New Camera

My new camera kit just arrived today.  I am planning on bulking up my business content this winter and needed to up my game in equipment.  I used to be a staff photographer for my hometown paper while in High School, but things have certainly changed since then.  This camera looks like it could operate an air traffic control center with all the buttons, so I might have to actually read the manual on this one.

There are some great deals out there right now on DSRL cameras if you are in the market.  I ended up with package bundle with a Canon T5i along with 4 lenses and a boatload of all the little accessories that one would want.  The only thing missing would be some umbrella lights and I will be ready for photo and good quality video.

Now I just have to get through this owner's manual to find out what I don't know or have forgotten from my old Pentax film camera.

I just bought a Nikon 5300.

I know what you mean about air traffic control!

YouTube videos really help.

I almost went with Nikon as well, it did have some advantages, but I thought the Canon was better for video....although not by much.

Lucky for me, I work with a guy who used to be a professional photographer. I got mine to use with business, but also for personal use. A Action camera only does so much.

I got mine as a kit too. Though most of the stuff in the kit is cheap stuff and not high quality. My Nikor 18-55 is the best piece of glass in the kit. I have a wide angle and a 2X macro lens too. I'm looking to add a nice fixed 50 mm and a 70-300 telephoto lens to my kit. May also pick up a nice wide angle too. Also on the list is a GOOD tripod. Mine are aluminum, but I'd like a nice carbon fiber tripod.
Add in mics for both camera's and I'd be about all set.

Does your camera have Wi-Fi too? I have GPS tagging, but it's something I doubt I'll ever use. The wi-fi, I'm sure will get used often.

Sounds like they are brothers. My kit had pretty much everything that one would want except much of it is Vivitar stuff. It is useable, but not the best quality stuff.

I opted for the kit which contained a 55-135mm, 55-250mm, and a really nice 50mm lens along with a fisheye and multiplier lens. I could get by with just that 55-135mm for most things, but the added reach of the telephoto and that fixed 50mm really help me cover more ground.

My tripod is aluminum as well in the kit, but I already had a very nice and solid tripod from my Radon testing days, so I am good there.

I have never liked the mic units for the DSLR cameras. They work, but pick up too much noise being condenser mics. I am going with a lapel mic for my set-up and the mics that I already have for recording music.

Wi-Fi? I believe it does, but I am only a third of the way through the manual. I am a chord guy, so wi-fi wasn't part of my consideration.

Nikon lenses are some of the best out there glass-wise, so you should end up with a very nice rig. Can you buy an adapter to accept EF lenses? If so, that Canon 50mm is super cheap and a fantastic lens for low light and videos......the 40mm isn't bad either for a couple of bucks more.

You didn't happen to buy your kit from RedTagCamera on ebay too, did you? Sounds like all the same stuff that came in my kit. Just short of 500 bucks for my kit.

Lapel mics are cheap. 20 bucks or so. There are also the Rhoads boom mics, that are great mics. Lots of videos are done with them. They run about 100 bucks. Lapels and booms have the advantages dependent on the situation. I won't go the route of separate sound recorders. I'm not that versed in video editing.

I don't know about an adapter. I probably can buy one, just haven't bothered to look. I want a Nikor 50 MM prime lens. They aren't real expensive. They are under 200 bucks. The 70-300 and larger lens are where the expense really is with Nikor's. I'll be looking at other brands for that.

Yup, I bought from them as well....mine was $700, but included the 55-250mm telephoto lens and upgrade from the 15-85 to a 15-135 lens.

They do make adapters if you want the cannon lenses....about a $25 part. Canon has a real nice 70-300mm pretty cheap, but I liked the 55-250 a little better when I compared them. At least on this camera I did.

Nikon usually has better glass in their lenses, but the STM feature on the canon lenses are pretty sweet....near silent operation which is great for video usage.

Let see a sample of a video

Don't rush me Mo, I barely managed to remove it from the packaging so far. I did take some head shots today with it using the remote. Good results, still ugly, but presentable after a little cleaning up with photo-shop.

I may post them later.

What do you think?  I think I will actually use this one for my website and advertising.  Not exactly Tom Selleck, but oh well.

Great picture Rob. I can tell you've done this photography thing before.

I would have given your head a little more light. The top of your head is kinda shadowed.

Yeah that is a good pic put that one on your contact page

Good eye Mo, I only have 2 soft box lights right now and set myself up under the ceiling light for my overhead.  I really need a third soft box, but just couldn't afford the extra one right now.

As an ugly guy, I was happy with the results.  It will be going up on my website and listings this weekend.

The funny part is that I have had people call me and say that it looks like former Nebraska Football coach Bo Pelini.  What they don't know is that I signed an autograph once in Lincoln after a football game for a family that was convinced that I was indeed Bo.

http://www.gearbest.com/soft-box-_gear/

I have bought from this company in China more than once. Seems to be a decent China shop to deal with, with decent pricing for most things in their store.

It's worth the month long wait for the money I save, to me anyway.

Thanks for the tip Freemind....I have heard that name before.

I have come to the conclusion that there are no cheap hobbies any more. I have been updating this camera equipment for the past week after realizing that most of the "bonus pack" items were just useless.

After adding a nice video tripod, extra batteries and memory cards, lighting, padded backpack, and lapel mic, things have really risen in cost. Actually, the cheapest part is probably the camera itself.

Oh well, I am about set to start trying my hand at video production. My photography skills are coming back around after a long lay-off, but this camera still offers a little learning curve when shooting in manual mode.

It will be worth it once I start rolling out content to my channel.....or go out of business and start shooting porn. Either way.

The porn angle would be more lucrative and there are some side benefits.

Just make your hobby TV watching its cheap

Hell, drinking heavily and smoking a carton per day is cheaper than most hobbies these days.

Yeah, I've bought a bunch of stuff too.

Camera backpack
Two batteries
Lens cleaning kit
70-300 Nikkor lens
50mm 1.8 Nikkor Prime lens.

Among other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

We must really be related.....

Camera Backpack
2 Batteries
Battery Grip
Lens cleaning kit
25-250 Canon Lens
50 mm Canon Prime lens

I still need to decide on a better lighting set-up and maybe some photo editing software as well. You are likely doing the same thing about now. I do recommend the battery grip....that made the camera far more comfortable, stable with a longer lens, and holds 2 batteries for longer operation.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Battery+Grip+For+Nikon+D5300&gclid=CjwKEAiA9s_BBRCL3ZKWsfblgS8SJACbST7D22aAiBrX6rjAqgZVVkC8BiOoHp62U2Z_4XUMgw7KqRoCFirw_wcB&c3api=4680%2C111337597739%2Cbattery+grip+for+nikon+d5300%2Ce&InitialSearch=yes&N=0

I honestly contemplated the battery grip. I just think I am going to pass on it for a spell. I may come back later and buy one.

On my watch list now, is a sling strap for the camera, a fisheye wide angle lens, A bigger eyepiece, and a remote shutter release.

If you shoot any video with it, that battery grip will be very useful for the battery power, but it is preference.

I have a fisheye, some rubber lens cups, and the remote shutter....that is how I got that headshot and a very useful item. Bigger eyepiece would probably be good....does that Nikon have a good screen? Mine flips out and allows me to adjust the angle for better viewing. Still can catch glare outside though.

I suppose we should be both geared up by Christmas....and wondering what the hell happened?

I plan to shoot video. Only I intend to shoot video's that are less than 10 minutes. I want to keep any published final video's to under 5 minutes. So a grip may end up being a necessity at some point.

The fisheye that came in the kit was junk. I'm eyeing one on Ebay that is about 100 bucks and a whole separate lens, not one of those add on lens. Nikkor makes one, but it's about 500 bucks.
I also have the key fob type remote. I want one of the corded ones that allow you to hold your shutter open as long as you want, for long exposure.

Yes, I have a nice screen that flips around and swivels. There probably is not much difference between your camera and mine, in function and quality. When comparing D3000's, D5000's, and D7000's series, the camera software and price seemed to be the only difference. I know the Nikkor glass seems to be a tad more expensive than what I have seen for Cannon. Maybe it's not.

I know this, we both have pretty awesome cameras. One heck of a Christmas present, indeed!

Do you have an external drive at this point? That's another thing I want/need. Hoping I can find one on sale here for Thursday/Friday. Like to find a 2-3 TB external hard drive.

I think you are correct on all points...the cameras are both very similar. Nikkon has better glass in the lenses unless one goes for the L-series Canon units, but I doubt I will notice much with my eyes.

My new desktop came with a multi-size memory card reader and I added a 5TB external drive to the package, so I am ready there.

Should be a fun winter learning all this stuff and seeing what I can create.