New camera: upgrading to a DSLR

Last orchid picture I take with my cellphone

     Up until now, I have been using my cellphone camera for all the pictures on this blog.  I do have a point-and-shoot digital camera, but it's 6 years old and my cellphone actually takes better quality photos.  Still, phone cameras have many limitations, and I have spent far too much time fighting with the autofocus to get any of the closeup pics on the blog.  And when the lighting is too dim, no photoshop wizardry can rescue a picture from the pixel noise.

     Yesterday, my Canon EOS T2i dslr camera arrived, and I spent a giddy 2 hours fooling around with it learning to take better pictures.  I have much to learn about photography, and my only fear is that I don't jump into financial ruin buying equipment, as I explore my new hobby.  (a macro lens, for example, seems to be a $250-$500 investment).  For now I'm sticking to the starter lens that this camera sells with. However, I quickly realized that I will need a mini tripod for my closeup shots, so that order will arrive in a few more days.

     The picture above compares my current orchid growth area with a picture from 2 months ago.  Some plants have moved around, although not too much has changed.  I moved the lower shelf down by a foot, however, to allow my oncidium spike more vertical growing room. I think that the new camera does a noticeably better job handling the contrast between the bright lights and the shadows above them.


     Below I added a couple photos showing updates of my plants' growth, as well as hopefully showcasing the potential for better photography once I learn to handle this camera the way it deserves to be used.

oncidium spike after 1 month of growth

spike closeup shows the lower nodes branching off (a tripod will help with getting a sharper shot of this one)

growing bud on dendrobium victoria- reginae (about 2 weeks old)

new growths developing on cymbidium