My wife is starting to really enjoy the hobby of taking pictures. Our most recent major vacation I think she took over 1000 photos. :eek: The digital camera she’s using is kind of old and sucky so I would like to get her a new one that can do some of the things our current camera can’t. Like the following:
Has a great zoom that’s not too shaky
Takes great night photos
Takes great action shots as well as stills
Neither of us know anything about the art of taking photographs, so a point and click kind of camera would probably be ideal. However, she’s pretty interested in learning how to set things like aperture, shutter speed, etc. manually in order to take better photos, so if there’s a camera out there that’s good to learn stuff like that on, that might be good too.
I guess a budget would be < $1,000 - any suggestions?
Canon and Nikon offer decent starter packages including two lenses, usually a 18-55 and 70-200 image stabilized and will allow the user to manipulate F stop and aperture settings.
You can go full DSLR (Digital Single Lense Reflex) which has tons of options - but the downside is that they tend to be heavy, and people find themselves not taking their cameras along because of that. As an option between the heavier DSLRs and the basic point-and-shoots, have a look at Canons PowerShot series.
Budget-wise, I think $1,000 is far more than you’ll need - maybe start with half that at the most, around $400 you can get a pretty decent camera that can take things well beyond blindly clicking away at things that are pretty.
Get a lawn chair, place your elbows on the arms of the chair; or your thighs, just above the knee. Then, find a good “Spot Weld” for the camera to your face. Take the camera and chair to a roadside. Practice shooting passing cars; shoot at 500/sec. and up. Try to drop the shutter precisely when a car’s bumper is lined up with, say, a sign or a power pole. Practice, practice; I earned my living doing this for two decades.
There won’t be “Professional Photographers” in about five years.
Nah. There’s way more to photography than actually getting a sharp and well-exposed photo. That’s the easy part, by far. Or do you mean something else?
A DSLR is a bit much for a beginning photographer. There are very good compact cameras that are relatively cheap and easy to use, yet still give very good results.
The Canon EOS Rebel series of cameras are great for serious amateurs. Depending on how up to date she wants to be, she can get a good camera and lens for anywhere from $400 to $800.
But I agree that she might want to start with a good Point-and-shoot camera. I like the Nikon Coolpix line, but the Canon Digital Elph cameras are also excellent. She can get started in this area for around $150.
Ideally, she should get a DSLR for serious shooting, and a P&S for ALWAYS having on hand. That would be the best of both worlds.
PS - of course, you don’t want to just get the hardware. You also want to LEARN. I like Scott Kelby’s series of books on digital photography; great for beginners and chock full of practical advice.
I think the key to improving pictures so that they start to approach professional quality is to get one with changeable lenses, and the Canon Rebel, as Tim R. Mortiss suggests, is the best entry level for that. Adjusting depth of field, ISO, and shutter speed is the way to go, and most point and shoots are very limited in respect to those.
I am not a photographer, but I have had many friends who are, both pro and hobbyists, so my info is second-hand and likely off by a few degrees.
Another recommendation for the Canon Rebel series. The best part is, the Rebels use most of the same lenses and accessories as some of the higher-end “Prosumer” cameras. You only start to have an issue using the lenses from the Rebel if you move up into the full-up professional cameras like the Canon 1D due to those cameras using bigger sensors (but those cameras also cost more than many used cars, so this is unlikely to ever become a problem for most folks).
Long story short (too late), any lens made for the EOS series cameras (which have been out in one form or another since the 90’s) will work with the Canon Rebels, and the lenses are far more important in picture taking than the camera is.
Nikon has it’s own entry-level DSLR, which I’m sure is quite good, I just have no idea what that camera is as I’ve never shot Nikon beyond playing with my friends’ cameras.
If you are concerned about the size of the camera, I would recommend the Olympus Pen cameras. Much smaller than the Rebels, and they can also be used with interchangeable lenses (put on a long zoom lens for sporting events and such, switch it out for a shorter, smaller lens for parties and general sightseeing, etc.) The latest model, the E-PL5, runs for about $500 with a close-to-mid-range lens, and a longer lens for better zoom will run another couple of hundred bucks. Only downsides with those are the lack of optical viewfinders (you can use the screen for a viewfinder, or get an add-on digital viewfinder), though it’s worth pointing out that the optical viewfinder is a pretty substantial reason for cameras like the Rebel being bigger than the Olympus Pens to begin with.
I’d go with a canon DSLR or their new EOS mirrorless.
The lens is more important than the body.
If you want to do a lot of low light stuff, a fast lens is essential and in a zoom that gets expensive. If low light stuff is a priority then consider primes (non-zoom). Cheaper for fast (low light) lenses. The kit lenses usually are worthless, IMHO.
Better still, go for a cheaper hobby. Like Heroin.
I’d shy away from the EOS Mirrorless cameras because they appear to only be compatible with two lenses. There will probably be a better selection for that camera in a few years, but then again, it might go the way of Canon’s APS SLR, the Canon EOS IX.
For a serious hobbyist, a DSLR is the way to go, since you have much more flexibility as far as lenses. However, for starting out (and not knowing if the hobby will be seriously persued), I’d recommend the Canon S series camera. I have an S95 as a sidekick to my DSLR and actually now use it more than the larger, heavier camera. It can be used full auto or you can shoot manually and it has video capability. Also low-light settings without flash. It actually has more features than my DSLR.
I have a Canon Rebel series camera. I’ve owned it for over five years now and it’s still a great camera. the kit lenses aren’t as good as ones purchased separately, but when you’re just learning that’s not something you need to worry about. Worry about replacing equipment when you outgrow it. Someone who’s never owned a DSLR will be fine with kit lenses for awhile.
The “too big to take with me” problem is helped by a sling or holster style bag as a back up. it fits the camera and one lens (attached) so it’s easy to carry around and not that heavy.
If you do go the SLR route, keep in mind that she’s going to need a photo editing program. SLRs are designed with serious photographers in mind and expect you to edit after taking pictures. Adobe has a good series of editing programs. You can start with something inexpensive like Photoshop Elements. Lightroom is also a great program but much more expensive, so may not be the best choice for someone just starting out.
If you go with a DSLR, make sure you grab a 50mm prime lens if you’re really interested in night shots. Those have very large apertures, making them fantastic for night shots, and they’re dirt cheap, some of the cheapest and sharpest lenses ever made.
For the OP: I strongly recommend that whoever is the photo geek take a class in digital photography and learn how to shoot in manual mode. Also take a class for Photoshop Elements to learn after-shoot processing. The difference in your results will be miles better than just shooting on auto.
Oh, I didn’t realize those lenses were in 50mm. I was talking about the f/1.8 50mm “nifty fifty”, which runs about a hundred bucks in both Canon and Nikon. That should be in everyone’s bag unless they’ve really got money to spend on it. Light, rugged, super-sharp, and fast.
I knew I could count on the Dopers…