My Spending Spree!

[DarrenToogood]

Around July last year, I got a small Fujifilm S5700 Digital Camera, and ever since I have got more and more into photography.

Recently I have been complaining on how the camera held me back... so I went out and bought a very nice package from Jessops after school today.

It consisted of:

- Canon 400 D-SLR Body
- Canon 18-55mm Lens
- Tamrom 70-300mm Lens
- Spare Jessops Battery
- Carry Case
- Jessops Flashgun
- 4GB Jessops CompactFlash Card
- 2 UV Filters
- 20 Free photo prints at Jessops


TOTAL COST: £650

However I have not claimed my £45 cashback from Canon yet, which will take the cost down to £605.

I have been using this camera for around 3 hours so far, and very impressed already! I reccomend this to anyone seriously into photography and sport photography.

[cocaine]

i could think of better things to spend £650 on but if that floats your boat then its cool

[DarrenToogood]

Going to spend £550 on a computer next month xD

[cocaine]

Going to spend £550 on a computer next month xD

ok now thats just greedy

[NEW-START]

Is this the "next big thing" you dream to create large websites out of? :p

[Wootzeh]

How are you getting the money?
And post some pics you've taken.

[blanky12!]

Going to spend £550 on a computer next month xD
You have no way of getting money..?

[DarrenToogood]

www.darrentoogood.com

There are the best photos from my old camera, however it will take me a while to get use to this camera, due to more focusing, more techniques, more complications!

[Lenta]

£650? Bloody hell.


I'm not accusing, but I've seen some of those photo's, from my mates, camera lol..

[blanky12!]

£650? Bloody hell.


I'm not accusing, but I've seen some of those photo's, from my mates, camera lol..
well, darren does do that, he steels.

[Flisker]

well, darren does do that, he steels.
*steals

Good luck Darren, also my computer will come to £736 odd i have £530 odd so far :P

[Jordy]

I have no idea where Darren gets his money from but I'm sure he won't be lying, he's very much into photography and I still haven't got over the £1000 in £20 & £10 notes you showed to me over webcam, it was beautiful :(

[Zaub]

Maybe he has a job? You know... a job that pays money?

Sounds like it's a good camera.

[GhostFace-]

650 wow.

if photography interests you then hope it was worth it

[Recursion]

Professionals spend thousands on their camera equipment ;)

[Lenta]

My friend in the total of, 5 months spent £5650 on camera equipment.

[DarrenToogood]

The professional pappas can spend up to £60,000 on Lens's alone.

I have not stolen any images, and all the images on www.darrentoogood.com are from my old camera. It will take me a few weeks to get use to this camera, and thne I will upload more of my photography using the new camera.


Jordy, it was infact around £2000 in £50 notes xD

[Lenta]

The professional pappas can spend up to £60,000 on Lens's alone.

I have not stolen any images, and all the images on www.darrentoogood.com (http://www.darrentoogood.com) are from my old camera. It will take me a few weeks to get use to this camera, and thne I will upload more of my photography using the new camera.


Jordy, it was infact around £2000 in £50 notes xD

And how did you get the money? :rolleyes:

[DarrenToogood]

In my bank account. I do not see why people are soo concerned about where I got the money from :P

I went out last night to test the camera, and I just need to brush up on the focusing, due to there being 9 point focusing, plus the weight of the camera - it is hard to keep it straight. Practice makes perfect.

Sending in my application to iStock and Stockexpert next week.

[samsaBEAR]

i wanna get a D-SLR camera for my photography course im starting next year in college.
how much was the camera on it's own?

[Hayd93]

Professionals spend thousands on their camera equipment ;)

Exacly.I myself for media have used a £1500 camara as we are a media school and got funding for it from first light productions.


The professional pappas can spend up to £60,000 on Lens's alone.

I have not stolen any images, and all the images on www.darrentoogood.com (http://www.darrentoogood.com) are from my old camera. It will take me a few weeks to get use to this camera, and thne I will upload more of my photography using the new camera.


Jordy, it was infact around £2000 in £50 notes xD

Agreed again,If you like photography then good luck to you is all i can say.I have always wanted to be good at it but i never really took it up as a hobby, later in life i may.

[GommeInc]

i wanna get a D-SLR camera for my photography course im starting next year in college.
how much was the camera on it's own?
I do photography as a hobby and did it in college, my advice would be a camera made by Nikon because they're sturdy and work reasonably well with red colours :) Plus loads of professionals seem to use them. A Nikon D-50 is the decent, baby Nikon which comes with a standard 18-55mm lense which is good for close up photography and portraiture, but if you want to spend a bit more perhaps a Nikon D-80 which processes images faster and creates images in higher quality :)

Nikon D-80
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124189

[Decode]

Going to spend £550 on a computer next month xD
Havnt you got anything better to spend your money on than computers and computer equipment. I have a laptop and ive had it for 3 years and it works fine. I dont buy a new one every few months :S

[DarrenToogood]

The camera I have, to answer someones quesiton is £400 on its own, with 18-55mm lens.

I do not have anything better to spend my money on, no :P My computer is coming up to 3 years old this July, and its had it.

[Metric1]

The camera I have, to answer someones quesiton is £400 on its own, with 18-55mm lens.

I do not have anything better to spend my money on, no :P My computer is coming up to 3 years old this July, and its had it.

OMG 3 YEARS OLD!? LOL

My old computer was 5 going on 6 years! It was slow, but it worked fine so there was no point in replacing it untill it didn't meet my needs anymore.

[DarrenToogood]

Mine is Celeron D Processor, 80GB HDD, 1.2GB RAM...

Therefore I am spending £550 on building a total new system, Core 2 Quad, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD :)

[Decode]

The camera I have, to answer someones quesiton is £400 on its own, with 18-55mm lens.

I do not have anything better to spend my money on, no :P My computer is coming up to 3 years old this July, and its had it.
The camra that is built into my phone (which cost £70) is good enough for me (can take decent photos with size of 640x600) :)

[DarrenToogood]

LOL, 640x600 (did make me laugh).

Mine does 3300x3000 all day long.

[360]

Mine does 3300x3000 all day long.

Well it's hardly going to do 3300x3000 from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock, and then for the rest of the day do 2500x2000 :S:S

[DarrenToogood]

Its an expression, and I could do that in the settings if I wanted to xD

Its a complicated camera and will take some time getting used to. I am joining a photograhy club at the end of May, so that will be great!

[Metric1]

Mine is Celeron D Processor, 80GB HDD, 1.2GB RAM...

Therefore I am spending £550 on building a total new system, Core 2 Quad, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD :)

yeahh, mine was P4 1.6ghz, 40gb hd, and 256MB of RAM.

[GommeInc]

LOL, 640x600 (did make me laugh).

Mine does 3300x3000 all day long.
No camera does that, or shouldn't do at least. This might explain why people use Nikons because the dimensions they do are more useful e.g. 3008 x 2000 pixels which would fit on a monitor screen better than the dimensions you mentioned, which also means it would fit on A4 sheets of photo paper or canvas' without the need to crop...

Also, cameras don't change dimensions at random, unless this is a Canon thing (which aren't used alot in the photographer field. Go Nikons!)

[Decode]

LOL, 640x600 (did make me laugh).

Mine does 3300x3000 all day long.
And is your computer screen going to be 3300x3000? or are they going to have to be resized to arround 1200x800? Basicly what im trying to say is you dont need a camra expensive.

[Lenta]

And is your computer screen going to be 3300x3000? or are they going to have to be resized to arround 1200x800? Basicly what im trying to say is you dont need a camra expensive.

For high quality professional images.
Yes you do.

Learn about photography before attempting to act knowledgeable.

[DarrenToogood]

I have the book in front of me now. It says max pixels are:

3888x2592 *File Size up to 3.8MB* (My Camera is only a 10MP, the top cameras go up to 12MP)

I think it works out at 42'', well says Photoshop but in the book it says A3 - both big.

Plus I can change the overall picture size, by going into the settings and selecting the type of recording image. Atm it is on Large Normal, but I can go up to Large Fine, and right down to Small Normal :) Another reason for getting a better computer is to store and edit all these photos. With one photo getting up to 3.8MB... I am going to use the GB very quickly.

[GommeInc]

Vista is good for managing photos, or it is for me at least :P

[DarrenToogood]

I will run Vista on my computer indeed. With 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD and a Core 2 Quad processor, my new computer will certainly be the best for editing all my photos.

I am sending in applications to Stock Photography websites within the next month, and I am also going to setup a white box.


Just opened up a document size of 3888x2592 and it is 55'' in width, which is the same as 1.5m :)

[Recursion]

Trying to brag? Doesn't work, see sig.

[DarrenToogood]

Yours is pretty much the same as mine will be, however I already have a 7950GT graphics card.

[StefanCampbell]

Trying to brag? Doesn't work, see sig.


fgs, u always brag, he's not bragging, he's simply bought something and wanted to share it with us stop trying to butt in on his thread and show off something else. Also i don't know why people are flaming him for liking photography, it may be very pleasurable and may be a good hobby, people are into these sort of things.. Good luck in future mate, you seem to have a good talent (Y) :).

[DarrenToogood]

Thanks for the support.

Maybe a career path for me!

[StefanCampbell]

Yeh, Tawm doesn't seem to grasp that in life he may actually have to earn his money, it won't be handed to him on a plate, unless he's trumendously rich/spoilt..

But gl, Photographers can fetch thousands for one good photo alone cant they?

[DarrenToogood]

Try millions.

Diana and Dody went for Millions, one of the first pictures of them together. Jessops however say the lens' they use to take pictures of celebs on the boats are up to £60,000

[StefanCampbell]

Exactly, it could make you a millionaire/very wealthy person in the long run, wish you all the best, lovin' the photo's on the site too! :)

[Recursion]

fgs, u always brag, he's not bragging, he's simply bought something and wanted to share it with us stop trying to butt in on his thread and show off something else. Also i don't know why people are flaming him for liking photography, it may be very pleasurable and may be a good hobby, people are into these sort of things.. Good luck in future mate, you seem to have a good talent (Y) :).

1. People moan at me for "bragging" I moan at other for "bragging".
2. He hasn't yet bought this computer?
3. Im on about the computer specs not the Photography stuff.
4. How am I butting in? Im discussing.
5. I never said anything about his Photography, I like it? :S

And Stefan, I have to save up and buy my stuff? I had to save up my Xmas/Birthday/Pocket money to buy my PC? I had to pay for half of my Xbox 360, the other half was a birthday present. And actually I do have quite a nice life. So get your head out of your *** and stop trying to put people down.

If you wan't spoilt, look at one of my old friends who just has to go into Tesco with his mum to do a normal shop and end up walking out with 5 £50 games, or coming home, demanding a PS3 and having it within two days.

Good luck mate! :) I tried Photography once and was absolutely rubbish at it :D I suppose it takes practice, but people like you are naturals looking at your site :P

[StefanCampbell]

You were the one tryna change the subject to how good your PC was no-one else, and I highly doubt you saved for over a year to get your PC like that.

[GommeInc]

fgs, u always brag, he's not bragging, he's simply bought something and wanted to share it with us stop trying to butt in on his thread and show off something else. Also i don't know why people are flaming him for liking photography, it may be very pleasurable and may be a good hobby, people are into these sort of things.. Good luck in future mate, you seem to have a good talent (Y) :).
When were people making fun of him for doing photography? How can you even make fun of such a popular art form :S

And photos do indeed sell for hundreds, thousands and even millions. You know Katie Price (Jordan) and Peter Andre do their own photos? If a photographer got a good, decent photo of them together it will sell for 6 figures, reaching 7 if it shows something or catches them in the act which millions would be shocked for.

[Recursion]

You were the one tryna change the subject to how good your PC was no-one else, and I highly doubt you saved for over a year to get your PC like that.

I never said a year. It was Pocket/Christmas/Birthday moneu. I did odd jobs around to get some money, I don't see what the problem is. Anyway, if you want to carry this on do it over PM please.

Thank you.

P.S. Darren tried to go on about his new PC.

[StefanCampbell]

I said flaming, which is completely different to making fun, stop changing my words thanks.


I never said a year. It was Pocket/Christmas/Birthday moneu. I did odd jobs around to get some money, I don't see what the problem is. Anyway, if you want to carry this on do it over PM please.

Thank you.

P.S. Darren tried to go on about his new PC.

yeh but u changed it to your PC saying he was bragging, when he wasn't at all. Then you were like OMGZ0R YOU FINKZ YOU CUN BRAGG AND IS KOOL!! LOOK AT MY SIGZZZ OMGGGARD.. so yeh, you were bragging and changed subject to something about you as always.

[GommeInc]

Not entirely, I could flame about you doing ballet, which is similar to making fun of you for doing ballet. Changing the topic to photography, to flame a photographer is to make fun of an art form. But I'm agreeing with you anyway, you cannot flame someone for doing photography or liking it because it is incredibly popular and common in any shape or form, and when did someone do that anyway :S

Edited by Professor-Alex (Forum Super Moderator): Can we keep the arguments to PM please? The thread may be closed if arguments persist.

[Recursion]

I said flaming, which is completely different to making fun, stop changing my words thanks.



yeh but u changed it to your PC saying he was bragging, when he wasn't at all. Then you were like OMGZ0R YOU FINKZ YOUR PC IS KOOL LOOK AT MY SIGZZZ.. so yeh, you were bragging and changed subject to something about you as always.

I have never met someone so far up their own *** as you. Just shut up.

Edited by Professor-Alex (Forum Super Moderator): Please don't be rude.

[StefanCampbell]

You have met someone like that, yourself, as you said carry on this arguement in PM's, it's ruining this guys thread, i'm out of it, i've made my point. Even if you can't take it.

[Recursion]

Just to point out, how can you meet yourself?

[StefanCampbell]

You trying to say you don't know yourself or something?

[Recursion]

No, just you can't really go upto yourself and say Hello and ask how you are etc... so technically your not meeting yourself... or you would have to be insane or something.

By the way check your Ubuntu thread.

[Stephen!]

i would like to understand something. i have always wondered why lenses for the cameras cost so much? if anyone could inform me then that would be cool :P

[Decode]

For high quality professional images.
Yes you do.

Learn about photography before attempting to act knowledgeable.
I wasnt trying to act knowledgable all i was saying is that the photo would have to be resized to fit on a computer screen :rolleyes:

[Lenta]

*Removed*

Edited by Professor-Alex (Forum Super Moderator): Please do not be rude.

[Decode]

*Removed*
In my oppinion you dont need to spend 400 on a camra, there are better things to spend your money on. Also, how is that acting knowledgable?

[Lenta]

In my oppinion you dont need to spend 400 on a camra, there are better things to spend your money on. Also, how is that acting knowledgable?


Because, you were acting as if you knew it all, and trying to decide it for him?

Professional photographers, spent thousands on cameras & accessories, so just shut the hell up. Alright?

[Hayd93]

In my oppinion you dont need to spend 400 on a camra, there are better things to spend your money on. Also, how is that acting knowledgable?
Ye but what would you spend £400 on ?

You may like something like boating so you spend £400 on a boat.in his opinion he may think you wasted your money.We all have differnt opinions ;)

[samsaBEAR]

I do photography as a hobby and did it in college, my advice would be a camera made by Nikon because they're sturdy and work reasonably well with red colours :) Plus loads of professionals seem to use them. A Nikon D-50 is the decent, baby Nikon which comes with a standard 18-55mm lense which is good for close up photography and portraiture, but if you want to spend a bit more perhaps a Nikon D-80 which processes images faster and creates images in higher quality :)

Nikon D-80
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124189
thank you, +Rep
edit; gotta spread


The camera I have, to answer someones quesiton is £400 on its own, with 18-55mm lens.

I do not have anything better to spend my money on, no :P My computer is coming up to 3 years old this July, and its had it.
thank you also, +rep

[Tomm]

You just proved how little you know about cameras. Just because it has more megapixels does not mean it is a better camera. A high quality 6MP camera would beat your entry level 10MP camera in terms of quality for example.


I have the book in front of me now. It says max pixels are:

3888x2592 *File Size up to 3.8MB* (My Camera is only a 10MP, the top cameras go up to 12MP)

I think it works out at 42'', well says Photoshop but in the book it says A3 - both big.

Plus I can change the overall picture size, by going into the settings and selecting the type of recording image. Atm it is on Large Normal, but I can go up to Large Fine, and right down to Small Normal :) Another reason for getting a better computer is to store and edit all these photos. With one photo getting up to 3.8MB... I am going to use the GB very quickly.

[DarrenToogood]

Clearly not. A 6MP digital camera is no where near the quality of a 10MP D-SLR...

[N!ck]

Clearly not. A 6MP digital camera is no where near the quality of a 10MP D-SLR...

Depends on the quality of the CCD, lenses and the skill of the photographer. Also the software and algorithms used in the camera play a significant role

[DarrenToogood]

Yes, but what I am saying is a 6MP Digital Camera is not going to get the same results as a 10MP D-SLR from Canon :P

[N!ck]

Yes, but what I am saying is a 6MP Digital Camera is not going to get the same results as a 10MP D-SLR from Canon :P

Depends if it was a poo D-SLR against a good digital camera.

[Metric1]

I will run Vista on my computer indeed. With 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD and a Core 2 Quad processor, my new computer will certainly be the best for editing all my photos.

I am sending in applications to Stock Photography websites within the next month, and I am also going to setup a white box.


Just opened up a document size of 3888x2592 and it is 55'' in width, which is the same as 1.5m :)

If you knew the first thing about editing and vista, you would know that windows is for crunching numbers and if you ant the best editing pc, it would be a mac. Just because the specs are good, doesn't mean its good for editing.

[Recursion]

Vista is great for editing, I suspect he will use some program like Photoshop which is available on both platforms. Significantly faster on the PC because the specs will be more "bang for the buck".

[Lenta]

If you knew the first thing about editing and vista, you would know that windows is for crunching numbers and if you ant the best editing pc, it would be a mac. Just because the specs are good, doesn't mean its good for editing.

Agree'd here.

Macs are much based on image editing, although Vista can run smoothely with it. :)

[Lubricant]

I have the book in front of me now. It says max pixels are:

3888x2592 *File Size up to 3.8MB* (My Camera is only a 10MP, the top cameras go up to 12MP)

I think it works out at 42'', well says Photoshop but in the book it says A3 - both big.

Plus I can change the overall picture size, by going into the settings and selecting the type of recording image. Atm it is on Large Normal, but I can go up to Large Fine, and right down to Small Normal :) Another reason for getting a better computer is to store and edit all these photos. With one photo getting up to 3.8MB... I am going to use the GB very quickly.

Oh no. You don't have the top model?! =OO

[DarrenToogood]

The top model would cost me thousands, and I am not a professional therefore I would not be spending that much money :P

I think the best Canon D-SLR is the 1D.

[Metric1]

Clearly not. A 6MP digital camera is no where near the quality of a 10MP D-SLR...

Megapixels mean ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING. It's the total package that makes the camera (lens, image sensor, features, stability program, etc..).
You can have all the megapixes in the world, if you have no stability function your pictures turn out crap. I have a 8? megapixel Canon PowerShot A720? IS, and it works great, I don't see the need for anything more.

[DarrenToogood]

You may not need a better camera, because you are not a photographer, however if you want good photos, you need a D-SLR.

A Canon is a very respectable make, and features alot of things some cameras do not. For example the EOS Internal Cleaning System.

[Zaub]

Megapixels mean ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING. It's the total package that makes the camera (lens, image sensor, features, stability program, etc..).
You can have all the megapixes in the world, if you have no stability function your pictures turn out crap. I have a 8? megapixel Canon PowerShot A720? IS, and it works great, I don't see the need for anything more.

Yeah right... So you'd buy a 1 megapixel camera would you?

[Lycan]

You may not need a better camera, because you are not a photographer, however if you want good photos, you need a D-SLR.

A Canon is a very respectable make, and features alot of things some cameras do not. For example the EOS Internal Cleaning System.

Of course by respectable you mean made in third world countries by a workforce paid almost nothing :)

[Recursion]

You only need higher megapixels if you are going to print them on HUGE sheets of paper.

[N!ck]

You may not need a better camera, because you are not a photographer, however if you want good photos, you need a D-SLR.

A Canon is a very respectable make, and features alot of things some cameras do not. For example the EOS Internal Cleaning System.

I'm pretty sure you can take good photos without a D-SLR ;).


Yeah right... So you'd buy a 1 megapixel camera would you?

If everything else in the camera was really good then photos taken on a 1MP camera would look good on a device like a digital photo frame and even some lower res computer monitors. Megapixels are only a very small part in making a good image. They just give more detail and allow the image to be "blown up" more. A 720p high def image is not even one megapixel.

[DarrenToogood]

You guys seem to be making yourself to know things, which you really don't know.

I am sure you could take a good image with an non Digital SLR, however it will not be the same quality as a D-SLR.

There is two types of photographers...

a) 'Holiday Snappers' - Take general pictures of where they go, think they are good but they arn't

b) Photographers - People who make money, and sell their photos on sites - Use D-SLR

[N!ck]

You guys seem to be making yourself to know things, which you really don't know.

I am sure you could take a good image with an non Digital SLR, however it will not be the same quality as a D-SLR.

There is two types of photographers...

a) 'Holiday Snappers' - Take general pictures of where they go, think they are good but they arn't

b) Photographers - People who make money, and sell their photos on sites - Use D-SLR

I probably know more than you think. Obviously someone who knows what they're doing can take better pictures with a D-SLR than a normal digital camera. A human intervention and human decisions are better than what a computer decides the image should look like as the images are, after all, there for pleasing human eyes. Also D-SLR users will have access to better lenses.

[e5]

i could think of better things to spend £650 on but if that floats your boat then its cool
I was thinkig that, but if it is what pleases you then nice! :)

[Lenta]

Darren, you're messing the pros of this forum.

You've been prooved wrong, over and over.

[Stephen!]

i would like to understand something. i have always wondered why lenses for the cameras cost so much? if anyone could inform me then that would be cool :P

If everybody is done argueing, can somebody answer my question?

[N!ck]

If everybody is done argueing, can somebody answer my question?

It's all about quality. More expensive lenses have better zoom features meaning you need less lenses. They also have a better focal range and focal lengths meaning the focus can vary more in the proximity to you and You can also get more in focus. Better lenses are also faster, making them heavier and more expensive. some have features to reduce vibration to try and keep the images sharp in lower light conditions. You can also get get light filters, so you may want do filter out UV light.

[DarrenToogood]

Nick is correct in his point. I have 2 UV filters.

After going out yesterday, some of my images have poor focusing. I had it on Automatic Selection, which you may think would be the best, however I am going to try on Centeral Selection now for the AutoFocus.

The colours are very very bright and stand out - make the image look 100% better.

[Tomm]

Use manual focus for the best results.


Nick is correct in his point. I have 2 UV filters.

After going out yesterday, some of my images have poor focusing. I had it on Automatic Selection, which you may think would be the best, however I am going to try on Centeral Selection now for the AutoFocus.

The colours are very very bright and stand out - make the image look 100% better.

[DarrenToogood]

However that takes alot of time getting used to, and its hard to see when looking through a 1cm width eyepiece (to see if it is 100% focused).

[Tomm]

It does not have live preview?


However that takes alot of time getting used to, and its hard to see when looking through a 1cm width eyepiece (to see if it is 100% focused).

[DarrenToogood]

No, not many D-SLRs do.

[GommeInc]

It's all about quality. More expensive lenses have better zoom features meaning you need less lenses. They also have a better focal range and focal lengths meaning the focus can vary more in the proximity to you and You can also get more in focus. Better lenses are also faster, making them heavier and more expensive. some have features to reduce vibration to try and keep the images sharp in lower light conditions. You can also get get light filters, so you may want do filter out UV light.
To add to that, they're also built to withstand shock when you drop them and most expensives one are scratch-proof.

The reason why most D-SLRs don't have live previews is because it destoys the whole point of having the 'SLR' part ;) Or that's what my teacher said at least. What you see through the eye-piece is what the end photo should look like, while an auto-focus camera with live preview doesn't quite show you what you're seeing. Most photographers take about 10 photos of one scene so they have a choice of which is best when it comes to editing and printing.

Also, it's not hard seeing through a 1cm eye-piece at all? You're meant to close one eye and look through it closely, which makes it easy to see what's through the lens?

[Metric1]

Yeah right... So you'd buy a 1 megapixel camera would you?

Yeah I would, I actually have one.