a great problem to have - help me blow this $$$!!

[meezy]

hi folks.

i got a grant to pursue whatever educational endeavor i wanted... so i chose a digital photography class at the school for visual arts and now i have $3825 to blow on whatever DSLR and lenses i want.

my interests are travel photography and - since i'm tired of SPENDING money on this hobby and would like to try to MAKE some for once - i want to get into portraiture too. nyc is chock-full of people chasing the phantom of fame, so there's tons of opportunity to collect dough for headshots - at least for as long as DSLR's stay expensive.

soooo... here's the big question:
how would you blow $3825... what "kit" would you assemble, considering my interests and plans? among your other suggestions, i am particularly interested in which lens you'd recommend for low light portraits. i have no allegiance to nor any preference for any particular brands.

looking very forward to your responses.
~m

 

[dof]

There are a great many DSLR offerings to choose from, however even as the latest and greatest bodies come and go, lenses are the truly lasting investment. Do some research on them before making a decision.

Also given your interest in portraiture, I recommend that you put some of the grant to use in lighting equipment.

And perhaps most importantly, enjoy! This sounds like a great opportunity for you.

 

[antiquark]

One important thing to consider is form factor. Are you interested in a more compact system, or are you comfortable lugging around a big beast?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Sod kit. Invest in learning (if the grant allows).

Cheers,

R.

 

[SteveM_NJ]

I second the motion of "take classes with the grant" option,
the gear will come and go - the technical education and experience should provide long term return on investment many times over.

 

[meezy]

One important thing to consider is form factor. Are you interested in a more compact system, or are you comfortable lugging around a big beast?

well, without getting into great detail, i would say my tolerance for bulk is probably greater than most. comes from years of working with old soviet equpment. 😉 basically, i am willing to compromise bulk for performance/price.

 

[Frank Petronio]

Travel and do portraits. Get a used Nikon D300 for $900 and a $200 35/1.8 DX prime, a $100 18-55 DX zoom... a bunch of cards and batteries, a decent laptop maxed out w RAM and full version of Photoshop... a backup hard drive and go shoot your ass off. You should have enough change left over for a nice adventure or two. Try to leave enough cash around so that if your gear fails, you can run to Best Buy and get a $500 Nikon D5000 and a replacement laptop.

 

[meezy]

Sod kit. Invest in learning (if the grant allows).

Cheers,

R.

grant does not cover intellectual development... just "stuff".

 

[meezy]

I second the motion of "take classes with the grant" option,
the gear will come and go - the technical education and experience should provide long term return on investment many times over.

look - i agree with you - the classes are more important - but in the end, i don't have a digital camera - and i need to buy one for this course. that's what the money is for.

 

[Roger Hicks]

grant does not cover intellectual development... just "stuff".

Fair enough.

Cheers,

R.

 

[meezy]

Travel and do portraits. Get a used Nikon D300 for $900 and a $200 35/1.8 DX prime, a $100 18-55 DX zoom... a bunch of cards and batteries, a decent laptop maxed out w RAM and full version of Photoshop... a backup hard drive and go shoot your ass off. You should have enough change left over for a nice adventure or two. Try to leave enough cash around so that if your gear fails, you can run to Best Buy and get a $500 Nikon D5000 and a replacement laptop.

while your advice is sound, the way this grant works is that i buy a camera and lenses i want with my credit card, and the school refunds that amount. they won't be refunding things like laptops and photoshop... but your point is taken - and make no mistake - i'm not some fancypants gearhead. i'm a broke-a$$ teacher and have traveled whenever i could over the last 7 years lugging around zenits and minolta beercan lenses... although i've taken some trophy shots and have great respect for my relics, i think i've earned my upgrade!

 

[shadowfox]

Here, take a pick...

http://www.doobybrain.com/2009/09/17/pentax-k-x-digital-camera-to-come-in-colors-of-the-rainbow/


Hey, it's their money 😀

 

[meezy]

i'm not sure i could respect myself in the morning if i bought one of these.

 

[tbarker13]

Travel and do portraits. Get a used Nikon D300 for $900 and a $200 35/1.8 DX prime, a $100 18-55 DX zoom... a bunch of cards and batteries, a decent laptop maxed out w RAM and full version of Photoshop... a backup hard drive and go shoot your ass off. You should have enough change left over for a nice adventure or two. Try to leave enough cash around so that if your gear fails, you can run to Best Buy and get a $500 Nikon D5000 and a replacement laptop.

I'm with Frank on the used D300. Bought one a few months back for essentially the same reason (portraits and some documentary work). I love the camera. Personally, for a primary portrait lens, I'd go with the Nikon 85/1.4D. Of course, I'm simply suggesting the same course of action I took (like most of the advice you get on these forums).
Follow my flickr link and you can see a bunch of recent portraits I've shot with that lens.

 

[meezy]

thank you for your advice, tim. i'm not at all averse to getting something older or used - i don't HAVE to spend all of the grant - but how often will i get such an opportunity, you know? i'll do some research on the d300 and will consider it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

An older/lower spec body and seriously good new lenses? ZF lenses make my D70 look an awful lot better.

Cheers,

R.

 

[tbarker13]

Well, those two pieces alone would cost more than $2k of your money. By the time you add another lens or two, you'll eat up that grant awfully fast.
And a very strong argument for getting the best glass you can afford is that you'll be set (barring breakage) in that department. I'd much rather spend the bulk of the money on that part of my kit. And something like the D300 is still a very solid digital camera.

 

[wjlapier]

Though I'm a Nikon shooter when it comes to (d)slrs, I'd start with the Canon 85L and maybe the 5D or 1Ds. Plenty of pixels and the 85L is one awesome portrait lens. I wish Nikon had an EOS mount so I could use that lens--I hate Canon bodies.

 

[meezy]

...And a very strong argument for getting the best glass you can afford is that you'll be set (barring breakage) in that department. I'd much rather spend the bulk of the money on that part of my kit. And something like the D300 is still a very solid digital camera.

yes, tim - i'm with you on that - i'm definitely more interested in investing in quality lenses that will last rather than the latest, most expensive, and fashionable body. point definitely taken, man.

 

[tbarker13]

Though I'm a Nikon shooter when it comes to (d)slrs, I'd start with the Canon 85L and maybe the 5D or 1Ds. Plenty of pixels and the 85L is one awesome portrait lens. I wish Nikon had an EOS mount so I could use that lens--I hate Canon bodies.

Have to agree with you. If I didn't find the Nikon bodies to be so much friendlier (to the way my mind seems to work) I might have stuck with Canon. But the Nikon DSLRs just seem to be laid out better, from a control perspective.
I've always wondered about that Canon 85.