The Waterwheel of Azulair

[Gideon]

What should the f-aperture usually be? I don't really mess with that and am generally careful not to let the ISO get high. I rarely use a tri-pod because it never seems to help (certainly for small builds it seems pointless).

I was thinking about a DSLR, something in the $500 USD range.

I think it depends on the focal range you're using, but I try to stay above 10-11 at least for my overview shots (usually shooting those with a focal length in the 70-100 mm range) to try to get both the front and the back reasonably in focus. To keep the ISO low enough a tripod is exactly what helps, since the bricks don't move you can go for a high f-number (small aperture and therefore less light collected) and compensate by collecting light for several seconds instead

In that range I would recommend considering a mirrorless camera, especially micro four-thirds (Olympus/Panasonic) seems to give a lot of bang for the buck these days. Although for fast moving targets I think DSLRs still have an advantage because of better autofocus systems.

[Kai NRG]

I think it depends on the focal range you're using, but I try to stay above 10-11 at least for my overview shots (usually shooting those with a focal length in the 70-100 mm range) to try to get both the front and the back reasonably in focus. To keep the ISO low enough a tripod is exactly what helps, since the bricks don't move you can go for a high f-number (small aperture and therefore less light collected) and compensate by collecting light for several seconds instead

In that range I would recommend considering a mirrorless camera, especially micro four-thirds (Olympus/Panasonic) seems to give a lot of bang for the buck these days. Although for fast moving targets I think DSLRs still have an advantage because of better autofocus systems.

Thanks! I think my f-number generally stays around 4. I'll have to pay more attention to that! I'll keep in mind the rest of your tips, thanks again!