photography

I am looking for a bit of advice. I am looking to get a new camera in the 10 megapixel range. I want to use this camera primarily for shooting snowboarding. I want a camera that will get good enough quality pictures to be in magazine ads or catalogs. The reason is this, my brother and I are trying to get sponsored for snowboarding but the photographer I looked into wants $100 a day. I figure if I go 10 times with him I would be able to take my own pictures for free with the amount of money I would have given him. Am I off base?

I am looking into the canon xti 400d. I have seen them on eBay in my price range with 3 lenses, 2 tripods, 2 cases, 3 filters, memory cards, batteries, and USB connection. The lenses are like 15-80, 72-300, and a .45 pro wide angle.

I would like to be able to shoot couloirs from a distance as well as jumps and cliffs, as well as some close ups. I need quick response between shots and quick shutter speed. I would also like to shoot at least 7 shots in a burst if not more to catch the best shot in an action sequence. I might also use this camera for scenic shots as well as for climbing and 4-wheeling. What do you all recommend in the $1200 range? Nikon D 80 (may be a bit out of my price range)?

Thanks

The D80 is a great new camera. One can find just about any accessory that the pro photographer would want. Pentax and Sony have new cameras that feature image stabilization built into the body rather than the lens(es). The big advantage to this new technology is that IS (image stabilization) is one can shoot w/o a tripod in low light, and shoot with longer lenses (300mm) at slower speeds. Try doing that with a regular film camera without a tripod. Remember though, some makers boast about having this feature, but it is found not in the body, but in the lenses.

Canon D30 is also a good camera. Canon has the most and widely available camera(s) ranging from moderately priced (but solid) to god-awful, nosebleed priced cameras.

Please note, that all of these cameras have basically the same size image sensors, which provide fine resolution, but are not considered full-frame sensors. The Canon 5D (priced body only $3200) and the Canon 1DS Mark 2 (priced at $8000, body only) are where one would ultimately seek (digitally) to get when image quality is foremost.

You wont need TWO tripods. Carrying one is already a pain in the ass.

By the way, $100 a day for a photographer is peanuts. You might want to lower your expectations in hiring someone that works that cheaply.

In summation, we sure have it easy these days. The great Ansel Adams lugged his 8x10 and 80lbs of photo gear up every mountain in Yosemite Valley.

And remember any technology that you pay for now, will be somewhat obsolete in a few short years.

Anyway hope this helps

Well I just couldn't wait, I just bought the rebel xti 400d. Now I have to wait for it to arrive from NY. I will let you know what I think.

As for hiring a photographer....
I understand that 100 bucks isn't outrageous, and I might still hire the guy from time to time. He has some connections in the industry one of which is a company I would like to ride for. However he is busy working with other riders and you frankly never know when something awesome is going to happen and unless he is always with you there is a good chance that what ever happened will never be seen. I have yet to meet and ride with this guy since I have been talking to him, mostly because I don't want to pay him if nothing good happens.

Here is more on my perspective, I have been using video and regular digital cameras for a while now and I have a knack for it. I understand the importance of light and angles. I realize it isn't going to be easy to just point and shoot, and I embrace that because I know with practice I will get a better shot anyway. I figure once we practice enough we can take turns photographing each other and still be able to ride to the fullest potential, and still get photos that might be really close in quality to what my photographer can get. His camera is a 12.4 so I will be pretty close, and if need be I can hire him for the really epic situations. I just figure it gives us a chance to capture a lot of quality images that would just be lost otherwise all of the times we ride without him. I figure these images could be good enough for catalogs or maybe ads but at the bare minimum it would be good enough to get our foot in the door with the reps we know because they keep saying get us some photos and the 1.3 and the cheap 4 megapixel point-and-shoot cameras we have now just don't cut it.

so here's what I got and what I paid for it...
cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-Digi…

what do you all think? are the lenses good for now? I figure I will probably upgrade to better lenses once I get the camera dialed.

For the best quality, ditch the Tamron lenses, and save up for the "L-series" Canon lenses. They are the only way to go!!!! That lens will also cover film, not just a APSC size sensor and later on, when one upgrades to the full-frame sensor size camera, it will work for them too!!!!. Just an FYI (BTW, I can definitely understand "not being able to wait"...hahahaha)

Damn you scored!(I hope, eBay can be kinda sketchy.) That package would probably cost the average buyer around 2000 big ones. I hope to upgrade to digital one day. I shoot with a Rebel K2 and 28-80, 75-300 lenses w/ filters. And as for that photographer, I agree with everyone else. $100 is way cheap for a whole day! I shot weddings this summer and found that most photographers charge anywhere from $1000 to $5000, and they don't have to shoot pictures with all their gear in the cold weather. Nice find!

Thanks, I have been watching ebay for a couple days and watched the prices fluctuate untill they hit the bottom. I hope that the camera will work out well, I can't wait to start using it.I will post some pictures once I get some practice.

hey I was just wondering if the old canon lenses will work on the xti? we have $2000 in lenses for an old canon and it would be awesome if they work on my setup.

Jason, I just saw your post, and I have a few comments.

First, be very careful about who you just ordered from. A couple months ago I ordered a lens from an outfit in Brooklyn called "Best Price Cameras"...the price seemed too good to be true, so I made the purchase on line. Soon thereafter, they asked me to call to "confirm my order". When I called, they tried to sell me a bunch of crap that the lens is supposed to come with. Then they tried to sell me way overpriced filters, and one point he asks me if I would like to "upgrade" to the glass lens, instead of plastic!! I did a little research online and found out this place is a hole-in-the-wall in Brooklyn that goes by several alias names and they make their money by screwing ignorant customers by charging them extra for stuff that should come in the package. So, if they ask you to call to "confirm the order" and try to get you to buy a bunch of crap, just cancel the order. I found this website to be very insightful:

resellerratings.com/store/B…

Second, I don't know how it works in the snowboarding world, but in the climbing world, you never pay to have your picture taken. If you've got the mad skills you say you do, the photog should be drooling to go out and shoot you. You shouldn't have to pay. If that really is how it works in the snowboarding world, then I have a couple suggestions. First would be to find someone who is just starting out with photography, but is still good...he or she will not charge you. You could find these people by looking at photo credits in the mags, then looking up their website (everyone has a website now), or just google "snowboarding photos". The other option would be to find a climbing photog who also skis (which is just about every one). I know a few if you need a hookup. good luck

thanks for the heads up mike. The reason that my photographer wants me to pay him is because I don't have any sponsors that would pay him for the shots. If I did he would probly go for free because he could sell the pics. As for the talent level I think that the reason I don't have a free photographer is because my riding is not exposed to these types of people, mainly becasue I don't do competition or ski at resorts for that matter. We barely see other people most of the time and if we do they aren't going where we are.

How do you post pictures in the forums? I could post some pics of the stuff we ride, I hardly ever see a repeat track the whole year.
I might like to hook up with a pro if you have access to a free one that likes to ride crazy lines in the backcountry and doesn't mind hiking.

Jason Kaplan wrote: How do you post pictures in the forums? I could post some pics of the stuff we ride

You can post your snowboarding pics at snowboarding.com

Jason Kaplan wrote: How do you post pictures in the forums?

Jay: I think your looking for info within the "TEXT FORMATTING FEATURES" -- the hyperlink that leads to an info box. This link is just below the text input area of posting a comment/reply.

As described (I deleted & changed some tags to show the basic text):
Images
img=IMAGEURL> to display an image in the message i.e. img=hypertexttransfer-yada,yada,yada://domain.com/image.jpg>
img=ID#> display a Mountain Project image by photo id number (i.e. img=102323232> )
Mountain Project photo id numbers are displayed by the dimensions on each photo page

Thanks Mark, that was a good user tip for me also.

so I take it that the pic must be posted to a remote server like web shots or something?

did this work?

TEST

Getting sponsored for snowboarding is like, skiing, freeride mt biking, and skate boarding, video speaks a lot louder than still life. Hiring a videoographer that can and is willing to go all the places you are is difficult with skiing and snowboarding. Which means get your own. This is what I've learned from 15 years in the sponsor hunting game. If you have any questions about video drop me a message and I'll dump everything I know on ya. As far as photo goes I prefer the Nikon D100 with a 35-125 lens and a polarizer. Light and fast.