Photography - Someone who knows their stuff

[Dan...]

Just looking for a bit of advice from someone who know what they're talking about


I love photography and with christmas coming up ive decided to ask for a camera so i can make a go of it as a hobby.


I want a 'decent' camera that would be idea for a beginner, to lean the basics, gain some skills and be easy to use etc, but I don't want to spend money of the wrong thing. I've come across a Nikon Coolpix L310. It's a reasonable price, reviews don't seem too bad but just wondered if someone could back me up with this one or recommend something better?


Thanks guys - and any hints or tips would be brilliant

Dan

 

[john182rs]

If your after a point and shoot rather than a DSLR which you could learn more about and progress better with then the Nikons new range is good but also look at the Panasonic's FMC or TZ ranges.

I have a Canon 7D as my main camera but and older version Panasonic TZ10 as a quick back up or off the scene shot.

A rough idea on how much to look at would be good or has Santa got deep deep pockets for you this year??

 

[riz]

I got this from Fuji Refurb store, i think it was £250


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x10


immense piece of kit.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

What about a 350/400/450d ?

You'll get much better photos and more room for 'learning' and expansion later from that, than a pocket camera.

If you want a camera to take pics with, get a point/click or bridge in budget.

If you want a camera to get into photography with, you'll end up selling that before March.

JFDI

 

[The Fatty]

If you actually want to learn properly, get a DSLR. As its your first camera and its to learn on, I would be getting a second hand camera like the Nikon D40X/D60 just in case you find you don't actually use it. I can vouch for the D40X as a bloody good camera for beginners and it will teach you all of the basics you need to know. Im looking to sell mine soon and will probably be putting the body up for £100, so imo opinion I don't think you should be paying more than £150 for the above with a lens (which is known as the camera 'kit'). Ebay is a good place to start if this route interests you

(p.s. im not suggesting to by mine as its not for sale yet, just used as an example of pricing).

 

[riz]

oh yeah my D40x was my first camera and was immense.

Photography is an art and the tech specs wouldnt matter if your new. Depending what you want to do further on you may not need an DSLR. BUt the D40x must be cheap now so its worth considering

 

[Jay_A]

My first DSLR last Xmas was a canon 600D. Brilliant bit of kit.

Just upgraded to a canon 5D mk III though as I wanna take things to the next level.

 

[Dan...]

I did think that a DSLR would be better especially for gaining skills and learning the basics etc. but when looking at them new they were just so expensive so I didn't know if it was worth spending all that on my first camera. But after reading the above I think it would be okay.

Ive looked at the nikon D40x on ebay and the prices vary so much I never know which one to trust! Haha

 

[Dan...]

If you actually want to learn properly, get a DSLR. As its your first camera and its to learn on, I would be getting a second hand camera like the Nikon D40X/D60 just in case you find you don't actually use it. I can vouch for the D40X as a bloody good camera for beginners and it will teach you all of the basics you need to know. Im looking to sell mine soon and will probably be putting the body up for £100, so imo opinion I don't think you should be paying more than £150 for the above with a lens (which is known as the camera 'kit'). Ebay is a good place to start if this route interests you

(p.s. im not suggesting to by mine as its not for sale yet, just used as an example of pricing).

How come you might sell yours mate?

 

[The Fatty]

Well what you want to ask about is the shutter release count. If its 40000+ then don't buy it as it will fail soon! I imagine the really cheap ones will be on a high shutter count. I might be selling mine because I bought a D5100 from someone on here

 

[Dan...]

Well what you want to ask about is the shutter release count. If its 40000+ then don't buy it as it will fail soon! I imagine the really cheap ones will be on a high shutter count. I might be selling mine because I bought a D5100 from someone on here

Thanks, that's good to know

An fair enough, when you say the 'body' of the camera does that mean just the camera it's self no case or strap etc ?

 

[Ray Gin]

I've got a 350D and I'm a total noob with photography. Seems easy enough to use and fiddle with.

 

[The Fatty]

Thanks, that's good to know

An fair enough, when you say the 'body' of the camera does that mean just the camera it's self no case or strap etc ?

In SLR/DSLR terms, the body means 'without lens', i.e, it is just the body of the camera. Most DSLR's wont come with cases, but the will come with straps. As they are quite big, its normal to go out and buy a camera bag the suites you and your needs (I,e, you might want to carry an extra lens with you etc).

 

[Niall]

I agree about the DSLR, but personally I wouldn’t get the D40x, I had a D40 and learned a lot, but I was constantly restricted by the terrible ISO performance (red/green grain on pictures in low light), so I’d get something a bit more up to date, such as a D3100, they’re going reasonably cheap now, as are D5100’s.

 

[The Fatty]

the D40X uses a different sensor than the D40 remember, ISO grain is pretty good imo. I hope D5100's aren't going really cheap at the moment now Naill

 

[riz]

D40 served me well as a starter. Only issue was keep going into menus to change things and also high ISo noise. But as a starter camera there ace, but if. D5100 is a tad more than it might be better to purchase that.

There's a big for sale section on Talk Photography, probably worth a look there.

 

[Dan...]

Cheers for all the info guys, ill have a little look around see what I can find.

riz Do you know the website? Is it talkphotography.co.uk ?

 

[Niall]

the D40X uses a different sensor than the D40 remember, ISO grain is pretty good imo. I hope D5100's aren't going really cheap at the moment now Naill

Hmm I still doubt the ability of it, on the D40 ISO 800 was the absolute maximum before they were unuseable, anyway the bigger screen helps too on the more up to date ones, and the video, and the live view, and the better auto focus systems, and the better sensor in general, but you get my gist

Round about the same price but older with less accessories

 

[john182rs]

Cheers for all the info guys, ill have a little look around see what I can find.

riz Do you know the website? Is it talkphotography.co.uk ?

I do, Im also a member on there and they have been very helpful for me, bought a few items from people on there like my 24-105L f4 Canon lens, should have cost me around £1100 from a Jessops shop but ended up paying about £450-£500 delivered and brand new with warrenty etc etc.

Buy a camera that will suit your budget, go as big as you can if you intend on going far with it.

 

[The Fatty]

I think he wanted someone to confirm the web address of the site john182rs, looks like you missed that bit out! lol

 

[Šįk]

Canon 1000d, it's more than enough for a rookie!

Iv had mine for four years now and still learning things! It's a fantastic starting camera and cheap too! You could go for the new 1100d that has now replaced it depending on budget. A 1000d would be a great buy!

Here's what I can achieve from it : http://www.flickr.com/photos/76858884@N08/

Good luck with your choice!

 

[Dan...]

Canon 1000d, it's more than enough for a rookie!

Iv had mine for four years now and still learning things! It's a fantastic starting camera and cheap too! You could go for the new 1100d that has now replaced it depending on budget. A 1000d would be a great buy!

Here's what I can achieve from it : http://www.flickr.com/photos/76858884@N08/

Good luck with your choice!

Your pictures are awesome! Thanks for giving me another option there is so much out there it's crazy!

Anywhere in particular you tend to buy from or do you just look around online for best prices?

 

[The Fatty]

just remember its not the camera that makes the photo awesome

 

[Šįk]

Cheers mate. 1000d wise probs best buy would be EBay?

just remember its not the camera that makes the photo awesome

Exactly!

 

[deer_dodger]

Dan, try and think what sort of photography you want to do prior to getting your camera.

I've owned quite a few cameras from the huge brick of Nikons D2X to compacts. The problem with my D2X was it weighed about 2kg even with a small and light prime lens, with a long telephoto of 400mm it was closer to 4kg. It was so bulky and heavy I never took it anywhere. Even lightweight DSLRs are quite bulky and are not pocketable.

Some things I've found, in general, but there's always exceptions;

- DSLR best for sports / motor sports as they have minimal shutter lag (time from pressing button to taking image).
- The larger the sensor the better the camera at taking pictures in low light.
- The larger the maximum aperture, f number (smallest number is the bigger the aperture e.g f1.8) the better for low light images and greater depth of field. Better for portraits to blur fore / background.
- if you want to do portraits, a hot shoe for external flashes is a real benefit.
- Don't get sucked into the megapixel race, more doesn't always mean better. On small sensors, too many pixels means they are smaller and therefore less sensitive to light and may give grainy images in low light.
- 1080p and full HD are blazoned across so many cameras now, unless you're going to use the movie function (which I don't) this is meaningless.
- Metal bodies far better than plastic bodies if you're cack handed like mean and tend to bash things about a bit. Obviously at the expense of a bit weight.

Someone had already mentioned the FujiFilm X10, this is what I want next, a beautifully built camera that is highly acclaimed. Won't give quite as good an image as a DLSR, is restricted by not having exchangeable lenses, but had the option of being fully manual, is small enough to carry around and can be bought for a relatively cheaply £279 new. I like to have a camera with me at all times, the best photo opportunities are seldom planned.

Having said I like the X10, there are loads of good cameras out there. DP Review is a good place to look for reviews, to check up to date prices, look here

http://www.camerapricebuster.com/

Above all, don't rush in, take time to compare and read up.

 

[Niall]

just remember its not the camera that makes the photo awesome

I’d like to tweak the common phrase to: It’s not the best camera that gets the best photo...but it helps.

I think that the belief that the camera doesn’t matter is a bit cliche now, and is a slightly inaccurate. Yes a good photographer can extract a camera’s ability, but that has a limit, hence why pro’s aren’t using a samsung compact or something.

I agree with the intent behind it though

 

[Dan...]

That was a good read, just shows the amount of different types there is out there.


I think as you've said at the end I won't rush in to any decisions just yet as I still don't know extract the kind of photography I want to shoot yet. Ill keep looking around online reading up on everything and keeping in mind the information you've all given me, it's helped me understand a lot more, so cheers everyone


ill post some pictures that I've taken already that are my favourite, see if you have any tips. Their nothing special though!

 

[Dan...]

Right, like I said these are nothing special and weren't taken with anything amazing either but thought I could get some tips from them to improve going forward:

 

[Niall]

Like I said in the “I’ve taken a picture and I kinda like it” thread, number 3 could be excellent with the horizon straightened.

All in all not bad at all for a first effort, my first pics were worse than that.

 

[The Fatty]

Like I said in the “I’ve taken a picture and I kinda like it” thread, number 2 could be excellent with the horizon straightened.

All in all not bad at all for a first effort, my first pics were worse than that.

.

 

[Dan...]

Yeah I'll keep that in mind for future pictures thank you

 

[SamP]

Get a cheap second Han DSLR from one of the big brands and a 35mm prime. That should last you long enough for you to figure out what you want/need/enjoy shooting.

Just upgraded to a canon 5D mk III though as I wanna take things to the next level.

Implying that gear makes you a better photographer. Flol. Wish I was one of the CS high rollers.

As for the pictures above, I'll offer some no BS crit..

1 - ditch the selective colour. The phone on the right hand side is distracting. The motion blur isn't enough to make it look intentional and just makes it look soft.

2 - straighten the horizon! The highlights are totally blown an the shadows are just black. It's alright, but the positioning of the landmarks doesn't work in my mind.

3 - ramp u the contrast, it's just all greys to me. Think about your backgrounds, he line shooting up to he right between the cushions is distracting. You've cut her for out, cut off limbs at a sensible point or not at all. This would've been better shot as a full body portrait with head in top left 3rd and cropped square IMO.

4 - it's a snapshot of a car with another distracting car in the background and some people coming out of it.

No offence ment, but if you slow down and think for a second you'll produce way better images.

 

[aucky]

I opted for a NEX-5N, which is essentially a posh PAS camera.

It suits me fine in >80% of condiions with more carryability (invented word), It will fit in my winter coat pocket with the 18-55mm lense.


However, (IMO) lack of viewfinder is a major set back. So much so that I want another camera just to fill this void!

Pics
Video (on a windy day with no supporting equipment)

 

[Niall]

I opted for a NEX-5N, which is essentially a posh PAS camera.

It suits me fine in >80% of condiions with more carryability (invented word), It will fit in my winter coat pocket with the 18-55mm lense.


However, (IMO) lack of viewfinder is a major set back. So much so that I want another camera just to fill this void!

Pics
Video (on a windy day with no supporting equipment)

Just get the new Nex-6?

 

[Cup_Phil]

Canon 1000D or 1100D is exactly what you should be going for

I like nikon but their budget stuff is shite - all that garbage about no focus motor in the body so lenses cost more. When you buy a cheap nikon body they hammer you with lens prices and then the lenses won't work on bigger bodies when you upgrade

Canon 1000D or 1100D will be cheap enough 2nd hand, any lens you buy for it will fit new bodies when you upgrade in the future to a 650D or 7D or whatever suits your shooting style

 

[planetx]

I'm fairly experienced and just use an x100 - it's a tool, it's my brain that makes the image.