Beginners cameras...
So, you've decided to take up photography, but you're overwhelmed by the various photography terms and equipment out there. Well, the first thing to ask is how seriously are you going to take this... the second is, how much do you want to spend. To be perfectly honest, a good photographer can take a good shot with anything from a top of the range digital SLR (DSLR) to a mobile phone camera. Some of my best shots were taken on my Sony Ericsson K800i mobile phone! If you're just starting out, a simple point and shoot can be fine whilst you practice framing a shot, looking for inspiration, and learning how to post process photos in photoshop (or what I use as it's free, GIMP). So here's the low down on what I think regarding starting out with photography and cameras...
Point and shoots
These are simple little compact cameras. Usually with a 3x optical zoom (ignore the digital zoom function as to me, this means nothing... it effectively 'zooms' into the shot on the camera digitally, cropping the image and resulting in a more and more fuzzy, pixellated shot. You can do the same thing on your PC after you take the photo.
Personally the functions I'd look for are a point and shoot with a manual setting, so you can change the ISO (sensitivity to light, meaning if you're in a dark place and not using a flash, the camera picks up more light to take a clearer better exposed photo), the shutter speed and the aperature.
I have a Samsung L301. Does the job... flash is a bit harsh but you can't have everything in a point and shoot.
Bridge cameras
Bridge cameras provide more control than a simple point and shoot camera, but without the changable lenses of a DSLR. They're also a lot cheaper. They also give you a much better zoom function than the measley 3x optical zoom a point and shoot comes with. A good bridge camera can have anywhere between 12 - 20x optical zoom. Particularly useful for nature photography (although make sure it has optical stabilization, or you'll find every slight hand movement will be magnified when you're zoomed right in, making taking photos very dificult!).
A bridge camera will allow you to manually set white balance (the colour of your photos varies depending on the light... day light (more blue) and indoor lighting (more yellow) and the white balance settings can counter act this to give you a more neutral toned photo), the ISO, shutter, aperature and so on. These cameras are also usually smaller than the average DSLR, so perhaps better for travelling as you have less to carry. They can make a good all rounder camera.
I did have a Panasonic FZ5
, which is certainly out of date now and probably superceded by something like the Panasonic FZ38
.
Digital SLRs (DSLR)
These cameras are the full on, interchangable lens cameras which professionals use. Even in this category, there are sub categories for more entry level cameras with a more limited amount of settings through to professional cameras that cost thousands of pounds. Anything you want to do, you can do on an SLR. You can manually set the speed and power of the flash, how long the shutter stays open (even infinitely, which is perfect for taking photos of the stars), the aperature, ISO, white balance and so on. There are hundreds of different lenses which you can attach, each with it's own purpose, from wide angle lenses allowing you to fit in a lot of the landscape into one shot, to macro lenses which enable you to photograph a fly's multi-faceted eyes. The only drawback, is that you could end up spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on equipment, and have a LOT to carry around!
I started off with a Nikon D40x
, which is classed as an entry level DSLR. It's smaller than the others, lighter to carry, but has a more limited range of lenses to fit it and not as many features as a more advanced DLSR. It was perfect for me to learn how to use a DSLR to begin with and I then progressed onto a Nikon D5000
.
One thing to consider, is that once you buy a brand, you have to stick to it. Canon lenses will ONLY fit on Canon cameras. Nikon lenses will ONLY fit on Nikon cameras. Once you decide on a make, you can only buy lenses from that brand. The main brands are Nikon and Canon, followed by probably Sony (Minolta), Panasonic and maybe Pentax.
EDIT: I forgot to say, don't get caught up by megapixel facination... a 6 mega pixel camera will produce sharp photos perfectly well. Unless you plan on printing your shots over A3 size, having loads of megapixels on your camera will only mean using up all your memory space on your PC and hard drives. A Nikon D40
DSLR is only 6 megapixels, but is perfect for learning photography if you're not going to be printing poster size prints, and is a bargain at around £250 with 18-55mm kit lens compared to a 10 megapixel D40x which retails around £100 more.
The controversial Ken Rockwell has some good reviews and advice on picking what DLSR's to buy, what to consider (and not consider) and lenses.
Point and shoots
These are simple little compact cameras. Usually with a 3x optical zoom (ignore the digital zoom function as to me, this means nothing... it effectively 'zooms' into the shot on the camera digitally, cropping the image and resulting in a more and more fuzzy, pixellated shot. You can do the same thing on your PC after you take the photo.
Personally the functions I'd look for are a point and shoot with a manual setting, so you can change the ISO (sensitivity to light, meaning if you're in a dark place and not using a flash, the camera picks up more light to take a clearer better exposed photo), the shutter speed and the aperature.
I have a Samsung L301. Does the job... flash is a bit harsh but you can't have everything in a point and shoot.
Bridge cameras
Bridge cameras provide more control than a simple point and shoot camera, but without the changable lenses of a DSLR. They're also a lot cheaper. They also give you a much better zoom function than the measley 3x optical zoom a point and shoot comes with. A good bridge camera can have anywhere between 12 - 20x optical zoom. Particularly useful for nature photography (although make sure it has optical stabilization, or you'll find every slight hand movement will be magnified when you're zoomed right in, making taking photos very dificult!).
A bridge camera will allow you to manually set white balance (the colour of your photos varies depending on the light... day light (more blue) and indoor lighting (more yellow) and the white balance settings can counter act this to give you a more neutral toned photo), the ISO, shutter, aperature and so on. These cameras are also usually smaller than the average DSLR, so perhaps better for travelling as you have less to carry. They can make a good all rounder camera.
I did have a Panasonic FZ5
, which is certainly out of date now and probably superceded by something like the Panasonic FZ38. Digital SLRs (DSLR)
These cameras are the full on, interchangable lens cameras which professionals use. Even in this category, there are sub categories for more entry level cameras with a more limited amount of settings through to professional cameras that cost thousands of pounds. Anything you want to do, you can do on an SLR. You can manually set the speed and power of the flash, how long the shutter stays open (even infinitely, which is perfect for taking photos of the stars), the aperature, ISO, white balance and so on. There are hundreds of different lenses which you can attach, each with it's own purpose, from wide angle lenses allowing you to fit in a lot of the landscape into one shot, to macro lenses which enable you to photograph a fly's multi-faceted eyes. The only drawback, is that you could end up spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on equipment, and have a LOT to carry around!
I started off with a Nikon D40x
, which is classed as an entry level DSLR. It's smaller than the others, lighter to carry, but has a more limited range of lenses to fit it and not as many features as a more advanced DLSR. It was perfect for me to learn how to use a DSLR to begin with and I then progressed onto a Nikon D5000.One thing to consider, is that once you buy a brand, you have to stick to it. Canon lenses will ONLY fit on Canon cameras. Nikon lenses will ONLY fit on Nikon cameras. Once you decide on a make, you can only buy lenses from that brand. The main brands are Nikon and Canon, followed by probably Sony (Minolta), Panasonic and maybe Pentax.
EDIT: I forgot to say, don't get caught up by megapixel facination... a 6 mega pixel camera will produce sharp photos perfectly well. Unless you plan on printing your shots over A3 size, having loads of megapixels on your camera will only mean using up all your memory space on your PC and hard drives. A Nikon D40
DSLR is only 6 megapixels, but is perfect for learning photography if you're not going to be printing poster size prints, and is a bargain at around £250 with 18-55mm kit lens compared to a 10 megapixel D40x which retails around £100 more.The controversial Ken Rockwell has some good reviews and advice on picking what DLSR's to buy, what to consider (and not consider) and lenses.
Comments
Thanks for making the effort, I'll let you know which one I choose :)
Leo