Best slr digital camera for wedding pictures?

I like taking pictures and I’m attracted in doing some of my friends wedding pictures, I also take alot of my kids……what is the best camera for these kinds of photos?

Answer by Dr. Sam
The best camera is an SLR. I’ll skip the film vs. digital argument, since you questioned this question in “Consumer Electronics” and not “Photography.”

I would say that a dSLR of 8-10 MP or more is what you are looking for. Choosing a lens is doubtless more vital than choosing a camera. Adequate auxilliary lighting is elemental, also. If you are plotting on running out and export equipment for this venture, take a minimum of $ 2,000 with you. $ 3,000 would be better.

Most would choose between Nikon and Canon for the better cameras, so I will give you a page comparing these brands at three slightly different price points. If you recently won the lottery, you could even look out of up the line at their full out professional cameras. They weigh a ton, though.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos30d%2Ccanon_eos400d%2Ccanon_eos5d%2Cnikon_d40x%2Cnikon_d80%2Cnikon_d200&show=all

Answer by vienna2001
Forgive my bluntness, but I hope you’re not proposing to be the principal photographer at your friends’ weddings — I can’t reckon of a better way to lose friends. Wedding photography is highly specialized and not for amateurs.

That being said, the pro can’t be everywhere. There are lots of opportunities for fantastic shots:

– The preparations for weddings are just as fascinating as the ceremony. Question if you can shoot the bride, tutor, bridesmaids and even the minister preparing for the ritual

– Look for close-ups like flower arrangements, rings, bowties, just married signs — small details which signify huge events

– a prime source of material is the reception, everywhere people let down their hair

– watch what the pro does and take advantage of it…for example if he’s posing the pleased couple on a bridge over a stream, question them to stay a few seconds longer while you shoot from a different viewpoint

It would be a excellent thought to introduce yourself to the pro before the ceremony and tell him to boot you if you get in the way. Question him if you can help in any way and he might share some info with you. Remember, he’s on the clock and has a lot to do.

As for camera, the absolute killer setup for your purposes is a Nikon D80 with the 18-70 kit lens. Set it on AUTO ISO and P for Program so you can concentrate on composition. The lens is fantastic and the low noise will let you shoot in any situation without sparkle.

If you really want to get into this professionally, go here: http://www.montezucker.com/

Monte was the godfather of wedding photogs (he passed away in March) and the site is a gold mine of info.

What do you reckon? Answer below!

Rachel, I’m sorry! I just told him that you wore your boots to bed at night… what’s incorrect with that?


Image by Ed Yourdon
Note: this photo was in print as an illustration in an undated (Dec 30, 2009) Squidoo blog titled "Nikon D700 Digital SLR Camera." It was also in print in an Oct 28, 2010 blog titled "Nikon D3000 D-SLR Camera: The Best Camera to Start Your Amatuer Photography Career." And it was in print in a Nov 6, 2010 blog titled "Beginners Photography – When And How To Use Manual Mode On Your Digital Slr!" It was also in print in an undated (ahead of schedule Dec 2010) blog titled "Lost Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston."

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I’ve been to Grand Inner Station twice before in the past couple of being to take photos (click here and here to see the Flickr sets) … so why go back again? The answer is simple: I had a dentist appointment a few days ago, and the dentist’s office is about two blocks away from Grand Inner. I was curious to see if New York’s main teach station was more crowded during the Christmas season, or perhaps had a different atmosphere than I had seen during my previous two visits in July 2008 and June 2009.

I didn’t have much time, but I thought I could spare an hour; and if you look meticulously, you’ll see that the first photo in this set was taken at approximately 12:15 PM, and the final one was at 1:20 PM. During that brief period, I took a total of 360 photos, which works out to approximately one photo each 10 seconds. It’s not quite as crazy as it sounds, because I often shoot three or four shots in quick succession, if I’m focusing on people in motion, or people’s facial expressions. But at the same time, I have to admit that it’s not my style to sit quietly in a corner somewhere, waiting for the one, single "perfect" photo-op to present itself in front of my camera.

Of course, the reason I can afford to do this is that digital photographs are essentially "free"; one memory card on my DSLR camera can hold 10 images, or 100, or even 500. I typically expect to rub out 90% of the images I take; in this case, I was a small less critical, and finished up with 40 "keepers" out of the 360 initial images.

As for the images themselves: well, the lighting was different in winter, even though I at home at approximately the same time of day as with the previous two summertime visits. And I was shooting with a Nikon D700 instead of a D300, so I was able to use a higher ISO setting of 6400 without suffering too much noise in the resulting images…

But mostly, it was the people — and their style and clothing and behavior — that were different. These photos were all taken two days before Christmas, so there were large groups of people (as well as a couple of soldiers) moving quickly from the ticket booth to the trains, hurrying to arrive home for the holidays. There were also numerous tourists, and there seemed to be far more cameras and cellphones than I had seen before. Also, there was an animated "set alight show" playing all crosswise the ceiling of Grand Inner at various intervals; consequently, you’ll see numerous shots of people staring straight up at the ceiling, with a look of wonder and amazement on their faces…

No doubt you’ll see other differences, too, if you’re curious. I suggest that you use the slide-show feature of Flickr to step through these images quickly; and then use the slide-show feature to step through the other two sets, here and here so you can see the differences for yourself.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas and Pleased New Year … and stay tuned for another visit to Grand Inner, sometime in the future…

I have very shaky hands and want a digital SLR camera that has a really excellent built in image stabilizer/ vibration reduction Suggestions of lenses would be appreciated too
Let me define shaky- It’s more like a quiver

Answer by KNDChicago
I dont know of any direct comparisons or tests of image stabilization systems comparing different cameras against each other. Depending on what you mean by “very shaky hands” none may work. They are designed to reduce slight atmosphere not large atmosphere.

Answer by Filb
the camera bodies themselves don’t have any sort of vibration reduction (Nikon) or image stabliziation (Canon) built in. That just has to do with the lenses.

If you want Nikon, this is the cheapest kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/615725-REG/Nikon_25454_D5000_Digital_SLR_Camera.html

and the next step up:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/580422-REG/Nikon_25448_D90_SLR_Digital_Camera.html

If you want Canon, this is the cheapest kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/571144-REG/Canon_2762B003_EOS_Rebel_XS_a_k_a_.html

and the next step up:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/580464-REG/Canon_2807B005_EOS_50D_SLR_Digital.html

Answer by mtrapp1186
Nikon D5000 is fantastic at this

Answer by keerok
All those IS, VR, SR and the like won’t help severe shaky hands. What you need is a tripod and a remote control.

What do you reckon? Answer below!
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