Great photos, truly artistic. Any camera/lens recommendations for an amateur that just wants some nice prints to hang on the wall?
Thank you kindly :-)
Generally speaking, the camera/lens combination has very little to do with image print quality. For most purposes, excepting of course for those who really know how to take advantage of particular aspects of a camera, they're all the same these days. Let's just say that 99% of people wouldn't be able to discern the true differences between the high and low end cameras. Of course, your lens choice (wide or tele) has a lot to do with composition. But unless you're extraordinarily picky about barrel distortion, most any lens will do as good as another comparable lens. I prefer Nikon of course -- but there's a price for quality.
As for making nice prints, your camera choice likely plays substantially less than 5% of the role in determining the print quality. Here's a rough breakdown of what it takes to make nice prints, imho, and assuming you like the photo to be printed:
40% Paper
30% Processing
15% Printer
10% Ink
5% Camera Equipment, Other
If prints are your final objective, you're much better off spending your wad on a great printer and top notch paper. Spend your leftover change on the camera and lenses. Seriously, if your overall budget is $2,000, go ahead and put $1,850 into the printer and paper, and buy a used camera on craigslist or ebay for $150.
The Epson Stylus Pro 3800 for $1,150, a replacement set of ink cartridges for $400, plus some Hahnemuhle Photo Rag @ 1.50/sq ft will generate prints to die for that will last 100-200 years if properly cared for. You can probably save a ton by purchasing the older model 4800 which is a magnificent piece of machinery. Adobe Photoshop is a must as well. I guarantee 1,000% better results than if you had put all that money into your camera and lenses. Yes, even Nikon cameras and lenses.