Photography - Cameras, Where To Start?

swordtrombonefish

swordtrombonefish

Well-known member
I know there's been some posts about the subject in the past, but as of now for someone looking to start as a hobby as I wind down work and hopefully retire next year, what would people recommend as a good beginners camera that I can start to learn the fundamentals on and build from there. I'd think most of my interests would be the sea, countryside/landscapes & the dogs, buildings and possibly street views of events etc.

Thanks in advance.
 
Canon AES, mine’s a old 400D, covers all of the bases. No idea of the cost, but I guess not far from your budget, a proper SLR. If you love it you may decide in the future to fork out more for fancy lenses, but as it comes with a 50mm (18-55mm) lense you can do just fine.
 
Mpb.com is a very good place to purchase second hand gear from.

The Nikon D610 (full frame) can be purchased from £379. Combine that with a Nikon 50mm 1.8g for £99 and that’s an extremely good set up.

Being able to shoot wide open and play with and understand apertures will improve your photography hugely.
 
Money on lenses gives better results than expensive cameras but expensive cameras do also help especially with low light performance

A 50mm f1.8 lens is a beautiful, cheap thing that produces amazingly sharp pictures. You'll wish all lenses were like that

Learn to shoot manually asap. Auto modes do a job but having fine control and being able to tweak in raw is better. Will be loads beginner guides on YouTube and seeing it visually is better. I started off canon but went Nikon later
 
Try the institute of photograpys course , it helps you understand cameras and will aid your choice, start with a 2nd hand basic manual before investing £500 on something your not sure of.
 
I got a 600D off ebay a few years ago with 2 lens and it has done a great job so far. Fairly low usage. I've not really tested the limits due to time but pleased with everything it has produced.

I'd get a rough idea of what you're looking for and explore the second hand market as there are loads of people who invest heavy and realise they dont have the time and sell stuff on with quite low usage.
 
One thing I will say is I used to take my camera everywhere with me to capture everything. Nights out, events, gigs etc. this lead me from capturing a few nights out, to becoming a club night photographer , doing weddings for a few years, covering loads of local festivals and gigs (was doing music live, Stockton festival, tall ships and most big local tours) as well as the comedy circuit.

Even used to take it on holiday with me. Was a bit of a pain carrying all that gear!

Since I gave up photography as a business I now just use my phone and I would say about 80% of my photos i took are as good or better, which is something I never thought I'd say but modern phones have come a long way. If you want to learn the basics of photography modern phones even have wide angle, macro & dedicated zoom lenses and you can use manual controls. It won't be as good as having a full SLR and a 70-200 IS f2.8, or a 50mm f1.2 or a 14mm f2 etc but if you already have a fairly decent and modern phone then you can probably learn the basics of photography and composition whilst using something you probably already have, and you can take it many places you can't take a full sized camera too. It won't be as good for long exposures, low light work, proper high quality blurred backgrounds, long focal lengths, proper flash photography and true image clarity etc but you can capture most things and edit the same way either in - phone or via editing software
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
One thing I will say is I used to take my camera everywhere with me to capture everything. Nights out, events, gigs etc. this lead me from capturing a few nights out, to becoming a club night photographer , doing weddings for a few years, covering loads of local festivals and gigs (was doing music live, Stockton festival, tall ships and most big local tours) as well as the comedy circuit.

Even used to take it on holiday with me. Was a bit of a pain carrying all that gear!

Since I gave up photography as a business I now just use my phone and I would say about 80% of my photos i took are as good or better, which is something I never thought I'd say but modern phones have come a long way. If you want to learn the basics of photography modern phones even have wide angle, macro & dedicated zoom lenses and you can use manual controls. It won't be as good as having a full SLR and a 70-200 IS f2.8, or a 50mm f1.2 or a 14mm f2 etc but if you already have a fairly decent and modern phone then you can probably learn the basics of photography and composition whilst using something you probably already have, and you can take it many places you can't take a full sized camera too. It won't be as good for long exposures, low light work, proper high quality blurred backgrounds, long focal lengths, proper flash photography and true image clarity etc but you can capture most things and edit the same way either in - phone or via editing software
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80% are just as good on your phone?? Fair enough, the best camera you have is the one you have with you. Did you shoot a lot at f8?

My images are night and day between my camera and phone.
 
nowthen said:
80% are just as good on your phone?? Fair enough, the best camera you have is the one you have with you. Did you shoot a lot at f8?

My images are night and day between my camera and phone.
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Like I said it is no 50L 1.2 or 70-200 f2.8 IS or 14mm F2, but unless I am wanting to print photos out for billboards the pictures I am taking with my phone are more than fine. If I was at a gig and wanting to shoot at high iso and wide open then I'd struggle on a phone but that probably fits into the 20%, likewise long telephoto shots or hooking up a flash.

However a modern phone can produce amazing photos, hence why Apple, Samsung, google etc get pros to use them for their sample images.

I wouldn't shoot a wedding in one, although it has been done, but you can learn literally everything about composition, framing, image editing etc without investing in an SLR. OP has suggested building photos, street scenes etc so all easily doable learning theory on a phone.

www.pocket-lint.com

Best Apple iPhone photos ever taken: Breathtaking images snapped on just a smartphone

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30 Photos Snapped With A Smartphone That Won The Annual Mobile Photography Awards

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If the OP wants to learn photography fundamentals, which in my opinion includes the exposure triangle then I believe that’s a lot easier on a camera with physical dials than graphics on a phone.

Also, if the op wants to take photos of his dogs, I’d personally opt for the shallower depth of field that a full frame camera and a 1.8 lens would give over a phone.

Taking your camera out maybe more of a faff, but I can’t believe if you had both with you, you’d be 80% happier with the phones images over the cameras.
 
swordtrombonefish said:
the sea, countryside/landscapes & the dogs, buildings and possibly street views of events etc.
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I would think that an SLR would be too much hassle for what you list as your interests. I would suggest something less obtrusive, particularly for "street" and "event" photography. I would look at the second hand market something like the Sony RX100 iii it will be a few years old but you can pick one up for less that £300. Brilliant camera with a 24-70mm f1.8-2.8 lens it has a large censor so you get lovely images and it will shoot in low light very well. It will also hold its value pretty well if you move on. The fast lens will allow you to photograph dogs running/playing. And because it is a "pocket" camera you don't have to tote around a suitcase full of lenses and gubbins with you so you can take it with you when walking the dogs. It is limited, you can't take wildlife photographs for example. But for the things you have listed it will take better pictures than any phone.

I would recommend reading Ken Rockwell's no nonsense camera reviews and recommendations here.

My personal favourite camera right now is my Fuji X series. Which I think are brilliant cameras. Fuji make lenses arguably better than anyone in the world even the kit lens on mine is sensationally good. But it isn't "pocketable" and I tend to carry a small Sony super-zoom most of the time but took some shot at the Hurworth Classic Car show the other week with the Fuji (I love the colours in the Fuji film modes)

sDSCF0876.jpg
 
swordtrombonefish said:
I know there's been some posts about the subject in the past, but as of now for someone looking to start as a hobby as I wind down work and hopefully retire next year, what would people recommend as a good beginners camera that I can start to learn the fundamentals on and build from there. I'd think most of my interests would be the sea, countryside/landscapes & the dogs, buildings and possibly street views of events etc.

Thanks in advance.
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If it's of any interest to you for starting out, I have a Nikon kit I built up that I am wanting to sell.

Kit includes;
Camera - Nikon D5100 with 18-55mm lens
Nikon Nikkor Lenses 18 - 105mm f/3.5 - 5.6
55 - 200mm f/ ~ 5.6
70 - 300mm f/4.5 - 5.6
Tripod + Monopod + couple of camera bags
 
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I'd suggest a starter DLSR such as a Nikon D3400 with kit lens and maybe a cheap prime like a 35mm f1.8. Dangerous hobby if and when the GAS (gear aquisition syndrome) gets hold of you!
 
If you go down the SLR route, although it seems a bit OTT, try and think a bit beyond that first camera. As others have said, the lenses are the really important bit of kit and with good ones you'll want to stick with those even when you upgrade the camera body, so as best you can go for something where your lenses will be compatible with cameras 2,3 and 4...

You can buy adaptors, but they're a bit of a chew, can drop image quality slightly and you may also end up losing some of the automated functionality that a fully compatible lens/body will give you.
 
Muttley said:
I would look at the second hand market something like the Sony RX100 iii it will be a few years old but you can pick one up for less that £300. Brilliant camera with a 24-70mm f1.8-2.8 lens it has a large censor so you get lovely images and it will shoot in low light very well. It will also hold its value pretty well if you move on.
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I've got an RX100III as my first foray into cameras, great little camera to start off with and learn photography👍🏻👍🏻.
Most of the photos I take are landscape, starry skies, motion blur and macro, it works great for my needs and can produce some very good photos.
My skills don't do it justice.
 
I sold all my full frame Nikon kit & went Fuji X, crop sensor, smaller, lighter & mirrorless...

I'd be looking for XT2 or possibly XT3 (new camera in a few weeks launched, which usually means a drop in price of previous models) & an f/2 lens - 23mm or 35mm (35 & 50 equivalent)
mob.com is a good site..
 
I have been selling 2nd hand photography equipment for about 12 years now mostly film stuff but I do get a fair bit of digital particularly in the last few years.
Personally I would say go for a mirrorless rather than a Dslr. It's the way forward and a lot of the big companies are winding down their dslr range.
If you do want a dslr as they can be cheaper I would go for Canon.
Dont be afraid to go 2nd hand most modern cameras rarely go wrong I have some mark1 eos 1d,s that are still working great it can be the batteries that give up 1st but you can still get aftermarket ones.
Get the best body you can afford, then you can build your lenses over time.
I have to agree the Fujis are a great bit of kit.
Nikons are okay but unlike most canon a lot of the old lenses dont work with the newer bodies.
 
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