Newbie advice sough!

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Solarized

Original Poster:

436 posts

140 months

Monday 28th November 2016
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Good evening all,
Some absolutely incredible pics on here. Really inspiring stuff.
I'm considering buying some kit to get me started in photography.
Can anyone please advise me on what type of camera I should consider?
I'd possibly consider buying second hand gear to learn on then upgrade in due course.
Many thanks.

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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Welcome to the forum.

Nowadays you are spoilt for choice, Canon, Nikon and Sony make very good cameras indeed, and there are plenty of used models on offer from Wex and MPB as well as buying from the likes of eBay.

I presume you want to have a degree of control over the photographs you take, so a DSLR may be a good choice mainly because you can swop and change the lenses to match the occasion. I personally like Canon but Nikon and more recently Sony sell equally good kit.

You really need to have a good play with each of the brands to see which feels right for you, so perhaps a visit to PC World or John Lewis would be a good idea.

I was torn between the Canon 100D and the 700D and eventually chose the 700D because it was slightly better for the uses I wanted it for, but am now looking towards a full frame camera which costs substantially more money. Either of these cameras is a very good start for a newbie.

As for lenses, prime (known as fixed lenses) offer you the ability to have great fun for less expense than an equivalent zoom, set your camera to A (or Av) for aperture instead of the default green AUTO mode and invest in an inexpensive Canon 28mm f2.8 lens or indeed a faster 50mm f/1.8 lens for around £100 and you will be able to experiment to your hearts content with blurry backgrounds often regarded as bokeh. Just remember that the lower the f number the shorter the depth of field, so the greater potential for that gorgeous blurred out background, or set it to a higher f number if you want more in focus, albeit with a slower shutter speed.

Visit www.flickr.com for far more photo examples because this site is where most amateur and professional photographers upload their photos to for both storing and showcasing. You can also search for photos posted by user names and also camera groups such as Canon 5D3 to see examples of what images have been taken with particular cameras and also view the EXIF data to see the settings and camera/lens used for each photograph taken.

I'm a mere newbie in terms of photographic skills but I've learned a hell of a lot of stuff on this photographic sub-forum, and the level of help and assistance provided by many of the extremely talented individuals on here has been quite outstanding. Have you seen the macro thread which is quite amazing.

Photography is a very enjoyable and satisfying hobby, but if you get addicted it might well cost you more money than you originally intended...

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

253 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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Just get a relatively modern largeish sensor interchangable lens camera and kit lens.

apsc crp slr ( canon 500d, 1000d, nikon D3200), fuji mirrorless, sony axxxx etc.

So long as they have raw and manual control thats all you need to get going.

You might need more at some point later if/when you want to do more specialised shooting ( birds, sport, portrait, astro etc).

But the key thing is to get a camera that works ergonomically for you, that its easy to change settings, and you learn the basics of photography (exposure, focus, composition, light etc)

craig1912

3,273 posts

111 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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Consider M4/3 from Olympus or Panasonic too. I have an Olympus Em-10- as I decided it would get more use as much smaller than a DSLR and with a small prime lenses can fit in a coat pocket. The better camera is always the one you have with you!

singlecoil

33,313 posts

245 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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rich888 said:
Visit www.flickr.com for far more photo examples because this site is where most amateur and professional photographers upload their photos to for both storing and showcasing. You can also search for photos posted by user names and also camera groups such as Canon 5D3 to see examples of what images have been taken with particular cameras and also view the EXIF data to see the settings and camera/lens used for each photograph taken.
A good idea, especially about the EXIF (if it hasn't been removed as it often has) but the OP needs to be aware that most of the pictures posted will be reduced in size from their originals, and that makes if difficult/impossible to compare the ultimate quality of picture obtainable from different sorts of camera.

Solarized

Original Poster:

436 posts

140 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
quotequote all
Thank you kindly and apologies for the typo in my heading.rolleyes

I'm getting excited by all the possibilities! Can't wait to get started. Need to get browsing for deals.
As a kid I used to take night time pics on a friends Pracktika SLR! I loved the slow shutter shots with cars steaming past and I also enjoyed the black and white shots which I then developed in a dark room. Recently it was messing about and taking photos on my ancient mobile phone that has made me want to get more involved.

Some recent mobile phone pics...nowhere near the the quality of the amazing pics on here..really just trying out the phone settings.


Solarized

Original Poster:

436 posts

140 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
quotequote all







Solarized

Original Poster:

436 posts

140 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
quotequote all




8Ace

2,681 posts

197 months

Friday 2nd December 2016
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Hey OP.

Are you still considering second hand? I'm looking to sell my stuff as I never use it. Nikon D7000 like new with only c. 2k actuations, 18-105 kit lens, bag, UV filter, SD cards, lens cleaning kit etc etc.

Give me a shout if you're interested..

Solarized

Original Poster:

436 posts

140 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
8Ace said:
Hey OP.

Are you still considering second hand? I'm looking to sell my stuff as I never use it. Nikon D7000 like new with only c. 2k actuations, 18-105 kit lens, bag, UV filter, SD cards, lens cleaning kit etc etc.

Give me a shout if you're interested..
Hi,
PM sent.
Thanks