let the new career begin.....equipment and camera advice needed

[sircharlesofavon]

Little background on myself: Always had an eye for photography, finally decided after 3 years of pre-med pre-reqs to take the plunge towards a career I would actually enjoy (please save the lectures on how a career in med would pay so well lolol :lmao: i know this, but would rather live in a cardboard box and love what i do than live in a mansion and hate it).

I'm going to be applying to photography school in the next year or so, so over the next 12 months Ill be taking classes and getting my portfolio together.

Can someone shoot me some ideas on what camera and gear to purchase. I know it will be expensive, but this is my future career I'm dealing with and want to do this right!

Thank you so much in advance.....

 

[doobs]

It all really depends on what you like. Are you a film guy or digital? Do you want top of the line, or beginner stuff? What do you like to shoot, etc...

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

There are any number of different ways to go about this...if you give us a budget, it would really help to give advice.

Certainly the way to go is with a DSLR system. I suggest Canon or Nikon, but there are other good brands. You could go with an entry level body, which starts around $600...but it might be better to go with one of the mid level bodies like the Canon 40D or Nikon D300. These offer great performance and good value for about $1200-$2000. Then there are the pro level bodies that can cost as much as $8000...but I doubt that a pro body would be necessary for photo school.

You must also consider lenses. Cheap lenses start around $100...top quality lenses start at several hundred and can cost several thousand. Any serious photographer will most likely end up with top quality lenses...so if you can buy them first, you will save money in the long run...but it's expensive. The good news is that top quality lenses hold their value better than most things.