Too Young to start?

[britonk]

Before buying any camera I always check out DPReview - their reviews are so in depth. They havn't reviewed this camera unfortunetly but they have reviewed another Samsung and it was "recommended"

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/samsungv700/

Shame I think the S600 doesn't have a viewfinder but it should still take some quality shots.

 

[Emma14]

Yeah i think the cam that im getting should be okay it has all the fancy optical and digital zoom on it so its a start thanks for your help

 

[LaFoto]

You're not the only 14-year old here on the forum.
My daughter`s a member, too (but hasn't shown her face in ages ) - and she will only turn 14 in April of next year. And I don't feel she's too young to start out taking photos, either, actually, also she had the FisherPrice camera when she was 3 or 4!

 

[bitteraspects]

look at it this way, the sooner you start, the more time you have to perfect your art.
i did capoeira for 3 years. they would bring down maestres (masters/teachers) from brazil for the baltizado (tournament/belt ceremony) and most of them started training as soon as they were 5 or 6.
a little off point, but the idea is that youre never too young.

 

[doenoe]

groovy, i did capoeira for a couple of years too. Awesome sport, but we had to stop because there werent enough people coming to the training anymore. Was a shame. But now im into the Kungfu, which is totally different, but great nontheless.
And now on-topic: I dont think you are ever to young to learn and love photography. If you wanna do it, do it. And learn while doing it

 

[Don Simon]

A bit off-topic but just thought I should point this out. Ignore the digital zoom. Optical zoom is what matters, digital zoom is just marketing - it means cropping part of the image (something you could do yourself on the computer).

 

[stc9357]

I'm 17 and wish I had started earlier but wishes are wishes your never to young to start. I play tennis and I wish I had started at 5 or 6 instead of the old age of 12 years old but I do alright.

 

[ssgv2]

Hey, im 15 im doing it! (for GCSE's as well!)

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

Hi Emma.
You have read all the comments that these people have made. You are obviously an intelligent person. You too could be consumed by this passion to create images that make people go W O W ! ! ... This is your last chance.... STEP A W A Y from the camera........ D O N ' T do it....


Still here then......


Welcome to the nut house ... you will go far....

Photograph what YOU want to..
Things you love or are really interested in will hold you longer so you will try even harder to get just that feel that you want to capture.
Show as many people as you can and listen to what thay have to say.
Having listened take on board just what you want to.
If you can, find some friends who feel the same, and work together, bounce ideas off each other.
there are a lot of magazines around that will show you the basics and give you a challenge or two.
when you stop having fun.... don't do it.

I started at about 12 (That was about a week ago), and already I'm 53 (That's NOT as old as you think..!!). as soon as I get bored I'll Stop.

 

[Oldfireguy]

Never to young and never to old.

 

[ironsidephoto]

all i can say is that you can never be too young, and the more experience the better. as long as you stick with it.

 

[Emma14]

Photograph what YOU want to..
Things you love or are really interested in will hold you longer so you will try even harder to get just that feel that you want to capture.

Yeah that always seems to happen alot
I have been reading through the comments which makes me just go upstairs in to the cupboards get my camera and stat snapping now as im starting to really get in to all of this! i was walking to school and there was such a lush pink sky!! so once i do get my cam - im going to take it every where so i wont miss once in a life time shot

Thnks for all your comments

 

[xfloggingkylex]

Welcome, you're never too young to take photos.

The real reason I am posting isn't to say exactly what everyone else has said, but to bring up something you said. You mentioned the camera you are looking at has "all the fancy optical and digital zoom..." Just a heads up, you dont really want digital zoom. When I had my point and shoot I actually turned it off. it really isn't a zoom at all, it just crops your picture tighter to make it appear there is better zoom, usually at the expense of resolution.

In fact if you are really trying to get into the "artsy" types of photos you see here, that camera lacks the two main things you are going to want to have: Aperture and shutter priority. It does have manual mode so you can still get the effect of aperture and shutter priority but you'll have to change both, which takes a little longer to do.

It does have everything you'll need to get started like white balance and the available manual mode as well as exposure compensation.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Samsung_Digimax_S600_Silver/4505-6501_7-31833357.html

This review claims that the white balance presets for the camera are not very good, that in auto mode tungsten lighting (your normal lightbulb) was too yellow, and when put on tungsten mode it over corrected the problem, causing the picture to have a blue hue.

Another thing they mention is that the LCD can get washed out in bright sunlight, and since there is no view finder it doesn't leave you with many other options aside from shading the screen.

Given that Samsung has shown that it is capable of making cameras that capture pleasing images, such as the Digimax L85 and the Digimax L60, there's little excuse for its S-series cameras turning in pictures that are plagued by artifacts and other noise. So, while the Samsung Digimax S600 certainly has a feature set that looks solid, you're better off spending a little more on one of Samsung's better-performing cameras or looking at an other brand altogether.

and I looked at the other two he mentions and they are both plauged with fringing.

Not trying to rain on your parade, I just dont want you to spend money on something that isn't the best bang for the buck.

If you definitely cant afford anything more, the Samsung is a decent choice. it is one of the cheapest manual control cameras you can get (point and shoot format). If however you can afford to spend a little more, the canon powershot A540 was CNET's highest ranked camera in the sub 200 US dollar price range. It costs about 190USD, so that may be a little steep, but it offers better picture quality, aperture and shutter priority modes, white balance, quicker burst shooting, 3 metering modes (evaluative, ceter weighted and spot), it has exposure compensation in 1/3 increments instead of 1/2, and of course, you can get teleconverters, wide angle converters, and just about any 52mm filter to work on the A540. That means polarizers and neutral density filters can be used to expand your creative abilities. Oh and the Canon has a larger zoom ranging from 35mm on the wide side (the same as the samsung) to 140mm telephoto (as opposed to samsungs 105mm)

http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_A540/4505-6501_7-31740579.html?tag=pdtl-list

check it out and see if you think it will be worth the extra money. I personally would get that over the samsung without even thinking, but I'm not the one buying it here.

Good luck with your purchase, and sorry for the information overload (I was just sitting around so I decided to research cheap P&S cameras for you).:lmao:

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

I have read your reply to my post..

You are starting to look at the world through the eyes of an artist. This is 1). good. You don't have to grow up. or "Tow the line".
2). Bad. You could wind up enjoying yourself until you are in your Nineties (My Mum is 92 this year and shows no signs of growing up . Luckily I think I take after her...)
3). Indifferent.... ah! Who Cares!.....

It takes a while to "Get your eye in" and to "Develope your own style" . but as long as you look for things to take pictures of , you will see things that most people miss. and get to enjoy life more.... (I think I may be getting an "Arty attack " now , so rather than scare you off I will leave it at that).

But it is nice to see that your question has prompted so many passionate replies. It seems that peoples creative hearts and souls are still alive.

 

[Emma14]

xfloggingkylex - thanks for all the info i just sat and read through it. Atm i have hardly no time to even think about it - because i have a big important dance performance coming up - but i'll try and see into getting the Canon powershot A540, im not too sure if i have the cam already. But maybe in the early furture or even before xmas i could change it. Just depends on my savings lol!

Groupcaptainbonzo - i like your up sprit on this!! thanks for making my confedence boost up! Because i do really really want to start getting in to this - because not only does it look like a challenge but also alot of fun thanks for all your comments guys