Took some images...

[Reckley]

Nice Job Scott! Still one of my favorite Camaros.

Mike

[tones2SS]

Great shots and great car. Very nice!!

[Rick D]

WOW Scott the car looks very sexy in the first shot! Question what do you recommend for a camera, I have the point and shoot and had a little better then that, but I have been looking at upgrading to a DSLR but there are sooooo many not sure were to start? Your Camaro is still one of my all time favorites!!

[XcYZ]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Originally Posted by badrs69

WOW Scott the car looks very sexy in the first shot! Question what do you recommend for a camera, I have the point and shoot and had a little better then that, but I have been looking at upgrading to a DSLR but there are sooooo many not sure were to start? Your Camaro is still one of my all time favorites!!

You have a ton of options. I would stick to either Nikon or Canon as there's tons of equipment out there and finding deals on used lenses is pretty easy (I have several lenses in my kit that I bought used). Personally, I prefer Nikon and that's what I know. For getting into a DSLR, you're looking at something along the lines of a D3200, D51000, or a D7000. Up until this winter, I had been shooting the D7000 and have taken just a ton of images with it (over 45,000) and it's been great. I've taken images with it that have been published in magazines and in newspapers, so image quality isn't an issue. At this point, it's pretty much Nikon's top of the line crop sensor/consumer body. The D5100 has the same sensor, but a many of the features have been crippled so Nikon has multiple tiers of camera bodies at differing price points and options and external controls.

The lenses are going to, by far, determine the image quality. The kit lens will be good to start with, but you'll soon be wanting to add to your collection of lenses to do what you want. Lenses are tools, just the tools in our toolboxes, there's a specific one for a specific task. There's really no all in one lens, but that's really the fun of it - learning what you like to shoot, and figuring out how to accomplish it the best way.

In my opinion, you want a camera that you will grow into and not out of. Hope this helps.

[XcYZ]

Originally Posted by Tony_SS

Great looking shots!

It sounds like you have some expensive camera equipment to produce something like that...

Actually, it's the opposite. You don't need much of an investment to produce this shot. I used a tripod, but a 5 gallon bucket upside down would be the perfect height. I used a $13 wireless remote, but you can just get a friend to hit the shutter release for you instead. I used a 3rd party wide angle lens for the shot, but only because I couldn't get far enough back inside my 2 car garage - with enough distance between you and the subject, you could use the kit lens. My light source was a 40 watt light bulb with an extension cord dragging behind me. Stick the light bulb in a long, narrow box and open a the long side that's facing the car, and cover the opening with a white sheet to diffuse the light. Set the camera to Manual, stop the lens down to f/14 (don't forget to pre-focus then turn off AF so it doesn't hunt when all the lights are off in the garage), use a 20" shutter speed, then dial in the exposure with the ISO. I started at ISO100 and ended up at ISO200. That will all very on how fast you walk, how difused the light is, how close the light source is to the car, etc. You can't have ANY light leaks in your box, and you can't have ANY light coming into your garage.

So you don't need a whole lot to reproduce this shot. The most important part is having a camera that you can use in Manual so you can control the ISO and aperture.





I do agree that shooting some cars require a significant investment. Here's a shot I took last month that a kit lens and consumer body just wouldn't be able to do:

[tmadden]

Great Job Scott. I love my D7000 also but robbed the store and ordered a D800. I can't wait for the full frame love. I did buy a couple of external hard drives also. I admit I'm going to steal the slow exposure shot from you. There is a question whether I'll give you full credit though!! LMAO

[itsals1]

Originally Posted by Autokraft

Wow that paint really shines! Who painted that??

Earl Shive?

Travis

[XcYZ]

Originally Posted by tmadden

Great Job Scott. I love my D7000 also but robbed the store and ordered a D800. I can't wait for the full frame love. I did buy a couple of external hard drives also. I admit I'm going to steal the slow exposure shot from you. There is a question whether I'll give you full credit though!! LMAO

The D800 looks fabulous, but I LOVE my D3s.

[tmadden]

The D4 is very interesting. Very

[XcYZ]

Originally Posted by tmadden

The D4 is very interesting. Very

I agree totally. But I just can't justify the upgrade cost right now. Maybe next winter there will be some deals to be found on used ones. As it is now, I'd rather invest the cost to upgrade to a D4 on a lens.