Need help purchasing a good camera

[Starfox]

Hey guys,

Im very fond of Photography, especially landscapes and nature scenery. I want to get a good camera that can capture really good high quality photos, but at the same time I don't have thousands to spend.

My smart phone is a Sony Xperia Z3 and if anyone is familiar with this you'll know it has a pretty good camera for a phone. Now the only reason I purchased this phone was for the camera. I came to the conclusion that I should really just get a decent camera instead of an overpriced smart phone because at the end of the day i dont care for anything else on this phone other than the camera, so I am selling it on and getting a cheap 'anything' smartphone to replace it and i am hunting and researching a decent Camera.

I dont have the terminology for what i need so ill describe things best i can. When I look at a beautiful landscape and see a nice sunset, or a nice mountain range, lakes, rivers, scenery in the distance and sky I would like a camera that can capture exactly what I see with my eyes for when I take snaps with this phone or anything else everything looks so far away and i cant capture the beauty. Im guessing its really all in the camera lenses? I also want a camera that has high pixels, so when i take a close up picture of a tree, a leaf, a flower.. ect, you can see it in great detail (HD) I have loved that feature on this Z3.

I plan on searching ebay for a good camera someone suggests (preferable a Nikon as Im told they are very good) and get it second hand for less. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks guys

 

[Designer]

Im guessing its really all in the camera lenses?

Short answer; yes. The image quality depends quite a lot on the lens(es) although a camera body with the capability to utilize the quality of the lens placed upon it just makes good sense.

What is your budget?

 

[KmH]

Buying a camera everything you need to know The Verge

 

[Starfox]

Im guessing its really all in the camera lenses?

Short answer; yes. The image quality depends quite a lot on the lens(es) although a camera body with the capability to utilize the quality of the lens placed upon it just makes good sense.

What is your budget?

£500

 

[Designer]

You can start here: Amazon.co.uk DSLR Electronics Photo

There are some used kits available on Amazon, and you can often find used cameras with little use and age at a substantial discount from the price of a new one. Your search could turn up several more offerings.

 

[The_Traveler]

When I look at a beautiful landscape and see a nice sunset, or a nice mountain range, lakes, rivers, scenery in the distance and sky I would like a camera that can capture exactly what I see with my eyes for when I take snaps with this phone or anything else everything looks so far away and i cant capture the beauty. Im guessing its really all in the camera lenses? I also want a camera that has high pixels, so when i take a close up picture of a tree, a leaf, a flower.. ect, you can see it in great detail (HD) I have loved that feature on this Z3.

You are setting yourself for a big disappointment when you buy something because no camera alone can fulfill those expectation.
Yes, adequate equipment is part of the equation but there is a steep learning curve in photography.
I don't mean learning how to run the camera, I mean that there is a tremendous amount of knowledge acquisition and skills development necessary so that what you see can be produced as an image.

 

[480sparky]

...... I would like a camera that can capture exactly what I see with my eyes .......

As soon as one is invented, we'll let you know.

Personally, I think we're at least 40-50 years away from this technology.

 

[KmH]

And it will have to shows us pictures in 3-D.
I think it will be way longer than 100 years, if ever.

No camera made today can capture what you see with your eyes, and if you really understood what you see with your eyes you wouldn't much like looking at photos that camera made. Most of what is in our eye's field of view is not in focus.

 

[fjrabon]

...... I would like a camera that can capture exactly what I see with my eyes .......

As soon as one is invented, we'll let you know.

Personally, I think we're at least 40-50 years away from this technology.

Honestly, if your camera looked exactly like what you see with your eyes, you'd be pretty pissed off. You'd only see a very tiny field of view clearly, with it quickly fading to a very detailless grey. Your vision works because your eyes constantly scan (saccades), and then your brain sort of stitches millions of images your eyes "take" together into a picture.

It's really your brain that does all the work with vision, not your eyes. Your eyes are actually pretty crappy as far as optical devices go.

 

[The_Traveler]

What you want to produce is what your mind's eye sees and that means you have to be able to understand and bridge the gap between what your camera sees and what you want to show.

So you choose the aperture, shutter speed and iso to capture sufficient information that can be edited and adjusted to become what your mind saw.

(And don't tell me that you don't want to edit images. What your camera collects is records of voltages (if it's digital) or the potential for chemical change because of photon capture (if it's film) and editing starts then.

 

[Dave442]

If you can make images you like with your phone camera, and it sounds like you enjoy taking pictures, then I think you would enjoy using a dedicated camera. Just like your cell phone camera has limitations a dedicated camera will have limitations.

A more powerful hammer might let you pound in bigger nails, but it's not going to make you a better carpenter. However if it lets you enjoy it more then it may be worth it.

 

[Starfox]

Ok , This is probably an easier way to show you. Here are some pictures i took with my camera. The camera I would like to buy would need to take snaps as good (at minimum) and better than the ones below I took with my phone, so any pointers would be great Also I find it difficult to locate example pictures taken with a camera make/model when im scanning through different cameras on the net, i would have guessed that would be standard when promoting a product

(I live in Ireland incase you are wondering where these pics were taken)

 

[Derrel]

Nice photos. The Xperia phones have BIG sensors for phones...the largest sensors used in any phones, at least back in 2013, were in the Xperia line.The sensors they use are the size of those used in compact digital cameras, so...significantly larger than other phones use. As you can see, that phone and lens CAN get some shallow depth of field effects, much more so than a typical phone. But what all phones lack is zoom...they have just one, single, semi-wide-angle lens length. No normal,no telephoto lens length options.

Here's what you need to know: HOW do you want to carry the camera. That really is the big issue when you buy a camera. In order of ascending size: Do you want 1) A pocket camera? 2) A jacket-pocket-capable camera? 3) Do you want a purse camera? 4) Do you want a neck- or shoulder-strap camera? Those are the four types of models available.

Decide HOW you want to actually carry it! That eliminates a lot of choices. THEN, decide on the budget. Pick one. DO a bit of reviewing of it. Buy it. Use it, Learn it. I've actually sold cameras to the public before...this is the way I help a lady select a camera. The purse camera option has a good number of cameras that are too big for categories 1 and 2, and women actually are responsible for the buying of many cameras, so I think the camera industry understands this, and that's why there is the purse-sized camera, which has a number of slightly-bulky but high-specificationm, looooong-zoom models which are easily carried in a purse or bag, but are far too oddly-shaped for any type of pocket carry.

Some of the purse-sized cameras have VERY powerful, stabilized zoom lenses that go to almost absurd lengths. But they are not the serious enthusiast type cameras that are designed for external, neck- or shoulder carry. D-slr cameras fit into type 4) neck or shoulder strap carry.

 

[Starfox]

Nice photos. The Xperia phones have BIG sensors for phones...the largest sensors used in any phones, at least back in 2013, were in the Xperia line.The sensors they use are the size of those used in compact digital cameras, so...significantly larger than other phones use. As you can see, that phone and lens CAN get some shallow depth of field effects, much more so than a typical phone. But what all phones lack is zoom...they have just one, single, semi-wide-angle lens length. No normal,no telephoto lens length options.

Here's what you need to know: HOW do you want to carry the camera. That really is the big issue when you buy a camera. In order of ascending size: Do you want 1) A pocket camera? 2) A jacket-pocket-capable camera? 3) Do you want a purse camera? 4) Do you want a neck- or shoulder-strap camera? Those are the four types of models available.

Decide HOW you want to actually carry it! That eliminates a lot of choices. THEN, decide on the budget. Pick one. DO a bit of reviewing of it. Buy it. Use it, Learn it. I've actually sold cameras to the public before...this is the way I help a lady select a camera. The purse camera option has a good number of cameras that are too big for categories 1 and 2, and women actually are responsible for the buying of many cameras, so I think the camera industry understands this, and that's why there is the purse-sized camera, which has a number of slightly-bulky but high-specificationm, looooong-zoom models which are easily carried in a purse or bag, but are far too oddly-shaped for any type of pocket carry.

Some of the purse-sized cameras have VERY powerful, stabilized zoom lenses that go to almost absurd lengths. But they are not the serious enthusiast type cameras that are designed for external, neck- or shoulder carry. D-slr cameras fit into type 4) neck or shoulder strap carry.

I would probably go for type 4. And one with high quality pixels, im too much of a snob lol.. Once a picture has pixelation or graininess to it i lose interest straight away.

 

[curly]

Im guessing its really all in the camera lenses?

Short answer; yes. The image quality depends quite a lot on the lens(es) although a camera body with the capability to utilize the quality of the lens placed upon it just makes good sense.

What is your budget?

I agree with this sentiment. I recently upgraded from my old D40 to a D7000. Wow, what a difference. Suddenly my 18-55mm kit lens is more useful.