a large number of searchable forums related to each of the different makes, packed with people talking about pros and cons of their cameras and lenses etc etc. There is also a Learn section providing useful overviews.

I would suggest that you have a good browse through that lot to help decide whether camera a as opposed to camera b would best meet your requirements.

CHeers
D

Cheers

I'm sure most cameras do it now but the Canon D range (5D mark II, 7D and more) all shoot excellent pictures AND 1080p HD video so they're a definate. They shoot commericals on them, they're that good. Mike Figgis shot his last movie on one.

Have a look what lenses you prefer. Once you choose it's very expensive to change over. I have Nikon lenses so stick with Nikon DSLRs.

I'm way behind on the tech and specs of lenses now so I can't give much advice apart from encouraging you to look at which wide-angle lenses give the least amount of distortion. Because you want to shoot models in hotel rooms you'll be pushed for room and so you'll need a good 50mm lens and one or two wider lenses (maybe lower than 28mm due to the crop factor of the sensor). The wider the lens the more distortion, which isn't flattering for the person you're shooting! Lenses with less distortion are usually more expensive. Buying a 'full format' DSLR will ease your problem with wide-angle lenses somewhat because you'll have no crop factor, but full format DSLRs are expensive too. If you can afford it, though, I'd go for a full-format DSLR.

What I mean be 'crop factor' is that a DSLR's sensor is smaller than the original 36mmx24mm film format, which most lenses were made for. This means your average DSLR sensor will capture a smaller image (have a narrower field of view) than an old 36x24mm frame would because the sensor is smaller. So the image you see down the viewfinder is cropped and enlarged. The bigger the crop factor the wider lens you may need to get the same field of view.

Have a read at this for it'll probably explain it better than I can:

Of course, you'll not have to worry about crop factors and ultra-wide lenses if you get a full-format camera (sensor size at, or very close to 36x24mm). gives you all the information about crop factors and sensor sizes of each camera.