I love taking photos. I’d like to take photography up as a hobby. What’s a good camera for a beginner?
Michi
You almost definitely want an SLR (single-lens-reflex) camera. A nice low-end Canon EOS model would be a good choice (non-partisan choice, I have a Nikon, but Canons tend to cost less for the initial camera kit and additional lenses and such). A basic kit will contain a body and a multi-purpose middle-of-the-road zoom lens. It should allow you to take things with all settings determined by the clever little built-in electronics, or to override the settings so you can experiment – “what happens if I use a larger aperture?” “what if I use shoot this at a shutter speed of 1/60 instead of 1/250?”. If at all possible, go to a specialty camera shop (NOT the one in the mall!!). It might cost a couple dollars more, but you are more likely to get a salesperson who has a passion for photography. (It should go without saying that you shouldn’t use the camera store person for her knowledge, but then go and buy the camera at MegaHugeCoMart.) Check out the local community college or adult education offerings for basic photography classes. After a little while you might want to take a class on developing your own black and white film; you’ll learn a LOT.
Above all, have fun.
Good advice there LMacG!
Glad to hear that you want to become a shutterbug Cyn. The above advice is excellent, especially about having a manual over ride for all of the automatic functions.
I personally prefer Nikon cameras, but then again, I collect the old “built like a tank” metal body Nikkormats and Nikon F1’s. The one nice thing about Nikons is that any lens they have ever built will fit on my cameras. I can go out and buy a brand new Nikon body and all of my old lenses will fit onto it just fine. The quality of the older Nikon optics is pretty unrivaled too.
Back to the OP. However easy it is to operate a modern camera in the PhD mode (Push Here Dummy), please learn to perform manual compensations for background/foreground lighting and depth of field. Gaining a solid grasp of the fundamentals of photography will allow you to get so much more out of your camera. You need to understand the basics about film speed, aperture and lighting. Be sure to do a couple of shoots using black and white film as well. I recommend shooting an old steam locomotive as a good study. Black and white teaches you about composition much more quickly.
Go with standard 35mm format and beware the cheapo telezoom that they will try to sell you in a package. You would rather start with a good 50mm f1.4-2.0 range simple lens. Gradually accumulate other lenses as you build your skills. If you can afford a high quality telezoom to begin with, go ahead and get one. Look for a telezoom that has one aperture for all of the f-stops and a ~35-100mm range. Many modern telezooms force you to choke down the light gathering capabilities of the lens as you get out to the longer ranges.
Some do’s and don’ts:
[li]Avoid all-plastic construction camera bodies[/li][sup]LEAVE IT IN THE SUN A FEW TIMES TO FIND OUT WHAT I MEAN[/sup]
[li]Avoid telezoom lenses with miniscule aperture sizes[/li][sup]YOU NEED SOME REAL GLASS TO GET ANY LIGHT TO THE FILM[/sup]
[li]Invest in a few good lenses besides a 50mm[/li][sup]A WIDE ANGLE AND ONE GOOD TELEZOOM WITH MACRO[/sup]
[li]Buy “sky” filters for all of your lenses[/li][sup]A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PROTECT YOUR EXPENSIVE OPTICS[/sup]
[li]Use one film brand to learn how your camera works[/li][sup]DON’T BOUNCE BETWEEN BRANDS, I RECOMMEND KODAK[/sup]
[li]Burn film on important events, they won’t happen again[/li][sup]EXPECT ONE “KEEPER” PER ROLL, FILM IS CHEAP, TIME ISN’T[/sup]
[li]For portrait shots use transparency (slide) film[/li][sup]NOTHING RIVALS THE QUALITY OF SLIDE FILM IMAGES[/sup]
[li]Use “slide under, print over” as your exposure guide[/li][sup]UNDEREXPOSE SLIDE FILM AND OVEREXPOSE PRINT FILM[/sup]
These various tips will get you going. Look into the Vivitar Series 1 lenses. They are one of the few that rival Nikon for clarity. Another good place to shop is your local camera swap meet. It is where I have bought nearly all of my vintage equipment, saving many hundreds of dollars. The swap meet camera “rats” are very well versed and dedicated to their hobby.
All SLR’s are heavy.
If you want to take travel pictures, this is not a good choice.
Thanks for the tips so far. Right now money is tight. I just want to start with something basic but adaptable for later on when I have more money to spend. And I will certainly check out the college for a photography class. That was actually something I hadn’t thought of before. Weight of the camera isn’t something I’m particularly concerned over. At work we sometimes have to take pictures of the animals (like if we have an interesting tumor, or if we have to take pictures of an abused animal for evidence for Animal Services). We use a Minolta Maxxum, and it takes good pictures, but I wanted to see what the photographers of the board thought. If I decide to take a class, should I wait to buy a camera, in case the teacher wants us to use a specific kind? Or does that not matter?
Consider buying a used Nikon of some decent quality. All you’ll need to do your animal shots is a 50mm lens. This is the most basic combo. As you acquire more lenses for your own photography pleasure, you can upgrade the camera body to do your lenses some justice.
TTL (through the lens) Metering is the one big thing you need to worry about. A built in flash is the other thing that you will want in your beginner’s camera body. Hopefully, the flash will have different level settings for close-up work. All of the fancy schmancy stuff can be found when you upgrade you camera body. Focus (as it were) on getting high quality lenses. Then worry about all the bells and whistles later.
[minor hijack]
After reading blastfurnace’s thread about his kitty, I’ve had to wonder about my cat. He routinely has dark nasal mucous secretions and there is a mildly dark lachrymous discharge from his eyes sometimes. He is in excellent health. The one time that he was forced to urinate in the house, he thankfully chose to do so in the bath tub. In his urine were numerous black flecks.
Are these the dreaded urinary “crystals” that I should be so concerned about? Again, my three year old male cat exhibits very robust health and no other symptoms of distress, although he is a brawler (despite being neutered). You help is muchly appreciated.
[/minor hijack]
Feel free to email me with a description of any of the camera packages that you are considering buying. I will be glad to help.
I’m not much of a photographer but I do enjoy it as a hobby, and have tried many cameras so maybe I can help. I take it you want a camera to learn about photography? For me, I didn’t learn anything till I got a fully manual camera, the Nikon FM2. It has a built-in meter but no auto-exposure and no auto focus, so you get to (have to) make all the decisions. Also, zoom lenses make you lazy; I think it’s better to take the time to walk up to or away from the subject and choose the best composition, instead of standing still and fiddling with the knob. My favourite setup is the Nikon FM2 with a 50mm F/1.8 lens, which is probably the cheapest lens in the lineup. Of course, most SLR cameras can be operated in manual mode, but it’s often very clumsy to do so (pushing multiple buttons to change exposure instead of simply turning a dial, etc.) Manual-only cameras are much easier to use in manual mode.
I’d definitely recommend getting used equipment, as Zenster said. I like Nikon because they are very popular (i.e. easy to find used lenses) and their manual focus lenses are compatible with their autofocus cameras and vice versa. Pentax, Minolta and Canon (both the manual focus and the autofocus EOS series) are all decent. The older Pentax ME and Spotmatic cameras look like they are great for beginners, but I’ve never used them myself so can’t say much more about that.
I also think digital cameras are great. I know they are the complete opposite of what I just recommended, but they have one huge advantage: zero per-image cost. Once you get the camera and rechargeable batteries, you can take all the photos you want without worrying about cost of film and development. I think ultimately it will make you a better photographer.
Keep in mind that what ever camera body that you buy…that’s the lens system you’re buying into. You can’t put a Nikon lens on a Canon body.
At the end of the day, it’s the quality of the glass that makes all the difference. You can’t go wrong with either Canon or Nikon…Minolta has fallen behind them, and Pentax is a non-player.
The Canon Rebel is a great starter. As you get better, you can use any Canon lens on it.
Zen, I will let you know when I start shopping. I also sent you some e-mail regarding your cat.
I’m also thinking that digital might be the way to go. The initial cost is a bit higher (although if you are buying a 35mm SLR with lenses and flash, it’s not that much higher). You can get a mid-to-high end digital camera that allows all the various speed and aperture adjustments, back light compensation and so on. The advantages are:
- Zero cost to experiment. Don’t like the picture? Erase it. You don’t have to develop many 36 exposure rolls of film for this to make a big difference.
- Instant feedback. You get some feel for the quality of the picture using the feedback on the camera’s LCD panel, but you can also download the pictures onto your computer and evaluate them immediately while the picture taking circumstances are clear in your mind.
- Storage. With a CD burner, you can store a year’s worth of pictures for a buck or two. No more negatives and prints getting dusty in big boxes all over the house. If you want to send pictures to a friend, just email them or ship them a CD.
- Convenience of viewing. Most pictures get dumped in boxes and never seen again. With a computer, it’s much easier to organize and view them. Most people spend a lot of time in front of their computers. They spend very little time in the back of their closets with the boxes of old photographs.
The only real downsides to the digital photography is the lower resolution of the pictures (8 x 10 is about the best you can do for enlargements), and the higher cost of the cameras (including batteries, rechargers, cables, and printer). In my opinion the consumer grade digital cameras are not as rugged as a convention film camera either, but that’s just incompetent industrial design and not an inherent feature of the camera.