CycoKilla
25-03-2014, 2:36pm
Hi everyone,
Have to say first off that the security/vetting of new members here is pretty wild. (In a good way.)
I'm so keen to read threads & look at pics, but need to pay my dues first, so here goes.
Have been interested in photography for a few years.
Took my wife to Europe in 2010 for our honeymoon & went through the process of learning about taking decent pics & trying to choose a decent camera to take.
I was looking at DSLR's at that stage but ended up going for a point & shoot.
The decision was based on budget, ease of carrying around & ease of use.
Also I'm the kind of guy that gets very passionate about every hobby i take up.
I go nuts joining all the forums, buying all the gear, endlessly talking to my wife about it, learning as much as I can, reaching a fair to middle level of proficiency then after 4-6 months I find a new hobby & the cycle starts again.
To give you some idea, I am a member of the following forums (genres – I generally join several in each):
Android
Harley Davidson
Aussie V8s
Guitars
Guitar Amplifiers
Digital Music Production
Poker
Poker Chips
Karate
Photography
BBQ
Anyhow, I tried to get what I thought was the best compromise between the simplicity of a point & shoot & the control & features of an DSLR.
We ended up with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10. It seemed to have all the manual controls & priority modes I wanted to learn about plus it was easy to conceal when walking around & easy to use for the missus.
We had a wonderful trip around Italy, London & Paris & we took plenty of photos.
We came back home, dumped the pics onto the pc, made a slideshow & that was that.
Onto the next hobby for me.... the impending birth of our first child. LOL
Now, my hobbies tend to cycle around & with the birth of our young bloke (November 2011) roughly 12 months after our honeymoon I again became keen to take some good images of him & started (to the chagrin of my wife) investigating DSLRs.
At this point in time I thought, before I go out & buy a new camera I should thoroughly explore the one I have & if I feel limited by the features it offers then I could look at a DSLR. So, no new camera at this stage.
August 2013. I turn 40. Being a milestone birthday, I figure now is the right time to buy myself a cool new toy to mark the occasion.
The wife is on board with the idea & I start looking at DSLRs again. I think the Canon EOS 650D was in my sights.
However, car rego being due plus energy bills reaching the $1000 mark restricted my yearnings & I resolved to pay the bills & look at cameras again around Xmas time.
A couple of months later we were delighted to discover a second child was “in the making”. Due June this year, a little girl this time.
Inspired by this news & also by spending some time at work with a young fellow who had recently purchased a 6D for his trip to Italy I started investigating DSLRs again.
The Canon EOS 70D was relatively new on the market & was receiving some good reviews & had some excellent features that I was interested in.
It is my desire to take good quality photos as well as HD videos of my young bloke (& daughter, when she gets here).
Around Xmas last year there were some OK deals for that unit, but again, our focus & budget were on other things so I let it go.
I continued to keep an eye on the 70D price wise &, out of the blue, came into a sum of money recently.
The planets aligned & I pick one up a couple of weeks ago with the 18-135 IS STM kit lens.
Out of the box I am extremely happy with the camera.
It’s ergonomics are good & the DOF effects I was hoping for but never achieving with my old camera are excellent.
I am also surprised at how easy it is to use. Shooting in manual mode all the adjustments I want to make are right there without having to take my eye away from the eyepiece to look for them.
Very happy!
Now all I have to do is get out, take some shots & learn how to post process!
On that front I have recently installed Lightroom & am working through tutorials on how to use the program.
The tutes I’ve been going through are all fairly basic “make this number 70, make that number 40 & there you go” type of things but at least I’m learning.
Hopefully this will qualify as an introduction thread & I can start viewing the rest of the site.
I’m a little worried about the 30/50 rule.
For the last 5 years I’ve been a member of a guitar forum, I have only just made 30 posts & I read that forum every day!
Cheers,
Cyco!
- - - Updated - - -
ps - i forgot to mention how impressed I am with this site to start with.
Before I could even read any threads I was bombarded with suggested reading & books etc etc.
This is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for as well as a "local" (australian) community.
Many thanks to everyone who built this place!!
Have to say first off that the security/vetting of new members here is pretty wild. (In a good way.)
I'm so keen to read threads & look at pics, but need to pay my dues first, so here goes.
Have been interested in photography for a few years.
Took my wife to Europe in 2010 for our honeymoon & went through the process of learning about taking decent pics & trying to choose a decent camera to take.
I was looking at DSLR's at that stage but ended up going for a point & shoot.
The decision was based on budget, ease of carrying around & ease of use.
Also I'm the kind of guy that gets very passionate about every hobby i take up.
I go nuts joining all the forums, buying all the gear, endlessly talking to my wife about it, learning as much as I can, reaching a fair to middle level of proficiency then after 4-6 months I find a new hobby & the cycle starts again.
To give you some idea, I am a member of the following forums (genres – I generally join several in each):
Android
Harley Davidson
Aussie V8s
Guitars
Guitar Amplifiers
Digital Music Production
Poker
Poker Chips
Karate
Photography
BBQ
Anyhow, I tried to get what I thought was the best compromise between the simplicity of a point & shoot & the control & features of an DSLR.
We ended up with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10. It seemed to have all the manual controls & priority modes I wanted to learn about plus it was easy to conceal when walking around & easy to use for the missus.
We had a wonderful trip around Italy, London & Paris & we took plenty of photos.
We came back home, dumped the pics onto the pc, made a slideshow & that was that.
Onto the next hobby for me.... the impending birth of our first child. LOL
Now, my hobbies tend to cycle around & with the birth of our young bloke (November 2011) roughly 12 months after our honeymoon I again became keen to take some good images of him & started (to the chagrin of my wife) investigating DSLRs.
At this point in time I thought, before I go out & buy a new camera I should thoroughly explore the one I have & if I feel limited by the features it offers then I could look at a DSLR. So, no new camera at this stage.
August 2013. I turn 40. Being a milestone birthday, I figure now is the right time to buy myself a cool new toy to mark the occasion.
The wife is on board with the idea & I start looking at DSLRs again. I think the Canon EOS 650D was in my sights.
However, car rego being due plus energy bills reaching the $1000 mark restricted my yearnings & I resolved to pay the bills & look at cameras again around Xmas time.
A couple of months later we were delighted to discover a second child was “in the making”. Due June this year, a little girl this time.
Inspired by this news & also by spending some time at work with a young fellow who had recently purchased a 6D for his trip to Italy I started investigating DSLRs again.
The Canon EOS 70D was relatively new on the market & was receiving some good reviews & had some excellent features that I was interested in.
It is my desire to take good quality photos as well as HD videos of my young bloke (& daughter, when she gets here).
Around Xmas last year there were some OK deals for that unit, but again, our focus & budget were on other things so I let it go.
I continued to keep an eye on the 70D price wise &, out of the blue, came into a sum of money recently.
The planets aligned & I pick one up a couple of weeks ago with the 18-135 IS STM kit lens.
Out of the box I am extremely happy with the camera.
It’s ergonomics are good & the DOF effects I was hoping for but never achieving with my old camera are excellent.
I am also surprised at how easy it is to use. Shooting in manual mode all the adjustments I want to make are right there without having to take my eye away from the eyepiece to look for them.
Very happy!
Now all I have to do is get out, take some shots & learn how to post process!
On that front I have recently installed Lightroom & am working through tutorials on how to use the program.
The tutes I’ve been going through are all fairly basic “make this number 70, make that number 40 & there you go” type of things but at least I’m learning.
Hopefully this will qualify as an introduction thread & I can start viewing the rest of the site.
I’m a little worried about the 30/50 rule.
For the last 5 years I’ve been a member of a guitar forum, I have only just made 30 posts & I read that forum every day!
Cheers,
Cyco!
- - - Updated - - -
ps - i forgot to mention how impressed I am with this site to start with.
Before I could even read any threads I was bombarded with suggested reading & books etc etc.
This is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for as well as a "local" (australian) community.
Many thanks to everyone who built this place!!